New Babies - And Their Naughtiness

I recently inherited a new kitty from a friend of mine that unexpectedly passed away.  Her husband asked me to take her sweet baby in, and I readily agreed.  She came to me on August 21, and this beautiful baby girl is now one of my fur-babies.  Her name is Amirah (Arabic for "Princess).

The old cat, Bob (he's 6 years old now-WOW!), is just barely getting used to her.  He can now be in the same room with her without throwing a temper tantrum.  God forbid she touch him, though!  And touch him, she does!  Often!  Just to tick him off!  He was at the foot of the bed the other day, and she was sitting up near the top next to me.  She just kept staring and staring and inching closer to him.  He ignored her until she got about 6 inches away, and by then he'd had enough.  He just sat up, and smacked her in the face and knocked her off the bed.  It was quite entertaining!

Bently is excited to have a playmate, but she's not convinced she's going to play with him yet.  He get's so excited, and rushes towards her (which freaks her out).  I think they will be best buds before long, it will just take a little time.

Of course, he will have to be able to trust her not to swipe his ears off when his back is turned.  That might take a LOT more time.

This is his OMG-MOM!-AMIRAH-JUST-TRIED-TO-SLASH-MY-FACE-OFF!!! face.

Believe it or not, he usually looks a little more worried than this.  He's so precious!

She is causing quite the stir in our household!

The only times Bently has ever gotten into the trash was when my bestie's dog was around, and they decided to explore the smells together.  Since my dog is pretty good about not committing such unpardonable sin on his own, imagine my surprise when I walked into the bathroom a few days ago to find trash strewn across the floor.  I was convinced that Bently was the offender due to the tell-tale piece of evidence hanging from the side of his mouth.  Naughty.  He recieved a spanking and was sent to his bed.

However, I'm fairly certain now that Amirah was in fact the mischievous child and blamed the dog (how like a cat!).  This is due in part to the fact that last night I found Benlty sitting in my bedroom barking (tattling) at the empty bathroom with garbage littering the floor.  I wasn't sure it was him, but just to be safe I put him in his bed anyway (it was already bedtime).  I didn't yell at him or spank him, since he was already looking repentant (looking back, I'm pretty sure that's b/c he was trying to tell me he knew better, and it WAS NOT him--this time), and even then I wasn't thoroughly convinced it was him.

What really convinced me that it was the cat, however, was walking into the bedroom where I had been keeping Amirah separated from the other fur-babies (until recently) to find more shredded trash dotting the floor.

I MEAN!!  Look at that baby!!  How could such a sweet, innocent, fur-angel get into GARBAGE??

HA!  Innocent, my foot!  It's only that cute face that saves him.

Kitchen chairs. So. Much. Pretty!

I bought these two chairs from Goodwill at two different times.  I paid $4.99 for one, and less than $10 (can't remember exactly how much) for the other.  I plan on decorating my kitchen in a coca-cola theme one day, so b/c these chairs were so ugly, I decided to go ahead and re-do them.

Loves!!

The $4.99 chair:

Bently was sniffing out the new smells.

Chair #2

I had originally planned to put the second chair in my craft room, so I was going to paint it multiple colors.  I changed my mind when I sold my kitchen chairs.  :)  Glad I did!  I love how it turned out!!

Maria's Guitar--That I ALMOST Kept

So, I made this clock for my brother a couple of Christmases ago.  He is majoring in Classical Guitar at the Schwob School of Music of Columbus State University.  (Wow, that's a mouthful.)  We're all very proud of him.  *sniff*

He was in some big competition the summer before I gave him the clock, and he placed, or got second, or something.  I can't keep up.  Anyway, it was a big deal.  We're all very proud of him.  *sniff*

So, I saw this idea on one of the blogs I follow:  My Repurposed Life.  She took an old, beat up guitar that she found on the side of the road and turned it into a clock.  It was pretty stellar, and I immediately thought of my wee brother when I saw it. 

I did mine slightly different.  I used a child-size guitar that my parents had bought for my youngest brother that never worked well.  I painted the tuning pegs the same bright red as the clock hands and guitar picks.  I also used the sheet music from his competition.  But it's pretty much the same thing.

This is my brother with his guitar clock:

He took it to school with him, and he got all kinds of compliments on it, and one of his friends wanted to buy one.  He and his buddies ended up buying one from me for her birthday.  When I asked him what colors she would like he said, "I dunno.  Light colors.  No Pink."  Ok.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE how this one turned out!  I liked his, but this one is more feminine and girlie.  Check it:

I painted the "head" (I don't really know all the technical terms of the guitar parts) and the clock face a pretty sea-green color.  The tuning pegs, the "neck/fret board," (whatev) and the clock hands I painted the same goldish/copperish/metalic tan color.  The sides and back of the body are aqua blue.  

