When it is cold outside, I can always find fun things to do inside.
For many years, I made crafts to sell to make extra money especially for Christmas. Some years things were so tight, that I used what I could find outside free for the taking to create special things. From tiny pine cones brought home by my truck driving husband who gathered them in North Carolina to the sweet gum balls from the tree in the front yard. In the fall the kids and I would gather kudzu and make everything from trees to wreaths.
I had an excellent teacher and friend in Sally Swift. She is about 10 years my senior and a gifted artist. We would spend evenings together creating. She patiently coached me through new techniques.
Since moving to Georgia, I have missed that time spent together more often that not with a hot cup of tea.
Sally continues her passion today. You can see her work at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/allthingshomey
When Mom still lived in Jacksonville, I got to see Sally more often and frequently I would leave with a shopping bag of snippets and treasures she had saved for me to use on future projects. I always felt I came home with a bit of Sally with me.
The other day I was rearranging a cabinet in the Mary Kay room and came across a jar of buttons from Sally. I couldn't help but smile.
Today I thank God for special friends. Lord, bless them for all they have poured out in the lives of others and then some.
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Thursday, December 4, 2008
A Cookie Exchange
Next Saturday I am hosting a Cookie Exchange. Today a precious friend gave me beautiful linens. Now I am old school and whether it is hot tea or hot chocolate with decadent cookies, it just taste better with real dishes and linens. It doesn't have to be fancy, but there something that makes you immediately feel like a lady when you put a damask napkin across your lap.
This is especially important if you had little ones spitting up on you all week and have barely gotten out of your sweats. It is good for our spirits to relax with friends and be pampered with those little touches.
The older I get, the more I recognize the importance of taking some "me" time so I can better a better woman in the "we" time. Admittedly when raising children, those moments may have to be arranged or even stolen from your to do list, but it is important.
When I was a single mom with three children, we used to play "HaHa."
Everyone laid on the floor with their head on someone else's stomach. The first person said, "Ha." The second one said, "Ha, ha."
Each person would add a ha until we were giggling together. Yes, it was absolutely fake in the beginning, but the more ha's we added, the more our defenses dissolved and we began to laugh together.
How did I get so caught up in surviving that I forgot how to laugh? Perhaps the key is surviving isn't really living. Surviving is a desperate attempt to do the mechanics. It doesn't rely on the Lord and usually doesn't trust anyone else either.
I remember I was once told, "You can't count on anyone but yourself and you can't count on her all of the time either."
What a lie! What a breeding ground for fear and doubt!
I so understand trials. Looking back now I can see that is through some of those trials that He has given me many heart "surgeries." Some of those trials were caused by my willful disobedience, insisting on doing it my way. As I repent for the mess, confess, He is so faithful to create a new heart within me. I want to know Him more. I want my heart to be like His. My present trial may not end on MY timetable, but when I release it to Him, He can calm the raging seas of life.
I think that "Peace, be still" is a good word not only for the storm, but my heart.
Diane
This is especially important if you had little ones spitting up on you all week and have barely gotten out of your sweats. It is good for our spirits to relax with friends and be pampered with those little touches.
The older I get, the more I recognize the importance of taking some "me" time so I can better a better woman in the "we" time. Admittedly when raising children, those moments may have to be arranged or even stolen from your to do list, but it is important.
If your spirit is broken, perhaps it is time to make your heart merry.A merry heart doeth good like a medicine. But a broken spirit drieth up the bones. Proverbs 17:22
When I was a single mom with three children, we used to play "HaHa."
Everyone laid on the floor with their head on someone else's stomach. The first person said, "Ha." The second one said, "Ha, ha."
Each person would add a ha until we were giggling together. Yes, it was absolutely fake in the beginning, but the more ha's we added, the more our defenses dissolved and we began to laugh together.
How did I get so caught up in surviving that I forgot how to laugh? Perhaps the key is surviving isn't really living. Surviving is a desperate attempt to do the mechanics. It doesn't rely on the Lord and usually doesn't trust anyone else either.
I remember I was once told, "You can't count on anyone but yourself and you can't count on her all of the time either."
What a lie! What a breeding ground for fear and doubt!
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine understanding. Proverbs 3:5
I so understand trials. Looking back now I can see that is through some of those trials that He has given me many heart "surgeries." Some of those trials were caused by my willful disobedience, insisting on doing it my way. As I repent for the mess, confess, He is so faithful to create a new heart within me. I want to know Him more. I want my heart to be like His. My present trial may not end on MY timetable, but when I release it to Him, He can calm the raging seas of life.
I think that "Peace, be still" is a good word not only for the storm, but my heart.
Diane
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