she married the man!

This is the song she chose to have sung as she walked down the aisle to her beloved. They wanted their ceremony to honor God and it did.......in every aspect. More later when I have had some time to rest and compose my thoughts.

impatiens and impatience

Most of my impatiens are looking a little "leggy" They are still blooming, but I probably should have pinched them back so they would be fuller. But this one, by our fish pond, is full and healthy looking. It is a pleasant sight when I walk out my back door.
Been thinking about the other "impatience" this morning. With the wedding in a few days and the inevitable "uh ohs" and changes in schedules, it would be easy to get impatient. Everyone is a little tired and a little anxious and whole lot excited...... so our human nature wants to get bothered when things don't go necessarily to plan. Praise God, we have a new nature... one that is patient and kind, loving and forgiving, generous and grateful. What a wonderful gift the Holy Spirit is........bringing to fruition God's good work in us! I am trusting Him for peaceful and happy days from now until Saturday when our girl walks down that aisle into a new life!

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and Godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through this, He has given us His great and precious promises, so that through them we might participate in His divine nature....."II Peter 1:3-4

love that clearance rack!

J, the hubby, hit the jackpot at Kmart this afternoon. They have most of their summer garden stuff clearance priced. The two wooden planters were marked down from $20 to $2. The wooden hummingbird feeder with a tin roof was $1 and the metal one was $2. The plant snippers and the citronella candles were $1 ea.
If you read an earlier blog about J, you know he is a giver. He likes to give money to meet needs, so the more he saves when he shops, for small or big things, the more he has to give away. God honors his giving heart by directing him to bargains. It brings him great joy and that makes me glad!
"Every man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." II Cor. 9:7

Creation Calls -- are you listening?

We have sung this at church before and I loved it. I received this as an email this week. It made me want to shout "Halleujah...how great and mighty is our God!" I hope it stirs you to worship our Creator,too!

wedding sneak peek!

These signs will point the way to the reception. The road winds for a bit before reaching several buildings. We want our guests to know which one is housing the reception. We ordered these from Oriental Trading Co. I am very pleased with them.
I saw these punch cup candle holders at Judy's place over at Just A Little Something For You. She said she got the idea from another blogger. I thought they would be so pretty on the food serving tables. The punch cups were my grandmother's. I found the tiny calla lilies at Hobby Lobby. I love the way they turned out.


We are using the blue fabric on the serving tables, the wedding cake table, and the tables where people will be sitting. It will be "swished" on top of the white tablecloths. There will be candles on all the tables. Below is the bird cage that will be on the gift table. Anyone who brings a card for the bride and groom can slip it through the spaces and into the cage. I just realized I turned it with the bow in the back for the picture. Oh well, you get the idea.


Here are he pew bows. I found these bows at the Dollar Tree and the blue flowers at H. Lobby for half price. Can anyone say ...hot glue gun!


This is the throw-away bouquet. We are going to use it on the cake table until it is time to toss it! Another H.Lobby 1/2 price find!


My hubby spray painted this basket that I already had. It is the perfect size for the bottles of bubbles on the favor table. 240 bottles.... that's a lot of little bows!


Our other favor is "bag your own" bag of candy. I found these blue bowls at Walmart for $1.50. the candy at Sam's and the scoops at "Party City". I made the tags with paper and card stock. The font is "Party". Looked like a party, I thought. I had to make tags because my girl likes everything m&m, so we will have three varieties.



There is much more, but you'll see the rest in the wedding photos. I just wanted to share a little of what I've been doing these last few months. It has been fun getting it all together. I have three friends who are going to do the decorating while we are having the rehearsal and dinner. It is wonderful to have gifted friends who are happy to help and who are trustworthy. I know it is going to look just as beautiful as I am imagining! ELEVEN DAYS!!!!

happy labor everyday

A while back, we were in a group that went through the "Truth Project". A DVD study produced by Focus on the Family that discussed God's truth on many subjects and how the world has perverted that truth. One lesson was on work/labor. The world tells us that work is a drudgery..... something we have to do until we can retire. But, the truth is that God ordained work..."if anyone is not willing to work, then let him not eat" II Thess.3:10. And "do not forsake the work of your hands" Ps 138:8. So, the opportunity to work is a privilege, the ability to work is a gift, and the reward we get from work is God's provision in our life.
I wonder how different our work place (whether that be in the home or out of it) would be if we all had that mindset. Perhaps we would be more grateful and work in a way that brings glory to the One who provides the work and enables us to do it.
"Whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your might...." Ecc. 9:10

a tutorial....not really! :-)

Here is a better picture of the "date" gift. If anyone is interested in making one for a wedding, anniversary, or birth, I thought I would give y0u a few tips.
If you have a macro setting on your camera...use it. It makes it easier to take close up pictures without blurring (of course, I didn't know this until AFTER I gave her the gift!). Take several pictures at different distances from the numbers. In my first attempt, the numbers were too small. In the second attempt, they were too big and didn't fit in the frame space. Third time was the charm! :-)
The expensive ones I saw advertised are pictures of the numbers on street signs, houses, store windows, mailboxes, etc. I tried that, but had a hard time finding the numbers I wanted. So, I bought the numbers at Walmart and taped them on different surfaces... brick, stone, a tree. Then I printed them in sepia. Finding the frame took some time. I went to 5 or 6 stores before I found one (KMart) that held three 4x6 photos.
Another option that I discovered last night that is much easier.... google images. If you go there and search for "the number 18 ( or whatever your number is)".... hundreds of images will come up. There will be lots of different forms of that number. You can print them out and use them instead. So, it depends on which look you like or how much time you have.
A co-worker liked this idea and is going to try to take pictures in the city where her daughter was married last Oct. That will make a very special first anniversary gift.
I think I will probably try it again. Now that I know a little bit more about what I am doing! ha! ha! Let me know if you try it.....I would love to see pictures!