Guest Post at Faithful Bloggers!

I'm excited to share that I am a featured guest blogger over at Faithful Bloggers on their devotional page! It's a post I shared here on my blog a few weeks ago. I hope it will bless you as you take the time to read it. Please feel free to share the link.



I will be back on Saturday with my Week of Thankfuls as I continue the countdown to Thanksgiving.

Jueves (Thursday)

Today the work was finished on the sidewalk. Bruce and Jeremy prayed over the remaining 2 bags of cement asking God to stretch it enough to finish the work. God was faithful and there was no need to run to the store and buy more! The best part of finishing the sidewalk was letting all the kids put their hand prints in the wet cement. That will be something they will always be able to look back on and point and say "That's My hand print!" Special moment for sure.

how beautiful are the HAND-PRINTS...... 

I worked with Cherie most of the day, helping her with her blog. I also sorted through the scads of pictures I have taken so far separating out the ones of the kids for Cherie. There will still be plenty of pictures to sort from here till we leave but best to not leave that all till the last minute!

Thunder has rolled across the valley and the air feels heavy and oppressive. Rain would be welcome at this point as this feels like the hottest day thus far.

The children have been playing in the yard, alternating between the wading pool, the trampoline and the swing sets. Also the dogs next door with their 4 little puppies are a huge hit with the kids. One little girl in particular loves to lug those pups around, wrapped in a baby blanket, like a dolly.

Tomorrow will be a tea party for the girls and their friends. While that is going on the boys will be learning some boy scout values. Pitching a tent, tying knots, reading a compass. Tomorrow will be also be our last full day here at Residencia de Vida. (Residence of Life) then a weekend and a day before we fly home.

Not sure what our weekend plans are yet.... most likely some time to tour this beautiful country.

Romans 10.15

... As it is written....How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news. 

Happy to report I seem to have fixed my blogger/picture issue!! Happy Happy Joy Joy!! And now I can share this sweet necklace that my friend Melody gave me yesterday! 

Click on the link below to learn more about the necklace and the beautiful ministry it supports!

Violet's Story

It's crazy that with us leaving next Wed. we are also going away this weekend with our small group. What were we thinking??? Aaaaah.... perhaps we were thinking we could manage this, LOL. It will all be FINE. I'm just a little frazzled this evening with the overwhelming tasks of packing and planning. I have something weighing heavily on my heart and mind as well this evening and am praying for peace and resolution. I can't do anything about it tonight except pray.

I guess I better get back to my packing.....

Craftiness.... ???

yesterday as I left the craft store with my little bag of hope, my mother commented  "You get that from me." 

I thought for a moment, of all the hundreds of quilts she has crafted, the clothes she made for my siblings and me and all the grandbabies, for the unique decorations she made over the years and I had to agree. Yes. When it comes to the desire to craft things, it's my mother's genes influencing me.

 As for  the writing gene .... my dad was the storyteller. 

Whether he was spinning a tale from his childhood escapades or thrilling us with a bible story, complete with sound effects and body motions, Dad could tell a story well. 

I guess I never really thought about it before but yes, both my parents had/have a creative flow and it has passed on to my sibs and me. My sister is crafty with both words and art. One of my brothers creates beauty out of cement. Another brother is gifted with mechanical genius as well as offering wise and kind words as needed. 

Last night I sat at my kitchen counter playing with  stickers and painting pen, trying to turn little ceramic tiles into cute refrigerator magnets. I always have high hopes when it comes to arts and crafts but the truth is I can see it so clearly in my head yet my hands often betray me. Which is why I stick to writing. 

Still the craft store woos me. I wander the aisles, lusting after all the dreams and hopes it's bounty inspires me with. I get into these crafty moods in cycles and will drop $20 in a heartbeat if I think it will allow me to turn something blank into something whimsical.  

I sat back after a couple of hours and looked at my "handiwork". 

I am super critical of myself in this area. My sweet husband leaned over my shoulder and applauded what I'd done but I just kept looking and frowning. I don't like my handwriting. I didn't balance things well. I want more/different stickers. I need more ideas for things to put on the tiles.... 

then I stuck my neck out even more by posting some pictures of what I'd done on facebook 

for all the world to see... 

and laugh. 

Oh why do I do this to myself? 

Berate myself I mean. 

This is the sin of self confidence. The ability to see myself in the worst possible light. So quick to find fault with what I've done. So quick to forget that when God made me He smiled. He didn't create me and then sit back and think "I should have put her eyes a little closer together" or "I think I wired her wrong." 

No, I have to believe that I, like the psalmist says,  am fearfully and wonderfully made. That God delights in me... even sings over me, as it says in Zephaniah. 

I suppose as long as I live, this will be the area I will struggle with time and time again. 

 I've certainly BLOGGED about it enough times!! But I can also laugh at myself and not in a harsh way. 

I'll get this, eventually. 

Meanwhile, there are still some blank tiles to play with....