He Doesn't need me...

I just Wanted to share something that recently happened in my life.  I have this best friend of 10+ years who had been going through A LOT and I live cross country from her.  Between my dad's health declining with ALS and my best friends life going really rough, it pains me to be so far away and unable to physical be there for them.  Of course I pray for them daily but I can't DO much this far away.  Well the last 3 weeks I was back visiting my parents and helping my mom get their new house decorated and more homey for them since they had to move 6 months ago to a place that my dad could get around in his motor chair.  While there  spending time visiting my parents I had 2 opportunities to make it over to the city where my friend lives, and it was perfect timing too because her baby was having heart surgery so I could actually be there to serve her in person and be the friend I wanted to be and show Her God's love.  

She doesn't have any type of community that would get her signed up on meals and stuff like that you may get from a play group, MOPS or church community so I wanted to stock her kitchen with lots of easy meals and whatever else I could while there.  I was very concerned about her being cared for in that way and had even considered calling a MOPs group or something near her and asking them to bless her with meals...it was a big concern for me.  I've prayed many times to The Lord to pour out His love on her over the last year so she would KNOW His love...so now I was going to show it to her by being the best friend I could.  But come the day I was to go over, my son got the flu and I couldn't leave.  My path was blocked and as I was dissapointed, I really felt that for whatever reason it was meant to be that way, so I just looked forward to my next opportunity to see her before we flew back home.  

That last day my path was continually blocked again, we had a rental car situation that my husband has NEVER had before and he rents cars all the time for work so that put a huge dent in our day getting over there.  Once we made the drive over, thing after thing caused delays and at the end if the day I was not only unable to go to the store and bring her any groceries but I ended up showing up completely empty handed...not a card or anything for her or the baby who was just released from the nicu.  All I had to offer was me and some hugs.  I was like what the heck this is sooooo opposit my plan.  But....

While I was there she shared something with me, earlier that week as my path was being blocked to come see her the first time, she had credit card fraud which, for some reason, when she purchased vitamins and a small high chair seat on amazon the vitamins went through but not the high chair even though it was the same order.  So she decided to go on her local city neighborhood Facebook swap & trade page and ask if anyone had a high chair and this woman had one that she gave her for free.  When she saw the lady's profile picture it was the symbol for the same health issue her baby was having surgery for.  When she picked up the high chair she had this weird feeling like she knew her already.  That woman then asked my friend if she could post about her situation on the Facebook page they met on anonymously and my friend was surprised but said ok.  In no time she had meals lined up for the next 3 months, people wanting to help clean house each week, people bringing loads of groceries and dinner gift cards, the outpouring of love and support...from strangers...was totally amazing.

As I left her place that night, I was driving across a long bridge that leaves the city and I felt The Lord tell me "I don't need you.  I have angels everywhere". I couldn't help but laugh!  Like I was a little offended like I've invested so much in this friendship and prayed so much for her and I wasn't able to "do" anything for her but The Lord ANSWERED those prayers and did more than I or any of the other handful of people available could have on our own.  I was just supposed to be her friend and pray for her in this situation and it taught me to trust The Lord even more because He does got it...He has angels everywhere.  It's good that we are willing to be used but He doesn't always need us to do the job that He can do better through someone else.  It was also humbling because no matter how good our intentions, we aren't going to single handedly BE God to others even if we don't realize that's what we are trying to be.  We don't need to be anxious and worry that if we can't be the ones physically being there with someone than God's going to miss them.  That he can't reach them without our involvement.

He loves His children.  He has angels everywhere and our prayers for others do more good than what we, on our own strength, can attempt to do for them.   So, while I was bummed at first He didn't want to use me in this situation to fill a need I knew was there, I am relieved to know His love and His ways far outdo whatever we can think of and so the best thing we can ever do is pray, trust The Lord with it, and move and act when God leads and inspires you to and gives you the grace to do so.  In this situation it was so obvious He was not giving me the grace to do what I thought I needed to and wanted to do, and I am so glad knowing what he was orchestrating behind the scenes meanwhile as he blocked me for now, more LOVE from more people is flowing out into the world, love from neighbors who are strangers but what a good loving father He is to pour His love on my friend with the love of people in her community and giving all those people the opportunity to love their neighbor.  

