Now is the time....

When I was a little girl, I spent a great deal of time at my grandmother's house. She was quite a funny character! She would place one of her favorite old record albums on the stereo and dance a dance called the Charleston  and play songs on her ukelele while singing in her deep voice. I loved being with her! One never knew what the "entertainment" of the day might be.
One day she came home with a marvelous item! It was an old typewriter, the kind with an ink impregnated ribbon that was hit when the letter keys were struck and a metal arm would raise inside and strike the ribbon to the paper. What magic to behold! If you typed too fast the metal arms would tangle together and have to be separated before anything could be accomplished. I spent hours trying to learn to type. My grandmother showed me a phrase that would help me practice my speed. "Now is the time for all good men to come to the aide of their country." The harder you struck the keys,the darker the ink would type the letters.
   I have thought of this phrase a great part of the day after the attack upon Paris,France. As I reflect upon the horrors of the times in which we now live, "Now is the time for all good men to come to the aide of their country" becomes a battle cry! A cry that appears darker,the harder it is struck....as each arm swings in the air to strike the words of war. My heart aches for the ones who are killed in these terrorist attacks, for those who must live in war zones, for all the good men and women who fight for freedom against those who have no regard for such Holy ideals as "life,liberty,and the pursuit of happiness."
"Now is the time for all good men to rise to the aide of their country." A timely phrase for such times as these. And yet we live in fear in spite of the fact that "Have no fear" is one of the most often stated commandments in The Holy Bible. Yes, a commandment from the mouth of God to " Fear not."  Commandments to "trust and obey" in black and white type struck with much more force than any man made phrase. "Fear not for I am with thee."  And yet we fear men in black who wave black flags and kill instead of obeying the most powerful phrase ever written......."Love One Another." This is the phrase that must be written in our hearts or evil wins. Does our Father in Heaven love His Muslim children? Does He require that we also love our enemies? I have pondered these things for a long time now and the answer is always "yes."
We have watched in horror as radical Muslims have killed innocent people in horrific ways. Even little children beheaded  and their heads impaled on spikes. Their terrified little faces permanently etched in my brain are also remembered by God who shall judge. We watched as Muslims who are Christian converts fled their villages into the wilderness desert as these terrorists appeared in the night. News coverage showed refugee fathers  trying to throw their children and wives into a helicopter  carrying news reporters before it took off. I cried aloud," Hurry! Just let one more in before you leave!" We watched our own President refuse to rescue these Christian believers and now we do not trust whom he may be choosing to give sanctuary instead. But here is what else I am pondering......if not us, then who? Who will rescue those who have truly nowhere safe to go? We fear what may happen to our own families if we do allow refugees to enter our own countries. But is this not the same attitude that our grandparents had when Hitler was slaughtering six million Jews?  Is it not the same fear that caused our ancestors to imprison innocent Japanese Americans just because people who attacked Pearl Harbor looked like them? If Christians cease to care about the atrocities in this world then Satan laughs deliriously in victory! Our indifference may just drive others who may not yet be as radical to become so. It is not a sin to fight for your country or to protect your family but I am not so sure that the same can be said about the failure to render aide to God's persecuted children. Are we Christian if we follow not in the footsteps of Christ? Whether we agree or disagree with the "refugees" being allowed to enter this country, we need to open our eyes to the fact that radical terrorists are already here. So what shall we do? Fear not, for we can do all things with God who strengtheneth us! Fear not, for with God all things are possible!
I ponder things such as this along with other things such as : How does the gospel of Jesus Christ spread to all of the world if radical Muslim countries kill or drive out all Christians from the land? The answer may be that God brings them to lands where Christians are allowed freedom of worship and speech. What happens if we fail to use these blessings  of freedom from God to build up his kingdom?  Perhaps He will remove those freedoms if we do not appreciate them and use them for his purposes. "Now is the time for all good men and women to come to the aide of their country. Can wars be won without loss of life? Yes, with God and with His powerful weapons that he has bestowed upon those who follow him.....His sword,The Word of God.....and with the most powerful weapon of all.....LOVE.  Jesus said " If you love me,feed my sheep." how do we feed them if we don't want them around us. He never said that it would be easy. "Now is the time for all good men to come to the aide of their country." The way to do that is with love.

Every thing old is new again!

Every Thing Old Is New Again!

 

A friend texted me one day and said that she was cleaning out the garage and had an antique buffet cabinet that she was going to throw away. She said that she thought that I might want to take a look at it before she threw it on the trash pile. Later she texted and said that her husband could "drop it off on his way to work in the morning if I wanted it." "Great! A new project and I wouldn't even have to go pick it up! It was going to be delivered right to the door!"

