THE Key, Another Peeve and Another Project and a Tip

Good afternoon Y'all!!!    I hope this post finds everyone cool and refreshed.  I really do.    It has been so hot in my neck of the woods that I have been afraid of spontaneous combustion!!!!    hahahaha    Well, I don't think I'm really gonna do that, but I have been known to stick my head in a freezer for a second or two.    hahahaha    Hey, I shop at Aldis, so I can hold the door open a second or two longer than necessary at the frozen veggies!    Well, I don't do it all time, so that counts for something, doesn't it?    So, I make a game out of it.    Ok, here's what I do.    When it's really hot, I mean really really hot, I can actually hit Wal Mart, Kroger, HG Hills, Sav-A-Lot, Aldi and 3 or 4 Dollar General Stores...............and by the time I try out all the freezers, it's cooled off enough outside that I can then go home.    I just tell people that I'm studying all the frozen foods in all the stores.    Someone even suggested that it was one heck of a test that I was studying for.     bada bing bada boom      hahahahaha        Ok, so that's NOT true.      I was just pulling y'alls legs.    But I am starting to think it sounds like a pretty good plan.    If anyone tries it, report back here on how it works for you, ok.      But.....if you get in trouble, don't blame me, ok.     hahahaha

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In my last post I shared a pic of a "work in progress".    I am happy to share that I have it completed and really like the outcome.    I find that I am sticking with mostly the same colors. I can't help it, because they are just so beautiful together that I overlook all the other colors of Viva Decor Inka Gold, but I am gonna try hard to remedy that.    I added the colors hematite and graphite to my stash, so that should make for some great combinations.    I hope so anyway.

 This is one of the earrings.    No two sets are ever alike, that's what I love about these so much.

Even the variations in the same set is fun.      I will point out here again that I do make the ear wires too,

I always notice more in the pictures than I notice when I hold them in my hand.   I see more purple along the bottom and the right side of the necklace.    PURPLE!!!!!!   There, I said it, I got it outta my system.   hahahaha

This is my favorite bracelet to date.    I made it a little larger on purpose, so I can push it up high above my wrist.   It looks nice.

This is my hammered clasp.   I just love making those too.      I did find some oblong jump rings and I love them.    I think they make the bracelets look much nicer.

This is the complete set.     All in all, I'm happy with this.    I hope you are too.    I do have another shape now.     So that will be fun to make another set and at some time, maybe use more than one shape together.      I don't  know.      We'll see.

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Did you know that every key unlocks something?     Well, they should anyway.    Have you ever lost a key?     What do you think about when you hear the word "key"?      Most people would probably think of a lock and then they may even envision one of the many locks available on the market.    Maybe even a house door lock or a car lock or some kind of a latch that locks.      When I think of a key, most of the time I see a skeleton key, I think that's what they were called.     Remember the old key and locks that used to be in old houses.     The ones you could actually see through.     I remember movies when I was a kid where it may be a spooky movie and you could always see a blinking eye through one of the key holes.    I always hoped someone would poke that eye!!!     hahaha     Hey, I sure would have!!!  

Is it safe to say that most locks have a key?    Yes.   Is it safe, then, to say, that most every key unlocks something?      Sure.      I look at my key chain sometimes, and I think to myself that it looks more like a weapon than it does a key chain.     I've even had people ask me if I know what they all go to.    I sure do, it may take a minute or two to name them all, but I know what they are all for.   I do have a lot of keys on my key chain, but every one of them locks and unlocks different things.       And, by the way, I CAN use my key chain as a weapon, if necessary.    hahaha      Really, I could and would in  a heartbeat, if need be.

So, why all the fuss about keys?   We may leave home without a key sometime, but, there is one key that you don't want to leave this life without.      There are a lot of misconceptions out there about there being many ways or many doors to God, the Father, but.....that is a lie straight from hell.     There is only one Key that will open the door to the Father and that key is Jesus Christ.

John 14:6  Jesus answered "I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me."

