A Day of Rest

Sunday is a day of rest.

That's what I was told in Catholic school. Growing up it was. At my house, on Sunday, we went to church, to the bakery then home to linger all morning eating crumb buns and reading the paper. 

I grew up and got married. Sunday wasn't such a day of rest anymore. To my husband Sunday was like Saturday, another day to get work done around the house. He may have slept in a little later, but by noon he was working outside or in his shop.

Now, at 55, Sundays are a bit quieter for him. He sleeps a little later, lingers over coffee and the newspaper, maybe does a task or two, but at some point in the afternoon he sits down and rests. Sometimes he even falls asleep. It is really nice. Now, I can rest too.

Today, I am grateful that my husband is slowing down. Life is good. Real good. It's nice to stop and just rest in it once in a while. 

Sunday is a day of rest. Thank You, God.

Home Sweet Home

Yesterday was perfect!

The weather amazing.

I opened up all the windows.

Everyone else in the house had to work.

I had the house to myself.

I cleaned. 

I cooked.

I went on the treadmill.

I crocheted.

 Heaven!

Everyone came home.

Dinner.

Laughter.

Love.

Yesterday was perfect!

Thank You, God!

Book Bub

Have you heard of Book Bub? If you are a reader you must check it out. It is a website. You join for free, answer a few questions about your reading preferences, and they send you three book suggestions everyday. There is always at least one free book, often two, and the other books are never more than $3.99! The books are not the bestsellers, but sometimes an older book by a popular author will be available. I have read several of the books, and I only abandoned one. I highly recommend that you give it a try. It's free!

Today, I am grateful for Book Bub. I like free! Thank You, God!

http://home.bookbub.com/home/

Completing My Projects

I am a multi-tasker. I flit like a hummingbird from one activity to the next. I read two, three, even four books at a time. I am a knitter and a needle-felter.  I have several projects going all at the same time. I really do finish everything. 

This summer I decided that I would not start another project until I completed all the projects I had going. That would be all six of them.

God has blessed me with the time. Now it is up to me to use it wisely. 

Today, I am grateful for the gift of time. I am grateful for the gifts of self-discipline and perseverance. My projects are getting done. Thank You, God.

A Great Price

I have been dreaming about making table-skirts for two six-foot folding tables that I use in my studio every day. These skirts require at least ten yards of fabric. I went to the fabric store, but I wasn't willing to spend close to $100.00 on fabric. The other day I was struck with Divine Inspiration that maybe I could use sheets, so off I went to Target. Sheets are expensive! I still would be paying $100.00. I decided to take a look at the curtains, and much to my delight I found ivory sheers for $4.99 a piece! They were the perfect size too! I needed five of them. I brought them up to the register, and I asked the girl to check the price before she rung them up. They were marked down even further - $4.74 each! Yay! Now $25.00 for two table-skirts was a price I was happy to pay. 

Today, I am grateful for the right price. God blessed me with what I needed. Thank You, God!

Today I am off to WalMart to look for some pretty trim to decorate my table-skirts...

I think Bernie is going to really like his new more private space.

PASSION

I love Alexandra Stoddard. She is an amazing author of non-fiction books about living really well. Today, I read the following quote by her:

 "People clutter up their lives because they haven't found their inner fire. Once we discover our passion, we tend to simplify." 

I categorize my passion into two groups. Passion with a capital P and passion with a lower case p.

My passion with a lower case p are my interests reading, writing, knitting and walking, (it used to be running, but at 55 I switched to more walking) and all things in my life associated with those four activities. I am about to clear out my craft closet, and yes, it will be very easy to clean out because I know my passion. Therefore, I know what I want to keep and what I am more than ready to let go.

 My Passion with a capital P is my family. My husband, my four children, and all my family members are my Passion. I will drop all of my passions for them. I love my family with my entire being. I truly do believe "family first."

I have a PASSION that encompasses all of my passions/Passions - God, Jesus, Faith. This is the title of my post. This is the title of my life.  

Thank You, God for all the PASSIONS in my life!

