Warm and Cozy

Good Monday Everyone!  I hope everyone had a blessed weekend!!  I have been busy with a capital B, but more about that later...

I have really been enjoying a fire in our fireplace lately.  It is so warm and so very cozy feeling.  There seems to be something calm and relaxing about enjoying a fire with the family around.  I am not an outdoorsy kinda girl, so I have never really much enjoyed the campfire, but for some it is just as nice I am sure.  The crackle of the wood burning, the orange glowing of the embers, so very nice isn't it?  I do not like the cold, with my health problems, it can make me hurt so much, but a good fire and the warmth from it takes that all away.  Thank you Lord for a good fire! 

Now, all that being said... I hate the mess that goes along with the work of a fire in the fireplace.  The chips of the wood as they are carried in, leaving a trail from the door the the hearth.  Oh all the ashes that seems to dust everywhere, aren't those nice?  (insert a sarcastic tone here)  I feel as if I am constantly sweeping, dusting and vaccuming during the season of winter.   Grrr, the work that goes with the joy!

But aren't most things in our life this type of trade?  Kids are great, the joy they bring and the love they give but it all begins with late nights of no sleep  Oh the sweet smell of a baby's breathe on your face, but how about that first diaper?? I remember the terrible twos with the cutest smiles you have ever seen and the tantrums. AND on it goes.  How about that first date?  Oh the thrill of feeling you have meet 'the one' that turns into the same person that leaves dirty socks on the floor. 

Can we not just ignore the bad and keep the good?  I saw a quote recently that I really did not like at first, "May today we love each other less than tomorrow."  Really the love each other less got to me, can less ever be good?  Maybe it should have read, 'May we love each other more tomorrow than today.'   In the re-reading, I found today may be wood chips but tomorrow may be the warm and cozy. Today may be crying babies and tomorrow may be a sweet "Ma ma".

There is always good with the bad, but we do have the good.  Sometimes it seems like the bad far outweighs any good. We get burdened and life is so heavy and sometimes it is hard to lift our heads from the pillow each morning to even continue a new day.  Take a minute to count those blessings, struggle through the negative to find the positive, and never, never say NEVER! 

Please never think I am 'preaching' to you dear friend. Everything I say here is what is on my heart. Why is it on my heart? Because it is what I am struggling with.  There is the school of thought that if we share our burdens they get lighter. Thank you for lightening my load!

CRAFTING:

Many of you have asked how I made my fake cupcakes. 

NOT A YUMMY FOR THE TUMMY!

So here goes, my first tutorial..Part One!

I will not insult your intelligence by thinking you do not know how to place cupcake liners into a cupcake pan, but there is step one. 

Second, get out your handy dandy can of gap filler.  Here is the one I used..

Now there are all types of warnings on this can.  Read them, do not take them lightly!  If you do not take care with this it gets messy and destructive quick.  Just ask the hubs!

Begin to fill the cupcake liners half full with the gap filler.  It will seem like not enough.  Trust me it expands quite a bit. 

Allow this to expand and harden.  This took less time the first time I did it, compared with this time.  So the weather must have something to do with the variations.

They will look something like this...

Once the filler has set, take to painting on the flavors of your cupcakes.  Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry.. you decide.  I just used acrylic craft paint and painted on the chosen flavor's colors.  I did get more detailed on the vanilla and painted yellow, brown and some cream in variations. For the strawberry, I varied pink with red and yellow and brown.  The chocolate is the most time intensive.  It took me three coats of brown to get the correct color.  It looks great, but I am not too patient!  :)

Mine looked like this...

Now, since this blog post seems to be getting too long...I will continue with our tutorial tomorrow to give you the secret for icing your delicious cupcakes! 

See you tomorrow! 

May you have a blessed Monday!!

Prayers for you, Prayers from me!

James 5:16 -...pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Today I am thinking of you, hoping and praying you are safe and sound. I may or may not know you or your name,  but if you are visiting here, I am praying for you.  God knows you and he knows the needs of your heart.  I am praying for those needs, wants and deep desires. 

