More Than Obedience

This morning as I put on the little bit of makeup that I wear I felt pretty. Driving to work I admired the beautiful touch the fog had on the bright green trees. Later in the morning the weather was sunny and beautiful followed by a light rain that I could watch through the big double glass doors in "my" office. After I gave a piano lesson during my lunch break my student offered me a piece of cake that was accompanied with pleasant conversation. Throughout the whole day what could have been boring and meaningless was now filled with excitement and life!
 

Thankful for the small things. It's not just because I'm a Christian. I am thankful because I'm a Christian but being a Christian doesn't make me thankful automatically. There have been days that I wasn't thankful for even the big things in life but rather I could find a reason to dislike it. There were days that I woke up and determined to be thankful and muttered a prayer which consisted of things that I knew made my life better but my heart didn't reflect the words of the prayer. So if being a Christian isn't enough to make us thankful, then why is it so easy to be thankful some days and not at all on other days? Circumstances? I don't think so.
 

Luke 6:45 says "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh." When our heart is full of selfishness, pride, anger, worry, and bitterness, it is impossible to be truly thankful. Being thankful to God and others is to be aware that we haven't gotten where we are today by ourselves. It means we realize how important others are to us and knowing we could never attain this happiness without God. There is a sense of humility in thankfulness. Sure, it's also an act of the will, but if we harbor bitterness in our heart and refuse to let go of the anger that drives us away from God then determining to be thankful out of obedience to God's word wont do us much good. God isn't concerned as much about us doing the right thing as He is with us being the right person and having the right heart.
 

So I don't just want to be thankful. I want to have a thankful heart.

Spring is Coming!

After a very long and cold winter there are finally signs that spring is coming. One of those signs is strawberries! Every year I look forward to getting fresh strawberries and eating them in all sorts of different ways. Strawberries are such a bright and happy looking fruit (not to mention my favorite) and I have so many memories of going to farms and picking them with my family in the wee hours of the morning before it got to hot. This year it had been so cold that I forgot that it was time for them to come in! Just a few days ago we were sitting around the fire place to keep warm and now the weather is beautiful and I'm cleaning strawberries! That's the south for you!

 

I love seeing the clean strawberries in the colander!

 

 

This was my first time experimenting with the white chocolate drizzle.

I thought they turned out very well!

I hope y'all have a blessed day! To find out what else I've been up to, check out Bethany's blog and Amy's blog. It has been a busy 2015!

Walking in the Spirit

This past week my sister Bethany and I had an amazing opportunity to bring the word of God through a seminar to a woman's prison. Many of the women responded well and gave testimony of learning how to be thankful, break down strongholds in their life, and how to deal with irritations. One woman was so excited to tell us that before the seminar she had been crying out to God to answer the many questions she had about being angry, bitter, and many other things, but after the seminar she said that all her questions were answered! God had been faithful! Some women just wanted to talk about their hard life and Bethany and I were privileged to give a listening ear. By the end of the week Bethany and I had gained so many new friends in these ladies who loved the Lord so much! It was really sad to leave.

Every morning I prayed before we left and while we were in the car on the way to the prison. I wanted to walk in the spirit, but I was afraid that I would mess something up that would instead quench the spirit. God taught me several things about walking in the spirit. One morning He just told me to stop trying. I was trying to walk in the spirit in my own strength, when all I needed to do is rest in God and trust Him fully. If I did this, He would show me if there was sin in my life that needed to be repented of and He would tell me what to say and when. I had to learn to take my hands off of the situation and stop worrying about making mistakes. Worry will quench the spirit.

Another morning while I was praying in the car I told God, "I'm not doubting You, I'm doubting myself!" But God reminded me of Moses when he stood near the burning bush. Moses said that he couldn't do the job because he couldn't talk well. He had excuse after excuse until he finally told God, "You chose the wrong man!" He was really saying, "God, you made a mistake. I don't trust you to pick the right person to do the job." No wonder God's anger was kindled. God wasn't pleased to see his humble spirit, He saw that Moses didn't trust God to work through him. That morning I realized that I was doing the same thing. I knew that God could do wonders, but I didn't think He could do it through me. I had forgotten that He chose me for this mission so therefore I could be successful.

