Romans 5:2

I'm writing today because, I miss it.  I miss writing.  After an almost year long sabatical from all things writing related, I finally missed it.  I miss publicly displaying my thoughts, feelings, hopes, ideas and the vulnerability of their exposure.  I played this cat and mouse game with myself today about writing.  I spent about 30 minutes this morning making a few cards and I told myself that now, I should do laundry.  Laundry is more important than taking the last few minutes of nap time to myself.  Isn't funny the way mommy-hood gives you this feeling that you are never allowed to have more than 1 "me" moment in a day?  Stupid lie.  How many moms live this way?
Anyways, I'm behind on my verse a day calendar because I have commitment issues.  I over-commit to things.  I get abnormally attached to things abnormally quickly.  For example, my calendar has been set on March 3rd for quite some time now because I really like March 3rd's verse.  Today, I finally commited to switching it.  This turned out to be a positive outcome:
"We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment he has already thrown open his door to us."  Romans 5:2 (MSG).  I've been working on hospitality in my life for a few years.  A less than hospitable thing happened to me and I've been trying to render out what hospitality should look like.  Since then, I've been seeking how to make myself a hospitable person.  It has become an obsession, a calling, and ongoing discussion between my head and my heart.  So this verse hits me hard, open doors are a huge part of living a hospitable life.  But more than that, the willingness to open those doors when we don't know what is on the other side is true hospitality.  With God, when we finally reach the point of opening that door to spirituality, He's already there.  No searching or wondering what's next required.  So we find ourselves right where we wanted to be all along, with everything we needed. 

And if you are wondering about March 3rd's verse, I might be back by next May.

Coffee Can

My new mom motto is: Coffee, Coffee, Coffee.  My sister-in-law has 4 boys, 4 and under.  When she found out she was prego with the last two (twin boys) she went out and bought the largest coffee cups I've ever seen.  So, I made this little canister for a friend...and put some ground coffee inside, of course!

It's just a simple pail I picked up at Joann's and then covered with paper.  Giving the gift of coffee is my first love language, finding paper that matches someone's personality is my second.  So, I think I liked making this project more than my friend enjoyed receiving it!  Delightful.

Diaper Cake

Remember a few weeks ago when I promised to post a pic of the diaper cake I made Mike help me make?  Well, here it is.  I loved making this and the mom to be felt super special...as all recipients of any cake should!

Scrapbook for Betty

I made this scrapbook for Betty a few months back...I still need to get photos in there, but at least the book is made right?  It was from a kit I picked up at Archivers.  Super fast, fun, and easy!  I'm not sure how I feel about all the formatting of the layouts, but it's a great example if I want to do future board books.  Plus, it has rings and ribbon ties which I adore!

Small Scrapbooks

I've been craving a spot to post some of my recent projects. For weeks I've been storing up photos of creations hoping to have a free second to post them. Not working means I should have more time for these things, but unfortunately something always takes precedence to getting my projects posted. Life at work. Here are a few of my proudly COMPLETED projects!

To the left is a little picture book. I've pretty much been obsessed with making these since my friend had twins almost a year ago. I made her 2, one for each and now I'm addicted. They are super cute and super fun for shower gifts.



The pages on the right and below are from a small scrapbook with pages varying in size. It came out so cute. I haven't seen the mommy of the little girl this book is for in a while and haven't presented it, so I can't show the cover yet. But, I had a ton of fun making this and using my Cricut to get some different pages done.

Latest You Tube Love

I would like to be friends with these guys. My absolute favorite is that the Taco Bell guy repeats the order and totally wows them. I wonder if the little Eminem look alike at our Taco Bell would enjoy something like this.

Anyone know if they are the milk and cereal guys? Or what happened to them?

Chazown

Sorry for my absence in blogging. I've been exhausted! I've been flooded with opportunities to learn and grow in the last months, which has left me little time to write something I feel useful for the public to read. But, this morning, as I drink my coffee I hear the words of my dear friend Jason, "When you stop to learn, you must also stop to teach." I wish I could tell you more about Jason, but I wont because I don't have his permission and writing more could jeopardize the beautiful mission God called him to. Just know, that there is more wisdom and drive in what his quote about learning and teaching than I will ever fully grasp.
Calling is a beautiful thing. I've been studying Chazown by Craig Groeschel with my gal pals. Chazown is the Hebrew word for dream, revelation, vision. Everyone was born with Chazown, but it can easily be ignored. As I've been stretched to learn and grow in the last few months, I am eagerly studying what is my calling and Chazown.
In the meantime, I stop my busy morning to share with you this video clip I remembered this morning. It has so much to say in such a little bit of time. Enjoy and keep focused, it moves pretty quickly.

As an FYI, most of this info was already outdated by the time the video was published. So, do not expect accuracy, but that fact alone I believe adds that much more to the purpose of the video.