Saturday is Crafty Day #50

So glad it's Friday!
You linked up some great projects last week!
Mason Jar Lid Wreath by Lolly Jane

Blueberry Streusel by Rhinestone Beagle

Pumpkin Votives by Maiden D'Shade

Autumn Wreath by dot...in the city

Mirror Turned Chalkboard by The Bird's Papaya

Show me what you got!

Last Day SUPER SALE!

One more day for September's sale...and today is a super sale!

You-Pick-Two Single Rosette Bobbies

50% off

Click here to get 'em.

Finding God w/ A Curious Thing

Meet Jess from A Curious Thing. She's gorgeous, talented, and has such a big heart for the Lord. I'm so glad she's here today with her story! Thanks so much for sharing, Jess!

Be WEIRD.

{Because normal thinking isn't working.}

 

Hi. I'm Jess from A CURIOUS THING over here.

Laura and I are doing a little blog swap, so here's whats been on my heart lately...

(BTW...thank you Laura!)

 

The lesson below has been a painful one for me.

It is my testimony. See my whole story here.

 

I began my journey last year trying to please everyone,

 and ending up very empty, lonely, single, and depressed (among other things).

Here's the bottom line I eventually figured out:

 God loves me.

God thinks about me.

God sees me and choses to hold me anyway.

So here goes!

Read and be encouraged!

Normal thinking:

People exist to make me happy.

If not, they are expendable.

Design by Jess

My son, Ephrym's, 'weird' face

We need different thinking...we need WEIRD thinking.

Being normal is a natural role.

But it does not satisfy your soul.

design by jess

If you want what normal people have, do what normal people do.

If you want what few people have, do what few people do.

Get weird.

Matthew 7:13-14

There is a wide road and the narrow road.

Taking the narrow road carries with it challenges on the front end.

-It is uncomfortable

-It is not normal

-It is 'weird'

Peters word for weird is HOLY:

God's word for 'weird': 1 Peter 1:16

"You shall be holy, for I am holy.

Holiness is living a life for God's purposes.

Normal means life devoted to yourself.

We can be like cattle lead to slaughter- all following each other to their own demise.

And we don't even know it because we are caught up in the following.

source

As we choose to leave the herd and walk with Jesus on the narrow road

these two things will never change:

1) Wide road people will belittle you

2) Your 'herd' instinct will kick in and will tempt you to return

Psalm 69:9-12 (the Message)

"My brothers shun me like a bum off the street;
My family treats me like an unwanted guest.

⁹ I love you more than I can say.
Because I'm madly in love with you,
They blame me for everything they dislike about you.

¹⁰ When I poured myself out in prayer and fasting,
All it got me was more contempt.

¹¹ When I put on a sad face,
They treated me like a clown.

¹² Now drunks and gluttons
Make up drinking songs about me."

And all because he was passionate about following his Maker.

All because he was 'weird' to them.

The wide-road people will say to you:

"Yeah, I saw you before.

What are you doing?

You're so fake.

You Think your so holy now...to good for us."

-People might gossip about you

-People might harshly judge you

-People just might think you're weird

-It might provoke others to worry about you

-Pressure might be exerted for us all to return to 'normalcy'

source

Proverbs 29:25 (the Message)

²⁵ The fear of human opinion disables;
trusting in God protects you from that.

It is like a ring in a bulls nose...anyone could lead it around.

Becoming obsessed with what people think about you

 is the quickest way to forget what God thinks about you.

Hmmm, did I ask what God thought about me?

{If not, get ready to be back in the herd.}

source

John 15

^{18 -19}"If you find the godless world is hating you, remember it got its start hating me.

If you lived on the world's terms, the world would love you as one of its own.

But since I picked you to live on God's terms and no longer on the world's terms, the world is going to hate you.

²⁰"When that happens, remember this: Servants don't get better treatment than their masters.

 If they beat on me, they will certainly beat on you.

If they did what I told them, they will do what you tell them.



Persecution- it can come from anyone.

Strangers.

Friends.

Family.

Alle (lil sis) and me last year

Matthew 5


¹⁰"You're blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution.


The persecution drives you even deeper into God's kingdom.


^{11 -12}"Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me.


What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable.


 You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don't like it, I do!


 And all heaven applauds.


And know that you are in good company.


 My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.



If peple aren't saying anything mean about me-


Am I walking holy enough?


Truthfully enough?


I'm not talking about being disrespectful-


But just walking with Jesus will do it.