God showed me so many other things during the week that I will never forget. I saw God's power and it gave me a greater hunger to always walk in the spirit. The Saturday afterwards as Bethany and I were on the way to a church to babysit some kids for the evening I was overwhelmed with happiness as I realized that I am truly happiest when I am serving God. Everything else seems to fade away in the distance when I realize how great it is to be in God's will, walking in the spirit, and laying up treasures in heaven! God is so good!!!

New Recipe, New Tool, and a New Song!

Soooo . . . the holidays are over and for the first time that I can remember, I'm kind of glad. Don't get me wrong, I loved having Phillip  home, looking at Christmas lights, making personal pan pizza's, decorating Christmas Cookies, participating in the Christmas Cantata, bowling with my siblings, the church youth cookout, some Christmas shopping, and the youth rally. But what I don't like about this season is changing the piano lesson schedule ("When did you say you were coming for your lesson?"), eating way too much, having to re-learn all those Christmas songs for church, and always staying so busy! Plus, I had to work the week of Christmas and the week of New years (just a fill-in job that I am  incredibly thankful for!) so no sleeping in for me!

But I said all that so that you would understand how excited I am to have a day at home! My brother Phillip left Monday, and Tuesday . . . well we wont go there. So today has been great! I tried a new recipe for lunch which my sisters and I really enjoyed. Easy Pull Apart Pizza Bread (you know, monkey bread style) is definitely one we are going to make again. I forgot to take a picture so you'll have to go to the link to drool over how delicious it looks. We are pizza lovers around here so it went over well!

Chopstir Beef Masher
Now for the new cooking tool. While my sisters and I were in TN and NC I was on the lookout for something to bring home to mama. Bethany showed me this cooking gadget that she used at summer camp and said it worked really well. I bought it but later decided to give it to Mama for Christmas instead. Anyways . . . mama loved it so much that she bought one for each of us girls to put in our hope chest and she bought one for each of her co-workers. Today I got to use it for the first time and it does make chopping hamburger so much easier. One lady that mama works for said that pampered chef cooks act like this is the magical wand. (Just so you get an idea at how great this is!) You can buy the Chopstir at Wal-Mart or cooking stores. It's worth the space it takes up! Here's a link if you want a better idea of what it looks like.''

He is Really All That Matters
Bethany, Amy, and I are learning a new song called, He Is Really All That Matters. How true that is! I hope y'all have a blessed week and that you make time to put God first!

Verse 1
If I could say one thing, it would be He's the best thing.
If I had only one word, Jesus would be heard.
If I had but one breathe, I'd use it to praise Him with.

Chorus
For He is really all that matters.
When this thing is over, I've crossed death could waters.
We'll see more clearly, and see that really He's it.

Verse 2
If this were my last day, I'd shout Jesus all the way.
If this were my last mile, I'd spend it praising Him awhile.
If I had but one breathe, I'd use it to praise Him with.


Verse3
If He hadn't love me, like He does I wouldn't be.
If He hadn't saved me, I'd suffer through eternity.
If I had but one breathe I'd use it to praise Him with.
 

Sunday School Helps

The amazing prop room at ITG

When I went to In The Gap last year I learned so many valuable ways to communicate truth to children. We never taught a lesson without some kind of visual, hands-on activity, song, poem, or object lesson. Children simply don't want to listen to a 30-45 minute lesson, they want to see, feel, and touch. The more they can experience it themselves the more they will remember it and they more it will make sense.

Now that I am teaching Sunday School at my church I have tried to apply this to every lesson to some degree. Oh how I would love to have In The Gap's prop room at my house or church but since I don't, I have had to come up with my own resources.  Flannel graph is used every Sunday morning in children's church so I avoid using it to give the children variety. Some times it is hard to come up with ways to make the lesson come to life and since I have been using curriculum that has already been used years ago I don't have all the recourses that came with it.

So here are two recourses that I have found to be very helpful in preparing my Sunday School lesson.

Creative Object Lessons e-book
This  one isn't free, but it can be used over and over. I've used some of the object lessons they recommend and it has helped me come up with my own. When you run out of ideas and imagination, this book can spur on new object lessons.

