Tuesday's {Tip} Pinterest, Etc.

Okay, I have finally jumped on the Pinterest bandwagon. I have seen it explode this year but never joined. Thanks to my friend Roben-Marie for inviting me! If you don't know what Pinterest is, here is a quote from their "about page":

"Pinterest is a Virtual Pinboard.
Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes. Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests."

Oh my word, I am finding I LOVE it! It's like one big gallery for me instead of having to go to so many different sites to find what I had "liked" previously. It bookmarks the site for me, and I can visually see what I was looking for. I have currently created 11 boards (or folders) thus far which makes it even easier to find what I love. If you want to see how it works, you can see my page here. It is my understanding that there is a long wait-list to join unless you have an invitation. I can certainly give you an invitation but I don't know if there is a limit on how many people I can invite. If you want a board of your own and an invite, just e-mail me your e-mail address and put "Pinterest" in the title so your message doesn't get lost amongst the thousands of others. :) If I have an "invitation limit," I will let you know.

Now onto the "Etc." :)

Twitter
If you haven't noticed, I have also joined Twitter. Now Facebook is one place I am still avoiding like the plague. LOL! Anyway, I will try to update it with important posts, etc. You can find my Twitter info on the top, left-hand portion of my blog. My family has laughed at me and can't believe I will be "tweeting." LOL!

Our Daily Bread Designs
We do not have any inspiration for the August Scrapbook Challenge for you today; HOWEVER, you still have time to get your pages in to win the $25 gift certificate! You can see the August challenge here. I hope you will have time to play along! Pages must be posted to the link by tomorrow at 6 p.m. Eastern.

Thanks for stopping by today, and enjoy your Tuesday! Blessings,

ABC Scripture Challenge {Word #18}, Remember

Challenge Word #18: Remember

Remember. Most of us think of ‘remember’ as a recalling of something. I love this definition of remember: “to retain in the memory; keep in mind; remain aware of.” As Christians, we are to retain God’s word in our hearts and in our minds. We are also called to pass it down to our children. Deuteronomy 6:6-8 says “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.”

A few weeks ago my mother told me that my grandmother’s family Bible was found as they were cleaning out her house. She passed away in February of this year. My mother said “I didn’t even know we had a family Bible.” Well, if my mom didn’t know, I certainly didn’t know either. What a treasure!! But why did none of us know or remember that we had a family Bible. What’s in it? Who wrote in it? When was it purchased? Why wasn’t that treasure passed down along with the faith stories? Now, no one remembers. What a tragedy.

So, how are you raising up the next generation to not only know God but to live fully for Him and to pass down the faith stories so that the generations will remember? Sharing your faith and remembering how God has helped you in the past, moves us forward in our faith. Recording it as it happens also helps us remember accurately and helps the next generation as they walk with our precious Lord. Psalm 105:4-5 says “Look to the LORD and His strength; seek His face always. Remember the wonders He has done, His miracles, and the judgments He pronounced.”

Remember the wonders He has done! Are you doing that? Are you recording it for future generations? If you don’t know where to start, be sure to look through my {Faith Journaling} Challenge. These journaling prompts will help you record your faith story so future generations will remember. What a legacy you can leave behind! Will you start today? And how about using the questions to interview grandparents and other family members? Maybe they haven't recorded His wonders but you could help pass it on by interviewing them! As future generations read your memories and/or hear about them, they can only be strengthened in their own faith. God recorded His words for us to remember. Now will you pass that on too so others can remember also?

For my page today, I wanted it to have a "heritage" feel. So, I used the new Our Daily Bread Designs set called "Seed Packet" that will be released Thursday, Sept. 1st. You don't want to miss this one! The "seed packet" itself looked like it could be a book page too. I also used the new Prima paper called "Printery." I loved the old writing and the ledger paper in this paper pad. The heart is from the ODBD store. It's called "Heart to Heart Lace Doily."  And for my scripture, I chose to use Psalms 105:4-5 I mentioned above. I loved the phrase "remember the wonders He has done."

