'Saving the Environment,' One VHS at a Time

We have been purging our video and music collection over the last few days.

It may sound silly to some, but as part of a decision that handsome hubby and I made regarding our personal faith journeys, we have been purging.  

Our collection has dwindled...CDs, DVDs, and some old-fashioned VHS'.  

To add to this remarkable, mundane story, I asked Mr. vL if we could recycle the VHS cases.  We are avid recyclers around here, and it bothered me to just toss these into the trash.  

This my friends, defined "true love" last night:

Mr. vL spent his evening unscrewing each case, taking out the film tape, and separating it from the recyclable parts.

Something that seems so small to most, and yet is so important to me....yep, he *gets* me!

Here's to husbands that figure out a way to recycle VHS tapes (or any of those others things we ask them to do!)

Project: as for me and my house

This was my first ever 'Pinterest-inspired' project!!

A simple, yet strong statement in our home.

Lightly rustic....considerably beautiful.  

Great for family photos:

Located in the most well-used area of our teeny home, we see this every day.

Not only does it depict our personal and family commitment to Christ, but it also brings back happy memories of last summer, when Baby J still lounged beside me in his bouncy chair while I crafted.  

This is definitely my favourite project to date.

What about you?

Do you have a favourite project?

A favourite verse?

Happy Crafting!

{Original Project Inspiration}

I plan to link up to these great blogs:

Tip Junkie, Someday Crafts, Skip to My Lou, The Girl Creative, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Sew Much Ado, Polka Dots on Parade, Thrifty Decorating, House of Hepworths, My Simple Home Life, Homemaker in Heels, WhipperBerry, The Blackberry Vine, Kojo Designs, Debbiedoo's, Simply Klassic Home, Six Sisters Stuff

Word Art - Part 2

Last week I posted some word art that I had created for our bathroom redo.  It was my first attempt, and as I mentioned in that post I love how it turned out.  :)

With my paint colour now chosen (so excited!), I need to get a move on the rest of the room.  I am creating two more pieces of word art to go along with this one here.

I've chosen these three verses:

• Psalm 19:14 - "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you LORD my rock and my Redeemer."
• Psalm 107:1 - "Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever."
• Psalm 118:24 - "This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!" 

I want to wake up to something cheerful and uplifting; something to give me encouragement for the day, and to remind me to praise God for all that he has blessed me with.  I appreciate too how these Psalms comfort me with the assurance of his unchanging love.

And so, here is 'Part 2' of my three-part word art installment:

The fonts I used in both of these prints do not have a colon, and not-so-conveniently, the program I was using would not allow me to change the font of just one character (so that a colon could appear).  Shucks!  I plan to just pencil it in.  No biggie.

Anyhoo, I'll share the third print next week, and then I'll make them all available for download.  :)

Remember:  His love endures forever!

I plan to link up to these great blogs:

Tip Junkie, Someday Crafts, Skip to My Lou, The Girl Creative, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Sew Much Ado, Polka Dots on Parade, Thrifty Decorating, House of Hepworths, My Simple Home Life, Homemaker in Heels, WhipperBerry, The Blackberry Vine

Baby Hip-Thrusting & Cleansing

We celebrated my mother-in-law's 50th birthday this evening.  What a fantastic group of people we had there!  She seemed so thrilled with the surprise.  :)  

Baby J was in all his glory: four little girls to chase after and dance with.  His latest thing to do when the music plays is a little hip-thrust dance move while sitting on his bum.  Oh goodness...he sure strutted his stuff tonight!  He is a baby dancing machine.  (And I am a proud momma!)

And, in light of Lent....I left the party a little hungry.

I decided to do a 10-day cleanse beginning on the first day of Lent.

*sigh*

Day Four.

I am craving EVERYTHING.  Okay, not everything....I am craving everything 'junky.'  Hot chocolate, BBQ chips, chocolate chip cookies, pancakes, birthday cake, pop (i.e. soda), macaroni and cheese....mmmmm....macaroni and cheese.  I LOVE macaroni and cheese - especially the homemade macaroni and cheese that I made last night for my boys.  I was in some sort of serious agony watching them eat it without me.

But it is day four.