Free Bible Images
This has to be one of my favorite (and most used) recourse. Before I found this website I would spend so much time looking for images to print up for my lesson. Some of the images would be to cartoonish, some were too small, while others weren't descriptive enough. This website offers 8x11 colored pictures that can be opened up by several different files and printed right at you home. They cover every aspect of the lesson and have such great detail. They always have more pictures than I would ever use so I pick and chose which ones I want. Just for the story of Joseph interpreting Pharaoh's dream there are 14 full size pictures. They also have a collection of real life photos if you prefer not to use the illustrated stories/ clipart. It's great! But I have noticed that I can't use these every week because the children will get bored after a while. I still have to incorporate new ways of keeping their interest.


Did I mention that they had EVERYTHING?

It was even organized!

 This week I was reminded to do everything with my whole heart. "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men." Col. 3:23. I realized that for so long I had unconsciously  interpreted that to mean all my energy or effort, but there is a big difference between effort and heart. There are many people who can do something very well because they see it as their duty or because they are trying to please someone, but doing it with heart takes love, compassion, and commitment.

You may not teach Sunday School or help out in any children's ministry, but there are things you can do with all your heart. Find a way you can help out in church and do it heartily as too the Lord!



O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

When our pastor started getting this year's Christmas cantata put together he asked Bethany and I to do a piano/fiddle duet for the program. I'm thinking this is going to be no problem, we could do O Holy Night like we did another time or something similar. But a few days later Bethany e-mailed me the link to the Piano Guy's sheet music to O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. Ugh! I don't like sheet music! It's so much work. Why can't we just come up with our own arrangement by ear? But I knew this was something Bethany really wanted to do so I ordered the music download (all 9 pages of it!) and we got to work. We both thought we would only do half the song since the second half was a harder key, but we pushed ourselves through the whole song and now I can't imagine only playing half of it!

Looking back at the experience I am reminded that there are rewards when I do hard things. If I had never ordered the music I wouldn't have the pleasure of playing such a beautiful song or the enjoyment of blessing others with our melodies. Bethany and I also had the joy of spending many hours together laughing at our mistakes and  sharing our excitement over how much fun we were having! I am so glad we did it!

Since this is probably the biggest song we've done together, we decided to video it. We transformed our piano room into a recording studio complete with Bethany's camera lights and tri-pod. Amy was a great videographer! It was a lot more work than we expected and a lot more fun! Three hours and seven videos later we finally had to take a break so I could give a piano lesson. We thought we would have to resume our project the next day, but we found one that we all agreed was good enough.

The first video is our complete song and the second one is the bloopers. You may not find them unamusing, but we thought they were funny and it will give you an idea of how it came together. :)

I hope y'all have a merry Christmas!

 

Bloopers! : )

 

A Song In My Heart

One of my favorite types of music to listen to (Christian, of course) is piano instrumental. Listening to beautiful music inspires me to practice more so that I can play what I hear in my head and feel in my heart.

My newest CD is Hannah Rose Stahl's A Song In My Heart. Hannah and I met online through blogs and other social medias and found out that we had similar interests like our love for Jesus Christ, modesty, and music! Maybe that is why I like her CD so much, I know the values she has. I also know that a lot of work goes into making a CD like this which shows that she is not afraid to do hard things which is not very common these days.

 

But it's not just her character that I like. . . her piano playing is beautiful! Some of the hymns have a classical touch while others are very bouncy and fun! You can go to her website and hear some of the songs and order a CD. And while you're their, check out her blog!

 

I hope y'all have a great week!

Update

Hey everyone! Yesterday while I was looking at my blog I thought, "Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted anything on here!" You know, it's just one of those things that once you stop doing it, it's easy to continue not doing it. So this week I took the plunge and started back. You know the first step usually isn't near as hard as we try to make it out to be.

I updated my About Me and My Family page but also thought it would be good to post it here since so much has changed. I'll not post all of it (you'll have to go to the page to read the rest) I'm just posting the part about what is really in my heart as I get back to blogging.

"I have been a very unfaithful blogger this past year, but I hope to get back into posting simi-regularly. I have nothing profound or deeply spiritual to say, just the thoughts in my heart as I try to be real. My life is not perfect and I face daily hardships just like everyone else. There are days when I really don't want to do the things that God has so graciously trusted me with, but I am learning that this is a struggle I will be faced with for the rest of my life. I hope to portray an honest view of my life so that others will be encouraged to keep fighting the good fight. I pray that this blog will not cause anyone to become disillusioned to what the real Christian life is about. It's hard . . . but it's worth it!"

