What does home smell like?

I am linking to Reluctant Entertainer and sharing with you the delicious smell of home. 
No other smell reminds me of home more than the smell of homemade bread.  My mama made the best homemade bread ever.  Now, at age 84, she rarely cooks anymore.  I have been trying to make bread as good as hers ever since I got married almost 34 years ago.  Mine just isn’t the same as hers no matter what I do, but my family still thinks my homemade bread and rolls are pretty great.  No family dinner would be complete without my homemade dinner rolls.  With Easter dinner coming up, you will find me in the kitchen, making a large batch of rolls and the delicious smell will fill the house…the smell of my childhood memories,  the delicious smell of home.

Last chance for journal giveaway!

Just a quick reminder that today is your last chance to enter a comment for the my first ever blog giveaway!
Just click here and follow the instructions to enter.

The winner will be announced tomorrow!

Holy Week Reflections…God’s Heart Exposed

 
“What does love look like?” is the question I’ve been pondering
“What does love look like?”
“What does love look like?” is the question I’ve been asking of You...

If all of life comes down to love
Then love has to be more than sentiment
More than selfishness and selfish gain
And then I saw Him there, hanging on a tree, looking at me
I saw Him there, hanging on a tree, looking at me
He was looking at me, looking at Him, staring through me
I could not escape those beautiful eyes
And I began to weep and weep
He had arms wide open, a heart exposed
Arms wide open; He was bleeding, bleeding 
  
Love’s definition, love’s definition was looking at me
Looking at Him, hanging on a tree
I began to weep and weep and weep and weep
This is how I know what love is, this is how I know what love is
And as I sat there weeping, crying
Those beautiful eyes, full of desire and love
He said to me, “You shall love Me, You shall love Me
You shall love Me, You shall love Me”
With arms wide open, a heart exposed
With arms wide open, bleeding, sometimes bleeding
If anybody’s looking for love in all the wrong places
If you’ve been searching for love, come to Me, come to Me …
Arms Wide Open by Misty Edwards


Loved by Him and loving Him,Elizabeth

Thanks to Domestically Speaking…

Hi Everyone!  Who knew you could change your blog font by writing your blog in Windows Live Writer???
I am so excited!
You can change colors too!
You can add pictures!

and watermark the photo too!
I found this out from Domestically Speaking!
This is gonna be fun!!!
Creatively yours,
Elizabeth
oops! Remember journal giveaway ends Thursday!

A walk to remember...

 

 

It was just a simple walk, two loops around the neighborhood, the same route I have walked approximately 250 times a year, give or take, for the 11 years we have live here.  But on this day everywhere I looked, He was reminding me of His words.

Matthew 6: 25-33

“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. 

Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? 

Look at the birds.

They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?  Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

“And why worry about your clothing? 

Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. 

They don’t work or make their clothing,  yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are.  And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?  “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’  These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.  Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

gratitude list #324-334


-reminders of God's Word on my walk 


-the sound of grandson and granddaughter's 
laughter at an old Jerry Lewis movie


-a big task accomplished


-my husband's pastor from his boyhood who still checks on us


-two beautiful eagles gliding overhead 


-an unexpected meeting cancellation 
resulting in a wonderful day at home


-God's relentless pursuit of my heart. 
Everything I read lately is about how He wants 
my wholehearted love.


-our church leadership - their encouragement and support


-lunch out with my daughter for her birthday


-sounds of baby granddaughter talking to
herself in her bed when she is supposed to be napping


-finally rocking her to sleep

Click here to join in on my giveaway for a Dayspring journal.

Gratefully yours,     

Pardon my door knobs...

While reading a home decor blog the other day the author showed a photo that revealed,  (horror of horrors!), that she still had brass finish door knobs in her house.  Evidently this is a big home decor faux pas.  It's just so nineties!  And since my home was built in 1999, guess what is on all of my doors.  Suddenly, what didn't bother me a bit before has become glaringly obvious.  My door knobs are hopelessly out of fashion!  The shame of it all.  Pardon me if I don't invite any of you over until I can fix this atrocity.  Of course, the fact that the carpet on my stairs is ten years old and needs replaced before I can replace all of my doorknobs means I might as well condemn my house altogether!

Sometimes things can get that ridiculous.  We can become paralyzed from enjoying the life God has given us because we don't  look like or dress like the people we see on tv, in magazines or in blogs.  Our homes and families don't look as perfect as the ones we see there either. Our real life just isn't quite that cool or cutting edge. Discontent sets in and a disgruntled attitude takes root.

