My Secret Tool!!

How many times have you spilled a container of brads or eyelets??? If only I had a nickel for each time I could buy a lot of stamps. Spilling them is not a question of "if". It is a question of "when". And let's face it, it's a royal pain to clean them up!!

Well this is my secret weapon!! It actually isn't a stamping tool at all. It is from the world of canning and preserving. It is a little heavy duty plastic stick that is 7 3/4" long. On the end it has a very powerful magnet. It is intended to pick up canning lids and rings that you have sterilized in boiling water. On the other end is a hole that makes it handy for hanging up on a peg rack or any kind of hook.

I can't begin to tell you how easy this little tool makes cleaning up anything metal you might use in your craft room. It's so handy!! It even helps find those elusive bits that fall into the carpet fibers and you can't see very well cause they blend in.

Look for it in any store that sells canning supplies (WalMart, Meijers, Target, Lowes, Menards, etc...) It's only a few bucks at the most and well worth the investment!

I Have Been Abundantly Blessed!!

One thing I all too often take for granted are my friends. I think we all do at times. I'm talking about your true friends, the ones you know will be there through thick and thin! Over my life (which will soon be a half century), the Lord has blessed me with some very dear friends. I want to take this opportunity to recognize those dear friends who I all too often take for granted.

In high school I had two friends who to this day mean the world to me even though we don't talk often or seldom see each other. They were Mary and Janelle. In college my sweet dear friend who also was my maid of honor was Gwendelyn, who I affectionately called Gwenie-pooh. With all three of these girls I got myself into a lot of trouble and then out, laughed till I cried, shared secrets, cried over boys with, and just enjoyed the fellowship of a sweet friend.

As I entered adulthood I still was blessed with even more very dear friends. One who I would consider my dearest friend is someone who I can not talk to for months and we can pick up the conversation where we left it off before. She is someone who I am so comfortable with we don't even have to talk, we can just be together. She is someone who has been there for me through horrible events. She has also rejoiced with me through joyful occasions. Her name is Delilah.

Another dear friend is someone who keeps me grounded. Sharon is like the big sister I never had. She can get me in trouble and then get me out. She'll tease me to no end, but defend me to the hilt when I am attacked by others. She's not afraid to tell me like it is and then help me get through my problems. She'll also cheer me on when I feel like I can't keep going anymore.

Although these are not the only friends I have had in my life, these are the women who have meant the most to me other than my Mother. Each of them was placed into my life by the Lord to teach me something very important. I learned something different from each of the relationships I have had with them. But what was shared the most through all of these dear friendships was an unconditional love. Even when I was a total jerk and not so friendly, they never let me down or rejected me. They loved me and still do for who I was and who I have become. I am abundantly blessed because of them. I am abundantly blessed by them. Proverbs 17:17a says, "A friend loves at all times." Without a doubt I can say that these friends of mine have loved me at all times, even when I haven't been so lovable.

Proverbs 18:24 says, "A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." This verse means so much to me, not only because of what is says about the friendships I have had with these dear ladies, but also what it says about the friendship I have with someone who has been there even more than any of them have been for me. That friend would be Jesus Christ!

I didn't find the friendship I have with Him until I was almost 19, but when I did I can't even come close to tell you how much that friendship has meant to me over the years. Each and every special thing the women in my life have done doesn't measure up to what He has done for me. There were times they couldn't be there for me because of distance or circumstances in their own lives, but without fail He has always been there for me. I know that with a surety beyond my understanding. Hebrews 13: 5b says, "For He Himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you." What an amazing promise, and something I can hardly grasp the total meaning of. How could someone love me so much to do all He has done for me? It is such a blessing, an abundant blessing!

I have a new group of friends in my life now, and I met them, of all places on the internet. We call ourselves The Dork Sisters. These ladies live all over the country, yet we have forged a close knit group. We are only a couple of clicks away from each other even though thousands of literal miles separate us. I am again abundantly blessed to call them my friends. Each and every one of them has brought something significant to my life and I am thankful for that!

I learned about a special blog award that is going around and decided that all blog awards have to start somewhere so I would start this one with my dear Dork Sisters. It is the Circle of Friends Award. I am awarding it to 5 of them to start with (that way they can share it with other Dorks!!). I picked the names randomly too by drawing them out of a basket. They all mean the world to me so I didn't know how to choose any other way!

So here they are (in no particular order other than how I drew them out of the basket):

Toni

Karen Lynn

Traci

Beth

Wendy

So now what do you do. Well you need to follow the guidelines bellow:

Cut and paste the award logo and use it on your own blog.

Nominate 5 other bloggers you feel have become a part of your circle of friends.

Link to your nominees within your blog post.

Include these instructions on how to pick up the award in your blog post.

To show your appreciation to the person who gave you the award, link back to their blog.

Finally, comment on the recipients blogs to let them know they've received the award.

This is just my small way to let the Dork Sisters know how much they all mean to me. I hope they all know how special they are.

So if you have some very dear friends I hope you feel like you are abundantly blessed as well. Make sure your friends know how much they mean to you and what a difference they have made in your life. And if you would like to know more about how you can have the same friendship with Jesus Christ as I do contact me. I would love to tell you how!

I am abundantly blessed!!

25 Wonderful Years!

It is so hard for me to believe sometimes, but my sweet husband and I have been married now for 25 years. It is hard for me to believe because it just doesn't seem that long already. I feel like I am just now getting the hang of this whole marriage thing.

We were finally able to take a long awaited honeymoon. When we were first married it was not financially or job-wise possible for us to take a honeymoon. We were married on Saturday the 28th of July, 1984. On Sunday we drove from western NY to north central IN where we were going to be making our new home together. On Monday Rick went to work because his boss would only give him 2 days off from his 6 day a week job. So the honeymoon was put on hold indefinitely.