Another picture taken in the Smoky Mountains this past October.
Seasons of life are sure to change. You can count on it!

Help Thou Mine Unbelief

Do I really believe God's word? A year ago I would have boldly proclaimed that I believe every inspired word that is in my King James Bible, and today I will still say that I do believe it is true . . .  that is . . . with a head knowledge. But do I believe it with my heart? If I believe something, shouldn't it change the way I act and the way I think?

In Mark chapter 9 we can read about a man who is desperate for God's help. A man who so dearly wants his son to be delivered from the devil that is ruining his life. Verses 23-24 says, "Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief." I fully believe that there are times when God sees our feeble attempts to draw near to Him or our half hearted pursuit of Him due  to our own weakness and broken heart, and He in his great loving-kindness draws us close to Him despite our lack of whole hearted devotion. But I also believe there are times when we need to be desperate for help. Like this man who cried out to Jesus with tears, I often feel like there is nothing I can do to become the woman God has designed me to be and all I know to do is to cry out to God, "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief!" I believe this is a prayer that God is pleased to answer!

Picture taken in the Smoky Mountains this past October.

Home-made Iced Coffee

Okay, so my sister and I LOVE coffee! For a while I stopped drinking it so much, but when Bethany discovered she like the taste of coffee I couldn't resist joining her. There is just something special about having someone to enjoy your hot cup of morning brew with. We weren't satisfied to make our own cup at home, very quickly we discovered that we liked Starbucks mocha's (just not the price!) and Dunkin Donuts iced coffee. But I don't like to spend a lot of money on coffee when there are so many missionaries that I could send the money to, and the nearest Dunkin Donuts is 45 minutes away. I had to find a solution.

This week I was in the mood for some iced coffee so I got online and found a Dunkin Donuts iced coffee copycat recipe at www.food.com . What I love about this recipe is it is so fast and easy! (Isn't it terrible, we live in an era where we get instant gratification and I guess I am victim of that mentality too from time to time.) So, does it taste like Dunkin Donuts? Not exactly, but my sister thinks it's better! Is it good? Definitely! Is it better than spending $2.00 a cup? Absolutely! And with a little tweaking, such as flavored creamers, it may turn out to be just as good as Dunkin Donuts. So here is the recipe the way I make it. If you'd like to see the original recipe you can go here.

2/3 cup cooled coffee (double strength)
2/3 cup milk and liquid creamer (I  use 1/2 cup of milk and fill the rest with liquid creamer)
1 1/2 tablespoon sugar
4 ice cubs

Brew the coffee, add sugar and set aside or refridgerate to cool. Add milk and creamer to coffee. Pour over ice and enjoy!

Blessings

I think it's amazing how blessed God can make me feel even in the midst of a trial. When I choose to get my mind off of the hard things in life and focus on the good I am overwhelmed with what God has given me! I think during the hard times the sweet things seem even sweeter.

Us girls on our yearly trip to the beach! I don't have a recent picture of my mom,
but she is one of the amazing people in my family that I am so thankful for!

 My family is so thoughtful! When I need someone to talk to they listen. When I need someone to have fun with they jump in! When I need to relax and de-stress they give me a foot massage : )

 

God knows just what I need. He has put people in my life who encourage me and keep me accountable in my walk with God and can relate with what I'm going through. I am seeing more and more every day what a blessing good relationships are. It is a blessing not just to receive love and encouragement in the Lord, but also to give it.

 

"Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:"

1 Peter 1:22 

In The Gap




My teaching partner and I were teaching them not to cheat!

"Then said he [Jesus] to his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest."

 Matthew 9:37-38



I know this post is long past due, but here it is at last. During September, October, and November, God allowed me to work in a ministry called In The Gap. A program that teaches Christ-like character in the elementary public schools and conducts after school Bible Clubs.

One thing that I have learned in the past two months that I have been serving in Oklahoma, is that you can serve God anywhere you are. Everywhere you look there are people that need hope and love . . . they need Jesus. But in order to minister to them you have to look for the need and find a way to meet that need. There is a time to present the gospel within the first 5 minutes of a conversation, but then there are times when you have to invest in their lives long before you can expect them to receive the good news we have been entrusted with.

