Monday, October 25, 2010

Delicious sweets, kind words, and bluebirds...

 What do they have in common?
I love the sweet card created by Koralee...
 These are some of the wonderful things you'll see over at Bluebird Notes.
Koralee shares beautiful (and often mouth watering) photos...
along with kind words of inspiration. I love to visit and linger there.
She also has the sweetest giveaways.
  This little package arrived the other day, and in it was
a Silhouettes and More "Message in a Bottle"...
created by Jan Blough.
Thank you so much Koralee,
I love it!
I have a little collection of glass bottles and this fits just perfectly in it!
 It's on my mantel already :-)
Thank you too Jan, for your beautiful creations!
Visit Faded Charm for more wonderful White Wednesday posts. 
Blessings,
Marcia

Friday, October 22, 2010

Sewing Fun.... Vintage Friday Pretties

 Learning to sew is so much fun...
 this is the sweet little toy machine...
 I learned to sew simple stitches on when I was a child :-)
It really worked!
 For more Friday Pretties visit Joyce at I Love Pretty Little Things...
and for Vintage Inspiration visit Debra at Common Ground...
 I'll try and have my giveaway up next week.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
Blessings,
Marcia

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Boys

Boy (noun):  A noise with dirt on it ~ 
Have you seen this one before? It fits, doesn't it? 
Although the first time I read this, I thought that there should be another definition in which 
boy is a verb "an action word" because they are always in action!
They can make a fort out of skateboards 
and trashcans...
 and a race car
out of old cereal boxes and duct tape...
And give you a smile...
 That can melt your heart :-)

I realized I've reached my one year blog anniversary, 
so I'll be having a giveaway soon my friends. 
I hope you're all having a wonderful week.
Blessings,
Marcia

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Life Lessons

 Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers for my son Ryan. His hernia surgery went well, and although he's sore, he's home now and on the road to recovery :-) I appreciate all of your kind words.

The other day I told my twins a story from my youth. It's the story of a young man named George and a life lesson he taught me. They've asked me several questions since then, and I realized that you might like to hear about him too.

I first met George when I was about 14 years old. He was only a few years older than I was and he was in my youth group at church. He was also both mentally and physically handicapped. He couldn't read or write, nor could he speak very clearly. When I knew him, he was still able to walk everywhere, but his mother told me that he would one day be wheelchair bound.

Our youth group consisted of about 50 kids, and everyone of them loved George, but I believe this is because he loved each of us first. George loved everyone.

One Sunday we arrived at church to find George black and blue, swollen and cut, with his arm in a sling. He truly looked awful. We were all shocked to find out that 3 unknown bullies had jumped him and beat him up a few days earlier, just because that's what bullies sometimes do to people like George. Of course, we were all furious.

Several of the boys in our youth group, all muscular football players on a local team, said, "Show us who they are George, we'll get them."

We might not have said it, but I think we all felt the same way. Someone had hurt "our" George.  We wanted to get even.

George took it all in.

We always started our youth service with singing and then we had prayer requests, and every week George would raise his hand with the same request. He always asked for prayer for his mother and his sister.

This week was the same. As always, George raised his hand. And, as always, our leader called on him and let him ask. Only this time, George had a different request.

"I'd like to ask for prayer for the boys who beat me up. You see, I don't think they know Jesus...and I want them to know His love," he stuttered.

You could've heard a pin drop. I still get choked up when I think about it. Tears welled up in many eyes. There wasn't anything showy or prideful about George's request. It was genuine, straight from his heart. He had no idea that there was a collective sigh of guilt in the rest of us as we all realized the purity of his forgiveness in comparison to the lack of our own.

Our first and only thought had been revenge. We are all too often a "get even" people. George couldn't understand this, but he knew the best way to stop the bullying was to get to the heart of the bully.

To change their heart. Why hadn't we thought of that? Because he had forgiven them, and we hadn't. I think he forgave them even as they were beating him up. He understood forgiveness better than any of us ever did. He taught us all an important lesson that day.

I grew up, moved away and lost touch with George, but after telling my twins the story, I made a few phone calls and found out that his mom passed away and he is living with his sister in another state. I don't know if he'd even remember me, but I wish I had a photo of him to show to you, with his shock of black curly hair (probably gray now) and his crooked smile. He was always smiling. Joy radiated from him. Now that I'm thinking about it, maybe if you just imagine a special angel, you'll be able to imagine "our" George :-)

God sometimes brings special people into our lives to teach us His truths. I've never forgotten this and other life lessons I learned....by George :-)

Have a glorious Sunday!
Blessings,
Marcia

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Ephesians 4:32

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Fall Mantel

 Thank you everyone, for your sweet comments on my last post. You're all so kind :-)
I must confess that the large vase of apples wasn't mine. I took the photo at my friend Angela's house; the same Angela with the beautiful garden in the previous post. She's one talented lady! 
After a few days of cooler weather, it has warmed up here again, but I did manage to get out a few Fall items. I decorated my ever changing mantel (or mantle) to those who prefer that spelling :-)
 I looked it up for anyone who might want to know, and according to Webster, both ways of spelling it are correct, although it is the first definition of "mantel" that refers to "the stone or shelf of a fireplace", but for "mantle" it wasn't listed until definition #4. 
 Okay my friends, that's my homeschool lesson for the day :-)
An old hymn page from my great-great aunt's travels.
I also received a couple of sweet gifts in the mail from Aubrey over at White Market.
This little Queen ornament  from Aubrey is adorable!
 I'd recently done a post about her beautiful blog and all of the sweet items she makes, and she was so thoughtful and sent me these lovely gifts. 
Sweet gifts from White Market.
 Thank you so much Aubrey!
I'm joining Kathleen over at Faded Charm for her White Wednesday blog party. If you get a chance, join in the fun.
My oldest son is having surgery on Friday, so if you think of it, would you keep Ryan in your prayers?
Thanks so much...
I hope you're all having a wonderful week.
Blessings,
Marcia

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Apple Season

No, this one isn't the apple season photo :-) Just a view at my house.
 Just a quick post to say "hi" to all of you dear blogging friends. I know I haven't posted in over a week. Between homeschooling, getting ready for a yard sale, and going through fall decorations (which I'm just starting to get out)...we've been a little busy.
So sorry, I'm trying to get around and visit you all as time permits :-)
Our weather has finally turned cooler, and we're really enjoying it.
Here it is, apples galore! 
 It's apple season! I hope you're all enjoying your favorite autumn recipes. 
My daughter has already made her wonderful Pumpkin Whoopie Pies, and I'm ready for Apple Crisp.  
What's your favorite Fall food?
 Blessings,
Marcia