The next morning, we heard a LOUD BANG!!! When we rushed to the door to see what had happened, there was no one there but this crippled monster was looking back at us! I giggled when I recalled my friend's words from the day before. Boy! Her husband must have literally "dropped it off" on his way to work this morning! My husband was less than thrilled as he eyed this new project of mine! More than once...ok more that ten times that day, he asked "what are you planning on doing with that piece of garbage?" He threatened to drag it to the trash pile all day long. It was really messing with my creative process but finally I had an idea! This was going to be Awesome!

 

After about six hours of scraping and peeling and sanding, I managed to get all of the peeled and damaged veneer off the front of the cabinet.

 

I had managed to drag my husband kicking and grumbling into my world of lunacy to help me get the leg repaired and bolted back on . Now the poor old thing was beginning to show some potential! She just needed some one to love her again! Now even the skeptical husband could see some of her worth so I got him to make a quick run to the wood pile to get some of the boards left over from our fence building project. Ok, so maybe he just slowly meandered over there to get the boards but at least I had trapped, er....motivated him to help me. We built the top piece and attached it to the back of the cabinet similar to how a mirror is attached to a dresser. Now the old girl was beginning to shape up! I painted her a turquoise blue but decided that it was too bright for what I had in mind.

 

I distressed the paint by sanding the edges and wiping a walnut stain over it and quickly wiping it off. This made the paint take on a robin's egg blue shade which was more of the look that I wanted.

 I found the knobs at Hobby Lobby. Aren't they so much better than before? They are perfect for what I am making!

 I had these metal plant baskets so I decided to attach them to both sides to use for gardening supplies and gloves. My husband cut a hole in the top of the cabinet and inserted a large stainless steel bowl that we found at Sam's Warehouse. Now instead of a buffet cabinet for a dining room, I have a beautiful new potting bench! When I need another surface to work on, I cover the bowl with a beautiful metal tray.

                                              
Once all of the accessories were added, she was stunning! I think of the way she arrived and now look at her standing on the back porch in all her glory and just smile! My husband has decided that from now on, he will just wait and see without giving me so much hassle when I come dragging old broken things home for my art projects or when someone "drops" something at my door! This is my favorite rags to riches project so far! I have been very busy this summer and have lots of new projects to share.

Hanukkah

People say "You are not Jewish. Why are you celebrating Hanukkah?" My answer is "Why not? Jesus did." Hanukkah is about bringing light to where there is only darkness. Hanukkah is about having the courage to stand up for what is right when others are willing to conform to what the world declares to be politically correct. Hanukkah is about rededication to that which is spiritual. Hanukkah is about one family that led others to follow the true God instead of obeying a man who declared himself to be "god." Hanukkah is about victory when it seemed improbable. Hanukkah is about how a few won over so many. It is about the "freedom to be" ---to exist with the right to protect your family and worship as you choose. It is about trusting God when the odds are against you. It is about having plenty when there was so little. It is about doing all you can to help yourself and with God's grace you are delivered from captivity. It is about the temple of God and keeping it sacred to be used for His purposes. There are so many lessons in the story of Hanukkah which will bring spiritual light into our homes as we rededicate ourselves each of the eight nights. I say "Why not Hanukkah? Doesn't everyone need more spiritual light? Don't we need to journey the path that brings us closer to God? It is the perfect opportunity to celebrate the Messiah and his return. It is about "The Light of the World." It is about having no fear to place the menorah, a symbol of the Holy Spirit from the first temple, in our front window for the world to see that we believe and want to have that Holy Spirit in our home and in each member of our family . It is having no fear to bear our testimony of a mighty God in heaven who is in control in spite of the chaos. So I ask again, "Why do you have to be a Jew to see the light and to believe in a "Jewish God" -----I believe He is THE ONE TRUE GOD. I believe that Hanukkah celebrates that fact. Hanukkah helps us to remember that He delivers those who remember Him.
Let your light shine! Hanukkah begins tomorrow at sundown. Clear the pigs off your altars and purify yourselves by trying harder to do that which He would have you do. Re-light that spiritual light that has dimmed in your soul and let it shine in your heart so that you will be worthy to serve the God who has always been there when you have sought Him in the past.
Happy Hanukkah! And pray for the peace of Jerusalem!
A great miracle happened there. Miracles are a gift from God to those who have enough faith to believe. That is the real meaning of Hanukkah.

Halloween and Pumpkin Time!