Papers: Prima Printery, Paper Trey Ink cs
Our Daily Bread Designs Stamps: Seed Packet
Stamp Ink: Archival Ink jet black
Embellishments: Cheery Lynn Heart to Heart Lace Doily die, Authentique petite type circle, Tim Holtz walnut distress stain and tiny attacher, Prima wooden buttons, hemp from Hobby Lobby, misc. twill, Derwent watercolor pencil juniper green

As you share your pages, please be sure to use Keyword ABCSCRC11 when posting your creations in any online galleries. Also, please leave a link to your creation here using Inlinkz! To see all of our previous lessons, please visit this post here. Blessings to each of you,

Organizational {Friday} Answering Your Questions

If you remember from my big blog post/celebration celebrating my subscribers, many of you had questions. Today I thought I would share answers to your questions since some of them were organization related. So, let's get started.

First, many of you commented on how you enjoy my organizational posts, Scripture Challenges, and the new art journaling posts. I have a link list to a lot of my organizational posts here so it's easy to find what you need. Also, because I have been out of town, I haven't had a chance to create any art journaling pages. It is killing me! :) Anyway, I hope to have one for you in the next week or so. I definitely need some crafting time. I have missed it terribly! Now onto your comments/questions.

Jennifer in Ohio asked:
Some topic suggestions: how to organize a series of layouts into actual scrapbooks since some of us are working on recent photos as well as our stash of pictures from earlier in life (or the lives of our relatives).

*Jennifer, I have done several posts on photos. The most recent post shows how I have my pages and photos in my scrapbooks. This works if you are doing recent photos or older photos. You can see that post here. I hope that is what you were looking for. :)

Jennifer continues:
How to arrange finished cards and store them until we give or send them, how to earmark some photos or subjects that inspire me far more than others, and keep track of a growing collection while putting it to use rather than just accumulating papers and embellies.

*I have not had posts on these topics but will add them to my list. Thanks Jennifer!

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Lain said:
More tutorials that are simple and easy would be great!

*I will try to add them as I can. I get so busy so it's harder to take the time to do a tutorial. We will see what I can do. :)

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joannhw said:
I would love to see more scripture challenges in the future.

Laura B asked:
I've wanted to ask you for a while-do you have a compilation of your Faith Journaling and Scripture Challenges in one doc somewhere for easy reference? THis would be so helpful!

*Lain, I am praying about where God will lead me for 2012. Right now we still have the 2011 ABC Scripture Challenge going. Feel free to join in if you haven't done so! I would love to have you or anyone else that wants to dive in! And you can see a compilation of all of my older Scripture Challenges here that can be done at any time! :) Laura, these are lists that hopefully are what you were looking for.

Scripture Challenge 2008
His Holy Name Challenge 2009
Scripture Challenge 2010
ABC Scripture Challenge 2011

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Stamper Gail said:
I would however love to see different types of projects using scripture. Right now I'm in the making of a post board next to my computer where I can perhaps velcro laminated scripture verses each week.

*I try to use scripture on most of my creations. I hope as you look through my blog you will find scriptures for your board. I also just love to open my Bible and see what God gives me right on the page I open to. Hope that helps.

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Olivia said:
Would love to see mini albums with different faith journaling themes.

*Olivia, unfortunately I don't do many mini albums. The closest thing I have to mini albums are my Scripture Challenge pages and ATCs. I do have some ideas for a few things but just never have time to implement them. I will see when and how God expands my time in the future for such things. :)

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Valerie said:
I bookmarked the posts on Kiwi and Sugar...I have ALWAYS wanted a Sun Conure and I live vicariously through you.

*Okay, I had to post a fun one as our last comment. Thank you Valerie! We have had birds since before hubby and I were married 22 1/2 years ago. I had a canary; he had finches. Our love of birds has only increased over the years, and we have always had birds! I must say Kiwi and Sugar are our favorite. Ooops, I am not supposed to play favorites am I? LOL! Anyway, as my knowledge of caring for domestic parrots has increased, so has my joy of them. They are SO very intelligent, and truly a blessing in our lives. Here are Kiwi and Sugar about 30 minutes after we arrived home from our 17-day vacation this past Sunday. They are a hoot, and I hope y'all enjoy!

Thank you all for your questions, your love, and your prayers. You all are a blessing, and may God protect those of you in the path of Hurricane Irene! Happy Friday!

