Etsy Favorite Friday: Pup Purse, Jesus & Coffee Print, & Geeky Candles

It's been awhile since I've done an "Etsy Favorite Friday".  Here's a few of my recent favorites...

• Teriyaki the Dachshund Dog Cute Vintage Inspired Brown Vinyl Coin Zipper Purse by Cuore ($28)
  I love this little purse simply because it looks like my Luna.  Someday, when I want to splurge on something for myself, I'm going to buy it.  It just makes me smile!
• Jesus & Coffee Print by Evannicoledesigns ($15)
  I love this sentiment.  I want this print in my kitchen... just as a daily reminder that I need "a whole lot of Jesus" in addition to my morning coffee!
• Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey -- Scented Soy Candle -- Doctor Who -- 8oz jar by Frostbeard ($15)
  The delightfully geeky names these people give their candle scents make me smile!  I actually just bought the Book Lovers' Scented Soy Tarts Wax Melts Four Pack, so I can smell the scents before I commit to getting a candle.   I wish there was a way you could smell things through the internet!  The four scents I ordered are "Butterbeer" ("butterscotch overtones with hints of crème brûlée and butter rum"), "Dumbledore's Office" ("cedarwood vanilla, fireplace and lemon"), "The Shire" ("Oakmoss, clover, aloe, with a hint of sweet cherry pipe tobacco"), and "Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey" ("Driftwood, Black Currant Tea, and hint of Juniper")

Merry Christmas! Rejoice!

Merry Christmas!

Matthew 1:23 "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."

God is with us.  And that reminder restores my joy in dark times.

(photo print by Lisa Barker)

"O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

 O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel. " 

Another one of my favorite Christmas songs.  It always brings tears to my eyes.

"Let Nothing You Dismay..."

"God rest ye merry gentlemen, let nothing you dismay...Remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas Day...To save us all from Satan's pow'r when we were gone astray...Oh tidings of comfort and joy...Comfort and joy...Oh tidings of comfort and joy"

I post the words of song every year, but the words of my favorite Christmas Carol are all the more potent this year, given the senseless tragedies that have been happening lately.  Not only the school shooting in Newtown CT, but this morning in Webster NY, a town near Rochester, a man started a house on fire (which ended up spreading to 3 more houses) and shot the firefighters who responded... killing 2 and injuring 2 more. (you can read a more detailed news story here).

People scrabble for answers when these horrible things happen.  They cry, "we need more gun control!", "we need better mental health care!"...but the truth is that there is no hard and fast answer to solve or prevent these problems.  The only true answer is Jesus.  But people don't want to hear that.  The truth is that if the men who committed these senseless acts of violence had accepted and followed Jesus and had the Holy Spirit in their hearts and lives, they never would have done these things.  (And I mean if they had TRULY had Jesus in their lives, not like so-called "Christians" who commit hateful acts in the name of God).

Humanity is sinful...but we are redeemable.  And that is the whole reason Christmas is a big deal.  Christmas represents the birth of our redemption.  Christ was born so He could die for our sins...so He could redeem us.  That is the "gift" Christians talk about at this time of year.  The problem is that people don't accept the gift.  If we could all just accept God's gift, the world would be a better place.  But my hope isn't in this world anyway.  The Lord is coming back someday and this world will pass away.

I could probably go on and on and write a whole sermon... there is just so much... but I want to keep my point simple and my post short.  I don't usually get all "preachy" on my blog and try to keep it all happy and crafty, but this is something I feel really passionate about.  I hope no one has been turned off by it.

During times like these, I am truly thankful I have Jesus to trust and hope in or else I'd be mired in despair.  I feel emotionally wrecked by these things as it is, I can't imagine if I didn't have Christ to hope in.   I can only pray that those who have been affected more closely by the number of recent tragedies can come to know and trust Christ through it all and come to have the hope that I do.

The Surprising Significance of a Trip to the Thrift Store

I went to the MAAC (Medina Area Association of Churches) thrift store today.

