Creative Tuesday: Springtime

I know spring has begun when I see crocus and daffodils popping up all around, but I must say that my favorite part of spring, aside from rising temperatures of course, are the PINK TREES!!!! Blossoming cherry trees are just gorgeous in the springtime- and they're so fluffy!!! Love them. One day, I will have one in my yard. Today's Creative Tuesday piece is just a quick oil pastel drawing I did of my spring faves.

Thinking about this post also made me realize that I never posted a pic of the cute spring/Easter cupcakes I made last year! I figure that now is as good a time as any, sooooo... 

This is the most adorable desert I've ever constructed! They make me smile.

You can check out the other "Springtime" entries over at Mr. Toast's blog.

First Day

I am happy to report that my first day at my new job went wonderfully. There was only a brief moment of panic this morning when I came downstairs to double check the name of the guy doing my training today, rounded the corner toward the living room, and saw that it was SNOWING, and sticking to the yard! Ahhhhhh!! Nooooo!!! Just my luck. I calmed down when I found out that there was nothing on the roads, but I was gasping and bug-eyed there for a minute!

Today I did my orientation, then began training. This week I'm learning to do casting. They have a practice arm manikin, which I successfully wrapped in stockinette, cotton, and fiberglass, let it set, then sawed it off!! (The cast, not the arm.) At the end of the day, I got to cast my first actual patient in a short-leg cast (one that comes just below the knee). Tomorrow I get to meet the ortho doc I'm going to be working with, and learn and practice some more casting techniques! Hopefully the rest of the week will go just as well. :-)

Not again...

If you weren't already aware, I will tell you now that I am notorious for getting locked out of my house. You'd think by now I'd have hidden a spare key outside, but I haven't. I did get one made, but it's still inside, on the desk, waiting to be hidden. Whole heaping lot of good it's doing me there!

Well, I came back to the door after walking Griffin this afternoon to find that the lovely breezes that I had been enjoying on our walk had conspired against me and pulled the door closed, and it was, of course, locked. Argh!! No phone, no key (I've got to hide that thing!), and I've got the dog. What to do??

Then I remembered- I've got the windows open!!  Thank the Lord for pretty weather!! So, I went 'round back to my kitchen window, the base of which is about level with my stomach, pushed up the screen, and attempted to get in. As I was lying on my stomach on the windowsill, wondering how I was going to avoid crash landing inside (it's not a big window), my gaze came to rest on my low lying dining room window, which was also open!! Realizing that this was the far better option, I heaved myself back out, trudged around to the front, wedged in behind the bushes, and easily stepped through the window into my house. SUCCESS!!!!  *fist pump* Then, I went out and untied Griffin from the grill and brought him in. So, that is the story of my first time entering my home through a window. Now I can go bake some cupcakes for youth club, and then find a place for my spare key!

Anybody else have a similar story they'd like to share?

Why?

"Why?" is probably the hardest question any one person can pose to another. The answers to it are both numerous and non-existent. It is a curious child's favorite and often most annoying question. It is what we ask when something happens beyond understanding. I've heard it a lot lately.

Last Wednesday night we got the news that one of my husband's best friends from childhood had committed suicide. I never got to meet him, but from stories I heard, he was a great guy, outgoing, a volunteer, competitive, a police officer, friend to many. He took his life because his girlfriend wanted to break up with him.  It seems such a horrible waste of life; surely he could have coped some other way? Here we ask "why?!".  There's not a good answer, but I will say that there's no problem or depression so deep that God cannot bring you through if you'll only trust Him and draw from his infinite strength and comfort.

Psalm 18:2   The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

Isaiah 25:4   For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is a storm against the wall.

Philippians 4:13   I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Then on Sunday, we received more bad news. A 7 year old boy at one of our sister churches had died of an illness, and a teenage girl who went to summer camp with our youth group this past summer was hit by a car and killed. I did not know the child, but I was a counselor at camp, and the girl who died was in my group. Sweet girl. So sad. Again we can ask the question "why?'. We don't know, but God does. 

Romans 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

That doesn't mean that we'll understand "why", it means we're to trust Him to do what's best. It's possible that someone may be drawn to God and come to know Christ as a result of these tragedies and the testimonies of the Christian families involved. There is a peace that only God can give, that there is hope for those who know Him to see their loved ones again. While we are sad at the loss, we do not despair. All of these tragedies involved young people: ages 7, 15, and 25. It is a glaring reminder that we are not promised tomorrow. Anything could happen at any time; if it did, are you prepared to meet God? Do you know for sure that you will go to Heaven? You can know. 

