For Real Friday 3.18.11

Welcome Friends!!
So glad you stopped by for another For Real Friday, where I share fun stuff (stamping!), family stuff, friend stuff, and faith stuff.  I hope you'll stay and let me chat for a moment.  :)

First the fun stuff!!!

EASTER BLOSSOMS

STAMPS:  Refuge and Strength (retired), Easter Blossoms (sentiment)
PAPER:  Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry
ACCESSORIES:  Basic Pearls, Floral Fusion Sizzlet, Little Leves Sizzlet, Eyelet Scallop Border Punch, Decorative Label Punch, Oval Punch, Olive Grosgrain, Vintage Wallpaper EF

Color Challenge:  JUST ADD INK #60
Sketch Challenge:  TECHNO STAMPER #165
Recipe Challenge:  PAPERTAKE WEEKLY  Trio-Tastic
Recipe Challenge:  SUO CHALLENGE #14  Favorite Retired SU! Stamp Set-Refuge & Strength
Scripture Challenge:  STAMPIN' SISTERS IN CHRIST #80 Matthew 6:21


Matthew 6:21 "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."  Linda Lucas' challenge for the Stampin' Sisters In Christ was to create something that represented what we treasure most.  As she says, "But when it comes down to it, the things I treasure cannot be bought or sold-they are a matter of the heart and of the Kingdom!"  That is why I chose to use my retired cross from the Refuge and Strength set.  Because what I treasure most is the salvation I have received through the death and resurrection of my faithful Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  Salvation that is not deserved, but is given freely, to a sinner such as myself.  A treasure indeed!!!


Some of you have asked me how I keep track of all the challenges I partcipate in.  I have all of the challenges saved to my "favorites".  In my favorites, I've created categories:
SUO Challenges
Non-SUO Challenges
I also have sub categories of:
Color Challenges
Sketch Challenges
Multi Challenges (blogs that offer a different challenge each week)
Some of the blogs I subscribe to through Blogger, so I get updates on my Dashboard.  But not all blogs have that option available.  So those are the ones I "have" to visit each week.  If it is a challenge I think I will participate in, I jot (or scribble!) it down in my little "challenge notebook".  Funny thing about these little books... a year ago, some girlfriends and I "dared" each other to lose weight.  These little books were supposed to be my food diaries, but they quickly became my stampin diaries instead.  :)  Here's a pic of my current notebook, messy handwriting and all.

It really is a simple system.  Nothing fancy or elaborate.  I try to keep sketch challenges on one side and color and recipe challenges on the other.  But sometimes they overlap and then it becomes a fun creative mess!!


Last week I shared that the 14yo man-child and 12yo DD were going to be playing in the worship band on Sunday.  They did a wonderful job.  I was a proud little momma!!  DD even had a little "organ" solo on the keyboard.  What a blessing to see your children begin to share their gifts in ministry at such a young age.  It's another treasure of my heart!!

We are so blessed to have a Christian music school in town called Fusion School Of Music.  14yo man-child started playing bass 3 years ago.  Last year he took accoustic guitar lessons and this year he is taking bass lessons again.  12yo DD started keyboard classes two years ago.  This year she added violin, voice, and music essentials.  Between music lessons and swim practices, I spend my afternoons and evenings carting kids around!  Thankfully, the pool and the church where the music school is located are just up the road from each other.

And speaking of DD, here is her first official "brace face" picture!

She chose purple and turquoise rubber bands.  :)  Her mouth was only sore for about a day and a half.  She has quite a few teeth that they are trying to make room for, so she has a couple of springs on the wires and those always hurt.

Yay!!!  Spring is almost here!!  Here are a few pictures I took in my backyard yesterday.

Isn't God's creation glorious?!!  I'm always amazed at the beauty of nature.  The gorgeous colors and shapes.  I'm always inspired to create something after I've gone for a walk and gazed at the depth of the blue in the sky and the brilliant shades of green in the grass and the trees.  The colors of creation are another thing I treasure!

Last weekend, hubby had a church demoninational meeting in Sacramento and I got to tag along.  (I'll go anywhere for a weekend away!)  The day before the meeting, they had a one day conference featuring Reggie McNeal.  I was thankful that I was able to attend.  He's a very dynamic speaker.  And really funny too.  He does have a bad habit of starting sentences and thoughts and never completing them.  Listening to him can sometimes feel like playing pinball.  He just bounces all over the place!  The thrust of his message was about Christains being more missional minded in their everyday lives.  Some things I took away from that day:

Be a people of blessing

Be Jesus in your neighborhood

I am the church

Serve your way into peoples hearts

Move from internal to external

Not everyone in our group agreed with what Reggie had to say.  But I think that is part of the maturing process in your walk with the Lord.  We have to be able to decide why we do or don't believe in an idea and then back up our reasoning based on Scripture.  Hubby and I also listened to Rob Bell last night online.  The church he pastors at is called Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids, MI.  He has a new book coming out about heaven and hell.  I read his last book, Velvet Elvis.  He also, is somewhat "controversial".  He really likes to push the envelope with his ideas and ways of thinking about faith.  Again, another opportunity to reevaluate, what do I believe and why?

There are always going to be people who have ideas we don't necessarily agree with 100%.  But is there anything in their message that we can take away and apply it to our lives to make us a more loving, caring, compassionate people?  People who are slow to anger and abounding in love?  People who see the world the way God sees the world?  As broken and hurting and in need of hope? 

That's always my struggle.  I'm so busy just trying to be a halfway decent wife and mom.  Running a house (or it running me!).  Making sure everyone has clean underwear and is eating something besides Pop-Tarts.  I never feel like I'm doing enough to help heal the hurts of others around me.  Am I being Jesus in my neighborhood?  Am I a blessing to others?  If there were just more time in the day!!!  But for now, I have to be satisifed with the small things I can accomplish, teaching Sunday School to 5th-8th graders, reading devotions with my kids at the dinner table, sending a card to someone who is sick or hurting, meeting with a friend who needs a listening ear, speaking at Young Life when they ask.  I need to remember that not all of us were created to be the Billy Grahams of this world.  Some of us just need to be Jesus where we are... at the pool, at a swim meet, at school.   So I will try my best to be a blessing to others, no matter how small of an act that may be.

In case you are wondering, no, I did not win the She Speaks scholarship.  I think I'm more of a She Chats kind of girl anyway.  :)   Someday it would be wonderful to attend the conference.  Who knows what the Lord has in store.  I checked out the blogs of the two gals that won... wow!  They deserve it!  You can check them out too:

AMANDA D

KRISTY

I'm so glad you stopped by today.  I hope you will stop by again sometime!

God Bless!