A little pizzaz with scrapbook paper!

This has been a little project I've had my mind on for a couple of weeks. I just lOOOve wreaths and I think there is no good reason they should be reserved for Christmas time. I found this little summery looking wreath at Goodwill a few weeks ago and spruced it up with a wooden "H" from Hobby Lobby. I decoupaged this cute scrapbook paper on it and tied it to the wreath with twine.





I also used this same print on scrapbook paper to make little sleeves for the white candle sticks/tubes on my chandelier in the dining room. Those little white candle sticks were so bland and dingy looking, but now they totally coordinate with my wreath! Now all this chandelier needs is some light eggshell blue mini shades! Anyone know where I can find them cheap??




And finally, this little helper was watching me hang my wreath!

Remorse and Repentance

Today in a bible study I attend we were discussing John 18. That is the part in the Bible right before Jesus's trial and crucifixion where Judas betrays Jesus with a kiss to the Roman soldiers and Peter denies Jesus three times to the temple guards. We were discussing the difference between "remorse" and "repentance". Even though both men betrayed Jesus in his time of need, the scriptures say Judas feels remorse and Peter demonstrated repentance.
Judas' remorse for his wrongdoing led him to hang himself but Peter's repentance for his wrongdoing led him to go on and have an amazing ministry for Christ.

So, how did these two men have such different reactions to their sinful actions?

Well, yourdictionary.com defines "Remorse" as: a deep, torturing sense of guilt felt over a wrong that one has done. "Repentance" is defined as: to feel such regret for past conduct as to change one's mind regarding it.

The difference between Judas and Peter is that Judas never humbled himself and asked for forgiveness. His guilt, therefore, followed him-torturing him, until he couldn't take it any longer and ended his life. The scriptures say, Peter, on the other hand, "wept deeply" over his actions and we learn that he sought forgiveness from the Lord. Peter humbled himself and repented of his sins-allowing God to free him of his guilt. This freedom fueled a ministry for Peter that was one of true devotion to God and passion to do Christ's work for the remainder of his life.

Praise God for the freedom He so mercifully gives when we repent!

Discipline and Trust

"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:11

How true this is.

Isn't is amazing how accepting discipline and trust go hand in hand. I see this most clearly in moments when I'm leading my child who has just misbehaved into the bathroom. Her hand in mine, we go. Often times she is crying as we walk, but she keeps ahold of me, walking right by my side. While she knows what awaits her may sting a bit, she trusts her momma to hold and comfort her after, and not to cause her pain for any reason she can't understand.

Can we view our Loving Father this way? Can we trust God to discipline us for our good? Do we truly trust God to produce righteousness and peace in our lives?

Like my little girl, I don't look forward to being disciplined. I like to cry or pity myself for awhile. One such situation happened a few months ago. I, after two margaritas (and a whole lot of chips and salsa) made a flippant and casual comment to a group of young women in my church's college ministry about "what to expect from your man once married." I was challenged by an older godly women at the table, that my comment wasn't biblical and untrue for couples submitting to each other and the Lord. I, pridefully tried to defend my comment for the next 10 minutes until falling awkwardly silent and anxious to go home.

The next day, God weighed heavily on my heart. I read through my prayer journal and realized that I had prayed for an opportunity to grow in humility the week before. Obviously this was my answer to prayer. God told me I was not right and that I needed to apologize to all the women I had mislead, the specific woman who had challenged me and even to my own husband- who wasn't even there, but whom I had inadvertently disrespected. I cried much that day. I tried to make my comment sound more right. I tried to convince myself I didn't really explain it well enough or that all the women had misunderstood me.

But by the end of the day, God had convinced me of my sin and the ugliness of my pride in refusing to admit it. I followed God's leading-wrote an email and made some phone calls of apology to these women. After repairing these tender hearts and asking for my husband's forgiveness, I felt a hearty weight lifted off my shoulders. It felt good to obey but I still sat discouraged that I had so messed up.

I read back through my journal and realized that I had also asked God to allow me to be joyful in this humility training. No sooner had I thought, "now that's impossible" did God give me 5 reasons that I could be JOYful in His discipline!