Romans 10:9   That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

1 John 5:10-13   He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made Him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son.

And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.

He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

Time is short. Get it settled. Just believe; God will do the rest.

Creative Tuesday: Breakfast

Well, my original idea for this theme was a kid with tousled hair looking up at a great big plate of pancakes, but I just couldn't seem to get it on paper. So I drew this fellow (based on no one in particular). 

He looks about like I feel while eating breakfast- still droopy-eyed with messy hair, reading whatever's handy and trying to wake up with coffee and something sweet. I am NOT a morning person!

After I finished him, I decided to try my original idea one more time, because I loved it so much, but this time from a different perspective and using a different style character, just to see....

and VOILA!! :-D

Head on over to Hot Toast and Jam to check out all the other visions of "breakfast"!

Great Read

Want a story that will make you laugh aloud, prick your eyes with tears, and cause you to swell with pride for it's hero? Read "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss. It's in the fantasy fiction genre, but it goes much deeper than that. It's about Kvothe, a curious young boy overcoming hardships and celebrating triumphs as he leaves his childhood behind and matures, learning from his experiences and becoming wise. Full of danger, joy, pain, and excitement, it's an epic adventure that's hard to put down. I was drawn in from the first page, and though long (662 pages), once you're inside, it's an easy story to get lost in. GREAT book.

Thumbs up for color!

It's funny... I've been out of work for a year, and now that I have just one more week off, I finally decide to knuckle down and paint my downstairs entry room today. That's procrastination for ya. While I was taping out the trim this morning, Griffin kept moving his rope toy every time I moved my step stool. I'd move and he'd come pick up his toy and move it to where I was. Then he'd stare up at me expectantly, sending the message "Play????" to me as hard as he could. But, as I had a lot to do, I didn't give in. You might think this cruel of me, but to Griffin, it's ALWAYS playtime. Don't worry, I obliged him later.

Anyway, I've just finished painting, and I LOVE the new color!! SO much better than beige. Ugh. And scuffed up beige at that. Just in case you weren't aware, beige is not my favorite. It's just so.... beige. Blah. The trim has a fresh coat of "Dove White", and the walls are now the beautiful shade "Irish Tea". It's a difficult one to describe... it's a medium to deep neutral shade, sort of a brown with plum undertones. Once I remove all the tape and get the furniture back in place, I'll take a picture to post to better explain it.

The only other thing I did today was watch the Carolina/Clemson game. I'm glad to say my Heels will be moving on to play Duke for the ACC Championship, but they'll have to play better than they have thus far if they expect to win. Unfortunately, I'll be at work and won't get to watch the game tomorrow. But the good news is, tomorrow is the LAST Sunday I have to work!! Can I get a woot woot!?!

Interesting...

Tonight was my night to teach in Youth Club at church. The first half of the year, our class studied women in the Bible, comparing the "good girls" with the "bad girls". For the second half, we're studying Bible stories that involve animals. I decided to teach on Daniel and the lions' den, and in the course of my preparations, came upon something that I had not noticed before. The internet is a wonderful tool... it started as I was looking up the location of Babylon, where the story takes place. It's located about 50 miles south of modern day Baghdad on the Euphrates river. I'm sure I've heard this piece of information before, but it had never dawned on me that Iraq is an odd place for lions to be. Unless I am mistaken, that is not their natural habitat, and even if I'm wrong, it still led me to the discover something new.

This is part of the Ishtar Gate, a section of the "Processional Way" leading out of Babylon. Ishtar was the Mesopotamian goddess of love and war. Her symbol: a lion.

This statue is known as the Lion of Babylon. The lion, depicted trampling a man, symbolizes strength.

This picture, taken in the 1930s, held the caption "The Lions' Den, Babylon". You can see the Lion of Babylon statue on the hill above the ruin. Could that ruin be the site of the actual lions' den into which Daniel was thrown? Possibly- it's uncertain.