It was half-price Monday a week early, since they won't be open next Monday because it's Christmas Eve.  So I got a major haul of sweaters!  I'm looking forward to cutting them up and making new monsters and owls and woodland creatures in the New Year!

 Luna had to inspect them and take in all the new smells before I threw them in the washing machine. (there were so many of them, I had to do 2 loads!)

 Terra decided she had to inspect them too.

"We approve, Mommy.  You may wash them now."

But there's a deeper story behind the trip to the thrift store that this pile of sweaters came from.

Last night, on our way home from church, I was talking to my husband about how I wanted to go to our local thrift store in the morning. I was frustrated that I couldn't though, since I'm still not allowed to drive due to my sprained ankle. I am supposed to wear the "Air Cast" brace until if doesn't hurt anymore...and in NY, it's illegal to drive when you have any kind of cast or brace on your driving foot.  Plus, if my ankle isn't completely healed, I am concerned about re-injuring myself if I have to suddenly slam on the brakes for any reason. (it IS deer season after all.)

 Anyway. CJ had to drive into the office in Rochester the next day, so he couldn't take me to the thrift store on his lunch break like he could if he was working from home.  So I just resigned myself to not going to the thrift store and that I'd go sometime in January.

Well, this morning, my friend Char called me to tell me she was going to the thrift store and to ask if I wanted to come with her!  Some people might say "conicidence"...I say it was God giving me a gift.  It seems like a silly, little thing, but I was very encouraged that God orchestrated things to give me this silly, little thing that I wanted.  And I was in need of encouragement from Him.  I had spent the previous night weeping after checking Facebook and seeing all the posts about the shooting at the school in Connecticut and being overwhelmed by the evils and godlessness of the world.  And I feel like this "coincidence" today was God's way of letting me know He is still here.  It's like when the silliest little random gift that a parent gives a child helps the child realize how much their parent loves them.  A trip to the thrift store was a little random gift that helped remind me how much my Heavenly Father loves me...and loves me in such a personal way.

EDIT: (I feel a bit guilty and silly for being so encouraged by an unexpected trip to the thrift store when there are people out there who will never see their babies grow up.  But I believe God loves us and has a plan, even if we can't see the good of that plan.  I can't pretend to know why what happened on Friday happened...all I know is that I trust God, and trust that, as awful as this tragedy is, there is a reason behind it all.  It has been these sort of thoughts that have helped me in the past to not despair in the face of not being able to get pregnant and have children of my own.)

I pray the Lord gives comfort to the people who were so much more deeply affected by what happened on Friday... for the friends and family of the children and teachers who lost their lives.  I pray He comforts them as only He can.  I pray they can see and trust in Him and realize that God is there even when bad things happen.

Bad things don't prove that God isn't there...they prove how much we need Him.

Images of Faith...

Happy Easter.

‎"...The sun as it rises,

The stone that's rolled away

The dancing of the faithful

On resurrection day!

The leaders and the spirit,

The gardener and the vine,

The breaking of the holy bread,

The drinking of the wine.

Images of Faith,

Pictures that run deep,

Within the hollows of our hearts,

And in the dreaming of our sleep."

- "Images of Faith" by Marty McCall

Good Friday...

I have a vague memory of when I was a child...hearing about "Good Friday" and finding out what it was about...and wondering why they called it "Good" Friday when that was the day Jesus died. As a child, I recognized death as a bad thing. And Jesus was so good...wouldn't the day he died be a bad day? It wasn't until I was older that I realized why Jesus' death was a good thing. A needful thing. He died for us. A picture of the spotless lamb sacrificed for Passover. But instead of sacrificing a lamb yearly, He sacrificed himself once for all of us. We just have to accept Him.

I know some people don't understand or accept this. And I pray that if you are one of those people, that you will understand someday.

(image credit: Ashley Clark)

These are the words of an old hymn that I love. The words bring me to tears because I feel so unworthy of such love and so many times fall prey so much to "all those vain things that charm me most." and yet, Christ loves me anyway and gave himself for me.

When I survey the wondrous cross

on which the Prince of Glory died;

my richest gain I count but loss,

and pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,

save in the death of Christ, my God;

all the vain things that charm me most,

I sacrifice them to his blood.

