It’s time…,for a little blog break!
Youngest daughter is home for a visit,
so I will be focusing on family time for the next couple of days.
When I get back I’ll have a couple of interesting blog changes to chat with you about.
In the meanwhile, be blessed!
Still following,
Elizabeth
I believe our desire to create beauty around us
is evidence that we were created by Someone Beautiful.
Someone Who hovered over chaos and spoke the beauty of creation into being.
Someone who made a garden for man’s first dwelling place.
Someone Who’s blueprints for the tabernacle of Moses, the temple of Solomon,
included beautiful details beyond imagination.
Someone who could have created a simply functional creation,
but Who made it beautiful for His, and for our, pleasure.
Yes, we could exist in a simply functional environment,
but
I feel His smile when I notice, enjoy and create beauty around me.
Still following,
Elizabeth
Combine 5 cups rhubarb with 1 –1 1/2 cups sugar, (depending on sweetness desired) and 5 Tablespoons cornstarch and cook over medium heat until thickened. Remove from heat and add 2-3 cups sliced strawberries.
Cut 1 cup cold butter into 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, 2 cups oats, 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking powder. Spread half of crumb mixture into a greased 9x13 baking dish.
Spread rhubarb-strawberry mixture over bottom layer of crumb mixture, then top with remaining crumb mixture and gently pat it down.
Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 40 minutes until top is golden brown.
Serve warm with your favorite vanilla ice cream.
A perfect summer dessert!
Still following,
Elizabeth
I know it’s not really the first day of summer on the calendar.
But Memorial Day weekend, to me, signals summer’s beginning
and Labor Day weekend its end.
So this weekend, I’m already beginning to savor the summer days,
coffee outside on the patio,
flowers in bloom,
longer days,
bike rides with the Hubs,
dinner on the grill,
blessings all around.
*********************
I’ve taken the Joy Dare.
I’m counting one thousand thanks in one year.
I hunt for thanksgiving using the prompts Ann gives us each month.
If you are interested in joining in, click the link above or at the bottom of this post.
I continue to count my thanks
piling up gratitude day by day
in my little black journal…
#1951-#1972
3 gifts found in little people-
-only grandson’s sense of humor
-oldest granddaughter’s happy go lucky attitude and sunshine-y smile
-3 year old granddaughter, who amazes us with how smart she is,
and entertains us with how funny she is
-sweet, beautiful, bundle of love baby granddaughter, six months old now
(yes that’s four, not three)
3 gifts that made me laugh-
-3 year old granddaughter asking Papa to play some “parade music”,
and marching around our living room, using pencils as pretend drum sticks
-Papa and her “Scottish dancing” together
-the way she makes her baby sister laugh
3 gifts found in community-
-a young man stepping up and helping me when I needed some last minute copies made for Bible study
-eager, hungry learners at Bible study
-bearing one another’s burdens and sharing each others joys
a gift on a plate-
-golden cornbread
a gift in a pot-
-enchilada soup
a gift in a package-
-Bible study workbooks arriving in the mail
3 gifts hard giving thanks for-
-chronic pain
-being so far, far away from my daughter, son-in-law, grandbabies in Ghana
-seeing a loved one struggling with hope deferred
a gift worn-
-my favorite boots
a gift white-
-old, fluffy, white bathrobe
a gift whispered-
-prayers uttered quiet, but that God hears
3 gifts found in church-
-our wonderful volunteers
-worshipping together
-praying for others
Gratefully yours,
Elizabeth
I love this verse!
God’s forgiveness, mercy and grace goes deeper than my deepest sin.
I turn to Him in repentance and He removes my sin.
Oh, how grateful I am for that!
Still following,
Elizabeth
At the risk of sounding a bit creepy and hoarder-ish, sometimes I find things on my walks that I use in my home décor.
Take this perfectly shaped stick for example.
It looks like it was made just for the purpose of going over the mirrored window on my mantel.
Yesterday, I found a piece of board out by the garbage can at the curb of a house up the street.
The board had routered edges, just like it was waiting for me to make a sign with it.
