Challenges are Good

If you're a believer in spiritual warfare (which I am) then you will understand what I mean when I say that the enemy had no chance at stopping us from attending church on Sunday. God wanted us there and that was that.

And it was good to be home.

The girls did perfectly. Both went to their "classes" with no problems. McKenna's little buddy Luke from her preschool class was there and they ran off to play together. Kyla gave her big giant smile and happily was passed off to the nursery attendant. McKenna told her teacher that she wanted to sing a song about Jesus and she got to do just that. She even came home with little pictures of Jesus that she had colored herself. The only time she cried? When it was time to leave. We promised her we'd go back next week. And she told us "I like church. I like singing songs about Jesus."

As for Erick and I, well we both felt relieved to be back in the sanctuary. I remember that after I gave my life to Christ, I went to a few churches here and there on my own. Nothing captivating. Then I met Erick and he took me to his college group that met on Thursday nights. What I remember seeing and wanting the most was the sense of belonging. How everyone around me seemed to feel at home in that room. They all seemed to know each other, to be happy to see each other, to know the songs, to know where to find the verse in the Bible. They were at home and comfortable with church. They were safe there. That's what I longed for. I honestly don't think I've ever felt that at a church before, even this one - the church that I worked at, the church Erick worked at, the church I was married in, the church where my daughter attends school, the church that owns the apartments I live in? The same church where I am currently sitting, working my little three-hour per week job and the sweetest old lady just came in and gave me a homemade cupcake to thank me for my "beautiful smile" that she enjoys seeing every week? Why did I not ever really feel connected here?

Because I had my own ideas about which church I wanted to be my "home" church and this wasn't it. But when we returned last Sunday, I felt at home. And that's because I now know that "church" is not the building. It's the body of Christ. From the guy singing off-key in the back row, to giggling teenage girls in the front row, to the pastor, to the sound technician - they're my brothers and sisters in Christ. And it felt good to be amongst them again. It felt good to hold my husband's arm and actually get to worship together. Usually, he's leading and I'm sitting with the congregation. It felt good to hear the female vocalist raise her voice in worship and to lock into her voice and sing along with her. I've always felt connected to the female vocalist because it's her voice I use to harmonize with. It felt good to connect with her, even though we were a whole sanctuary apart. It felt good to sing:

What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

How one little verse of worship can make you feel calmed, then comforted, then empowered all at once.

And the sermon, it was of course exactly what I needed to hear. I won't go into what I had been struggling with. But the sermon was truth and it was spoken to my heart. And God reminded me what I needed to know.

Some of you know the story of why Erick and I had some animosity towards this particular church. And having worked in a church setting (between the two of us, one or both of us has been employed at a church every year except for 2004) we were burned out. Let me tell you, it is easy to be angry at the church. How many of us have that story? The story of how the church wronged us. We seem to forget that the church is run by imperfect people, people like you and I. Yes, we hold them to a higher standard. And they should hold themselves to a higher standard. But they are still people. And the church deserves the same unconditional love that we do. I am always ministered to by Derek's Webb's song "The Church" (praying against a lawsuit from Derek's record label here). He sings it from the perspective of Jesus, using the analogy of Christ as the Bridegroom, the church as the Bride that he has come for (you can read more about that analogy here.) The chorus says:

'Cause I haven't come for only you
But for my people to persue
You cannot care for me
With no regard for her
If you love me you will love the church

It convicts me. It reminds me that Jesus didn't just die for me. He died for his church. How self-righteous of me to expect the church, the people who run the church to be perfect when I certainly am not. He loves her. And I love Him.

Further in the song he says "when you hear the sound of the water" (baptism) "you will know you're not alone" and "when you taste my flesh and my blood" (communion) "you will know that you're not alone." It reminds me how important it is to be amongst brothers and sisters who share that same love for Christ. It is not easy to be a believer in this world. Certainly not in the world as it is today. It's important to come together regularly and to be encouraged by each other, to worship together, to hear God's word together.

It was good to be home. That's all I'm saying.

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You will be glad to know that McKenna's little flowers are sprouting! She is ecstatic to see all five little seeds in each pot are actually GROWING! I think we're both surprised since I have absolutely no clue how to garden.

Once I saw these little guys coming to life, I felt so excited and encouraged that I emailed my friend Julie and asked her for gardening tips. I'm gonna plant a little garden in my front "yard". I put "yard" in paranthesis because it is "yard" sized. But the majority of it is filled with some tacky apartment landscaping. But on either side of my pathway, there is a patch of dirt and I think I'm gonna make it into a little garden area. Just to see if I'm capable of doing it. That is one of my projects.

I've also been encouraged by Gina to try some altered projects. Can I just say how freaked I am? REAL paper scares me. Or rather, real glue scares me. But I have chosen two little things that I picked up at the dollar spot at Target and bought all my little supplies. Now I just have to sit down and work on them. EEK! I'll post pictures if they turn out semi-good or better. = D Those are projects two and three.

And Kim gave me top-secret lessons on how to make my own version of her cute blingin' blooms. I loved the one she made for McKenna and 1) I wanted to create one on a headband for Kyla to wear and 2) I just wanted to see if I could DO something like that because I so rarely make anything crafty that isn't digital. So I bought all my materials today to make one for each of the girls. Again, if they turn out semi-good or better, I'll share a picture. Those are projects four and five.

And then I had been wanting to remake this craft that was made for us years ago by my friend Donna. It is the cutest little thing. You use planting pots and a fishbowl and your end result looks like a little gumball machine. This one I know I can do. I'll post pics. That's project six.