Nurturing A Marriage

My husband and I are celebrating 32 years of marriage this weekend. 

When our quadruplets were born we started, with the encouragement of my in-laws, to get away for a weekend at least four times a year. One of those weekends is always for our anniversary. How smart are my in-laws? I treasure our weekends. We even, over the years, found one place we like the most, and often go there just to rest together.

If you are married, with or without children, I strongly urge you to take a weekend a few times a year and devote it to just the two of you. Take the time to nurture your marriage. 

See, 32 years later and our love is deep with roots that will keep it strong!

Today, I am grateful for my wise in-laws, the weekends my husband and I have devoted to one another and our marriage, and for a wonderful marriage. I pray that God will bless us with at least 32 more years together.

Freebies

Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full--pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back. -Luke 6:38

In the world of apps there are many that are free and there are many that offer a free version and an upgrade version. I love this! I can try an app for free, and if I love it, I can buy more of it. There are also websites that do this also. As a blogger www.shabbyblogs.com and www.picmonkey.com are two of my favorites. Shabby Blogs provides a wide selection of blog backgrounds, blog buttons, blog headers and more for free. If you want to pay, there is even more. Pic Monkey is a photo editing website. I am learning about photo editing for free! If I want more I can pay. Most likely I will pay for more to both of these websites because I love them and use them so much. I am also learning photo editing on www.irfanview.com. This one is free also. 

Today, I am grateful to people, companies, organizations, etc. that serve and bless others with their gifts and talents without charging one penny. 

I dream of owning a Fiber Arts Studio some day. I want to apply this concept to my business. I want to offer many free services. I want people to be able to discover their own skills and talents for free. I want to serve and bless others with the skills and talents God gave me. I think God is working on this dream of mine right now. 

Right now, I am a special education teacher in a public school. I do my best to give above and beyond at my job. I believe one should always give more than is expected. I serve and bless others for free by volunteering with Literacy Volunteers of America. 

Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full--pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back. -Luke 6:38

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Friends

God has blessed me with amazing girlfriends! Denise, Liz, Milly, Sue, Jean - friends who really do love me unconditionally. Wow! Thank You, God!

The Morning Breeze

As I sit on the porch this morning, drinking my coffee, there is a beautiful, gentle, warm breeze.

Today, I am so very grateful for this gentle breeze that is blessing me with peace.

Our Air Conditioners

This has been one hot summer! School is out four weeks this Friday, and I have not been able to turn off the air conditioners and open up the house one day. We do not have central air, but we do have window units in the bedrooms. If we keep those on all day the air falls down and the house stays cool. 

Today, I am grateful for our air conditioners and for the electricity to run them. 

When Gary Makes Dinner

My husband is not a cook. My husband does not cook. However, every now and then he will prepare dinner - a simple dinner - but it is dinner. Last night he made hot dogs - in the microwave. He even toasted the buns - in the toaster. If you want side dishes, when he makes dinner, you have to make those yourself. That hot dog tasted real good last night. No matter what he cooks, when he cooks, it tastes absolutely delicious! 

Today I am very grateful for the times my husband serves and blesses me with cooking dinner.

He makes great toast for breakfast too. I love that man!

My Daughter's Feet Are Back On the Ground

Yesterday my daughter Meredith jumped out of a plane.

That's her way up in the sky.

This was her fourth jump, but I still pray like crazy. 

She landed safe and sound.

Thank You, thank You, thank You, God, for protecting my baby girl.

God is Watering the Plants

I love beautiful plants and flowers, but I do not enjoy gardening. You know that garden plaque saying about being in a garden is like being a little closer to heaven? Well not for me! So every spring I tell God that I will do the planting, but it would be really great if He did the watering. Most summers many of my plants die, because I don't water them. Not this year! This year God is doing all the watering! I only had to water once this summer. Yay!!! Thank You, God!

The hydrangeas in this area are absolutely stunning! The berries are growing in abundance. My flower boxes are thriving. The trees and shrubbery are amazingly lush. 