Sounds like a key to me, doesn't it sound like one to you?     There are not many doors to our Father,  as some suggests, there is only One.   How many remember the fun game show, "Let's Make a Deal"?   At the end of the show, there was 3 curtains or doors to choose from.    Choose the right door and you won the grand deal of the day, choose the wrong door and you may get a bale of hay or some rotten eggs.   Well, our Father made the choice real simple.    There is only one key to His door and that is His son.   You choose this key and you get an eternity with the Father and His Son.    The key IS Jesus!    Jesus was talking to His disciples when He made the statement above.    He went on to say that if you have seen Me, you have seen My Father.   The radical thing is this.   After we place our faith and trust in Christ and have accepted Him as our Savior and "Key" to the Father, our Father does not see us in our weakness of humanity, He see us in the strength of His Son!!    Because He sees the shed blood of Christ over us, covering our sins and blotting out our failures.    Do you have this key?    Have you found this key yet?    Don't be lied to by the enemy.    Jesus is that key that you are searching for.     You are the only one that can open the door of your heart to Him.    Jesus is the only key that will unlock the gates of heaven.    Oh my dear friend, I hope and pray that you have found THE key, Jesus.    And I mentioned earlier about losing keys.   Well, you don't ever have to worry about losing this Key!    Once you find Jesus, He won't ever be lost from you.

I hope and pray that every time you look at your keys that you pack on a daily basis, that you will be reminded of the BEST key of all!!    Jesus Christ!!!!!      Do you know Him today?    I sure hope so!!

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Today, I have another pet peeve day.     I have recently noticed some of the ads that pop up on web sites and email and things like that.     The one that stands out, is the one that says "don't stop roe" placed by planned parenthood.   This is my opinion, and my opinion only.   So, you don't have to read any further if you choose not too, but this is my opinion.    I do get to have my opinion on my blog, for now anyway.     I don't want my tax dollars going to fund the murder of the innocent.     I will not, knowingly, support an organization that supports planned parenthood or roe v wade.   Since 1973 the United States has successfully killed close to 59 million people, probably more by now, and done it legally, mind you.   Do your homework, google it out.   Roe V Wade, the law that was passed making it legal to kill human beings, is based on a LIE!!!!    YES it is!!!!    The woman that caused this in the first place, has since become a Christian, and admitted that it was all a lie, and that she had been cheating on her husband and got pregnant.     She has gone to the courts and told them that it was a lie.   So, we now have a law on the books, based on a LIE, saying it's ok to kill people!    What's right about that?   Nothing!!!!!!     We care more about the rights of animals than we do humans.      Lord forgive us!     I am afraid ignorance and turning a blind eye will not be enough to let us off the hook when we stand before our Creator with blood on our hands.     

You will never hear me put down a woman that has had an abortion.    I won't do it!   I refuse to do it! I would never add to her pain and suffering.     A lot of these ladies had no choice in the matter.    A lot of these ladies did not know better at the time.     But I can assure you that these ladies have dealt with a tremendous amount of guilt.   I will not add to that.   To anyone reading this that has had the experience, my heart breaks.    I pray that God will put someone in your path that can help you with healing.    If you are one those ladies that has found healing, praise GOD and I hope that you pass it on to another lady that needs healing too.    My prayer is that someday, someday soon, all the women that have been victim of the law that says it's ok to kill, would rise up and claim victory through the blood of Christ, and demand a change.   I pray for them to rise up in unity and when they do, they will have many more supporters to join them in pressing for change.     Don't tell me one person can't cause a change to come about.    There is power in "one". One person caused prayer to be taken from schools and elsewhere.        One person caused a law based on a lie to kill millions of people.    One person made a choice to lay her life on the line for the lineage of the Jewish nation.   One person stepped up to lead the Exodus.     ONE person died on a cross to SAVE us from our sinfulness, Jesus Christ!   

Lord, forgive us all for not standing up and speaking out against the atrocities that's happening around us on a daily basis.     Father, forgive us when we let things happen.      Father, forgive us when we cause things to happen.      Forgive those that take advantage of us.      Father, forgive us for not claiming our part of the blame.     Forgive us for placing our blame and fault on others.     Open our eyes so we can see that keeping silent is giving our consent to the situation.     Father, give us courage to stand up, step out, and support change that will bring people to Your saving knowledge.     Help us to live, daily, as your humble servants, stepping in the gap for those that have no voice.     Help us in the days to come to do the right thing.     It may be tough, and it may be hard, but You haven't called us to do the easy thing, You've called us to do the "right" thing, the "hard" thing.     Thank you Father, for what I know You will do in the coming days.     Amen and Amen