1. God hears me! He answered my prayer so swiftly!
2. God is interested in my spiritual growth! He desires to produce a HARVEST of righteousness and peace in my life.
3. I got to demonstrate humility-a quality of Jesus Christ's- to other women who look up to me!
4. I got to be comforted by my husband as I apologized and cried in his arms.
5. God got a victory!

Eating my pride that day was hard, but choosing to trust God and allowing Him to train me produced an immediate peace and even great joy!

Even though my little 3 year old may not recognize it, her smile and freed spirit after a correction reminds me that discipline is good when we trust God (or momma) to be trained by it.

G'night!
Jessica

What color are you?

I love my girlfriend Ashley's blog. She always seems to weed through the ideas and post about the best of the best. Research is her gift! You can check her out here: http://rahouck.blogspot.com/

Anyway, recently she posted a cute little quiz that determines what "color" you are and what your color means about you. I took the quiz. At 11p.m. Can't sleep.

I'm a purple and I'd say I'm pretty happy with the results!
Purple people:

Spontaneity is the key to your existence. Quick-witted with a flair for originality, you enjoy situations that allow you to explore your creativity. Comparatively conservative, you appreciate beautiful surroundings, especially if they’re found in nature. Your relaxed and self-assured personality allows you to work well with others. Surprisingly enough, your unique and unusual tastes don’t prevent you from being comfortable among your more conservative peers.

Ashley is definitely a Red.
What are you?!

Subtle reminders of Spring

So, warmer weather struck Iowa on Thursday-62 degrees! Friday morning we woke up to 2 inches of snow. Thankfully, it only stuck around but a few hours and we were basking in the glow of Spring skies and soggy yellow yards once again! In fact, the only thing snow white around here anymore are my pasty legs that haven't seen the light of day in 6 months. Looking forward to breaking out the spring wardrobe any day now!

With sweet Spring in the air, I've been inspired to add a few Eastery/Springy things around the house for fun!

I found this white rod-iron tree at Goodwill. It originally was a tacky gold color and held little votive candles. What 15 minutes and a can of Heirloom White spray paint from Hobby Lobby can do!

I had extra eggs laying around, so I gathered some sticks from our back yard (And their is plenty more where they came from!), planted them in a vase and let Blair decorate our very own outdoor Easter tree.

It's hard to see, but I love this little nest displayed in the mini cake plate I splurged on from Hobby Lobby yesterday ($15!). The little robins eggs are actually chocolate malt eggs. Who doesn't love edible home decor?!

Blair is very much into doing crafts these days (a girl after her mom's own heart) and we found this paper plate flower idea from one of her "High Five" Highlights magazines. It's hard to see, but we taped different strips of scrapbook paper to a paperplate that we cut into a flower shape and hung with twine! It was an easy craft that held her attention well!

I hope everyone enjoys their beautiful, blue-sky Sunday today! Even the skittery ground squirrels that run in and out of the nest they've made in my front step remind me of God's beautiful creation and his faithfulness in bringing about new life each March.

Love,
Jessica

Cutesy Clipboard!

Okay, so there has been a craze of "dollar store crafts" in blog-world these days, and I've jumped on the bandwagon. Well, sorta. I really just had this idea in my head and found a clipboard at The Dollar Tree last week! I needed a new clipboard to keep me organized while coordinating weddings at my church. I thought it would be kinda fun to decoupage some lovely little decals on it-to use while working with the young mushy love birds on their wedding day! To help me...get in the mood, so to speak. :)

Supplies
Mod Podge...a girls best friend. Also, what I call my post-pregnancy belly.

Finished product. It's still drying, that's why it's so glossy.


Decorative back

"Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4

I wanted to hurry through this little project because it's already 11:15pm and I suspecting another "bad" night with London and Blair's room-sharing endeavor. (London's already woken up 3 times since we put her to bed at 8pm. I pray that I'm able to "Delight myself in the Lord..." even in the wee hours of the morning while trying to rock her back to sleep.) But this project could really lend itself to some creative genius...think, ribbon, calligraphy, buttons!

Goodnight!

Oh yeah...here's those pictures of Blair and London's bedroom

Looking from the door view

My first attempt at sewing curtains didn't turn out too bad. Never mind the safety pins behind the frilly pink bunches holding them together...

Butterfly collage I made by punching out pretty designs in magazine pages with my butterfly hole punch.

Another view!

Ahhh...more Pink...More PINK!