Play Date!

What happens when a crafty friend comes over to play? Naturally you CREATE! My friend Joann (Ashani to you Fiskateers) came over last night. Now one of the things I have wanted to do this year was learn to make some jewelry, I've done a few pieces, but I wanted to really learn the craft of jewelry making. Enter in Joann, this chick even takes (and teaches) classes in silversmithing and does some FABULOUS work.

She had to come over to pick up her tools she left at the Scrapbook Expo (she was one of my fabulous volunteers this past weekend.) I made dinner so she brought over some jump rings and said "we are going to go crazy but we are going to make chain mail earrings!" She was right it was a bit tedious, but once we popped a movie in and got a rhythm going we were able to plug along.

Not wanting Joann to be the only one to bring a project to the night. I showed her this page from Hobby Lobby where they featured recycled projects she happened to bring her stuff in a Hobby Lobby bag so we started cutting and went to town making some earrings!

The project directions called for wooden disks we used chipboard (since well it's a bit plentiful around here :) and I don't know if the wood would have effected our outcome at all. I will say it was a bit tricky to get the bag to melt like you wanted. Trial and error showed holding it down with a toothpick (metal tweezers got to hot and the piece melted to the tweezers) and short strokes over the surface with the heat gun gave you a bit of control over how it melted. The first pair I made was the blue, the colors REALLY melted together on that pair. I then had to make some orange ones to match some of my many Fiskateer outfits, that's when we discovered the shorter stroke technique over the bag as you can see the images on the bags are much easier to distinguish. (I still need to add jump rings and fishhooks to the 2nd pair)

All and all tons of fun. She didn't leave till way to late (and she had to get up to work in the morning!) But both of us had a blast and I loved learning something new!

Where I've been

Life has been a bit crazy for me!

End of July I went to CHA and the Supershow with some dear friends. We had a blast. To read more about my adventures check out my guest blog post on Scrapbook Update. Cover's all the "things I did for swag." I also got to have some fun with my Fiskateer Friends at the Supershow

You can read about it (Here and Here) I have more pictures I need to get them uploaded some place (but you'll find a few of me mixed in with the groups!) Oh and then Rebecca, Merlene and I did some major world traveling you can read about it Here

Because life is NEVER boring around here I got home from my world travels, CHA and the Supershow and my husband decided he needed attention! (You know how they get, mom's away for a week, hubby feels lonely so when mom comes home...) Hubby got sick. At first we thought it was the flu, but a quick tummy poke on my end diagnosed him correctly. "honey you need your appendix out"...and he let me drag him to quick care. Yup I was right. So the 2nd week of August was spent living out of yet another hospital. I will admit I got spoiled with mom's trips because there is a good coffee bar with smoothies and really good cranberry muffins! The local one...not so much.

Hubby is doing better and has been released to "light duty" (another 4 weeks of) but at least it means some income coming in. While he went back to work I was busy with the Scrapbook Expo in St. Charles you'll see a cause near and dear to my heart sponsoring the baggage check. Operation Christmas Child. I was the coordinator for the event. Oldest daughter and 7 of my pals (and fellow Fiskateers) came to work with me to baby sit the luggage, scrapbook a bit, and do some shopping all while collecting supplies to help fill shoeboxes. We collected 5 huge boxes as well as some cash so the event was a success in my book!

Getting ready to load the van!

In the middle of all that I have been riding my bike. I wrote about the challenges and the effects at Faithfully Yours for the blessing challenge this month.

So that's been the past month in a nutshell. Life has been crazy, but could I ever expect it not to be???

The Blessing of Endurance

The Blessing of Endurance

I started biking again about two months ago. I used to ride quite a bit not really for sport more for recreation. Lately though I have been doing it for exercise. Even though I have worked up to about 10 miles a day I still had yet to tackle “the church.” There is a little church about 3 miles outside of town and the last time I biked there (like 5 years ago) by the time I got there my face was flush, I collapsed into a heap having to suck down water and eat chips to try to control the exhausted shaking, and then I barely made it home! Needless to say I haven’t ventured there on my bike all this time, even though I know I have been biking further than that lately on a regular basis, the memory of the embarrassment and exhaustion has kept me away.

But today…today I did it! I not only biked there and back without needing to stop BUT I did my normal 10 mile route after it (again without needing to stop) it’s something so little but I’m feeling so good about it right now!

Today I realized that I had built up my endurance and because of that was able to overcome that “scary ride”!

So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God you will receive what he has promised Hebrews 10:35-36

My ride might seem like small peanuts compared to bigger things in life. But there is a valuable lesson in it. We all have things in life that seem scary because we have tried before and failed. Or we have even failed to try. Or maybe we are in the middle of something that we feel we will never get through! Maybe it’s our child’s “teenage years” or caring for a sick loved one. Maybe we have tried to accomplish a dream that never seems quite attainable or maybe we have been too scared to reach out to try because we are afraid to fail. Maybe it’s simply our faith. The world around us is pressuring us to conform to it and we want to just give in or give up. Whatever challenge we are facing. We need to keep working at it. We need to keep working towards it. Because with the Lords help we can be victorious!

Whatever it is, that has been in your heart. God has been conditioning you to succeed. He wants you to finish the race. He didn’t set you up to fail, God set you up to be victorious! Each day caring for the sick family member can be not only “gotten through” but can be a blessing with the Lord. With the Lord’s help you will be able to do not only survive your child’s teenage years but THRIVE. That dream in your heart. Work towards it. If it’s from the Lord he will help you succeed, if it isn’t he will change YOU and give you an even better dream!

Because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish it’s work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking in anything! James 1:3-4

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning it’s shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and loose heart. Hebrews 12: 1-3

Persevere my friends. Continue on with what has been set before you to do. There is a rich reward in store. It might not be a “trophy and fame or glory” it might just be the satisfaction that reached your goal! That in itself is priceless!

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race,I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day– 2 Timothy 4:7-8a