I used an old, scratched up CD for the clock face.  I modpodged (which is decoupage with Mod Podge glue) the sheet music to her favorite song to the front of the body.  I cut out the name of her song and put it in the 12 o'clock position on the clock face.  My mom cut out the fancy music notes on her fancy Cricut machine (THANKS MOM!), and dad cut the hole in the guitar a little bigger so I could fit the clock mechanism into it (THANKS DAD!).  I had to use a washer to screw the clock mechanism to the CD b/c the CD hole is too big, so I also modpodged a little sheet music to cover the ugly washer. Turned out perfect!   I used Velcro to attach the clock face to the guitar so the batteries can be changed easily.

How adorable is that??  I really like how it turned out.  With my brother's, I didn't like how the clock face disappeared b/c of all the sheet music.  Since I painted the CD on this one, it really makes it pop!  I also like the music notes better than the guitar picks that I used on my brother's.  The guitar picks were cool on his, but these add a little bit of a feminine touch.

You like?  I sure do!

Are You Attacking in Condemnation or Informing in Love?

It truly saddens me when Christians attack non-Christians for their beliefs.  We are supposed be a witness and an example of Christ's love.  We can't very well do that when we harass someone for having different moral standards than we do.  Well, OF COURSE they believe differently!!  We base our beliefs (or are supposed to be, anyway) on biblical principles.  What are they basing their beliefs on?  Emotions.  World views.  Current events.  Personal experience.  Whatever it is, it's going to be a different basis than the Bible!!

Why is it that Christians think it's fine for them to jump down someone's throat because that person supports (for example) same sex marriage or abortion?  I do not believe that either of those things are Biblical, and I do not support them.  But it certainly is not my place or my duty to berate someone for thinking those things are OK.  It is not my place to attack, judge, and condemn a person that I am trying to witness to for Christ.  It is God's place to convict their hearts and make them see the truth, and it is my job to tell them what I believe--what the Bible says about various subjects--in a gently and loving manner.  I cannot and will not convince someone that they are wrong in their belief by attacking and condemning them--the only thing they will walk away convinced of is that I am a crazy, right-wing, religious nut who has no room for understanding and love in my heart.

Let's look at Christ as an example of how we are to treat others (both non-believers and fellow Christians).  When He walked the earth, He preached and taught to crowds of people.  He had one-on-one conversations with both believers and non-believers.  He healed the sick spiritually as well as physically, always correcting in love.  The Samarian woman at the well--did He condemn her for having been married multiple times and then moving in with a man?  Nope.  The woman caught in adultery--did He cast stones at her like the crowd was urging Him to.  No.  He forgave her and sent her on her way.  He gently convicted her accusers by telling them that if there were any there without sin, they should cast the first stone.

And then I hear people throw around Matthew 21:12-13: "[12] And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, [13] And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves."

OK, so 1)  These people were defiling the house of God.  Jesus is God.  Ergo, He had the right to use a little force to clean up His house.  If I had property that I was renting out, and I found out the my renters were using my house for drugs or anything like that, you'd better believe I'd be doing whatever I needed to clean my property up!!  We, as Christians, have a covenant (a contract, if you will) to do right morally, spiritually, etc.  I'm pretty sure that part of that "doing right" is to keep His house clean and holy!

2) At this moment in time, Jesus was not trying to bring these people to Him.  He was not trying to convert them.  He was not trying to preach/teach them.  He was taking out the trash, so to speak.  When I clean the toilets or take out the trash, it's not something I do with gentle love for the dirt and grime garbage.  I do it because it needs to be done.  Every time Jesus was trying to convert a non-believer, he did it in loving manner.  Not force.  Not anger.  Calm, gentle love.  THAT is how we should be a witness.

It's OK to voice your belief!  As long is you are doing it in love and with compassion toward those that do not have understanding of the Bible.  It's also completely understandable when someone who is a non-believer says something unkind and it hurts your feelings and/or makes you angry.  However, it's not OK to bite back.  Even if someone else "started it" (to bring the juvenile excuse forward, as we so often tend to do), be the better person!  Do as Christ commands and turn the other cheek!  That is part of being a Christian!

It's this kind of attitude that some Christians have (that it's OK to blast away at someone for believing in something that is morally and spiritually depraved) that make the rest of us look bad.  And, OOOOHH, it irks me!!

