Blessed in order to Bless

Timing is everything. Last year Tom was offered a job which was out of the automotive industry. The problem with that was that he had driven a company demo for years and we only had one car. With 3 active kids and 2 jobs of my own sharing one care was not tops on our list of things to do. However, God is faithful. We did not have any money in savings and our credit was less than perfect. We did have a tax return and with that we were able to get a car for Tom to use for work.

Now a year later that job was not what we had hoped for. However, God is still faithful. He provided another job for Tom. He is back to selling cars. Which also means that he is back to driving demos.

We had a spare car now. We could have sold it. The new dealership offered that it could be put on the lot. We could have saved it for when the kids were old enough (and wanted to - which who knows how long that will be) to drive. In my heart however I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to give it to someone who needed it. The question is who? All I really cared about was that whoever got the car needed it - not just some teen to take joyriding.

In Sunday school the minister always starts out by asking what we would like prayer for. One of the other woman was praying for her old car to be able to be fixed again. It was then I knew that she was the one who needed the car. She will be picking it up this afternoon.

Now I have a confession to make. I LOVE the fact that we were able to help another person. I am on high just knowing that we were able to bless someone. It is one of the greatest feeling that I have had in a LONG time. I consider myself so blessed because I am able to be part of something that gives glory to God! But I also have to confess that it makes me feel wonderful too.

A Time for Everything

¹ There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

² a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

³ a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

⁴ a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

⁵ a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

⁶ a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

⁷ a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

⁸ a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

I am trying to keep this in mind. It seems to be one of my favorite "go to" verses when life gets challenging. One of the only things that are constant is change - and things are changing right now. However the only thing that does not change is God so I will at this time go to him for the support that I can not get from my swiftly changing world.

On March 1, 2009 Tom stopped selling cars - which had been a good income at one point in time but over the past few years was becoming impossible to make ends meet. He began selling security systems. I know that he didn't like it as well as selling cars but he was making a consistent wage and was happy enough. I was however ecstatic. We were able to get out of debt. Tom, who had always been gone evenings and weekends, was actually home. I loved that job.

In the beginning of 2010 the company got a new president and things began to change very swiftly. He was limited to residential sales. He was given a territory that he could sell out of. His automotive allowance was cut and the pay was changed. Things were not going well and it didn't look as if it was going to bet any better any time soon.

So in just less than a year, Tom is back to selling cars. He is at a different dealership so is hopeful that the pay will be better. I hope so too because I do not want to sink back into the poverty we lived in for years. I can tell that he is happy there. I am glad of that but I am not going to be happy until I see that he can really make a living selling cars, which I honestly doubt.

During this turmoil things around home are very strained. I just need to keep reminding myself that no matter how much things change here and now that God is the same yesterday, today and forever. And even better that he is always with me - no matter where or if we are working.

Sometimes I think I live in a zoo

I guess by now it is obvious that I love to scrapbook. Which is good because I do. However as I was making some pages this month I noticed that my animal side was coming out.

Emily loves Beauty and the Beast. She was given a Belle dress last year and whenever it is time to dress up she wants to be Belle. But what would Beauty be without her Beast - the answer is of course she needs a beast. She decided that one of her teddy bears, Cookie, would be her beast.

Animals surround me. We have a dog and three cats and a few more strays that seem to find our house very inviting. With that many animals I guess that it was natural for Eva to want to be a cat for Halloween.
Here is an example of the real wild life. Eva was able to snap this picture of a little thief. It is just so cute. How could I stay angry at this little guy?

Worshiping his way

Kids are amazing - and I don't mean just mine. They are wonderful, special creations of God. If I take the time and look then I can learn so much from them. I love it when the child shall lead them all.

We are at a new church and there are many people that I still do not know. Sunday there was a little boy I don't know the age but I would guess he was about 3 who wandered up the aisle. We were singing Great is Thy Faithfulness and he was just so into it.

Where the aisle met the front is where he stopped and started dancing with sheer joy. He was just content to worship by dancing and clapping and praising the Lord in the best way he knew how. What a lesson. How often do I get all stuffy in church. I mean really it is a totally awesome God that I worship why do I feel as if I have to sit there as if I were in a straight jacket? It was so refreshing to see this little child worship the Lord with all he had - and VERY inspiring to me.

Cookin' Up Creations Blog Hop

Ever so slowly I am being pulled into the twentieth century - unfortunately, the rest of the world is in the twenty-first. Radical things are happening. We now have a working television. The kids got MP3 players for Christmas and now I am participating in a Blog Hop. Time is marching on and I am following in its wake.

Anyway welcome to the Cookin' up Creations "Winter Wonderland of Embellsihments" Blog Hop. The Cookin' up Creations Blog: Cookin' up Creations Blog was your 1st stop and you are now at the 8th stop of the hop. You should have come from Penny's Blog Random Thoughts It will not be long now and you will be back to the Cooking up Creations Blog.

The embellishment I have used is Magic Mesh this month and this is my example...

And now I have a challenge for you! I challenge you to make a layout or card using Magic Mesh. One of the things I love about Magic Mesh is that it is so earthy and adds wonderful texture to pages. So the theme of your layout or card needs to be one of nature. It can be a picture of the great outdoors (with or without people) or a card with a leaf stamp on it or anything that you can come up with that has to do with out side.

Please upload your creations into the Cookin' up Creations Embellishment Blog Hop Album before Friday January 22, 2010 at 5:00 EST to qualify for the prizes. File size should be no larger than 150Kb.

So leave a comment here, post your work in the gallery (You need to register ) then your next stop is Sandy's blog: http://creativeblessings.blogspot.com/

Happy Hopping!

Home at last!

After 18 months of searching and praying, we have finally found a new church home! There is something for everyone: Men's group, Women's Bible study, Kids club and Youth Bible study.

At long last we are home! It is amazing how good it feels. I didn't realize while we were looking what a drain it was to figure out every week where we were going to go to church (and it wasn't like I had any help - If I had not done the searching, I don't think we would be going to church). I had to decide if where we were going warranted another week. If it did, there was always someone who was not happy about it. If we didn't that meant hours of tedious hours on Google scrolling through poorly designed web sites and making phone calls to see if the information was accurate. I got to the point where I dreaded Sunday and the weekend because we had to go to another church. I think that all in all we visited 22 different churches over the last year and a half.

Now we are home though - and what a difference it makes. We meet the Lord and his people every week. I spend my week looking forward to Sunday rather than dreading it. Now Sunday morning is once a time of celebration and looking forward to spending time at a church that is HOME!

Coffee Can Card Holder

Growing up my mom had one of these that she used to display Christmas cards. I don't know what happened to it, but when I had to come up with something to make for a design team challenge I thought I would make my own.

Supplies:

coffee can or other large can

cardstock (optional)

yarn or string

hot glue gun

flowers or other embellishments

The first part is the hardest - finding a can of the right size. We are not coffee drinkers, and even if we were, coffee no longer comes in cans - so I found out much to my surprise. I ended up using a large soup can. I covered it with carstock using a glue gun. (you do not need to cover it, but I wanted to because I like the look.

The next step is to anchor the string or yarn on the inside of the can. Once again, I used hot glue.
The next step is to wrap the string around the can covering the top and the open end. It does not need to be perfect but try and cross in about the same place each time. How much string you use is up to you. The more you use, the more cards you can hold and the less of the base will be visible.
When wrapped to your liking, tie a knot at the bottom. Dab with some hot glue to make it secure. Embellish the top as you see fit.
To use, slide the card under one of the strings and display.