Verse by Verse: Dare to Hope for Complete Joy

"Until now 

you have not asked for anything in My Name.

Ask and you will receive,

and your joy will be complete." 

~John 16:24~

....your joy will be complete....

complete joy....

....when we receive what we ask for in His name.

But, what if what we ask for in His name, isn't what we receive?

The cancer we prayed to be taken away, wasn't taken away.

The relationships we asked to be restored, still hasn't happened.

The marriage we prayed over, fell apart.

The child we prayed over, is still lost.

The devil we cast out in Jesus name...still here.

Taking our joy.

Can we hope for a brighter future? Do we dare? 

Yes! We dare.

Why?

Because only total healing will be had in Heaven. Relationships restored will be found at Jesus feet.

Only at His feet, in His dwelling place, will joy be made complete. ~1 Chronicles 16:27

One day, when the sorrows of this life are over,

"they will enter Zion with singing; 

everlasting joy will crown their heads. 

Gladness and joy overtake them, 

and sorrow and sighing will flee away." 

~Isaiah 35:10~

Only then, will my grief be turned to joy.

The analogy of the mother in John 16:20-22, who forgets the anguish of childbirth when she sees her child is this:

Right now, on this sad earth, is my time of grief. He's refining me through it all. But, one day, I will see His blessed face and I will rejoice. No one and no thing will take away my joy. read John 16:20-22

....one day....

But, until then.....

I can still experience joy; the true joy of being in His presence and in His will. Psalm 21:6

In this time of grief, this short time on this earth, I can still take heart! John 16:33

How so?

Because, He has overcome the world. He sent His Spirit to live in me so that I might still find joy in the peace He gives. John 14:27

So, while joy may elude me for a short time, I do not have to be troubled or afraid.

I can ask anything in His name, and He will grant it.

Maybe not right now.

Maybe not in this lifetime.

Maybe never on this earth.

But, here and now isn't where complete joy is found, is it.

Today I am participating in the new Verse by Verse community. Every two weeks or so, there will be a group of bloggers linking up their thoughts on the verse decided by the ladies at Blogs by Christian Women. You can find more by clicking below.

 Sharing with....Christian Mommy Blogger, Renewed Daily, Sandra Heska King, Lisha Epperson, Soul Survivor, Chronicles of Grace, Women of Worship, Cornerstone Confessions, Juana Mikels, God's Girl, Thoughtful Thursdays, Rich Faith Rising

Five Minute Friday: Nothing Can Separate

Over at lisajobaker.com, the fabulous Lisa hosts a weekly blog party called Five Minute Friday.

The rules are simple:

1. She decides on a one-word writing prompt. This week it is "NOTHING".
2. Bloggers everywhere set their timers for five minutes.
3. Our pens fly....can you hear the frantic scritchety-scratch? 
4. We publish our five-minute masterpiece & share with the world.

This time I'm publishing unedited like I'm supposed to. That bothers me. A LOT. I strongly dislike misspelled words and improper punctuation and plain formatting. 

Ugh. Plain formatting. So very boring.

And mispelled words. Just wrong.

BUT, since this week the prompt is "NOTHING", I shall do nothing to the original scratchings of my words. 

Enjoy! But don't let imperfections keep you from reaping a blessing!

"I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to seperate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." ~Romans 8:38-39

Nothing.

Not one thing. Will seperate us from His great love.

Why?

Because we are His childern.

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And THAT IS WHAT WE ARE!" ~1 John 3:1

We can know we are His children when we do what is right and love one another. apply 1 John 3:10

So, Nothing. Nothing can seprate me from His love. That means He will be faithful and just to forgive my sins and purify me from all unrighteousness. ~1 John 1:9

He forgives me when others don't.

He forgives me when others can't.

He forgives me everything because I am His child and NOTHING can separate me from Him.

"Ah, Sovereign Lord,....NOTHING is too hard for You." ~Jer. 32:17

Even forgiving me.

Sharing with....Essential Thing Devotions, Missional Women, A Look at the Book, My Freshly Brewed Life, Nancherrow, Sandra Heska King, Juana Mikels

5 Ways to Protect Your Husband's Heart

"The heart of her husband

doth safely trust in her...

she will do him good

and not evil

all the days of her life."

~Proverbs 31:11-12~

Does your husband's heart safely trust in you?

Are you taking measures to ensure he CAN trust in you?