And just in case you think I'm just ranting and raving, try reading Matthew 5.  Let me share a few of the verses with you that are the reasons for me feeling this way:
Matthew 5 (KJV)
[5] Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. (As my dad says, meekness is not weakness.  It is strength under control.  When you say a horse is "meek," you are not saying he cannot carry his master on his back.  You are saying that he is submissive to and gentle with his master.  We are to be submissive to our Master God and His commandments.)
...
[7] Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
...
[9] Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
[10] Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
[11] Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you , and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
[12] Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
[13] Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
[14] Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
[15] Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
[16] Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
...
[21] Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
[22] But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca {means empty, i.e. a senseless, empty headed man--a term of reproach used among the Jews in the time of Christ}, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
...
[38] Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
[39] But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
[40] And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.
[41] And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
[42] Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
[43] Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
[44] But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
[45] That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
[46] For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
[47] And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
[48] Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

It's so easy to get offended by people who believe differently, but as Christians, we should be more careful about what we say and the manner in which we say it.  Proverbs 25:11 says "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver."  A "word fitly spoken" is the right word, at the right time, and in the right manner, with the right attitude.

I wish more people would be more careful about their testimony for Christ.

If I were a Fairy Princess

I like to read fairy tales.

Don't judge.

I also like classics, sci-fi, mystery, thrillers, etc.  I like to read.  (Not so much drama or romance, though.  ugh)

A recurring plot in fairy tales is one that includes a lost or in-hiding fairy princess that is being raised by good, human parents in a modern world, and she has no idea what her real identity is and blah, blah, blah.

What I want to know is, do authors really imagine that said fairy princess who has been raised speaking our current dialect is going to inexplicably begin speaking in a dialect from the Middle Ages when she arrives in her fairy home after finding out her true identity?

I mean, really. . .

If I were a lost fairy princess (shut up--maybe I am.  YOU'LL never know!) that has found my way "home," I'm not gonna say, "Oh, Father, how I have long wished for this day!"  Or, "Oh, dear.  Sweet sister, dost thou know what hast occurred?"  I'd probably say, "Hey, Dad (assuming that I've accepted the king as my parental figure along with my new-found place in the Land of Faerie), I'm glad you found me!"  Or, "Woah, woah, WOAH!  _____ (insert abbreviation of fairy sister's funky name here b/c I probably wouldn't be able to pronounce it correctly), what the heck just happened?"

Hmmm.

Sweet patrons, I thank you all for your kind interest in my . . .

Oh forget it.

Thanks for reading!

:)

The year-long project. Oi!

I finally finished it.

I love it.

But for many a sundry reason, it took me a year from start to finish.  Here it is:

Yes, thank you, I know the door is a little crooked--just waiting on my awesome dad to come over and help me fix it.  Other than that, isn't it fun?  

Here's the before:

Yowza.

Let me just say:  stripping is SO not my thing!  

. . . 

. . . 

. . .

Get your mind out of the gutter.  I meant THIS kind of stripping:

That process only took about three weeks!  Sheesh.  And then I sanded.  Messy!  

The drawer guides all needed to be replaced, and as I am NOT a carpenter (that would be so cool, though!), I enlisted my wonderful father.  He's awesome.  He spoils me.

Then I moved the whole thing into my living room to paint it.  Fewer bugs were likely to land in the wet paint since I could mostly only paint at night after work.

This was before I had my new floors, so I wasn't totally concerned with keeping the paint/primer off of the floor.  Ha!

I didn't get any pictures of the paper process, but I just Mod Podged the wrapping paper to the front of the drawers and the door.  I also painted the inside of the cabinet and the drawers, and I lined the shelf and drawer bottoms with black and white wrapping paper.  I Mod Podged the shelf, but just stuck the paper in the drawers with double stick tape.  I didn't really feel the need to go through the extra trouble with the inside of the drawers.  I probably could have gotten away with that on the shelf, too.  I love that black and white paper, though!  It makes me want to leave the drawers and door open!  

I do believe that my favorite thing about this whole piece is the knobs!  I heart them!

I sealed all the paint, etc, and put it all together.  It's in my living room, and it's the best looking piece in there.  I need to get busy with the rest of the room!

God's Perfect Timing

As I sit here in my chair thinking of all the wonderful things God has done for me lately, I am struck by His awesome power and His amazing love and His faithful provision.  I have been overwhelmed by the goodness of God in the last few months.  There are so many things He has done for me--both little and BIG.  I would love to share a few examples. . .

Here's a little example. . .