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Ok, so my tip this time is not anything new.   It's more of a reminder, I guess, but I'll still call it my tip because I have to remind myself to do it.    One of the things I love to do is have lots of fresh fruits and veggies on hand.   I have to remember when I get home to go ahead and prep the fruits and veggies right then and there.    It makes it easier to grab a handful of something and keeps me from grabbing something else that I don't need to be eating.    So, make bell pepper sticks, celery sticks, carrot sticks as soon as you get home and then they are very easy and ready to use.   Wash radishes and grapes and cherries and tomatoes and you are good to go.   It also makes it easier for others in the house to eat and snack on foods that's a little healthier.    It does take a few minutes on the front end, but from then on, they are good to enjoy on the go.

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Well that's just about it for today.   I hope and pray that you enjoy the rest of your day and that you come up with your own unique way to stay cool.   hahaha    I hope that you get to do something crafty and fun today.    I hope that every time you look at your keys that you are reminded of Jesus Christ, the door to the Father.     I hope that you will do something good for someone today, just because you can.     Because one person can make a difference.     And I hope you have some fresh fruits and veggies already prepped and ready to nosh on at the whim.     Yum!!!     Tell someone you know that Jesus loves them.   To be honest, we can never hear that too often.    We need to hear it and believe it, because it's true.  

I hope you find yourself right back here real soon.    Until then, remember that God loves you and wants to hear from you.    I love ya too, see ya soon!    hugs and love, Patty

Jewelry, A Tip, and Mark Your Calendars

Good morning Y'all.     I hope and pray that the sun is shining where ever y'all are.     And even if the sun isn't shining outside, I pray more than anything, that the SON is shining on the inside!     The SON can brighten any situation or circumstance, believe that!     We've had lots of rain here lately and the grass and weeds are growing voraciously!!    We have just about been in the notion of trying to see if we can have  our back yard declared a "wildlife habitat" and just forget mowing!   hahahaha     I don't know if that would work or not, but it might be fun to see if we could.     Then all the homes in town would be declaring the same thing of their back yards.     Oh shucks, no matter how good the plans, something always spoils it!!!!!   hahahaha     Oh well, I tried anyway.   

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I just wanted to share with y'all, that a friend of mine is teaching classes in Hobby Lobby!!!   Yay , woop woop,  hooray!!!!    Her name is +Heather Kraafter  from the Kraaft Shaak.    She is a wonderful artist, teacher, mentor and friend.    She also has a heart that's on fire for the Lord!!!    I have to believe that the powers that be at Hobby Lobby seen and recognized that.    She is out west, so I would like to request that if you live in her area or are in her area any time, to pay the local Hobby Lobby a visit and see if she is scheduled to be there any time soon.    She will also be traveling to different Hobby Lobby's throughout her area with the plans of branching out even further and hopefully be coming to a Hobby Lobby near you some day soon!!!!!    Heather does have a calendar of events over at the Kraaft Shaak, so check that out and support a wonderful, talented lady.    I hope and pray that someday I get to give this lady a big hug!!!!    So, if you meet her in person before I do, then give her a hug for me, would ya?    https://kraaftshaak.com/events-schedule/      Heather, I pray for this to be an awesome adventure for you and your family.

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I have a couple more jewelry sets that I want to share with y'all today.      You may get tired of seeing them, but I haven't gotten tired of making them yet, so till then, I guess I will keep sharing them.     I did use my cropodile this time to set some eyelets in all the holes I punched to attach jewelry findings to, and I really do love that look.    For both of the bracelets I used long flatish jump rings to join them and I LOVE that!!!    I hope I can find some more of those.     Actually, they weren't really jump rings, it was a necklace chain that I never wore, I got the necklace for the parrot that was on it and I had turned it into a pin, so the chain was in jewelry findings and I used that for my bracelet links.     Anyway, this is the pictures of the two sets I made.

For the first set, I used turquoise shell chips.    I also used turquoise, purple and copper viva decor inka gold rubs. 

For the earrings, I used the next to the smallest oval and then punched the center out with the smallest oval to make an open earring.   I love that a whole lot. 

The oval links really helps the bracelet lay flat and I hope I can find another necklace chain with the oval links.     The clasp is shaped and hammered.     I really enjoy making those too.

I think the copper really allows the turquoise chips to shine.      I was really proud of these sets of jewelry. 

