I'm going on a cruise!

The Lord has blessed me with the opportunity to go on a cruise!

It's a 4 day Western Caribbean Cruise to Cozumel, Mexico.  I set sail on Nov 3rd!

I cannot wait to blog about it!  Until then...here is an etsy treasury that I was inspired to make.

Hope you all enjoy!

'Cruising' by TheseNotions

Cruising through etsy for some fabulous finds!

Blown Glass Bowl - ... AvolieGlass $85.00	Sea Shell Jewelry, ... tropEEcal $14.99	Beach Wall Decor Me... beautifuldetai... $40.00
Sea Fan Framed - Be... SeashellCollec... $95.00	Beach Decor Shell M... beachgrasscott... $800.00	Gold Rimmed Ocean A... laalee $32.00
MAGNETIC BOARD Orna... MagneticExpres... $68.00	Seashell Necklace -... SilverTrumpet $25.00	Hand Painted Seashe... ColorWorkStudi... $14.00
Cotton Embroidery t... NellsEmbroider... $17.00	Canvas Tote Bag - O... mintlane $22.00	Octopus Jewelry Bra... JezebelCharms $40.00
Underwater Sea Cora... pixiepixels $38.85	purple sea urchin..... leapinggazelle $25.00	Vibrant collection ... sandtreasures $15.00
Beach Decor Sea Hor... beautifuldetai... $10.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

::::Power in words::::

It was my turn to serve in children's church this past Sunday.  We have recently begun using a new curriculum based out of Australia.  The curriculum is fun, dynamic, and spot on in its content for our church kids.  I and many of my helpers loved this new curriculum immediately.  The children however, were reluctant.

We have been using this curriculum for 2 months now, and the kids have adjusted to the new curriculum and are enjoying it.

We had a young man, who hadn't been attending regularly, show up.  He is a great kid.  He is kind and very respectful, but since he had been absent for most of the 2 months, he had not embraced this new change.

As I hit the stop button on the DVD player to talk about the memory verse we had just watched, I heard him say "That lady is so annoying!"

For two months these children had learned the new worship songs, the new video dialogs, the new way of learning about the Gospel, and  they were starting to really enjoy it and grasp its message.  Then this one negative comment had  quickly began to foster  negativity within the group.  Murmurings began and I was quick to bring it to a halt.

I went home thinking about it. Thinking of all the times I had spoken negative words to people.  Thinking of all the times I had spoken negative words about people.  Thinking of all the times I had allowed the negative seeds that were dropped by others to develop  in my soul.

I hate to think of the damage that I may have caused to a joyful new Christian with my discouraging words.   Or how I could possibly have knocked someone down who was grasping to find God's grace. 

"Words kill, words give life;
   they're either poison or fruit—you choose."

             Proverbs  18:21 The Message

Lord help me to be mindful of my attitude.  Help me be a positive person who spreads only your joy and love.  Help me to not be affected by the negative attitude that others may try to spread within me.

 (source)

:::Animal Charity Auction:::

These Notions is participating in  an auction to benefit We Care Feline Rescue in McMinnville, OR.  It was opened on October 16th and will run through Oct 29th.

I was a week late to get my item up on the FB auction page, but I hope my item still raises a nice little contribution to the rescue. 

I have a hand stamped necklace up for grabs in the auction.  You can customize it with any name or word you would like. (up to 6 letters)

Wouldn't this make a great Christmas gift for someone special?

If you can, please take a moment to go check out the auction.

...Thursday I don't care about you....

 

(source)

I've been so busy lately that I haven't had time to really write down thoughts or ideas.  So for now, they dance in my head waiting for the day they are born into blog posts.  :)


Wishing you all a HAPPY FRIDAY!

Not so "Wordless Wednesday."

 A little blog to let you know what I've been up to.

First, I'm working on my second tutorial!! :) I'm hoping to get it all done within the next few weeks.   (yes I know I take forever...but I'm trying my best!)

