Pinterest Salad Dinner at Church

Our Women's Ministry at church is starting a new monthly get together with just some fun topics and an opportunity to fellowship and get to know one another.  Last night was the first and the topic was "How to Use Pinterest." Now y'all know that I'm already a big fan of Pinterest, but that didn't keep me from going and having a grand time.

We had a potluck "Pinterest" salad dinner and I of course whipped out my phone to take a couple of quick pictures.  I didn't snap all the food and it's not because it wasn't fantastic.  But I did want to share both of these because I was just so impressed with the presentation.

I loved this take on the classic melon balls.  She used the standard three melons, but then put them inside a hollowed out half a lemon and added a mint leaf!  Not only were they super cute, but each bite had a slight hint of lemon flavor.

Another fruit bowl, this time with a bowl made of chocolate!  She filled them with berries, a dollop of whipped cream, mint leaf and a piroutte cookie.

Deep Thoughts:  "You can't buy Happiness, but you CAN buy Donuts.  And that's kind of the same thing."

Ash Wednesday

We just got home from the Ash Wednesday service at church. When I was pondering the service on the way home it surprised me to realize the two words that kept coming to mind were solemn and joyful – and odd combination to be sure.

But receiving the sign of the cross on our forehead is solemn, while at the same time we receive it with joy. This service was one that was moving and made me so happy to be there tonight.

One thing our church is doing is reading the New Testament during the 40 days of Lent. We received a bookmark and cd during the service on Sunday and today marked Day 1. Keith and I listened to the cd of the Bible reading while we followed along and there is something about hearing the word of God while sitting next to the man you love that is just amazing.

May this season strengthen and encourage you – Amen.

“The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean.  How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!”  Hebrews 9:13-14 NIV

Brooklyn’s Beautiful Dress

I know that we all have put Christmas 2010 behind us and we’re looking towards 2011 now, but please indulge this Grandma that had no internet to document the incredible cuteness of her 3 year old granddaughter during the holiday season.  There’s really not much to do at this point but to share a few photos before moving on. 

On Christmas Eve we went to the Children’s service at my in-law’s church, which also happens to have been our church back when we lived in the same city.  Pastor started out by addressing the large crowd and letting them know that this isn’t what the usual services are like, that this one is geared toward the children.  He warned that there might be some “little lambs bleating” during service, but that it was perfectly ok.  At that point he called all the children forward to tell the story of Christ’s birth in his unique fashion.

I’d say there was at least 50 children during this service and they were all so darling in their finery and so animated to be up at the front.  We happened to be Front Row Joe’s and had a great vantage point from our seat, but Brooklyn did go forward for most of it.

The story was darling.  Pastor would pull little cutesy figurines out of a box – Mary, Joseph, the animals, Baby Jesus – and tell the story.  He had the children shouting answers back to him and truly it was a blessing.

Back up about an hour and a  half though and we almost didn’t make it.  Poor little Brooklyn had fallen asleep on the couch and we had to get her up to get her ready to go.  Think about waking up a 3 year old that hasn’t had a nap in two days and had only slept for about 20-30 minutes ….. it wasn’t pretty.

She did come out of it though and was her usual adorable self.  When we got back to her great-grandma’s house Keith and I wanted a picture of our darling granddaughter in her beautiful Christmas dress.  And that’s when the cheesy grins started coming out…and the cute little turn of the foot:

 

Grandpa did finally get her to laugh and  not have quite the silly face:

 

One last picture so I can share the darling little coat that went with the dress:

 

Thanks for indulging a grandma that is madly in love with a little 3 year old girl. 

Mission Crafts Ministry–Dishcloths

Last night the Mission Crafts Ministry met up at the church and of course we had a wonderful time.  The more I meet with these ladies the more I fall in love with them.  Their giving hearts and ready laughter can life a spirit better than anything.

Our project for Thanksgiving and Christmas is to knit dishcloths to include in our food baskets that will be distributed.  The “guidelines” were to either knit or crochet any pattern, any color and any size – we like to stay loose with rules. 

I’m happy to say that we’ve met the Thanksgiving number goal and are heading towards Christmas now!  It was so much fun to look through the cloths that were brought last night and see all the different colors and textures.  We have a card maker that is going to make a gift card to go along with each dishcloth as well.  Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures at all of the pile of dishcloths last night, but will try to remember to do so at Christmas.