While a husband may WANT his heart to safely trust in his wife, there are times a disconnect happens that is unexplainable to both parties. When this happens, it is time to evaluate our ourselves, seek the Lord and humble ourselves to what He would have us do.

Maybe you feel a disconnect today...maybe just a little bit of irritation that could easily turn to bitterness...or maybe its a gaping hole the size of the Grand Canyon. Whatever your current situation, take the time to consider these 5 ways you can work on protecting your husband's heart:

1. Do not withhold yourself. 

"The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife,
and likewise the wife to her husband.

The wife does not have authority over her own body,
but yields it to her husband.

In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body,

but yields it to his wife." 
~1 Cor. 7:3-4~

Yes, this is first and foremost on the list, because sex really is that important to a man.  read more here

2. Speak kind words.

"She speaks with wisdom, 
and faithful instruction is on her tongue."

~Proverbs 31:26~

It is a wise woman who lets her words be only understanding, encouraging and deferring.

She expresses thanks for his efforts in his leadership, provisions and parenting, no matter how blundering his efforts may be. She compliments on the good he does and extends grace to the rest. read more here

3. Evaluate your friendships.

Your husband needs to have confidence that its OK to be human around you. His heart cannot safely trust in you if he is worried you'll demean or degrade his name.

Today evaluate your friendships. Are they upbuilding?

If your dialog with your friends includes talking about what a dunce your husband, or their husband is, it's time to find new friends. read more here

"A gossip betrays a confidence;

so avoid a [wo]man who talks too much."

~Proverbs 13:20~

Dear wife, you may think you won't fall into the trap of degrading or gossiping about your husband. But, far too often we grow to become like the people we hang out with.  read more here

"He who walks with wise grows wise."

~Proverbs 20:19~

4. Forgive your husband.

A husband's heart cannot safely trust in his wife if she is continually reminding him of his mistakes, ways he hurts her, or things he has said. 

He will never be able to be completely at ease with her, afraid whatever he does will be used against him later. 

The "silent treatment", the "guilt trip", and the "you hurt me so much" look on your face, all comes into play here.

It is crucial to willingly and continually practice forgiveness. Holding on to things your husband has done or said will do 4 things:.... read more here

Dear wife, forgive early. Forgive often. Forgive completely. The grace Christ has extended to you, and extends to you daily...through that, won't you extend the same to your husband? read more here

5. Build your home.

"A wise woman builds her house,

but with her hands

the foolish one tears hers down."

~Proverbs 14:1~

"How is a house built?" you ask. As always, God's word explains itself.

"By wisdom a house is built,

and through understanding
it is established."

~Proverbs 24:3~

A husbands heart can safely trust in his wife when he knows she is capable and efficient in accomplishing her tasks, guiding the affairs of her household with discretion. He can know his children, his little princes and princesses, are well taken care of. He can know his castle is a safe haven of peace and love.

Be proactive about making your home a sanctuary for your husband. Always be maintaining and improving upon your family and your home. read more here

"The house of the wicked will be destroyed,

but the tent of the upright will flourish."

~Proverbs 14:11~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Be encouraged!

Be inspired!

Take a virtual coffee break for your homemaker's heart! 

Click below to join today!

Mini to Modest Camo Ruffle Jean Skirt Tutorial

I love thrift stores. They carry so much inspiration! So, when I found this darling little denim mini skirt, I knew I had a sewing project in my very near future.

Then, as I was searching through the women's clothing section, I found a camo tank top.

BAM!!! My creative juices went haywire!

Imagine my delight when I found two more camo shirts in the men's section, then a wad of half inch wide flat cream lace.

I was set!

I hope you enjoy this tutorial!

Here are my finds:

                              

The first thing I did was pick the ruffle off the skirt. I would have cut it off, but I really liked the original frayed edge.

Then I found an old piece of material. You can see all the fading and the pleats from the previous garment. I didn't iron it, because it was going to be covered anyway. Lazy, maybe. Necessary, no.

I cut a piece on the fold 1 inch wider then the skirt to allow for seams.

Then cut the length. This will vary, depending on how long/short the skirt needs to be. For my daughter, age 7, I needed 11 inches, for the completed skirt to be 19-20 inches long.

The dark green piece was 11" x 35".

Set that piece to the side and get out the camo shirts or camo material if you have it.

Lay it flat. Cut as many 3 inch strips as possible. I had two of these shirts so I ended up with ten pieces.

