A Call For YOUR Story

Rachelle over at Seek First His Kingdom is looking for stories for a new “Women of Faith” book. Lord knows everyone here has a story…uhhh…several stories…and you’ve already shown how you can put it into words…it’s called a blog after all!

It may seem a bit probing and take you to a place of unhealed wounds, and perhaps that is where God is leading, after all it isn’t just happenstance that you came to visit here today. God has ordained each of our steps and He has called us to share our story. She invites us to email our stories and remain anonymous.

I would challenge you to submit something to this and whether it makes it into the book or not…perhaps it will give you an opportunity to purge your soul or offer a hand of friendship to another woman who is lost on her own journey.

Pray about it…see what God says about it!


I have one more bit of news and a challenge perhaps. Jules at Maced With Grace introduced me to this guy named “onionboy" who has this “30-Faces Project” challenge going. There is a link in the new sidebar off to the right.

I’ve tried the Nanowrimo challenge in the past. I didn’t complete it. Frankly it overwhelmed me and freaked me out a bit. However…I know I can draw 1 face a day for the month of November.

All this to say if you come over and see freakish-ly out of proportion faces that resemble an 8 year old rendition of a comic book character…it’s just ME doing my November challenge. I’m not sure if they’re going at the top of bottom of my posts…but they’ll be there…each day in November!

Have a Tuesday happy endings are made of…

Dandelions For The Father

"Like the proud mother who is thrilled to receive a wilted bouquet of dandelions from her child, so God celebrates our feeble expressions of gratitude." Richard Foster~

Dandelions For The Father

There are some days when I walk slowly to His throne. I am a child seeking refuge and I bring my dandelions…wilted and bent at the death grip with which I have carried them. I lay them down at His feet with my minimal thanks.

I almost forgot them while I was distracted at the playground. At the last moment I remembered I was on my way somewhere…so I sail off the swing and pick up the weakened ‘flowers’ and carry them on their short journey.

“Thanks Dad.” I offer half-heartedly in the hand off.

His smile beams at me and I am usually surprised at His obvious pleasure.

Some days my gratitude-attitude isn’t what it should be. I find myself struggling to ‘accentuate the positive’. I can’t find the words to ‘rejoice in my struggles’ and have all but forgotten how to ‘consider it all joy when I encounter various trials’…I catch myself barely thanking God for the blessings and RARELY thanking God for the trials. There are some days I can’t even remember WHY I brought the dandelions to begin with.

Yet…I can feel God’s smile on me as I humbly bring these dandelions to Him over and over again.

And then the most amazing thing happens…my dandelions are returned to me…in the form of beautiful and glorious roses! They are the most fragrant, beautiful, soft, lovely flowers in His garden and He gives them to me.

“For ME?” I asked in surprise each time this happens.

That is the moment, in His light and under His smiling and watchful eyes; when He takes my gift, my offering of thanks (no matter how small and seemingly insignificant) and He turns it into something fit for a KING! It is at THAT exact moment…when he RECEIVES my tiny offering of gratitude and He returns it to me a HUGE and glorious blessing…that I begin to comprehend the measure of His love.

“See you later Dad!” I tell him as I run off to put the treasured roses in their waiting vase.

Homemade With Love #2

I shared last Monday that I was going to post for four weeks every Monday on different Homemade projects to use for gifts or just to create.

This week I’m going to share the Angel Earrings I wrote about previously that my mother and I are making and a craft from several years ago that was very popular…the “Decoupage” plates.

Decoupage Plates: Here are the supplies you need: 1 clear glass plate or platter with fairly simple lines (works best); ModPodge (decoupage medium available at Wal-Mart, Hobby Lobby, even Hardware Stores); and a piece of fabric (the most ‘showy’ plates are made with fabrics with a gold, silver or metallic thread somewhere in them. I chose a Christmas themed fabric for this project. You will also need an older newspaper to do the ‘dirty’ work on.

Cut the fabric in a large circle big enough to cover the plate and have an extra inch or two of fabric hanging over. Then lay the fabric face down on the back of the plate and pour ½ of cup or so of the ModPodge on the fabric and start spreading it around. Yes I ‘spilled’ the ModPodge on my work surface…that’s one reason why you want the paper down!

I use my hands to spread the ModPodge around. I love the feel of this “white glue” beneath my fingers, but you can also use a large paint brush to spread it around. You want to be sure and smooth the glue all over the plate and down to the very edge; pushing down the bottom edge onto the surface you are doing it. Keep working the ModPodge around and get air bubbles out as they will distort your finished product.

*It’s okay if the plate ‘seems’ glued down to the paper. Leave it to dry and when dry to clear, cut the edge of the fabric/paper off the plate (this one took approximately 2 hours to dry). Then cut close to the plate all the way around and VOILA’ the finished plate.

It’s beautiful to give homemade cookies on, wrapped in cellophane and a pretty ribbon (of course) or just hang up on a plate hanger or use a plate stand, as I have in the picture. It must be hand washed, and if you ‘hate’ your finished product, the fabric will peel off.

The second project is the angel earrings.

Here are the supplies:

2 teardrop beads (pearl or any color)
2 round beads (for the head)
2 ‘rondelles’ or flat beads for halos (gold or silver)
2 wings (gold or silver)
2 earring wires
1 set earrings

Pliers to cut wires and round pliers to make ring for earring.

I order almost all my beading supplies through http://www.firemountainbeads.com/ only because they are FAST at delivery (will be at your home within 2 days including Saturday orders) and they are the least expensive that I’ve found for my supplies.

Place the teardrop bead, the wing, the round bead, the flat disc on the wire (in that order) and cut and bend it to round to hang from the earring. Attach to the earring and VOILA’…the angel earrings. These cost approximately $2.00 to make. The wings are the most expensive thing and they are $1.34 per pair.


There you are…2 more Homemade With Love projects for your library!

Have a wonderful and creative Monday!

I Wish I Could

I have this personality (don’t we all…LOL…it’s pretty bad when you can’t even finish your own sentences without your smart-alec brain taking over…)…anyway I have this personality that draws some people to me with their innermost thoughts and feelings and hurts and pains. I don’t begrudge it at all! It’s so much a part of who I am.

I love people and care deeply for them. I want people to experience wholeness and healing (in every sense of the word) and reconciliation to not only the Father but to themselves. It’s one of the reasons I considered Art Therapy as a degree so many years ago.

What dawned on me at that time (thankfully) is I get far too emotionally invested in these people to be an effective counselor. Over the years I’ve done better to pray about it and somewhat “let it go”, but it still haunts my brain, heart, dreams, ultimately my life.

On the heels of a ‘poetic’ week between Chapter Chat (the online book study I’m involved in), my own humble poetic offerings, and a friend coming to ‘vent’ and seek advice about a pending divorce, I close this weeks posting with this…

I Wish I Could
By: kpjara

I wish I could heal your hurt,
I wish I could seal the pain.
I wish I could bear your tears,
I wish I could remove the stain.

I wish I could show you tomorrow,
I wish I could offer you more.
I wish I could gather your anger,
I wish I could release your eagle to soar.

I wish I could give you a mirror,
I wish I could have you look inside,
I wish I could see your expression,
I wish I could watch the turning tide.

