Time

I have not journal-ed/blogged/posted anything in a week or maybe longer. So much of the everyday life has gotten in the way. Time was not given to creativity. Time was given to the needs of others.

This past weekend the Preacher and I had a few hours of our own time. In that time I was able to slow down and read more, art journal, make doodles, just be creative for myself.

I found a Pinterest pin showing how to draw paper airplanes.

I read a couple of articles in this last issue of Art Journaling magazine. They were by women who lost their creativity. It left them feeling dry, feeling lost. But in both of their stories they didn't forget about their love of creativity. So they kept looking and seeking out times where they could create. At first it was just a few minutes, here and there, then it was maybe an hour taken out of the day. What helped was leaving their supplies and the ariticles they were working on, out in the open – on the dining table, in the middle of the living room. Where ever they could see it as they walked by so they could write something or paint, glue, cut paper – just something small if need be. 

My interpretation of a piece I found in an article in Art Journaling.

For the past several months I too have felt the same feelings as these women. There was no creativity and no desire to do anything about it.

How can I find my creativity again? 

A Bible Journaling page I did for the Preacher's life verse.

First, I have been spending time browsing books and publications of the same things I am interested in. Learning from people who have the same love of paper, paint and glue. It also means searching Pinterest for ideas. I like to find drawings and try to recreate them, put my own spin on the drawings.

Second, I realized the secret is to spend time everyday writing, drawing, painting, coloring, gluing, doing anything that sparks the creative juices to flow again. Once I do these things, I think it might come back.

My interpretation of art by Romi Lerda

I have also learned through this that there are only a set amount of seconds, minutes and hours in the day and in those seconds, minutes and hours I need to set aside some time for myself.

Love from the Preacher and I

He is Still My Little Boy

While looking through the pictures that I have on my camera's SD card, I found this picture.

The Preacher and I and our son were talking to one another through Skype back in December. When it is daylight here, it is night time where he is. So, while talking he decided to climb into bed and pull the covers over his head.

When I first found this picture I thought about erasing it because it is a little grainy and blurry. I was taking a picture of the computer screen. But then I saw that face. My son's face. I saw the little boy that he had been. I saw my son, not as an adult, not as a soldier, but as my little boy.

He has been through a lot over this past year. Some of the things he has been through I can relate to and I know exactly how hard those things have been. But there are other things that I will never be able to relate to. He has seen things and has been to places that I will never see. He has had to endure quite a bit in his twenty-first year of life. More than I ever did at his age.

But through all of it, we have prayed for him. Prayed that his Father in heaven would look after him. We have prayed for his well-being, physically and emotionally. 

He is our son. There are no conditions put on the love that we have for him. 

Even though our children grow up, move out of our houses, go to college, have families and purchase homes of their own, they will always be our little boys and girls. 

If you have an older child get out a picture of your son or daughter. Look at it real close. Do you see that little girl or boy that they once were? I'm sure you will. They are still in there wanting nothing more than for you to love them.

Love from the Preacher and I

We Are A Team

Last week was stressful for the Preacher and I!

It all started the Friday before. I was coming down the stairs in our house, a tray in hand, not looking where I was going. I got to what I thought was my last step, but was really two steps too short, and I went head first onto the landing. Everything I had on my tray and my body went forward but my right leg and ankle didn't. It stayed on the second stair up. I felt something pull and pop in my right ankle. It turned out, after having x-rays taken, that it is not broken but badly sprained. There was 3 days in bed staying off of my ankle.

During the next week the Preacher had so many appointments, not to mention a church service where I was not there to help get things ready. There was a doctor's appointment that took 3 hours out of his busy day. There were meetings and counseling appointments. There were calls from several people in need of food, gas money, and rent money. All of these calls were referred by our local community resource center. The Preacher has some funds available through our local ministerial association, but it always seems to be not enough. That in itself makes these calls stressful.

And if all of that wasn't enough – when would he find time to prepare two sermons? One for a funeral and one for the next Sunday's worship?

Everyday he would come home with such a look of exhaustion, stress and defeat. He knew that I couldn't help because of my injury, but he was wishing that I could take some of these burdens from him. And so was I.

I began to realize just how much of a team we are, the Preacher and I. We have worked side by side for the last 18 years. When one of us is sick or when one of us goes out of town for an extended stay, the other suffers just a little.

 I know some people say they just couldn't work with their spouse but we would not have it any other way.

Even if you are not able to work side by side, we recommend that you think of your spouse as your team mate. Some one who is there that can help you in good and bad times. Someone who can alleviate the worry or stress. Someone who you can bounce ideas off of. And someone who is there to laugh and cry with you.

