STEAM PUNK ATC

This  is  the  beautiful  card  my  ATC

Partner  sent  me  this  month  to  thank  me  for

being  her  ATC  Partner.  I  was  thrilled  to  be

her  partner.

THANK  YOU  BLANCHE!!!!

*******

I  participate  in  the  monthly 

BLISSFULL  ATC  SWAP.

Ms.  Wendy  at

http://blissfullatcswap.blogspot.com/

is  our  beautiful  hostess  and  creator.

If  you  would  like  to  participate  you  may

e  mail  her  at

[email protected].

Each  month  is  a  different  theme  and  a

different  swap  partner.

*******

The  Theme  this  month  is

STEAM  PUNK.

You  can  bet  Google  had  a  flurry  of

activity  for  information  and  images  on

STEAM  PUNK.

*******

My  ATC  Partner  this  month  is  the

lovely  Ms.  Blanche.

She  is  just  one  of  the  sweetest  ladies  you

will  ever  meet  and  oozes  in  creativity.

She  loves  the  Victorian  Era  as  much  as  I  do.

Her  blog  is

http://sha-shajewelry.blogspot.com/

She  makes  beautiful  jewelry...much  of  which  is

auctioned  off  for  worthy  causes.

This  is  her  stunning  Steam  Punk

ATC  titled

WANDER-LUST!

I  had  never  heard  that  word  before.

You  can  read  the  the  definition  on  the  card.

I  LIKE  IT....

wander-lust

wander-lust

wander-lust

wander-lust

Thank  You  Ms.  Blanche!!!

I  will  treasure  it  forever.

Blanche  included  a  list  of  every  thing

she  used  to  make  her  card  but  I  did  not

list  them.

THANK  YOU  SO  VERY  MUCH  BLANCHE

FOR  BEING  MY  ATC  PARTNER  AND  FOR

THIS  BEAUTIFUL  LITTLE  CHARM.

I  will  see  you  in  Washington.....

Thanks  to  Google  Maps...

Thank  you  for  asking  me  to  travel  a long

with  you  and  your  husband.

I  will  continue  to  pray  for  a  safe  and

joyful  trip.

This  is  the  thank  you  card  I  made  for

Blanche.

I  wanted  to  make  her  something  special  for

being  my  ATC  partner  this  month.

On the  side  bar  of  her  blog,  it  tells  the

name  of  her  fairy:

"FIELD  WILLOWGLITTER!"

She  lives  in  fields  where  wild  flowers

and  poppies  grow.

She  is  seen  only  in  the  light  of  a

shooting  star.

She  likes  to  wear  red  petals  in  her

skirt.

She  has  delicate  green  colored  wings.

I  tried  to  recreate  her  using  this  beautiful

graphic.   Then  I  cut  and  pasted  poppies

all  around  the  image....I  tried  to  make  it 

like  you  were  peaking  through  the  field  of

poppies  and  wildflowers  and  up  in  the  left

corner  I  made  a  shooting  star  out  of 

Fairy  Dust.

I  made  a  pocket  for  the  ATC.  I  made

accordion  pleats  on  the  side  to  allow  room

for  the  gadgets  I  applied  on  the  ATC.

I  used  various  parts  of  a  pocket  watch

I  had  been  saving.

I  named  my  ATC:

"THE  WHEELS  OF  TIME!"

Can  you  imagine  riding  this  to  the

grocery  store  or  thrift  shop....lol

This  is  just  a  close  up  of  the  ATC

holder  without  the  card  in  it.

Thank  you  for  spending  a  part  of  your

Saturday  with  me.  It  makes  me  so  happy  that  you

care  enough  to  stop  by.   YOU  ARE  SPECIAL.

I  went  to  the  Dr.  for  my  three  month  check  up

on  Thursday.   I  have  had  a  severe  cough  due  to

ALLERGIES....(LIKE  EVERY  ONE  ELSE)...

and  since  I  am  one  of  his  fragile  diabetics,

I  was  given  an  injection  of  prednisone...oh

my  goodness,  even  given  slow,  it  BURNS  like

frog  legs  in  a  skillet...ouchhhhh.

PRAYERS  CONTINUE  TO  BE  LIFTED  UP

TO  GOD'S  THRONE  ROOM  OF  MERCY  AND

GRACE  FOR  EVERYONE  IN  NEED.

*******

THE  LORD  HATH  HEARD  MY  SUPPLICATION,

THE  LORD  WILL  RECEIVE  MY  PRAYER.

