Gypsy Love , Junkin Heart and Butterfly dreams

I Love, LOVE, lOvE the Junk Gypsies on HGTV...There is not anything that inspires me more than to see WHAT they are gonna create. Now don't get me wrong, I am fairly creative but I do not have: a) tools or workshop
b)family at my disposal that will drop everything to help me create my most recent dreamed up fanciful ideas c)$$$ d) their adorable cuteness . 

Last weekend I sooooo wanted to go junkin and just be with some of my girls kicking back and having a good time. Well.... as my luck (which if you know me is NEVER good) would have it, gas prices jumped 16 cents in one day, several of my normal running buddies had plans and so my dreams of a road trip to Brenham, Texas to go to the Garage Sale Competition that was being filmed for the girls new HGTV show was sidetracked and permanently de-railed. RATS!!!

What ever is a self proclaimed Junk Queen to do??? Well....I decided to stay at home and do some creative stuff closer to the casa. I painted my quilt nook with some very pretty hues of my favorite colors ( all warm and yummy) : turquoise,yellow, red and orange!! I painted them and then antiqued them a little with a pecan stain. I LOVE the way it came out. I also ventured into our local Saturday night auction up in town. I have wanted to check that place out for several years now but never had made it in there. Who knows how much good junk I missed in this length of time???

There was a LOT of junk to be had at the auction and not all of it was good BUT I had a blast!! Brought home a few treasures and the best part is I was entertained for a couple of hours and spent less than 20.00. Not bad for  a Saturday night. The hubby went too and he actually had fun ( go figure).  I also took some time to watch some of my Art class videos. I am learning how to create all things with wings. I started watching the videos about butterflies. I haven't completed a drawing, painting or sketch of one yet but I HAVE come up with the perfect quote to go on one I have in my head. It will say ," God didn't want me to spit and sputter so he gave me wings so I can flutter." original quote by me. 

What kind of things get you excited? Junkin, watching those creative Texas gals, painting, going to garage sales and DREAMING are all things that I have a definite passion for. I hope you find time to explore things that make YOU happy in the coming week. 

Blessings,

Dalene
XOXO

Blessings..

Those who plant blessings shall also harvest blessings. Go be a blessing to someone in life...Smile, Share, Laugh and Love..

Special people deserve special prayers

                                               MOM

                               SHIRLEY (mom-in-law)


Sometimes we just need special prayers for the people that we love. Today I ask for prayers 

my two moms. My sweet mother -in-- law aka THE DOGGY MEMAW is in the hospital after 

a fall. She is ok but needs  to have some tests run and to be kept for observation for a day or 

two. Also asking for unspecified prayers for my mother aka MEMAW. These two amazing

ladies bring so much joy and love to their families and so I lift them up in prayer for God's 

healing hands to make them well. Thank you in advance for all prayers lifted in their names.



1 John 5:15 " And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him."


With much love & gratitude,

Dalene

Things worth cheering about...

Well...tommorow will be a week since me and our wonderful team returned from our mission trip. It took me several days to make sense out of what it was that I had just experienced. This mission trip was unlike ANY trip I had been on yet and I think that is why it captured my heart the way it did. The thought of going to Massachusetts didn't initially seem too exciting or interesting but boy was I wrong... I had personally never been to a place that was so beautiful but unattractive at the same time. Let me explain... The cities that I visited were emaculate and very pretty, quaint even, however; there was a definite darkness , a stark constrast to this seemingly cozy place. It didn't really even take very long to realize what it was that was different but it seemed to me just plain weird..



There seemed to be very few people in New England that know about Jesus let alone put their hope and faith in Him. In Texas where I live, you don't have to go far to see evidence of faith in Christ everywhere. Everywhere you look you see adults,teens and children wearing T-shirts emblazened with His image or some other religious saying on it. You can often walk into a public store and it will be playing christian music over the intercom. There is more than one christian radio station to choose from on the radio and there would appear that there is a church on every corner. This is NOT the case in New England. I sensed the difference in the people right away. They were missing something... Something that is normally everywhere around me.. The thing they were missing was Joy. There is a certain Joy that comes with being a christian but a greater Joy comes from having a personal relationship with Christ. We are His joy and He delights in us. I felt so sorry for these people... They don't even KNOW what they are missing. Although the region is by far very unreligious, I was fortunate to be on mission working with a small but great congregation of wonderful, God-loving Christians.



Our mission last week was to bring the Joy that we know and are assured of through Christ's love for us to another group of believers. The act itself was not hard, emotional at times but not really difficult for me since I am a people person and love to be around others. The thing that amazed me though when I returned home and started reflecting on my time there with these precious people was that even though my purpose was to spread joy, they in turn blessed me beyond words and brought me so much more joy than I could imagine that I brought to them. God's love is funny that way... Just when we think we have things figured out, He shifts gears on us. I guess it is a good thing that I depend on God to be in charge of the wheel and I try real hard not to be a backseat driver. Some of the things that I brought back from my trip:

• God's grace is sufficient for us all even when we try to sell Him short.


• Working as a body is not always easy but it is what we are called to do.


• Love CAN conquer all things, even really difficult things.


• People the world over have the same kinds of needs, fears, hopes and dreams


• Hope might be better than a lifevest when we feel like we are drowning in despair.

My hope is that All people will someday realize their need for Jesus and that they will come to Him, eager to fall into His loving arms and rest there for eternity..That's where my hope and faith is...in Jesus!!

Changing for the world...

Have you ever thought about what you could do to affect change? I mean real , honest and meaningful change... It could be something small or something grand.. Jesus was always about affecting change in the lives of people that he encountered. He fed them, healed them, talked with them but most importantly loved them. He didn't care about outward appearances unlike most people today.

Sometimes making a difference could be as small as smiling at someone and brightening their day.It could be that you offer a random act of kindness... Have you ever bought the coffee of the person standing behind you in line at the donut shop? Why not? Are we as a generation afraid of "laying ourselves out there" ? Do you think that the person that you just bought coffee for will reject you.... Of course not! They will probably be surprised at the gesture.. And possibly..... Return the act of kindness to someone else...

What if we could ask for anything with the hope that someone will fulfill the wish? There is a website that has only been up for about 3 months called Askwish.com that is already affecting change in the lives of the people that have signed up. The site is awesome and the concept itself novel. I plan on trying to help others on the site when I am able but there is another hope that we so often overlook. That hope is in Jesus Christ. He has given us a way to change the world..
We can live in a world of light instead of darkness because of his love for us. God has the ability to fulfill our hopes, dreams and wishes.

HOW ARE YOU GOING TO MAKE A CHANGE IN THE WORLD TODAY????