HELLO...........

Been away for a while and just trying to get back into the groove. I discovered that my camera I bought takes lousy close up pictures which is disapointing for using on my blog or etsy which I plan to start doing. Hope you had a great July 4th!

Lisa

SCRIPTURE FOR THE DAY...........

Create in me a pure heart, O God,

and renew a steadfast spirit within me...

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;

a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Psalm 51:10,17

HELP PLEASE...........

This message is to Robin of Linton Cottage that left a message on one of my posts. I've been trying to find you in blogland and I can't seem to locate your blog, please contact me. I would love to add you to my blogroll and make contact with you.

Thanks a bunch,

Lisa

GLORIOUS GOODIES

Go check out Sandi at Wayside Treasures, she is having a giveaway for her 300th post. She also has a wonderful blog of all kinds of creativity and inspiration.

God Bless,

Lisa

LOSS FOR WORDS.......

Those who know me know that I am usually never at a loss for words. Do you ever feel like something is lingering or hanging over you? Well, oddly enough I have been feeling that way lately and not that it means anything but it has been strange. Here lately I have been encountered with death and not sure if God is telling me to appreciate what and who I have more than anything, well I do. My 32yo cousin died from surgical complications on May 16th. It has been a very hard loss to the family but I know that God has a plan even though we don't understand. Yesterday one of my 10 week old kittens, Elvis, was attacked by a dog and was dead on arrival at the vets office. And then this morning on the way to work I heard on the radio of a woman dying in a fire at a boarding home in Jackson. Her name is Natalie Skinner and I met her one night when we were out doing street ministry in downtown Jackson. She was of my generation and in my conversation with her I learned that her life was not any different from mine except the demons of alcohol had controlled her life. She had been working on getting her life back in order and I shared with her that I would do whatever I could to help. Now I feel that she is with the great healer and like you will see on so many things from me is this........

EARTH KNOWS NO SORROW THAT HEAVEN CANNOT HEAL.

And for that I am thankful for my father in heaven and for the gift of eternal life with my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!

Have a blessed day,

Lisa

HOME REDUCTION

Do you ever wonder how one person can obtain so much stuff? Well, I wondered that this past weekend when I was doing some "cleaning out". Don't really need all this stuff and actually if I sold some of it I could probably get a little cash for something even better like a weekend away. I do know that is makes me feel stressed and I've working hard to unload the stress in life. One thing it has definitely made me think about is what I spend my money on, the idea of actually saving those few dollars is becoming more appealling that buying that little trinket. I'm not a big spender but I just wonder how much I can save by selling off some stuff and cutting back on thrift shopping. Time will tell.....................

Lisa

Changes..............

I've decided to change my blog a bit. It really hasn't been the direction I want to go from my original intent. I love what I have done so far but it hasn't felt right. Look for new things in the future.

God Bless,

Lisa

NEW FAMILY MEMBERS

Well, we have two new family members at our house now. Elvis and Bob, two siamese kittens, came from my older sister's moma cat. The dad is a long haired yellow tabby and the mom is a siamese but oddly enough all four kittens turned out like the mother. We were going to take just one boy but felt like Elvis needed a playmate so we took the other boy, Bob, also my sister was going to take them to the animal shelter and you know what happens there. At least we were able to save two of them. They are sweet and definitely boys :). Poor RJ has been put in second place now but he is still our baby.

Hope everyone is having a great day!

Lisa

I {HEART} green and white!

I am participating in a new swap over at Foxgloves, Fabric and Folly. Heidi and her daughter Holly are the hostesses. Green and white are one of my favorite color combinations so i'm looking forward to this one. Jean is my swap partner and it will be fun to pick out some goodies for her and her home.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

God Bless,

Lisa

BIRTHMOM BUDS

One of my regular blogs I like to read is Nikki's, she is so whimsical and creative, you really should check her out. On of her posts she shared that she had been adopted and was connected with a group called Birthmom Buds. Well, they are having their special mother's day celebration coming up and asked for donations of door prizes to give the the birth mothers. So, I am donating....I wasn't adopted and I have not adopted a child (however, I would if felt led to do it) but I am a mother and I know that feeling that comes from having given birth. The photo is what I am donating made out of an old piece of wood that has been worn from the weather. Hopefully the recipient of this will always remember that God will bless her for choosing to give life as oppose to terminating the life God created. Please check out Birthmom Buds it is a wonderful group.

God Bless,

Lisa

NOTHING LIKE EXPERIENCE!

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I've aged, I've become kinder to myself, and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend. I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn't need, but looks so avant garde on my patio, I am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant.

I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon, before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging. Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 AM and sleep until noon? I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 70's & 80's, and if I, at the same time , wish to weep over a lost love...I will.

I will walk the beach in a swimsuit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set. They, too, will get old. I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things.

Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when somebody's beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turn gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver. As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don't question myself anymore. I've even earned the right to be wrong.

So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day!

copied(from a smart person)

God Bless,

Lisa

RECIPE BOX SWAP..........PASTA

I'm participating in a first for my little blog. A recipe box swap with Randi. This recipe I got from my ex mother in law and has been one of my family's favorite's for quite a while.

Greek Salad

8oz. Vermicelli

1/2 c. olive oil

2 T. Cavenders Greek Seasoning (any grocery has this)

2 T. lemon juice

Cook the pasta for 6 minutes, drain, add in next 3 ingredients and marinate covered in frig at least 4 hours or preferably overnight.

