Enjoy Your Life!

I Live in the Present & Enjoy Each Moment!

 

 

"This is the day which the Lord has made; we will rejoice & be glad in it."

Psalm 118:24

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'Part of God's will is for you to enjoy every moment of your life. Ecclesiastes 2:24 says, "There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat & drink & make himself enjoy good in his labor. Even this, I have seen, is from the hand of God." It is something we must do as an act of our will. Try reminding yourself throughout the day that God  is with you & the moment you have right now is a gift from Him. I was struggling with the whole concept of enjoying life until I  did a study on what the Lord had to say about it; now I know it is  His will & soemthing I am not only entitled to, but actually need. I need to enjoy life for myself, but also for Jesus, Who paid a very high price for me to be able to do so. "I came that they may have & enjoy life, & have it in abundance (to the full, til it overflows)" (John 10:10) " I have told you these things, that My joy & delight may be in you, & that your joy & gladness may be of full measure & complete & overflowing." (John 15:11)

 

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If it's God's desire that we enjoy life, then why are so many people miserable & unhappy? Perhaps it is because we fail to SET OUR MINDS to enjoy life. We can easily fall into a pattern of surviving & enduring rather than enjoying. But a new mind-set will release you to begin enjoying life like never before. The more you enjoy life the more enjoyable you will be. Meditate on & say repeatedly, "I live in the present & enjoy each moment!" Meditate on your day each evening & thank God for all the He brought you through & allowed you to do. The highest call for every child of God is to enjoy God.'

 

 

**Taken from 'Power Thoughts' by Joyce Meyer

My Blanket

Someone has taken a liking to my new afghan.

 

I came downstairs this morning to find Mr. Rocky all sprawled out snoozing here in the corner of the couch.......on my new afghan. 

'What?......this is MY blanket!'

Aaahhh, Art Afternoon

Perfect, sunny afternoon.....Michael Buble singing in the background.....sipping on a lovely cup of coffee made by my 'Jon-Boy'.....& lots of painty messiness!

Working on some Easter cards & having a blast....painted hands & all.

Even the paper towels are pretty, aren't they?!

Crochet, Curls & Snow

Saturday turned out to be a really pretty day. Just warm enough that I couldn't resist sitting out in the sunshine for awhile & sneeking in a little hooky time.

 

Here you have the beginnings of my Granny Patch, Lucy-inspired blanket. Four-round Granny squares using the join-as-you-go method. I'm loving it so far & as of this afternoon, I'm already starting my third row.

Sure they were calling for snow this weekend.......but it's the end of March.....Spring, remember? So, who would've seriously thought that we would get any significant snow? It had started by the time we got to church & there was a good inch on the ground by the time we got out & headed home.

This what it looked like by about 5pm......

 

I must admit, it was really pretty!

By this morning, we had a good 4-5" on the ground.....but sitting here right now, at 5:45pm, it's almost all gone. Yes, it was beautiful, but I'm ready for Spring now.....so Bring it on!

Random & very unlike me to post pictures of my hair......but our power was flickering all morning long & so I ran upstairs for a REALLY quick shower & decided to forgo washing my hair. Instead, I decided I'd borrow Alli's curling iron & see if I could make it presentable today.....especially since we are on Day 2 since hair washing. And guess what......I really like how it turned out! Tousled, natural-looking curls.

And they've stayed all day too. Methinks I just might find myself doing this again.

Ribbon Afghan Ta-Daaa

Anyone remember last year in April I posted pictures of my new 'work-In-Progress'......the Ribbon Afghan? You can check out the beginnings of it HERE. Well, I'm proud to say that I have officially finished it now. So, without further ado, here are my Ta-Da pictures.

 

Not a very big blanket.....not compared to my Granny Stripe....but still a nice warm couch blanket.

A very simple border edging......single crochet in soft white, then double crochet in green & finally I finished it off with half double crochet in the blue.

It measures 58 1/2" x 49" & is basically made out of scrappy left-overs that I had in my stash....mostly Red Heart Yarn.

Miss Gibby-Girl wanted to get in the picture.

Now, maybe I can concentrate on my new blanket project.....the Granny Patchwork....inspired by Lucy, of course. You can check it out HERE.

Fret Not Thyself.....

Not a whole lot going on around here today.....just the usual 'stuff'. Kind of quiet around here right at the moment. Michael's upstairs most likely playing his bass, Alli is watching a Taylor Swift concert video & Jon is outside starting the grill for me.

So, I thought I'd share a couple of my most recent art journal pages...

 

I really love just messing in my journal sometimes.....adding layer after layer....prepping the background. It's kind of hard to tell here, but there's LOTS of layers going on. It all started with that leftover red paint from another project. I love the inspiration I've gotten from others about not wasting one tiny bit of anything. Like the paint.....when I'm done with what I'm working on, if there's still paint left on my pallet, I now smear the leftovers onto a blank page & that makes for the beginning of something new. Also in there are some stencils, pieces of phone book paper, a scrap of scrapbook paper, more paint, some black ink splatters & the new fun technique I tried was using gesso with my leaf stencil. That added some very cool texture. I'm sure I'll end up painting a Bible verse or quote on here before I truly call it 'finished'.