~PSALM  6:9

I AM RESOLVED

I  AM  RESOLVED

By~Charlotte  Perkins Stetson

To  keep  my  health!

To  do  my  work!

To  LIVE!

To  see  to  it  I  grow  and  gain  and  give!

Never  to  Look  behind  me  for  an  hour!

To  wait  in  weakness,  and  to  walk  in  Power!

But  always  fronting  onward  toward  the  Light,

Always  and  always  facing  toward  the  right.

Robbed,  starved,  defeated,  fallen,  wide  astray---

Oh,  with  what  strength  I  have!

Back  to  the  way!

Some  of  you  know  and  some  of  you  don't

know,  that  my  husband  has  been  unable  to

work  and  barely  live  since  2003.

He  has  had  3  surgeries  on  his  back...

the  L 4  and  5  and  S1  fusions.

We  have  have  been  in  Tulsa,  Oklahoma,

where  a  new  Dr.  saw  him.

Dr.  Anthony  does  some  invasive  procedures

in  his  pain  management  clinic  across  from  the

spine  hospital.

He  did  a  hard  wear  block  on  my  husband,

Tuesday.

If  the  hard  wear  block  would  have  worked,

surgery  would  have  been  scheduled  to  remove

the  plate  and  6  screws.  He  said  the  screws  are

setting  toooooo  high  and  every  time  he  moves,  it  is

catching  on  muscle  and  forming  a  new  bone  spur.

Afterwards  we  surprised  his  parents  and  spent  the

night  with  them.  We  had  a  beautiful  time.

Mother  Ragan  is  90  years  young  and  Dad  Ragan

will  be  89.

My  sil  Nancy  and  her  husband  Bob  live  next

door.  Both  beautiful  people  and  if  not  for  her,

I  would  be  afraid  they  might  be  in  a  nursing

home  and  not  enjoying  their  home  and  would

not  be  motivated  and  as  happy  as  they  are.

You  might  say  Nancy  is  their  nurse,  cook,  taxi,

watches  TV  with  them  most  evenings,  and  watches

for  their  safety.

Nancy  is  very  active  in  the  childrens' 

 Wednesday  night  program at  church.

She  has a  teaching  degree,( her  church  closed

their  school  where  she  was  head  over  the  computer

department.)

She  is  a  fabulous  cook  and  a  big  couponer.

I  never  really  payed  much  attention  to  couponing,

but  I  have  a  whole  different  attitude  now.

She  is  a  good  daughter,  a  wonderful  mother,

and  devoted  wife.  I  wish  we  lived  closer.

We  had  not  seen  them  since  Amy's  funeral.

I  have  not  been  any  where  that  far  since  Amy

died  and  never  over  night.  I  slept  17  hours

straight...from  9:30  pm  until  2:30 pm...can  you

believe  that....this  from  me,  the  girl  with  severe

insomnia...I  couldn't  believe  it.  I  was  so  very

relaxed. 

PRAYER  REQUESTS

1.  DeeDee.....I  am  sooooo  very  sorry  about

Lucky.

please  go  to  http://deedeescraftspot.blogspot.com/

DeeDee's  dog  Lucky  has  been  sick  for  some

time  and  she  had  to  put  Precious  Lucky  to

sleep.  Her  heart  is  breaking.  Please  stop  by

her  blog  and  show  her  some  love.  Lucky  was

just  like  her  little  child  and  such  a  faithful

little  companion.

2.  Pray  for  Japan.  They  continue  to  have

aftershock  earthquakes.

3.  All  the  precious  children  with  cancer:

Angel  Dawn

Alex

Chance

Jack

Eric

Ryan  Ely

Cheryl's  daughter

your child

4.  Adults  with  cancer:

Debbie

Mary

Scott

Pam

Bonnie

Debbie...the  wild  raspberry

Mr. C

Elaine

5.  Will

6.  Lexie

7.  Cass

8.  Tete's  Dad

9.  Cricket's  Dad

10.  Patricia...recovering  from  stroke

11.  Joanne...recovering  from  stroke

12.  Lily

13.  Cindy's  husband  needs  a  job

14.  Lorene  and  Janice

15.  Cindy...Mari's  cousin

16.  Jo  Anna...grief  from  death  of  husband

17.  Lori...grief  from  death  of  son

18.  Tracy...grief  over  death  of  a  son

19.  Maxwell...grief  over  death  of  wife

20.  Mother  Ragan...macular  degeneration

and  continuous  pain

21.  Father  Ragan...difficulty  breathing

22.  Korbi...grief  issues  over  the  death  of  wife

23.  Jess  have  a  safe  delivery  of  baby

24.  Chasity  and  Debbie...recovering  from  death

of  sister

25.  Queen  Mothermamaw...allergies

26.  Our  Military

I  CALL  ON  YOU,  O  GOD,

FOR  YOU  WILL  ANSWER  ME,

GIVE  EAR  TO  ME   AND  HEAR

MY  PRAYER.