{Faith Journaling} Challenge #89

As I prayed each morning on the beach for the last 2 weeks, I realized it is where I have my very best prayer time. I don't know why. I think it's because it's where I feel closest to God. It then hit me, why don't I use an ocean CD for my prayer time at home each day. Oooh, I ordered one, and I am so excited to see how I like it! I know I have heard of others using music during their quiet time too so today, please share:

**When sitting down for your quiet time with the Lord, do you sit in silence or do you play some sort of music in the background?

Acts 4:24b ". . .'Sovereign Lord,' they said, 'You made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.'"

How awesome that He give us His amazing and beautiful creation! If you want to see our Prayer Tree and hear the waves, this is where we go each morning for our prayer time:

Remember, to find all previous faith journaling questions, please see this post here. Blessings to each of you,

{Faith Journaling} Challenge #88

We see many instances of angels in the Bible. Tuesday, 8/16/2011, while on vacation, we had to put one of our beloved dogs down. It has been very hard for us especially since we were not there. But God gave me an angel yesterday morning as I rode my bike to the beach. It is something I will always remember, and I say thank you to the Lord and "Mr. Bojangles." So today,

**How has God given you an angel or guarded you with His precious angels during a difficult or fearful time?

Psalm 91:11-12 "For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone."

How comforting to know that God sends His angels to watch over us. Remember, to find all previous faith journaling questions, please see this post here. And may you rest in peace now my precious Dusty! Blessings,

Tuesday's {Tip} Uploading ALL of Those Vacation Photos

Today I wanted to share a post I did back in 2008. I know I have many new subscribers, and I am not sure how many of you remember this one, and it is something I STILL do with my vacation photos and love. Click the link below to read it:

**Vacation and Photos

I hope you find it helpful, and I will leave you with a couple of photos from this morning's beach ride. Eeek, and this alligator was mad! I think he thought I was going to take whatever it was from him. Do you think it was a rock? That's what my girls and I thought but we are still not sure.

Well, have a joyous day, and to see all of my older Tuesday's {Tips}, look at the link list here. I do need to update it but there are still some great ones there for you. Enjoy the day!

ODBD {Customer Contest} Mid-Month Stamp Release!

Our Daily Bread Designs is having a special middle-of-the-month stamp set release! If you remember, back in March, Kelley was looking for favorite scriptures for a new ODBD set. She had a Customer Favorite's Contest, and now it's time to reveal the winners and the new, beautiful sets called Scripture Series 2 and Scrolly Borders. To see all of the details and the samples made by the winners, please see Kelley's post here.

The design team has also created some beautiful cards and layouts using these new sets. Be sure to start on the ODBD blog and go through the blogs to see the beautiful creations. You should be joining me from Gemiel's blog. If not, head back to ODBD to start the fun! Kelley has hidden prizes along the way, so you will want to be sure and visit each blog and leave a comment.

I created an 8x8 scrapbook page with both of the new sets. This scripture was perfect for our Texas Mountain Laurel that finally bloomed!

Papers: Prima Sweet Fairy, Bazzill cs
Our Daily Bread Designs Stamps: Scripture Series 2 and Scrolly Borders
Stamp Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink dusty concord and embossing ink, Ranger clear ep
Embellishments: flowers and leaves from Wild Orchid Crafts, Zva Creative pearl flourishs, Hero Arts pearls, sewing machine

Now be sure to visit all of the other amazing DT blogs. Here is the list if you missed the order:

Sabrina
Fran
Lisa
Becca
Angie
Sandee
Dawn
Connie
Marie
Grace
Lori
Chris
Julie
Debi
Gemiel
Patter (that's me)
Silke
Pat
ODBD

Silke's amazing blog is your next stop from here. Remember there are THREE $20.00 Gift Certificates hidden along the way so you need to visit and comment on each DT blog listed here on the ODBD blog! You never know where those prizes are hiding! Check back on Wednesday, August 17, to see if you are a winner! Have fun, and blessings,

ABC Scripture Challenge {Word #17}, Qualified

**Please note: To see the random RAK winner, please click here! :)


Challenge Word #17: Qualified

Have you ever thought about the word qualified (necessary skills, knowledge, credentials)? Let’s look at it for a minute. To get a job we must have certain qualifications. To get a driver’s license, we must meet certain qualifications. To get a loan for a car, house, or any other loan, you must qualify. To enter the Olympics, you must qualify. Almost anything we do in life here on earth has qualifications. However, have you ever looked at what God’s qualifications are for service? Most of the time, He calls the unqualified people to do His amazing work here on earth.

