You Got Sumptin' To Say?

I think I'm on craft blog overload. SO many craft blogs. I finally had to stop reading them so I would actually DO one of the frippin' crafts!

One of the crafts was a simple decoupage of wooden clothespins. The kids painted them, I used scrapbook paper to place on the front with a bit of glue and sealed them with some sealer I had on hand. I then hot glued the lil' suckers (the clothespins, not the kids) onto the wall and hung the children's artwork from them. Tidied up my fridge and they LOVE the fact that their drawings are now our wall art. Easy-peasy!

And a bit messy...but fun. Also great to change the pictures/drawings out for new ones.

The next project was taken from: http://brownpaper--packages.blogspot.com/2009/09/seasonal-wood-blocks.html  Just a heads up in case you do what I did...those 4x4's are actually 4x4x4's (blocks). I hear you snickering at me...Look I saw 4x4...knew I had some...didn't register the POST part of it...phhttt... No worries, instead of 7 blocks I ended up with 14 (2 letters per block) thinner squares. It will actually work better for me that they are 4x4s since I can put them on a narrow shelf along the wall.

Another great thing is since I had the 4x4s from a project the husband & I didn't finish, and glue, and sanding paper already on hand; the only things to purchase were the letters and paint for the blocks. I had gotten a gift card for Christmas to a craft store AND the letters were on sale..SCORE!! The paint was simple acrylic paint from Walmart for $1.57. ♪Happy♫ Here is my finished version (minus the rest of the letters, but you get the point)

Besides the fact that the children chose the paint and letter colors, the best part of the whole craft was when my husband came home...I heard him mumble, "What is a dokdot ?!" He was reading the back of the blocks! ROFL!! If you try this craft, post a picture..I'd love to see your version.

Rainbows and Silver Linings

It has been a very LONG year. A diagnosis of cancer. The death of a precious cousin. The passing of a strong Godfather. The loss of a niece's close friend. Now to face limited time with a Father. Wow!

I have grieved and cried. Yet never have I questioned God as to, "Why?". A long time ago I read an article about grief and sorrow. Injustices that people "accuse" God of. In the article it spoke of people asking "Why me God?" or "Why him/her?" The author responded: "Why NOT?" As a Christian I believe God ALWAYS has a purpose so why when heartache or trials come would I think suddenly those things become without purpose. Because they happened to me or those I loved? Seems a bit self-centered. So I stopped asking God "Why?"

I ask God now, "Please help me learn what You need me to and be able to help others with that lesson if I can." It HAS been a long year but the rainbows and silver lings come in the fact that I know God has a purpose for me and lessons to learn. Things I need to know. Things I need to share with others. My road isn't meant to be "easy" and smooth because I am a believer. My life is meant to have ruts and potholes that make me cling tighter to the one in the Driver's seat on my Life journey. Eventually though I will see that the rains have cleared, the road is dry and the clouds are bright again. Right now...I'm hanging on...I see the road is getting bumpy ahead.

Seventy-Seven Times

Forgiveness. It is an easy thing to say you have given when another has "wronged" you, yet another thing to really mean it. I have tried to write my thoughts on this subject for many years. Some thoughts have been about my wrongs against others, some thoughts have been about other people's "wrongs" towards me and yet both came from the vantage point of anger ultimately. Not true forgiveness then was it? So I never wrote them down...God has a way of checking your heart for you. ;)God also has a way of making me face what I need to, when I need to; and forgiveness was a lesson I learned to give fully to EVERYONE only recently.

As a child my siblings and I were taught to "forgive" as God forgave us. Since that was an abstract thing to grasp, I learned how to forgive through automation. It was the "right" thing to do.
In my teen years,as my family fell away from the Church because of conflicts my father had with its leaders, I learned how to hold a grudge. It was an ugly thing really now when I look back. I held grudges for YEARS! She pulled my hair in school, she was a snit in my book for LIFE. I could never forgive HER. He said something mean or rude. Forget him! He's a jerk...for LIFE! I could never forgive HIM!. Sense anger here? Yeah so in the process of harboring these grudges, I started harboring anger. What a pleasant person I must have been to have around.

I started  forgiving and letting go of imagined and real hurts around the time my husband and I got married. Honestly, is hard to harbor so much anger when love displaces it. Yet even this "forgiveness" was not true forgiveness because if I thought back on those "wrongs" I'd get angry all over.

When did I really start and continue to forgive? About the time our first child was born. It was the same time I started getting "straight" with God. What I realized about this time was, I couldn't fully forgive until I was fully forgiven. I had done horrible things, said horrible things and seen horrible things...I needed to be renewed. For my family, for myself. Once I let God's grace engulf me...I saw clearly. I now needed to forgive. Forgive those who harmed me physically, emotionally and spiritually in the past, those who continue to do so in my present and those who will do so in my future. It is not easy to forgive and let go of the transgression. In fact, sometimes I still find myself wanting to get and stay angry. No one benefits from that. Not me. Not the other person(s). Not those around me who will see and learn from my reactions (ie: the children). So I let it go. Many times I hear people say, "I can forgive but not forget." Then to be honest, you have yet to learn to truly forgive. Releasing it from being a part of you is the other half of forgiveness. It is probably the hardest part to put into practice too.

Jesus once said to Peter "I tell you not seven times, but seventy-seven times", when Peter asked how many times he should forgive his brother of sins he acts against him. Now I don't know if I can forgive the same sin by the same person that many times...but how freeing it is to forgive and forget at all.

Here is the trick though: forgiveness is ongoing. It never ends. It includes forgetting and starting fresh. Forgive yesterday, today and tomorrow because the only person you keep in a prison of grudges and anger is yourself..