This is another one that has TONS of layering going on & looks so much better in real life. The little bird (a stencil that I made myself) is inspired by Erin Leigh....you can check out her blog HERE. Also, the idea for using scripture on my pages came from her too....but the specific verse I used today was inspired by a chat I had with Ashley earlier. She was stressing over school work & I told her not to stress, but to pray. Told her I'd be praying for her & when I got off the computer, that verse imediately popped into my head. So, this one is for my Ashley-Girl today.

What We've Been Doing

 

What a gorgeous spring day after having snow yesterday.

It started Sunday night with sleet & by the time I went to bed, it had turned to snow & the ground was covered. This was taken from the bathroom window yesterday afternoon.

What a difference 24 hours can make....Now, today it's 60 degrees outside.....although it is quite windy....but after all, it IS March.

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Thought I'd share some of the stuff the kiddos have been learning here lately. Now, for the faint of heart.....you may not want to look at these next few pictures.....so just be warned.

Not exactly your usual artistic pursuits, but hey....you have to admit, the girl has talent! We've said for a couple of years now that Alli definitely should work Scare Mare when she's older.....as one of the make-up artists. She has researched online & found out how to make these really gross/awesome-looking wounds with simple stuff like tacky glue, toilet paper & make-up.

Seriously....my 14 year old girl doesn't care about WEARING make-up.....instead, this is what she does with it.

 

And what a plus to have a willing brother who let you paint his face.

She has also been really into making Dream Catchers....with whatever she can find around the house. She has used old bangle bracelts, embroidery hoops & even some big hoop ear rings. She has a whole stash of beads, feathers & emroidery floss. She has made some really pretty ones. Alot of talent in that teen-age, girl, I tell ya!

She has also decided that she wants me to crochet her a top similar to this one.....but in a soft white. She wants something like this to go over her sun dresses & tank tops. She did alot of searching online & actually came across this one in a crochet magazine that I had. I googled the photo here to show y'all.

This is what Michael has been up to. Last week they burned off a big ole pile of brush out in our garden & so Clay got this cool 150 lb. retrieving magnet so they could get up all the old nails & tidbits before plowing the garden. Michael has been aiming this sucker at anything & everything metal!

I told him he reminded me of Wile E. Coyote with the giant magnet.

And although this isn't really our chicken coop....this is what Clay & the boys are doing right now for their Wood Shop Class. Doing some repair work on our chicken coop. It's really old & the plywood has started dry-rotting & the last couple of night something has gotten in & killed two of our chickens. They think it's probably a weasel. So, they are working on repairing the dry-rotted walls now & will set some traps tonight & see if they catch whatever has been getting our chickens.

Enjoying Spring Break

Nothing extremely out of the ordinary going on around here these days. Just enjoying the 'down time' of Spring Break......hanging out with my kiddos, staying up late, watching movies, sleeping in, soaking up the sunshine.....you get the idea. Between loads of laundry, I've been enjoying my crafting. I finished up the red cowl I was crocheting for Alli. Almost finished with the last row of my 'Ribbon' afghan that I started forever ago.....then I just need to do the border edging & I'll be done with that one. I also can't wait to finish the Coffee cross-stitch I'm working on for Ashley's dorm room. Of course she just might be home for the summer before I'm completely done....but anyway. It sure feels good to get all these WIPs completed. In the in between times, I've been piddling here & there in my art journal.

 

I love saving my kid's art work & incorporating it into my art journal. Here, I saved the bull's eye scribble drawing that Michael had done one night. I cut it out & into the pie pieces & pasted it into my journal, added the quote & then colored it with the water color crayons. 'When you let someone steal your joy, you let them steal your strength.' --ann voskamp

I had these red paper hearts stuck to the back door when Clay came home from work last Thursday.....wishing him a 'Happy Anniversary'. I used the smaller hearts as masks, then removed them & outlined the hearts with a fine point sharpie....& I saved the larger heart that said 'I love you Clay'. Still need to journal about our day....

Just a random doodle/scribble drawing that I worked on last Saturday while waiting to pick Jon up from his SAT test. I had done the scribble part with a marker the night before. Then chose a few colored pencils & stuck those along with my journal into my little craft bag & off I went.....all prepared to stay busy in my spare time. ;-)

It Shall Not Come Near You!

I snagged this devotional from my cousin, Mari's, Facebook wall this morning. Thought it was pretty awesome & decided to share it here.

 

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It Shall Not Come Near You!

By Team JP On March 13, 2013 In Devotional With 8 Comments Permalink

A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you.