I wish you could hear the Father whisper,
I wish you could see the Father’s face,
I wish you could feel His arms around you,
I wish you could understand his incredible grace.

I pray you will hear my heart,
I pray you will see His love,
I pray you will open your soul
I pray you will receive the dove.

Have a wonderful weekend and I pray you see God’s hand move this weekend!

Not Much, But it's All I've Got

I Love To Blog
By: kpjara

I love to blog, there is no doubt,
I LOVE TO BLOG, I want to shout.

Some days I have lots to say,
Other days words just won’t play.

Words are here, Words are there,
Words are ‘literally’…everywhere!

I read the writing in my home,
I read the writing while on my phone.

I cannot stop it, no I can’t.
I cannot quit the bloggers’ chant.

Even when my fingers cramp,
Even when I have no lamp.

I will write here, yes I will
I will write here, it’s no drill.

The words they come, the words they go,
The words they grow and grow and GROW!

I have so many words inside,
They cannot find a place to hide.

I will put them here and there,
I will put them in the blog-o-sphere!

Happy Seuss-day!

Rave Reviews!

#1 ~ Some time ago Shalee did a product review of these
And I commented about it and lo’ and behold I received an email from a firm in NY offering a trial of this product. Of course I coyly…said “ABSOLUTLEY! Send those puppies out!”

The very nice women did and I received them Fed-Ex in 1 day. I have used them ever since and in all likelihood will never use anything else. They are THAT good. I really am one of those people who wash dishes before I wash dishes….sort of like the person who cleans their house BEFORE the maid gets there…? I never understood that one, but then I don’t have a maid…too embarrassed to let anyone see that much dust accumulation in a house.

Anyway, I tried these, and tried them, and tried them…waiting for their failure. They never failed. The only food debris it didn’t clean completely was melted cheese on a plate. I had to wash that a bit, but we let our dishes sit in the dishwasher until it’s full and with two people it can take a week sometimes to fill it up. I put these bad boys to the test and they came out with flying colors! What they say is true. You don’t even have to rinse the dishes off, just put them directly into the dishwasher and watch them come out sparkling clean.

Give them a try! They are wonderful!


#2 ~ My mom asked me a random question this past weekend. She asked: “Isn’t one of your favorite books of the Bible Esther?”

“Yes, actually it is.” I replied.

“Well…there is a new movie out we should go see based on the book of Esther.” She said.

So, last night we headed over to one of the two theaters where it is showing and saw “One Night With a King”. It was incredible.

I must say I don’t typically like ‘period pieces’. I will also say (to all the legalists out there, LOL) that there IS some story adjustments added for what I imagine is Hollywood-ization of the story. In my opinion it didn’t affect the experience. The actress that played Esther did an incredible job of playing an educated, beautiful, spirited young woman, who also loves God with all her heart.

“Uncle Mordecai” (one of those changes…he was actually a cousin), also gave quite a performance. Hegai, the Kings eunuch almost stole the show. He has some one-liners in there that had me laughing out loud! The relationship between Esther and Hegai was something I hadn’t thought this much about. The EVIL Haman sent chills down my spine. King Xerxes was, in a word, a HOTTIE…and of course a wonderful actor. The whole show was wonderful.

The filming was unique and creative. The costumes were elaborate and beautiful. Even the make-up and landscape were perfect. It’s a definite must see and I won’t spoil the ending for you…because of course you’ve all read the story of Esther…she DOES live happily ever after!

#3 ~ Today is Wednesday, October 25, 2006! Pablo Picasso was born today in 1881 as was Minnie Pearl, in 1912.

And for a bit of Mid-Week humor…

Real newspaper headlines
These are actual newspaper headlines gathered from papers across the United States and world.
March Planned For Next August
Blind Bishop Appointed To See
Lingerie Shipment Hijacked--Thief Gives Police The Slip
L.A. Voters Approve Urban Renewal By Landslide
Patient At Death's Door--Doctors Pull Him Through

True stupid stories 01
Really Stupid People Police in Wichita, Kansas, arrested a 22-year-old man at an airport hotel after he tried to pass two (counterfeit) $16 bills.

Steven Wright one-liner
Last week I bought a new phone. I took it out of the box, hooked it up to the wall... Pressed redial. The phone had a nervous breakdown.


I pray you see the humor in your day today! Happy Wednesday!

Learning To Let Go

I had one of those “duh” moments yesterday. I would say “AHA” moments but really, I’m almost embarrassed to admit it, it’s such a no-brainer.

You know that expression “Let Go, and Let God!” I’ve ALWAYS struggled with this lesson and just thought it was because I was a slow learner (which I know I’m not), or it didn’t apply to me (which I know it does). What I’ve found was a bit surprising (which it shouldn’t be).

I’m at my desk on Monday morning after a heart-wrenching conversation with my sister. She is walking through an abyss right now…in the name of marriage. If I may borrow from a relatively famous musical: “she is the very model of a modern major general”…in the Lord’s army, anyway. So to see her suffer as she travels through this process is really tough.

She’s my little sister. She’s the one God brought for me to help care for. She’s the one that is supposed to have guidance from her older sister so that she doesn’t have to experience the same pains.

Yet she aches. She aches with such intensity I cannot even fathom it. She aches openly and vividly. She aches in Technicolor. My body nearly shuts down just at the sound of this pain. I can’t help her. I don’t have the tools or the words. I CAN and DO pray. Somehow it feels a bit lacking. Does that mean I lack faith? I don’t think so. Somehow, words don’t always seem enough, even to God above, when someone aches so deeply. It’s as though to leave it in HIS capable, mighty hands is somehow releasing my own self-offering of strength and power. Yes, I know it’s what He wants, but it is so difficult to speak a few words and trust God to ‘deal’. To trust that His will is what is best for me…or for my sister. TO trust that no matter what the outcome, He’s got her ‘back’, better than I ever could.

I WANT to act. I want to act on behalf of her. I want to destroy the destroyer. I want to scream at the very top of my lungs (and I just may do this…privately). I want to shake my fists at this enemy. I want to throw things and hear them break. I feel a swelling of anger…to the point of barely contained rage.

Today I was reminded and I am TRYING to let go and let GOD! Because ultimately I know He is the sovereign God. He is the mighty warrior. He is our defender. He is our counselor. He is our fortress. He is our conqueror. He is our Father.

Watch out enemy, Dad’s here!

Have a Tuesday full of realized potential with God at the helm and pray, pray pray!

Homemade With Love #1

Monday, 10/23/06, is the day GiBee has called us to pull all our Homemade gift ideas together (I know I’m a day early, but I wanted to add the pictures at home tonight). I’m such a craft-a-holic that I’m taking it 1 step further. For the next four Mondays I am posting homemade gift ideas previously used or being used this year and I WILL include the angel and snowman earrings!

My darling husband has a HUGE family. Nine years ago, when I told him I wanted a small intimate wedding and he sprung on me that his immediate family included 72 people…I knew I was in for a major change. He has 14 aunts and uncles on either side and 4 sisters. Not to mention a mother, step-mother and grandmothers on both sides. Suffice to say, the pressure to come up with creative and inexpensive ideas is sometimes stifling.