If you read my previous post you know that my niece is an HONOR STAR!  One of the highlights for a girl being crowned as an Honor Star, is that she wears a beautiful white (or in this case...off white) dress.  Lack of funds forced me to be resourceful. I had to do something I had never done before....I had to "Thrift" a fancy dress for her.

I purchased an Ivory dress at a local thrift store for $12.00. I Really didn't do much to the dress.  I washed it, then I added a rhinestone trim to the waist. A friend of mine taught me how to "Whip" and "slide" stitch to attach the rhinestone trim to the dress.

Before

After

I was so happy with the results and my niece looked beautiful!

Do any of you thrift anything?  What is your most favorite "thrifty" creation?

Beautiful Things

My sister and a friend spent countless hours working on this amazing video.

It's several pictures that were "light painted," then edited into a video set to the song "Beautiful Things" by Gungor.

I love it and hope you will too.

Be blessed!

My Star

This weekend my niece was recognized for her achievement of becoming an "Honor Star" in the San Antonio section Girls Ministries Clubs.

Girls Ministries is the organizational arm in the Assemblies of God geared for boys and girls ages 18 months to 5 yrs and girls ages Kindergarten thru 12th grade.

Girls who are crowned as Honor Stars have completed the requirements for earning  27 unit badges,   9 of which  contain requirements to earn Honor Steps, and have read the entire New Testament.

The final requirement to become an Honor Star is completion of the comprehensive Honor Star Review—a fill-in-the-blank test over the 27 memory verses of the units completed.

It is a memorable event for the girls.  They wear beautiful white dresses and receive a crown, sash, charm bracelet, and a Bible reading pin.  

This is a great achievement for any girl and I am so proud of my niece for accomplishing this. 

Congratulations beautiful girl. 

Shine On

I am a lifetime crafter.  From the moment I learned to paste glitter on pine cones, I was hooked.

If I see something I like, you can bet that I am going to try and recreate it myself.

It never fails though, I create something, then I find something wrong with it.  I never feel it's valuable enough for me to share with others.   So, I hide it away to gather dust. It never gets to sparkle and shine like it was intended to.



It's terrible really.  My self doubt.

What is even more terrible is how I allowed self doubt to affect my life.  Never feeling adequate enough.   Always lacking the confidence needed to complete what I know I am more than capable of.  Giving up on who God created me to be, to just "be."

I had learned to live so deep in my own self doubt, that I tucked myself  neatly into a box.  To sit.  To collect dust.

When I  created "These Notions,"  I was looking for a venue to showcase my crafts.  I never imagined that  it would help me to step out of my box.

The Lord always brings me to the same verse.

"...That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good."
                   Romans 8:28 The Message

Here I am God.  Help me shine for you.

 (source)

Wordless Wednesday

About me from A to Z

Because it's Monday night, I'm tired and I haven't posted since Friday.... Here ya go! :)


A. Age: 37
B. Bed size: King
C. Chore that you hate: Can I just lump them all together as one big chore and say I hate them all?
D. Dogs: Nope
E. Essential start to your day: Toothpaste
F. Favorite color: Aqua
G. Gold or Silver: silver
H. Height: 5’4"
I. Instruments you play: Flute.  Does my voice count?
J. Job title: I guess right now you could say crafter and caregiver.
K. Kids: None....but I have an ADORABLE niece!  :)

I love her so much!

L. Live: Texas
M. Mother’s name: Esther
N. Nicknames: none
O. Overnight hospital stays: yep...too many to list
P. Pet peeves: Condescending people
Q. Quote from a movie:  "Summon your eagle powers!" Nacho Libre
R. Right or left handed: Right handedS. Siblings: 1 brother and 1 sister
T. Time you wake up: 6:15am
U. Underwear: yes
V. Vegetable you hate: Brussel sprouts
W. What makes you run late:  Usually my lack of preparedness.
X. X-Rays you’ve had: too many to list.
Y. Yummy food that you make: I like my meatloaf
Z. Zoo animal: Ostrich I think they are cute.