All through the years there has been a desire to get away just the two of us. We spent so much of what travelling we did going to conferences for church or other ministries we were involved in and visiting family. Never once was it more than just a night stolen away here and there that we were able to get away by ourselves. But the Lord knew exactly what we needed and when we needed it. He blessed us just recently through a few members of our church congregation. The money for such a trip was there all in one big chunk. What an awesome blessing it was for us!

So we started making plans for our short getaway. Plans that we kept secret from all but a few friends. Plans that were to include no phone calls and no unexpected visits. Plans that would involve lots of down time to relax and just enjoy each others company. We were really looking forward to it.

Each and every year we have done the same thing for our anniversary, we have gone to Amish Acres in Nappanee, IN. We haven't missed once. It is something we look forward to, enjoying the Threshers Dinner and antiquing. This year was certainly no exception. When we arrived some very special things awaited us, a bouquet of flowers, a fresh loaf of bread and a wonderful gift basket full of yummy treats and food sold in the gift store. They also gave us a window table off all to ourselves. To say the least it was very romantic and we enjoyed our meal very much! What an awesome blessing it was to us! The picture is of us with the owner of Amish Acres. He came out to greet us and thank us for coming every year.

That was just the start. We also travelled to Cedarville, Ohio. The college that we met at is in that small town and it was so much fun to go see the old campus and relive some wonderful memories of our time there. But, my has the campus changed! It has changed so much that one of the dorms I lived in isn't even there anymore. While we were there we also went to a small town near the campus that we used to frequent. It was a hoot for us to see how little that town had changed. I won't say what town it is, but the whole place seems to have been stuck in a time warp from the 60's. It always makes us smile when we go there!

Our next stop was in Kentucky. We went to Petersburg to visit the Creation Museum. Oh my goodness was that an amazing place! We spent the whole day there from when they opened to when they closed and still didn't get it all in. What a wonderful place to visit. It was so refreshing to see see exhibits that focused on things from a biblical point of view. We were so blessed by visiting and I would recommend it to anyone!

On our way home we took our time driving simply because we didn't want the trip to end. Often we stopped in small towns to visit antique stores and gift shops. And we did come home with a few choice goodies from those stores.

I would have to say that this was by far the best trip we have ever taken. Don't get me wrong all the trips we took over the years for ministry were very much worth it, as well as the trips to visit family. We wouldn't change a bit of that. I would say though that the time we had alone for 5 days really helped us refresh and renew ourselves. We both came back relaxed and ready to get going with life again.

I am so thankful that I can say that we have had 25 wonderful years of marriage. Yes we have had our ups and downs. Yes we have had our share of problems. Yet through all of that we have been grateful for all the Lord has done for us and through us. He has drawn us closer together each and every year as we have grown in Him.

This is the card I gave Rick for our anniversary. Some may think it is a little odd considering it is not silver nor does it mention anything about an anniversary. Yet this card said exactly what I wanted to say to Rick, because the desire of my heart is to spend a lifetime with him, serving along side him, loving him. So I will continue delighting in the Lord because I don't want any of those desires I have to ever stop! Song of Solomon 2:16a, "My beloved is mine, and I am his."

I've Been BUSY!!!

I know, I know! It has been much too long since I last posted. Really it was not intentional. I have to admit that life got the best of me. Have you ever seen the acronym B U S Y??? Well it stands for Being Under Satan's Yoke. That is exactly where I felt like I have been for the last few months. So many things have happened in my life, the lives of my family and the lives of my church family that I have allowed those "things" to overtake me. I have been BUSY!!

I could sit here and list all those "things" that have happened, but I really do believe if I did that I would not be giving honor or glory to my Lord. So I won't. I refuse to be BUSY anymore. I don't want to continue focusing on the negative like I have been for way too long. I want to focus on the positive. So here goes.....

I am blessed!! I have been blessed!! I will continue being blessed!! God has given to me a wonderful husband, two amazing sons, a sweet church fellowship to be a part of and an amazing group of friends who I all too often take for granted. Any one person could list those same things. Each of us has been blessed with people who are very important and make an impact on our lives.

But here is where I really want to focus on the positive. I have even been blessed by the people who have caused me pain and suffering. It sounds crazy doesn't it? Well it's not! Those people where placed in my life at just the right time. Sometimes I recognized that, other times, more than I would like to admit, I didn't. Each of them contributed something to make me draw closer to my Lord. Yep, each and every one of the people who I have believed on occasion has robbed me of my time and energy has shown me in some small or even large way how some very unattractive rough edges needed to be smoothed off my exterior to conform me into the image of Christ.

I will tell you that it has not been an enjoyable experience. At times it has been painful, downright excruciating. Yet the outcome has always been the same. When will I learn? When will I completely give up my own personal agenda and realize I can't do things as well as God can? Being a "fixer" it's not easy to say that. And that is how I get so caught up into being BUSY! These people come into my life and I want to "fix" them. I can't!! That's not my job. But our enemy knows that. He knows that I want to fix them and does his best to influence me in any way he can to just be BUSY.

I have started really looking at things in my life, the daily, weekly and even monthly things I do and evaluating them and the impact they have on my family, my church family, my friends and myself. I am weighing them, I guess you would say on an eternal scale. How important are the things I am doing when it comes to eternity? Or are the things I am doing just keeping me BUSY? You see the busier I get the less I do for the Lord. That's not how I want to live my life nor account for my life. I want to be able to stand before Christ some day and know that I wasn't just BUSY. I want to be able to stand before Him and know that things I did had an impact somehow, somewhere and on someone for His honor and His glory.

I hope you too will join me in being less BUSY and more occupied with the things of the Lord.