One of my favorite examples of this in scripture is Moses. Do you remember when God called Moses to go to Pharaoh to bring the Israelites out of Egypt? In Exodus 3:10-11, we see God speaking to Moses. He says “’So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.’ But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?’” Have you ever asked God if you were qualified to do something He has called you to do? Or maybe you did not do as He called because you felt you were not qualified. But agh yes, if He calls you, you are qualified! He will enable you to do as He calls. His power is made perfect in our weakness, and He alone will be glorified. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 says “But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Moses also had many questions for the Lord as he was called. Moses even goes so far as to share how he was unqualified to do what God had called him to do. In Exodus 4:10 Moses says “O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since You have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” God replies and says in Exodus 4:11-12 “The LORD said to him, ‘Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.’” How awesome that God tells Moses He will help him. But if you continue reading Exodus 4, you will see that Moses then asks God to send someone in his place and God becomes angry. I pray that you will not follow Moses example but trust that God will give you all you need in whatever He calls you to do. I have seen the Holy Spirit work through me so many times especially when I am called to lecture for a Bible Study Fellowship class. I am always in awe of how He gives me the words and speaks through me directly to the women. It is SUCH a blessing to me to watch Him work through me. And the words certainly are not my own; they are truly from Him. I cannot claim any glory for it! It is ALL His. For those of you that have experienced what I am talking about, I know you are awestruck too. It is amazing to “sit back” and watch Him work! To God be the glory!

Well, I did not get a page done for this week’s challenge. We are still on my glorious vacation. When I get one completed, however, I will get it posted for you!

So remember, when He calls, He will equip you to do His work thus making you qualified! How amazing is that? And often He does not put us in positions where we are overconfident. The glory belongs to Him and only Him. We cannot take the credit as we could not do what we are doing without Him. He provides everything we need in order to complete our task. Will you listen and obey today even if you ‘think’ you are not qualified?

As you share your pages, please be sure to use Keyword ABCSCRC11 when posting your creations in any online galleries. Also, please leave a link to your creation here using Inlinkz! To see all of our previous lessons, please visit this post here. Blessings to each of you,

You Guessed It--RAK Winner!

Okay, y'all are just too smart! I thought for sure I would stump you with my little challenge I posted the other day (look here). The very first answer and the majority of the answers posted below were correct!  Here was the challenge photo to be identified:

And here is the actual photo:

Yes, it is from a Palmetto tree from my home state of South Carolina! I even have it on my car! It is our state tree and even on our beautiful state flag!

Just a beautiful tree and always makes me feel at home! And so now onto our random winner from the correct answers posted. Our winner is:

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:
4
Timestamp: 2011-08-14 11:39:40 UTC

And number 4 belongs to Cassie! Cassie said:

"Cassie said...
It looks like the bark of a palmetto tree. What a lovely bike ride you must have had :)
AUGUST 12, 2011 8:46 AM"

Huge congrats Cassie.  Please e-mail your address to me, and I will get your prize off to you when I return home. :) And thanks for making me laugh everyone. I will have to stump you much harder next time! Blessings,

A Little {Friday Fun}

Today, I thought I would share a few photos from my morning bike ride but also give you a challenge! First, here are a few shots from this morning's ride:

The gator was only a baby but he sure was moving fast. :) And it was high tide this morning so we didn't have a lot of room for riding like we usually do. Guess I better check the tide schedules. LOL!

Now for your challenge. Identify what these photographs are from:

I am looking for a specific name. :) Each correct entry will be entered to win some crafting goodies including a Unity stamp handle, some ODBD stamps, and whatever else I can find and put together once I get home. Sorry I don't have a picture. I will have to share that once I am home. :) You have until tomorrow night (Saturday), 8/13, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern to enter your guess in the comment section. :) Have fun guessing, and have a joyous weekend ahead. :)

Art {Journaling} Bookmark

**Please note: To see today's {Faith Journaling} post, please click here.

Some of you may remember this post from a few weeks ago when I shared my new BSF notebook for this coming BSF year.

