We're having revival at our church this week. It's actually supposed to be a community-wide "crusade". It's being held across the street from our church at the community pavilion.


The evangelist was speaking tonight about Christ's crucifixion. His theme was "what/who actually crucified Jesus?" Indifference was one of the things he mentioned. Is there something that you've come across in your life that you had absolutely no feelings about whatsoever. It was of no consequence to you. You can take it or leave it.

Some Christians are like this. They were there that day He died. They stood at the back or went about their business, not caring what was going on around them.

There are people like that today. As long as it doesn't bother them, they don't care. I see this in our kids. They hear the stories, they hear what Christ did. But it's like it doesn't touch them. They don't get it. They don't realize that someday they are going to die and they'll have to face judgement. Sadly, I know lots of adults this way too.

The choir sung "Beulah Land" tonight. Probably my most favorite hymn besides "Amazing Grace". The lyrics are:
I'm kind of homesick for a country to which I've never been before.
No sad goodbyes, will there be spoken and time won't matter anymore.
Beulah Land, I'm longing for you, and someday on thee I'll stand.
There my home shall be eternal. In Beulah Land, Sweet Beulah land.
I'm looking now across that river, to where my faith will end in sight.
There's just a few more days of labor, then I will take my heavenly flight.
Beulah Land, I'm longing for you, and someday on thee I'll stand.
There my home shall be eternal. In Beulah Land, Sweet Beulah land.
In Beulah Land, Sweet Beulah Land.

It's amazing to me to think of a place and time where the work is finished. There'll be no more pain or sorrow, hate or disappoinment. We'll be able to rest in Jesus. As they were singing this song, I glanced at a couple of the kids. They have no idea what Beulah Land is. They have no concept of that place, what it means, what it represents. I'd like to say it's because they are young and innocent. They have no worries. But that's not entirely true. My heart hurts for kids. Drugs, alchohol, broken homes, abusive parents, peer pressure, unwed mothers, ridicule..... the list goes on. It scares me to death to think of the things a child has to go through. How can I help them see there is something to look forward to. Especially when we live in a get-it-right-now world. Lord, I pray for these kids. Break my heart for them. Help me love them as you do. Use me to show them your truth.


This was totally not what I wanted to write about. I had a thought during the sermon. Something the preacher said that got me to thinking. And I can't remember what it was. It was good too. I'll have to ponder this and come back.

Off Kilter

Have you ever had one of those days/weeks that you just aren't yourself? It happens to me every now and then for no particular reason. It's not physical. At least not on the surface. It's just a feeling.



I started out today feeling pretty good. But as the day progressed, I started feeling, I don't know how to describe it. A feeling that things weren't the way they should be. Nothing I could put my finger on, just a general feeling of wrongness. Normal, everyday activities felt wrong. Like I was missing something. Every conversation I saw, every whisper, every glance in my direction made me feel as if I was...wrong.



Sometimes those feelings turn out to be that I've spent too much money. Sometimes it signals that I'm about to start...well...you know. Maybe that's what it is this time. I don't think it's time for that yet, though. Maybe I'm depressed. Maybe I'm just tired, not getting enough sleep.



It's weird. I still feel...unsatisfied with things, but I'm quite happy. I still have my sense of humor. I'm not particularly wanting sympathy or advise. I guess I just need an outlet to express what's inside (although I'm not very good at it).



I think I'll just go to bed. Maybe I'll feel right tomorrow.

Folks, We Have A Winner!

Before I do anything else I want to thank everyone who entered this giveaway! I appreciate you taking the time to post a comment. And thanks for all the suggestions. I'll definately be using them! I would like to reuse the bottles or carry a mug or thermos or something, but for various reasons that I won't go into now, the bottled water is my best option at the moment. However, I can collect the labels from the bottles and redeem them with the company to get equipment for the local schools. Since my sister is a teacher in one of them, I thought "Since I'm buying the water anyway, might as well support a good cause." Anyway, as soon as it is feasible, I will get me one of those nifty mugs or at least reuse the bottles I have.

But I digress... You guys want to know who has won the book, Embrace Grace. Well, I'll tell you. But first, let me tell you how I picked the winner. At first I was going to put everyone's name in a paper bag and draw one out. But then I thought, "This is taking too long." (I've got a bit of impatience that I really need to work on). Plus, that kind of drawing is done all the time. Sooo, I sat there at my computer trying to think of some way to choose. Do I just pick my favorite suggestion? No, no, no. Not random enough. I did want it to relate in some way to either the carnival itself or my giveaway in particular. Well, I was sitting there looking around the room when I looked upon the bin where I stash the empty, label-less bottles. And it dawned on me. The perfect random method. I decided to count the empties. Whoever was the number of total empty bottles I have saved would be the winner. Yay! I grabbed a trash bag (because I might as well kill two birds with one stone and get them ready to recycle, or transport to another location) and started counting.

