{ A Tuesday Tutorial }

It's been a long time since I've shared a craft.

This one is super-duper simple and I'm sure a bunch of you have already made something similar. Since Valentine's Day is just around the corner and I love little banners here's what I came up with.

Sunday afternoon we went to our local Dollar General Store and I purchased a roll of burlap ribbon ($1.50), a package of jute ($1.50) and a package of felt stickers ($1.00).  I'm sorry, I didn't get a pic of the burlap on the roll, so I'm not sure what the length was but I'm thinking 9 yards.

Sorry, this pic is blurry.....

I cut the burlap in lengths of about 5.5 inches, folded and cut a notch in the bottom of each one, peeled the backing off the hearts and stuck one on each of the burlap sections. The adhesive was enough that they stuck really well but should any of them come loose, I'll hot glue them back on.

I folded a section of about 1/2 inch on the top of each piece and hot glued it to the twine, leaving about 2 inches between each piece of burlap. Be sure and leave about a 12" length of twine on each end of the banner.   Sorry, no pics of this because I'm not coordinated enough use a hot glue gun in one hand and the phone in another. 

😉

And, voila.....

here's the finished product hanging on the bottom of the shelf over our table.  I ♥ decorating this shelf for holidays/seasons.

How about Y'all?
Have you been doing any crafting lately?
I'd love to see what you've been up to!

HOPE everybody has a Terrific Tuesday!

{ Friday Foto Friends #115 }

Pappy and I took a little weekend trip to Asheville, NC to celebrate my birthday last weekend.  I didn't take many fotos but wanted to share these two with Y'all.  After the snow we had last week, I thought for sure there'd be more snow than what we saw.  Not much snow, but lots of ice hanging on the rocks along the Interstate.

This was the sky leaving our kiddos house the evening of my birthday.....

The sun was trying it's best to shine one cold, gray day last week. (taken out our back door)

This church always has something neat posted on its sign.  

I'm calling this one "food for thought"!

We'll be heading to our kiddos house in the morning to watch Super Bowl #3. This is the third year our boys have had their very own Super Bowl playing against one another and we're invited to watch and then have a cookout.  

Life is good, Y'all!

HOPE your weekend is full of stuff that makes you happy!

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{ Wednesday's Words - Light Bulb Moment }

light-bulb mo·ment

1. a moment of sudden realization, enlightenment, or inspiration
2. 
   

I'm gonna tell on myself here, but it seems I do that quite often, right.....

letting you all in on my quirks and "issues" and problems and struggles and wow.....

 I just realized from typing all of those adjectives that I'm one messed up old gal, so Y'all don't know how much I appreciate that you stick around.

Anyway, here's a little something I feel I once again need to share because maybe it'll strike a chord with somebody else.

So there's this one thing that has just hung over my head and ate at me for years,  Y'all.....

years!

(isn't that ridiculous....and believe it or not it had nothing to do with my weight....;-)

As I was laying in bed last night pondering on it once again suddenly something that a former pastor we had many years ago popped into my head.

Now I'm old enough and had enough experience with the good Lord above to know this prompting came directly from HIM.  That was one of the biggest light bulb moments I think I've ever had.  Although I'm still not sure what to do about the situation, I know that I've been DWELL-ing on it way too long, especially the negative aspects of it,  and only God can change hearts and attitudes and no amount of worrying and wishing on my part is going to do one bit of good!

Can I just tell you that I totally felt a load lifted off my shoulders and especially from my mind and knew that "light bulb moment" had to be my words for today!!

Ain't God good?

Oh, yes He is!

HOPE and happiness for you, sweet Friends!

  

{ Look up }

This is a repeat and revision of a post from 2011 because I was reminded just this morning about "looking up"!

Pappy and I were shopping one day and he asked me if I had seen something on a shelf in the store and when I told him "no" and that I had just come down that aisle, he went back and showed it to me.....
on a top shelf.  
I find myself not looking up when I'm shopping down aisles, but mostly looking at things that are eye level.  Wonder how many great items I've missed just because I have a tendency to not look up or down just straight ahead?

Sometimes I'm the same way in my spiritual life.  I'm too busy DWELL-ing on the problems I'm facing, or looking straight down the road into the future, or looking back down the road I just traveled at the mistakes I made.....
when instead I need to look up.....
in prayer!

Remember what happened to Peter when he took his eyes off Jesus?  He started to sink and Jesus reached out and held him up!  What a sweet picture because He'll do the same thing for us!

Psalm 5:3

My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord;

in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, 

and will look up.

HOPE you have a terrific Tuesday!

 

 

{ Friday Foto Friends #114 }

This week it's been COLD and snowy and COLD and did I mention COLD?!?!  Okay, I know, some of you are experiencing some really frigid weather,  but 3 degrees just is way too nippy for this old gal. I've hurt so much this week and I'm pretty sure it's because of the COLD!

There, I said it again!

😊

So because of the COLD weather, I only have a few fotos to share today.

I've shared a pic of this old barn before but never with a bit of snow on the ground.....

A pair of cardinals at the feeder when the snow first started earlier in the week.....

And, I took this last one as we were backing out of the driveway at my Mom's yesterday.  I love the look of wintery trees.....

It's supposed to warm up to the 50's this weekend.

My joints will be so happy!

Happy Friday, Everybody!

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{ Wednesday's Word - Gracious }

 gracious

  

1. courteous, kind, and pleasant

   synonyms:

   courteous, polite, civil, chivalrous, well mannered, mannerly, decorous

   • 
     
     

     
     

     
     
     
     

1. (in Christian belief) showing divine grace 
2. synonyms:

   merciful, compassionate, kind

   
   

   
   

   
   

   

HOPE everybody has a Wonderful Wednesday!