Psalm 91:7

Your doctor or insurance agent may ask you, “Do you have a family history of cancer?” If you say, “Yes,” they will probably tell you that you might get some form of cancer too.
Now, if you are without God, you would probably agree with them and start worrying about your health. But you are not without God! In fact, His Word tells you, “A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you.” Therefore, even if you have a family history of cancer, and your family members have died of cancer, you can have the confidence to declare that it will not come near you!
My mother had this attitude. After a thorough medical check-up, the doctor was surprised and told her that she did not have high blood pressure or heart disease, although these two conditions have plagued her father and siblings. You see, my mother had already firmly declared that no deadly, family-related disease would come near her.
Praise God for my mother’s trust in God’s Word because I am the generation after her! In fact, after my mother told me about the results of her check-up, I randomly opened my Bible only to read about Rahab the harlot who by faith “did not perish with those who did not believe”. (Hebrews 11:31)
Beloved, God wants you to know that even though you are in this world, you are not of this world. You belong to Him. You don’t have to get caught in dire situations along with the people of the world. Because God is on your side, “He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence”. (Psalm 91:3)
Even when it comes to generational diseases, you can boldly declare, “That disease stops here!” because you have God and His Word. And when you believe God and His Word, you will see His promises come to pass for you — “A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you”!

Thought For The Day
A thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you.

Sunshine & Bargains

Yesterday was THE most gorgeous Spring day......mid 60s & tons of sunshine! We were outside most of the afternoon. It was so nice.

 

I took my crocheting out & sat in my chair under the Dogwood & soaked up a little sun.....

It was definitely barefoot weather!
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Today we met Maw & Sarah for a rather impromtu Girly Day (+Daniel). We had been planning to get together one day while Ashley was home on Spring Break, but we just hadn't pinned down an actual day yet. Maw told me this morning that Paul & David were off working on stuff today & that Sarah thought it would be a good time for them.....so I basically woke the girls up & told them to get ready & we headed on out to meet Maw & Sarah for lunch at McDonald's. After a leisurely lunch, we headed over to check out the Good Will. Alli, who usually doesn't care much for Good Will had a blast today. This Good Will is new & very nice with tons of nice/name brand clothes. I spent $22 on the girls & I thought I'd share some pictures of what we found.

These two are Ashley's. She says a girl can never have too many cardigans.

The rest of these are Alli's......

She has been wanting a chambry shirt forever & was tickled to find this one.

Yeah, I think I made a convert out of her today.

And lastly, Alli got this dress at Target for....................drum roll, please.........$2.46! Yeah, Baby....we had a pretty good day of shopping.

Catch Up.....AGAIN!

This is going to be another one of those 'Catch-up' posts. I've had a busy week & with a snowstorm & loosing our power for 34 hours, I'm a little behind with my blogging. So, here goes!

 

First of all, a few art journal pages. It started snowing Tuesday night & we lost our power about 2am, so I had plenty of 'down' time to spend crafting on Wednesday. I did a little bit of everything.....cross-stitch, art journaling, crocheting.

'It's up to you to find Beauty in the ugliest days.'

Journal entry about the Frito Lay Banquet at the Hotel Roanoke. When you check in, each guest receives a warm chocolate chip cookie (YUM!) so I saved the little brown bag mine came in & taped it into my journal to use as a pocket holder for the little tid-bits of ephemera that I saved. The actual journaling about our weekend is behind the cookie bag.

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While we were without power for 34 hours we pretended we were pioneers. We all agree it's so much easier to do without power in the winter. In the summer, it's just HOT & miserable with no way to cool off. At least in the winter, we have a fire in the wood stove & that makes it easier to cook to some extent too. Clay & Jon fixed a mean breakfast of side meat, eggs, toast (which they toasted on my wire cookie rack) & they even made coffee. We finally got our power back on thursday around noon.

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Friday was a big day at LU.....can you guess who was the guest speaker at convo.....

Tim Tebow!! Clay REALLY wanted to be there, but he had to work. Ashley was not nearly as enthused as the other hundred ba-zoodle girls on campus.....she is not a big sports person, at all. But she told me afterwards that she was really glad that she went & got to hear him. She says he's a really great guy with an amazing testimony!
 

Jerry Falwell, Jr., Tim Tebow & Ron Godwin

Tim Tebow was in town for the big men's Wildfire Weekend event at LU. And along with Tim, was Willie Robertson of Duck Dynasty.......

seen here with Becki & Jerry Falwell, Jr.

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Yesterday morning, Jon & I were up & at 'em EARLY. He took his SAT for the second time at Western Albemarle High School in Crozet.

Praise the Lord, that's over with now.....we are all officially on SPRING BREAK!!! And I'm so thankful that Jon says he felt much more confident yesterday than he did the first time he took it.

While Jon was testing, I drove on into Charlottesville since it was only 18 miles away. My first item of business was to locate the John Paul Jones Arena......since the girls (Alli & Cori) have tickets to go see Taylor Swift in Sept. Of course Ella & I are going with them, but I just wanted to make sure I knew right where I was going. It's very easy to get to, so we shouldn't have any problems. After that, I piddled around at Target, Good Will, the mall, etc. Sure does feel good to have all the pressing stuff behind us & now we have a week to relax & enjoy ourselves. The girls & I plan to take a day to go Easter dress shopping, get Ashley's hair cut & hopefully meet up with Maw, Sarah & Ella for lunch or coffee.