Thankfully it’s also one of my favorite challenges each year. For the past 10 years we’ve come up with different ideas for homemade gifts for the group of them. The first year they received simple decoupage baskets filled with my husband’s annual contribution of Biscochito cookies. The year we married, they all received crosses like these. We made a total of about 25 of these things. One year it was scarves…just something homemade each year.
This year half of the aunts and uncles are receiving ‘inspiration frames’ like these.

They are fairly easy to construct. I purchased multiple frames at a fabric store at the end-of-season sale last year for .40 each. They are fairly nondescript fabric frames but quite striking when embellished (I'll include a couple I've completed next Monday). The embellishments I also typically pick up at end-of-season sales or garage sales through the spring and summer. The paper I’m using primarily is a Christmas toile’ that I picked up at an end-of-season sale last year. It is reversible with one side red and beige and the other side a black/white Christmas toile’.

I have lots of paper options as I scrapbook and collect unique papers. Here are some that I've used or could use this year for a less 'holiday-ish' frame. I picked this rather ornate frame (to the right) up at a "Ross" store here in town last year for about $1.50 or less. I'm a big 'bargain' hunter (translation: somewhat thrifty AKA: cheap) which probably helps my cause.

For the Christmas frames, I choose a quote or poem to print on clear paper or sticker paper and add it and other stickers, etc to the picture. I then embellish the outside with a recycled ornament or some fun fringe I have on hand.

They are really quite fun to make and not very time consuming and you can do one for $1.50-$3.00 on average. I also love to wrap each gift in a unique manner, but I'll include that on my final Homemade Monday post in November.

Let me know if you’re participating! I can’t wait to see all the ideas. Have a creative and inspired Monday!

On Fruit...

I was taking a break yesterday and I had a banana, an apple, and some yogurt to choose from. Nothing seemed that appealing (no pun intended), but I went with the banana first. When it comes to bananas I like just barely yellow-almost green stage. Once they are bruised…they become banana bread or go to my husband who prefers them very ripe….blechhhhhhh!

I guess I should let you know that I love fruit BUT…I’m very picky about it. I handle, sniff, press, and do everything short of actually tasting the fruit prior to making my choices. We’re at the time of year when the selections are dwindling and you have to be careful about the ‘summer fruits’ because they probably won’t have the same flavor/taste as they would in peak season.

I peel open my pleasingly perfect-to-the-eye banana. It’s got just the right amount of resistance as I peel the skin back. I break off a part of the banana and take a bite. It seems a bit TOO hard…TOO new. I take another bite and sure enough it’s just not ready yet. Bummer dude!

I throw the poor ‘baby banana’ away and decide to have my yogurt. I open the container. It’s the ‘Yoplait Light, Mixed Berry’. I’m a bit picky about yogurt too and suffice to say it wasn’t ‘hitting it’ today, so I discarded it after two bites.

Now I’m down to the apple and I had a Macintosh and Granny Smith at home and I brought my favorite…the Granny Smith. I love their tart crisp taste. I decided not to cut it…rather just take a bite and eat it whole.

SOURRRRRRRRRR! Yikes…too sour…more sour than usual and unacceptable. I also realize I had to bite really hard to actually get the taste I had. At first taste, I thought perhaps it was due to the lingering yogurt sweetness, but upon a second bite that thought is dispelled. It’s too young and hard still. It was probably picked early to ripen in the store and it apparently arrived to close to the picking time. Bummer dude!

Now I go back to my office to finish my coffee and lament my snack-lack with another hour and a half till lunchtime. Good grief!

I thought that perhaps I should ease my fruit selection process and select some bruised or ‘aged’ fruit as it may be more ready to eat. I’ve had (what I consider) overdone bananas in the past and they are very sweet…albeit too soft for my palate, but very, very sweet to taste. I also thought of the ‘older’ Granny Smiths and how much easier they are to consume. They may have some dings and bruises, but they have that perfect combination of sweet/sour that I love.

Then it dawned on me what God was trying to teach me in that fruity lesson.

We are the fruit of His vine. When we are too young and immature, our fruit is not READY. It takes months, sometimes years to be grown to the sweetness that is maturity. Only then can we be consumed and appreciated and give back to the vine, our seed.

God reminded me in my own ‘dream’ that I am just now coming to the point of maturity when I am ‘ripe enough’ to move to the next stage. He reminded me to be aware of the immature fruit that are trying to pass themselves off as ripe. They may appear ready externally, but just like the grocery store, their looks are deceiving. They are still hard inside, with little give. They must be matured and softened. I must be matured and softened!

He also reminded me to be weary of the OVERLY ripe fruit. The fruit that has been hanging on the vine for dear life, for so long, that the minute you lay a finger on it, it falls to pieces. It has hung on the vine for too long and has now outlived any usefulness. Sounds a bit harsh, but truly we’ve all had overly ripe fruit…it ferments on the vine and threatens to kill the remainder of the vine unless it is pruned away. When consumed, the fermented fruit makes us drunk and distracts from our purpose.

God wants us ripe, mature…but He also wants us to produce and to bear more fruit…to provide life…rather than waiting for life to be provided, as it passes by.

I may not be as PRETTY as the young fruit appears on the outside, but it’s what’s on the inside that matters…trust me…trust HIM! And I refuse to hang on that vine when He has called me to go bear more fruit. I won’t become fermented and unusable!

Praise GOD! My fruit is almost ready!

Are you craving a piece of fruit now? Have a wonderfully fruity Friday!

Half-Life

‘Perhaps Strength doesn’t reside in having never been broken…but in the courage required to grow strong in the broken places.’

I saw this in a catalogue, on a plaque and it is such a large part of where I am in my journey right now. I wish I could find who said/wrote it. I did a search but came up empty (other than other blogs/xangas/etc).

I don’t feel ‘broken’ but I do see how God is beginning to use the courage it took/takes to endure and grow strong in the brokenness of my own life. Every time I try to put to logical sentences what my heart is processing it becomes distorted and skewed from the original meaning.

I sat in church on Sunday and wrote a poem while waiting to start…let’s see if it makes any more sense. I honestly haven’t looked at it since Sunday but somehow I feel prompted to include it here.

Half-Life
By: kpjara

Dead and dying walk the earth
Seeking, searching for their very worth

It seems elusive so distant and so far
They sustain themselves wishing on a far away star

Even now the Father calls them near
To lay it all down…the worry and the fear

Strength and Courage are theirs from God
But Pride & Hatred becomes their sod

God loves with passion uncompared
And yet they stumble aimless and unprepared

Every day they seek to fill their empty soul
Waiting for the moment they will one day become whole


I find myself more and more often feeling nudged towards purpose and utilizing the gifts God has given me. Instead of wrapping myself in doubt and self-criticism…I really want to find a way to just walk towards the goals I am sure God has set, and let go of this half-life that it seems I’ve set myself to living.

So…in the midst of that…the poem came and then the women I prayed with…and then last night I was selecting a ‘light read’ for bedtime and I grabbed a book my sister has been driving me crazy to read for…gosh….a couple of years. I hadn’t read it. I don’t know why. I suppose I always had other ‘reads’ ahead of it…and it seemed a bit ‘fluffy’ to me (based on the intro and jacket). SO I pull it off the shelf and lo’ and behold its dealing with my exact angst.

I know you’re dying to know what it is…and I’ll share the title with you but let me just preface by saying I haven’t completed it yet…but I will probably finish it tonight or tomorrow…so I don’t have a formal review, just thoughts and a real desire to dive in and finish it.

