An Old Favorite...

I have some of the best memories antique shopping with my Mom, we always find the best things! A few years ago we were strolling through a few antique stores on Cherry Street in Tulsa and found this fabulous find... a vintage framed chalkboard. We loved it. We bought it. And I still use it today. I use it to post Kyle & I's weekly schedule (what we have going on in the evenings and meals). It's a fun way to plan and it looks fab.

PS... It would be an easy DIY project:)

Endure

At Girl's Bible Study this week we wrapped up the final chapters of Christine Caines book, "Can I Have and Do it All Please?" It has been such a wonderful study (you should grab a copy) and all of us girls have gleaned so much for the individual journeys that we are on.

I wanted to share a few scriptures & notes from this week, where we discussed how endurance is vital in our lives if we want to embrace all that God has for us!

Hebrews 12.1
And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.

James 1.2-4
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

It's in the times of waiting, pain & tests where the Holy Spirit wants to work in our lives and develop His fruit in us.

Galatians 5:22-23
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Galatians 6:9 (NLT)
So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.

I really believe that so many people just give up to soon. They get discouraged, disillusioned, bitter, hurt or just tired and they give up before they realize the promises of God in their life.

If we would take a close look at the lives of most of the great men & women of faith in the Bible (Joseph, David, Sarah, Abraham, Moses...) they all had to endure, believe God’s promise even when it looked like their lives where going backwards.

What do you do when you want to quit? When you find yourself in a really hard season? When you wonder where God is at?

Habakkuk 3:17-18 (New Living Translation)

17 Even though the fig trees have no blossoms,
and there are no grapes on the vines;
even though the olive crop fails,
and the fields lie empty and barren;
even though the flocks die in the fields,
and the cattle barns are empty,
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord!
I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!

Make a decision that not matter what, you are always going to serve the Lord & have & do everything that God has planned for your life!!

1) Rejoice No Matter What
2) Always Forgive/Refuse to Bitterness
3) Be quick to repent
4) Never stop believing God’s Word
5) Never quit

DIY Stationary

I have to admit that I'm a little traditional when it comes to correspondence... I love to write & receive a note or card. Of course, I thank God for email, facebook & twitter but when I really want to let someone know that I care, there is nothing better than dropping a note in the mail just to say hello.

I absolutely LOVE fun stationary and really enjoy making homemade cards. So instead of blowing my monthly budget by taking one to many trips to Papersource. I put together some fun note cards (could also be used for recipe cards) from a notecard set that I already had from Target & some journaling labels that I picked up from Hobby Lobby.

Total Cost for each card with envelope: $.46 cents (Who said thrifty couldn't be cute!)

Everything Beautiful: Bible Study

Hey Ladies,

Just wanted to take a minute and invite you to Everything Beautiful's Bible Study every Tuesday Night from 7 to 8.30pm... Great Gals + Delish Desserts + God's Word. We host it at my home and would LOVE to see ya there. I promise that you'll be glad you came!!

Location: 210 Emmanuel Cleaver (Right off The Plaza)
Need better directions? Call: 816.898.8401

Hope to see you soon!

Liz

Stumbled Upon

Stumbled upon this quote today and it spoke so loud to me. I am easily inspired, so I have to often evaluate what I am pursuing and remind myself to remain consistent. Inspiration important, but consistency vital to bring anything to life.

"Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together"~ Van Gogh

My ultra-fab christmas gift

I absolutely LOVE fun art and as many of you may know one of my fav stores is Anthropologie!! Somehow, in her own brilliant way, my little sis Ruthi combined these two loves of mine for a wonderful handmade Christmas present for Kyle and I’s new place. I am going to be framing them in black lacquered vintage frames. I think they will look lovely in them. She is so talented. This is just a taste of what she can do. Please excuse my photo quality, I have temporarily misplaced my nice camera during the move. Ugh! I will be showcasing some of her other pieces from time to time. I think you will enjoy.

Grace + Faith

Ever since I was a little girl, I always had the sense that God wanted to use my life for a special purpose. I was raised in a family where faith was not just something that we talked about but the way we lived our lives. When I was young, I remember my Mom gathering my sisters and I together to pray; she would encourage and teach us how to hear God’s voice. We would pray for the president, our nation, local pastors, our family and then whatever our needs were. It was always in that order. As a young girl, it was the most amazing thing to see God answer my prayers even for things that only a little girl would ask for!

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about faith, what it is and what it is not. I really think that faith is much simpler than most people make it out to be. Faith is really just simply trusting in God; Who He is, what He says and living our lives in a way that reflects hope to the world around us.

If you don’t know Him it might be hard to trust Him. But the more you spend time with him, learn who He is, I think it is just natural to begin to rely on Him. Religion seems to make things so complicated, there’s always something more that you should be doing, it’s like you walk around with the feeling that you are always be critiqued. As I grew up, and began to make a stronger commitment to the Lord, there were times that I was trying so hard to please God. My faith did not bring peace, joy or fulfillment but it was something that was always just a little out of reach. Can I say frustrating! I was working so hard trying to accomplish what Jesus had already done for me. As I continued down my journey with the Lord I began to experience his grace, and out of that I began to walk God’s peace on a daily basis. I woke up this morning with this thought, “Peace is not overrated”. I am learning that real faith always leads to peace. In a world where most everything we need is at our disposal, one thing that most people want but can’t seem to obtain is peace.

I pray that this year will be a year of great faith for your and your family. Not faith in what you can do, but faith in what Jesus has already finished for you. And out of that faith, a greater peace than you have ever none will fill your heart, your family and your home.

Lots of Love.

Liz