A Quick Visit in 2015

Doh! I meant to post this a month ago but I forgot about it being in my drafts folder.

Our oldest son came in for a quick visit two weeks before Christmas. Even though we would have liked it to have been longer, we are thankful for time together! He was pretty exhausted his first day back so no plans were made to do anything other than sit on the deck and relax. And the weather cooperated! I think this was his first view of the bay from our temporary home. He's saying something like, "Wow. This is a pretty good view." :-)

It was a gorgeous day! The temps were warm and apparently perfect for sailing.

This was a particularly fun trio to watch. They looked like they were having a blast zipping around out there, showing off those colorful sails! All in all, it made for an entertaining afternoon.

But the best part was just sitting across from our son and treasuring the moments spent with him, no matter how short. I'm learning to be thankful for the morsels that God allows to fall my way and not be greedy. One day (or six in our case) is better than none. It gave us an opportunity to talk about lots of things. Military life and its challenges, and all the changes that recently occurred in our family were top on the list. We were able to talk about the importance of our faith in Christ through it all.
Sweet moments!

^{Romans 1:8-12 (NASB) Bible Gateway}
 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world.  For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you, always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you.  For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established;  that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine. 


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Have a blessed day in the Lord!

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Sweet Cheeks

Psalm 56:8

You keep track of all my sorrows.
You have collected all my tears in your bottle.
You have recorded each one in your book.

32 years. 

It's hard to believe I'm the mother of a child who would have been 32 years old today. It seems like only yesterday that the weak sound of Amy's cry was heard when her tiny and trembling body was ushered into this world by cesarean section, and her vernix covered cheek was caressed softly against my wet one.

Once again my cheeks are glistening with tears as I sit here and remember the day her life began and how she felt--the first touch of her face on mine, the sweetness of a moment like no other.

I cherish the time the Lord allowed me to feel Amy's face against mine. I'm even thankful for the moments our tears mingled together during hard times and good times--trials and triumphs--for without one we would never know the other.

While I will always grieve the physical withdrawal of Amy, I hold her in my heart and imagine the whisper soft touch of her cheek against mine when a gentle breeze brushes across my face.

Mother's Day

Mother’s Day is supposed to be a happy occasion but for many it is not. It brings reminders of a mom or a child who isn’t with us anymore. It is easy to get lost in our own grief because it is such an all encompassing emotion. When you’re in the midst of those early days and weeks, perhaps even months and years,  you’re apt to walk through life with blinders on, singularly focused on taking one step at a time, not glancing left or right or up for fear you might fall.

Thankfully, there comes a day when you not only look up but out, toward others, toward life. Your eyes are opened to the beauty that still lives on in God’s creation. Perhaps you notice a single flower, a beautiful sunset, or hear a child’s laughter. Maybe these things bring to mind your loved one that has passed away, and you realize you no longer feel the heavy weight of grief. The kind that robs you of breath.

That’s where I am today. I can breathe again without feeling like I am suffocating. It doesn't mean I’m not deeply saddened. I am. I don’t have my mom or oldest daughter with me anymore, but what I do have is hope for the future. I see it every day in the eyes of my children and grandchildren. I feel it when their arms wrap me in a loving embrace. I hear it in their voices as they mingle together in laughter.

If you’ve experienced the loss of your mom or child, I pray that you are on the road to healing; to hearing and seeing all the Lord has for you. It’s a difficult journey to be sure. Know that we are in this together. I pray that you know how much you are appreciated and loved today, 

dear Mom's.

Have a blessed day in the Lord!

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Finally brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of a good report – if there is any virtue and if there is any praise- think on these things. ~Philippians 4:8

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Sunday Stillness
Scripture & a Snapshot

Journal52 Week 3: You Make Me Smile

Can I just say that I am LOVING watercolors?!

I'm so enthralled with all the combinations and textures you can get mixing the colors. I've been watching some Youtube tutorials this past week and WOW...there are gazillions of them out there! 

I found one that was right up my alley. The artist's name is Samie Harding. She blogs at Journal Girl. What I liked most about her video series is that they are short, and she gets her hands messy! I mean messy!!! I loved it! And after watching, this is what I came up with for this week's prompt:

This is a closeup of the right hand corner. I'll list the colors I used but I can't remember the exact order, other than I know I started with a base layer of Prussian Blue and Crimson Red, adding Orange Yellow and Lemon Yellow with a tad bit of Yellow Ochre for some subtle 'sunny' highlights. I used some White along with the Crimson Red to get the pink tones at the top. 

BUT FIRST!!! I applied an all over coat of Gesso with a plastic card, then took another sheet of card stock and laid it on top, smoothing it with my hand. Then I carefully and slowly peeled it off to reveal those fantastic ripples!!! Leave to dry for 24 hours or use a heat gun, being careful not to burn the paper!

To make my faux flower design, I used a journal card from Making Memories and carefully outlined the shape. Tracing over it with a Prismacolor Premier marker in black really helped make it pop! I snagged that marker from my son's art supplies but don't tell him. Maybe he won't notice ;)

I drew the flower stalk and leaves (I don't draw well but it was fun trying). The paper flowers are some I had in my stash from Making Memories. I added some rhinestone bling so they would sparkle because you can never have too much sparkle. Right, ladies?