You can't please everyone...But you can please God.


1 Thessalonians 2:4


Be assured that when we speak to you we're not after crowd approval—only God approval.


And to please God fullfills the very core of our soul.

We were created for Him, and Him alone.

design by jess

Things I've Been Thinking...

• I go to the post office a lot and it has a distinctive smell. Today I finally figured out what it smells like...Play dough!
  
• I have often wondered why our local Goodwill is no good in terms of finding finds. You know why? Because all the good stuff lives at Salvation Army. Going back asap!
  
• Food is funny. I hated guacamole and ranch dressing growing up. I thought they were "grody." Now I simply can't get enough of either.
  
• You know how many times I think "wow, God is amazing?" A lot. You know how many times I should be thinking "wow, God made that and did that and works in that and is doing that?" Infinity x a lot.
• Everyone should keep Ramen Noodles in their house. The noodles can go in salads. The seasoning can spice up chicken. Or you can be like me and just eat it, a lot. I eat more Ramen now than I did in college. I have to use a spoon AND a fork. I don't break up the noodles (hence the fork) and I like just a little bit of broth (in comes in the spoon). I also think how you prefer your Ramen speaks a lot about you. It's funny that my longest thought is about Ramen. What does THAT say about me?
• [Watching Wheel of Fortune] Gosh I am bad at Wheel of Fortune. I am, however, a rock start at Family Feud.
• [Pursuing the shelves at the library] Boy there are a lot of self-help Christian books. Do we really need them? What kind of book would Jesus write? Oh wait...
• Sometimes I see students on campus wearing ridiculous things and I think "is it serious, is it silly, or did they lose a bet?"

What are you thinking about RIGHT NOW!?

Wedding Memories and Easy Canvas Prints Review

I'm bad with pictures. I hardly take them, and when I do, they sit on my computer gathering vitirual dust.

But not this beauty!

I was given the opportuntiy to review a canvas from Easy Canvas Prints. It's an easy-to-use website that puts pictures on canvas. I've had a few other photos made into canvases before and they were nowhere near the quality of this one.

I love it!

The photo is super clear, the canvas is wrapped tight, and the frame is super thick and sturdy.

I can't believe it's been over two years since that photo was taken. How much we've grown since then. How much closer we are, stronger as a couple. I love waking up to that photo in our bedroom. What a beautiful reminder of our life together.

*I was given an 8x10 standard canvas print for free in exchange for my review, however, all of the opinions expressed here are my own.* 

Praying for Each Other- A Special Request

I received this sentence from Monique this morning. Please pray, friends, that the Lord will hear the prayers  of her heart and provide for her and her family in whatever ways they need. We know that God hears our prayers...please lift them up for Monique.

"I cannot go into very much detail, but I need prayer badly for me and family. Right now the future is looking very bleak. Please pray for me."

Saturday is Crafty Day #49

Happy weekend!

 A few of my favorites from last weekend... Pumpkin candles from A Pumpkin and a Princess 

Desk from Embracing Change

Felt owls from My Girlish Whims

Autumn mobile from AliLily

Feel free to grab the featured button, ladies!

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This weekend I will not be crafting. Instead, I'm camping! My RAs and I took are spending the weekend cooking over the fire, sleeping in tents, and floating down the river! But I can't wait to see what you all have been working on when I get back!

Weird Things About Me

[possibly things that make me weird]

- I am terrified of revolving doors.
- When eating a bag of chips, I start with the smallest and save the biggest chips for last.
- During the four years I was a vegetarian, I craved hot dogs daily.
- I am lactose intolerant.
- I can quote almost every line from 10 Things I Hate About You.
- I tend take my shoes off and leave them right in the middle of the doorway.
- I was named after Laura Ingalls Wilder. Not so much the author, more so the TV show.
- I am generally afraid of cats. Yes, we own a cat, but I tend to think of her as just a really moody puppy.


Just thought you'd like to know.

Finding God

Last week was tough.

One of the worst week's I've ever had.  [I know that sounds very dramatic]

Nothing particularly bad happened.

But internally I was falling apart. I felt unloved, and as a result, I was absolutely unloving.

*But I'm finding God in a brand new week*

This weekend I asked God to fix me- take away my feeling of depression and inadaquecy and anger. Then on Sunday it was like the Lord was speaking directly to me through our pastor. It felt liek every word was said with a little "Laura, this is just for you."

We talked about time. We live in one kind of time. Natural time. Time that gets messy and stressful. Time that is always in short supply.