Here are all ten laid out. I cut the seam off one side of the pieces. This will give you a long piece when unfolded.

Using the other shirt I had to get creative to get as many 3 inch strips as possible. I ended up only using two, but it was nice having a little extra.

Next I was ready to sew the strips together for the ruffles.

These ruffle pieces need to be twice as long as the length of the reserved piece for the skirt. In my case, the length of that piece was 35 inches, almost 1 yard. So because more ruffles couldn't hurt, I rounded it up to 36 inches, making the ruffle pieces 2 yards long each.

Start, sewing the ruffle pieces together at the short ends. Trim to the length you need them to be. Don't worry, you'll never notice the seams on the end product.

If you want to, now would be the time to hem one long side of the ruffles. I didn't because I figured the raw edges would only add to the charm of the skirt. Not to mention, it saved me a gob of sewing!

I ended up with 6 ruffle pieces, all 2 yards long and 3" wide.

Then on three pieces I added two rows of the flat lace. To get the ruffle effect, stretch the camo material and allow the lace to feed in as needed.

Then on the large skirt piece, mark lines 1 3/4 inches apart. These will be where you sew the ruffles.

Arrange the pieces as you want them to appear on the skirt.

If you have a ruffler, lucky you. I don't. But with a little extra effort, I got it done.

Here's what you need to do if you don't have a ruffler:

1. Set your stitch length to widest possible setting. Sew along the top long edge of your ruffle pieces. Do not back stitch on either end.

2. Find the center of the ruffle. Pin it to the center of the bottom line on the large skirt piece.
3. Pin the ends to of the ruffle piece to the end s of the skirt piece.
4. Divide the material between the pins as evenly as possible on each side of the center. You'll have five pins holding the ruffle to the skirt.

5. Now you are ready to ruffle! Pull the bottom thread of the wide stitching.

Work from both ends until the ruffle is the same length as the skirt. Add a few pins to secure it.

6. Then sew it on. NOTE: Leave 1 inch on either end, unsewed, but pinned. You'll understand later when you go to sew the skirt ends together. Sorry for the bad picture. I was sitting at a very sunny window.

Repeat those six steps until all your ruffles are on and the skirt is covered.

Remember those one inch ends you didn't sew? Fold the ruffle pieces back and pin down. Do that on both ends.

Now fold the skirt in half, right sides facing each other. Sew the ends together, being sure to not catch any ruffle in between. You should only be sewing on two layers of material.

Turn it right side out. It should look like this:

Now unpin the bottom ruffle first. If you want to hem, go for it. Again, I figured the it would add to the charm of the skirt. It's hardly noticeable since there are so many ruffles.

Lay the other piece over the first.

Sew in place. Repeat for all layers of ruffles.

Finished product looks like this. If you squint you might be able to find the ends of the ruffle.

When laid flat, the ruffle skirt should be the same width as the denim skirt part.

Because I wanted the original fraying of the skirt, I simply pushed the ruffle part inside the denim part, overlapping about 3/4 inch. Pinned it together and sewed it on. I sewed this seam twice just to make it stronger.

I was going to sew the original skirt ruffle to the bottom of the ruffles, but it looks great without!

Here is the finished product!

(and my beautiful daughter!)

                               

               

"She is clothed with strength and dignity"

~Proverbs 31: 25~

Sharing With.....Cornerstone Confessions, Mabey She Made It, Sew Can Do, Hit Me With Your Best Shot, Raising Homemakers, A Little R & R, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Wake Up Wednesdays, What You Wish Wednesdays, Serving Joyfully, Create With Joy, Nancherrow, A Proverbs 31 Wife

Smelly Blankets & Moms Who are Right

It's 5:24 AM.

I just poured myself a freshly brewed cup of coffee.

Then I hear it....surely not....was that?....no wait........

Yes. That was definitely my 1 yr old.

At 5:24 AM.

REALLY???

He'll go back to sleep, right? He has his blankie...that should be enough, right?

.....mmooOOm....

yeah. that wasn't a sleepy sounding "mom" either. He's fully awake.....needing his mom.

That would be me, right?

That would be a very weak "yes", with head shaking "no". (go ahead, try it!)

WHY?? oh whyyy? At 5:24 AM?

And this is only after a late night, up a few times, aching back, no shower in 36 hours, going on 4 day hair....

What are my options? (1) Get the child, or (2) have the others wake as well.

I get the child.