Any guesses?

It’s The Dream Giver by Bruce Wilkinson. I told you it’s an old read. I almost feel like I’m the last one in the world to read it, but even so, I’m sure it’s in the timing God had allotted for me to ‘find it’.

If you’ve read it you know what I mean by this statement: “I feel like if I go to pick up my feather from the window-sill, it will be nothing but dust.” If you haven’t read it…suffice to say my God-given gifts are laying waste while I ‘decide’ how to implement His dream for my life. Or better worded…how I try to re-write the script He has already written for me. That’s what it feels like anyway.

I’m not saying that my current ‘occupation’ (and I use that term extremely loosely) is a wash…because God has been dealing with my serious pride issues for well over 5 years now (at least as I receive it). He has also been preparing me and ‘aging’ me like a fine wine…and molding me and just grooming me in preparation for what I think is very much at hand…and very soon from the life-cues I’m being given!

What does all that cryptic talk mean? I don’t know, in full. I do know this…I am standing in a hallway with many doors to choose from and God is shining His light on the one He would like me to pass through…question is…will I? and how many OTHER doors must I pass through before I finally succeed in following Him?

Have a Thursday blessed with dreams from the One True Dream Giver!

Ramblin' Snapdragon?

It seems there was a song…Ramblin’ Rose…do you recall? When I Google it…it shows Nat King Cole as the artist. It’s totally unrelated…but then this whole post is nothing but random rambling (I took the advice of this friend)…so maybe it actually is related.

I had to change MY title to Ramblin’ Snapdragon because of this little test I took. Have you done it? Which FLOWER are you? This was mine.


You Are a Snapdragon: Mischief is your middle name, but your first is friend. You are quite the prankster that loves to make other people laugh.”

I am a Snapdragon What Flower Are You?

At first I thought…cool! I like that flower…it’s different and it makes me laugh the way you can push it’s ‘jaw’ and make it laugh or talk. I remembered seeing sites that describe what flowers ‘mean’ so I surfed over to a site…and the snapdragon apparently means “deception” “gracious lady” and “strength”.

As I traveled to other ‘flower meaning sites’ looking for a BETTER answer; the one shared word was always deception! WHAT! So I suppose I’ll accept the translation above…mischievous, a prankster that loves to make other people laugh…as long as you’re not ALWAYS laughing AT me.

Now go find out your flower too! I’ll expect to read your ‘finds’.

I also took another test. It’s the “What’s Your Theological Worldview?” It was interesting and I wasn’t the least bit surprised by my ‘rating’.

You scored as Emergent/Postmodern. You are Emergent/Postmodern in your theology. You feel alienated from older forms of church, you don't think they connect to modern culture very well. No one knows the whole truth about God, and we have much to learn from each other, and so learning takes place in dialogue. Evangelism should take place in relationships rather than through crusades and altar-calls. People are interested in spirituality and want to ask questions, so the church should help them to do this. Emergent/Postmodern 57% Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 54% Classical Liberal 50% Modern Liberal 50% Neo orthodox 46% Charismatic/Pentecostal 36% Roman Catholic 29% Fundamentalist 14% Reformed Evangelical 11% What's your theological worldview? created with QuizFarm.com

While I'm posting random ramblin...I also realized I didn’t share any details about our craft show so I’ll do some of that now…the most popular items at our craft show were….drumrolllll please……………

#3: The miniature tiara I bought at Hobby Lobby (a Christmas Ornament that was ½ off). They are darling. They have a small one (the one I picked up) which is about 4” across and they have one about 6” across as well.

#2: I also picked up these little miniature parlor chairs that have animal print seats (also ½ off Christmas Ornaments from Hobby Lobby) to set our business cards in….they were well handled and inquired about.

#1: But…the most popular item was the large diamond ring paperweight (SSSHHH: I also went ahead and ordered the keyring for my niece and it's like a smaller version of that GIANT diamond paperweight) that I actually got for my sister for Christmas (I don’t think she’s been in the blogdom lately…so I think I’m safe posting this)…she loves blingy things and it SCREAMED her name and it was only like $10.00 at ABC distributing. I’m not exaggerating when I say that every single person that approached our table handled this little treat. Probably 10 asked how much it was…and all were disappointed to learn it was not for sale, nor was it a bracelet as many suspected.

Mothers’ be proud. Many an up and coming daughter stated proudly: “this is the kind of engagement ring I want, Mommy!” Those mothers walked away proud of the high standards their own offspring had set for matrimony, though also laughing internally I’m certain. One more mature mother stated her daughter had initially stated the same thing…but had settled for the exact opposite. I reminded her love was way more important than money and she scoffed at me (out loud!) and headed off.

The people proclaiming it to be a bracelet did try to put it on…I’m thinking that point would hurt pushing down onto the top of your wrist…but I just suppressed my giggles and explained it was a paperweight and just for ‘show’. They weren’t happy. I was initially worried someone might steal it, but trust me it would have blinded them on their attempted flight.

The most popular item actually ‘sold’ was the angel earrings my mother made. They really are darling and if I ever remember I’ll post a pic of these earrings. If I don’t get the pics done soon…our web page should be complete by the end of October!

My brother (pastor turned writer and techy), is the REAL computer guru who will be implementing the initial webpage. Okay…in fairness he actually implemented it when he was out in the spring…but it’s lacking pictures and an order form…so it was just the bones and I willingly admit I’m not HTML fluent…so it has sat for months…waiting for his expertise and ease with all hardware and software things.

I’m about half way caught up at work, which isn’t too bad actually. The days are still flying by…it’s already Wednesday and I’m off in my quest to get this work down to a manageable pile by Friday!

Have a Wednesday that blooms with beauty!

Moving Onward...Not Alone

______________________________
Tuesday, October 17th
_______________________

"It doesn’t matter what is behind you as much as it matters who is beside you."

~ Ellen ~"Laced with Grace"

Every once in awhile I turn my head and look back to where I’ve just come from. I can’t see that far, my pace is swift and ever increasing. What I see is sometimes pleasant and sometimes…well…not so pleasant. We all have these experiences and memory stones in our lives and many times we take a long hiatus at one of these stepping stones.

I’ve done it. I’ve turned…just for a brief moment. Next thing I know, I find myself pulled, even lulled back to an event; good or bad. I have even attempted to step back into the event and retrace the history if it was unsettling or just to re-experience the joy, if it was happy.

It takes me a moment to realize…it’s a memory now…I can’t physically change that memory any more than I can relive it. It will continue to impact my journey as I allow it to, sometimes to the point of impeding or misdirecting me, but it is only a memory.

That point…of total recall, is the exact moment when I look to my left (because after all, I’m left handed…we always look to the left 1st) and standing there, next to me, WITH ME, is another.

Sometimes it’s a friend, someone I’ve known for a very long time and has traveled this journey

with me from what seems to be the beginning. Other times, it’s a new friend, one who I’ve only known a brief time but has quickly taken stride with me on this journey. Often it’s family; my husband, sister or another family member encouraging me onward.

Even when it SEEMS I am marching along in solitude, I am not alone. One of the greatest gifts of my own salvation is the assurance, absolute, utter assurance that I am NEVER alone. I do not walk alone. I do not decide alone. I do not turn alone. I am always enveloped and held…and that is a priceless gift.