Well, I also made a magnetic bookmark to match my BSF notebook. To create the canvas notebook cover, I painted a piece of canvas with gesso. After letting it dry, I then painted the canvas. You can see it here as I was working on it.

After I was done painting, I cut out the canvas pieces for the notebook.  I then had several strips of canvas left over that I did not want to go to waste, so I decided to make bookmarks out of the strips.

Look at those great strips! To create the bookmark, I used 1" strips. I then used my sewing machine to sew around the edges. I also doodled on each piece. You can see the sewing and doodling in the center strip above.

Then I folded the canvas in half, used the sewing machine across the top to keep it folded, and then added Basic Grey magnets.

I used the ODBD stamp set called the Cross of Christ to stamp a cross on the bookmark. I also finished the canvas with Krylon Matte Finish so that it holds up through the years. Here is how it turned out:

Stamps: Our Daily Bread Designs Cross of Christ
Paint: Adirondack Paint Dabber pitch black
Stencils: Delta daisies
Other Products: Liquitex gesso, Dr. Ph Martin's India Inks, Pilot permaball pen, Basic Grey magnetic discs

I absolutely LOVE this bookmark. Very sturdy yet different. I made one for one of my daughter's too. I still have a couple of strips left to make a couple more. They each turn out slightly different because of the variety in the painting.  So fun and easy to do!

I hope you enjoy today's creation. Have a joyous Thursday, and as always, thanks for stopping by! Blessings,

{Faith Journaling} Challenge #87

With summer winding down, people taking their "last minute vacations," and kids getting ready to head back to school, I thought it would be fun to share:

**When on vacation, do you attend a local church? Why or why not?

Acts 9:32 "As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the Lord’s people who lived in Lydda."

Remember, to find all previous faith journaling questions, please see this post here. May you enjoy your time of worship this week! Blessings,

One Bike Ride

What a morning! In one bike ride today, God blessed us with so much of His beautiful creation.  We saw:

*An alligator sunning itself. So far I am better this year. I am staying away. Most of you know that I tend to get a little too close to these guys. :)

*Two cranes in the tops of pine trees making LOTS of racket. They truly sounded like monkeys. He is the white "blob" in the middle of the pine tree.

*We heard a woodpecker pecking but we could never find him.

*And we road along side a pod of dolphins. There were at least 12 that we counted but I could only get a photo of one or two at a time.

*And as we head back home, this is the house two houses down from us. They have a bike cut through we use to get to the path to the beach. :)

Yes, a beautiful and glorious Monday morning. God so richly blessed us today, and I pray He blesses you in the same way in this week ahead! Yes, this is truly divine nature! Blessings,

Romans 1:20 "For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse."

Art {Journaling} Random

**Please note: To see today's {Faith Journaling} post, please click here.

Things here have been quite crazy. There is a lot going on, and I really couldn't even concentrate for this page. But that's what makes this fun as everything can be random! So, this page reflects the craziness but also shares that if I focus on the Lord, He will make my paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-7 "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight."

Stamps: Our Daily Bread Designs The Living Bread (cross), Rollagraph Say What, Making Memories Simply Fabulous foam "r"
Stamp Ink: Archival Ink jet black
Pen: Pentel EnerGel
Stencils: The Crafter's Workshop circles, bubble wrap, misc. stencils from Hobby Lobby
Paints: Dr. Ph. Martin's Bombay India Inks; Adirondack Paint Dabber pitch black and sail boat blue; Portfolio Oil Pastel black
Other: Liquitex gesso
Ephemera: scriptures from vintage Bible encyclopedia

Sorry this is short but gotta get back to the craziness, and yes, it's only 4:45 a.m. :) Thanks for joining me today, and have a blessed weekend ahead!

{Faith Journaling} Challenge #86

Last week we talked about the time of our weekly church service. This week, I thought it would be fun to record names. There are countless places within the Bible where you can read the recording of names. So today, let's share about the names that are important to us in our local church:

**How many pastors do you have on staff? What are their names and ministries?

Exodus 28:21 "There are to be twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes."

Remember, to find all previous faith journaling questions, please see this post here. Enjoy your journaling time! Blessings,