~Psalm  17:16

HURDLE ON...WITH JOY

http://www.runblogrun.com/

HURDLES...

We  are  all  faced  with  them  in  this  Race  of  Life

we  run.

Sometimes  we  just  sail  right  over  the

HURDLES

that  stand  in  our  way....attempting  to  slow

and  discourage.

Look  at  the

determination

on  the  face  of  Jones.

Then  other  times  we  are  like

Gail  Devers 

at  the  Athens,  Olympics.

(I  am  quite  sure  she  wishes  this  picture

would  go  away.)

HURDLES

are  sometimes  very  difficult  to  get  over

or  even  under.

They  are  painful...stinging  to  the  very

core  of  our  being.

LoLo  Jones,  US Champ 2010,  when  asked

during  an  interview,

"What  do  you  do  to  prepare  for  the  race,

in  addition  to  sprints,  stretches,  etc...."

She  replied,

"Whether  it  be  a  quote  or  a  bible  verse,

I  ALWAYS  TELL  MYSELF  SOMETHING

POSITIVE!"

WHATEVER  HURDLE  YOU  ARE  FACING

TODAY,  MY  FRIEND,

YOU  CAN  GET  OVER  IT

WITH 

SELF-DETERMINATION...

A  POSITIVE  ATTITUDE...

WONDERFUL  FRIENDS...

PRAYING  FRIENDS...

AND

MOST  OF  ALL

GOD

WHO  LOVES  YOU.

HE  HAS  PLACED  TREASURES

WITHIN  EACH  ONE  OF  US.

YOU  CAN  DO  IT...

HURDLE  ON...

WITH  JOY

THE  JOY  OF  THE  LORD

IS  OUR  STRENGTH!!!

A Painting or a Donkey

THE  LORD  WORKS  IN  MYSTERIOUS  WAYS.

Sometimes  it  is  through  the

"BEAUTY  OF  A  BUTTERFLY!"

Sometimes  it  is  through  the

"INNOCENCE  OF  A  CHILD"

bringing  their  heart  to  us

on  paper.

Sometimes  it  is  through  the

"GARDEN  GATE  TO  TALK  WITH

PRECIOUS  FRIENDS  LIKE  MS.  TETE."

GRIEF  +  HOPE  =  HEALING

This  is  a  true  story  about  a

woman  in  grief  until  she  gazed

at  the  painting  above.

That  woman  was  me.

You  all  know  the  story

of  My  Amy  going  to  heaven.

Then my only  son  and  dil  moved

to  Kansas....

then  Leila,  Amy's  bff  went  to  heaven

and  so  the  story  goes.

THEN 

April  Fools  late  night

I  found  myself  at

Kecia's  Blog

http://lemoncholys.blogspot.com/

She  just  briefly  mentioned  that

it  had  been  20  years  since  her

son  Tucker  sustained  his  injury

and  she  expressed  her  grief  through

painting  this  picture

><>><>><>

As  I  gazed  upon  her  painting

it  was  unlike  anything  I  have  ever

experienced.

  I  could  feel  her  pain

without  words  and  if  our  eyes  had

met  they  would  look  a  like...

each  understanding  one  another.

The  tears  of  the  little  girl  in  the

painting  were  healing.

I  think  it  must  be  that  way  in  heaven....

no  sadness,  no  tears  but  you  will  know

each  others  heart  when  you  look  at  each

other  because  it  will  be

one  heart

total  joy

total  healing

total  love

of

JESUS.

Afterwards  I  just  began  to  feel  such

JOY  bubble  up  inside  of  me  and  I  BEGAN

to  start  singing  PRAISE  SONGS

TO  THE  LORD.

One  in  particular:

THE  JOY  OF  THE  LORD  IS 

MY  STRENGTH.

I  have  not  sang  a  song  in  5  years.

I  also  had  such  energy  and  was  able  to

do  laundry.

I  felt  like  boulders  had  been  rolled  off  of  me.

My  husband  new  immediately  I  was  different.

IT  TRULY  IS  A  MIRACLE  AND  I

PRAISE  THE  LORD...

that  out  of  Kecia's  grief  she  put

her  feelings  into  each  brush  stroke.