For a second, his uncontained joy at seeing my face, thrilled my heart. His arms squeezing my neck are too precious for words.

Then I smelled it.....PEE.

Then I felt it.....soaking into my shirt. My CLEAN shirt, by the way.

It's 5:25 AM.

I changed him, wondering how so much pee got on his blanket but so little was in his diaper.

I want to wash the smelly blanket, but removing it from his clutch resulted in a meltdown sure to wake the dead.

It's 5:26 AM....I'm pretty sure I hear the other two waking up.

So, I let him have the blankie. Yes, the smelly, peed, sad looking blankie that brings him so much comfort.

I found a dry end and wrapped it around his little body, and held it against his cheek. Holding him tight, speaking "I love you's", his big blue eyes pools of adoration for me....

his mom.

The wet end lay on my legs away from him, seeping it's saturation into my sweats.

That's normal, right? If not, it's still OK, right? Whatever works, right? It's all good, they say, right?

Please, someone tell me I'm RIGHT!!!

If getting soaked in your child's pee isn't normal, please tell it's normal to be sitting in my living room at now 5:29 AM, wondering how a dirty plate, a pair of boots, dirty wadded up socks, a pillow spilling it's guts, a dirty shirt, the toilet brush.....YES, the toilet brush....have landed in the maze of yesterdays toys, crayons, books, and more toys.

That's all normal, right? Especially the toilet brush, right? While getting soaked with pee, right?

"Right Lord? It's 5:31 AM now and I want to cry, but I'm right, aren't I? THIS is OKAY and I'm right. Right?"

"Right. 

Yes, dear mom, you are right. THIS is normal....THIS is OK....THIS is good....THIS....is right.

It is VERY right."

Then it dawned on me......

I am like my child's smelly blanket. I get laid on, sat on, slobbered on, cried on, PEED on, squeezed, twisted, pulled, yanked on and right now, I smell. Occasionally, I get washed, (aka, showered) and it all happens again.

But, my kids don't care that I stink as a mom or literally, from having no shower. Like a blankie, I am their comfort. Their soft, warm, lovable place. Their kind, gentle, strong hero.

Yes, their hero. Their smelly hero.

I might not always be right, but I'm right where He wants me...in the middle of this chaos, loving on His heritage.

Right here.....right now....right for them.....

And it's alright...

it is all right...

All of it.

Sharing with....Managing Your Blessings, Create With Joy, A Proverbs 31 Wife, Moms the Word, Life of Faith, Marriage Motherhood &Missions, Soul Survivor, A Mama's Story, Looking at the Rays of Grace & Joy, The Wellspring, Cornerstone Confessions, Our Life on a Budget, Teaching What Is Good, Rich Faith Rising, Juana Mikels, Winsome Wednesdays, Holley Gerth, Living From Glory to Glory, Wake Up Wednesdays, Rachel Wojnarowski, Serving Joyfully, Jenni Mullinix, 3D Lessons for life, Graced Simplicity, Jennifer Dukes Lee, Thursday Thoughts, Everyday Jesus, Nancherrow, Amandas Books, Unite, Cornerstone Confessions, The Time-Warp Wife

Five Minute Friday: Heaven is ever Close

Over at lisajobaker.com, the fabulous Lisa hosts a weekly blog party called Five Minute Friday.

The rules are simple:

1. She decides on a one-word writing prompt. This week it is "CLOSE".
2. Bloggers everywhere set their timers for five minutes.
3. Our pens fly....can you hear the frantic scritchety-scratch? 
4. We publish our five-minute masterpiece & share with the world.

Here's mine. Maybe you can relate!

In the things I love, heaven is close.

In things seen...

A sun setting,
a bird on the air,
a dandelion puff blown by my child.

In things heard...

a roosters crow,
thunder in storms,
my child's pure squeals of delight.


In things felt...

the rays of the sun,
mud between toes,
my child's arms squeezing my neck.

In things smelled...

the flowers abloom,
freshly mowed grass,
my child's mound of messy hair.

In things tasted...

ice cream,
chocolate,
my child's tears as I kiss them away.

yes, heaven is close.

upon me, in fact.

in the form of my child.

Sharing with....Counting My Blessings, Beauty Observed, Renewed Daily, Amanda's Books and More, Working On a Project, Managing Your Blessings, Beauty in His Grip Life of Faith, What Joy is Mine, The Modest Mom, A Mama's Story