We have been having a lot of rain and humidity. The sky has been looking a bit dreary. If we choose to look at the beauty this weather is bringing we will find it in abundance.

Thank You, God, for watering the flowers and plants and making the scenery even more stunning!

Flowers

Check out these gorgeous flowers!

There is a lady who grows and sells these flowers, in her yard, right here in my home town. Her flower stand is only open on Fridays and Saturdays. This gorgeous arrangement is in a basket. Would you believe that she only charged $20 for them? I bought them as a gift for my friend. We were going to her house for dinner. They look amazing on her coffee table! She has denim sofas and her coffee table is blue. The blue hydrangeas just pop in that room. It brought me such joy to give them to her!

Today I am grateful for God's beautiful flowers and the lady who grows, nurtures and blesses and serves others with them.

Where Bloggers Create

I love the month of July! I love it because I am rested, relaxed and joining Karen Valentine's Where Bloggers Create party. Every July Karen hosts this fantastic blog party where creative bloggers bless us with a tour of their studios. Tons of inspiration all in one place! 

Today, I am grateful for Karen Valentine who chooses to serve and bless others by bringing together kindred bloggers. Thank You, Karen! Thank You, God!

 http://www.mydesertcottage.com/

The Weather App

Have you tried the Weather Channel app? It is fantastic! I walk every morning, and this app lets me know the exact weather for an exact time. If I think it is going to rain, I check the app. It gives me the percentage of precipitation for each hour. I love it! One day my daughter and I were going walking. It was pouring out as we drove to our starting lot. She said, "I don't know about this mom." I replied, "The app says that there is zero percent chance of precip at 8:00." It was absolutely pouring! We sat in the car. At 8:01 the rain stopped. We walked!

Today I am grateful for The Weather Channel app. I am grateful for technology. I am grateful for the people who created it, using their gifts from God to bless and serve others.

A Summer Routine

• There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. - Ecclesiastes 3:1 NIV

I am a routine person. I enjoy breaks from my routine, but I like to have a routine. I am a teacher who is blessed with the summers off. Sometimes I struggle to get into a summer routine. Sometimes I go back to work in September without ever falling into a summer routine. Not this year! This summer I have fallen into a delightful summer routine. Yay!

 I am up by 6:00 a.m. - I love summer mornings!

I put on a load of wash, make a cup of coffee and spend some time outside with God talking and listening to Him. I am so very grateful for Divine Guidance. I can never get enough.

Next, I meet friends to go for a healthy brisk walk around a gorgeous lake. I am grateful for this beautiful lake to walk around in the company of good friends.

 I return home from my walk to House Blessings. That's a nice way of saying I clean my house. I am grateful for my home. It is a gift from God for which I am very grateful. I spend some time each morning caring for our home.

By noon I am showered and ready to move into my studio. My studio used to be our dining room, but we never used it so,with my husband's blessings, I took it over. I knit, crochet, needle felt, blog, read, write, dream and sometimes even nap in my wonderful space. I am grateful for my studio. I love spending time in my studio.

In the evening I am preparing dinner, spending time with my husband, having a glass of wine on the front porch with my family. I love this time of day when everyone is returning home from work. I am grateful for the time we can all spend together.

After dinner we settle in to watch TV for a little while. This is great knitting time!

Since I'm up early I go to bed early. I take my book, a big glass of water and settle in for some reading time before I go to sleep.

I am abundantly grateful for my summer routine. I am very blessed. Thank You, God!

The Peace and Quiet of the Early Morning

"Give thanks in all circumstances." -1 Thessalonians 5:18

Each morning, when I wake up, I put on a load of wash, get a cup of coffee and spend some time with God. First, I thank Him. Then I read a devotional or two and meditate upon what God needs me to understand and apply that day. I end my time with God by praying for others.

In the summer I sit out on our side porch and enjoy the silence and solitude of the early morning.

Today, I am grateful for my special time with God every morning, and my special place to meet God.