This session they trained 31 interns, including myself, to effectively teach character to children as well as how to run a Bible Club, also known as Good News Clubs. The word that best describes the experience is stretching. I was forced out of my comfort zone to learn new and exciting ways to serve God. I've learned that the best way to teach is to tell and show someone how to do a certain thing, and then have them do it themselves. At In The Gap we were trained and then had the chance to put it to practice.


Me with my accountability group

I saw children genuinely come to know Christ and freedom from the bondage of sin. I was surprised at how many children gave examples of how they took our challenge and went the extra mile at home. I was overjoyed when children opened up their hearts and asked question after question about God and His Son Jesus. I rejoiced over answered prayers and miracles that took place.

I learned that I can serve God anywhere, and I also learned that I could serve God in places I thought I couldn't. Like I heard so many times while at In The Gap, prayer is the work.

It wasn't in God's plan for me to go back to Oklahoma for further training and experience, but I know that God has great things in store for me. Maybe God had a deeper reason for sending me to In The Gap. Maybe I wasn't there just to reach the children in Oklahoma City. Maybe this was a stepping stone to bring my greatest dream into reality.

Apple Pie Oatmeal

A few months ago I started eating oatmeal, mostly because I saw this delicious looking recipe. I knew I wouldn't be able to start eating oatmeal unless it had lots of flavor and this recipe does. I don't feel guilty for eating this for breakfast because it has fruit and oats in it. Healthy, right? I've also substituted the apples with peaches.

Apple Pie Oatmeal

Ingredients:

1 apple, cored and chopped (I don't eat the skins)

1 cup water

1/2 cup quick cooking oats

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Bring the water to a boil in a small saucepan. Then add the oats, apple, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Adjuste the heat to low and simmer the oatmeal for 3-5 minutes. Serve it with a splash of milk if desired and a little or a lot of brown sugar sprinkled on top.

Today...

Today, my expectation is from God.
It is time for thee, Lord to work.
Today I want to see God at work
in the children's lives and in my life.
Today I choose not to complain
and have determined not to fear,
For the Lord is my helper.
Today I am going to be diligent as an ant
Never stopping, always going.
Today the wicked and my enemies shall
stumble and fall when they come against me. (Ps. 27)
Today I shall be victorious because greater is He
that is within me than he that is in the world.
Today I shall remember that Christ is my life
and I am merely a servant to all but that which is evil.
Today I will thank God as much as I possibly can
and meditate on who He is.
This day belongs to God.
Today, I live a surrendered life.

Maple Butter Blondie

Several months ago I found a copycat recipe for Applebee's Maple Butter Blondie. I've never ate this at Applebee's, but the picture looked so good I just had to try it. The first time I made it my whole family was complaining because I didn't make a larger pan! Several batches later this has become our favorite dessert . . . and it's not even chocolate! It's that good! The original recipe is found at recipesecrets.net. Oh, and did I mention it is super easy and quick? It's best when eaten warm, so you don't even have to wait for it to cool!

Applebee's Maple Butter Blondie
Ready In: Under 60 minutes

Ingredients:
Dough
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour, sifted
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (or more if desired)
1/3 cup butter or margarine (melted)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Maple Butter Sauce
3/4 cup maple syrup ( I highly recommend using REAL maple syrup )
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:
Dough
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Add baking powder, baking soda and salt to the already sifted flour. Then sift dry ingredients again.
Add chopped nuts and mix well. Set aside.
Add brown sugar to melted butter and mix well. Then add egg and vanilla extract. Mix well.
Add flour mixture, a little at a time, until mixed well.
Stir in white chocolate chips. Spread out dough in a 9-inch pan.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Use a toothpick or fork to test if it is cooked in the center.
Serve warm with ice cream and Maple Butter Sauce.
Maple Butter Sauce
In a pan, add real maple syrup and butter, cook over low heat until butter is melted. Next, stir in brown sugar until completely dissolved. If you desire, add walnuts. Best served with vanilla ice-cream.

