Please Mr. Postman!

We have a very friendly mailman.  Very jovial and inquisitive, he loves to start a conversation and ask questions about various topics.  I do not mind whatsoever because I believe that it gives me license to ask whatever questions that I want.  Of course the topic about God came up, and I was very surprised to find that he is an atheist. 

Now Jorge is someone that I will be seeing on an ongoing basis, so I am going to take this one slow.  Our first topic of conversation in regards to God was whether or not we believe that man is innately good or evil.  I told him that we are evil and he believes that man is good.

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?      Jeremiah 17:9

I think my next question will be about whether or not he has peace.  I have not run into many atheists when I am out there sharing, so I think that is why it was such a shock to me.  Please leave me a comment if you have any suggestions you can give me.

Lord, I pray for Jorge, that You will begin to reveal Yourself to him.  Surround him with others who can share with him and may he even have a personal encounter with You.  Give me wisdom as I interact with him.

The Shoemaker and the Elves

Do you remember the story of the Elves and the Shoemaker by the Grimm Brothers?  The Shoemaker would leave some leather out overnight and would wake up the next morning to a very well made pair of shoes that little elves had made through the night.  I feel like the those little elves sometimes as I am taking advantage of the late night hours to finish my projects without interruptions.  In the morning I am too tired to get up with my husband but there is something new to admire in the living room.  Last night it was throw pillows.

Throw pillows in my home go through so much.  If you look close enough, you could see stains on these dark pillows from my children drooling on them during their naps.  My solution for this: slipcovers!

I started by measuring out enough fabric to have a 1/4 inch seam allowance on each side but leaving enough fabric on the top end to overlap about 10 inches over.   

Then I brought the first side of my fabric to the middle of the pillow and pinned the ends.  That is the point at which I would close the sides. 

I sewed the left side and the right side up to each pin.  Then I folded it again, allowing some fabric to overlap again and closed the right side and the left side. 

When I was done sewing, there was an opening in the middle which is where I would slip the pillow into.

Then I slipped the pillow inside the cover.  Here it is hugging the

pillow nicely.

And when they get dirty, which I already noticed some pencil marks after putting them out last night, I just take the covers off and throw them in the wash.

Delighting in Our Trials

But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which have happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard,and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear...Phil 1:12-14

We had the second meeting of an 8 week series of our women's study tonight.  We are going through a study written by Kay Smith through the book of Philippians.  In tonight's study we learned that Paul, the author of the letter to the Philippian church, found joy in his circumstances and actually allowed the Lord to use him in two very specific ways.  One was to spread the message of the good news of Christ's sacrifice for our salvation to the prison guard and to the members of Caesar's court.  The second was to encourage believers to boldly share the message even in the midst of persecution. 

The women in my group all agreed that we were all inspired to share boldly with those within our sphere of influence.  Our family members, co-workers, even those that we come into contact with throughout our day. 

Lord Jesus, cause Your Holy Spirit to come upon us in power to share your good news with those around us.

 

Bringing Her Food From Afar...China

This is my secret ingredient.  When I invite friends over for a Chinese dinner, they marvel at my ability to emulate the cuisine.  The truth is...it has very little to do with my cooking skill and everything to do with this sauce.

It is called Black Bean Garlic Sauce.  The flavor is pungent, with a salty, bitter, sweet taste to it.

Stirfry - In beef, chicken or pork with your choice of vegetables.  Fry meat and vegetables until cooked through, add 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and 2 tablespoons of black bean garlic sauce to frying pan.  Saute the mixture for a couple of minutes.  Serve with steamed rice.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

3 tablespoons oil
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (finely chopped)
1 cup water chestnuts finely chopped
2/3 cup mushrooms finely chopped
3 tablespoons chopped onions
1 teaspoon minced garlic
4 -5 leaves iceberg lettuce
2 tablespoons black bean garlic sauce

Bring oil to high heat in a wok or large frying pan.  Saute minced chicken for 2-3 min or until done.  Remove chicken from pan and set aside.  With the pan still on high heat, add another Tbsp of vegetable oil.  Add chicken, garlic, onions, water chestnuts and mushrooms to the pan.  Add the black bean garlic sauce to the pan and saute the mixture for a couple minutes then serve it in the lettuce cups.
(I tend to substitute ground meat for the chicken and whatever vegetables I have on hand; green onions, carrots, zucchini, etc., all finely chopped)

Bringing Her Food From Afar...

She is like the merchant ships, she brings her food from afar.  Proverbs 31:14

When I was single, I had the opportunity to travel to many different countries.  I loved experiencing the new sights, sounds and flavors of the various new lands that I was encountering.  As a mommy with two small children, the term "overseas travel" has pretty much disappeared from our dialog.  I must confess that when our schedule becomes predictable, and the day-to-day tasks become monotonous, my mind drifts to those days of old.  That is when I need "a little more" for the day and I cry out to the Lord to give me fresh perspective.

In His infinate wisdom, boundless creativity...and still, small voice, He reminds me that life is still an adventure.  This time however, it includes two little souls who I have the opportunity to share my experiences with.  So I am purposing to bring the world to my family through food.  I may not be able to venture across the seas...but I can bring the flavors of the world into my kitchen.  Along with some good old fashioned lessons in geography, foreign language and the culinary arts.

Ultimately, I desire for my children to know Christ and am learning that sharing with them is as important as sharing with those around us.

