A Rewrite

It's a very different experience to be challenged to do something that you normally do, but in a new setting. I'm at seminary this week, in a class about emerging/young adulthood, and we were challenged for devotions this morning to rewrite a Psalm. Any Psalm. For those of you who have biblical knowledge, you know that there are 150 Psalms, so it was no easy feat to choose one.

I pulled up Psalm 61, because it speaks to waiting. To wondering. To pain, comfort, and resilience.

61:1 Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; 2 from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, 3 for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy. 4 Let me dwell in your tent forever! Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings! Selah 5 For you, O God, have heard my vows; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name. 6 Prolong the life of the king; may his years endure to all generations! 7 May he be enthroned forever before God; appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him! 8 So will I ever sing praises to your name, as I perform my vows day after day. (English Standard Version).

God, are you listening?

I'm crying out to you, even when I feel small and insignificant.

Reach out to me, and draw me near to you.

You have always been my comfort and hidden me from the sun in the shadow of your wing.

Oh, how I long to stay in that place forever.

Let me live in the coolness of your shade.

You have heard me when I cried out,

as you heard and cared for those who came before me. I am not alone.

God, may you live forever in this way,

that you would reach out to all generations;

Watch over us all with passion and faithfulness, abiding by us in times of trial.

I have followed you then, and I will follow you now, in song, word, and deed.

Change, and a Plan.

This year, I will do something for me. I will sit down, and I will make a plan. And this year, I will make the choices necessary to make it happen.

I feel like I say this every year. Normally, in January. But now. Today. I’m going to say it. It is August 23rd, 2011. And I want to be different.

And God wants me to be different.

There’s been a very careful nudge at the edge of my world for the last few years that I’ve let be just that, a nudge. I have been dealing with a lot of my mental clutter recently, and I stumbled across what instead of just a nudge was a shove that landed me smack on the ground. Things need to change in my life, and perseverance and faith have been lacking in these areas.

You see, I tend to expand my faith in theories, in other people, and in what I know. In places where God is, and I feel comfortable. What God has been trying to tell me (I suspect for years) is that where I am uncomfortable now, is where I want to be someday. Someday, a not so very near someday, but someday, I would like a family. I would like to find joy and simplicity, and challenge in my crafty pursuits. I would like to be involved up to my eyeballs in the richness of God’s life changing ministry wherever I’m at, and very little of what I did just today moved me closer to those things.

God and I sat down with an orange soda this evening, and had a chat about those desires of my heart, and we looked at all the things that I’ve done today, on August 23rd, 2011, and only a few of them were really getting me closer to God and His plans.

So, we’re making a change. A change that will not be easy, that will not come without low points, and will not be complete overnight. But I am assured that this change will be good.

May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance. – 2 Thessalonians 3:5

Fresh…

I think I have fallen in love with an inanimate object. Okay, so, more like a digital file. Or a bunch of digital files. This Little Missy released a new kit… “Freshly” and it’s filled with gorgeous greys, tans, blues, and greens. It’s super fresh, and I love the muted-bright colors and the funky patterns that make for a really great basic kit. Have a look…..

Ahhh, gorgeous right? It makes me want to kick back with a mojito in an Adirondack chair over looking a lake, or mountains, or something beautiful. I am thrilled to show you this layout….

I love this photo, always have. I took it while I was in my very first photography class, and I haven’t had a time/place to use it for a layout. This kit was just too perfect, so I made it work with some of the lyrics from this month’s Song Lyric Challenge at STS.
Carissa has a bunch of freebies going up over at her blog today from the kit, including the paper stacker that I used in this page. Head over there to her blog to have a look, and then over to the store at STS to pick up Freshly for yourself!
Head over to 4shared as well to pick up my paper stacker!

A Spring Cleaning Project

I have been a vegetable today, and filled with peanut butter saltines, YUM! I know, poor college kid diet, but it was just a snack between square meals. Over the last week though, I have been busy trying to get things up to date in my apartment. This has meant laundry, windows, hanging things on walls, etc. It’s the last part that has been the best though.

I have enjoyed the feel of the weight of a hammer in my hand swinging towards a tiny target being held against the wall. I love it. Overall, I’ve hung up 5 new pieces in my apartment, and I haven’t returned the hammer to the guys just yet. We’ll see what else gets put up in the coming weeks.

In the mean time, I want to show you the fruits of Friday’s labor. Have a look!

The key hooks, the wall hanging, and the jewelry screen all went up on Friday, and the Jewelry screen was my big project. I found the screen leaning against a tree in town this week (Spring Hauling in town) and picked it up. It’s HUGE, a little over 5 feet tall and three feet wide, but it’s fairly light, and had brackets screwed in at the top.

I snipped an inch or so of the screen on either side to slide the yellow ribbons through and attach to the back, and I hammered in nails across the center and top for hanging necklaces, then put up some of those awesome 3M Hooks.

Ahh. I love it! I’m using the ribbons for post earrings, and the screen for hooks. All my necklaces right now are on nails, except a few that need repairs. I don’t have any open spaces though, so as I get things I need to get rid of others, or take the whole thing down and put in more nails…. oooh, more hammering!

We’ll see right now I guess. No plans to buy new jewelry, but who honestly plans that? I can’t say I do.

Surprise!

I have a freebie for you today! I’ve been able to get some of my own scrapping work done lately, and my bestie has been asking for templates, so here they are! This pack has three separate templates, shown below, each in a flattened JPEG, flattened PNG, individual PNG layers, and PDN (Paint.Net).