Just before serving add in:

1 small can chopped black olives

1 small jar chopped pimentos

4-5 chopped green onions

1-2 T. mayonnaise (i use 2, makes it not so dry)

Have a great day and enjoy!
Lisa

FOOD FOR THOUGHT..........

RANDOM THOUGHT

One thing I have discovered about blogging is that it is what you make of it. It is time consuming and for me who works outside the home getting on here to blog takes effort. Even if no one reads my posts I enjoy doing for me so I will not stress if I don't get something posted on a regular basis. After all this is my creative release.

God Bless,

Lisa

SCRIPTURE FOR THE WEEK..............

The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.

Psalm 145:8-9

EMMY'S BIRTHDAY

My baby girl Emily turns 14 on April 1st, not so much a baby anymore but since she is the youngest she will always be my baby. Come on and admit it, the youngest of your clan will always be your baby even when you're 100 and he/she is ? (you fill in age difference). Well, in my efforts to really be creative and give gifts that are totally personal i'm giving all the kids in the extended family and my own handmade gifts this year. As it turns out, never realized this, but Em's birthday falls first in the year. So, one gift she is getting is this cool purse it's called Charm Bag Tote designed by Moda, just look under the pattern section, it's free. She loves the color purple right now so i'm going to try and make it out of purples. I'll post a pic as soon as I get it completed. Spring break from school is next week and she will be in NC with her other grandmother playing with dogs, horses and a llama so i'll try to get it done then.

Happy crafting,

Lisa

GETTING BACK ON TRACK!!!

I've been off the track for a while now allowing all kinds of things to get in the way of what I want to do. I haven't posted many pictures on here as my digital was broken and just yesterday got a new camera so you may see alot from now on. All kinds of things from family to nature to my crafting/decorating misadventures and should the opportunity arise pictures of a honey if I ever do get one. The picture above was taken from my car window this morning on the way to work, the sky was so beautiful and needless to say i'm toting that new camera around to catch some great shots. Have a great day!!!

God Bless,

Lisa :)

GOD'S DIRECTION

If i've learned anything over the years that WE cannot make things happen in our life and if we try we fail miserably. The times when I have tried to make my life go the direction I want it to go then those times are fraught with discouragement. God has a great plan for each of us and in this time of confession I will do my best to wait patiently on the Lord.

God Bless,

Lisa

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

"BEING HAPPY DOESN'T MEAN EVERYTHING IS PERFECT. IT MEANS THAT YOU'VE DECIDED TO LOOK BEYOND THE IMPERFECTIONS."

UNKNOWN

RANDOM..............

Just random thoughts here as my mind is really not too focused today.

I got my new car friday, it's not brand new but new to me. A 1996 Honda Civic LX........clean, in good shape and low mileage for a Honda. You see I have this 3 year personal economic stimulus plan. One of the things that got our country into this mess is overextending credit and getting yourself into debt. Well, this chick ain't gonna let it happen to me and mine. This car will last for quite a while (Lord willing) and then I can pass it on to Emily when the time comes, 2-3 years :(, and then I can get my newer car and won't be in so much debt. Don't like bills and as i've paid off things in the past it's been so nice to not have that carrying over my head.

Second, I have made a new friend and it's called Craig's List. I was able to sell Chris' trombone in 4 days, 4 days people. It's free to advertise and they have all kinds of things on the site. You can get some great furniture finds.

I also finished a sewing job for a friend, I know that she is glad as she has been waiting for the goods to arrive. I learned alot about sewing for others. I can't honestly say that I would never do it again but I would be very selective about who I did it for. My sewing machine is an oldie but a goodie and I would love to have a new one but that is in the distant future right now. Maybe some day my prince charming will come along and let me just be a wife and stay home and sew and do my craft and decorating projects, maybe I could make money on the side.

Anyhoo, it was a good weekend and Emily and I went to see Hotel for Dogs, very cute and touching. Dogs were way better than the humans in the movie!

Have a great day!

GOD bless,

Lisa

SCRIPTURE FOR THE WEEK..............

May the Lord continually bless you with heaven's blessings as well as human joys.

Psalm 128:5

KICKING IT UP A NOTCH OR TWO!!!!!!

Well, finally getting my first post in for 2009. The year has gotten off with the usual start. Trying to fight off illness and so far doing a decent job of it. My biggest deal is not letting the day to day routine bring me down but keeping a positive attitude and learning to stay energetic. On that note I didn't make any resolutions but I did make a promise to myself to improve the areas of life that I can make a personal difference.

The first being improved health, I'm not in bad health but there is always room for improvement. At 47 years old, just had a birthday, I have managed to stay healthy but I prefer to keep it that way and that involves making healthier choices. Those choices mean getting back to my exercise I WAS doing which always made me feel better and look better. It also means better food options. I'm not a bad eater but here again there is always room for improvement. It's really a no brainer! We all know what to do to be healthy so 99.9% of it is self-discipline.

Another area is staying in touch with family and friends more, we can't let those days go by without telling them what they mean to you. The day will come when you won't be able too do it. Also, strengthening my relationship with Christ, this is another one of those that I can make a difference in on a personal level.

Finally, doing the things that I really want to do, like travel some, get more involved in my hobbies that I so love and seeking out more mission and ministry opportunities. It makes my heart feel so healthy to know that I was able to make a difference somewhere. I have been blessed so much that it would be a crime against God to not show him how much I appreciate all that he has blessed me with.

I'm going to leave you with this final note. Check out this site, it gives great options for coupons and advice for beating all these economy issues going on right now.

Until next time have a great day and God bless,

Lisa :)