Six days remain.

Since Lent lasts for 40 days, I think that 'part two' of my Lenten experience may be to cleanse my mind.  I'm not quite sure what that would look like, but I like the idea.  Then perhaps my heart (spiritually, not physically of course), and then perhaps my home.  I could spend 10 days in each area.

Four areas that need cleansing:

1.  My Body

2.  My Mind

3.  My Heart

4.  My Home

I have definitely reflected a lot on my personal habits over the last four days.  

Day One:  I realized how often I just put food into my mouth.  I had to actually stop myself several times throughout the day.  Baby J drops a piece of food, it apparently goes into my mouth.  Baby J doesn't finish his entire meal, apparently I help.  I make food for my family, apparently I snack while that happens.  I feel distracted, apparently I reach for food.  That's a LOT of unnecessary snacking!

Day Two:  Goodness what a physically-draining day.  I just prayed for strength.  I was TIRED.  And agitated.  Not good.  Food-wise, I felt more in control.

Day Three:  I was surprisingly not hungry today.  I felt a little more in control of my emotions and actions.  Food did not bother me so much.

Day Four:  I am hurtin' tonight.  Craving, craving, craving.  A little sleep might do me well.  

Hopefully tomorrow will be easier.  And after that I'm half-way through!

If anyone is interested, I am following what's called "The Master Cleanse" (or to some, "The Lemonade Diet").  

It is tough, but great!

Sweet dreams my friends.  :)

A Little Somethin' Somethin'

I created a little something tonight for our upcoming bathroom redo.  

I've been playing around with various colour options and am excited to incorporate some pinks and yellows in the design.  

We have never had a 'decorated' bathroom - we have only one photo on the wall: an image of a university friend walking toward the water as the sun rises early in the morning (it was like pulling teeth to get my friends to watch the sun rise with me!)  Beyond that, the walls are bare, and nothing else matches.  

We honestly do not need to change anything, but change is fun and exciting, so naturally it will occur.  ;)

My little something is the start of some actual wall decoration.

It is my first attempt at 'word art' and I am actually quite pleased with the result!

Have a look:

If any of you have suggestions for other verses that inspire you (I have too many in mind and cannot seem to narrow my options), I would love to hear them.

I hope all of my Canadian friends had a wonderful Family Day!  We played games with hubby's family and ate my favourite chocolate chip oatmeal cookies.  Mmmm.....cookie.....

Sweet dreams!


(**One other thing....once I figure out how to upload files to make them available for download, I'll do that for this!  If anyone can help me in this department, I will gladly take suggestions/advice.)


I plan to link up to these great blogs:

Tip Junkie, Someday Crafts, Skip to My Lou, The Girl Creative, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Sew Much Ado, Polka Dots on Parade, Thrifty Decorating, House of Hepworths, My Simple Home Life, Homemaker in Heels, WhipperBerry, The Blackberry Vine

Love, Peace and iGoogle

It is 9:30 on a Saturday night.

I am happily at home 'alone' (Baby J is sleeping in the room next to me), while handsome hubby is off celebrating a friend's birthday.  

I have a project list as long as my arm and a wet cloth diaper still sitting on the hardwood floor from 2 1/2 hours ago when I changed Baby J before bed.  (*here I go to put it in the wash with the others...*)  And while the diapers now wash, the project list continues to sit, as does my bottom on our lovely mismatched couch.  

It has been a really tough week for us here, for reasons I am not yet ready to share, and yet God has found little ways to shine his love and peace through the clouds of my emotional and over-analytical mind.

For example, Baby J's devotions tonight read as follows:

"Patience and encouragement come from God." - Romans 15:5

The Shepherd knows that we need help 

To get us through our days.

He's faithful to encourage us

In big and little ways.

He sends a friend to cheer us on

Or lend a helping hand.

And when we feel like giving up,

He'll be our strength to stand!

From "Bedtime Prayers" by Bonnie Rickner Jensen (we REALLY like this book!)

Many prayers this week have begun or ended in desperate cries for answers, relief, patience, trust, understanding, and clear glimpses of his presence.  Oh, to discern the voice of God from my own clanging thoughts!  