Now  I  am  not  saying  her  painting,

itself,  can  heal,  but  God  works  in

mysterious  ways

and  it  was  God  that  returned  my

Joy  but  He  used  Kecia's  painting.

><>><>><>

If  God  could  use  a  donkey  to

talk  with  Balaam,

than  He  can  use  a  painting  to

restore  Joy  to  me  and  others.

Now  Balaam  and  my  situations  were

different  but  both  meant  to  save.

Grief  can  destroy  you.

I'm  not  talking  about  recent  grief

but  the  type  that  goes  on  for  years  and

eats  away  at  you  and  you  have  no  peace..

you  feel  isolated  from  the  world

²²But God’s anger was kindled because he went,^(A)

 and the angel of the LORD took his stand in the way^(B)

as his adversary. Now he was riding on the donkey,

 and his two servants were with him. ²³And the donkey saw

 the angel of the LORD standing in the road,

with a drawn sword in his hand.

 And the donkey turned aside out of the road

 and went into the field. And Balaam struck the

 donkey, to turn her into the road. ²⁴Then the angel

of the LORD stood in a narrow path between

 the vineyards, with a wall on either side.

²⁵And when the donkey saw the angel of the LORD,

 she pushed against the wall and pressed Balaam’s

 foot against the wall. So he struck her again.

 ²⁶Then the angel of the LORD went ahead

 and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way

 to turn either to the right or to the left. ²⁷When the

 donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down

 under Balaam. And Balaam’s anger was kindled,

 and he struck the donkey with his staff. ²⁸Then the LORD^(C)

 opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam,

 "What have I done to you, that you have struck me

 these three times?" ²⁹And Balaam said to the donkey,

 "Because you have made a fool of me.

 I wish I had a sword in my hand, for then I would kill you.

" ³⁰And the donkey said to Balaam, "Am I not your donkey,

 on which you have ridden all your life long to

this day? Is it my habit to treat you this way?" And he said, "No."

                                        ³¹Then the LORD^(D) opened the eyes of Balaam
                                   and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way
                                      with his drawn sword in his hand. And he bowed down
                                         and fell on his face. ³²And the angel of the LORD said
                                           to him, "Why have you struck your donkey these
                                     three times? Behold, I have come out^(E) to oppose you
                                      because your way is perverse^[a] before me.
                                                           ³³The donkey saw
                                           me and turned aside before me these three times.
                                           If she had not turned aside from me,
                                                                       surely just now
                                           I would have killed you and let her live." ³⁴Then
                                       said to the angel of the LORD,^(F)
                                                     "I have sinned, for I did
                                            not know that you stood in the road against me.
                                         Now therefore, if it is evil in your sight, I will turn
                                         "Go with the men,^(G) but speak only the word
                                     I tell you." So Balaam went on with
                                                                    the princes of Balak.

                                                                      ~Numbers  22:  22 - 35
                                                          

I  WOULD  JUST  SAY  IF  YOU  ARE

DEALING  WITH  GRIEF  ISSUES,

pick  a  very  quiet  time...a  time  where

there  is  no  TV...no  confusion  and  go

to  Kecia's  blog  and  just  spend  a  little  time

looking  at  her  painting  and  reading  her

little  post.

The  painting  and  her  blog  is  very

inspirational.

If  you  click  on  the  button  of  her  painting

at  the  top  of  my  right  side  bar  it  will

take  you  directly  to  the  post.

PLEASE  NOTE:

After rereading my post and a grateful  thought  from

Kecia,  I  wanted  to  make  sure  if  you  are  in  grief

please  DO  NOT  STAY  IN  SILENCE...

there  are  so  many  of

us  hurting  in  blog  land  and  it  is  not  you  ever

want  someone  else  to  have  grief,  but  it  is  so  wonder-

ful  when  you  find  one  another,  can  support  one

another  and  you  know  in  this  great  big  world,  you

are  not  alone...we  have  a  common  bond...

a  support  team

There  are  far  too  many  people

suffering  in  grief  alone.

Sometimes  I  just  don't  know  how  to  properly

say  things  and  Kecia  did  not  know  I  was  going

to  do  a  post  about  her  painting,

so  please  do  not  hold  her  accountable

or  responsible

for  my  opinions.

    I  was  given  permission

to  post  her  painting  on  my  side  bar...

THANK  YOU  KECIA...you  are  awesome.

I  am  so  very  glad  I  found  your  blog.