Go Team!

Love from the Preacher and I

Living Intentionally

For the next several weeks the Preacher will be doing a sermon series on setting goals for 2017. Goals that will pertain to all areas of your life, from spiritual goals to family goals.

The week before January 1, the Preacher was studying for this new series and we were talking about our goals. Our personal goals. Neither one of us are very good at New Year's resolutions. Honestly, we don't even make them.

But this seemed to be different. Setting a goal to live your life intentionally by knowing who you want to be, how to contribute, and choosing to touch the lives of your family, friends, and your church.

We also discussed selecting a word for the year. I'm sure you have seen on social media people discussing what word that reflects the life they want to live in this new year. The Preacher has not selected his word, but I have decided to choose the word 'Creative'. To live creatively.

2016 was not my year for creativity. I felt stifled by family issues and the worries that came with having a son in a dangerous, far away place. (A mother does worry, no matter how much faith she may have.)

My first goal was to put together all of the books that I have purchased but have not read. I decided that this would be the first step. To get back into reading. I love reading and I believe that through books your creative mind can grow. 
(The books that are in the picture above are just a few. I have three magazines from Stampington & Company that I just purchased last month. I also have several books in my wish list on Amazon!)

My next goal is to get into my scrap/craft room and clean it out, purge all of the things that I don't need any longer. Then I would like to put a fresh, colorful coat of paint on the walls.

I need to live more intentionally and as the months progress through this new year I will begin to add more goals. I thought this was a good place to start though. For the Preacher and I – well we need baby steps.

Love from the Preacher and I 

Who Are the Extra-Ordinary People?

Uncle Larry

This past week the social media, as well as the television news channels, have put together montages of all the celebrities that have passed away this past year. People make comments about how sad it is to lose so many talented people in one year. They might also make comments about how good or inspiring this or that person was, although they may not know who that person was in the everyday. They are only speculating about their goodness or inspiration through some movie they starred in or a song that inspired and influenced them.

Usually I don't pay that much attention to all the celebrity hype. I don't follow movie/television stars or singers. It doesn't matter to me who they date or what they may be saying about the political process.

However, I think that maybe it shocks people to think that this person they have admired for so long, this person who has played a certain inspiring role on the big screen, this person who has sung the most beautiful love song, this person has died. How can that be?

Then I began to think about those whom the Preacher and I have lost within this past year. The Preacher lost his little sister and just this week I lost my uncle, my mother's little brother. Where is the montages of their lives? Why are their deaths not announced on the television news?

It is because they were just ordinary people. The little people. The people who live in fly-over country. That's what the media might say. But in our hearts, they were extra-ordinary. Their lives were not little and they lived here with us in this beautiful fly-over country. They were good people, they did things in their lives that inspired others. Maybe they didn't inspire the whole nation but they inspired their families.   

My uncle was a kind-hearted person. He was only 10 years older than me. My grandparents waited 10 years between their first two children and their last two children. He was funny and he had a great smile. I remember him so well. My brother and I used to stay all night with my uncle and aunt - we enjoyed being with them so much.

Unfortunately, the Preacher and I were not able to go back to Indiana to attend either one of our family member's funerals, but that doesn't mean that the loss is any less. We both have shed tears for those who we consider the bright stars in our families.

Death does come. It will come for us all. It doesn't matter who or what you have done or are doing in your lives. It doesn't matter where you live or how much money you make. What we can know is that through Christ there is a beautiful life after this one. It says in Revelation 21:4, "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Our loved ones went on to be with the Lord this year and we know that they both are in pain no more.

So, when we look back upon this year and remember the celebrities who have passed on, don't forget that there may have been even bigger stars in our families that we have lost, and maybe we should be celebrating their lives during this last week of 2016.

Love from the Preacher and I

Are You a Christian Grinch or Do You Celebrate With Christmas Pigs?

In November of this year, the Preacher and I went to Lowe’s Hardware store to look for some items we needed for the house. We walked through their Christmas section where we discovered all kinds of lights, wreaths, trees, all the things you would normally see displayed at this time of year. But the one decoration that made me laugh was the blow-up Hawaiian snowman with a lei around his neck. I pointed the snowman out to the Preacher and we decided that if we were still living in Florida we would definitely have to have that in our yard. And then I began to think just how silly this sort of thing is, putting blow-up snowmen in your yard. The judgmental part of me was coming out.

At the beginning of December, I was driving out of our housing division, when I came across our neighbor’s Christmas-decorated yard. I looked at the two animal-like creatures and wondered to myself, “Are those pigs or dogs?” I wasn’t sure, but upon closer look they were pigs! I immediately thought that they were so silly. What do pigs have to do with Christmas!? I caught myself becoming a little judgmental again.