This set has purple, turquoise and copper viva decor inka gold rubs.     The colors are put on in different layers to the first set, same colors, just different layering.  It also features the ecru shell chips.

 These two sets are made from 3 layers of chipboard adhered together with 3L adhesive sheets.     It could also be done by using a xyron machine or just plain glue.

The clasp on the one was a bit longer and I like varying the sizes of them. 

I am happy to report that I donated these to a local fundraiser for the silent auction and they did sell!!

Yay!!!     I don't have any idea how much they brought, I was just thrilled that they sold!!!     I hope to be able to vary the shapes of them soon.     I have a "squares" die ordered from ebay that will be here soon and I am looking at other shapes too.     So, I should have a variety of shapes and sizes before long.   Yay!!!!

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What is the one thing you need most in this life?     Have you ever thought of what some of the vital requirements for life are?      Clean air, clean water and healthy food are the top 3 things that pop into my mind.     Then jobs that will pay the bills, shelter, clothes, medical care, transportation, and what else?     Maybe a good hobby to occupy your hands and mind.     Some people have green thumbs, me, I have brown thumbs. Everything I touch turns brown and dies, I can even kill an artificial plant. hahaha    That just has to be sad, doesn't it.     Lots of people are into photography, physical fitness and some are into fancy cooking, lots of people I know are into crafting of all kinds.     Some people like to work on cars and restore them, people spend time hunting and fishing, mountain climbing and just doing all sorts of things for recreation purposes.     The list just goes on and on of things that people love to do to satisfy their desires to be active and purposeful in their lives.

When I started contemplating all of this, my mind just seemed to keep turning to Jesus Christ.     After much consideration, I decided that Jesus Christ really has to be at the top of my list.     Why, you ask?     Well, Scripture tells us that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh.    Knowing that Jesus is God, He was present when everything that exists was spoken into existence.    If I know anything about God at all, it is this.   God is NOT the author of confusion.     God is orderly.     He created the universe in an orderly fashion.    God created man last.    Why did He not create man first?    Because God had a plan for man and He set out creating the universe and all that is in it in an orderly fashion. He got the earth and all that was on it created in the fashion and manner that would be best for man to thrive in.     If you go back and look at creation, you will see that God enjoyed His time in the garden with Adam, just walking in the cool of the day with him.     Can you even begin to imagine how wonderful it would be to walk with God in the cool of the day in the garden?    And I just wonder what the conversation would be about.     Yes, I know that God is all the "omnis"; omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresent.

In Greek, "omni" means "all".   Omnipotence is "all ruling", all powerful.     When we refer to God as "Almighty", we are expressing our belief that He has ownership and authority over all His creation.     God didn't create the earth and all that is in it and walk away from it.    He has been present with His creation from the beginning and will remain with His creation to the very end.

Omniscience means all knowing.    Everything that has ever been known, God knows it.    Everything that is known now about anything, God knows is.    Everything that is to be known in the future, God already knows it.    When I think about all that He knows, I realize I don't know anything!!!!    What about you, what do you know?    God knows what is in our hearts at all times.     He knows each and every one of us deeply, even better than we know ourselves.  

Omnipresent means being everywhere at the same time.   Is there anywhere at all that you can go that is away from where God is?     And,  I'll throw this in as aside, why would you want to be where God isn't?    But, no, there isn't anywhere in God's vast creation that we can get away from Him.  

Now hear me, I'll be the first one to admit freely and openly that I don't understand all of this, I really don't.     But until my mind can wrap around this completely and understand this fully, I will walk by faith!!!!   Faith tells me that God is omnipotent, omniscience, and omnipresent!!!

So when I think about the things that I need to survive and thrive, I just go back to the top of the list and start off with with Jesus Christ, and then everything else just sorta falls into place.      Because He, Jesus Christ, will meet my most important needs.

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A tip that I have for you today is "activity trackers".      There is a wide variety of brands and styles on the market.     Varying price ranges, makes them affordable for most anyone.      If you are serious about getting active and healthy, then they really are the "beez kneez".      I asked my hubby for one for my birthday.     He said "go for it"!!!!      So I got a "fitbit charge 2" from walmart.     I ordered it from wal mart dot com and picked it up at my local wm.     I had gone to the play store on my android and put the app on my phone and it was ready and waiting for my fitbit to come in.     I picked it up and went to the car and opened the box and less than 2 minutes, I had it on my arm and the rest is history.   hahaha      It tracks everything automatically.      Steps, continuous movement, sleep, resting heart rate, heart rate while exercising, and the type of exercise and more.      If I want it to be specific, when I get ready to start exercise, I can push the button on the side and bring up workout and then set it, when workout is over, push it again to stop it and it has all the stats for that workout period.     I log water intake.   I log every bite I put in my mouth.    It tells me my caloric intake as well as calories burned.     I take it off to clean and charge it when I'm in the shower.    Other than that, I wear it 24/7.     It tells me ten minutes before the hour that I need to get steps in before the hour is over.     Just for the sake of checking others out, I ordered one from ebay that basically does everything the fitbit does, but it was less than 7 dollars and free shipping.     This one is waterproof, you can wear it in the shower or what ever.     I did not dl the app for it and put it on my phone because I didn't want to risk messing up my fitbit tracker.     But, I'm gonna give it to someone that I have in mind.      So, my tip is go to ebay and do a search for activity trackers and look for low price and free shipping and see if you can find one in a price point that matches your needs.    Oh yeah, I have walked almost 200 miles in the last 6 weeks.      It logs how many hours spent exercising, all kinds of neat info.     I certainly give it 2 thumbs up and would give more if I had more thumbs.    hahaha

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Well, that's just about it for this time.     I hope you seen or read something here today that has helped you in some way or sparked a little creative thinking or just made you smile.     If you leave here feeling a bit better than when came, then I consider that a success.     I hope the rest of your day is filled with peace and joy and that you get to spend time with someone you love.     Remember that God loves you and wants to have a relationship with you thru His Son, Jesus Christ.     I love you too and hope to see you back here real soon.    love and hugs, Patty

Fun Project, Fun Tip

Hi Y'all.   I hope that today has been a blessed day for each and every one of y'all.    I know in my neck of the woods, it's been hot and humid.    Who likes sticky?    I don't!    Today is one of those sticky kinda days, but the sun is shining and that's good.   They had been forecasting rain for us, but it's been pretty so far.    I have heard lawn mowers in the distance all day.   And one is mowing away, way off somewhere now, I can faintly hear it.    I just know that I am sooooo thankful for air conditioning.   hahahaha    I'll bet some of y'all are too.    

Mothers Day was a couple weekends ago here in the United States and I hope everyone got to celebrate their mother's and that all the ladies that visit here got to be celebrated for being a mother.     It truly is the hardest job on the planet for the least pay.     I'm not a mother, but I know all too well how hard my mother worked and sacrificed, taking care of her family.    Lots of hard work and very little reward at the time.     But I truly believe that my mother is very proud of all of her children.     We have all worked hard at being good citizens of the world and just trying to be decent people in the eyes of peers.    Scripture says that we are to honor our parents and I think we have all done that, hopefully we have brought honor to our parents.      

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Ok, so this is the project that I have been really wanting to share with y'all, but I needed to wait till I knew it reached the lady I made it for.   I didn't want to get it on my blog before she got it in her hands. The project was to alter toilet paper tubes, but instead, I opted for paper towel tubes.    It's the same product, just longer.    So, to start with, I took the pt tube and cut into 3 pieces and then split each piece down the side and pressed them as flat as I could get them.   I then used 3 L adhesive sheets and adhered all three pieces together.    A xyron machine would work just as well, as would regular glue. Just use what you have.    When this project come about, I knew exactly what I wanted to do.   I had already seen it in my minds eye and just needed to make what I had seen.    I didn't want to mess with cutting all these separate pieces and then try to get them to line up and glued together.    I thought I already had the sizzix die, but after going thru my collection, 3 times, I finally decided that I didn't have it, so off to Ebay I went and had it in my hands in about 2 days.

The die that I got was the ovals that cut different sizes at one time.    So I took the 3 ply layer of the pt tubes and die cut the pieces.   I got enough pieces from the one, 3 ply layer, to make the necklace and earrings, with careful placement of the pt tubing on the die.    I took smaller pieces and just cut the smallest oval several times.   I was really careful with my placement, so I could use ALL of it and have very little waste.

Once I got all the pieces cut, I stacked them and glued them in place.    The necklace uses all 4 different sizes and the earrings uses the 2 smallest sizes with the smallest oval on the front and back.  Then I used my "crop o dile" to punch holes for the jewelry jump rings.

