Inspired by . . . blogs that inspire

 

That’s a bad title. It should read, “people that inspire,” because it’s not the blog, it’s the people behind the blog.

It’s YOU.

Writing it. Photographing it. Cooking it. Making it. Whatever it is YOU’re doing  or sharing – YOU inspire me!

 

 

Neither of us has enough time today to sit here and read about all the different blogs out there that inspire me. Sad fact is, I don’t get to read all of the great stuff you’re putting out there every week. But I do my best to make the rounds to see how y’all are doing, what you’ve been up to, etc. I always try to leave my calling {comment} card. But sometimes you overwhelm me, or I’m just overwhelmed, and the words won’t come right then. So, rather than say something inane, I move on, knowing that I’ll be back to visit you again soon.

I have been thinking about doing a post like this for awhile now. So when I learned of a new linky party called #TheLoft and saw their prompt for this week, ‘blogs that inspire’, I knew it was time to get started. I say ‘get started’ because I would love to do a post like this each week. {Similar to Beth’s Friday Randomness}  But I know my life me, and committing to a weekly post right now would just be setting myself up for failure. So I’m going to set a goal of once a month, and get started right now!

 

Without further ado and in no particular order, here are {some of} the blogs that are inspiring me this month:

 

Louisiana Bell – If you haven’t met Gail and experienced the unique beauty of her photography you are really missing out on something special! Gail is my lunch buddy. I look forward to my mid-day break from the craziness to visit her blog each day. Gail’s amazing photographs give my mind a few moments of peace, rest, and wonder of God’s creation. She is my daily JOY-break!

 

HeARTworks – Patsy’s art, scripture references and prayerful thoughts never cease to inspire me. She is a true encourager with a heart for God and His people.

 

Just Following Jesus – Elizabeth’s blog speaks peace and JOY to me every time I visit. She shares thoughtful, encouraging words blended with her beautiful images. I especially enjoy her still life images. Always a pleasure visiting Elizabeth!

 

The Wellspring – As the name implies, Laura’s blog is a deep drink of water. Sadly, I don’t always have the time to savor it as I should. Laura’s words will open some of those dry, cracked places in your spirit. Her prose will water them and give them life again. Take the time to savor. . . .

 

Simply Beth – First of all, there is nothing simple about Beth. I love her honesty and transparency in her walk with Jesus. She’s in the trenches every day doing the hard work, and sharing it with us. I love her for it. And next month I’m going to be right there {in spirit} beside her shouting, and crying, and cheering when her best friend finally comes home.

 

Okay, I need to stop sharing before you stop reading. I’m honored to share these five inspiring women with you. I hope you’ll pay them a visit, and leave your calling card. These five blogs are just the tip of the iceberg. There are so many of YOU out there who inspire me. I’ll hope you’ll come back next month on the 2nd Sunday, for more blogs that inspire.

 

Have a wonder-filled day,

 

 

Sharing inspiration here:

Inspired by... serendipity

 

Welcome to another...

 

Greetings! Thanks for stopping by to preview the unexpected and wonderful things found this past week!

 

Book Review

 

My new friend, Holly, over at Simply Life Photographs, blessed me with her sweet review of No Tomorrow! Holly is a talented photographer whom I met through our mutual participation in Scripture & a Snapshot. I guarantee a perusal of her galleries will make you smile. And if you're in Texas and need a great photographer, I know she'd love to hear from you!

 

Blog Train

Check out Krista's contribution to the DigiShopTalk December blog train! Love those blues! Click on the image above to download this fabulous mini kit for free!

 

Support

I've been working my tail off for the past two months to get ready for the annual Christmas Craft Show & Rummage Sale held in the town where I live. It was a great opportunity to showcase The Books and a variety of crafts. A BIG thank you to mom for getting up at 5am and sacrificing her entire Saturday to help me. And I so appreciate all my friends who came out to support me in my first event of this kind. I feel the love and am so thankful for ALL of you!

 

So, what serendipitous finds did you have this week?

 

Blessings,

Inspired by... serendipity

 

Welcome to...

Happy Sunday, everyone! I'm excited to share with you a few unexpected and wonderful things I found this past week! And this week is extra serendipitous because everything I found, you've now found too!

 

{Free} Inspiration

 

I was blessed to be on Twitter the other day when The Graphics Fairy "tweeted" about this little gem! Tons of great inspiration inside! And the best part is you can read it online for free! You'll probably recognize at least one of the contributors... Kellie Tate from Nest of Posies! (I'll be featuring one of her projects soon on an upcoming Inspired Noel!) The picture above is linked, so click on over for some great holiday inspiration!

 

{Free} Holiday Textures

 

Bonnie over at Pixel Dust Photo Art is offering her followers this beautiful set of holiday textures. Wouldn't they make lovely backgrounds for your personal Christmas cards, just as they are? I think they're lovely. Clicking on the image above will take you to Bonnie's blog and download link. Don't forget to thank the giver!

 

{Free} Advice

 

Shannon over at MadiganMade has shared some wonderful, helpful advice for those of you who may have your own blogs and are using Blogger. (click on her HTM button above to read more) I make a point to read every post I see about blogging tips. I have learned SO MUCH! Someday I'll know enough to write one of my own blogging tips posts. [smile]

 

I hope reading this post has been serendipitous for you!

 

Oh, and my little Rufus hummingbird was back yesterday! I can't believe he is still here this late in November. This is the latest I have ever seen a hummingbird. I may just have to leave my feeder up all winter!

 

Blessings,

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... serendipity

 

Welcome to another...better late than never...

 

New to Serendipity Sunday? 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!

I apologize for being late with today's post. I wanted to post at least one picture from the book signing event last night and had to get them from my mom after church today. But before I get to that, I have a couple of truly serendipitous finds to share with you.

 

50th Google Follower!

A BIG thank you and shout out to Holly who blogs over at Simply Life Photographs! Not only was she my 50th Google follower, but she is a sweet, fellow-Texan and I'm thrilled to have made a new friend! Thanks, Holly!

 

Free Subway Art

Janet over at Today's Fabulous Finds has done it again! Click on over and check out all her Thanksgiving Subway Art options! Two different designs and lot's of color choices! Great job, Janet!

 

A New Experience

Okay, technically, this was not serendipitous. I had two weeks to stress over not think about this event (not unexpected) and it was, well, awful (not wonderful), but since I talked about it here the last two weeks I felt this was the best place to give you the wrap up.

I guess I should clarify that it wasn't the event that was awful. And the experience was an important one for me to have had.  It's more about the fact that my stomach, nerve endings and vocal chords have a way of high jacking my brain and having their own personal earthquake whenever I have to speak in front of more than one three people. My blood-pressure plummets to my toes and, well, you get the idea... awful.

 

Me talking to the one person that did buy a book, for which I am grateful!

I realize that may be way more than you wanted to know about me, but there was no way I could write a post about how wonderful this event was when I felt like throwing up the entire time. (You can sort of see the pale, deer-in-the-headlights look I was sporting in the pic above) I do, however, appreciate the opportunity to promote The Books and I had a wonderful group of supporters and people praying for me (maybe some of you?) and that made all the difference.

 

The roses my "agent" bought for my display table. These did qualify as serendipitous!

 

Kudos to the Bulverde Spring Branch Library. They really did a wonderful job of promoting this event. And to Shawnna Poor for her coordination efforts. Unfortunately, the event was a prelude to their Star Gazing event and the clouds rolled in like a blanket around 3pm, so there weren't very many who showed up.

So, today is Sunday. A new day. The event is behind me and I got an extra hour of sleep before church this morning (thank you Daylight Savings Time). Life is good!

 

What makes your palms sweat?

 

Blessings,

Inspired by... serendipity

 

Welcome to another...

 

New to Serendipity Sunday? 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!

This week was chaotic! To say the least. You may have gathered that from my last post. I'm a home-body and this week I had something going on, or something I had to do every night. I dislike weeks like that because I feel like I.never.stop!

It also leaves very little time to take notice of the unexpected and wonderful things happening around me! I do have a couple of things to share with you though...

 

Update on Library Event

One of my fellow local authors put together a flyer for the upcoming Library event I told you about last week.

 

Bulverde Spring Branch Library Welcomes
The Hill Country Author Event
Held at the Bulverde Spring Branch Library on
November 5, 2011 from 5-6 pm
Visit www.bsblibrary.org for more information

 

If you're in the area, I'd love to meet you!  Here is my portion of the flyer:

 

 

 

Pixel Dust

 

If you've been following along for very long, you'll know that I enjoy playing with textures! I was browsing and commenting on a few link parties earlier in the week and found Bonnie's blog, Pixel Dust Photo Art. Bonnie creates the most amazing, stunningly beautiful textures! She has many free textures available on her blog as well as individual textures and texture sets you can purchase. I can't wait to start playing! Thank you, Bonnie, for your generosity in sharing your creations!