See, from his head, his hands, his feet,

sorrow and love flow mingled down.

Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,

or thorns compose so rich a crown.

Were the whole realm of nature mine,

that were an offering far too small;

love so amazing, so divine,

demands my soul, my life, my all!

There is a Celtic Christian band called Iona that does a version of this hymn with a different melody than the original. I am usually resistant to musicians messing around with the arrangement of classic hymns, but their version is beautiful. I also like the contemporary version "The Wonderful Cross" by Chris Tomlin, which has the same melody as the original, but adds on a chorus. It's just a wonderful hymn...no matter the arrangement.

"Remember Christ our savior was born on Christmas day..."

I alway marvel at how people can hear Christmas music for over a month...in stores, on the radio... and not really think about the reason for Christmas...the birth of Christ.

Granted, most of the songs are about Santa, Rudolph, hippopotamuses, and winter wonderlands...but you also hear a lot of the traditional, meaningful songs...like Silent Night, Away In a Manger, and O Holy Night. (I can't even listen to O Holy Night without getting teary).

For a few years now, I always post the lyrics to "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" on Christmas day. It is my favorite Christmas song, not only because I like it musically, but because I love the lyrics. It specifically mentions Christ and that the reason he was born was to save us from our sin. It's all in the first verse...

"God rest ye merry gentlemen, let nothing you dismay!

Remember Christ our savior was born on Christmas day

To save us all from Satan's pow'r when we were gone astray

Oh tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy!

Oh tidings of comfort and joy!"

And even when people do remember to think about Christ's birth, they either forget or do not know that the reason he was even born was to die on the cross to save us from our sins. That's what the line "To save us all from Satan's pow'r when we were gone astray" means. That's why people always refer to the birth of Christ as a gift.

I read a friend's blog recently who was having trouble with accepting gifts from people. The thing is, that we all have a gift given to us by God, even though we don't deserve it. All we have to do is accept it.

I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas, got good gifts, and had opportunities to have fun with your families (I know I did!), but I encourage you to take a moment to remember "what Christmas is all about". God bless you all and Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas 2009!

Merry Christmas from me and my little family!
(Sorry Terra is not in the picture...we're visiting my husband's family in Cleveland for Christmas and one of our nieces is terribly allergic, so we had to leave her at the Farm for my friend to kitty-sit.)
So many Christmas songs are full of fluff...not that I don't enjoy a fun song sometimes ("I want a Hippopotomus for Christmaaaaas!")...but my absolute favorite Christmas songs are the ones that actually remind us about Christ. I am loathe to use such cliche phrases such as "The Reason for the Season" or "the real meaning of Christmas"...but...well, it's true! So, as I did last year, I leave you with my favorite Christmas song...

"God rest ye merry, gentlemen, Let nothing you dismay,
Remember Christ our Saviour was born on Christmas day,
To save us all from Satan's power when we were gone astray:
O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy,
O tidings of comfort and joy.

From God our heavenly Father a blessèd angel came,
And unto certain shepherds brought tidings of the same,
How that in Bethlehem was born The Son of God by name:
O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy,
O tidings of comfort and joy.

Now to the Lord sing praises, all ye within this place,
And with true love and brotherhood each other now embrace;
This holy tide of Christmas all others doth deface:
O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy,
O tidings of comfort and joy."

I am always amazed at how people can sing Christmas songs like this and not think about God and Jesus Christ...when there are words in them like "Christ our Savior" and "Christ the Lord". When you hear traditional Christmas songs this year, really listen and think about what the words are really saying. And I pray that God will have it move your heart.

Recycled Earth Day Nubbins

So...here's some Earth Day Nubbins that are made out of some more appropriate, repurposed materials, rather than store-bought fleece.

If you like them, let me know and I can make some more, but these particular Nubbins are already spoken for.

This green Nubbin is made out of inside-out sweatshirt material, with denim and green khaki material for the earth. I think the nubby green material makes it look like he's mossy.