I bought a car a couple of years ago, and it had been a rental before I purchased it.  The dealership only had one key for it, and ever since I bought the car, I was a little nervous that I would lose my keys or lock my keys in the car.  My car is a Chrysler, and they have those weird keys that are attached to the unlock remote thingies (usually a little pricey to get a copy made).  It hasn't really been an option yet (financially) to order a second key, so I've just been very careful to pay attention to where my keys are at all times!  

Well, a couple of weeks ago, I decided that it really was time to bite the bullet and find a place that can make a second key for me.  I didn't really want to spend the money, but I figured it would be better than calling road side assistance to get me into my car if I locked my keys in.  And if I lost my keys, I'd just have to get another one made anyway, plus deal with the extra hassle.  My dad told me about a place that makes remote lock keys a little cheaper than other places, so I decided I would check it out.  Literally, the very next day my friend had a flat tire (not so fun for her, but she had a warranty on the tires so she didn't have to pay anything to get it fixed), and she was unable to find her jack.  So I went to meet her so she could use mine (she finally located hers under her driver's seat--driver's seat???), and as I was pulling my jack out of it's little compartment, I saw a little ziplock baggie with a spare key in it.  God's perfect timing!  I know it's not a serious expense, but it's still money I don't have to spend on an extra key!  God is good!

Here are two BIG examples of God's perfect timing. . .

I won't go into detail, but I've been trying to refinance my house for a few months.  We hit a few speed bumps with the appraisal coming in low, and it caused a few hitches in the flow of traffic, so to speak.  The bank and I were able to work together to work out all the wrinkles, but it was absolutely God's timing and provision that ultimately allowed it to work out.  God put a little bug in my mom's ear, and she put a little bug in my dad's ear who then went to talk to a banking acquaintance of his who then gave me some helpful advice on what questions to ask and what info to give to get my loan officer and the loan processor to reopen the file and work out the details.  Once they reopened the file and started looking at all the fees I should/should not be paying vs. the credits I should be getting, they were able to work it out, and the new loan amount was reduced by enough to allow the loan to go through.  One of the credits they were able to work in was from a government program that I qualified for b/c of the area I live in.  According to the bank, they only JUST started this program in my area, and my bank is one of the few providers for it.  I closed on the refinance yesterday.  God is so good!

Back in December of last year I received an unexpected bonus check from my employer.  I was so excited!  I decided that I was going to use that money to install new flooring in parts of my house!  I started looking at different options, and found a flooring that I thought would match my planned decor perfectly.  Unfortunately it was a little higher than I wanted to pay, and I would only be able to do the living room and hall.  No problem, I can do something else in the rest of the house, I decided.  However, a few unexpected expenses came up and I was unable to do it at the time.  I was very disappointed--the carpet in my house severely needs to be removed!  However, I figured that God knew I would need that money to pay for some things.

Then my tax return came.  Great!  NOW I can get my new floors!  Nope, it just didn't work out.  What I had set aside for new flooring ended up being used for the loan application on the refinance.  No matter, I can use the money I'll be getting back from escrow on the old loan or the money I'll be saving from the month I won't have to make a mortgage payment!  When I found out the bank denied my loan, I was, again, sorely disappointed.  But, as I said, God is good, and He worked out the loan!  Viola, I have the option to redo some of my flooring again!

Here's where God's perfect timing comes in!  I went to the store that carries the flooring I had picked out, and I found out that it has been discontinued.  The store I went to has no more of it, but another store a few miles further does still have 700 square feet of it.  He said he would give me a "good deal" on it if I would by the whole amount.  Well, I only need about 400 square feet to do the main floors (the bedrooms could wait), and the price discount wasn't enough to make it worth it to me to buy the whole 700sf.  I had a budget I did not want to exceed, and the deal wasn't quite good enough.  So, I went home to think about it and consider which rooms I really wanted to do.  The next day, I called the other store location to see if they really had the flooring in stock, and the gentleman confirmed that, yes, they did have it in stock, and since this particular flooring has been discontinued, they were selling it at half the original price!  A-MEN!!!  Now THAT was a deal!  I swooped that one up!  That discount lowered the price to less than it would have cost me to do the 400 sf at the price the other location quoted me.  In fact, when I went to pick up the flooring, the final price was $120 less than my budgeted amount, and I am able to replace ALL of the carpet in my house.  God is good!

If I had bought the flooring back in December or January, there's no way I would have gotten that kind of discount.  Now, b/c of God's perfect timing, I will be able remove all of the carpet in my house, and replace it with the flooring I chose along with some very beautiful porcelain tile that my parents are giving me left over from a job they had.  They have just enough tile to do one of the bedrooms and, possibly, both bathrooms (eventually).

Amazing.