I remember when the music teacher came into my third grade class and in her scariest and deepest voice began to eerily sing: "Jack 0'Lantern,Jack O' Lantern, Big and Yellow! (she stretched her eyes open very very wide, spread her arms wide open as she sung this and then leaned toward us for the next line) "Jack O'Lantern, Jack O' Lantern,Funny Fellow! (She continued to quietly but eerily sing in a very deep voice and creep toward the front row of children) She continued singing and gradually increasing the volume..."Shining in the night...With your eyes so bright. Scaring all the witches with your "BOO!BOO!BOO!!!!"  We all loved it! (It must have made quite the impression on me for my old brain to still remember it!)
 There's something wonderful about the crisp air of fall in the South! I guess because it seems to take so long to get here in the sweet land of humidity where we live with our endless days of summer! Autumn is my favorite time of year with all of the beautiful colors that it brings. We love the days of October in particular here at our house. We look forward to carving pumpkins,jumping in great big piles of leaves, and sitting around the fire pit in the evening.The kids love to dress up for Halloween and go "trick or treating." They look forward to going to the pumpkin patch and the carnival at the Elementary School.For the past few years,Grand-daughter #1 and Grand-daughter #2 have had to enter the pumpkin decorating contest at their schools. We have worked on this year's two "masterpieces" the past two days. Tonight,we carved more pumpkins for our Family Home Evening and then sat around the firepit and read Halloween stories until time to get ready for bed.Everyone is exhausted from the hours spent cleaning out "pumpkin guts" as  Little grandson calls the yucky insides of the pumpkins.

Here is Grand-daughter #2"s entry for her contest.Introducing "Strutter the Peacock" pumpkin!

These 2 are brother and sister. He doesn't like the way the pumpkin feels on the inside so he is supervising the job until it's time to carve.

 "YUCKY! Nope, I'm not going to touch that stuff on the inside!"

Grand-daughter #1's pumpkin for the contest! Introducing, "Chester the Cheetos Cheetah" pumpkin!

 He even has Cheetos orange fingers!

Update: Strutter and Chester, both won 1st place at both schools!

Which Wolf?

  Today is the day that we give thanks for our many blessings. There are many who have lost all their worldly possessions as a result of natural disasters and may find it hard to see what there is to be thankful for. Today is a day about family and friends gathering together but perhaps you are alone and find it hard to watch the commercials that portray the happiness of the occasion. I was led to this scripture today which brought comfort to my spirit and would like to share it with those who may be hurting.

"Not that I speak in respect of want; for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound; every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."----Philippians 4: 11-13
"Ingratitude is one of the greatest sins of which the inhabitants of the earth are guilty of today."-- Pres. Joseph F. Smith
We are a generation who want what we want when we want it and have ceased to be thankful for that which we already have.We have ceased to be grateful and blame God for the circumstances in our lives rather than seeing how much we are already blessed with. Even if you have no material possessions whatsoever, you have life. As long as you breathe, you have opportunity to change your circumstances and to make choices that can bring happiness.
"Both abundance and lack (of abundance) exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities.It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend... when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that's present-- love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature, and personal pursuits that bring us happiness-- the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience heaven on earth."---Pres. Thomas Monson
We want the fairy tale with the handsome prince on the white charger (or the princess in the tower) to rescue us from our dreary existence and anything short of the fairy tale brings us great misery. The devil is a miserable creature and wants us to be miserable. Why can't we just be happy as Paul learned to be "in whatsoever state" that we are in? Why do we have to make others sad or mad just because we aren't  happy?  Why do we let others rob us of our happiness? We can be "full" if we have the Holy Spirit in our lives. We can learn to "hunger" for those things that are righteous and ignore the things that are meant to hurt us. We can learn that we can "do all things" through the strength that comes with a testimony of the Atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Today is the day that we celebrate with feasting until we can feast no more ( note to self....gluttony is a sin!)
Remember there are many who will go hungry this day. Find a way during the holiday season to contribute in some way to help those who are in need. It is not enough to just say "thank you" to our Maker but we have to "give back" by serving our fellow being. Learn to be kind. There are many who are hurting. Don't add to the hurt.
"An old Cherokee told his grandson, "My son, there is a battle between two wolves inside us all." One is EVIL. It is anger, jealousy, greed, resentment, inferiority, lies and ego. The other is GOOD. It is joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, empathy and truth.
The boy thought about it and asked, "Grandfather, which wolf wins?" The old man quietly replied, "The one you feed."

Today as you feast consider which wolf you will feed. Be sure it is the one that you can live eternally with.
Happy Thanksgiving. Rise and shine and give God the GLORY,GLORY !!!!!

One of a Kind!

The other day when I was at Dollar Tree, I had an idea for a craft project for the kids to do. It all began when I saw these little guys.

Yep,tiny nutcrackers but I see a Nativity set just waiting to happen! Soooo...I bought a bunch of them and got out some scraps of fabric, some ribbons and twine, and hot glue guns and the grand-daughters got to work on the transformation. While they worked, I gathered some sticks and the bark stuff that crepe myrtle trees shed in the Autumn and a few wooden blocks to make the stable.

Grand daughters #1 and #2 worked on the dolls.....

Then Grandson #2 helped glue a few blocks together to give us the basic shape for the bottom of the stable. We didn't have enough blocks to make the entire stable so we used some sticks. Grand daughter #3 didn't want to make the dolls so she  was in charge of the glue gun for the stick application. 