We also started knitting Tribbles last night and that has turned out to be fun!  One small ball of Sugar n Cream yarn will make a Grandmother’s Favorite dishcloth and a Tribble, thus making us able to really utilize all the yarn we have.

 

Speaking of yarn, if anybody is thinking about starting a similar ministry at their church I would encourage you to let the congregation, and your family, know that you will be needing yarn and needles.  We put the call out to the congregation and people are cleaning out closets and bringing yarn to us.  And the basket above came from my mother-in-law – she bought it and the package of needles at an estate sale.  The yarn is two layers deep and I’ll bet there’s 50 or so knitting needles and crochet hooks in the package.  What a great blessing to have supplies available to us!

Mission Crafts Ministry and Blueberry Pound Cake

Last night was such a special night in our ministry at church because the lady that led the mission trip to Peru came to talk with us.  You might recall that we knit 73 scarves that went on the trip as gifts for the kids, interpreters and teachers.  It was wonderful to have her come back and tell us how much those gifts were enjoyed and to tell us a little bit more about what is happening there.  We have a trip twice a year and are firming up plans for what to take for Christmas gifts now.

And I gave a little teaser about the Blueberry Pound Cake and it took until yesterday when I made it again to take to church to finally remember to get it up on the blog!  It really is quite tasty and easy to do, so be sure to take advantage of the fresh blueberries before they all disappear from the store shelves.

 

Paula Deen’s Blueberry Pound Cake

1 stick butter
1/4 c vegetable shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 t salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 heaping cup fresh blueberries, tossed in flour so they don't sink (though you can see that mine still did!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Stir dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.  Cream butter and shortening, add sugar a little at a time until well mixed.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each egg.  Add dry ingredients to mixer alternately with milk, starting and ending with the dry ingredients.  Mix in vanilla, then gently fold in blueberries.  Pour in to a greased and floured 9x5 loaf pan and bake for 60-70 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

 

** Linking to Tasty Tuesday

Mentorship Class and Tornadoes

Last night was the first night of our much anticipated Mentorship 101 class at church.  It’s being led by our Pastor and Keith and I are both taking it. 

Pastor started us off by sharing how many years ago he was led to start teaching people to be mentors and gave a great personal story.  He then asked us all to introduce ourselves and share why we were there.

It struck me again as I listened to the many, varied stories how everybody is living lives that we just don’t know.  I’ve always tried hard to remember the saying “don’t criticize until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes” because it is so true.  Everybody is going through something and it was just amazing to hear why each person felt it was so important to be there. 

We did our introductions and Pastor did a brief overview and even with that short agenda we ran late.  I am so looking forward to the weeks to come.

And I’ll tell you, it was looking for a bit like we wouldn’t be able to go to class after all.  We were at home glued to the TV watching live  reports of tornadoes forming all over the DFW area.  Modern technology is a site to behold and all day long we heard about flooding from the remnants of Tropical Storm Hermine, then the tornadoes started.  I think I heard this morning that we had 8 tornadoes touch down across the area last evening and we hesitated to leave for church as there was one fairly close to our church.  In the end we went and of course had no problem.

I did find a brief clip on YouTube if you are into weather phenomenon like what I am.  I can’t really explain why I love this stuff, but I do.  :)

Scarves are Peru Bound!

As of this morning the scarves we knit for the Mission Crafts Ministry at my church are headed to Peru!  This is the 8th year we’ve gone on this mission and we do work at an orphanage there.  The first year was general cleanup, then we built a new dorm for the girls the second year, a kitchen the third year, etc.

This truly was a labor of love and an awe-inspiring example of God’s perfect timing.  Rosalie, the leader of the mission trip, asked if we could make 75 scarves….and we had one month to do it.  She then said that if we couldn’t get all 75 done that if we could at least do 28 that would take care of the workers and the interpreters so that they at least would know that there are people praying for them and that God loved them.

That’s a lot of scarves for a brand new ministry!  There were 3 of us that knew how to knit and we taught a handful of ladies in the church, two of which took to it like a duck to water.  And a funny thing happened as the due date got closer – we started hearing from people that were knitting at home for us, and we began to think we really might make the goal.

