Inspired by . . . Day 12: JOY in Brokenness

 

 

This post is part of a 31 day series on JOY

You may access all the past days by clicking here.

 

 

 

I haven’t read Playdates with God, by Laura Boggess . . . yet. But I’m looking forward to it! and I’m enjoying her #write31days series centered around the book’s release this past Tuesday.

 

 

When I read what Laura shared over at Michelle’s place today, I knew I had to share it with all of you during these #write31days of JOY. If you haven’t already, I hope you’ll take a moment to click over and read Laura’s story: JOY in Brokenness - - You can even enter to win one of her books.

 

Thank you, Laura, for sharing your JOY with us.

 

I cannot even imagine where I would be today

were it not for that handful of friends who have given me a heart full of JOY.

Let's face it, friends make life a lot more fun. ~ Chuck Swindoll

 

Blessings,

 

#write31days

#PlaydateswithGod

#GiveMeGrace

 

Sharing inspiration here:

The Lovely Lisha

Inspired by... light

 

Were you in the path to see the solar eclipse yesterday? (Deborah over at Musings got an incredible shot!)

 

Can you imagine our world without the sun?

 

What a precious gift light is to us. One small flame can chase away the deepest darkness. Is your world dark? Listen... Morning Light, by Phil Keaggy. 

 

Kim's challenge this week was "light".  I thought these morning glories fit the bill pretty nicely.

 

Textured with Kim's "chase"

 

I love the way their trumpets fill with the morning light.

 

Textured with Kim's "epiphany"

 

"Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

 

Have a wonder-filled day,

 

 

 

 

Sharing inspiration here:

 

Inspired by... serendipity

 

Welcome to...

I am blessed to have a few new followers this week who may also be new to the concept of serendipity. So what's this all about? Every Sunday I share with you the unexpected and wonderful things I found that week! Finding unexpected and wonderful things is what serendipity is all about!

 

A Lone Flyer

I saw what I thought was the last hummingbird of the season two weeks ago, but I hadn't taken the time to take down my feeders yet. Imagine my surprise when this little fellow came to visit! I know it's a poor photo, but it's truly a blessing I even have this one to show you! The black-chinned hummers we have all summer and the Ruby-throated hummers that come through every Spring and Fall don't mind me hovering in the window. They're more concerned about keeping other hummers away from the food source! But this little guy was on his own and very timid.

As near as I can tell, he's a Rufus Hummingbird – my first sighting ever! And I can tell you, I was pretty excited about seeing him!  If you want a better look, there's lots of eye candy on Google!

 

Peace on Four Legs

I was tying Aslan out for his evening romp when this beauty stepped out of the meadow into my backyard. Our more accurately HIS backyard! He was distracted by a bunch of does and didn't notice me. He was quite close (not in this picture) and, of course, I did not have my camera!! I knew I couldn't move, and stood spellbound by his beauty and grace as he, slowly and carefully, made his way across the yard in front of me. I think deer, especially does, but even this majestic male are one of the most peaceful animals God has created.

Once he had moved far enough away I hurried inside for my camera and took these shots with my pathetic super zoom. {sigh}

 

 

A Feature!

If you're a follower of Madigan Made then you already know... Madigan Made... ME a feature!  Shannon's blog is one of the first, if not thee first blog I ever followed. I'm so excited and honored that she featured my little owl family on her blog this past Friday. Thank you, Shannon! Shannon's blog is da bomb! If you've never visited, I encourage you to click on over. I promise you'll be inspired!

 

So, what serendipitous finds did you have this week?

 

Blessings,

Inspired by... praise

 

Remember the exhilaration you used to feel on the last day of school? Your summer stretching out before you, full of fun, endless possibilities and... sleeping in nearly every morning? The freedom of having TIME to do what YOU wanted! Okay, it might be a distant memory, but still...

{sigh}

These days I get excited if I have two hours together when there's not something I should do, have to do or want to do. Many weeks end up like this one where various appointments and commitments converge creating chaos out of what you thought was going to be a normal week. Wait, maybe chaos is  my normal week? Ha, ha, well, you get the idea.

The point is, in the midst of the chaos (normal or not) it's easy to forget to be thankful. To forget to praise Him from whom all blessings flow. But somehow, when I do stop for a moment, and remember to be grateful, the chaos suddenly seems a little less chaotic.

