mission

yesterday after we stood on a bridge, over a big pond, telling the story of the healing of Naaman in the Jordan River (2 Kings 5:1-15)


we asked our sunday school 6th graders if they wanted to be missionaries


"yes" they said, their eyes filled with questions


so we got out the construction paper, crayons and markers


because anyone who tells someone about Christ...


or shows someone the love of Christ...


is a missionary


our neighbor is gravely ill and in the hospital after surgery


she took a taxi to the hospital...i only know this because she called to ask us to retrieve her mail


no family or friends...just me {a neighbor 6 houses away} who visits she and her service dog, Missy



i told the kids that her healing, unlike Naaman's, will probably be Christ coming to take her to heaven soon


the words hung in the air as hands grasped crayons and children started drawing


i thought about another neighbor who is dying too soon


"absent from the body, present with the Lord"(2 Corinthians 5:8)...but the in-between can be so hard, Lord, I thought to myself


"Dear Delores,
I hope you stay faithful with God. Please stay rejoiceful because paradise is in front of you.
love, Bryce"




"God is with you, Delores!" love, Maddy


"For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. Romans 10:10 love, Erin"


i brought the cards to Delores today and pray the children's words comfort 


pray that God's Word gives peace


i find it amazing that most of the children {who are, by the way, every bit your average pre-teens} immediately looked towards the good news of eternal life to comfort the dying


not many "get well soons"...


mostly a sense of "soon you will see the face of God!"


sometimes inspiration comes from unexpected places


and makes an ordinary classroom


in an ordinary church


holy ground

{faceless portrait}

patty's ballerina up top

my wide receiver on bottom

*

mothers don't need their child's face to know what's going on

for we become body language masters

as soon as we feel that first kick from within the womb

what a beautiful gift we mothers have been given...

the ability to see 

our 

child's 

heart

crate love

so i went to a barn sale a few weeks ago and bought something i've been wanting for a few years...

i almost bought one at an antique store a few years back for $40 but didn't

so when i saw this cHicKen cRaTe i started clucking

then i nearly fainted when the farmer said 

"ohhhhh, i dunno...10 or 20 dollars?"

music to my ears!

so i hauled this little crate {$10} over to my van and nestled it in beside my {$30} antique white wicker chaise lounge (i know!)

i cleaned and bleached (and cleaned some more)

then i attached some wheels and wa-la...

a brand new {old} chicken crate coffee table

makes me wanna do the chicken dance

{depth of field}

my gumballs, patty's crayons

COLOR!

each week patty and i decide on a team-up theme for this photography project

then i upload my photo onto flikr and patty does her magic by adding her photo

it's always fun to see how each of us interprets the theme with our cameras

{or if lighting is wrong or we're crazy busy, we pull old photos that fit}

today's pair totally rocks...such ViBrAnT cOloRs!


i think patty and i hit it off right away because we're both grab-life-by-the-horns-try-to-leave-the-world-a-better-place-go!-go!-go!-kinda girls


when patty and i meet face-to-face someday, i think COLORS will surround us...sunny yellow warmth, pink excitement, rich brown word tapestries


color girls


we are

home

i know a chair is just a chair...

but a pretty chair {or settee}...

sure does add to the beauty

{antique settee: $50, reupholstery: $50}

the "before" shot

a friend did some magic on this antique settee i found at a garage sale

{sorry no good before pic}

it's been missing since july

but, boy, was it worth the wait!

reveal later today...run, run, run for now

xoxo

laugh: 2

just thought i'd post a pic

of my husband smiling for the camera

instead of crossing his eyes and being silly

and that's me doing my "facebook pose"

{seems like every teenager strikes this pose on FB}

hmmmmm...

it does seem like laughter is a running theme around here

laugh

Comedy is defiance. It's a snort of contempt in the face of fear and anxiety. And it's the laughter that allows hope to creep back on the inhale. 

-will durst




At the height of laughter, the universe is flung into a kaleidoscope of new possibilities.
-jean houston 




A sense of humor... is needed armor. Joy in one's heart and some laughter on one's lips is a sign that the person down deep has a pretty good grasp of life. 

-hugh sidney


A person who can bring the spirit of laughter into a room is indeed blessed.
 -bennett cerf

{black & white}

simple

beautiful

cut-out-the-chaos...

notice the details

black & white

patty's on bottom, mine on top

positively beautiful

look what the postman delivered this afternoon!

from the wild west, my beautiful "positively" necklace arrived today...

handmade by Carissa at the brown eyed fox

{i'm so excited to show you, i didn't even put on a cute outfit!  

and boy-oh-boy, i have more freckles than Anne Shirley!}

but i digress...

i've been eyeing this cross for over a year now

so howdy-DO was i excited to see my treasure arrive today

and i love how it looks more green or blue depending on the light!

carissa is one talented cowgirl, i tell you...

if ya'll haven't been by carissa's, giddy-up on over there right now

{"positively" and other beautiful creations are on SALE in her etsy shop!}

go ahead...i'll wait right here for you...........................

i'll just count some freckles................

1,2,3,4,5,6..........27,28....41,42..........

*

yep, i know!

carissa is a breath of fresh air...

a spunky encourager...

a SUNSHINE girl!

when i was little, i used to wear my brand new shoes to bed the first night i had them...

i mean, new shoes were very exciting!

i think tonight i might just have to wear positively

{numbers}

numbers are everywhere (until you want to take a picture of them)

ever notice that we see numbers differently depending on what vantage point we have?

numbers on a clock like patty's can fly by. . .

or they can seem...to....stand.......still

some numbers on the radio (lovin' this old one of mine!)

can bring beautiful music through the speakers. . .

but land on the wrong dial number and vulgar lyrics snake their way out of those same speakers

doorjam numbers are so exciting when written...but then kind of sad when giggling children {"stand up straight, now"} have grown up

and numbers on a gravestone can either make us sigh

"so short..." or sing "such   a   l o n g    life!"

numbers really do have a life of their own, don't they?

it's 7:57 am right now

numbers signifying a fresh new day

and a friday, to boot!

{happy 3 day weekend!}