Even in times when I begin laying the bricks to the walls that surround me (in self-protection of past, present and future), I sense my helper, the friend, my Father standing beside me, urging me towards His path. We will step out together, from behind that wall and continue together through this life.

The living GOD, creator of the Universe and everything in it, is beside me always and that matters FAR more than whatever is behind me now.

Actual Wisdom Spoken

We’ve all been here…my back up was deathly ill last week and missed the entire week of work. So you can imagine what 5 days of accounts receivable and physician posting, along with phone calls and internal computer issues might look like.

I am taking a brief intermission from the ‘piles’ to share a funny story with you.

My husband calls to see if I’ve got my ‘head above water’ and I tell him about the back up and ask if perhaps he’d like to go live on some island like the really bad movie of the 80’s??? “The Blue Lagoon”.

This was his response….

“Yeah…I’d like to live at the Blue Lagoon…as long as they had wireless internet.”

So I added…

“And an ice maker!”

He responded…

“If they have wireless internet…they’ll have an ice-maker.”

And so continues the daily grind in Oklahoma on this journey (8 weeks left) towards graduation…filled with fun and frolic daily!

Pressing on...

Refueling My Faith

Back to work tomorrow and while I’m rested…I dread going in to what I’m sure is several days work. The price of vacation…worth it still!

The craft show was not wonderful from a business standpoint, but taught us valuable lessons about the show ‘circuit’ and various ‘hints’ about these shows. The bigger event we’re doing is actually in November, I’m hopeful we’ll have a decent showing then.

In somewhat related news: My husband and I watched some movies last night. One of them was “Click” with Adam Sandler. It had poor sales at the box-office and frankly it is not among my top HALF of favorite movies…but it did offer an important life lesson about something I routinely struggle with.

The movie reminded me that to try to ‘fast forward’ through the routine, dull, or painful things in life; is ultimately eternally detrimental. I thought again about how I wish my weeks away so it can be the weekend and I’m not sitting at my workplace BORED TO TEARS, or worse yet, struggling with some inane policy implementation. This movie reminded me that each experience in our life has purpose and to ‘wish it away’ or not fully live in that moment is only cheating me.

Add to that realization something happened today in church…I’ll share what I can. I don’t know if I’ve shared recently what’s happening with me…and church. In the words of a ‘retro-country song’; “I’ve lost that lovin’ feeling”.

It’s not that I don’t LOVE my pastor and the people in my church…cause I do! Truly…madly…love these people. It’s this awkward feeling I get when I feel the Spirit of God moving…and want to shout or clap or express something and I glance up to a congregation that seems absolutely satisfied in their silent worship and private note-taking without expression. Usually I just clench my eyes closed and let the Spirit guide me…but it’s taking a toll on me.

I have been struggling many Sundays just to get up and GO to church. I’ve disengaged from the women’s group (to an extent), and am not involved in members’ meetings, or outreach activities. (I feel like I’m writing a Dear Abby letter here…so bear with me…it gets better…I promise).

I’m struggling just reading the Word of God regularly. Initially I thought it was related to the whole “god of church” thing I posted about a week or two ago…but now I realize it’s much worse….It’s an attitude issue.

I didn’t want to go this morning but I hear this famous quote in my head that I know you’re familiar with: “Be the change you want to see in others.” Plus I watched this incredible Pastor on television, that I try to watch each Sunday, and he preached about this very issue…the loss of passion in people. He preached about Joshua and Caleb and Jericho. He talked about how Joshua had to endure through what seemed a ludicrous idea to defeat Jericho and He did it with total FAITH!

Side note: Thank you Lord for teaching me again and again through these stories of faith.

So…I’m sitting in church and Pastorman has changed the format and preaches first…and worship and singing are the end of the service…different, but effective. It’s getting near the end and he tells us all to pray that God would reveal to us any ‘idols’ we’re placing above Him and to go and pray about it and just get ‘right with God’. He tells us to find someone to pray with if we need to, and then worship God.

Remember a long, long time ago I posted about a woman I needed to call and check on cause I hadn’t seen her in forever. BTW, I did call and email her but never could touch base with her in person or on the phone. Anyway…I’m standing there singing, I glance over her way thinking…I wonder if I’ll ever get to spend some time with her…and lo’ and behold she came to get me to pray with her.

We went across the hall to a ‘prayer room’ and we visited about her situation and I shared with her about my own lack of passion and God having to break some serious pride off me lately…and we promised each other to practice what AA teaches about accountability and to call one another any time (day or night) when we’re struggling…with the pride issues, or the walls we have built and refuse to remove.

I went back to my seat feeling so loved by God. That He would still choose to use me, even amidst my own self-absorption. God reminded me that no matter where we are…even when we don’t even want to be in church…He will use us. No matter what our own ‘issue’ is…He will use us exactly where we are…if we allow Him room and a heart.

I thanked this woman and told her she was sent directly from God and I mean that. It isn’t always easy for women to be honest about exactly where we are and this woman excels in this open honesty. I know part of it is we’re much alike in temperament, but the bigger part of it is God…He chose to use this woman, this moment, to remind me to “be still and KNOW He is God.”

Have a FAITH-filled Monday and see how God uses you!

Not So Fair...Vanity

I’ve felt a bit bombarded by all things ‘vain’ this week. A part of that could be in working with beautiful beads and crystals as we continue to prepare for this weekend’s show. A part of it is also related to the extreme amounts of television I’ve watched this week.

I imagine this is where I’ll lose over 50% of you…and that’s okay. To each his/her own. I watch television. I watch some really mindless, totally stupid television programming. It’s called ENTERTAINMENT. No apologies. The truth is I’m not always looking for hyper-stimulation of my brain and I don’t always want to get thrown into a book which will pull me away from anything or anyone until complete…that’s the way I’m wired.

So a 30-60 minute mindless viewing doesn’t hurt me and actually (usually) offers me laughter and distraction for a time. One thing I will say is the television programming offered during the day, specifically talk shows, really disturb me. Not the entertaining ones…but the ‘stars’ who are spouting their own opinions and judgment on National Television for their fans to hear and ‘side with’. It bothers me.

I’m one of those people who are bothered by actors or actresses or sports stars who don’t realize the impact of their…much…publicized actions. I don’t feel sorry for them. They chose the life they have. I don’t expect perfection, but I do expect a tempering of what is said for the whole world to hear.

Ironically that doesn’t have anything to do with why I’m writing this (you know how I ramble). I have a love-hate relationship with the new uber-popular show “Ugly Betty”. You may remember I posted a not-so-nice review of “The Devil Wears Prada”. I didn’t like the way the movie played into the already over publicized goal of thin-to-anorexic/bulimic diet goals of most public people. When a woman who is a size 4-6 is considered “fat”…I have a problem with that message. SO…I was guardedly concerned about the message of “Ugly Betty” which at first glance seemed to be a sitcom based on that movie.

What I’ve found is good and bad (as with all things on earth). The good is that Betty isn’t an idiot. She isn’t lazy and worthless…nor are her less-‘ugly’ co-workers. She makes mistakes, as does everyone. She is capable and bright. She is sometimes dismissed because she doesn’t appear to ‘know’ fashion, and she works in that industry.