(The page really has more green tones than showing in this photo. You can see them better in the one above.)

Following along with the theme of someone who makes me smile, I immediately thought of my husband. He is the one person guaranteed to coax a smile or a laugh from just about anyone! He truly has a phenomenal sense of humor and quick wit. He is my SUNSHINE! I drew the sun on a separate piece of card stock after water coloring it with the yellows. Plus I spritzed it with some Sheer Shimmer Spritz in Frost. I glued it down with Tombow Mono (my favorite adhesive) and outlined it with the Prismacolor marker. After contemplating the emptiness of the sun, I then chose to journal some in the rays, which I think is kind of cute. I will journal more about him in the flower area that I left blank but that will be private :)

A few things I decided this week:

Use watercolor paper and not card stock. Maybe then it won't curl.

Start early. I get jittery when the end of the week gets close and I haven't even started.

Clean up my craft area while I go along, otherwise I can't find a thing.

Shop with a coupon at the craft store.

Be me and don't compare myself to others.

Thank the Lord daily for the ability to create!

So there you have it! 

I sincerely hope each of you have a blessed week in the Lord!

Colossians 3:23-24 (NIV)

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Who makes you smile?!

A Favorite Christmas Memory from writer/blogger Renee Ann Smith

Need a Little Christmasby Renee Ann Smith

Some days, the Christmases in my memories shine more vividly than the holidays of the present. My long ago childhood Christmases. My first Christmas as a teacher. That Christmas we were snowed in, and my male relatives rode their snowmobiles through the silent streets.

One of my best Christmas memories takes me back to a year filled with disappointments.

In that December of 2009, the Christian school where I had ministered for nineteen years had recently closed. I was out of a job and living on savings. I had just begun to try my hand at writing but had not yet connected with any writers. I felt isolated and a bit lost.

Through it all, my most encouraging supporter and official lifter-of-spirits was my best friend Nancy.

You’d expect that from a best friend of twenty years, right? But what made this unusual was that my friend Nancy was dying of breast cancer.

I had been with her almost every day of her two-year cancer journey. Somewhere along the way, God whispered a gentle word of preparation in my heart to let me know that this would be my sweet friend’s last Christmas.

Though we never spoke the truth out loud, I believe Nancy knew it, too.

In better days, Nancy had reveled in her Christmas preparations. She would sleep on the floor near the Christmas tree with her kids. Bake all her family’s favorite treats. Fill her house with decorations and presents and friends. And she loved the over-the-top Christmas decorations and frenzied pace at the malls and local stores.

For Nancy, Christmas shopping wasn’t just another chore. It was an adventure!

Of course, cancer changes things. Many days, my formerly-tireless friend could barely lift her head off the pillow. And watching my best friend prepare to leave us wasn’t exactly putting me in a holiday mood.

However, Nancy was intent on preparing one last holiday for her family. We figured it was unrealistic to expect too much. So we prayed and hoped for her to have a few hours of renewed energy. All we needed was a little bit of Christmas!

My job was to remain on stand-by. If the energy should come, I was ready to bundle her into the car and fly to our local WalMart for an impromptu shopping spree.

And that’s exactly what happened.

At the end of a particularly good day, she said, “Let’s go shopping tomorrow.” So we did.

We hid Nancy’s hairless head under a felt hat, wrapped a colorful scarf around her throat, made sure her surgical mask was in place, and headed for WalMart. Once there, she settled herself on an electric scooter, tested the controls, and away she went.

That day, the store seemed to be filled with folks who knew her. She took time to chat with every one of them. Then began the serious shopping. Nancy flew up and down the aisles, filling her basket in record time. I stopped trying to keep up with her and made myself comfortable on a bench near the checkout.

Whenever I caught a glimpse of her, she was beaming beneath her mask.

For those few hours, she could forget about medications and white blood cell counts and ports and chemo treatments. But when the day was done, so was Nancy. Almost as quickly as she’d rallied, she faded. She was already asleep by the time I left her house.

Nancy had other good days before God took her home eight weeks later. But none like that day.

Maybe that’s why I don’t react like others do when they see stores putting out their Christmas things at the end of October. For me, it’s never too early.

I’m always in the mood for a little Christmas, aren’t you?

Renee Ann Smith teaches high school English by day and writes inspirational fiction by night. Represented by Joel Kneedler, she has won both Genesis and Dauphne Awards. You can connect with Renee at her blog Doorkeeper, on Facebook, and on Twitter.

Altered Art is...

~ Collaging, embellishing, enameling, stamping or doing anything else to a book  or other household item to reflect a creative idea, theme or narrative.

Collecting items to create Altered Art has become almost an obsession. I see potential in EVERYTHING! I save tea boxes, yogurt cartons, jelly jars, plastic trays, spaghetti boxes, and cereal boxes. Have I made anything out of these wannabe trash to treasure goodies? Well, no but I'm going to. I will. I promise. I just need more time in my day. I do like to read, you know. And I have two boys that I homeschool, laundry to be done, dishes to be washed, and I like to read. I said that already, didn't I?

I have made one really super cool box, though. If you're on my Facebook then you've already seen it, but you can hang around and ooohhh and aaahhh over the photos again. Be kind. It's my first one.

Pretty, huh? It was so much fun! And I learned alot doing this one. Like what type of glue NOT to use.