So, if The Lord tells you He doesn't need you, don't be offended...let others and continue to pray and be ready for when He does.  His ways are above our ways.  

This situation as well as my parents situation living with ALS, is a good reminder of Newton's Third Law: For every action there is an equal and opposit reaction.  In both situations of difficulty, the reaction is love and tender mercies poured out and shared by many people in their communities.  It kills me not being close to my parents as they live with ALS, but they too have received an outpouring of love, help and service from members of their community and church.  It still hurts not living closer to them but I now more fully understand....There are angels everywhere.  We can't be everywhere we may wish to be and serve those we may wish to serve but we can pray for them and be ready to serve those we are granted to grace to serve and love.  

Realigning Lives with The Way, The Truth and The Life...

Today I would like to introduce you to a local ministry called Seasons of Life.  Our friends there have both been married before and know the pain of divorce, healing, blending families, having a Godly marriage and now work full time helping to heal marriages through one on one or couple to couple discipleship to counsel individuals and couples to heal, grow and succeed in their relationships by putting Christ at the center.

When they felt the Lord calling them to full time ministry, they were obedient and jumped in trusting God for provision.  They got rid of many possessions, moved to a smaller home and live a simple, happy beautiful life serving others.  They to me are the epitome of the verse Luke 21:4 For all of these have cast in whatever excess they had into the place of God's offerings, but this one from her want has cast in everything that she owned.”  They have given everything, even their daily lives to serve the Lord by being available to serve others.  

Here is more details about what this ministry does from the website.

1. Discipleship – weekly, monthly, or quarterly meetings at least 60 minutes in length investigating 3 basic questions:

• What is God showing you in His word this week and how is it challenging you?
• What’s happened to you this week that was undeniably God?
• How can I pray for you/where are you struggling?

2. Speak Life – this is a broad category where we serve as the hands and feet of Christ through food, clothing, and personal care items distribution. But, in the past 5 years it has also extended to putting a homeless family up in an extended stay hotel, providing fuel for single moms, Christmas trees for families who would not otherwise have one, marriage retreat and youth conference sponsorships for troubled marriages and needy teens. Anywhere that a little life is needed to bridge the gap from one challenging season to another have been places God has called, equipped, and used this ministry to care for those in need.

3. That Day – A full length, one man show about a guy you might know and the judgement seat of Christ. www.thatday.info

4. Clean Slate – A half day workshop designed to develop a biblical approach to productivity.

5. Uprising – The sum total of our children’s discipleship programming and efforts to encourage home educators and promote development of a biblical worldview.

We have been to the That Day performance and it was awesome to say the least.  If you have been struggling with day to day stresses and need help with gaining that eternal perspective, watching Aarron's one man show will not only entertain and impress you with his endless characters he can play so well all at once, but will help you gain that eternal perspective that will really help with handling the day to day stuff in life with more grace, peace and wisdom.

To get an idea of what the marriage counselling looks like, you can watch "Frank & Ellie's Story" shared by Aarron from Seasons of Life Ministries below

There are so many good causes out there and this ministry is one of them and I just wanted to share because it is not one you will find when searching online for charity's or ministries to give to as it is local and small.

AND If you need help in your faith or in any of your relationships, then contact Seasons of Life Ministries, even if you are not local, I'm sure they would be more than happy to help you by phone or email.  That is what they do. :)

Babycakes Book Review

Spring almost 2 years ago we had the opportunity to go to Disneyworld for a couple days after we had reunited as a family and moved to GA...prior to that the kids and I had still been in Nebraska waiting for our house to sell while the hubby was commuting and already working down south so it was a very stressful time and we didn't have much family time for quite a while.  While down there, one of the highlights of the trip for me was going to Babycakes bakery in Downtown Disney.  I was also pregnant with my third during this time along with gluten and dairy free, so being able to walk up to an amazing bakery counter like that and get whatever I wanted was pretty much totally amazing!!!  The Babycakes donuts were awesome.  My hubby who can eat whatever agreed they were some of the best donuts he's ever had.  Not just "good for being gluten free" but actually really GOOD!  They aren't like regular donuts from a donut shop...they are more gourmet and cake-like but all in a good way.   Here is the picture I took at the time of my Babycakes donuts in the pink cake box.