One of our ‘behind the scenes’ knitters was my mom.  She told me right off the bat when I told her about this ministry that she would make a couple of scarves for me.  Ever dependable, she brought the scarves to town when she came for Brooklyn’s birthday party.

 

And another unexpected blessing – I got an email from Melinda from Tales From My Empty Nest that she would like to knit scarves as well!  I’ve read Melinda’s blog for some time and am convinced that if we lived in the same state we’d be great friends.  She loves the Lord and her family and she just happens to be in the same life stage that I’m in.  I love to hear the stories of her family fun.  The photo above does not do her scarves justice.  Her box arrived on Monday, the day of our mission meeting.

When I arrived at the church we started unpacking and counting all the scarves.  Our total was 73!  And lest we might have had any disappointment at all that we didn’t make the magic 75 – let me tell you what happened next.  Rosalie all of a sudden started laughing and finally was able to explain – 2 of the children at the orphanage are infants….and they wouldn’t need a scarf!  73 was the exact number of scarves needed for the workers, interpreters and all the children.  Coincidence?  I think not!  As my grandmother always said - “It’s not odd, it’s God!”

And I leave you with one last photo from Monday night.  CJ showed up with an hour to spare and asked if we would teach her to knit.  I was working with Gail and showing her the purl stitch, so Sandy worked with CJ.

Do you see the little helper on CJ’s lap?  That’s Miles and he is 4 months old.  He was so intrigued watching the yarn and kept trying to grab it.  We were delighted with his antics and we did warn CJ that she wouldn’t be able to knit with Miles on her lap for very much longer at all!

Ah sweet blessings!  I so enjoy having a wonderful church home, family and friends.

Scarf #1 for Mission Crafts Ministry

Yesterday I finished my first scarf for our Mission Crafts Ministry at church.  We are trying to get 75 scarves made before the end of July for a mission trip to Peru.

All I did for this scarf was to cast on 26 stitches and knit.  I used Lion Brand Homespun yarn and size 11 needles.  Even with the simple pattern and large needles it still took me a week to complete.  Based on that, when I cast on my second scarf last night I decided to drop down to 24 stitches.  We’re looking for speed!  :)

And actually for scarf #2 I tried crocheting thinking that I can do that much faster.  I had a problem with the yarn being so splitty and a dark color, so it didn’t go any faster and in fact probably was much slower.  After two rows I gave up, pulled it out and cast on to knit.

Mission Crafts Ministry

Sometimes God’s awesome timing is enough to just blow me away.  I’ve been praying about finding a way to get more plugged in to my church and figure out what my spiritual gifts and ministry would be.  The next thing I know I receive an email from church – sent to all the ladies – wanting to know if anybody was interested in starting a prayer shawl ministry or greeting card ministry.  Seeing as how I’m a rather crafty person who just happens to enjoy knitting, crocheting, stamping, etc., how could I possibly not be excited? 

We had our first meeting this week and rather than fracture the group we’ve decided to put all the crafting under one umbrella and it will be called the Mission Crafts Ministry.  And I will be the layperson leading it, with one of the ladies on staff helping me.

Now sometimes when you pray for something, God will answer that prayer a bit differently than you first thought.  My intention was never to lead a ministry, but since it’s something I’m very interested in, coupled with the fact that the other ladies there were adamantly NOT going to lead, my fate was sealed.  And as I was driving away from church that night I couldn’t help but smile and think “Thy will be done.”

Our first objective is to try and have 75 scarves knit before July 25 to send with a group from our church going on a mission trip to Peru.  The staff person already had 8 finished and after a quick stop at Michael’s for Homespun yarn (on sale this week for $3.99!) I’ve got one scarf about halfway finished.

And even more fun is that I’m going to be meeting one of the ladies from our church at Starbucks one evening to teach her to crochet.  I love to knit and crochet and love even more when somebody will let me teach them and share my hobby.

If anybody has a similar ministry at their church – or knows about one at a friend/family member’s church – please leave me comments with any helpful hints.  I’m really excited to see where the Lord leads us with this!

Sunday Singing

I make no secret about how much I love our church services and family time afterwards.  And really today was extra special because Lynne’ met us at church and we went for breakfast afterwards.  The reason it was so special is that we are now officially empty nest again – and I am so thrilled and proud that she still wants to meet us for church.  Nothing can make a mother’s heart sing more than having her children WANT to be in church.