Delighting in Preschool

For the last three years, my children have belonged to a preschool that is connected to our homeschool group at church.  We are so blessed to be connected to such a wonderful group of people.  We operate as a co-op, meaning that each family participates to keep the classes running and to organize field trips, our newsletter, a Mom's Night Out fellowship, and other fun activities throughout the year. 

Today we had the privilege of going to the California Science Center.  One of the families arranged for us to get there on a school bus.  I couldn't help but marvel at how generous the Lord is to us to give us such a wonderful experience!  And my kids being of preschool age!  Our favorite part was probably the marine aquarium where we had a chance to see a scuba diver give us a presentation about his gear and the fish he had in the aquarium. 

There were also three rooms that were perfect for toddlers and preschoolers.  I was very impressed by the fact that they supervised the rooms with plenty of help.  One room even had three helpers that were there to guide us through the rooms and play with our kids.  At one point is was just my children and I in the rooms so we had their undivided attention.  I was able to share my testimony with them about what the Lord did in my life when I was their age.  I shared with them about the love of Christ, His desire for us to know Him on a personal basis, and the plans that He will reveal about our lives as we draw nearer to Him.  One of the girls was very open to hear my message.  She admitted that this was something that she knew she needed in her life.  We prayed and I could see that there was an instant change in her countenance. 

Lord, I pray that you will continue to draw her closer into a relationship with you.  Draw them into a church where they can be led to You dear Jesus Christ. 

A Little Extra Fabric



At the end of a bolt of fabric the sales associate will always ask you if you would like to buy the rest of it at a discounted price.  It's usually less than a yard.  With this particular fabric, the woman told me that I had enough to make a pillow to coordinate with the curtains that I was planning to make.  At the time, I couldn't think past the curtains, but I ended up buying it anyways. 

Now that I had completed my curtains, I was itching to do something else.  Lately, I have been sitting in the middle of my living room thinking about what project I am going to do next.  That's when that little ottoman caught my attention.  I have always wanted to reupholster something, so I starting taking it apart.  What I discovered was that there is not much to it.  I removed all the hardware, pulled out the legs and matched up my decor fabric to the fabric that was on there. 

I pulled the fabric tightly over the top part of the ottoman and stapled the center first and then worked to the corners.  It was much like wrapping a gift.  This ottoman had buttons on the top, which I recovered and then put them back into place with a curved needle.  Once the buttons were in place, I pulled them underneath tightly and secured them with the staple gun.  This is what creates the tufted look.  Next, I stapled down all the black lining and replaced the legs and hardware. 

Not as Hard as I Thought

I have very little experience with the sewing machine.  I once took a class where I learned how to make a standard pillowcase.  I enjoyed the pleasure of creating something, but never thought I would go any further.  Until I started looking for curtains for my living room.  There was nothing that appealed to my taste as I searched the stores.  So I opted for Jo-Ann's and was pleasantly surprised to find some fabric that caught my eye. 



I knew I wanted my panels to be about 84 inches long, so I bought three yards for each panel.  I  hemmed the sides of the curtain by folding ever each raw edge a 1/4 of an inch, then about a half inch.  Then I folded the top edge with enough fabric to put the curtain rod through, ironed it flat and sewed it in place.  The bottom I folded leaving a little extra fabric to create some weight, ironed and sewed in place. 

Very simple and perfect for a beginner.  We'll see how ambitious I will get in the future.

Nothing to Fear but Fear Itself

One of the most common rationalizations for not getting things accomplished in my living room is just plain fear.  A girlfriend and I were just talking about how we allow ourselves to become paralyzed in our tasks because of fear.  She made a reference to a man name John Fischer who writes a daily devotional and had just posted about fear.  You can read his blog here:  http://catchjohnfischer.wordpress.com/  But John says, "Fear rules where inactivity festers. Fear dissipates where activity flourishes."  He illustrates his point using Peter coming out of the boat to walk to Jesus on the water. 

So I am going to take his advice, I am going to take the sewing machine out, research a couple of tutorials online, and I'm going to make some curtains.  Above is the fabric that I am going to make them out of.

Here goes nothing...

Delighting in My Living Room

The thought of decorating any of the rooms in my house seems so overwhelming.  Even the very thought of hammering a nail into the wall immobilized me.  I have been married nearly seven years now, have two children, and have never completed my bedroom, a nursery...anything!  I figured that one day when I got some friends over to help me, it will happen.  Or one day when we have a little extra money, I could start decorating.  Or one day when we move into a house.  Or even just move into a place where they would let me paint the walls for crying out loud!

This January, I have decided that I am going to do it.  I am setting small deadlines to keep me on track and to give me a starting point since I am a hopeless procrastinator.  I desperately need a deadline so that I can wait to the last moment.  I am no longer going to let these moments of enjoying my home slip me by. 

So here we go....

Although you cannot tell from looking at it, the living room has a couple of updates that have already been implemented.  But yes, it still has a long way to go.  We replaced a very small bookcase that was about 3 feet tall with the one you see there.  We also had a tan, microfiber sectional, which has since been replaced with the white.  I always said that one day when my kids grow up, I will have a white sofa, but we are going with the theme and living in the moment.  Who knows what sofa color will be popular when they become of white sofa dwelling age. 

Changes I would like to see:

• Curtains
• Throw pillows (currently they are red)
• Some kind of organization in the bookcase and with my kids books to the left of the armoire
• Rug
• Coffee table
• Additional seating...chairs, ottoman, etc. 
• Artwork on the walls
• Family photos
• Paint the armoire

Delight in the joy of redecorating my living room with me, and join me if this is something that has been on your heart to do.