Leaving for the Ministry

This Thursday I'm flying out west to join a group of young people to work with a children's ministry. I can't help but think back to the day God told me to quit my job to do ministry work and the only ministry work in sight was one week of youth camp. Now, several months later, I'm leaving for 2 1/2 months to serve God in a way that I've never done before. A step of faith has now turned into sight. I will be stretched beyond any service I have ever worked with, forced to look at myself to see where I am lacking, and expand my outreach to others. Yes, I'll be out of my comfort zone but it's during those moments when I feel totally inadequate that I have to depend on God all the more. Like I should every day.

I always doubt if I am doing God's will. Did God really lead me to this ministry? Is this really the right time? What if I was wrong? While all these questions went through my mind yesterday I was prompted to ask God to rebuke the devil (if the doubts were in fact coming from him and not myself) and then purify my mind with scripture. Realizing that I haven't changed my calendar to September, I flipped up the next page and read the scripture that was printed on the picture. "Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:" Hebrews 10:23-24. With that in mind I can go forward confidently knowing that God will be faithful.

I have always wanted to work in the ministry but when I actually got a chance it was hard to believe that my desire was really being fulfilled. And of all places it's in the west! Somewhere I've always wanted to visit! God is very good!

I've scheduled a few posts so that this little spot on the web doesn't go completely dormant. I don't expect to be able to post any updates while I am away, but when I return I will write of all the things God has done.

All of this started with committing my life to the Lord. Don't hold back! Surrender everything to the Lord and be willing to do His will. I'm glad I did.

Love Letter From God

God is all this, and so much more!

Meditation

If two people read a scripture and take away the same interpretation, but one thinks upon it for a long time while the other goes on to other things, the one who meditated on the scripture will get strong.

Will I love my life unto death?

The junior kids playing "Crazy Bird"

Two weeks ago three of my siblings and I went to a camp in North Carolina where we enjoyed some crazy fun and great church services and devotion time. I went as a helper from our church so I didn't get to do everything, but I enjoyed being right where I was at. I followed the junior kids and took lots of pictures while they had their chapel time and fun activities, and even made it to a few of the teen activities and church services. I absolutely LOVED the junior's preacher and his ministry he has for children. His silliness (or crazyness?) kept their attention, yet he also knew how to get on their level with the spiritual things so that they knew exactly what he was talking about. He took time for everyone whether it was playing carpet ball with them or talking about a hard trial in their life. His heart was full of compassion and he took everything they said so seriously. He is a great example of what a children's ministry worker should strive to be.

Bethany and Amy durring group time.

Throughout the week we heard a lot about mission work and the great need for missionaries in the 10/40 window. Even the juniors learned, durring a message titled "Open Your Eyes", about chilren in other countries who were suffering. One of the scriptures that was expounded upon during the week was Revelation 12:10-11, "And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death." Many people don't give their lives to become missionaries because they love their lives. Since hearing this message I have kept asking myself, "Am I going to love my life unto death?" It would be a tragic thing to stand before God one day and realize that I could have done so much for eternity and those who will spend it in heaven or hell, but I chose to spend my life - my short life - enjoying the pleasures of life?



Phillip durring group time.

 Bob Roberson, that I just spoke of, began to realize that he was not giving God his all, but was instead living the American dream. When the opportunity arose, he and his wife moved to Hong Kong where he and his wife teach english and the Bible in the public shools. He extanged his large house for a smaller one, a home by the river for a home in the crowded city, and comfortable places to serve God for a life long experience of serving God in a foreign land. Bob Roberson chose not to love his life unto death. What will we do?

A Scrapbook Solution

I have quite the collection of scrapbook paper and tools that I have bought or where given over the years. I don't do much scrap-booking, but I love to make cards and (my new interest) envelopes. But every time I get my scrap-booking supplies out I get frustrated at the unorganized mess it is in. I use to store it in a large, shallow container that fit under my bed, but that didn't work well, so I now keep everything in a 31 bag my aunt gave me for Christmas. It's a cute bag, but not practical for storing scrapbook supplies.

Today while I was making a card I came up with a fabulous way to store my scrap pieces of paper that always get bent and tore. I took an scrapbook that I'm not using (and probably wont for a long time) and put all the little leftover pieces of paper in each sleeve. 

Some of them are color coordinated, while there were some scraps I couldn't do that with.

My supplies are far from being as organized as I want them, but this is certainly a step in the right direction. So, while we're on the subject . . . here's some of the cards I've made. Nothing fancy, but I love the look of a handmade personalized card.