I will not Doubt

Have you had moments when you wonder what and how everything in your life is working towards??

I have had some moments in the last year wondering how my life is working towards achieving everything God has planned for me. And then after a service at church last week I realized that those moments I’m doubting how God is working in my life. I’m doubting that God is turning the things that I am coming up against to shape my story for him.

God is in Control, I will not doubt.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight.

Trusting God and his plan and the fact that he’s in control is a step out in faith. Not everything in our lives is God’s perfect plan; we have free will. But if we allow him, he can turn the things that we happen upon in life to his plan and use it for good. We will have a straight path, but that doesn’t mean that there won’t be some hills in there. But we can know that he has ordered our steps before we take them and he will guide us up the hills.

Do you remember Job. Everything that could have been bad happened to him. But what did he say. Job 1:21 – the Lord gives and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised. (NIV) He trusted God so much that even after everything he went through he still trusted God and praised him for his mercies. All I can say to that is WOW. Trusting God, praising God with everything that happened. I want to me more like Job every day.  

So I've stopped doubting. I stopped wondering why something happen. Instead I trust that God is in control of what is going on. That he will use all things for His good. 

I will not Doubt. 

It's a Great Day

I’m so excited today! The last week I have been so so excited. This past week I have been working on a blog makeover for one of my best friends. And it’s finally up and ready for everyone to see.

Please pop over to Jennifer’s blog and see all the changes! And you can also win a blog makeover from me. 

I’ll be updating the site this week to reflect the changes to blog design as well as a bunch more options – until then I have taken the info down so it’s not confusing. I’ll be sure to let you know once it’s all back up.

Also pop back tomorrow for a new printable.

Quiet

I have been a bit quiet lately. I’m keeping my commitment to myself to blog about quality and not quantity.

There seems to be a big push in the blogging community to get back to our roots in blogging. To stop blogging for the numbers and return to blogging for us. I have in the past been all about the numbers, but I gave up on that a while ago. I’m so glad I took a break and got back to me so I can get back to writing for me, and sharing it with you.

We’ve had a few busy weeks lately, and the last week has been exceptionally busy and tiring for me too. I have been working on a few different blog designs as well as some new prints. And I have a giveaway next week on Jennifer’s blog.

I have a few posts that I’m working on. Last week at church we had an amazing sermon, one that I totally needed to hear. I’m can’t wait to tell you all about how God’s been working that in me this past week. The peace I feel is so amazing right now, and I never thought I would feel this about peace about things.

I did write a bit over with Mrs Pate and at Sarah’s blog – you can check out my posts here and here.

Have a great weekend! I can’t wait to hear about it.

Friends

Recently we left the church that had been our home for years, my home for almost 28 years. When we left we left all our friends behind; we the people we thought were our friends. There’s only one couple that we still connect with. This is part of the reason my heart needs a lot of healing these days.

But one thing this experience has done for me is made me so so thankful for the real friends that I have in my life. And the new friendships that have emerged.

And today I’m so so so thankful for one person in particular and thankful for today. Today is Jennifer from Finding My Way in Texas Birthday! 29 years ago the world was forever changed when Jennifer entered it. At least my world. 

Jennifer is celebrating her birthday with a big giveaway and she’s giving everyone 50% off everything in her shop as well!!

Go check it all out!!

Be Still and Know

When I was in my 20s I had to go through a few jaw surgeries. The first was by far the easiest. Just day surgery that turned into one night at the hospital and pain meds and super soft food for a month or so.  The second one not so much. I was in the hospital for a few nights (1 in the ICU and 3 on the ward I think) and my jaw was wired shut for about 8 weeks.

The hardest part was the morning of the surgery. I knew this surgery was more involved ad I knew the pain would be a lot worse and recovery would be hard too. It was the mental part that was hardest on me. The summer before I had no idea what I was getting into; this summer I knew all to well.

So I turned to my worship songs and this one was my theme for that morning and the rest of my recovery.

Since that time I’ve found rest in this song

When the oceans rise and thunders roll

I will soar with you above the storm

Father you are King over the flood

I will be still and know you are God.

Right now I’m facing one of those waits that you never know when they’ll end.

