Cultural Arts

Good morning y'all!!!     This is a blessed and happy day before each one of us.   What are we gonna do with today?     Well, for me, I thought I would share a bit of it with y'all by sharing a bit of yesterday, today.    ggg    Yesterday was another sweltering hot day.    You know what I'm talking about.    One of those days where the use of a curling iron or a flat iron is a waste of good electricity!    Oh yes, you've been there!    When you work and work and work to get your hair just like you want it only to go outside into the humidity and it causes your hair to pop up all over your head, some of looks like ink pen springs, some of it looks just like the cow licks on your head that you worked so hard to get tamed, and then still more of it just doesn't even look like your hair at all!    And then you get to thinking, I just don't remember fixin' "that" head of hair.    hahaha    I have come to the conclusion that on days like yesterday, I'm just gonna take a spray bottle with water in it and instead of styling my hair before I go out, I'll just spray it with water, sling my head around till it looks like my head has been in a tornado and hit the door with my sloppy, tousled hair and head held high.    Then when people look at me funny, I'll politely say, "Yes, I sure did mean to leave the house with my hair looking like this, really, I did."     Otherwise, there's no excuse for my hair looking like it did yesterday!!!    hahahaha    Oh well, what are ya gonna do?    I'm just happy I have a head of hair.   I just might have to start wearing my fedora hat that I got at the Dollar Tree here back.    We'll see.      Anyway.......

Yesterday was Cultural Arts Day and Taste and Tell Day for the FCE groups in Robertson County.    June is Dairy Month and all the dishes had to have a dairy product in them.    For the taste and tell, everything is cut, sliced, served in bite size portions.     You also receive a cookbook with all the recipes in it.    It is fun, and when you finally get through the line and sat down, your plate is rounded with single bites of all this delicious food.    It is really fun.    There is always a bunch of 4-H'ers there also serving water or milk to drink.   They are really nice and polite kids, the future of our county.    There used to be many more people that would show up, but as with all things, there are a lot of other things competing with our time, so hopefully, at some point in time, people will start coming back to the Cultural Arts and Taste and Tell day.

For the Cultural Arts side of it, everyone brings their items to enter and one of the county groups will be in charge of getting everything displayed and then the judges will look at all the items and rank them 1st or 2nd place and then everyone gets participation ribbons for the items that doesn't place.    I entered 7 items this time.    I ended up with 4-1st (blue) place, 1-2nd (red) place and then 2 (green) participation ribbons.    I took pics while at the event.    My pics are not great at all.    So after I got home, I took some better pics, still not all that great, though.    hahaha

The crocheted purple ombre scarf was mine, and it got a green participation ribbon.    As well, it should have, because there was some beautiful baby blankets that won, and they should have won.

Ok y'all, you remember how excited I was to share my first ever oil painting with y'all, it won 1st place.    Everyone loved it. 

This is my Crucifixion Diorama that I made at Easter with a file from Doodling Deb.    It won 1st place in Holiday Decorations.     Some of the ladies said that the judges wanted to give it 2 blue ribbons.    I said, "hey, gimme my other ribbon!"   hahahaha    After the judging took place and people started coming in to eat and sample the food, there was quite a few smaller children there, around 4 to 6 years of age.    Their moms let them look but not touch.    I just so happened to look up at the tables where the items were displayed, and the diorama was at the perfect level for the children to look into and see it.    I heard some of the kids saying, "Hey, come here, (to their buddies) you can see Jesus in this one, Jesus is here, Jesus is on the cross, come, see!"    I almost started crying at the sheer excitement of the children seeing Jesus on the cross.    One of the little fellers stood there for the longest time, elbows on the table, and his head resting in his hands, just staring into the diorama, looking at Jesus.    I would really love to know what was going through his little mind.    I do believe he was contemplating what he has learned in Sunday School about Jesus.

This is of my color photo, but it's not a good shot.      Sorry.

Neither is this one of my black and white.    They both won 1st place.

This is my little dog wood sculpture, and it won 2nd place.

This is a better shot of what I entered.   My oil painting and blue ribbon, in front of that is my wood beaded necklace with a green ribbon, beside that is my dogwood sculpture with a red ribbon and then purple ombre scarf with a green ribbon.

This is my Crucifixion Diorama with the blue ribbon.    Thanks Debbie!!!!!

This is my color photo.   This is of the ice storm from March of this year.    I called this "Frozen Fireworks" because that's what it looks like to me.

This is my black and white photo and it was made the same time as the color photo.     I called this one "Fat Bird".    hahaha    He was so fat, I don't know how he sat on the fence.     But you, my little feathered friend, garnered me a blue ribbon.   Thanks, little birdie!

That was a little bit of my day yesterday.    It was really fun and then to put icing on the cake, one of my friends called and we got together for a bit and a bite at Burdette's Tea Room.    Perfect end to a perfect day, all except the hair deal.    hahahaha

Matthew 6:33 says:   "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

These were words straight from the Masters mouth.    Jesus spoke these words to His disciples at the same time He spoke about the Beatitudes starting in Chapter 5.    He had spoken to them about various things from the Beatitudes to this point here.    He was teaching them about "worry" now.  

Do you have an issue with worry?    I have to be the first one to pop my hand up in the air, because I worry!    I have to go back every once in a while and check myself about the worry condition.    I try not to, and when I find myself blatantly worrying about something, I try to stop it, drop it, and roll on along with good thoughts and prayer.    You noticed I used a terminology that fire fighters use in teaching people how to put out fires that may be on their clothes, with the "stop, drop and roll" technique.    The same technique works when we have a fire of worry going on.

Jesus said if we "seek first the Kingdom of God"....   What does that mean?    Putting God in the first place of our lives in all that we do.    If God is in the proper place, we will be less likely to worry about anything, because we know God is in control of everything.   Yes, there will still be problems that arise in the lives every one of us.    But when we know that God is before us working it out, then it is easier for us to walk it out.   With God first place in our lives we won't be worrying about the trivial things in life.    Sometimes we worry about food and clothing and a roof over our heads, but Jesus used the illustration of the birds and flowers.   God takes care of them, will He not do more for us?

Then Jesus added, "and all these things will be added to you".   Put God in His rightful place and everything else will be put into it's proper place.    God provides for the birds of the air and flowers of the field.   He feeds them and clothes them.    Guess what, He'll do the same for us.    God instilled in his most prized creation, us; human beings, the desire to work.   Now, I realize that some people can't work through no fault of their own.   For me, I can't work like I once did and my job at home is being caretaker of what my husband brings home each week.    I ask God to help me spend wisely and choose wisely and I also ask Him to help me find the best prices on what ever I do need to buy for us.   Clothes and groceries, and anything else we spend money on has been prayed over before we purchase it.

In a previous verse, verse 24, Jesus said we can't serve two masters.    We serve God or we serve money.    We can't serve both.   We must choose which one we will serve.   Put God first place in your life!    It may not be easy to do so.    People may laugh at you and make fun of you.    That's ok, you know why that's ok?    Because Christ died for them, also!    When we live faithful, obedient lives to the Father, others will see Jesus in us.    Keep up the faith and seek God first!!!!

Ladybug, I hope you have a great day today.   Praying fervently for the upcoming days.   Sweetpea loves you bunches and can't wait to see you again!!!

I pray y'all enjoyed your visit today and do come back again!   God loves y'all and so do I.    Have a blessed day!   hugs, Patty