Skip forward to present day, I didn't realize Babycakes had come out with a book until I saw it on my sister's (who is gluten free dairy free and now egg free) amazon wish list.  Since it was her birthday I got her that and made the donuts for her birthday to, and also the chocolate chip cookies the next day.  

This is a gluten free vegan cookbook that is simple yet awesome!  The recipes I've tried so far are so easy and turned out great.  The donuts I made for the birthday were enjoyed by all, even the family members who have no food allergies or restrictions.  

I made plain cake counts dipped in chocolate with cookie crumble topping and others with vanilla glaze coated in toasted coconut.  Only change I made was adding a but if lemon juice to the vanilla glaze because I distinctly remember the lemony flavor my donut had at Babycakes in Downtown Disney and the glaze didn't call for that so I added it in.  I can't wait to make these again and try even more recipes!   

Here's a peak at the donuts, some I left with just the chocolate or vanilla glaze in case anyone didn't want coconut or cookie crumble, but I was surprised the kids loved the toasted coconut donuts more than I expected.

So,  if you are looking for a great gluten free dairy free egg free cookbook whether it's because you're vegan or have food issues that make you require you to make good like a vegan I definitely recommend this book.

The beginning of the book is very informative and instructional as to ingredients she uses and recommends and other tips.  

I can't wait to order my own copy, my daughter already told me she wants the vanilla glazed coconut donuts for her birthday.

Framed Iron Key Wall Decor

My mom and I were trying to figure out what to put on her entryway hallway to complete the wall decor.  She had the framed "K" and the family established sign I made her a few Christmases ago but she needed something else to complete the wall, so after some tinkin' we can up with this framed iron rustic key ring mounted on burlap.  The frame was from a collage frame that we took apart, then my mom had some thin plywood stuff leftover in the garage from her kitchen renovation and so she cut that to fit the frame, then put a layer of thin quilt padding under the burlap and hot glued it  on the back.

 Then mounted the iron key hook with small screws.  We colored the heads of the screws with a black sharpie so they blend in.

 

Then hot glued around the inside edge of the frame to secure/mount the thin plank of burlap lined plywood in.  We had to glue a small strip of quilt padding to the back where the tips of the screws from the hook had poked through a little...

Then hung the large old fashioned keys on the hook and tacked down each key with a little hot glue to spread them out.

And here is the completed hallway wall...

Cheap DIY White and Turquoise Desk and Chair Makeover

Cheap White Desk and Chair

Turquoise 

DIY

Makeover

Chevron

Pottery Barn Style

Girls Room....
you ready for this?

For Christmas this year, my 7.5 year old daughter badly wanted a desk for her room more than anything.  She's starting to feel like a big girl, growing out of the princess phase and coming into a creative big girl phase where she wants a place to sit down and write, read, be creative and she needed lots of drawers to keep all her papers, note cards, and arts and craft supplies organized.  So...although she's grown out of princesses and realized the princesses at Disney are just pretending...she hasn't grown out of Santa quite yet so she asked Santa for a white desk and chair.  

I was more than happy about this request as it made it excited about reading and writing which was our biggest battle all last year...working on reading and writing.  So if she had a place that made her inspired to do those things on her own...I was all for it.  Then I started shopping for a white desk with drawers and a wooden chair to match...um....wow...Santa wasn't planning on spending $400 on one person.  So I started searching craigslist and a thrift store that is near our house regularly.  Even on craigslist, white wooden children's desks are not cheap!  I really didn't want to spend more than $100 and in my search, for like $80-100 I could get a really cheap white desk at Ikea, Target or Walmart but with no drawers...just simple white legs and top...NOT what I was looking for.  So I stayed patient and just kept looking.

One day I dropped her off at gymnastics and then popped into the thrift store and there it was...a dingy white wooden desk with lots of drawers and a wooden chair.  The paint looked nasty...like it was yellowish and a really bad paint job and the chair had really ugly flowers painted on it...but I was SO happy!  I was ready to strip and primer vintage wooden desks I had seen on craigslist that were more that this one and this one needed a lot less work since it was already white-ish.  So for $40 I got a cheap white wooden desk and chair with 7 drawers.  So I got a small can of semi'gloss white paint and home depot and the next week knobs and drawer pulls were 50% off at hobby lobby.  I found these pretty turquoise "glass" knobs and this awesome turquoise chevron drawer liner paper that was also 50% off and I was all set to go!  

