Life update...and ramblings!

I can hardly believe that February will be here in a few days and winter will be gone before we know it, at least for us Georgians, that is! Sorry, to those who live above the Mason-Dixon line! So many things have been keeping us all busy around here. Mom, is staying busy with her work and we are seeking the Lord about our family's future. As she is working outside of the home I am very blessed that I'm able to help her out in many ways around the house. As I'm helping her with the work that she gives me, I don't just do the task in the moment but I learn from what I'm doing so that I may take it with me in the future. Right now, I'm learning how to be frugal and how to plan meals on a budget. Of course, my notebook of menus and recipes are still a work in progress...

I'm so excited about this Saturday because we are attending a Biblical Worldview Conference up in Ellijay, GA. American Vision is hosting the event and the speakers will be: Gary DeMar, Dr. Richard Hanner, Rev. Ron Poch, and Mike Parham. We are all looking forward to hearing these men speak and maybe even meeting some new friends as well!

Also, I have been very busy recently with a new business venture that I am starting and can not believe the overwhelming reaction of excitement from the close friends that I have been sharing with. This is all new and I have been at the library checking out books and online searching trademark laws and all the wonderful stuff with starting a business. In the next couple of weeks I will be attending a entrepreneur expo specifically for starting a small business. Everything seems to be falling in place and my family and I have such a peace about this idea. So, I know you all must be wondering what it is but I am going to hold my peace for now! Well, I just want to set everything in place before I tell you all about it but, I sure am excited!

Okay, I think I've talked enough for one night! I'm quite exhausted tonight as I have worked the entire day striping an old desk that I got at a garage sale. It was such a tedious job and tomorrow I will be sanding and hopefully getting it painted. I'll post pictures later this week!

Well, hope you all are staying warm and doing well...until next time!

The Importance of Tea Time

Whether you are a coffee drinker or you prefer hot tea, you have to admit that the daily ritual of sitting down, with a warm cup in hand and a good friend for conversation, is something that is lost in our culture. People all over the world know the benefits of taking time from their busy schedules to partake in the important matters of the day. When I think of how ladies in past centuries would come together and sit down for a cup of tea and simply talk to one another, it makes me wish people had that kind of time today. I know that we are all busy people with jam-packed schedules, but don't forget that your friends and families will come and go, however your schedule and to-do lists will stay with you forever! Invite a friend or sit down with your daughter and prepare something to drink and just share some time with one another! I was thinking the other day of one of my favorite memories, the event was my sixteenth birthday party and it was a traditional sit-down tea. There was an older woman that I did babysitting for who became a good friend of mine. She was from England and she blessed me with hosting my tea party. We learned the etiquette and traditions of having tea as well as trying things like scones with clotted cream straight from Devon shire. That afternoon was full of conversation and many laughs, but I think that it showed the importance of taking the time to nurture relationships and minister to friends with a listening ear and a cup of tea!

You're Going To Love This...

Today, I was searching through the Vision Forum website to look for birthday gifts as well as a few of my wish list items! I decided though that I would wait to show my mom before making a purchase on the items. I was so glad that I had waited, because just after that I went over to Crystal's blog. Much to my suprise she announced today that they were having a give-away for a $100.00 passport over at Vision Forum. If you have never heard of them, please take a moment to browse through their website. I would strongly encourage you to do so! They have been such an encouragement to my family and me. So, hurry on over to Biblical Womanhood to enter this wonderful give-away!

A Lesson In Contentment

As I've grown older I find that there are many distractions in this world. Some good and some not so good. I'm realizing that while I'm a daughter serving my family from home, I've been blessed in more ways than most. Even though I have my day-to-day list of chores, meals to cook, and clothes to be ironed, I always seem to end my day knowing that I'm a part of a vision that God has placed before my family and myself.

I'm finding how discontent I previously had been through my teenage years. I, like so many girls today, wasted my time looking to the future and not finding rest in where I was that day. For the first time in my life I have had peace with just being at home, reading, baking, having discussions and working. Of course, I anticipate my future of being a wife and mother, if the Lord allows. But I do not lose my focus of where he placed me in the meantime. I hope that you will cherish the time that the Lord has given you with your family. It doesn't last forever but the memories do. I'd like to end this post with an excerpt from one of my favorite books, Home-Making By: J.R. Miller. "May God help every one of us to live at home so tenderly, so unselfishly, so lovingly, that the memories we make within our own doors shall be our own holiest requiem, on the breath of which our spirits may be wafted away to glory in the Home in our Father's House!"

TODAY...

It snowed in Georgia!!! Since I hadn't been feeling all that well today with a runny nose and coughing. This suprise definitely cheered me up! The funny thing was that I called my friend Courteney who lives about an hour away on the east side of Georgia to tell her about it snowing here. While on the phone with her, she got another call from a friend letting her know about the flurries that she had spotted! I think us Georgians like to make a BIG deal out of a little bit of snow...

*Goals For This Week*

Okay, so for this week I thought I would post some goals that I have been wanting to accomplish. This is just a basic list of things that have been on my heart.

1. Continue in memorizing a bible verse, this week is Hebrews 12:2.

2. Be consistent with my quiet time each morning.

3. Have a cheerful heart throughout the day.

4. Look for ways that I can bless my family & friends.

5. Don't hesitate in showing kindness while I'm out doing errands.

6. Start back on piano theory...this is something that I desperately want to learn but haven't been diligent in taking the time to study.

7. Spend some time outdoors while the weather is still pleasant.

8. Begin to look for new fabric and start getting my plan together for my future business idea.

I hope that everyone has a blessed week!

*Memorizing Scripture*

I’m joining along with my new friend Meredith and her siblings in memorizing a scripture from the bible each week! For this week we are memorizing: Philippians 2:14-15

"Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe." Philippians 2:14-15

A View of My Room!

My lovely dresser that I received from my mom.

The very, very, full bulletin board.

My beloved night stand table that was given to me by my friend Mary Ellen! I had traveled to Maryland and was gone for about a month and when I arrived home I found this lovely little table in my room!

My bed.

-My display of pictures of family & friends-

This is my mantel where I keep my collection of treasures.

If there is one thing I love it is decorating! I love collecting things on trips or outings with some of my friends. I have so many things that people have brought back to me from their travels. Postcards from Australia and New Zealand, my friend Mallory brought me a glass monkey from from China this past summer, then her parents were planning on going to Italy this fall and I asked if they would bring me a small rock back. I have this strange love of Italy! Never did I imagine that they would bring me back a piece of a rock from an old cathedral, as well as some unusual little things. Another possession that I have is a painting that a dear friend of the family painted in her younger years of a coastal scene. Pictures are also something that I enjoy having all over my room; on my wall is a bulletin board full of memories. Each year I change out the letters I receive, things that I accomplish, or a simple list of things to do. I have a book that was signed and given to me by a well-known southern writer whom I had the privilege of meeting. Anyway, I thought I would show you a bit of what I like.

Julia Childs Wanna Be!

When in doubt you're home alone on a Tuesday night... why not bake a cake! Everyone went out to eat last night but I didn't feel like going. So, I surprised them with this dessert when they came walking in the house. Not to mention the aroma that was in the house while baking was wonderful!

Yum! Apple-Oatmeal Coffee Cake with a Oat-Streusel Topping!