The bad is how they make her appear ‘buffoon-ish’ at times. She continues to dress without regard to color or style. I just don’t ‘buy it’. I don’t believe a young woman who supposedly loves this magazine would dress completely against this ‘flow’ if she has been a subscriber for as long as they imply. I think it also ‘sells’ the idea that you can either be pretty or smart.

With that in mind I will probably watch it until I am certain it is yet another program aimed at convincing America that ugly = what the network honchos decide.

Have a Thursday surrounded in beauty…beauty God brings to and through YOU!

4-Word, 4-Friends

Sally over at Eternal Echoes has also tagged me with a word Meme that is much like the “Meaning” Meme, but it is called 4-Words, 4-Friends…I love words, I love friends…so I’m going to double-post today and include this Meme. WOW! 2 Meme’s in 1 day! I am truly blessed!

Truth: My mind immediately travels to “ABSOLUTE TRUTH” which while elusive, is also freeing. To be able to DEFINE absolute truth would imply to me knowledge that I am yet to attain. I have reached a point in my journey to recognize Absolute Truth is something gained through God’s wisdom to each of us and perhaps completely individually. It is also ‘distributed’ at God’s discretion.

Ordinary: This word reminds me that God created us each to be EXTRAordinary. We are a called to be a reflection of Him…His glory which will never be ordinary. To accept the ordinary in our lives is to give in to sin and to give up on hope.

Prayer: My personal communication and direct line to God!

History: I think about my own personal history and my ‘journey. But more than anything else, I think of the Delirious song “History Maker”. So I’ll share those lyrics because that pretty much says it all for me.

Is it true today... that when people pray
Cloudless skies will break; kings and queens will shake
Yes it's true... and I believe it!
I'm living for you! I'm living for you!

Is it true today... that when people pray
We'll see dead men rise... and the blind set free?
Yes, it's true... and I believe it!
I'm living for you! I'm living for you!

I'm gonna be... a history maker in this land.
I'm gonna be... a speaker of truth to all mankind.
I'm gonna stand, I'm gonna run
Into your arms, into your arms again.

Well, it's true today... that when people stand
With the fire of God... and the truth in hand
We'll see miracles, we'll see angels sing...
We'll see broken hearts... making history!
Yes it's true... and I believe it!
I'm living for you! I'm living for you!

[Chorus] [2x]

Into your arms, into Your arms again!
Into your arms, into Your arms again!
Into your arms, into Your arms!

I'm gonna run into Your arms,
I'm gonna run into Your arms.
My Savior! My Savior!
I'm gonna run into Your arms!...

5-For-5

Shalee’s Dinerwas running a little 5 for 5 yesterday and she passed me a helping! I was giddy with excitement as it’s been well over a week since my last Meme.

1) Five Minutes to yourself. How would you spend them ideally?
Should I be embarrassed to admit that I get well OVER 5 minutes to myself each and every day? Well I do. It’s really a win/win because if I don’t get some “ME TIME”…it gets downright ugly.

Shalee did a list of things she would LIKE to do with her 5 minutes and along that same “outside the lines” mentality I’ll list 5 of my favorite 5 minutes.

1. The 5 moments surrounding the moment I said “I do!” to Paul.
2. The 5 minutes I met my first niece on her "birth" day.
3. The 5 minutes I encountered Jesus for the 1st time.
4. The 5 minutes I spend with any of my cherished friends; both online and in the flesh.
5. The 5 minutes a day (sometimes several times a day) I spend daydreaming (I love to daydream)!

2) Five Dollars to spend right now. How or where would you spend it?
I would likely spend it on some unique cards or beautiful paper…or a Sonic drink with extra ice.

3) Five Items in your house you could part with right now?
1. Any and all dust existing now or awaiting the perimeter of my home for entry.
2. Any negative spirits.
3. Our 1 existing CORDED phone. I feel so bound with it.
4. All shoes…hate em…see reason above on #3.
5. Anything made of nylon (except those no-stick pans…they have nylon, right?)

4) Five Items in your house you absolutely, positively could never part with? (Stealing from Shalee on this one)
Paul
Mimi
Bubba
The rest of it…while providing convenience and some amusement, even downright fun…is only stuff. I will say…if my coffee pot or ice maker go away…you probably better stay away a few days while I readjust.

5) Five Words you love?
1. Emmanuel
2. Holy
3. Grace
4. Mercy
5. Forgiveness

And now for tagging? Hmm…let’s just leave it out there…you want it, grab it and let me know…you don’t…that’s okay too!

On the agenda for Day #3 of Vacation. There are these little ‘shops’ in Edmond (a suburb of OKC) that I always intend to go peruse on a day off and never quite make it over there. It’s only a few minutes drive away, but I tend to get sidetracked with other ‘doings’.

Today, I am going to prowl and peruse these little shops. Sure, I’m using the premise that I need ‘display ideas’ for the upcoming shows…but really there are a few stores over there that I just love to ‘haunt’. I think I’ve only actually bought things once or twice in several years, but I’m a wonderful window shopper.

I’m also going to a new bead shop to check out the supplies and see if I’m missing any new clasps or charms. Then it’s back to mom’s to do final work on displays and bead work before the weekend.

I’m going to try to photograph some of the beading tonight, if the photos turn out…I’ll post them later.

Have a dust-free Wednesday!

Vacation: Day 2...Just a Couple of Questions...

Why is it on weeks I am NOT working the days FLY by?

and

Who DO you think you are?

I had a wonderful day yesterday with my friend. I ended with a birthday dinner with HMTQ and Pastorman (her birthday not mine...and Paul was off work so he could attend too)! It was yummy and fun.

Today I’m heading over to HMTQ’s house to help prepare for a garage sale and then to my mother’s house to bead until my fingers ache. Just 5 more days til the first ‘show’…though it’s an outdoor show and it’s been raining all week…hmmm…could be a ‘wash’, no pun intended.

Nothing too significant to post…I’ve read a ton of ‘great stuff’ today. There are two I want to leave you with because they touched me the most today!

1. The idea of “enough” over at Grandma Dawn’s.

2. This heartbreaking story and f/u comments over at Jesus Creed. If the link doesn’t work, the story is called “A Letter From the Heart”, and it lives up to every word.

Is It Monday Already?

My husband and I went to see “The Guardian” this weekend. We had seen several previews and it looked incredible. What the preview doesn’t offer and what was included as a bonus is a love story. You can hardly beat a movie with action and adventure for the man in your life and true love and poignant moments for the women!

I don’t want to spoil it for you but I will say if you’ve seen “An Officer and a Gentleman”, or “Top Gun”, you’ve probably seen this movie. Sure the actors are different and the story is a bit different, but it’s pretty much the same movie…I still loved it. I had no idea what the Coast Guard even did until seeing this movie.

There is this wonderful scene where a ‘mature’ woman lectures Kevin Costner’s character about aging. What she said really ministered to me too. I don’t remember all of what she said but I do remember the gist…which was if you have physical pain it means you’ve lived your life. Another seed of wisdom came from teacher to student when Costner’s character lectures Kutcher’s character to use all the gifts God gave Him to save lives instead of focusing on his lack.

