peace transcends understanding

Pretty Lace Flower

2011-03-18T10:54:00.000-07:00

I made a new pretty! :)

It was really easy to make. You just need: lace, felt, a button, a hot glue gun, and a bobby pin.

I cut the felt into circles and started gluing the lace to the felt in a circle.

When I finished it looked like this.

I glued a button to the center and then glued the bobby pin to the other side. I made my precious, but bashful, sister model the end product.

I love it! It's cute and pretty and I'm going to wear it every day!! The End.

New Projects

2011-02-02T12:00:00.000-08:00

I went outside to scrape the ice off of my car and...that's just NOT going to happen. I decided blogging about my new projects is a much better use of my time. I get bored with days off so I decided to do some reorganizing. I reorganized our linen closet and china cabinet and found TONS of fun fabric. That made me want to be artsy.

I am basically in love with fabric flowers. They are so addicting to make and they are so fun. So, I made a bracelet:

I helped my sister make a headband and my other sister made a pair of lace earrings.

And, here are my artsy pictures that I'm taking of my next project. I can't finish it until I get some pearls. It's going to be a neclace when I get it done. But, I am practicing my photography skills. My awesome and sweet boyfriend, whom I love very much, bought me a camera for Christmas because he wanted to see better pictures on my blog. So...I'm trying for him.

Two Days of Snow and What Am I Doing?

2011-01-31T13:16:00.001-08:00

Playing Tetris on the Wii!

It's so addicting. I need to go do something productive so I am writing this blog post so I will be embarrassed and go clean my room. I hope it works.

Jewelry Boxes

2010-12-30T09:54:00.000-08:00

Here's my Christmas Break projects.

This is what it looked like before I decided to get crafty:

I decided to paint the jewelry box gray (though I think it looks pretty blue).

Then I lined the inside with a black and white polka dot fabric and a yellow and white striped fabric.

Then I put a black and white patterned paper on the sides and on the drawers. The finished product looks like this.

I decided not to do anything with the mirrors on the front. I kind of like them. I may try to trace the flowers with a darker paint, but for now, I think they are fine.

I also decided to play with my sisters jewelry box. She's 12 and never used it before because she thought it was too ugly and childish. Here's what it looked like before:

She painted it pink and yellow and we put yellow striped fabric on the insides. Then we took an old gift bag and put the patterned paper on the top of the jewelry box. The polka dot paper also came from the gift bag and we put heart shaped pieces on the handles. It turned out pretty cute.

Now I need a new project because I'm starting to get bored. :)

Jewelry Box

2010-12-18T09:40:00.000-08:00

I bought this cool jewelry box yesterday when I was thrift store shopping. It's really cool and I want to use it but it needs a little touching up.

I need some inspiration! Any ideas?

My Snow Day

2010-12-12T14:31:00.000-08:00

So, I decided I should go ahead and finish all my art projects I've been working on for my new room. Yes, the one that has no walls or floors right now. At least it has pretty things to hang on the walls that will soon be put up. :)

Here are the 3D Flower Pictures I made:

These are the two biggest frames:

These are the medium sized frames:

And these two are in the smallest frames:

Here's what they will look like when I hang them up on my non-existent walls:

Then I finished my bulletin board. I am going to put a black frame around the whole thing, I just have to spray paint the frame first. :)

The front:

The back:

I need to get a camera that is not my phone so I can actually put up decent pictures. Anyway, that's what I did today!

Headboard

2010-11-26T12:44:00.000-08:00

I really love this headboard idea. There are step-by-step directions on this website. The question is, "Am I ambitious enough to do it?"

Pictures of the New House

2010-11-22T13:52:00.001-08:00

I wanted to post some pictures of the new house. I don't really have any good ones, but I have two and as soon as I actually take some pictures, I will post them. Promise.

This is the front part of the house. I love the porch! We are close to getting our occupancy permit so we may be moving in soon. We also want to knock down a wall and expand the kitchen, so we may not. Everything is all still up in the air...what's new?

This is the log cabin side of the house. I also love this porch. Apparently, I'm a porch girl. The inside of the log cabin is just a huge open room with a loft above half of the room. I think we are going to attempt to have our 30-person-Thanksgiving in the log cabin because we can all sit at one long table. I will definitely document that one.

I will leave you with a picture of my sister in the woods. We found some huge leaves out by the creek. She just looks so happy about that leaf.