What I was really thinking was “Don’t these people know that Jesus is the reason for this holiday?” Then I suddenly realized I was being a Christian Grinch.

I began to look around our little town. I saw all the decorations that are placed in yards, in the front of businesses, in our public park, and I realized something – Me being judgmental, and maybe a little angry, doesn’t further His Kingdom at all!

I decided to take a fresh look at the Christmas season. We need to look at how Jesus is in this season, whether people know it or not.

Take a look around you. You can see Jesus every where in this season. Many think that the candy cane represents Jesus’ purity, His blood on the cross and the shape represents a Shepherd. Also, many believe that the cutting of the Christmas tree was a symbolism of His death and resurrection. Then there is Santa Claus, Old Saint Nick. Originally, he was a monk who sold everything he had and gave to the poor. He became known as the protector of children. Through this symbolism comes the tradition of giving presents to family and friends.

Why do we need to be irritated when someone says Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas? We usually don’t know that person well enough to judge them on the reason that they have chosen to not say Merry Christmas.

In our irritation over the world not recognizing that this is the season we celebrate Jesus’ birth, we are not showing Christian love. All we are showing is our piousness and legalism.

Celebrate this season. Celebrate it with His love. Celebrate the look on children’s faces when they see a lighted Christmas tree and a house all lit up with blow-up Santa’s and snowmen. Celebrate a child’s wonder when his mom or dad places him on the lap of a Santa Claus. Celebrate the light and the joy that the Christmas season brings to the cold winter days.

And don’t forget to celebrate the Christmas pigs!

Love and Merry Christmas from the Preacher and I

Pumpkin Dump Cake Recipe

Last week we invited some friends over for an early Christmas dinner. We knew they would be leaving soon to visit family in Florida, so we wanted to have them over to exchange gifts and to wish them a Merry Christmas.

For Christmas, our son had ordered a set of Le Creuset dishes and pans for the Preacher. We had received the pans just the week before so the Preacher wanted to make something in the casserole dish that came with the set. 

After we made plans with our friends, the Preacher and I began to put together our menu. He wanted to bake a ham with potatoes and carrots. I wanted to make a dessert using the mini cocotte dishes from the set of Le Creuset. Of course, I went to Pinterest to find a recipe.

I found a recipe for a pumpkin dump cake. I love dump cakes. They are so easy to put together. I have been making them for my family through out the years because, besides chocolate chip cookies, they are my son's favorite dessert. So when I came across this recipe I knew I had to make it for our friends.

I thought I would share it here with you. If you are having friends and family over for the holidays, this is an easy quick recipe that I'm sure they will love.

In the original recipe she adds pumpkin spice, but the Preacher does not like pumpkin spice, so I left it out. I also made individual desserts in the mini cocotte dishes, so instead of using a 9 x 13 pan, I used the 4 individual dishes and then finished the rest of the mixture in an 8 x 8 pan. I will list the ingredients and instructions on how I made mine. But please click on the link above to see the original.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1 can (16 oz.) pumpkin
• 1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 c sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 c chopped walnuts (optional)
• 1 c melted butter
• whipped topping

DIRECTIONS:

• Preheat the oven to 350F. 
• Grease the bottom of a 9x13 pan (or the bottom of the size of baking pan you choose to use)
• Combine pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, and salt in a bowl, then pour into your pan. Since I was using the cocotte dishes, I used a measuring cup to pour the mixture into the individual dishes, filling them 3/4 full.

• Sprinkle the dry yellow cake mix evenly over the pumpkin mixture. 
• Sprinkle the walnuts over the cake mix. 
• Drizzle the melted butter evenly over everything. (I just cut the butter into pats of butter and laid them right on top of the cake mix and the walnuts.)

• Bake your pumpkin dump cake for 55 minutes  until the top is turning golden brown(if you are baking in individual pans you might want to check on them in about 40 minutes) . Let cool and serve with whipped topping. (We used the heavy cream to make our own whipped topping.)

The dump cake turned out so sweet and moist and crunchy on top. I hope you, your family and friends enjoy the recipe! Let me know how you liked it.

Love from the Preacher and I 

My Father Is A Preacher

While the Preacher and I were rummaging through boxes of our son's old school files, we came across a paper that he had written for Language Arts in the ninth grade. I thought I would share it with you today.

My father is a Preacher but teaching on Sunday's is not his only task. Being a Preacher is only the title that opens the door for multiple ways to help others and telling them of the word of God.