And yet, we have not been alone in our suffering this week.  A friend wrote to me: "...there is something about the sharing of suffering that is beautiful and lightens the load.  I think that it is in acknowledging the other's pain and suffering, and walking with them as they also acknowledge and walk with you in yours... We are called to that and I know that is the only way that I can keep going."

We all suffer in one form or another.

It is in the knowing that God will send help to get us through our days, that I find comfort.

I will be honest and say that I have not felt "at peace" yet with our tough week; however, I have felt joy, and trust that a true feeling of peace will come in the days that follow.

This week the joy came....

....in watching Baby J play peek-a-boo around the corner to the kitchen (totally baby-initiated play!)

....in having a wonderful husband who held me through the tears

....in Baby J finally sleeping 12 hours TWO NIGHTS IN A ROW!

....in chatting on the phone for nearly an hour with my best friend (I don't think I've talked that long on the phone since high school!)

....in the bouquet of flowers delivered by a dear friend

....in kind and sympathetic messages from others who 'get it'

....in a morning of play with four book-loving children

....and in tonight's discovery of iGoogle and my new virtual pet hamster, "Mortimer."  (Thank you Julie!)

"He's faithful to encourage us

In big and little ways."

I will continue to look for the 'joy' until I am overcome with peace.

"My lips will shout for joy..."

If you knew my husband and I several years ago, before we were married, you would agree that we are not the same individuals that we were then.

Sure, we are now husband and wife.  We have careers (whether in full swing, or on hold).  We have a beautiful child, a home to support, goals, and dreams.  Our physical lives have surely changed greatly.  Outwardly we are not the same as we once were.

However, as of late, a true inward change has also occurred.  

Christ has been persistently knocking at our hearts.  He knocks at all of our hearts, yes, but we have really begun to listen.  It began slowly.  Joining a new church.  Teaching Sunday School.  Teaching at a Christian School.  Then there was a slow mind shift as a result of various experiences.  We fought against spiritual warfare in our own lives.  We made conscious decisions to 'do this' and 'not do that.'  Little things.  All, a slow growing and maturing.

My husband loves to read novels by Ted Dekker.  If you do not know Ted Dekker, he is a phenomenal writer of fiction, who focuses on spiritual warfare and our 'romance' with God (this is how hubby has described his stories).  

Of course, when either of us read something, we tend to share it with one another.  Ted Dekker's stories have begun to infiltrate our daily conversations.  And as a result, so has spiritual warfare, the purity of our own souls, and how we are portrayed to others.  

This Christmas I presented my husband with what some thought was an odd gift to give at Christmastime.  I wanted him to have his own Bible.  He had been reading mine until then; however, there is something special about having your own book to study and meditate upon (not to mention that you can highlight important text!).  Now that I think about it, Christmastime might be the perfect time to give a Bible as a gift!

Fast forward one week into January, and my husband suggested that it would be nice to have a one-year reading plan.  I located this one here.  What we like about this, is that it doesn't simply begin in Genesis and send you through to Revelation.  Rather, every day you read something from the Old Testament, something from the New Testament, something from Psalm, and something from Proverbs.

This has been great so far.

Randomly, I am also in the works of finding several verses to print to poster and hang in our bathroom.  In my search, I have found myself swimming in the Psalms, joining in prayer and praise with each word.  Tonight it has honestly been a feast for my eyes, my heart, my soul, and my mind.  I feel fully satisfied with words like: "Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long" (Psalm 25:5).

And my heart dances with these words: "I will praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praise to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel.  My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you - I, whom you have redeemed.  My tongue will tell of your righteous acts all day long, for those who wanted to harm me have been put to shame and confusion" (Psalm 71:22-24).

"My lips will shout for joy..."

And they do.

I have found myself praising God while painting.  Praising Him while playing with Baby J.  Praising Him while driving.  Praising Him in the morning.  Praising Him in my last moments before sleep.

Over the last weeks, my husband and I have grown more honest and bold in our prayers.  More specificity.  There is a real growth happening in our home!

It would be wise on my part to thank God for being patient with us, because as I mentioned, this has been, and continues to be a slow, but steady journey.

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever."  (1 Chronicles 16:34)