Stopping and remembering to be grateful is something my church does, as a family of believers, every year around this time. We call it the Fall Festival of Praise and it is a time when we come together to worship, praise and thank God for the "harvest" He has produced in each of our lives over the last year. As the scripture verse in my blog header says, we acknowledge that all things come from Him.

This year I had the privilege of making the centerpieces for the tables and I'm so pleased with how they turned out.

 

They were really quite simple and inexpensive to make. I spent under $20 for ten centerpieces, so that is less that $2 a piece!  Whoo-hoo!

 

 

I used modge podge to apply the tissue paper to the clay pots, then added designs I'd cut from some scrapbooking paper I already had on hand.  Each pot is a little different. Unique.

 

 

I stuffed crumbled paper in the bottom of the pots to fill the extra space, then added the Spanish moss and nestled the pumpkins/gourds on top of the moss. I used one bag of moss for all ten pieces and even had some left over.

 

 

My friend M.E. cut the PRAISE letters out for me using her Cricut machine, which saved me a ton of time! I used burlap scraps left over from another project and my hot glue gun to glue the jute to the back of each triangle, then tied the pennants to bamboo skewers.

 

 

Of everything, the pennants took the longest to make and I had to keep reminding myself to glue them together backwards... otherwise all my centerpieces would say:  ESIARP

Which would not be good.

 

 

Aren't they darling? The mini pumpkins are my favorite.

As with (most) everything on this blog, these were a result of combined inspiration! I saw so many pumpkins nestled in vases and pots all over blog land that I couldn't possibly give credit to them all, but Kristol over at The Magic of Ordinary Things was definitely my inspiration for the pennants with her post about the reunion centerpieces she made back in August!

 

What's been inspiring you lately?

 

Blessings,

 

 

 

Sharing inspiration here:

Inspired by... yarn

 

I have some sweet little autumn yarn votives for you today.

 

These were inspired by Elisabeth and Carolyn. Both of whom shared beautiful yarn bowls on their blogs recently.

 

These were an experiment, but I'm very pleased with how they turned out. I wanted to try different patterns with the yarn.  I will definitely be making more!

 

They look nice on the table by our front door with their flickering (battery powered) votive candles.

 

Speaking of candles... I updated a couple candle displays to match the season.

 

Potpourri goes beautifully with candles. I use mine year after year. As long as it continues to look good, I don't care if it looses it's smell.

 

I had some stamping, tissue paper, modge podge fun with a repurposed pickle jar for this display.

 

You can't see it well in the picture but the potpourri pieces are green, orange and... PURPLE! I'm lovin' me some orange and purple this fall!

What about you, do you have a favorite fall/autumn color?

And displays in your home that you just update to match the season?

I'd love to know!

 

Blessings,

Sharing inspiration here:

Inspired by... pumpkins

 

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

Yes, like everyone else in blog land, I've started working on my fall decor. I don't do Halloween, but I do like to display the bounty of the harvest! And visual reminders of gratitude, thanksgiving and praise. I don't stack hay bails and sheaves of wheat on my front porch (there's an idea!) but pumpkins and gourds of every shape, color and size usually make an appearance.

 

I don't know the original source for this picture. (I pretty much love everything about it!) I found it on Debra's blog, Common Ground. It was her inspiration for last year's fall display. Figures, I'm usually about a year late on everything [smile]. If you like vintage, she has some fun stuff going on for Fall, I encourage you to check out her blog.

Anyway, back to pumpkins!

I decided to start on the inside this year and since I've been on a bit of a sewing kick, I was tickled when I found a pattern for...

Amy, at the Idea Room posted this tutorial a couple of years ago. Which was based on Holly's version from the year before! (At least I'm consistent in my late-ness!)

I was happy with the way these turned out and really, really love the fabric. But then I saw Martha's pumpkins – and really got excited!!

Although I am (really) trying to think more outside the box, I am a purist at heart and these, well, they LOOK more like pumpkins! Plus, I'm partial to purple and fun colors like that! Hey, if Martha can make a purple pumpkin...

Seriously, is there a color that purple doesn't complement? I think I'll have a little orange with my purple this year!

What's your favorite fall color?

 

Blessings,

 

 

 

Sharing inspiration here: