My cousin is having a party!

My cousin, Lezlee, is having a party over at her blog. She does a great job repurposing stuff into beautiful useful stuff. And she's asked others to show their stuff.

Okay, that's enough stuff.

So, the following are a few things that we've repurposed around here.

When my oldest was moving into a dorm room, we took cork trivets and turned them into tiny bulletin boards. Then she took another set and turned them into art.






















































Then, there's the cat I made awhile back. I like my cat a lot. It is the only kind of cat I can have. My husband and two of my kids are allergic to cats and my dogs would probably have heart attacks if a cat entered the scene.




Can you tell it's made with all found objects? That's a pop top thingy from a can for the mouth. The whiskers might be telephone wires. The Blue Jay feather is from our yard. The Texas rabies tag came from one of the dogs. A copper pipe forms the tail that is attached to an old Mexican vanilla bottle. I found a broken beer bottle in the park which became ears for the muchly abused baseball.

Philip Andre has been adopted

This is Philip Andre. As you can tell he has lived a hard life. In the past he has been a boxer, actor, and a screenwriter.















Etched into his face are lines left by extreme living and taking punches.
















Underneath is a heart of gold. Well, maybe not a heart of gold, but a heart, none the less.
















Philip Andre has been adopted and now lives in Louisiana. His adoption fees are being donated to Faceless International.

To learn who inspired the birth of Philip Andre, click here.

Kathy Griffin

There's an email list that I'm on. Recently someone sent out a chain email about all the horrible things Kathy had said and how they would never again watch anything she is on. And, of course, people started responding. They called Kathy a female dog. They made fun of her looks. They trashed her completely and totally. This was done by people who claim very loudly to be Christians.

All I could think was that God loves her equally as much as He loves them.

Kathy isn't a Christian. She doesn't claim to be. So, why should anyone be surprised when she doesn't speak as they think a Christian should speak?

The bashing has bothered me for days. And, in the past, I would have responded to the hateful emails, but I learned the hard way that pointing out a different response or suggesting a different view is not tolerated. So, I'm venting on here.

John 13:34-35

Why stay on the list? Every now and then beauty does come through.

If we could...

"If we could muster a portion of the patriotism we feel toward our earthly nations into a patriotism and bravery in concert with the kingdom of God, the enemy would take fewer casualties to be sure."

Donald Miller, Searching For God Knows What

Loved this when I read it and still do, and with the Olympics and Super Bowl coming on us fast and furiously I think we could probably also say "If we could muster a portion of the devotion we feel toward our team..."

Oh God, I feel so selfish in my pain

How do I feel great excitement on one hand and also feel great loss?

How does my mind and spirit untangle these emotions of healing and moving forward, which brings great joy, from the tears and heartache of saying goodbye to something that brought great joy?

How can I be exuberantly happy about love blooming and growing, because I am, and yet experience waves of sorrow washing over me from the loss of what was.

I feel selfish in my pain, as if my pain overrides the joy for the progress of moving forward. A moving forward that is soothing, beautiful, and needed.

I know in my mind that this is good, yet I long so greatly for the past which can never return. And would not want to return if given the option.

Oh God, give me the eyes to see the beauty of now. Give me the heart to embrace it with no reserves. Help me remember the joy of the past and not weep.

Take away the selfishness of my pain.

ONE Sabbath

Revelation Song Hits #1

I'm so happy for Jennie!

Are You a Good Christ?

Read Francis Chan's Catalyst article. It is good stuff.

http://www.catalystspace.com/content/read/francis_chan/

Beauty in Sight and Sound

This is beautiful!

Blessings

This evening my depression was pressing down on me unrelentingly. I was ready to call it a day before 5 p.m. I was forcing myself to stay up and sort of stay engaged with my family. But, I DID NOT WANT TO. I wanted to go to bed to forget everything.

And then the phone call came. A wonderful woman of God called to ask if I knew where her teenage daughter could help the homeless on Christmas day and I was able to provide a positive answer to that question. Then, she proceeded to lift my spirits and pray over me. I can't even remember some of the things she said because I was crying so hard I couldn't really hear, but my soul heard and it drank those words and blessings right up. God gave her the exact words to speak over me and the exact verses to read to me.

Thank You God for this amazing, unexpected blessing tonight.

The Rock

"Trust in the LORD forever,
For in GOD the LORD, we have an everlasting Rock."
Isaiah 26:4

"Do not tremble and do not be afraid;
Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it?
And you are My witnesses.
Is there any God besides Me,
Or is there any other Rock?
I know of none."
Isaiah 44:8

"For who is God, but the LORD?
And who is a rock, except our God,
The God who girds me with strength,
And makes my way blameless?"
Psalm 18:31

"The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."
Psalm 18:2

"There is no one holy like the LORD,
Indeed, there is no one besides You,
Nor is there any rock like our God."
I Samuel 2:2

"For You are my rock and my fortress;
For Your name's sake You will lead me and guide me."
Psalm 31:3

The Truth Is...

Read this today and liked it.

"The truth is that there is no hope in principles or issues. There is no hope in politics, world leaders, policies or government. There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ candidate. There is only the hope of Jesus Christ. The only thing that remains is the grassroots gospel of a new humanity of people loving and serving and giving their lives so that God might increase and be known to others as they do so." Matt Conner

The complete post can be found in The Rabbit Room.

Diving In

I've decided to dive into Isaiah. Before I just splashed around here and there, but now, I'm going for a Laura Wilkinson platform dive. The kind that forces you to go deep. Jesus for President and Justice In The Burbs finally got me to climb up the tall ladder.

This is the passage that got to me this morning:

Where will you be stricken again,
As you continue to your rebellion?
The whole head is sick,
And the whole heart is faint.
From the sole of the foot even to the head
There is nothing sound in it...

My rebellion is continuous. It affects every part of me and causes pain for those around me. I need to get well.

Article VI Faith.Politics.America

There is a lot of talk going on about a new documentary, Article VI - Faith.Politics.America. Some people say that is endorsing Romney for president. It isn't. I've seen the film. Many leaders from many walks of faith are interviewed fairly. Constitution experts are interviewed. How do your religious views and political views mesh? Would you vote for a candidate that matched your political ideals, but not so much your religious ones? It explores the political and religious atmosphere at the time John F. Kennedy announced he was running for president. I suggest you view it in your neighborhood before making a judgment.