Instead of seeing the flowers of our life, all we can see are the weeds.

As followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, whose minds are to be set on the eternal rather than the temporal, we should be immune to this.  But we're not.  I'm not.  We want to be accepted, to fit in, to be COOL!  And evidently brass door knobs are not cool.  Who knew and who cared before someone out there in home decor world decided it to be so.

In the meanwhile, around my brass door knob filled home, is a city of hurting people needing Jesus.  Sometimes its good to remind myself.  To put things into proper perspective. To remember what really matters.  Because what will always be in style, what will always be cool, is not me or my house LOOKING better, but me  LOVING Jesus and the people He gave His life for better.  With that in mind, maybe I will invite you over after all...just pardon my door knobs please.

Just followin',

DON'T FORGET TO CLICK HERE FOR MY FIRST EVER GIVEAWAY!

I simply remember my favorite things...Friday favs...Kitchen Love...

The kitchen of my dreams looks something like this
Oh the beautiful white beadboard cabinets,

oh the butcher block countertops, oh the space... 

The kitchen of my reality looks like this...

Isn't it cramped and small cute and space efficient!

While this may not be the kitchen of my dreams, some mighty tasty meals have been cooked up in it's spacious 20 something square feet, and some happy memories have been created.

So in the spirit of giving thanks in all things...

I'm loving that my wee little kitchen has a pantry for storage with...

 a wall of shiny cookware, carefully selected from sales at

William Sonoma, Kitchen Kaboodle and Macy's

and saved for or begged for as birthday/Christmas gifts. 

Good cookware does make a difference.

I'm also lovin' that my son-in-law built

the pot rack on the wall for me.

This has been the best space saver ever!

I'm loving my antique red-handled kitchen tools garland

hanging above my pots and pans. 

 No one sees them unless my pantry is open,

but they make me happy!

I'm lovin' my red dutch oven. 

 I will miss it the as summer approaches and

we will be grilling more than we will be stewing and roasting. 

I'm lovin' my red and white woven towels

 from William Sonoma and Kitchen Kaboodle. 

I received my first set as a gift, and loved them so much that

I found a clearance and stocked up. 

 So much better than any other kitchen towels I've used in the past!

But most of all, I'm lovin' the memories created here...

Lots of love,

Click here to join my first ever blog giveaway!

Dayspring journal giveaway! My first giveaway ever!

I saw these cute Dayspring journals yesterday and decided to buy two of them and have my first blog giveaway ever!

 Here's how you can win one.  First, if you are one of my followers, simply leave a blog comment telling me which journal you would choose if you won, where your favorite quiet place to journal is, and what you like to journal about. If you aren't a follower, I'd love to have you follow and join the fun.  Then, on your blog, tell about the giveaway and link back to this blog post.  Tell your blog followers and friends that if they want to participate in the giveaway to be sure to comment that they heard about the giveaway on your blog.  If one of the people you sent over here wins, you win too!  So, that makes two chances for you to win!  Next Thursday, April 1st, I will announce the winner...
but I promise, this is not a April Fool's joke!

Hope YOU win!

Easter preparation...

I prepare for Easter...

by remembering the promises that are mine because of His death...

sins forgiven

reconciliation

eternal life

curses broken

sickness healed

by remembering the promises that are mine because of His resurrection...

peace

authority over the enemy

overcoming power

His Spirit in me

by remembering the promise of His return...

I will be with Him

I will see Him make wrong things right once and for all

I will receive my inheritance

I will cast all of my rewards at His feet

I will worship Him with all believers from history

past, present, future

I will see Him crowned Ruler of All

I will see every knee bow before Him

I will be at His side as He reigns forever and ever

I will be His Bride

Longing for that day,

My office all spring cleaned up...

This is my home office.  I love its pumpkin-y orange walls. 

I love the "shabby chic" unfinished muslin

tacked around the desk with upholstery tacks

 to hide the ugly computer cords.

I love the black twenty dollar Goodwill shelf .

I love the shelves full of my favorite books

that I have read over and over.

I love the view from the window.

 I love my little prayer bench.

I love that I have a quiet place to blog, study, pray, read. 

After spending all day Saturday cleaning it, throwing stuff out, and rearranging it I love that, for now, it's clean and tidy.

Have you started any spring cleaning yet?