So, without further ado and no more stalling, the number of empty bottles in my bin and the winner of the book, Embrace Grace is.........(can you hear the drumroll in my head?)

Tyna at Begley Blessings

Yay! Alright!
Wooo Hoooo!
Rah! Way To Go!
(That's the crowds cheering. Did you get that?)

Again, thanks to everyone for stopping by. Don't forget to come back and visit. This giveaway was so much fun, I might do it again. I'll definately be joining in on Shannon's next carnival.

Good luck to everyone in the rest of the carnival giveaways!

Bloggy Giveaways Carnival

Yea! It's Bloggy Giveaway time!

I entered lots of giveaways last time, but {sigh} didn't win anything. I also didn't have a giveaway. But I do this time.

I'm giving away an autographed copy of Liz Curtis Higgs' book, Embrace Grace.

I've got a copy which I'm reading right now. It's easy to read and the chapters aren't very long. I'm reading about a chapter a night before bed. I'm not a great reviewer so here is what Liz's website says about the book.

"Embrace Grace offers hope for all of us who long to let go of guilt and embrace the boundless freedom God's grace offers.
Liz Curtis Higgs speaks directly to the hearts of her readers in an engaging and deeply personal way. Page by page, she conveys a simple, powerful message of encouragement, showing women how to accept the gift of divine forgiveness, step by gentle step, and release lingering doubts, fears, and regrets.
Wherever you are in your spiritual journey, Embrace Grace will help you move forward with joy and confidence!"

You can read more about it on her website http://www.lizcurtishiggs.com/waterbrook/Embrace/Embrace%20Grace.htm

So what do you have to do to enter my giveaway? Well... I'm glad you asked. I drink bottled water on a daily basis so I was thinking, there has to be some sort of craft or nifty idea to reuse all these water bottles other than just recycling. So, to enter my giveaway, leave me a post with an idea for reusing water bottles. Contest ends Friday, February 1 at 5 p.m. CST. I'd love to run it through Sunday, but I'll be out of town. I will ship to anywhere so feel free to enter.

The winning entry will be drawn and I'll announce the winner on Friday night. If you don't have a blog be sure to leave a way I can contact you.

To see other giveaways you can click on the link to the right.

Good Luck and come back and visit sometime!

Sunday Scrappin' #11

Well, I missed another Sunday Scrappin' last week. But to catch you up....

My TaDa's: In all honesty, I haven't gotten any scrapping/cardmaking done this past two weeks. I did help host a baby shower last weekend. Since the father is a huge University of Tennessee fan, the theme was orange and white. My friend Kim made the invitations and some party favors. My sister Jenni made the cakes. Another friend and her husband took care of the punch using a baby bath tub and rubber duckies. My mom and I made a couple of flower arrangements. Then I made some little pacifier decorations out of lifesavers and jelly beans.

Here are some of the pictures:

I put some centerpieces together with clear baby bottles filled with orange paper, bibs, baby rattles, pacifiers, teethers, etc., the lifesaver pacifiers and Kim's party favors. She has a post on her blog that has some better pictures. I wasn't quite tall enough to get good pictures of the cakes. If you have a moment, skip on over to Reality Show Reject. You can also see the cute invitations she made. They were adorable!!! She also has a picture of the punch table.

My ToDo's: I'm probably just going to try to organize my supplies and straighten my workspace. I do have my God's Girls scrapbooks to finish though. I should try to get those done. I've been sick this past week and have been battling a migraine today, so I'm not feeling particulary creative at the moment.

The question of the week is when do I find time for crafting? That's a good question. Too often it's 5 minutes before I have to leave to go to work or meet someone or go to bed. I always seem to get an idea or have the urge to craft at the least opportune moment. For instance, today, laying in the dark, wrestling with a pounding headache, I wanted to get up and go piddle at my craft table. The next second, I was berating myself. What the heck am I thinking? I didn't even go to church, my head hurt so bad. So I squelched the urge and then slept the rest of the day.

I wanted to thank everyone for their comments on the cards and scrapbooks from my last SS post. Now, if I can only get them finished....