After that, I used 3 colors of Inka Gold Metallic Rub on the pieces.    Some of mine is really hard, because it's so old, so I just spray it with a spritz of water and use a paint brush to brush on color.   The rest that isn't dry and I could just the brush it on without water.    But, I used Copper, Cobalt and Silver to cover the pieces in just randomly.

After I got the Inka Gold on it and was satisfied with it, I glued on some of shell pieces from Miriam Joy.    I used the ecru color on this set of jewelry.

Once I got it like I wanted it, I used the Wet and Wild Shiny nail polish from the Dollar Tree to coat the pieces with, top and bottom and on the edges, paying close attention to holes I had punched also.  I tried to get it sealed up good and I think I did.   After the first coat dried real good, I put on a second coat.   That nail polish is awesome stuff.    It is really shiny and has a wonderful feel in the hand, when you put it on a project.

You can see the slanted angles of the pt seams in the jewelry.    The finish I put on it reminds me of  wood with a metallic paint, or a rusty finish on it.    I was highly satisfied with this project.

I would never in a million years guess that this was made from pt tubes if I didn't know for sure.    I was tickled that I made the project as I had seen it in my mind.    That is always a success when something comes together as I had envisioned it to look.

I liked it so much so, that I made myself a set with turquoise and copper and cobalt and then used the turquoise shell chips.     The process was the same as before.

None of it is perfect, but hey, it's from stuff that would have been tossed out, so I think that makes pretty good, huh.

I really do like the turquoise set.   I have several tops that it goes with really well and I get compliments on it all the time.

So, I had to make myself another set and used a lot of PURPLE on this one!!!    Yes I said PURPLE and it was about time, wasn't it!    hahahaha

The colors for this one was purple, copper and turquoise.    Oh my gosh it is gorgeous!!!!     I didn't have purple shell chips, so I took my Inka Gold purple and made a wash with color and water and brushed it on the chips and let them dry.   Yay, it worked!!!!    And you can still see some turquoise on the shell chips and that makes for more visual interest.    

For this set, I took on the task of making a bracelet.    You can't see the clasp too well, but I even made the clasp, by shaping the wire and hammering it.   It looks awesome on my bracelet and so easy to get on and off.

This is the completed 3 piece ensemble.    Oh I have had a blast with making these and am working on some more that is just 3 layers of regular chipboard aka cereal box.    Oh yeah, I also made all the ear wires too, for the earrings.   It was a fun project.    Sure hope you liked seeing my altered pt project.   Hope to have more fun stuff to share with y'all before too long.

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Ok, who likes to exercise?   Not me!!!!   But, I'm "learning" to like it,,,,,slowly, kinda, sorta.    hahaha
My tip for today is this.    I have severe allergies and I just can't spend as much time outside as I would like.    But, I have been trying to get healthier and that has been a dilemma.    How can I get more exercise in if I can't get outside?    HOUSE WALK!!!     It works people!!!   Who knew?   Well, I didn't, but now I do.   Just this past week I started walking thru my house at a normal pace and stop every minute or two and do short bursts of jogging in place, I do believe it is working.   I have been going to an exercise class 3 times a week since the last of January and I am feeling better.   The house walking is making a difference!    Give it a try.    Get a step counter and slip it on you somewhere where it will register every step and see what you can do.   Start out with trying to get at least 250 extra steps in an hour and then increase your steps at a comfortable pace.    It works y'all.    I feel better knowing I am doing something good for myself.   If you give it a try, let me know, and we'll work on getting healthy together.   I don't know how many more years of life I have left in my sack of bones, but I just want to be able to serve the Lord as well as I can with the time I have left and getting healthier will help me serve my  Lord and Savior better.    If you remember back to the first of the year, my word for 2107 was dream.     This is part of my dream.    So, help me dream big, get healthier with me.   Woop Woop, Yay,  WooHoo!!!!!