My inlaws came for Christmas so while Grammie and Grampa enjoyed the kids, I was able to sneak downstairs to "Santa's Workshop" and in no time had this baby sanded, painted and put back together.  My only hiccup was I was so excited to use the power sander for the first time.  We found it in the basement when we moved in.  I started and it was AMAZING!!!!!.....for about 1 minute and then the foam pad that holds the sanding paper to the sander started to disintegrate and foam started flying everywhere.  So I had to sad the rest by hand....which wasn't a huge deal but getting the chair smooth where those ugly thickly painted flowers were took some elbow grease!  

The paint dried fast so I would paint a coat on everything, come upstairs and be with the family...then run down later and do another quick coat...it really wasn't as big a job as I thought it would be.  

So without further ado....here is the cheap DIY white and turquoise desk and chair makeover!  My daughter LOVES it and was so excited it had lost of drawers, and was even more excited when she opened the drawers and saw the pop of color inside with the turquoise chevron drawer liners.  I love it too!  

Christmas Morning!

 side note: My son got what he wanted too, a punching bag like at karate - another thrifty find....Santa got that on craigslist!  lol!  You can't tell though, someone had bought it for their kid who did karate but who didn't use it that much...plus...really...how much wear and tear is a kid going to put on a punching bag practicing their kicks and punches...they aren't that strong! lol!)  When I picked it up from the family, the mom was laughing at me and said I was hilarious I had the kids in the car and put a black garbage bag around it and told the kids we were picking up some spare tires for daddy's car. lol!  I think she also thought it was funny that I was getting a christmas gift on craigslist but seriously...he's 4.5...I don't know how long he'll like karate for...why buy a brand new one just for the sake of having it be new when this one looks brand new anyway?

 

(hubby hadn't trimmed the end of the knobs yet because we were pretty tired Christmas eve when everything was wrapped up but it's a simple thing to do)

It really pays to be thrify and put in a little elbow grease!  Even if you can afford to buy the $400+ desk from pottery barn,to me it's more fun in the end to have gone on a treasure hunt, found the right thing and then made it pretty again...I enjoy it more, plus kids stuff rarely stays nice forever anyways so when it does get dinged up, at least I have the matching paint for touch ups!  

Here is the before & after shot...I was so excited to get started I didn't remember to take a real "before" shot before getting started.  I took a these with my iphone 3 which has a horrible camera and the lack of quality actually makes the desk and chair look better than they were! lol!
The drawers also had different colored knobs with big screws in the middle....not too cute.  The sides of the desk were a mix of not full coverage white and yellowed paint with drips.

Is This the Best I Can Be

A little belated, but Happy New Years Y'all eh?!?  I guess that's what I should say since I'm a Canadian turned Southerner, can't forget where I came from!  Speaking of that, it is important to remember where we came from.  That doesn't mean we have to stay there though, dwelling in the past and clinging to whatever hold places, things, experiences. ideas and people of the past may have on us...good or bad. Clinging to a good thing in the past too tightly  or clinging to a negative for too long... To be the best we can be, is to be able to see all our experiences we've had, how they may have influenced and shaped us, but then take what's valuable towards being who you really want to be and then letting the rest go.  Forgive, Forget, Let go of ideas that hold us back from pursuing the path we feel we should go but are afraid to because it's against the grain.  Letting go of our need to please and worrying what other's will think and how we will explain ourselves.  Stop resenting where we are because maybe the past was better than the present...and just trust that you are wherever you are for a reason and to bloom where you are planted and as the seasons change, so will you.  This is all stuff I've been having to work on and learn.  A LOT.  So I'm really writing all this to myself FYI.

I pulled out some old CDs tonight trying to find something new for J to listen to and came across this old CD I  completely forgot about.  The album is Elisa, Then Come The Sun....oh wow I forgot how much I enjoy it.  Especially this song

 Just listening to it reminded me of myself and my time before becoming a mom and even as a new mom and how I envisioned things were going to be.  I'm not complaining, I am so thankful for the life I've been given, but truth is for us all, life isn't as idylic and simple as we imagined it would be, even if we have much to be thankful for, life can still get rough.  But then I just wonder...how much of that idylic vision we HAD gets washed away from our minds because of us just doing what everyone else does and not having the confidence to just do our own thing without apologies.  I know why we (I'm thinking from a mom perspective) want to do what's best, because we are always worried if we are doing what's best for our kids and in our quest to do what's best...we sometimes miss what's best, and we sometimes lose ourselves....and miss out on our full potential and our kids full potential.  