My father is waiting for a new set of lungs. While we were away on vacation earlier this summer my dad was hospitalized and ended up being bumped up the list. That news is both good and bad. Great that he may get his lungs sooner, but it also means he’s not getting better and he couldn’t’ rebound after his hospital visit. Every time I see him I wonder if it’s our last coffee chat or his last snuggle with Gray. When those thoughts pop into my head I have to remember that God is in control and trust in his perfect timing. I have to remember that God knows the numbers of days my dad will have just as he knows the number of hairs on his head.

There will come a day when I’m standing in a hospital waiting room waiting to hear about my dad. Thinking of that moment scares me, but when I still my thoughts and focus on him, my fear melts away and I have peace.

So no I have this printed in my planner, and as the wallpaper on my phone. And you can too. Down load the pdf – or you can email me for the hires jpeg copy too.

Be Still and Know

I'm linking up with Tiffany over at Mrs Pate Writes and Tori from Easoms.com for Worship Wednesday. I know I don't link up with things often but This one is great. I love everyone's journey with different worship songs.

Passion: I've lost mine

I came to the realization this week that over the last few months I have let other people steal my passion.

When I decided to start doing blog design and prints I knew that I would be a small fish in a huge pond full of other little and big fish. What I didn’t expect was that some of those other fish would come at me, that they would tell me in one breath that all creativity comes from God, but in the next telling me I was stealing food off their tables.

With all this negative talk I retreated and tried really hard not to step on anyone’s toes. Afraid that by saying or doing anything I would offend them. But by doing this I realized that I was hiding the words God had given me, and the vision he gave me.

So today I’m taking my passion back. I’m taking my passion for design and my passion for getting his words out there. I’m not going to let other’s get me down.

So from now on expect to see lots of new designs and free printables. I’m excited to see what we comes out of this. 

Exciting News - and some technical difficulties

So Friday morning I started to record a vlog for you guys. And then I went to play it back before uploading it to youtube, and goodness it decided that I should sound a bit like a man and the audio didn’t match the video at all. And then with all the compute issues we’ve been having every other time I tried it didn’t work either.And now it's Monday and I'm finally sitting at a working computer- Thanks to my amazing Hubby - and I can finally get back to what I love. 

Since my vlog wouldn't work I thought I would just show you pictures of my vlog and tell you what I was going to say.

So I started out saying how much I have missed you all, but how great our few weeks away was. How much I love reading all your comments and that I have something up my sleeve for all you commenters and I’ll tell you about it real soon.

Then I started to tell you all about something I was planning on doing in the new year, but after so many amazing women telling me I should do it without even knowing I was planning it, I decided to do it now. If you’re on instagram or twitter you may have gotten a sneak peek.

I told you the heart behind it, and how much it’s blessed me. And then I showed you what I was talking about.

Our new JOURNAL!!!! With all 10 of our original mini prints in it.

A great new blogging friend of mine, Tiffany, commented one day to me when we were chatting that because my prints are meant to be written all over, I should put them in a journal, so that when you come to a print you can write all over it.

And then I showed you three of my favorite prints in the journal. 

For such a time as this: If you read my post over on Virginia’s blog you would know a bit of the story, but this print is the beginning. This print came in a time when I needed it most, when my world seemed to be falling apart. But now I can focus on what I was created for. I was created for such a time as this. 

Jesus loves me this I know: Old Sunday school day, but oh so true. If I know that Jesus loves me no matter what, I can make it through a rough day. Knowing that no matter how I feel about myself that day Jesus loves me just the way I am.

Through Christ I am: I love what Jennifer did with this print. She has written all over it! She wrote everything that she is through Christ. “More than a conqueror; forgiven; bought by his blood; chosen; alive.”

And then I went onto tell you that the journal is now in the shop! And there’s a special pre-order price. Journals will begin production September 4^th, after the Labour Day long weekend. So currently they are listed in the shop for $20.00 USD, after Labour Day the price will go up to $24.00.The price is already reflected in the shop so no discount code is needed.

Details about the journal: all material in the journal is printed at a professional printing company; the covers are heavy silk coated stock. There are 100 note pages, and the remaining 9 prints are set throughout the journal. It is spiral bound with black binding.

So pop over to the shop and pre-order your journal. I would love to be able to send you a journal.