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Well, I hope you have seen something here that made you happy, or made you smile.     If so, then that means that I have done my job well.    I put forth the challenge to see what you can do to recycle a paper towel tube or toilet paper tubes.    It's fun and it can also keep a little bit of something that would have been tossed out, out of a land fill somewhere.     Recycle, reuse, repurpose!     That is the crafters new motto, well it should be anyway.    hahahaha    

I hope you have a great rest of the day.   If you haven't taken the time today to thank God for being a part of it, do so.     We can't even begin to imagine how much God loves us and the lengths He has gone to have a relationship with us.    I sure wish we all took that just a little more seriously.    If we did, I promise you, there wouldn't be as much pain and heartache in the world today!!!    We would be looking out for one another instead of finding new ways to hurt each other.    This is true.     We would be living lives that  honored God instead of making a mockery out of God.    I don't know how much more God will tolerate from a world that is so filled with hate for Him and His ways.     I am a Christian and I am not ashamed to say that.     You will never ever hear me say that I am perfect, but every day I keep striving to be more Christ-like.     I keep striving to honor the One and Only Savior, Jesus Christ, the Messiah!!!!!     And while I keep struggling, He keeps picking me up, helping me to be a better me, for His service.     My service for Him probably won't look like your service to Him and it probably shouldn't.    After all, we are all different, with different giftings.    So, find the way you can serve Him, and set out to do just that.     Start by telling someone today that "Jesus loves you"!    I promise that will bring a smile to someones face.     I told that to a precious little young lady that was checking me out here in town and she smiled so big and then teared up and said that it had been an awful long time since she had heard that.     She hugged and thanked me and I asked her to just thank Jesus.     That's how easy it is to serve Christ!!!!  

I pray that you will find your way back here soon to see what I have been up to.     Till then, remember that God loves you and I do too!!!!!    hugs and love, Patty

A little Catch-up (not ketchup gggg)

Well, here it is, another Monday!  It seems like those Mondays come rolling around even quicker now.  I'm telling you, I'm gonna have to go bungee jumping!!!   The ladies in my Sunday School Class was talking a couple of years ago about how time is flying by.  I told them that I had just recently heard someone speaking of that very thing.  This person said that in order to slow time down, we have to invest our time in learning something new or doing something new, all the time, or at least quite often.  I told the ladies that I would be putting a sign-up sheet for anyone who wanted to go bungee jumping!!!   I figured that would be enough of an experience to slow time down for a little while, as least while I was recuperating from any injuries obtained in the jump!!! gggg  I still don't have any takers.  All of them said they would go and watch me, but none said they would join me. gggg   They say wisdom comes with age, and they were pretty wise not to take me up on the offer.   gggg

I had said that I will be posting about some of my crafts and on-going projects.  So, today, I thought I would show you a couple of things I have been working on.  One, is my instant gratification, and the other is a long term project, I'm shooting for 2015 to get this done, if the Lord sees fit to let me live that long and gives me the health and ability to get it finished.

This is a pin I made from a file that Penny Duncan  put on her blog on Saturday morning.  Her blog addy is in my side bar.  I covered the whole flower with a coat of glitter glue and then a heavy coat of glossy accents.  Penny, I love this flower, thanks for your generosity of sharing what you design!  God Bless you, my sister, in the Lord!!

 When it was all dried, I turned it over and used glossy accents to glue the pin back on.  Works perfectly!  wooopppeee!!

This is the fourteen page mini album that I have started.  It will be a calendar book of sorts and there will be many, many tags.  I don't have much done on it yet, but the prep work takes so long.  That is why I said I will be shooting for 2015 to even think about completing this.  My attention span will not let me stay on this till I get done.

I wanted to show how big the pages are in comparison to my hand.  That always helps me to see a real life size shot of something.  This one below, with my hand in it is actually going to be the front and another one just like it will be the back.

Another real life size shot of my pin in comparison to my hand.  This is a big pin and I really like this.  Got me some "bling" goin' on y'all!!!

I was speaking with a sister in Christ recently and we were just sharing about some of our favorite words in the Bible.  Not necessarily passages, this time,  but just words that gets the readers attention.  I said my two favorite words are, "...but God...".  I'm here to tell you, my friends, when you see those two words, just know that God is on the scene and something is gonna happen.  I look at my life and I can see so many of those, "...but God..." moments.  For such a long time I struggled with issues in my life, for naught, I might add!  "...but God..." showed up and made Himself very real to me.  I praise Him every day for that!

I hope and pray that each and every one of you have had a "...but God..." moment in your life.  I pray that your "today's" are filled with so many blessings that they spill over into the lives of those around you.  Thank God!  Praise God!

Until we meet again, right here, be blessed in name of Jesus Christ!!

hugs, Patty