Throughout the movie Kutcher’s character is trying to ‘outdo’ Costner’s incredible records in the Coast Guard and asks over and over again how many ‘saves’ Costner had. When Costner tells him “22”, Kutcher seems perplexed and puzzled. Costner then tells him… ‘That’s how many I lost. I only counted the ones I lost because they’re the only ones that matter in the end.’

I sat there with tears streaming down my face and at that moment I was reminded no matter what our vocation, our goal is to use ALL the gifts God gave us to SAVE lives and that the only “records” that matter are the lives lost because we didn’t share Christ with them or live the life Christ has called us to live…FULLY!

I’m not trying to lecture you, but I DO hope I have reminded all of us that God puts people in our path, whether we work outside the home or inside the home. God puts people in our path through these (too numerous to count) blogs, through friendships, through co-workers, co-educators, grocery stores, restaurants, video store clerks, holiday events, even through church sometimes. He does it for a reason, don’t ever doubt that. Some are here for a short time (even moments sometimes) and others are here for a lifetime. However long I have, I am reminded that my words, my actions, my LIFE are a witness.

Ultimately I was reminded the only ones that really matter…eternally…are the ones I lost! I will be accounting for those losses one day…the ones God brought to me and I ignored or worse yet…I led astray. I think about Jesus lecturing the Pharisees about the souls they had lost to God through their own misconceptions and legalistic teachings. It was bad enough that they themselves were lost…but they had also lost others. YIKES!

In other news: This is the week I am off work because I had too much leave and was going to lose it…I don’t think so! This morning I am preparing to spend the day with one of my best friends who I don’t see near often enough! She is just a younger version of me…so you know she’s fun, wise and very, very sweet! I can hardly wait. While preparing for that visit, I am watching GMA and there is this new product for all your mommies (or wives).

There is a hand washing product, ‘squid soap’ and it squirts the soap on your hand with an ink like product that will not wash off until the person has washed their hands for 15 seconds (which is how long it takes to kill those germs according to the AMA). So cool!

The President is also speaking about the North Korean nuclear arms testing they did this past week. I don’t think it’s going to be a very ‘happy talk’, but probably very necessary. It looks like we are in a time of war, not unlike every other generation, just a bit more global during this generation. I am troubled by the mentality that has led ‘man’ to develop a weapon of mass destruction, so troubled I don’t even have words.

I guess that’s everything you could possibly expect from a stay-at-home-vacationing blogger for a MONDAY! Now go…wash your hands…and think about going to see “The Guardian” and as always PRAY for our nation and our World Leaders!

The god of Church

I’m ‘homechurching’ today. I’m not angry, hurt, offended or anything like that. I love my church. I love the people in my church. I love being a member of Journey Fellowship (no, that picture is not our church building...pretty kickin' huh?). I’m not just saying that for the benefit of those members who might read this…including Pastorman and HMTQ! I really mean it! That’s not to say I haven’t missed church for lame reasons too, that’s just to say TODAY…that’s not the case.

I have a temperament that tends to do everything in extreme mode. When I take on a hobby…I hobby with a vengeance. When I read…I read voraciously. When I clean the house…I speed-clean and can get really ‘bogged’ down in the minor details of a closet (i.e. hanging like colored items together versus hanging all pants together).

My mind goes into overload and much like the Starship Enterprise, the bells and warning alarms sound, reminding me that I’m reaching overheating status. At which point my brain shuts down and I can no longer process anything.

This is part of what happened at our first church experience (as a married couple). I threw myself into serving and attending and just overdid it. Church was no longer about serving and corporate worship of God…it was about performing and the ‘business’ of church. I became very burned out and that ‘burn-out’ translated into a seed of bitterness and ultimately sin.

I was not honoring God with my ability to serve EVERYwhere. I was worshipping another god. The god of church…the building.

I had to truly repent from that attitude and even now…years later, I’ll catch myself heading down that path and God redirects my steps (when I allow Him that space). Today God reminded me that I’m getting worked up over church and it is no longer glorifying to Him, it is all about ME!

I know I’ve shared before that I have this very crystal clear sensor that knows when something I’m doing is God’s doing or MINE. If it’s all about me…it’s HARD! If God is directing…it just comes together…easily! That includes what I write, my artwork, my crafts, my housekeeping, my job…all of it…including church.

This is easy to write, because God has the keyboard. I am a vessel, a willing vessel, desiring to bring Him glory in all that I do or say. If church begins to become your god, I hope you will hear the one true GOD whispering to you.

“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my soul be pleasing to you, O’ Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:14

This morning as I am renewed by His promise and Spirit I am reminded that where I am…God is with me, whether it be a church building or just a small ‘green room’ in a home somewhere…

Have a GOD-filled Sunday!

"Ramble-Stiltskin"

That’s my name. I seem to be a rambling sort of gal these days…and so as I drove to work I pondered what I would write today and it was just random rambling…and for some reason the word Ramble-stiltskin came to mind…I hated that book RUMPELstiltskin…frankly it was downright scary! I re-read it this morning and had forgotten that he ripped himself in half at the end. It’s definitely a story about desire, greed and the price of these things.

I tried to imagine having to trade things away for my words. It did make me realize that just as the young girl in Rumpelstiltskin didn’t think twice about offering some future ‘gift’, we sometimes don’t think twice about what we’re trading for our words…or desires. Am I trading a piece (or a PEACE) of my soul for some of these desires?

I am so thankful that on days when I listen…with my heart…I can hear all the words God wants me to share and it isn’t rambling, it’s wisdom direct from Heaven…usually gifted to me on my journey, and hopefully encouraging to you!

With that in mind, Tam posted a question from a message she heard by Brennan Manning last week. It’s a good one, one I hope we would spend some time pondering and answering. I have been thinking about it since she posted this on Tuesday.

What is our response to God when He asks?

“Do you believe that I love you?”

Personally I struggle truly fathoming how deep a love God has for us. Sometimes, when my flesh is struggling…I doubt His love…like a child who has been reprimanded or punished by a loving parent. Other times I feel the tangible essence of God as He hugs me and holds me tight.

I am certain He loves me. I do BELIEVE that He loves me. Have I reached the point where I understand the depth of that? Not completely…not yet. I’m not sure I will this side of heaven.

I have seen the ‘cross’ and I have seen the sacrifice…what was traded out of love! Yet in honesty, there are days when I walk in doubt and fear, more than love and certainty. There are days when my faith is crippled by my own flesh. But I will seek. I will seek to answer a resounding “YES” that will rise to the heavens and God will KNOW that I understand that He does love me…and just how much He loves me too!

In closing I’ll share lyrics to a song I love that I heard this morning on the way in as I pondered these things…

Help me remember the reason I’m alive
And that I was on your mind the day you died
Help me imagine, this is not my home
And some day I’ll be resting by your side

Help me remember the day you won my heart
And you paid my way to freedom with your love
Help me imagine the beauty of this gift
A grace that I am so unworthy of
But you’ll never let me fall away from you

Chorus:
You know my name
You know my story
Still you’ve taken on the world
Just for me
I am amazed that you hear me speaking
You listen close to every word I say
Who am I to be loved this way?
You know my name

If I rise, if I fall
My only hope is this
That you’d be with me everyday
Who am I to be loved this way?

Detour 180 - You Know My Name
From the album Fighting For You

Have a loveABLE Thursday!

Revolution or Evolution?

