"A Life So Full It Seems Empty"

I read this passage today from the book I started awhile back, One Thousand Gifts . It really struck me, I can completely relate to what the author, Ann Voskamp is saying. A life so full it seems...empty. Monatonous. Predictable. Busy. Routine.

I think as a mother, my life tends to be pretty much on "auto pilot". It starts and ends the same pretty much every day. The fullness of each day is lost on me, because I tend to just go through the motions as a Mom so much of the time. Feed. Bathe. Instruct. Clean. Organize. Cook. I tick off the things I do every day in my head, my mental list of what I accomplish in a day. Since I think it's so "no brainer", I don't put much thought into it.

However, my life, it is so full.

My life is so abundant.

My gifts from God are lavishly given, I lose track of them.

My blessings are so many, they meld together and take a shape I don't choose to recognize.

My cup overflows so much that I don't realize it's past capacity and I see what can't be contained as opposed to the full reservoir I already have been blessed with.

My God loves me so much. He will provide. More. Abundantly. Every. Single. Day.

What I have is exactly what I need. He will give me just what I need. When I don't focus on what I don't have, and instead focus on what I already have, I will see what I already have been given. It's enough. It's a gift, given with purpose. Given from my God. Given. Not earned. A gift.

Sharing my thoughts today at Blessed Little Nest. Go check out her blog, it's worth the click!

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Fun With Fabric

A friend of mine recently had her first baby. The theme of her daughter's nursery is Dick and Jane. I love me some Dick and Jane, the girl has good taste. So I decided to make her a gift that she could use for nursery decor and had a function too. Enter this memo/photo board and barette holder.

I took an 11x14 frame that I bought on clearance at Jo-Jo's (Joann's), and used it for the photo board. Lots of cork, fabric, ribbon and hot glue threw togther made the above result.

For a cute little tie in for her daughter, I used pink buttons.

I also used some flat glass marbles to make a few matching push pins.

The barette holder above is the same fabric stretched over an old canvas, then adorned with ribbon and buttons.

Easy to clip barettes directly to the ribbons for fun and functional storage. No digging around in a box, drawer, bowl, etc.

I love the vintage feel to both projects. I am a sucker for all things vintage right now. I really am.

So, are you dying to know how to make your own? Click on the vintage "You Tube" TV on the right sidebar and you'll be directed to my You Tube channel. I have video tutorials for each project. There are a few (okay...maybe more than a few) installments for each project, so make sure you watch them all. Then get to crafting something!

Please click on "Linky Parties I Love" to see where I'll be linking up my latest creations.

Thoughts on Thankfulness

I know to be "thankful in all things", but treat it more as a sweeping "thank you" than as a intimate, intentional, specific thank you for the multiple, easily overlooked and daily things that God puts in front of me each and every moment of each and every day. I can honestly say that I do have moments where I am thankful for little things, but a continual, regular state of thanksgiving for all things? No, not even close. I'm too busy nit-picking out what I am not thankful for instead of wrapping up the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly, the mundane and the glorious. I am expending WaY too much energy trying to extract out what I don't like instead of taking it for the whole, entire gift that God places before me.

For me personally I think that gratitude forces me to look at the good, the happy, the realness of something. When I'm not grateful, I am really negative for the most part and tend to pull out things that are sad, depressing, angering or frustrating to me. I then tend to dwell on those things, ruminate on how they make me feel. When I'm not grateful, I am very self-involved and selfish, and I tend to look at things through the "me" filter. How does it make me feel? How does it affect me? What can I do to change it? How can I make it go away?

By being grateful for things, and especially if I focus on the small, simple and real ways that God shows me His love for me (my kids laughter, my purring kitty wanting to sit on my lap, the unsolicited "I love you" from my hubby), how can I not be taken aback by the sheer volume of His love? If I focus on all of it, how can I not focus on any of it? If I can look at the blessings for the simplicity of what they are instead of waiting for the knock me over the side of my head "miracles", how can I not feel anything by abject love and pure devotion for my Heavenly Father? He delights in using the everyday to delight me, not just the pull out all the stops fireworks show once a year. He wants me to delight in the small of each opportunity of thankfulness, for that is a way to have open communication and communion with Him.