Our worship songs today were also food to a weary soul.  Some of them I’ve already shared on the blog, but we sang a new to us song that I’ll share below.  The song is called The Stand by Hillsong and the version I found features Michael W. Smith at vocals.  His voice is so beautiful – I could listen to it all day.

May your week ahead be blessed.

 

Sunday Singing

One of the greatest things about our church is the many worship options available to us.  The service we’re attending right now is a very modern version I suppose you would say.  There is a full band and they play many of the hit songs that are on the Christian radio stations, which is great.  Some of the newer songs make you want to fling your arms upwards and just worship from your very soul.

I do admit that I miss some of the old school hymns though.  I think there is a lot of comfort in tradition and they always make me think of my grandmother.

It looks like at our church that we’ll soon be getting the best of both worlds.  When the Lenten season starts we’ll have Wednesday night services again and those usually are filled with the hymns.

I do enjoy sharing some of the songs we sing at our service, so today this is the one I chose.  And I think it would be a lot of fun to see the Newsboys in concert some time.   :)

Scripture Sunday

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Our church service today was one of those that you just want to play over and over in your head.  The music was over the top good and the sermon – oh the sermon.  Have you ever listened to a sermon and just felt so convicted - and to be honest, even a little uncomfortable?  And I mean that in a very good way.  Sometimes the words you hear are some that you don’t really want to hear or face, but oh we are better for it.

What I find interesting about this is that we overslept this morning, which meant that we missed the service that we actually wanted to go to.  Instead, we went to the service that God wanted us to attend, though we didn’t realize it at the time.

Things like this always make me think of my Grandmother’s words: “It’s not odd, it’s God.”  AMEN!

I found one of the songs from our service on YouTube by the original artist.  Beautiful song and when you sing it at a service there is just no way to stand there without lifting those arms heavenward.

Easter

She is just so beautiful! Of course we had a wonderful, blessed Easter. The service at church was so good and I looked down at Brooklyn in my lap at one point and tears welled up just from being so happy. Keith saw that, gave me a little smile and squeezed my hand. Ah....life is so good.

There was a little boy sitting in the pew behind us that apparently was pretty funny. Brooklyn was looking, then would break into a huge grin, stop for a minute, then grin real big again. Little flirt. :)

She was also very entranced by the high ceilings, stained glass, organs and handbells at this church. The first part of the service she just sat very still and only her eyes moved. Then we sang and she thought grandma's singing was funny!

I know the lighting is off on the second picture, but I so love her grin. Life is just so much fun for this little girl - she grins and laughs and kicks all the time. After church we went back to the kids' house and spent the better part of the day and this baby is just so fun to be around.

It did end up being too cold outside to have a picnic (the temperature was great, but the wind was cold), so we ended up spreading the blankets in the middle of James' living room and having our picnic inside. It was fun and very different from our original plan, but we are a "roll with flow" type of family and it just didn't matter.

After we ate we played a game of Disney Scene It and that was so much fun! There were four

teams - Keith and James were on "Team Uninterested" because they were outvoted on what we were going to play - and it ended up that they won!!! And I got teased quite a bit because for most of the game I sat on the start square. I've always prided myself on my Disney knowledge (!), but I am just not nearly as fast as the kids are - LOL!

I do so love the holidays. Good times....

In Which I Ramble...

I love this photo because of the serenity it portrays. After all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season the serenity really speaks to me.

Amidst all of our family celebrating we did enjoy two church services - at two different churches. Sunday morning we went to early service with my mother and were very blessed by a thought provoking sermon. The minister is a big movie fan and finds ways to bring movie references to his sermons. He preached on Joseph and about what a small part he actually has in the Bible and yet, what a huge responsibility he had in raising the son of God. He likened Joseph to some man in the movie Chicago and then sang a bit of the song Cellophane Man. Really good and any time a sermon stays on your mind almost a week later it is a good thing.

There were not a lot of people at the service because OKC was hit by more ice the night before. Luckily Keith is a very good driver and the only trouble we ran into was going up the little hill to mom's church. Ended up getting a run on it and made it just fine.