Not that those are the order I'm doing them. I'll work on them as I feel inspired. And, you know - inbetween caring for my home and family and cooking meals and doing creative team assignments and team scraplifts and challenges for the Ultimate Digi-Scrapper contest.

It's good to be busy with stuff like this. I'm looking forward to sitting in the sunshine and getting my hands dirty. I'm looking forward to tying little ribbons on my projects and sewing little headbands and painting my little gumball machine. I'm grateful that my husband works so hard so that I can stay home and not only care for my family but use my free time to be creative. I know he loves his job but that doesn't mean it's easy to work 40 hours a week (especially with juvenile criminals - that really wears a person out). But he does it and he loves it and then he comes home and lets me spend his money on art. Not because we need another painted gumball machine. But because he knows it makes me feel good to do something creative. I'm lucky to have a husband who wants me to feel whole.

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For those who wanted it, that recipe DID turn out good. Especially if you like carrots. So here is the recipe:

Honey Mustard Chicken & Carrots

Ingredients:
2 Tsps margarine or butter
4 boneless/skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup apple juice
2 cups frozen baby cut carrots
2 TBS sweet honey mustard
3 TBS coarsely chopped honey-roasted peanuts

Directions:
1. Melt margarine in large, non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 5-8 minutes or until chicken is browned on both sides.
2. Add apple juice. Reduce heat to medium; cover and cook 5 minutes. Add carrots; cover and cook 5-10 minutes or until chicken is fork-tender, its juices run clear and carrots are crisp-tender.
3. With slotted spoon, remove chicken and carrots from skillet; cover and keep warm. Stir mustard into liquid in skillet. Spoon mustard sauce over chicken and carrots; sprinkle with peanuts.

Yield: 4 servings
Nutritional per serving:
Calories: 250
Calories from fat: 80
Total fat: 9g
Total carbs: 13g
Protein: 29g

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Recent LOs
(Click image to enlarge)

In The Potter's Hands

Credits: Welcome to the GMD team LeeAndra! Here is my scraplift welcome! I remember the first time I saw your original. We were getting ready to leave for Erick's Grandma's 100th birthday party. I was killing some time on the computer and somehow found your LO and was so moved by the beauty of it. I told Erick "You have to take a picture like this when we're at your Grandma's party today. I need to scraplift this idea." So when we found out you'd be one of the May GTMs, I knew exactly which of your LOs to lift for the team welcome! I used Michelle Coleman's Lighter Shades of Pale kit, Gina Miller's NEW NEW NEW stitches, Katie Pertiet's snap-frames. Fonts are FG Script Elegant, Rage, Tempus Sans. I adapted my words from LeeAndra's.
My journaling reads: These hands have worked alongside a husband, comforted a child in the middle of the night, held more than a dozen grandchildren and great-grandchildren, written a million birthday cards...and loved. These hands have clutched tightly for comfort, have brushed curls from her own eyes, have painted more than a dozen art projects, have written the letter M....and been loved. What will these hands do next? Only the Potter knows, for He knew them before they were formed in the womb. He has shaped their hands and hearts and souls. And it is in His name that these hands join together in prayer.
See LeeAndra's original here.

Do What You Love

Credits: Welcome to the GMD team Melissa! Your original LO just jumped right out at me as something special and I was excited to get to scraplift it and make a precious gift for my husband. Thanks for the inspiration! I used Artifacts papers and Digital Distressing Kit by Nancie Rowe Janitz. Paper tears by Steph Krush. Label strip by Dianne Rigdon. Staple by IOD. Fonts are Saeculum, Carpenter and Prissy Frat Boy.
Journaling reads: You fell in love with the guitar when you were eight years old. You taught yourself, having enough drive and determination to learn, conquer and excel at the gift. You started a rockband that played to audiences of thousands. You were signed to a record label. You have two professionally recorded albums. Songs you wrote were played nationally and internationally. You charted as high as number 2 in some markets. You used your gifts for ministry. You toured with the infamous Continentals and traveled the country. You were accepted to YWAM and you ministered to thousands more in Austria and Croatia. You starred in countless musicals. You played the lead in many of them. You had the honor of being cast as Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar - a performance that rivaled that of the original actor. You were a worship leader for numerous churches and helped to implement unique, life-altering services that are being emulated by other churches to this day.Your gift of music was enough to grab the attention of more than one young woman. But namely, it grabbed the attention of the woman you would make your wife. Your music was used to propose to her, your song the first you would dance to as a married couple. You sang to your wife’s pregnant belly. Your daughters were born to love music. They take joy in hearing their Daddy sing and play guitar. You can already see that they want to follow in your footsteps. Music has been the voice of your spirit which has filled our home and enriched our lives. May the passion never dwindle, may the song never cease, may the dance never end.
See Melissa's original here.

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I'll FINALLY be taking my laptop in on Friday. I've had issues with my USB drives for at least a month now. I need to send it in to get it fixed and they said it could take up to 3 weeks. *sniff, sniff* I'm gonna miss my little buddy. So I am sure this means I'll have less computer time. I'll still have access since Erick has a computer but I really anticipate I'll have a lot less computer time overall. So please don't be offended if I don't get a chance to stop by your blogs too often over the next few weeks. It's not you, it's Toshiba.

Questions of the day: Who was your first movie star crush? Mine was Ricky Schroeder. He was dreamy. I also had a thing for Fred Savage and River Phoenix. And I was just a little bit of an Edward Furlong stalker. Just a little bit. I may or may not have figured out where he lived and my Dad may or may not have driven me by and let me knock on the door. Who was your "dream boat"?