Flowering Quince and A Super Simple Spring Craft...

(edited with an overlay of Kim's Cora texture, 15% opacity)

What a joy it was to take a walk with my two youngest granddaughters in the little wooded area near our home and find flowering quince in the midst of the underbrush and brambles.

I've been enjoying a few branches of it in my home.

My oldest granddaughter and I each bought a little cloth bunny at JoAnn's fabric store for under $1.50 apiece.

They are made from white cloth and come unclothed. 

 I tea stained my bunny to soften the stark white a bit, while my granddaughter chose to keep hers as is.

Then we both dressed our bunnies in some scraps of fabric, lace and ribbon from my sewing box.

What a simple, fun and inexpensive spring craft!

I find the color of the flowering quince to be delightfully difficult to describe.

It's not a true pink or red but more of a coral or salmon color,

yet even those words don't quite capture it.

These flowering branches and this cute little bunny have brought a touch of spring cheer into my home on the gray, rainy days we've had this past week.

I hope my photos have brought you a little spring cheer as well!

still following, 

Thank You, God!

Tiny grandson growing in my daughter's womb

Hands 

All these blessings I don't deserve

Nana-one of my favorite things to be called

Kisses and hugs

Yahweh - You are the great I Am

Omnipresent-I'm so glad you are everywhere!

Understanding-there's nothing like knowing that I'm fully known and understood by You

Grandchildren!

One True God

Daughters-thank You for our three girls!

************

Since 2009 I've been counting my blessings thanks to the prompting of Ann Voskamp.

 I continue to count my thanks

piling up gratitude day by day

in my little black journal.

(and capturing some of my blessings via my camera or iPhone)

#4476-#4499

3-24-14-

-our grandchildren

-playing dominoes and cards and reading One Morning in Maine with five year old granddaughter while her little sister napped and her saying, "Nana, this is the funnest day!"

-going on a walk with them after nap

-finding flowering quince in the woods near our house

-Papa getting home from the church in time to play with them in the backyard for a short time before their mama came to pick them up

3-25-14-

-coffee and time in the Word before starting my day

-getting to visit my friend's home and then getting to see her dear mama and her home as well

-a deluge of rain and skies so dark that it looked like night

3-26-14-

-my firstborn's birthday!

-making her birthday dinner

-the whole family together to celebrate

-our granddaughter dancing

-a 3-D ultrasound of our grandson, (due in June), and how it appears like he might resemble his cousin

 

3-27-14-

-meeting a friend from church for lunch

-bringing homemade enchiladas and salsa and chips to the church and sharing them with some of my Bible Study group

3-28-14-

-spending the Hub's day off at home together relaxing

-roast chicken, goat cheese, baguette and grapes for lunch

-dozing off mid-afternoon

3-29-14-

-going to a quincinera for a young lady from our church

-oldest granddaughter so excited to get to go to the quincinera with us

-a sun break just in time to go on a run

3-30-14-

-great word about our identity as God's sons and daughters

-lunch with our daughter, son-in-law and two oldest grandkids

-watching the two youngest granddaughters while their mama was at a meeting

gratefully yours,

Join the community of gratitude gatherers here...

A lesson from a Ninevite king...

When God gave Jonah a second chance to obey His instructions to go to Nineveh

 and announce His judgment against the city, this time Jonah obeyed.

I love the picture that the Word of God gives us of the king's response.

 He stepped down from his throne, took off his royal robes, and decreed that everyone in Nineveh, 

from the greatest to the least, should fast and repent.

What a response of humility we see in this king.

While the Word of God makes it clear that it is by grace that we are saved and that salvation is not of our works, 

it seems to me that we are seeing a cultural shift to what I would call, "entitlement grace".

I fear that instead of embracing the seriousness of our offense against God and responding in humility, we are now seeing a shift to acting as if we are owed God's grace.

We glibly insert our dimes worth of "I'm sorry" into heaven's vending machine and demand God's limitless forgiveness, mercy and grace as though we did earn it, as though we do deserve it.

Yet, God says that it is those with a broken and contrite heart that He saves.

His Word says that He opposes the proud but gives His grace to the humble.

I'm not saying we can earn God's love by repenting better,

but I am saying that I think we could learn a thing or two from this Ninevite king.

He stepped off his throne -

to me that symbolizes that he laid aside his position and his rights to call the shots, to be the boss.

He took off his royal robes -

to me that symbolizes that he laid aside any claims to self-righteousness, 

anything he could use to cover his true sinful condition.

In humility, he cast himself fully on the mercy of God and he was not disappointed.

God's judgment was averted.

When we respond to God's call to repentance in humility and contriteness, 

we will not be disappointed either.

Jesus took the judgment we deserved and bore it on the cross.

What love!

What amazing grace!

What lavish mercy!

Let's honor what He did by responding to it like this pagan king,

not lightly, but seriously and humbly.

still following,

Linking with She Reads Truth

Easter M&M Cookie Bars...

When I saw the recipe for M&M Cookie bars on Leslie's blog,

I knew I wanted to try them.

When our two oldest grandkids spent the weekend with us, it seemed like the time was right.

My granddaughter and I made them using the recipe on Leslie's blog.

We chose to use peanut butter, (not peanut), M&Ms instead of the plain ones.

 I also chose to brown the butter and sprinkled the top of the bars 

with a wee bit of sea salt before baking them.

Oh my goodness!  These are so easy to make that you don't expect them to be such a 

soft, buttery, gooey, sweet, peanut buttery bit of heaven.

Click on Leslie's recipe and try it!

You won't be sorry!

(Leave her a comment and tell her Elizabeth sent you!)

It's almost Friday, friends.

Have a HAPPY, HAPPY Friday

and 

a BLESSED weekend!

                  

Jennifer Rizzo's Fabulously Creative Friday