My New Room

2010-11-16T13:53:00.000-08:00

A few months ago my parents bought a new house. It has a log cabin attached to the house that was built back in the 1800's. It is on 12 acres of land with woods all around it. I am becoming quite a pioneer woman actually. I chopped up a tree the other day with an axe. (I'm still a little sore from it.) I love this house and really can't wait to get the occupancy permit so we can move in. The house has 4 bedrooms upstairs and my dad is currently working on finishing the basement where my sister and I will live.

Needless to say, I am super excited to start designing my new bedroom! I want a black, gray, yellow and white theme. Similar to this one:

I love the bedspread and stripes in this and I think I want my walls to be this dark gray color.

I really really really love these lamps! They are so fun!

I love this yellow chair and am really hoping to have room in my new bedroom for a chair like this to read and relax in!

Finally, I like this wall decal and I'm kind of thinking I want to put some kind of pretty design on my wall. I also think the rug is really interesting in this room. I'm not too sure it's my style, but it's pretty fun.

So far these are my thoughts for my new room. If you have ideas for me, please let me know. I am very open to suggestions and super excited for my new room!

O Love That Will Not Let Me Go

2010-11-09T19:17:00.000-08:00

Today, I went to work at the pool for the first time in two weeks. I taught a boy who was deathly afraid of the water. I always try to distract kids from their fear by talking to them about their family or things that they like. I asked this boy how old he was and he said, "I'm five...no, I'm six. I don't know." I looked at him surprised he did not know how old he was. Then he said nervously, "I think I'm eight."

After about fifteen minutes of coaxing, I convinced him to get away from the wall and walk with me into the deeper water. He completely panicked, so I started to explain my job to him. I said, "I am here to keep you above the water. If I let you sink, I wouldn't be doing my job. You have to trust me and know that I will not let you go." He looked at me and said, "OK, I'm going to trust you, but if you let me go, we're going back to the wall."

I started thinking about my trust in God. I feel like I see him a lot like that boy saw me. I say, "OK, God, I trust you, but if you let me go..." I can't imagine how God reacts when I put such limited trust in him. When the boy in the pool said, "but if you let me go" I just smiled at him. There was no way I would have let him go under water. I wonder if God just smiles at me when I say, "but if you let me go," knowing he's not going to let me go.

This song popped in to my head while I was walking around with that little guy. I just wanted to share it with whoever happens to read this. :)

O Love That Will Not Let Me Go

"O Love that will not let me go, I rest my weary soul in thee; I give thee back the life I owe, that in thine ocean depths its flow may richer, fuller be.

O light that followest all my way, I yield my flickering torch to thee; my heart restores its borrowed ray, that in thy sunshine’s blaze its day may brighter, fairer be.

O Joy that seekest me through pain, I cannot close my heart to thee; I trace the rainbow through the rain, and feel the promise is not vain, that morn shall tearless be.

O Cross that liftest up my head, I dare not ask to fly from thee; I lay in dust life’s glory dead, and from the ground there blossoms red life that shall endless be."

Brokenness

2008-09-25T21:46:00.000-07:00

Brokenness is one of the scariest things you could ever pray for. Asking God to break you is like asking God to pick you up and throw you at 100 miles an hour straight into a brick wall. When God first starts working in you, you’re flying through the air at 100 miles an hour. Life’s great! Then, all the sudden you’re laying on the ground begging God to save you because you cannot even pick your body up off the ground. It is when I am laying next to that brick wall that I learn the most about who I am and what an incredible God I serve.

God tends to have to teach me the same things over and over again because my sinful mind does not like to remember the great things He has done for me. Just recently, God reminded me, yet again, that I am a daughter of His Kingdom and that I am only complete in Him.

I have recently gone through a remarkable change in my life. A turn of events has caused me to lose everything I thought I had. Because of my “loss,” I have found the one thing I truly needed. I am so richly blessed beyond measure. I am a daughter of the King. I have a father, whose love is unconditional. I have a God who sacrificed His only son to save a sinner like me. I constantly fail Him, yet He forgives me and loves me over and over again. When I was a kid, I used to pray that God would make me perfect like Jesus, just for one day. I wanted to please God so badly that I would beg to be like His Son. Now, I realize that I am His daughter. God has adopted me as His child and I am now a part of His family! I can please Him everyday by living for Him and doing what He commands me.