What if in our quest to be the Best we can be and do what's best for our kids...we stopped trying to be the best and do all the best things and follow all the best advice and be like our best friends, and do what the best experts say to do, be like that "best" mom we know who has the "best" kids, or the "best" husband or the "best" decor or the "best" job or the "best" school/curriculum and we just got quiet within ourselves, tap into the inspiration from the Holy Spirit and let our intuition/the Holy Spirit guide us to be the best we can be, and not be sorry about it.  We can't please everyone.  We were all uniquely created, all structures are man made...if you are finding yourself lost in life trying to keep up with it all...well...SLOW DOWN and let The One who made you grow you into the best you can be, He designed you, He knows you.  We weren't all made to do everything the same way.  We weren't all made the think the same way.  We weren't all made to learn the same way.  And we definitely weren't made to be boxed into this or that category, we were made to grow and learn continuously.  We need to be open to change and maybe doing things differently than what we are used to doing.  

I think it can be easy to miss out on the best trying to do the "best" all the time.  I guess it all goes back to the whole Mary & Martha thing.  If we are always a Martha, trying to make sure everything is the "best", we can miss out on the best thing right in front of us...in her case that was sitting, listening and resting in the presence of The LORD.  For us it is that too, as well as missing out on resting in the presence of our children, spouse or whoever, just sitting, listening, engaging without an agenda.  Enjoying our time with them and ending our day not exhausted and weary because we are too busy and putting to much on our plates thinking that's how we be the best we can be...but becoming anything but that.  I mean, If we just feel "a little over zero, is this the best we can be?"  

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one.[a] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

what can you take off your plate?  What can you do to live more simply?  Few things are needed.  Same with our kids...we get worried and upset about many thing but few are needed.  Let's not miss out on what's best trying to keep up with the "best" or what other people think is "best".  Let's break free and just live our lives, not being who other's want us to be or who we think we "should" be...but allowing God to grow you into who he designed you to be.  Give yourself and others grace and don't be afraid think outside the box...and while you're at it, get on the floor and turn that box into a fort, or space ship or car or whatever with your kids and turn it into a lesson without them even knowing it...then use the box for fire starter and you have science!

Scented Etched Wood Alphabet Montessori-Waldorf Inspired

Essential Oil Diffusing Wood Alphabet Tracing Cards

Sensory Alphabet Wood Chips

Scented Sensory Alphabet Tracing Blocks

(I'm not exactly sure what to call them so I'm coming up with lots of titles lol)

Here is a fun DIY Christmas gift I made for my kiddos.  My husband has cut down so many trees around the house I'm always wondering what else I could use the wood for besides firewood.  I'm really excited how these turned out and my older daughter asked me to make her some number ones to do math with, so I guess that's next.



I found a log about 3 inches in diameter and sliced it up with the circle saw.  Then next step would be t sand them but I didn't do that...they aren't that rough, my actually husband asked if I had sanded them because they were decently smooth...I just didn't know where any sandpaper was.
Then I just had fun free handing the alphabet on each slice with the wood burner tool.  Mine was from hobby lobby and around $7 with coupon and I don't know if there are better ones out there since this was my first time using one, but it was kinda slow.  However we had Christmas music on and the kids were playing so it was easy to just have out and do throughout the day, a letter here a letter there.

After I finished the alphabet, I poured some olive oil in a bowl and added some essential oil to it and then used a paint brush to brush the oil onto the wood slices to seal them and make them scented.  So they are like essential oil diffusing alphabet learning wood block things that are also fun to stack as blocks, I should have taken a picture of that!  I was inspired by the wooden Montessori sand paper alphabet cards, but also incorporating nature into what we do as much as possible mindset of Waldorf and Charlotte Mason.  I made the grooves of the letters as deep as I could to increase the sensory experience of tracing their finger over the letters.  Anyways, I get excited about using stuff from outside so I'm in love with these!  I had wanted to make a couple sets for Christmas gifts but I don't think I'll have time, but now I know for future gifts what to make!

My next idea for some wood is building a little tree house for Calico Critters....If it happens I'll be sure to let you know!