Daniel was thrown into the lions' den for ignoring the decree given by king Darius and continuing to pray to God openly thrice daily. Knowing that the lion is the symbol of the Babylonians' pagan goddess, doesn't it seem that by throwing Daniel to the lions, in a way, it was actually a challenge to God? I had never considered it in that light. But just like the story of God and Elijah vs. the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel, God is once again shown to reign victorious when he shuts the mouths of the lions, allowing no harm to come to Daniel. Daniel went through all this so that the name of God could be glorified, and indeed it was. In the end, king Darius makes another decree:

I make a decree, that in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for He is the living God, and stedfast for ever, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall be even unto the end. He delivereth and rescueth, and He worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.

Daniel 6:26-27

Cool, huh!?!

Surely not.

People want this?? Surely not, but apparently so. Dear mercy.

Meanwhile, In Germany of the Day: A Bavarian entrepreneur has begun selling cans filled with the scent of cow farts in an effort to provide homesick city-dwelling country folk with “the authentic smell of the country.”

“Countryside air to go” creator Daniela Dorrer said there are plans to add other smells such as horse, straw, pigs, and manure, “[b]ut most people miss the smell of the cows in the country, not really surprising as much of the smell is from cows.

see more The Daily What

Well, Daniel did say he'd be interested in the "hay" scent, so who knows?! This is just not my thing. Craziest thing I've seen this week!

God is so good...

God is so good. Right at this moment, I feel blessed beyond anything I deserve. This week has been great!!

As I said in my last post, I was offered two full time jobs this week. What's even more amazing is that after I posted, I was contacted about a part-time job that I had accepted back in November, but the company experienced some set-backs and is just now ready to open. So I had THREE jobs offered to me this week!!! I am just blown away. What's even more astounding- both of the full-time jobs were offered to me without my sending in an application! One was with my former employer, and the other was sent my way by the same source. God gave this especially to me... and words simply cannot describe how that makes me feel. I am SO thankful.

I know you're all wanting to know, so I'll tell you that I did verbally accept a job on Friday! YAY!! Now I'm just waiting to hear from HR to make it official and go over all the little details. It's at a brand new clinic, so I'll be with them from the ground up as a core member of the team. Things will go slowly at first, so in addition to doing x-ray, I'll be cross-trained to do casting and registrar. As more doctors join and the clinic grows, things will pick up. The drive to work will be a little longer than I'm used to, but the hours are great: Monday-Friday 8-5, no weekends (praise the Lord!!!) and no holidays! I'm very excited to have this opportunity to learn some new skills and to grow with the company! *insert big cheesy grin* Thank you all SO much for your prayers!!!

Today we had our 4th annual Ladies Conference at our church. Our theme this year was "He Sees the Sparrow", so there were bird and garden themed decorations all around the church. (I really meant to take pictures, but today was busy, and I forgot my memory card in my camera last night. So sorry!) There were bird houses, nests, eggs, bird-baths, greenery, flowers, and of course, little birdies everywhere! Very cute!! Our speaker was Kay Chandler, and as always, she was such a blessing. My mommy went with me, and we had a lovely time. We sang, we laughed, we ate (of course), I even won a door-prize- a cute little indoor fountain/waterfall thingy, and we talked about God. In the morning session, we talked about keeping our eyes on God- about His names and what each means:

Elohim: our Creator, who made each of us with a purpose.

El Elyon: the most high God, who is in control of the universe and is our refuge.

El Roi: God who sees, and knows all our heartaches and troubles.

El Shaddai: the all sufficient One, who pours out Himself for us who believe.

Then in the afternoon, we talked about how God's eyes are on us, on our "secret sins", of our spiritual walk (or lack thereof), of the tongue (lying, gossip, a critical spirit, profanity), and of the heart (jealousy, bitterness, anger, an unforgiving spirit).

It was a very encouraging yet humbling time, and a great reminder of exactly how well God knows us, and just how much He cares about us. His love is limitless.

Luke 12:6-7

Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?

But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.

Prayer Request

Say a prayer for me- After a year of no luck finding a job, I've had 2 jobs (full-time) offered to me in as many days, and I don't know which one to choose! This is a really big decision- please pray I choose the right one!

Creative Tuesday: Bedtime

Bedtime... when is that?? Have you noticed how quickly the time flies at night when you're bundled in your Snuggie reading, drawing, or browsing the internet? I'll eventually look at the clock and to my surprise, it will read one, two, or three am. I currently don't have to get up at any particular time in the mornings, so I don't have a bedtime I enforce on myself. So here is my Creative Tuesday Bedtime piece- an ode to how "Time Flies" at night.

"Time Flies"

And can you believe it's already MARCH???