I know you’ve heard. Everyone has heard. It only frightens me when I think about what it used to look like. I am NOT going to do it; I don’t care how much I am pressured to ‘cave’…

…I’m not wearing 80’s clothes again! They’re BACK! Sure there were some cute leggings and skirts…for some people. And the layered look, while on the warm side, was convenient in the winter. Keeping a collar up also helped keep a chill out, and it’s quick to get dressed in the morning…you just keep layering and layering and layering…clothes, hair, socks, pants, everything.

I wonder sometimes if the 80’s styles were designed by some vagabond or previous homeless person who was used to wearing everything he/she owned.

Regardless, when I thought about my own clothing choice this morning, a pink t-shirt and black pants, I thought about FASHION and its evolution…which as it turns out is actually only REVOLUTION! What a sad picture for urban anthropology and future archeologists! Someday someone will dig up these time capsules and find the most popular clothes and wonder how the pre-historic people “knew” what would be popular.

Those of us who lived the 80’s (and that’s MOST of us), KNOW…these are repeats. As a matter of fact for as long as I can remember the FASHIONS have not been new and inspired, they are a re-circulation of previous decades, sometimes with a new flair or color or pattern. How disappointing.

You can flip on a television almost any day and see new shows about designers’ challenges, yet we continue to be swayed by old-RE-designed clothes. What’s that about? Since I have been alive, I have seen resurgence of clothes from 3 generations.

Not to belittle the industry, but it sort of makes sense…there are only SO many ways to wear hair, pants, jeans, shirts, skirts, dresses, etc. It makes sense we would rotate these to meet the ever-increasing demand for originality. Unfortunately what is being sold (at a HIGH dollar I might add) is NOT original…it’s at the thrift stores (or was before it became popularized again), it’s in people’s attics…it’s in those ‘retro’ magazines you can find at antique shops or in your father’s garage (if he’s a ‘collector’ like mine).

By the way…the word RETRO is really defined as OLD and outdated.

I went to the MALL the other day (something I rarely do anymore because they’ve LOST their popularity…we’re going back to strip malls!), and INSIDE the mall was an actual thrift store. Oh it’s named something chic and cutesy…but it is nothing but old clothes that are being resold as the newest fashions. There were concert shirts from bands that no longer exist, all the clothes inspired by a Madonna/Cindy Lauper era, and accessories too! It even has that ‘worn a few decades ago’ smell to it, like a thrift store.

I wanted to stick my head in the door and quickly shout out (because the smell is a bit overwhelming) that there is no need to pay $50.00-$75.00 for those vintage jeans, just go get your parents or grandparents old clothes. The older generations still tend to keep all their old clothes (at least that’s what my parents tell me) because “you never know when it will come back into fashion.” Apparently they were right on that too.

One of my friends was lamenting a season or two ago that her husband refused to give up his ‘pegged’ jeans (I don’t know if they’re calling it that anymore but it’s BACK)…and he had bought several pair the last time they were popular and still had a brand new pair…and now their back in style. It’s sad when you wear a fashion for so long that it makes it way BACK into popularity.

My father calls this the “throw away generation”. He reminds me constantly to save things because they’ll ‘be worth something someday’. At the very least I am more inclined to keep my clothes…to GIVE to some young family member and they’ll think I’m the uber-coolest to buy them such awesome ‘retro’ clothes.

This whole thing DOES have a point. When I thought about how completely UN-original these NEW fashions are…I thought about how incredibly GRATEFUL I am to a God that is not only ORIGINAL but wouldn’t dream of recreating me and calling me “new and improved”. You see God ONLY deals in original artwork. Every star, snowflake, sand grain, blade of grass, tree, mountain, ocean and most importantly every PERSON is a one-of-a-kind unique creation of God!

It feels so good to know I won’t walk into a store one day and see a younger-newer exact replica of me! God created KPJARA as a unique, beloved creation just for His glory!

Have a mullet-free Wednesday!

OH...lest I forget...I wanted to clarify from yesterday...I am so NOT upset about selecting new words for my friends who made the request...in a way I got to play the game twice...and make it a bit more challenging...so the new words are:

Miracle
Dangerous
Obedient
Imagine

Thank you to all who participated and contributed and I look forward to reading about what these words mean to others!

Word Drought

Business items: It seems a few ‘outliers’ in the ‘Word Meaning Meme’ have requested NEW words! Yep…you heard right…they’ve rejected my initial randomly chosen words as uninspiring (my words, not theirs) and so I am searching for 4 new words and thought I’d throw it out here…tell me what you think!

I need 4, astounding, invigorating, energizing, inspiring, meaningful, thought-filled, moving, stimulating, stirring, rousing, exciting, revitalizing, enlivening, wondrous words to use! I need them by tonight. I’ll post the winners tomorrow…ladies (you know who you are) get ready! This could get very interesting. Don’t worry about dup’s just submit whatever comes to mind.

Aside from that I don’t have a THING to say…can you hear me now? That’s right I got nuttin’! Here is my ode to nothingness.

On Empty

I’ve used the fuel
That makes me go

I’ve used it all
Now I need a tow

I’m sitting by the side of the road
I’m sitting with my heavy lode

I should have stopped 100 miles back
How on earth did I lose track

I sit and hold my useless key
The tank for fuel is reading “E”.

Random Bits and Pieces

You know how I love books…of course you do I write about them all the time. Remember when I wrote this post about “Buck Naked Faith”? Well I heard from the author and apparently his second book: “Plastic Jesus” is out and he has an excerpt at this link. Go check it out!

I believe Sandras has done it again! He really has a way with words. I’m going to get my copy this week and look forward to soaking in new wisdom!

In other news…I am working through Thursday then I’m off until October 16th (Praise GOD) and I’m looking forward to; sleeping late, some time with friends, completing the ‘blue room’ scripture border, reading tons, blog surfing and posting, perhaps checking out some chick flicks and even maybe an action/adventure or two, and preparing for my first ‘Arts and Crafts’ show.

Yes, you read that right. My mother decided we were beading in vain if we were never going to sell our wares. I signed us up for two craft shows. We’re doing one October 14th and one November 18th and we have been beading like maniacs ever since I got the confirmations.

My brother is also coming to town the end of October and is finally getting our website up and running! More about that when it’s done. I’ve got to remember to get some good pictures of our projects before the show and AT the show so we can include them on the webpage.

I had a wonderful weekend of garage sale-ing and dinner out with friends we hadn’t seen in far too long! We did a ‘review of restaurants’ (translation: we changed our mind once we were seated at the first place, and left after appetizer and beverage).

We ended up at a place my husband and I really loved the time we went. You’ll never believe it when I tell you…but it’s at one of the Culinary Schools here in OKC. It’s called Chef di Domani (Chef of tomorrow). Not only is the food exquisite, but the entire staff is culinary students and so it’s fun to ask specific questions about preparation, etc. and test their skills while learning along with them. The whole experience was fun and memorable... and the food…excellent!

I found some wonderful bargains at the garage sales on Saturday, including a few vintage items for a friend of mine who has recently starting selling some treasures! I hope she can use them.

I suppose I should get busy and try to focus for day 1 through 4! It won’t be easy, but by weeks end I’ll be free long enough to re-energize through Paul’s final 8 weeks of school and upcoming holidays and potential change!

Have a random kind of day!