I can't believe it's been since February that I have been here!! Life gets busy, creative and fun... here are a few things I've been up to....Spring Break, painting party with my Willow Hearts gals, teaching Art and Literature, planning graduation receptions for our CERC seniors, preparing for Morgan's (our son) College Graduation!!! And a four day trip to the fabulous Round Top Antiques week with family and friends that feel like family!! But in the midst of life, Creativity still finds me....4 of my bags were published in the current issue of Haute Handbags....still so excited and deeply honored to be in these incredible publications, working on wrapped and wired jewelry, painting with the new gelli art plates - amazing!!! Routine also finds me...laundry (as I write there are 3, yes, 3 loads of laundry) just waiting to be folded, grocery shopping, taking care of my little hens- love, love, love them, school with Presleigh- although summer is in the air and our focus is where the sand meets our toes, but we will finish strong,..Easter came early. I wasnt' sure if we would get all the decorations up and dresses bought but we did and the girls were beautiful and my men were handsome. A beautiful time of renewal and redemption and remembering the love of God that has been poured out on us!
As I thought of our Round Top experience with all the different vendors, the crazy prices, the crazy things that we saw and wondered "Who would want that? What is it? Oh, I remember those." I love sharing with my girls the wonderful treasures that reminds us of our family, our growing up years, how far we've come and yes, sometimes yearning to go back to simpler times. Doesn't the sound of the rotary phones take you back - of course my youngest said "Oh I have that ringtone app." Times have surely changed.
But there were several vendors that made me pause for a moment and think of how wonderful our God truly is ...My dear friend, Stephanie and I had found a few earrings that were not intact but were good for repurposing but of course no price. So we went to the vendor and asked how much would it be for these 5 little items...She took them from our hand and looked at them as if this was the first time she had seen them. It was nearing the end of the 2 weeks of the show and she knew what she had but none the less she looked them over and began to tell us of their worth, the story and ooh, she just couldn't take less than $$$ for them. We believed she just made up different prices as the mood struck her. This attitude happened time and again. One vendor had rusted and broken hardware and told us to make a pile and then she would give us a price. Each one of us began to make piles. As we each brought her the baskets, each price was different yet we all had the same items. How could this be? She made her prices perhaps according to person, the way they looked, how much money did she think we had,...Needless to say, we didn't buy from either one of them--So how do those experiences and God relate?
I thought that when we bring God our mess, our sin, our mistakes, our brokenness- each one of our lives looks different. So God could say- "Well, your life is sure messier than her's so the cost of forgiveness is greater" or "Bring me a pile of your mistakes and I'll name a price...the price depends on how much you have, or what I need to get back from it." Do you see where I am going? God, in his pure love and wisdom, knows that one mistake separates us and that he longs to be in a relationship with us. To teach us, to lead us, to love us..So when we bring God our messed up and broken life, he already knows the price, he already knows that each one of us will receive the same price regardless of how much or how little is in our "pile" - Total Forgiveness through the Cross of Christ.
When you think of it God is the best "Junk Vendor." He deals with us each day and yet knows that are worth is far greater that we could ever imagine!! He was willing to pay the highest price for my pile of Junk and then if I allow, turn it into the treasure he knows I could be!
Thank's for reading what is on my heart - Here are a few pictures of the past few months....
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| Cover of Haute Handbags |
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| First of two articles... |
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| 2nd article |
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| My ultimate blessing...my children |
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| my girls |
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| My sweet momma! |
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| sitting and snacking on the hill |
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| BFF's |
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| A little metal - anyone? |
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| the beach is always close by with little shells that we have picked up |
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| metal and vintage books =love!! |
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| Grandmommy and Memaw- Great times in Round Top! |
Until next time--- Blessings,
Well we are back from almost a month of vacation. Yes, we lived, loved and lounged on the beach!! It was amazing...watching the sunrise every morning while drinking coffee, reflecting,and then needlework for at least 1 1/2 hours. IT was pure heaven. Then it was swimming, sunning, shell seeking, reading, and just really soaking in the time together. There was plenty of golfing, shopping, a quick trip to Disney World, and the Vera Bradley outlet in Orlando. But my main goal was to relax, refresh, reflect, and come back renewed and inspired. I think it worked but oooh, how I miss the sound of the waves and the water. 