So I made this and put it over the window in my home office, aka my sanctuary.
You can check out the whole room makeover here and here.
I didn’t love it. The crooked lettering, the print lined up to the right, the dark black letters that looked too harsh, the commas…I pretty much didn’t love any of it,
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again!
So I sanded it all off, started over, and now I’m lovin’ it!
I centered the words, removed the commas and added the word “be” in small print in front of each word, and toned the black down to a nice medium gray.
So, I prefer to call making something out of my neighbor’s garbage
thrifty and ingenious, rather than creepy.
Would you have done it?
Still following,
Elizabeth
My phone rang during our prayer gathering.
I rush to turn it off, embarrassed that I hadn’t remembered to do it before.
It’s my youngest daughter calling from Missouri.
“At prayer. Are you okay?” I text.
When she sends a reply that all is well,
I notice that the time on my phone is wrong…
seven hours ahead of Pacific time.
I hear my husband begin to lead the gathering to pray for Ghana,
calling out specific needs, specific names, that we came into contact with on our recent trip there.
That’s when I realize my phone is showing me Ghana time.
I look at the settings, see if I’ve accidently changed something.
It’s still set to show me the time in the time zone I’m in,
Pacific time.
Until just a few moments ago it did.
It’s 7:45 pm, but it’s showing 2:45 am.
I join the group in prayer for Ghana, fervent, thinking God is trying to tell me something via Iphone, while at the same time realizing it sounds ridiculous.
I wonder if there’s something happening in Ghana in the middle of the night that we need to pray about.
My first thoughts, of course, are of my daughter, son-in-law, grandbabies.
Are they safe?
Periodically, I keep glancing at my phone.
The time still reads Ghana time.
Through the rest of our prayer time, and while chatting with people before heading home, it remains the same.
I have the most techy people in the group look at the phone,
they can’t figure out what the phone is doing when it’s set to tell the time of the the time zone I’m in.
I get in the car to leave, and a couple of blocks away from the church the phone returns to Pacific time.
In the morning my daughter calls from Ghana.
She can think of no special call for alarm during the night.
Me, I think that God knows.
I think He used my Iphone to remind me that in Him, in prayer, there’s no distance, no time zone difference.
He’s in Pacific time, and Ghana time, in the past, the present, the future, all at the same time.
Still following,
Elizabeth
I pray about most everything.
I really think God cares about even the smallest details of our life.
So, of course I prayed about my home office makeover.
I asked God to give me creative ideas and bargain prices, and He did!
First of all the color scheme is very soft and neutral.
I chose soft gray walls, a soft white for the furnishings, and a tiny bit of black here and there. Soothing…
I also tried to keep it simple and not overcrowded.
The nine drawer dresser was a craigslist bargain and stores my office and craft supplies.
On the wall above it is a $10 IKEA mirror and two metal wire baskets found on clearance at TJMaxx.
I wanted vintage chicken feeders for shelves,
but I’m very happy with this look for now.
I’ll keep looking for those feeders though!
On top of the dresser is a vintage German scale given to me by a lady in our church some years ago.
The little wooden box holds the smaller weights for the scale.
The shell ball is from a shell shop in Seaside, Oregon.
I’m still looking for a cheap thrift store frame that I can paint white for the painting I did.
I bought two IKEA Billy bookshelves.
What a blessing when we went to pick them up and found out that they were on sale for $20 off each one!
Another blessing was that three young guys from church put them together for me and anchored them to the wall, so little granddaughters are protected from falling shelves.
Here’s my desk, you can read more about it’s makeover here.
Here’s my little prayer bench with the P R A Y mobile I made hanging over it.
We don’t have tv at all downstairs in the living area of our home,
so there’s one here on top of my file cabinet, and one in an armoire in our bedroom.
I decided I’m content with the simplicity of a white throw blanket over the comfy chair until or if I find an inexpensive slipcover.
I’m very happy with my quiet, peaceful space, and really believe it’s an answer to my prayers!
Still following,
Elizabeth