So, I guess if you love playing with textures like I do, this is a serendipitous moment for you, too!

 

What other serendipitous finds did you have this week?

 

Blessings,

Inspired by... serendipity

 

Welcome to another...

 

New to Serendipity Sunday? 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!

Fun, right? Let's get started!

 

A Share of the Crop

I had tried finding a local CSA Farm several months ago and was astounded that they were already full! Apparently the practice of buying from local farmers has become so popular you need to sign up early to secure your share! This week, to my delight, my friend K offered to let me (twist my arm ~ha!) buy her "share of the crop" for the next three weeks! (she's going to be too busy... or something... to eat all the yummy goodness) The picture above is (part of) this weeks share! Oh, my! That eggplant (on the left) was melt.in.your.mouth delicious! Thanks, K!

 

An Agent

A friend of mine has offered to help promote The Books!  If any of you are in the San Antonio area, I'll be participating in a book event for local authors at the Bulverde Library the evening of November 5th. If you're traveling up (or down) 281 that day, swing on in, I'd love to meet you! (more details to follow)

 

A Beautiful Testimony

 

I was touched and inspired by the story Dana at Make Them Wonder shared with us last week. If you haven't read it, I encourage you to click on over and be inspired!

 

A Serendipity for You!

When I saw this tip over at Ask Anna, I just knew I had to share it with y'all!  Her solution was definitely a "duh!" moment for me! 

 

So, what serendipitous finds did you have this week?

 

Blessings,

 

If you've been featured on Serendipity Sunday, please...

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Inspired by... serendipity

 

Welcome to another...

 

Where I share the unexpected and wonderful things from the past week!

 

Featured

                                                    

I was so surprised (and honored!) to be featured twice last week! Thanks to Allison at HOH for featuring my Kusudama Wreath and Michelle at Faith, Trust and Pixie Dust for featuring my T.A.C.O. Sandwich.

 

Peace

This picture may not look like much to you, but it brings me peace. This is the view from my back porch at the end of the day as the sun is beginning to set. After a very long week, I actually found 30 minutes to just sit and BE.

 

I wasn't alone. My baby kitty needed a break too. It's hard turning one year old!

 

Gratitude

While I was savoring a nice warm shower  the other day (again, it was a very long week) it occurred to me that nearly 2/3rds of the world does not enjoy such a luxury. I was overcome with thankfulness. And prayed that God would give me a grateful heart.

 

For You

 

I have a bit of serendipity for you this week. My friend, Jenn of Dancing Princess Designs is sponsoring a giveaway in honor of her friend, Melanie's, four year blog anniversary. You can win a $10 gift certificate to Jenn's store at Go Digital. Melanie is also giving away other fun prizes, like Amazon gift certificates! And it is super easy to enter! Click over to the Dancing Princess blog for more information. I hope you win!

 

So what serendipitous finds did you have this week?

 

Blessings,

 

Inspired by... serendipity

 

Welcome to another...

Where I share the unexpected and wonderful things from the past week.

 

Have you heard about The Nester's 31 day challenge?

 

Wow! Over 700 bloggers have linked up to share 31 days of posts on a topic of their choice. Here are just a few examples:

31 days to...

...change the world; photo tips; get it together; free printable; emerging from the chaos; parenting teens & tweens; mentoring training; a better ordinary, organized home; living with purpose; joy; intentional living; autumn goodness; joyful parenting; good reads; waiting; abiding; prayer; motherhood; cleaning routine; faith; homeschooling... again, wow! I scanned through all 746 topics and did not spot one repeat! There is something here for everyone and every topic!

Click HERE to go to all the great links!

 

Instant Craft Stash!

 

When my mom moved to Texas a year ago she brought with her two generations of miscellaneous craft supplies.  Seriously, you have no idea. We must have sorted through twenty boxes last Saturday and probably could have kept going for another two hours! The good news is, mom's sharing her 60+ year old stash with me!

 

 

There is a lot of ribbon and beads, sequins, etc. the usual stuff you would expect to find. But we also found some great wooden spools, old lace and these quilt squares:

 

I've never done any quilting, but my friend, M.E. is a pro and making these into a lap quilt would be a good beginner project...

...or maybe a pillow? What do you think?

I'll be sharing more from my new "stash" over the next weeks as I complete some planned Christmas crafts.

 

What serendipitous finds did you have this week?

 

Blessings,