God, however, is above time. He is working in amazing ways...even when we feel like He's not there at all.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

Have you ever hear the song "Awakening" by Hillsong United?
It speaks directly to my heart and has brought me so much encouragement.

In our hearts Lord
In this nation
Awakening

Holy Spirit
We Desire
Awakening

For You and You alone
Awake my soul
Awake my soul and sing

For the world You love
Your will be done
Let Your will be done in me

In Your presence
In Your power
Awakening

For this moment
For this hour
Awakening

Like the rising sun that shines
From the darkness comes a light
I hear Your voice say
This is my awakening

Like the rising sun that shines
Awake my soul
Awake my soul to sing

From the darkness comes a light
Awake my soul
Awake my soul to sing

Only You can raise a life
Awake my soul
Awake my soul to sing

Praying for Each Other

Chelsea: Long story short, I have the epitome of the worst day ever last Thursday - a lot of things happened at once, and I seriously jumped into a pit of discouragement, fear,  and insecurity. And even though that day is over, and I'm in a better place than I was... I'm only on the edge of that pit, the potential to slip only a half-second away, if you know what I mean. So I guess I want to ask if you could pray for my mental state/strength, it's weak and vulnerable... and I'm trying my best to cling to God, but the prayer would be incredible appreciated. I've never felt like this before. 

Monica: My father just passed away on Saturday, Sept. 17,2011. Please pray for my family as we are just starting a new journey with the death of our last parent.  We will now be cleaning out their home and settling the estate. We give praise that both our parents are celebrating together with our heavenly Father but it is still difficult for us down here.  

Nicole: I was wondering if you could add me to the list of prayer requests. I have an interview this Saturday for medical school.

Me: My mom started radiation last week. Please pray to keep her body strong and healthy. My hubby is a bit overwhelmed with class/work right now. Please pray that the Lord helps him organize his thoughts and his time and that he continues to strive toward his goals.

How can we pray for you?

Philippians 2:13

source, text added by me

***

Can we pray for you this week?

Email me your prayer requests- iamalongfortheride @ gmail . com

Saturday is Crafty Day #48

Welcome back!
Gosh, such great stuff last week!
Two-tier table from Art is Beautiful

Button pumpkin from A Pumpkin and a Princess

Fall free from Crafting with my Cub

Anthro shepherd moon necklace from Flamingo Toes

And my favorite last week... floral bralette from A Law Student's Journey

[feel free to grab a button ladies]

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What's new in your craft room/craft closet/kitchen table that gets taken over periodically with your crafty goodies?

Funny Break

I hope Kyle and I are this cute together when we're old...expect I hope we know how to use our computer.

This made me smile all kinds of big!

September Group Giveaway Winners!

Large add with Mrs. T, Naturally- Melissa (Stamping with Melissa)

Headband from Owls and Lilies- Jen (Jennifer March)

Vintage hair bows from Gingerbread- Mindy (Marigold Road)

$10 shop credit from Pink Lemonade- Rachel (Shepard's Daughter)

Pottery apple baker from NS Pottery- Tricia (Wattenbrugers)

Print from Paper Clouds- Struck

$20 shop credit from Toaster's Transformations- Ruthhill (My Devotional Thoughts)

Congrats ladies! I'll be emailing so you can work out the details with the shop/blog owners.

Interested in being in the next group giveaway? It will be on September 28. Email me for the details.

Reminder: September Group Giveaway

Just a reminder about this month's group giveaway...I'll pick the winners tonight.

Head here to enter.

Shops include: Mrs. T, Naturally,  Owls and Lilies, Gingerbread,  Pink Lemonade, NS Pottery, Paper Clouds, Toaster's Transformations.

Praying for Each Other + Finding God

Purply Pink Me Blog: My cat has been gone for 3 nights now, she's barely one year old, and we are hoping to find her today at the Humane Society. please pray for us as this is our first cat and a hard time.

Fertwitts: Can you please pray so that God gives me the wisdom I need to do my job properly? I've been working at this place for less than 2 months...And although I love what i do, it's sometimes overwhelming. 

Here's my prayer request.

Lately I've been having a hard time finding God. I haven't been writing posts like I really want to because I've been frustrated with myself and, in the process of being busy/overwhelmed/upset/frustrated, I have not been able to see God in much of anything.

I know He's there.

He's always there.

Can you pray that my eyes are open a bit wider so I can see the work He's doing in me and around me... even when I'm too consumed to notice?

I'm praying for you, friends.