Christmas Eve we attended the Candlelight Service with Keith's family and of course I always love that since it is also the church we attended when we lived up there. I am bad though because I spend way too much time looking at the congregation and marvelling over how much the children have grown up since we lived there. The acolyte at this service was just a baby when we lived there! His mom and I were in sorority together and had the best time. Even though you know their children are growing it's just interesting to actually see them.

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Probably the highlight of my upcoming weekend is to go shopping for a 2008 calendar. Yes, I am one of those people that loves a fresh, clean calendar! I haven't decided yet what kind I want to get and that will be part of the fun. The 2007 calendar on my desk at work is one of the page a day kind that is from Stuff On My Cat. Lynne' got this calendar for me for Christmas last year and I have thoroughly enjoyed the pictures each day. The 2007 calendar on my desk at home is one of the Autumn Leaves Design With Idea Calendars that friends got me for my birthday. That has been nice too and definitely a source of inspiration. Maybe a calendar with quotes this year???

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And back to the serenity (serenity now???) - I have absolutely no plans for the entire weekend! A strange feeling as usually many of us get together on Friday night to go scrapbooking. But many are still celebrating the holidays and it's not happening tonight. Not sure what I'll do with myself, but maybe it will actually be a good thing.

Plenty of projects to get organized and plenty of projects that I've started and haven't finished. There's a certain knitting project that needs to be finished soon, so maybe some quality sit and knit and listen to podcast time.

Speaking of podcasts - I just discovered that Dave Ramsey of Financial Peace University fame has a podcast! I downloaded several of them and listened to one on the way home from work yesterday. If you've not heard of him I urge you to click the link and go read a bit. He's a Christian man with the best financial advice ever. So having the podcast to listen to and reinforce all that we've learned is a very good thing.

By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. - Genesis 2:2

Easter, Daniel and Hobbies

Easter Sunday was fabulous as always, but came really close to the service that didn't happen - for us anyway. I just didn't think and we got to church the same time we do every week and of course, Thank You Jesus, the church was very crowded. Thinking back on it now it was pretty comical. We'd see some seats and start walking that way, only to have somebody slide in. Turn, spy some seats, walk that way and the same thing would happen. There literally was no place for us to sit, so we resigned ourselves to sitting in the car and waiting for the next service. Luckily the "announcement lady" asked everybody to do the "Easter squeeze" and move towards the center and many seats opened up. It turned out to be a great thing for us as we ended up sitting right behind the family that was having their baby baptised during the service. The baby was so precious and had the hardest time staying awake during the service and even slept through the baptism! Of course she was very distracting to me because I kept watching her and wanting to go and love on her. :)

Then Monday night was the first night of our new Beth Moore Study on Daniel. I am so happy I decided to go as this study will be amazing. So many things I need to hear at this time in my life. And I really think that I haven't given the book of Daniel the credit that it deserves. The other neat thing about that evening was one of the ladies I was sitting with asked to exchange phone numbers just in case we miss a night. I was so thrilled! I do realize it's very high school, but some of those feelings really never leave you and it was so good to make a connection. One of the goals I have for this year is to get more active in my church and meet more people and this is a great beginning. I also think that by and large a person gets out of a group what they put into it, so step one was doing something more than just attending service. God is so good! :)

In knitting news, I have finally picked up the stitches and started knitting on the gusset of my sock. For those of you that knit, I used Grumperina's method of picking up stitches this time and they really are prettier this way. Try it, you'll like it!

Fabric news - last night I started using my rotary cutter on those beautiful fabrics and getting things ready to sew. I so thoroughly enjoyed this and it's especially nice as Keith has installed some new under shelf lights above my crop table and it made cutting a breeze.

I did have to cut it short as I ran to the grocery store with Keith. On the way back home we stopped by the Christian book store so I could run in and get book two of the Restoration Series by Terri Blackstock. Great reading!

And all these fun things are making it very difficult to sit at work today, especially as the weather is simply gorgeous out there!

~ Elizabeth

"As one woman told me, "When I decided to come in to work happy, everybody around me became happy." This woman had decided to quit a job she hated, and on the last day of her two weeks' notice, she woke up happy. At the end of the day, she noticed that everybody around her was happy, too-- so she didn't quit after all. She decided to come to work happy instead. Two years later, she's still on the job, radiating happiness and love." - Unknown