All things. Together. Good.

This should be an encouraging thing to hear: "You make all things work together for my good" (paraphrased from Romans 8:28 and a line from Your Love Never Fails by Jesus Culture). But lately, hearing that has been a challenge. Things don't seem to be going my way, or good in my opinion. I know this will sound whiney and complain-y of me, but I'll just throw it out there. My current stage of life is boring and lonesome. For once, I would like excitement, something to look forward to, promises that will not be broken, reassurance. I'm guilty of putting people (friends and family) on a pedestal and expecting them to fulfill these longings in my life. They can't. People fail. I know this yet I am continually hurt by it. This week, instead of keeping that frustration in, I shared it with some friends, who both unknowingly gave me words that were comforting and pushed me to accept more of the truth. Truth that I've always known, but sometimes is hurtful to hear.

This morning I begrudgingly pulled myself away from watching the men's final tennis match for the Olympic gold medal (Side note: Woot! Woot! for Andy Murray) to get ready for church. I love going to church, don't get me wrong, but the there was a strong temptation to stay on the couch. Satan has his ways. Anyways, I needed to hear the message today, as I do every time. It was wonderfully encouraging to hear about God's purpose and our misunderstandings and questions that we have when He works in ways we don't see. God is love. Love never fails. Do the math... God never fails. Praying (talking and LISTENING) to our Father and allowing Him control of even the mundane parts of life... He will work all things together for the good of those who love Him. All. Not just the exciting, life-changing parts. He is working right now. And I need to let him.

And of course, my devotional matched up well today. :) "Take time to rest by the wayside, for I am not in a hurry. A leisurely pace accomplishes more than hurried striving. When you rush, you forget who you are and Whose you are" (Jesus Calling by Sarah Young). And the scripture to follow:

Psalm 37:7 "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes." (sound familiar Bex?)


A friend gave me a card this week that said: "He goes before you (Deuteronomy 31:8), He's right beside you (Hebrews 13:5), He surrounds you on every side (Psalm 125:2)." Hello encouragement! God is good all the time. And though we can't always see it, He is ALWAYS working things together for good. He has fought battles for us and keeps doing so when we ask Him to go along beside us. I'll take the meaningless (to me), mundane life of right now and trust that my loving, all-knowing, good God has it all pieced together.

Being Crafty

Summertime allows for me to do one of my very favorite things: make crafts! I have made a few crafty things for my house and school. Thought I would share my newest creations.

For my house:

I made these for my kitchen. I just used scrapbooking paper and a Cricut. Inspired by the "Eat, Pray, Love" idea, especially for the kitchen, I wanted them to be in the order of importance.

I painted this back in March for Sarah Slusher's birthday party at Mad Potter. I finally bought a plate hanger and put it above my stove. The flower design I created was inspiration for the following project.

I rearranged my kitchen furniture and then had a very bare wall. I decided to make my own painting instead of searching for and buying something I liked. I wanted the fruits of the spirit displayed to remind me of living them out.

For school:

This was a Pinterest idea. My parents helped me put them all together. We made crate seats! And they're multi-purposeful in that books (Smart Stacks) can be stored inside when the top lifts off with the cute little ribbon handle. There is foam on the top to make it a soft seat the kids can sit on in the reading center. My room is polka-dot themed (black background with primary colors).

Another Pinterest inspired idea. Some teachers at school made these and I loved it!!! I love being organized and this is just the thing needed for all the little office supplies that float around the desk and cabinets. This was a tool organizer (for nails, screws, etc) that was blue and I spray painted it black (with plastic spray paint). I cut out card stock to fit right inside the drawers and printed off the labels from a blog.

Made my own dry erase board! Dry erase markers wipe off of glass and mirrors. I used a simple picture frame, some card stock and stickers, and ta-da! Marker board!

I made one for my assistant, too!

Here it is in use. :)

I have one more idea of something I'm making for school and some artwork for my living room. I'll add those pictures to the collection once they're complete.