The blocks were just to help stabilize the sticks (and to give the little 4 year old grandson a part in the project.) You could use 2x4s or a cardboard box. I like how this thing turned out with the sticks and the weird bark that we gathered. We also used jute twine to lash the sticks together as well as the hot glue. When I was 17 years old, my grandmother and I spent many hours making clothespin dolls. That is what made me think of this project. By using these little nutcracker dolls, I didn't have to buy the wooden beads for the heads or make arms or buy wooden stands so that they would stand up. Plus I got 2 dolls for $1.00 ! 

 King #1 is all dressed now!

For the rest of the dolls, we decided to cut off the pointy hat.

 The girl dolls also got a nose job.

We didn't think they needed this nose.or the facial hair so we painted over the face after pulling off the nose and replacing it with a straight pin that has a glass bead on one end. We used wire cutters to clip the straight pin to the right length before hot gluing it in the hole where the old nose used to be.

 We tried a tiny pearl but it was too big.

 This old clothes pin is what we decided to use to make Baby Jesus,

 We sawed it off right above where the stick divides.

 Then we padded the stick with a piece of felt before wrapping it in a piece of linen fabric.

 We saved the "legs" of the clothespin to use for the bodies of our 2 sheep. We painted the pointed end with black paint and put tiny white dots for eyes. The legs were made out of some antique spindle shaped beads that I already had but you could make them out of tiny wooden spools or black pony beads.The ears were made out of a small piece of black pipe cleaner that was wound into a small spiral shape and hot glued in place. We used some chenille from an old scarf but you could use cotton balls or fleece.

 They needed to be cut smaller to be the right scale for the little dolls.

Grand-daughter #1's angel

Grand-daughter #2's Shepherd

I have many nativities that I have collected over the years but this "one of a kind" will be a family heirloom because it was made by my "angels."

Be Still.

The closer it gets to Christmas, the faster time seems to pass. There are school band recitals to attend and class parties to bake for, decorations to put up and family activities to plan. There are church programs to write and lessons to prepare. Not to mention, those hand-made items that you'd like to make in your fantasy of  "Christmas Perfect." But the most stressful part is the shopping! The thought of  manuvering through the packed stores filled with angry mothers pushing carts with screaming exhausted babies and who will use said carts to mow you down if you get in their way for more than a brief second, sends a chill of dread down my spine!!! However, the thought of not getting presents for the kids sends a sense of panic that tops even the fear of those PMS manic mothers on a mission to grab every possible bargain. I mean, after all, what's a little blood shed for the cause. Suddenly I feel the need for some peace and quiet...or maybe some chocolate ice cream to calm my anxiety that comes around this time of year when the money is scarce and the gift list is longer than expected.

             "Be Still"
"Be still," I hear Him softly say,
"Be still, lay all aside."
He who made the universe stoops down,
and gathers up my cares.

"Be still," He chides again.
His work begins within my weary soul.
"Be patient. In quiet stay.
Listen to me."

Though pressed on every side,
I clear my heart and mind.
In timid voice and heart,
I lift to Him my praise.

How quiet, His presence,
How healing, His words,
In hushed awe, I listen.
I savor each one.

My will, He bends.
My heart, He sweeps clean.
My strength, He renews.
My soul, He fills overflowing.

He teaches through His word.
I need what He tells me.
I stand and give Him praise.
Together we go forth and serve.
----author unknown

Why does Christmas bring so much stress? Perhaps it is because we listen to the wrong voice. The world says that you won't have a "Merry Christmas" unless you can get the latest fashions or newest gadget or that new toy that is the latest rage that every other kid is going to have and yours won't unless you stand in long lines with a load of money and a pair of boxing gloves on to beat down the masses that are fighting to get it before you can grab one. Perhaps we need to just slow down and re-think this entire Christmas thing. Will your kids die if they don't get everything on their wish list? Will the sun come up tomorrow? Wait....that sounds vaguely familiar. The sun will  come out tomorrow....bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow,there'll be sun.  So why spend your bottom dollar and be broke when tomorrow gets here. What is Christmas about anyway?

My Christmas Wish List:
1.  More Spiritual---Less Commercial
2. More Joyful---Less Sorrowful
3. More Forgiveness----Less Contention
4. More Peaceful----Less Stressful
5. More Gratitude----Less Selfishness

"Life's under no obligation to give us what we expect"--Margaret Mitchell


But Jesus promises,"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you, Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."--John 14:27

Even if there is no money for gifts, Christmas isn't about presents anyway. It is about HIS PRESENCE in our lives and in our homes. Let us teach the children this and pray that they learn the true meaning for the season. Maybe we need to remember the real reason for the season as well.
Let us listen to the true "Spirit of Christmas"  this year......the Holy Spirit.

"Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge." ---Psalm 46:10-11