More pinterest!

So I am so excited that my latest project is complete!  All I need is one more item and I am done.  I am loving the new space it created in my house for me to work and still be downstairs where I do not feel so secluded in the office space.  I love having it right near the window for early morning coffee and the beauty of the morning.  It is amazing what a little bit of time can do for a space and bring such coziness and enjoyment into an empty area and I owe it all to Pinterest for the idea!  I found the desk at JCP.com, ordered online which was fast and easy.  I found the chair,rug and wall pieces from Kirklands outlet near my house and the baskets under the bench that I already had I got at Pier One.  I also found the lanp that is on my desk at HomeGoods store.  All stores that I love to shop at.  They have nice quality items at good prices.

 I have another project idea that I am working on that I am excited to pin, hopefully it works out as this is my idea but I am sure is out there somewhere.  Stay tuned and until next time!

Heaven is for real

I have always wrestled with my faith wondering if there was a God how could all the awful things that have happened to me have happened.  Why did I have to go through what I did and as I look around at the world and all the hurting and pain I often as myself that day after day.  But what I realize most is that there have been so many ways in my life that I have been shown or have had the opportunity to experience God at work.  The very reason why sometimes we have the darkness in life so the light can shine even brighter. But the thought of actually imagining heaven is sometimes hard when it is something that you would see in a fairy tale movie of make believe but have a hard time believing is actually real. It is only sometimes through the ways that we experience these things each day usually through the tough times we encounter that help us to add to our faith with each amazing detail.  Ways God does show himself to us and we hopefully allow ourselves to see Him.   I took a journey this weekend into the story of a family who through the experience of almost loosing their son were blessed with an amazing story that leaves you hard pressed to not believe or at least leaves you saying hmmm.  The journey into their lives came through reading the book they wrote, "Heaven is for real" by Todd Burpo.  I was highly encouraged to read this book from a friend or in her words "if you do not leave here (lunch date) and get that book I will be mad at you", which I knew she would not really be mad but was her way of just saying do it! : )  So I ordered the book online that day and gosh I am so glad I did!  So I urge you to stop and get this book today and get reading.  It is a very easy read and for me it only took 2 days to read.  I hope it brings you peace in whatever you are struggling with.  


Happy reading!

Keeping the tradition of giving paper as a gift alive

Recently I have been doing some thinking about writing and our words.  How sending cards and notes in the mail has since gone by the wayside with the wave of technology.  I love technology but also am reminded that keeping some of the old fashion ways of doing things should not be forgotten.  I hear my mother in law constantly in my head about how she hates email and that my generation has lost touch with the personal touch and with communication with each other.  I have to say that I do agree with her, as much as I do love email and text the simple act of an actual phone call or a face to face meeting with someone can be so much more meaningful.  In this I have thought about how I do love to mail cards in the mail to those I may even see often as it can bring such a neat feeling to someone to know you thought of them in that way.  I think about how with each year at Christmas we get less and less Christmas cards in the mail which is something I love.  I even save them in a bag and look at them again the next year but I do know that time is something we find ourselves with less and less with each passing day.  In 2012 I want to be more proactive to make the time to incorporate the act of mailing kindness to people.  In keeping with this I decided to use facebook as a tool to bring people together in doing so to encourage one another.  Using a new means of communication with trying to keep an old one alive.  And so Mail it Mondays was created, a group created to give and receive encouragement in making Monday not JUST the beginning of the blah work week but a day you mail that card or letter to someone you feel could use a smile in their mailbox.  Over Christmas I gave a family member stationary as a gift, something her dad would always give to her which was a bitter sweet gift to her as she just lost her dad right before the holidays.  I did not know this and when she shared that with me I was understanding the urging I had to give her this gift.  As I was running around today I picked up a card that I am excited to mail this coming Monday.  I returned home to arrive at the mailbox to find mixed in with all the junk mail and bills a card from this person using the stationary I had gifted to her with such kind words in there with this sentence being my focus " thank you for this beautiful stationary and for keeping traditions of giving paper as a gift alive.  : )  How perfect..  A gesture that I am blessed and grateful for today....

More Pinterest!