{ SONday Morning Song - More Than Anything }

Help me want the Healer more than the healing.

Help me want the Savior more than the saving.

Help me want the Giver more than the giving.

Help me want You, Jesus more than anything!

HOPE your SONday is awesomely blessed!

{ Friday Foto Friends #113 }

I smile every time I see that sweet little owlie holding her camera!

And, speaking of owls all my fotos today have to do with the birdies.  Here are a few that showed up after filling up the feeders with suet and sunflower seeds.

I took these out the back door one foggy morning this week and didn't realize until I opened the storm door and heard the noise that the tops of those trees were full of birds.

See them?!? 

Y'all, if you want some ever-changing weather, just move to East Tennessee.  Last week we had temps in the single digits.  Wednesday of this week the high was almost 70.  The forecast for this afternoon and evening is rain and ice and the temp is supposed to drop 30 degrees from yesterday's high.

Oh, spring, where art thou?!?!?

HOPE everybody has a great weekend.

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{ Wednesday's Word - Trapped }

Trapped

• to prevent (someone) from escaping from a place
• having (something, typically a part of the body) held tightly by something so that it cannot move or be freed

  
  

  
  

  

  
  

  Our Sunday school lesson this past week was based on the story of Paul and Silas being thrown into the inner part of the jail - known as the dungeon - and their feet put into stocks. The stocks were designed to be able to force the legs wide apart to add to the pain.  After I thought about this story for a bit, I realized that not only were Paul and Silas trapped (or so it seemed until God sent the earthquake) the jailer had to feel trapped, too. This was somewhat of a dead-end job for him in more ways than one. Rather than DWELLing (Dwell is my 2018 word) on their physical pain and humiliation Paul and Silas chose to pray and sing hymns to God "and the prisoners around them were listening to them."
• 
  

Here are a few things I gleaned from this lesson.....

1) Although it's really difficult sometimes when we're in the middle of the struggle, we can make it a choice to DWELL on God and His goodness rather than the "ugly" of whatever the situation might be.

2) Others are watching how we handle the difficulties. Do we whine and pout and cry (ouch) or do we choose JOY instead? The other prisoners were listening and we aren't told in the recount but you know they had to be influenced, too, just like the jailer.

3) God will provide a way to deal with whatever the problem might be even though we often feel trapped and like there's no way out.  He sent an earthquake to release Paul and Silas. The Holy Spirit was there all along to have an ever-lasting impact on the jailer and his entire family. (Don't you know that the jailer never looked at his job the same again?!?)

4) Pray, pray, pray.....
and let God put a song of praise in our heart! 
Ask Him to send you a song....or songs....that come to mind just when you need it. I'm guessing that, like me, that song will pop into your head and often out of your mouth before you even realize it and you can smile and thank HIM for the peace that only He can give!

 ♫ Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, there's just something about that Name! ♫

{ Friday Foto Friends #112 }

It's our very first Friday Foto Friends for 2018, Y'all, so to celebrate I changed our little "button"!

Whatcha think?

Isn't she adorable?

Okay, not everybody feels like I do about the owlies, I know!

😊

Here are my offerings for today!

Last summer we were invaded by yellow jackets. As old as I am I didn't know that yellow jackets are in the wasp family until I did some research. I also had no idea that they sometimes build nests above the ground. Because the weather has been really cold Pappy knew he wouldn't be in danger of getting stung so he removed the nest from under the back deck.  I'm sorry the pics aren't very good but isn't it just amazing how God designed it?

(notice I put it in a ziplock bag JUST IN CASE there might be a cold natured bee lingering in one of those holes)

Early one morning in the driveway at my Mom's house.....

The sky on the way to see our grands one day.....

Out our back door yesterday morning.....

HOPE everybody has a great weekend.....

PLEASE stay safe and warm!

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{ Just Maybe }

Have you ever had something happen to you and you were surprised at your reaction? That was me yesterday. I made a comment to someone and I didn't get the response I'd hoped for. As a matter of fact, the comeback from the other person really hurt my heart. At a time in my life my reaction would've/could've been not so pleasant as I might've let them see how upset I was. As I thought back on what happened.....

and what didn't happen because that was what stood out to me the most.....

I realized that my word for 2018, DWELL, came into play. I made a choice not to DWELL on the negative response I received, but to tell myself I wasn't going to allow them to steal my joy. 

Maybe.....

just maybe.....

 I'm learning to listen a little more closely to that still small voice.

There's always HOPE, right?

😊

{ My Word for 2018 }

2012 - Truth

2013 - Calm

2014 - Believe

2015 - Ponder

2016 - (be)Present

2017 - More 

Rather than make New Year's resolutions many of us allow God to speak a word, or words,that He wants us to focus on in the New Year. This will be my 7th year of allowing Him to choose a word for me. At the beginning of each new year I find it kinda difficult to let go of my old word, but especially my word for 2017, MORE. I do believe that God revealed MORE of Himself to me in 2017 than ever before.....

but could that be because I listened more?!?

Sometimes it take a few weeks for me to focus in on what He's speaking to me and I had to narrow it down between 3 that kept showing up but finally I KNEW that He was speaking the word DWELL to me for 2018.

D
Desire to please ONLY God, not others

W
Wonder and Awe at His blessings

E
Excited to see Him work in my life

L
Let go of things that I have no control over and especially let go of things that I do.....
bitterness, resentment, etc.

L
Love, laugh and live life to the fullest!

This verse of scripture seems to sum up exactly what He's asking me to do as I write my blog and pray for wisdom and discernment and sing that song that He places on my heart when I get a bit stressed.....

and to just be thankful!



If you have a focus word for this year, I'd love for you to share it with me in the comments.

Prayers for a happy and blessed and safe 2018 to each of you, sweet Friends!