I also have some layouts with these templates, just so you can see them… They will look familiar, because I’ve used them for kits before. Like I said, at my bestie’s request these were made. Have a look!

 

I had Jess whip up a quick LO for this third template, and I say she definitely did an AWESOME job with it. I love it a ton!

She rocked this LO, and I’m thrilled! Head over to 4shared to pick this up, and over to Jess’ blog, “Giggly PolkaDots” to see more of her layouts.

A Bright and Sunshiny Day

And it has been, until last night. We were part of the first big spring thunderstorm this year, but with all the flooding in the area recently, I imagine everyone living outside of the city limits though is not quite as happy as I was. I love me some rain, and because of the recent weather, I’ve been thinking a LOT about umbrellas.

And the fact that I don’t have one.

So, I have been scouring the interwebs for these fabric & metal beauties, and I want to show you what I’ve found!

Sources from Left to Right: One, Two, Three, Four, Five

Ummm, Awesome?! Okay, the first umbrella is a kids umbrella, but I would totally carry that bad boy! So cool. I threw in the classic second umbrella, with the pretty wood handle and the plaid. The third umbrella is by far the coolest on this list. It is made from recycled plastics and each one is completely different from any other one, not to mention, they come in sweet colors. I adore the fourth umbrella because it’s got an awesome floral pattern going on. The bright colors are just beautiful, and I would definitely use it as a parasol as well. The fifth umbrella I put up for Jess, just because of sunflower love.

Enough of the rain though, I have a spring, easter-y, happy day kit called, “Oh Hoppy Day” by Rainamoon Scraps. So cute!

Like I said, spring-y, right? The alpha is super adorable jelly beans, and there’s a great mix of colors for both boys and girls layouts. Plus, she incorporated doodles as well as some realistic elements. Have a look!

I don’t really have any easter photos left to scrap right now, (maybe after the holiday) so I kept looking, and my pipsqueak in her purple shirt was just the right color. And I had perfect inspiration from the butterfly tree the ladies had given me at the wedding shower last weekend, so I took some photos quick and threw those in! The butterfly on that LO is actually one of the ones from the tree that I extracted.

Head over to the store at Stuff to Scrap to pick up Oh Hoppy Day by Rainamoon Scraps, and then to the forums to do some scrapping!

Have you heard about bento?

I’m fascinated by this! I’ve seen pictures, read blogs, and now I’m totally and entirely caught up by this phenomena. Have a look and tell me what you think….

(Source: Mimiwu on Flickr)

Umm, Yum! I am thrilled with this concept. Something that helps portion control, promotes healthy & colorful eating, and the money-saving convenience of making my own meals. All good things—all really good things. I’m totally confused when it comes to a few key components of these awesome lunches: rice, boxes, and time. Lets start at the beginning, I guess.

Rice: My mom is an amazing cook. She cooked professionally for a while, and still loves to entertain. I inherited some of her skill, but rice was not one of those. You see, I burn rice. Most always, my rice will turn out like this:

(Photo via Just.One.More.Bite.)

I honestly can’t do this. Yet. I want to be able to make rice. I love rice… so tasty! How on earth do I do this??? How can I manage to make rice without a HUGE rice cooker taking up valuable cupboard space?

Bento Boxes: They have every stinkin’ style of these possible!  I have found some I love, but I just don’t know if I can make that leap yet. I have seen some who just use Tupperware, or the locking food storage dishes. I’m not quite sure what to do, but I think I’m going to try using something I have for the time being, then if I get the hang of this I will find an actual bento box.

(Source: JList)

Time: So about that…. In the time it has taken me to write this blog post, I probably could have cooked enough meals for this week and complete a bento box for every lunch in this same amount of time. Where I lack time though, is in the morning, before leaving the house. Then I lack serious time. I’m more of a roll out of bed and put on whatever is comfortable, clean, and cute before leaving. Oh clock, you are not my friend.

(Even though you look SO tasty…. via ThisNext)

I am just dreaming right now, I suppose, but it all looks so tasty. I’m going to be hungry all through work now, but I suppose this all will have to wait until another day, and another lunch. But we’ll see I guess….

This Very Moment…

I am in a crafting/sewing/planning/papering/decorating/drawing CREATIVE mood.

There are so many things I want to do right now that are swirling through my head, and with my weekend plans on hold from potential weather problems, I guess I have the time to do them!

Here’s what I’ve been drooling over…

The Aprons in this Book are fantastic! I love the different variations and ideas. It’s super inspiring. The pattern situation on the other hand is not quite as thrilling because they’re all pretty mismatched and overlapping. Oh well. Pattern-making skills to the rescue!

(Source: Amazon)

Projects for my Pipsqueaks… No photos here, mostly because I don’t want to spoil the surprise. Jess passed on that Berti is still into drawing, and would like a carry-all for that. Lolo is still a mystery, but I have some ideas for him too. Be on the look out for those in the future.

I would love to have a french press so I can make this French Press insulating sleeve. There’s one that I’m hoping for someday, but for now I am just dreaming. *Le Sigh*

(Source: Moda Bake Shop)

This Quilt – Umm, if I could quilt, cut a straight line, or have that much stamina…. Can I do any of those things? No. So, for now, I dream.

(Source: JCaroline Creative & City Quilts by Cherri House)

Today has not been productive for any of these projects, but I’m bustling with ideas, so I guess we’ll see if tomorrow brings anything!