1. My father as a Preacher

A. Presentation for a sermon: My father spends many hours preparing his sermon referring many times to commentaries and bible verses.B. Baptism: As the Preacher, my father is responsible for baptizing the people of the church. 

II. My father as an Elder 

A. Leading the church: My father must lead the church as an Elder by making financial and schedule based decisions.B. Preparing devotions: As an Elder, my father must also lead devotions and small groups. 

 III. My father as a counselor

A. Talking with people: As a preacher, my father must not just preach to the people but also counsel them in their faith and other things. B.   Praying for people: As a counselor and preacher, my father has to be someone who people can go to for prayer.

As a Preacher, my father has a plethora of tasks and positions to enact, but as a Preacher he has accepted that all of these are the will of God and that as a Preacher, it is his job to surrender his heart and life to these tasks.

While reading this paper, I had just a little tear in my eye because as a young man, I think he understood the role of his father, the Preacher.

Love from the Preacher and I

Who Will Counsel the Counselor?

The Preacher has a small office in a building just a block from his church office. This little office is located in a large building that has various business offices, a hair salon, a dance studio and conference rooms. It is tucked away in a corner just as you enter. On the Directory it is listed as 1205 - Christ-Centered Counseling. Inside is a sofa, a leather chair and a very small desk. It is small but cozy. 

The Preacher has tried to make it a welcoming place for people who need some counsel. And even if the main building doors are locked in the evening, his office will be opened at all hours when someone calls.

The Preacher works with people who need just a little help with some decisions. Those who need help with family troubles. Those who are trying to get over the loss of a loved one. Those who are so down that they need to know their life matters. 

In that tiny office he has witnessed laughter, sadness, confusion, tears, enlightenment and despair. He has seen and been through it all with people who he truly cares for. 

Sometimes the only people who are in that counseling office is the Preacher and I. Often the Preacher will use that office for a quiet place to read and study. So when I know he doesn't have any counseling scheduled, I will drop in on him just to see how he is doing and maybe to discuss the days plans. We never speak of the people that he sees in this little office. The words that are spoken in that office with the Preacher stays between them and him.

Sometimes the Preacher needs a shoulder to cry on too. He is not immune to this life's struggles, just like all those he helps. So I sit and listen. I listen to his sorrows. To his worries. To his what-ifs. I listen to his why's. I listen to his dreams and hopes. We cry together and we laugh together. And we pray together. The counselor needs to be heard too. When these times come I will always be here for him.

Love from the Preacher and I

Thankful

"We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if not with thanksgiving? Thanksgiving is the evidence of our acceptance of whatever He gives. Thanksgiving is the manifestation of our Yes! to His grace."                                                                                                Ann Voskamp

"In everything give thanks, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."                                                 I Thessalonians 5:18 NASB

 

DIY Chalkboard Lettering

The Preacher and I were sitting, watching TV one evening. Well he was watching TV and I was scrolling through Pinterest. I came across a Pin (click here to see the pin) that I thought was very interesting, so I clicked on the Visit button to see what it was all about. It was titled DIY Perfect Chalkboard Lettering. On the site (click here to visit the site) she had a video of how to transfer lettering to a chalkboard.

I wanted to try out this new technique, but I had to think of something to write on a chalkboard. Then it came to me. Our church is in the beginning stages of a new building project and the committee had used Ephesians 2:21-22 for their scripture. Also, they are using one of the walls at the church to display pictures and things of interest. I knew that I could hang the final product on that wall.

I thought I would share with you how I did it. First, I decided to paint an old canvas that I had, with chalkboard paint. You can get the paint at any hardware store.

I typed out the scripture verse that I wanted on my computer and picked out the different fonts and enlarged it as I thought would be best for the canvas. I then printed them out onto regular copy paper.

Second, you cut out your words and fit them onto your canvas (you can do this on a piece of wood also) to make sure that everything fits.

In the above picture I had placed each word down with a piece of tape.

After you have your words exactly where you would like them, take each one off one at a time. Turn the paper over and with a piece of white chalk rub the back of the paper making sure to get it over all of the lettering.

When you have the paper completely rubbed down with chalk, place it back onto your canvas/board taping each one down so that they won't move around on you during the next step.

Next take a pencil or pen and outline all of the letters. This will transfer the lettering onto the black chalkboard.

After you have all of your lettering transferred take off all of the papers and go over all of the lettering with a chalk marker.  

I found my markers at Michaels

After you have gone over all of the lettering with your marker you can take a soft, dry cloth and rub off any of the excess chalk.

 And then you are done! And here is the finished product on the wall at our church.

If I have completely confused you, please email me with any questions you might have or click on the above link to see the original site where I found this technique.

Love from the Preacher and I