My Daily Walk

Every morning I meet my friend Denise and we walk. We walk around a beautiful lake. Our path is very hilly, but it is also nice and shady. We meet lots of lovely people as we walk. Many of them have adorable dogs who are eager to say hello. Today I am abundantly grateful for my daily walk.

Friends

We had a Fourth of July party. We had a lot of food leftover. Last night we invited our closest friends over, and I let my girlfriends loose in my kitchen with the leftovers. They are both amazing cooks! I knew they would come up with something great! They did not let me down. They prepared a delicious and nutritious meal with the party leftovers for eight people last night. We had so much fun! 

Today I am grateful for our friends. Friends who are comfortable to cook in my kitchen. Thank You, God.

If you are wondering what they prepared - they made shrimp scampi with rigatoni and arugula, garlic toasted cheese flatbreads and a salad with the works. Yum!

The Liebster Award

Susan Barclay from http://notesfrominnisfree.blogspot.com/ nominated my blog www.sharingdivineinspiration.blogspot.com for the Liebster Award. The Liebster Award is a blog award given to blogs with less than 200 followers that the person doing the nominating believes to be a blog worthy of recognition and with the intention to encourage the blogger to keep blogging. 

Today I am abundantly grateful for Susan Barclay. Sometimes we all need a little recognition, a little whisper from God, to keep going.

If you are interested in reading more about The Liebster Award go here:

http://www.sharingdivineinspiration.blogspot.com/2013/07/liebster.html

The Fourth of July

The Fourth of July has always been a big holiday in my life. 

When I was a little girl we always had a barbecue. It was the only day of the year that we used the barbecue grill when I was young. My dad would spike the fruit salad in the watermelon basket, light up the charcoal grill - ah, I still love that smell - and set off fireworks. I never liked the noise of fireworks. I only liked the sparklers. We all wore our red, white and blue and created joyful memories.

My husband and I have a Fourth of July barbecue every year. The whole family and our friends would come. The little kids would have a blast in the pool. We would cook lots of hot dogs and hamburgers on three or four grills. At the end of the evening we would all walk down to the high school, spread out our blankets and watch the fireworks. We created joyful memories.

Last night my husband and I had a Fourth of July barbecue. I didn't spike the watermelon. We started up the propane grill, and everyone made their own pizza on a Boboli. It's against the law to set off fireworks in your back yard, and the town doesn't have them anymore because they cost too much money, so there were no fireworks. Well, some of our neighbors set them off, but the police go all over town stopping them. We created memories.

I am very grateful to live in the U.S.A. I am very grateful to have happy childhood memories about the Fourth of July. I am grateful for the childhood memories we gave to our children. 

I joyfully anticipate being a grandmother someday. I want to bless my grandchildren with wonderful memories of the Fourth of July. 

I am abundantly grateful that I can choose to create joyful memories. Thank You, God, for the gift of freedom.

My Sister Helen

My sister Helen is 14 years older than me. My mother died when I was 8, but Helen was always there for me. Always. Today I am abundantly grateful for my sister Helen. Thank You, God!

Shopping

I am not a big shopper, but I do enjoy some shopping, especially with my daughters, my sisters, or my friends. Last night I did a little shopping alone. I also stopped and got a bite to eat my myself. It was kind of nice. Today, I am grateful for a little bit of solitude shopping and eating. I say a little bit, because I still enjoy shopping and eating with others more. However, last night was peacefully enjoyable. 

Thank You, God.

Sitting in My Green Chair

Every morning I have my first cup of coffee of the day with God. I sit in my green chair, often with a cat,  today it is Bernie, and I listen and talk to God - pray. I am so grateful that I was divinely guided to this routine. Thank You, God, for Divine Guidance.

This is the view out of the window next to my green prayer chair.

This is Bernie.

Family Gatherings

I love big family gatherings! This weekend we celebrated the graduation of my grandniece and grandnephew at my nephew's home. Then we all spent the night at my sister's house. The next morning more family came over and we had more fun. Today, I am grateful for my family and for family gatherings. I love my family!