A little creativity... and the stack of books.

Last week my husband, along with our entire pastoral staff from church, went to Moody Founders week in Chicago. They always look forward to that time of great preaching, worship, and just getting away to refresh. Unfortuneately for my husband - he ended up being sick the entire trip :/ But for the events he did get to join in on, he had a great time. With him being gone for 5 days I had my evenings free and lots of "free" time to finish up some projects I had lying around. Tho, once I saw all the projects I knew I should just pick one and do it really well - the energy still isn't 100%, and my two girls won't have momma working on projects all the time. :) So, I decided to finish my massive frame project. In December my parents drove out from Ohio and left this HUGE framed mirror with me. It was a sturdy frame but the glass wasn't in great shape. So I set to work removing the mirror, cleaning up the wood, and I'm thrilled with the results.

 I painted it white - it was honey oak colored, distressed it, hung some jute cord and now I just (continue) to wait on Shutterfly to deliver my pictures I ordered... in early January :( But for now some oldie family pics work just fine! And with the nine bajillion babies being born in our church - happy to hang some pics of our new friends, too.
A simple, easy, and kinda quick project that I was able to stay inside to finish. It's a lovely addition to our front room and goes great with our newly finished buffet. Now we wait for warmer temps to finish the rest of the DIY's I have lying around. Ha!

As most readers know, I really enjoy a good book that I can learn something from. My stack for 2014 has already grown a leeetle out of control, but I'm excited to crack open each book. My read through the bible chronologically is going well - even though I'm still on January 18th, bah! But I'm so enjoying going through Genesis and the early people of the faith. Hoping to catch up on my 100 pages that I'm behind in the next few days during nap time.

This weekend a package arrived on the porch from Nelson books - it was "Daughters in Danger" by Elayne Bennett. A few weeks back I had applied to be a book blogger for the program at Booksneeze.com. If you aren't familiar - you apply, check the book types you enjoy, and once you read the (Free, shipped to you) book you do a quick write up on your blog. I thought I had chosen a smaller book, but nope, this 295 page book in pink is waiting for me at some point... 

I've never heard of the author and from what I can tell it's not written from a biblical point of view. But I'm interested in reading and reviewing. Hopefully in a few weeks I'll have a review up. Hopefully. 

What kinds of things are you reading right now? 

Before I end this today I just wanted to share my heart for a minute. 

The Lord has brought such amazing women into my life that I just need to give thanks for today. Lastnight I met with our pastor and staff wives for a time of prayer and encouragement. We try to meet every month but it doesn't always happen. I am so thankful for those nights to gather together and share what the Lord has laid on our hearts. There are usually tears, hot coffee, and good time spent going before the throne of Grace together. I love the time. I need the time. As women, I think we so often feel like what we are going through or working on is unique to only us - only to find out, we are just struggling side by side. It's neat to sit and listen and watch as women share victories and pains and weaknesses and realize the the Lord truly is at work not only in our individual lives...but in our church. I'm blessed to listen to the older wives that have already gone down the road I'm on - and share stories of hope and encouragement. I'm blessed to hear the younger ones be vulnerable and remind me to keep tender. My cup was full to brimming last night as we prayed and cried and encouraged each other on in this ministry life. It reminds me that not everyone has this in their lives and that is a difficult place to be, though God does give us Grace to make it through even then. Rejoicing for these ladies of faith who challenge me every time, and I'm praying for those of you who don't have a circle to pray with. 

Happy Tuesday!