So as I mentioned before I am so loving Pinterest!  I have done many projects that I have been inspired by navigating their site and was able to bring them to life by pinning all my ideas and having them in one place.  This has really helped me be able to bring these thoughts to reality and I am having so much fun with it!  My last project was a table I saw for the bottom of my steps which I already posted about.  A little secret that I did not share in that post is how I then used a photo I found at the store I was going to buy the table from and used their idea to cheat a bit if you will.  You know how you see in the clothing stores how they put outfits together and you would have never thought to do so yourself but love it. So you find yourself getting the whole outfit.  Easy right!  I say so!  I am good at many things but I do know that there are others that are even better so when I see a place to get some help I take it and in doing so that made my job so much easier.  I did not have to do anything but find the items in the picture which were all  items sold by that store ( smart concept!) and I was done!  Now this next project is not quite that way although I have taken ideas from different pics I have seen online to do this project I am not going to be getting off as easy this time with having them all in one convenient place but I also enjoy it this way because it allows my creative juices to flow.  We have a spot in our eat in kitchen area that I could really use something.  I have not known what for a while until my husband mentioned a desk which is a good choice since I could really use an area to house my laptop and provide a space for me to do some of my work while still being able to be downstairs rather than up in the office.  So after doing some looking I found this desk.  I found it on JCP.com.  I ordered it online ,which is another thing I am becoming more a fan of. Since there is a JC Penny near me I was planning on having it shipped to the store location near me to save on shipping but realized they were having a promotion on free shipping to my house at this time so it was done and I am excited for it to arrive.  I am now working on what kind of chair I would like to pair with it.  Stay tuned for a pic!  Happy pinning!!  : )

Love and hurt

As I dive into chapter 3 of The fitting room I am brought to a sentence that really speaks to something I am going through right now.  It is something Dallas Willard preaches: that loving others is about giving them that which is for their good, not necessarily what they desire.  This is hard to do but is at the core of defining a true friendship or relationship.  I find this hard to do not only in my marriage as a wife but as a sister, daughter and a friend.  We want so badly to give everyone what they want all the time but when we realize that it is not healthy for them or ourselves, that it may be the very thing that drives a wedge between you  and doing the right thing can be hard to do for them, whatever it may be.  It most times may make them hurt or angry, leave them not understanding.  Trying to do it in a loving way is key but sometimes when things become so messy by allowing yourself to get so off course in the first place getting yourself back on track may mean making a very bold, harsh decision that can leave them feeling very unloved by you.  That is when you need to know your heart.  Be very honest and know why you are doing what you are doing.  Pray that if you really feel that there is something you are suppose to do that is weighing heavy on your heart but may mean you loose popularity or cool points but that is what is best for everyone, you find the strength to do it.  I encourage you to take the steps you feel you need to take, find the most loving way to do it and know that if you do the best you can that God knows your heart.  He loves you and you can give it to him and let things be what they need to be.  God does not want for us to be unhealthy, he wants us to love each other but not at the expense of having things built on the wrong foundation rather he wants it to be on the right, strong foundation and that sometimes things need to completely crumble before they can be rebuilt.  We find that so often too in our lives.  That is why I find such beauty in the dark times because that is when the most transformation can be made, in ourselves, our character and in those around us.  Being the light does not always mean making everyone happy all the time.  It means doing hard things sometimes for the sake of those we love.  Praying that if you are in a situation right now that you find peace and the answers you need from God to help guide you along your way while not forgetting that change never happens without action.  : )

Reading list

Reading is something that I really enjoy doing.  I am always interested in what others are reading and what they take from the book which I think is why I love the book club that I am involved in.  I have added many books recently and thought I would share my reading list.


*The Fitting Room by Kelly Minter (Part of Bloom Book Club)
*Managing your moods by Women of Faith
*The Diary of Anne Frank 
*What Women Fear by Angie Smith 
*Between Sisters by Kristin Hannah
* The Twilight Series ( I have recently become really into the movies and have heard the books are better)
*Heaven is for real by Todd Burpo ( a friend HIGHLY suggested me reading this)


I just finished One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voscamp, also another bloom book club book.  So glad I read it.  I really took a lot from this book.  I like to have a variety of  Fiction and non fiction books.  It is nice to really dive into a book and let it transform you but also nice to dive into a book and allow it to take you away to another place just for fun...  I hope my list is helpful. 


Happy reading!  : )  

Pinterest and Pier One...

I am still loving the site Pinterest.. I keep seeing so many neat ideas for the house. My latest project was at the bottom of my steps. I saw the table and pinned it and from there Pier One helped me with the rest. I got the table, a lamp, baskets and a picture for above the table there and I am really happy with it! Online shopping is very nice. I went on to the website, found the table and did in store pickup for it. Thinking about what will be next! So for all you pinterest users- Happy Pinning! : )

Thoughts on life and friendships...

Don't confuse pushing someone away from them walking away.. when it comes to friendships and relationships true friendship means you do not have to chase after someone but rather loving them enough to let them go while having faith that if its meant to be it will be... We often find ourselves chasing after what we think is or rather want so bad to be true and in the meantime we miss the true person that was walking right beside us the whole time..

Happy New Year!!

‎"We will open the book. Its pages will be blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Years Day."

--Edith Lovejoy Pierce