I think the greatest gift we can give each other is prayers.  I have to relate a story when prayers helped me out so very much and convicted me of the power of prayer.  I had been diagnosed with thyroid cancer while I was pregnant with my daughter, Rachel.  I asked them to put off any treatment until after she had arrived safely.  So two weeks after her arrival, in to surgery I went for a full thyroidectomy.  I am not a typically calm person when faced with the unknown.  I had never been in surgery before, did not know what to expect and was very fearful.  A faithful group of Christians met in Oklahoma to pray for me at the same time I was entering surgery in Colorado.  First of all it was early in the morning, secondly they valued me enough to place a blanket of prayers upon me!  I was prepped for surgery and my mind began to wonder and wander.  I was not afraid, I felt such peace.  A peace that surpasseth all understanding, is exactly what was visited upon me.  Beside me was a young girl also being prepped for surgery, she was crying and holding on to those who were with her.  She was so afraid, I felt so sorry for her that she was not experiencing the calm and that I was.  I was alone, I was at peace for what was ahead. I can never thank those who met to pray enough.  So I have thought, I should 'pray it forward.'

Now it is time for you, for me to pray it forward for you. 

Dear Father, Please be with those who visit here today. You, Father, are so aware of their hearts.  Lord, bless each one, give them the things they need. Please, Father God, let them know peace today, let the words they speak be love, let the things they do be for the good, let those who are ill be healed, and may they experience Your love. 
Thank you Father for all of your love toward us. We thank your for your grace and your mercy.  We thank you for salvation, that we may always have hope in a future home with You. 
In the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen

Blessing to you today!

I was not able to get a new craft on here today, things are still in process but I do have a picture of a recent craft for you to enjoy ... I hope! 

A Little Bit of Silver

I heard a fable today...

Once a wise man held up a pane of glass to the face of one of his disciples.  He asked the disciple, "What do you see?" The disciple answered, "I see cattle in the field, the gentle flowing stream and the majestic mountains." The wise man then held up a mirror in front of the disciple and asked him what he could see.  The disciple answered, "Master now all I can see is myself."  The wise man then said, "Isn't it amazing what a difference a little bit of silver makes?"

In bible school we learned that Judas betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. Isn't it amazing what a difference a little bit of silver makes?  It is all a matter of our perspective. We may only look at ourselves, what we want, what we hope to gain.  If we are brave enough to remove the silver from our glass, what may we be able to see?  Never sell yourself for a little bit of silver.  Remove the silver and see how you can impact other's lives, see what they can gain through you.

Now due to the weather, I have not been able to get to those beautiful finds I showed you yesterday.  I did work on a project last night.  It is subway art for Valentine's Day.  Let me know what you think.  I did get the frame yesterday at Goodwill for $1.  So, I suppose it is in part of the redos! 

Have a blessed day!

Workhorse

work·horse noun \ˈwərk-ˌhȯrs\a (1) : a person who performs most of the work of a group task (2) : a hardworking person

This morning when I got up and around, I began doing some laundry.  As I piled more and more clothes into the washer, I had a thought..What if the washer broke? What would I do then?

It started me thinking of all the routine things I do and the things that help me accomplish these tasks. I had been taking for granted those that stand ready for me to use them.  Yep, I have been blessed that none of them have broken down recently to jolt me to the reality of life without them.  Then I thought further of the people that I take for granted in my life.  My human workhorses, always at the ready when I need them. 

Do you have anyone you can rely on to support you or assist you? If so take some time to let them know you notice and appreciate them.  Often times the workhorses of the world plod on, never doing their task for praise, never expecting a 'thank you'. These people would never brag of all they do.  However, let them break down or be absent and the void is obvious. These crucial individuals shouldn't have to jump up and down for us to notice them and their contributions. We have to place value on each workhorse in our life.

Perhaps you are the workhorse in the lives of others. You work without complaint or need for praise, but you deserve it, you need to know your worth.  You are the very thread running through so many lives hold them together, don't forget that.  If someone gives you praise or gratitude, accept it and know that you are valued.

aybe that is not a positive adjective...I wouldn't want to be compared to a horse LOL!) How about, THANK YOU TO ALL THE PEOPLE I VALUE AND WHO DESERVE RECOGNITION FOR THEIR SUPPORT AND LOVE FOR ME!  Think about those in your life, thank them.  They will probably avoid any recognition, but they will appreciate the fact that you noticed.

 

Thrifting:

I went to the Goodwill after my doctor's appointment this morning.  I found some fabulous REDOs.  I will post a picture of the before...be sure to check back later for the afters!

 

 

b : something that is markedly useful, durable, or dependable

Let's Get This Party Started!

Oh the contemplation, oh the prayers...Should I start a blog?  I guess you can tell the decision was YES!  I am excited, afraid, overwhelmed and filled with wonder.  So if you will bear with me...LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!!!