Now, just to be clear I'm no eco-warrior or anything. "Going Green" is not my purpose in life. I'm not all about"honoring Mother Earth". I believe that the Earth is all going to pass away and burn up someday, and no amount of recycling is going to change that. This world is not my home and I look forward to a greater kingdom.

BUT I do believe in being a good steward and taking care what God has given us, not being wasteful, and appreciating and respecting His creation. Because His creation is beautiful...but I'm not going to worship it. I worship the Creator.

More CPSIA Stuff...and deep thoughts

Yay! One of my local news stations (channel 8) did a story tonight on the CPSIA's impact on small business handmade toymakers...http://rochesterhomepage.net/ "new law could hurt handmade toymakers".

I sent an email to channel 13 a few weeks ago, but I'm glad at least one of the local stations decided to do a story on it!

I am #934 to vote on the petition on the Change.org site. ("This idea is currently in 8th Place and is in position to be part of the final 10 ideas presented at our event in Washington, DC ") I've gone back and forth on whether to actually vote. I don't usually put very much faith in the government (I try to rather pour most, if not all of my faith into God)...but if they started this, they need to fix it. It's a cause I care about...not to mention that it directly effects me.

I suppose whatever ends up happening is what God wants to happen, and He has a reason for it that ultimately works out "for the good of those who love Him".

I don't know whether I voted or not really matters...but it made me feel better for the time being. But I want to have enough faith to believe that maybe one prayer can be stronger than a million votes...

Politics naturally wars with faith...we end up putting our hope in men when we should put it fully in God.

Merry CHRISTmas!

"God rest ye merry, gentlemen, let nothing you dismay

Remember, Christ, our Savior was born on Christmas day

To save us all from Satan's power when we were gone astray

O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy,

O tidings of comfort and joy!

From God our Heavenly Father a blessed Angel came;

And unto certain Shepherds brought tidings of the same:

How that in Bethlehem was born the Son of God by Name.

O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy,

O tidings of comfort and joy!

Now to the Lord sing praises, all you within this place,

And with true love and brotherhood each other now embrace;

This holy tide of Christmas all others doth deface.

O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy

O tidings of comfort and joy!"

New Etsy stuff and some personal meanings

Okay...I have to do a new post because my mom says she "lives for [my] blog" and was disapponted that I hadn't updated since the last entry. So....ummmmm....let's see what's new...

I have more items in my Etsy shop! A few more monsters and an art piece...

You know you want her!

This is my first mixed media art piece. I'm really satisfied with it and almost hate to sell it... but I think it's one of my more sellable art pieces. It's astheticly pleasing without being overly personal...even though I do have a personal meaning behind it.

The phrase "discover a new dream" and the placement of the first box over the figure's lower stomach is linked with an acceptance of the apparant inability of my husband and I to have children...and moving on...and trusting God and waiting for Him to move...because He did this for a reason, no matter how unfair it may seem on the surface sometimes.

With that thought, I'm reminded of that story about the tapestry. The story has many different incarnations. I seem to remember one version involving a little girl sitting underneath her grandmother's needlepoint. Another involves a master tapesry maker in the middle east and his apprentice. I found a site that has a plethora of poems and stories about the picture the weaver, loom, and tapestry relate to God and how we don't always understand because we don't see the finished picture. http://www.tapestrynvelvet.com/view/?pageID=187030 (warning: there is music that comes up with the page. Scoll down to the bottom to turn the music off if it drives you nuts.) I had no idea there were so many different quotes, stories and poems about the same analogy! I wonder who came up with it first?

"A Christian man’s life is lain in the loom of time, to a pattern which he does not see, but God does; and his heart is in the shuttle. On one side of the loom is sorrow,and on the other is joy;and the shuttle, struck alternately by each,flies back and forth carrying the thread,which is white or black as the pattern needs;and in the end, when God shall lift up the finished garment,and all its changing hues shall glance out, it will then appear that the dark and deep colorswere as needful to beauty as the bright and high one.”

--Henry Ward Beecher

And now I've probably made mom cry. Sorry mom!