I cannot help but smile when I think about how much God loves me. I was talking to a friend last night and I felt so silly because I could not stop smiling when talking about how much God loves His children. God has planned out my whole life and He is walking right next to me, holding my hand, through it all. Every single trial and blessing I experience I will experience with God right at my side and with His Spirit in me.

Brokenness is scary, painful, and perfect! It has taught me to look only to Christ. He is the only one who can fill the emptiness I feel in my heart. All I need to do is ask and He will give me the strength I need to live for Him and serve His Kingdom. I am His blessed daughter and it is only in Christ that I will find my true identity.

“I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service.” I Timothy 1:12

As Christ’s saved one, I am His child, an heir to His Kingdom, and here on Earth to serve Him, seek His will, and love His people.

Julie's Thoughts...

2008-08-28T06:33:00.000-07:00

Davy McVicker is way too self-concious. He needs to be happy with the body God gave him and stop worrying about getting a six pack so he can be my best friend. Besides, he should know he'll need an eight pack to get that kind of status. :)

http://www.davysthoughts.blogspot.com

I Have No Idea What to Call This...

2008-06-24T13:56:00.000-07:00

JACOB HAMMACK SMELLS LIKE STINKY, SMELLY, DIRTY, DISGUSTING, ICKY, INTOLERABLE, REVOLTING, AND REPUGNANT TRASH!!

EWW! HOLY COW...EWW!!

I Got Pulled Over on Memorial Day Weekend!

2008-05-27T09:54:00.000-07:00

So yesterday I was super super bored at church. I'm supposed to do the children's program on Sunday nights, but there were only three kids there. So, I called my boyfriend who was at home doing nothing.

I said, "Rescue me and take me in your arms. Rescue me, I need your tender touch. 'Cause I'm lonely, and I'm blue, I need you and your love too, come on and rescue me."

(I really did say that...but it was more because of the song than anything else.)

So my young, strapping, night in shining armor came to save me from the pit of my despair. Anyway, we got in his car and started driving around. I had a Mountain Dew and he had a Fitz Root beer.

We were driving down Clayton Road when he turned to me and said, "Julie, where did you get pulled over the other day?"

I said, "Turn right here."

As he proceeded to turn right, a police officer, stopped at the stop sign, gazed at us.

Tim said, "Is that the guy who pulled you over?"

We both looked at him and I told him it was not the guy. As we continued to drive down Mason Ridge, we saw the police officer make a U-Turn, flip on his lights, and follow us down the road. I looked at Tim and immediately began to laugh. He pulled over and I pointed out the resemblance of a Fitz's Root beer and a Budweiser.

NOTICE:

They look extremely similar.

The police officer angrily walked up to our car and said, "What are you guys drinking?"

I smiled at him and Tim showed him that the supposed beer was actually just an innocent Christian kid Fitz's Root beer. We then proceeded to have a very funny conversation with the man about all the drunk drivers on the road on Memorial Day Weekend. He kindly advised us to stay home and stay alive! We thanked him for the fantastic advise and drove away!

I can now say that I have been pulled over four times in my life: once with my Father, once on my own, and twice with Tim!

More to come...if I remember!

Day 1

2008-05-19T13:17:00.000-07:00

Today I created a blog so that I could be one step closer to becoming Sarah Marie Long's best friend. One day I hope to steal her away from the evil Kelly Leeanne Feltes. Sarah just told be how to spell her middle name...but since they're not really best friends, she doesn't even know how to spell it. She said, "I think." How can you not know how to spell your best friends middle name? That's just pretty much ridiculous. Anyway, Sarah told me this blog is supposed to be for me, so I'm going to talk about myself a little:

Since this is my very first blog post ever I'm going to give a few random but extremely interesting facts about my crazy crazy life:

1. I am one of 10 kids! I'm number 5 and I absolutely love my huge crazy family. I blame almost all of my faults on them, because there are so many of them. It's very easy to do, trust me.

2. I was born on my kitchen floor. My mom doesn't like hospitals, so she waited to go to the hospital till she felt like I was ready to pop out...problem is, I did pop out...too soon! If I'm not blaming my problems on my family, I'm blaming them on that.

3. I work 2 jobs and I'm super busy working all the time. In fact, I'm leaving one job right now to go to my next job. I teach little kiddies how to swim at night and I bother Sarah Marie Long and get paid in the mornings.

Anyway, I have to go...everyone that's reading this...so no one...have a great day! I love you all, but mostly just Sarah Marie Long!