Repurposed casserole server

I had 2 casserole servers and couldn't figure out what to do with them..then one day I thought of making them into chalkboards!! I used a jig saw to cut a piece of wood to fit..it was my first time using it and I have to say I'm excited now to cut more of my ideas!! I used a chalkboard paint from home depot and attached a piece of chalk using a piece of twine! This will be super cute in a tea house or shabby chic room or kitchen! Can also be hung on the wall using picture frame wire! Have fun creating!

It's not just about the meatloaf

Today I had an opportune time to have what I'd call "me time" however after picking up the house I soon found myself making a meatloaf. I laugh out loud and  I said to myself "how did my "me time" turn into making a meatloaf?" 

After laughing, I soon put on my Pandora music station and started worshiping the Lord while chopping my celery, bell pepper,and onion. Soon enough I had all my ingredients mixed together.. Ready to put my ketchup on top I stopped and laughed again as I wrote with the ketchup "meatloaf" on top of my prepared loaf.

My daughter would think I'm silly but this is the way the Lord allows me to enjoy what I do. I thought about it for a bit and knew I needed to blog about it because there are ladies out there that are housewives and at home with the little ones..maybe you feel like you are in a slump, maybe feeling dull and lacking laughter,  and my encouragement to you today is try to laugh and enjoy your moments to the fullest The Bible says "a happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing, but a broken spirit dries up the bones. (Proverbs 17:22)

Maybe today you need to bake a cake "just because"...

Maybe you need to slip a note in your husband's lunch and say...
"can't wait to see ya tonite..wink wink!

Or maybe you just need to sit down and laugh or have a good dance with your kids!

Don't be afraid to enjoy life..God has created you that your joy may be full! (John 15:11) 

Now I'm going to send a text to my husband with my meatloaf picture..."honey guess what's for dinner?" Meatloaf! 

Be blessed and be full of joy today!
Love KimmyG

How God gets my attention...

Sure id like to think that God has my full attention all the time but just like all of us at times the busyness of our lives can distract us from what God is really trying to do. 

Yesterday was one of those days...I woke up with MY strategic plan. First coffee and then I knew i could tackle the cleaning that needed to be done for the open house and still make it in time for an appt with my hairstylist for a much needed adjustment of my hair color. (lets just say it was a bit too orangey for me but going from black to brown was probably a bit much) lesson learned.

I had just arrived to the hair salon and i changed into a robe when her assistant gave me a delicious cup of coffee.
I took a deep breath and sat back in the chair. It was at that moment I noticed a young girl walk in the salon. .She asked if they were hiring and the assisant tells her no. She walks out and starts crying. I immediately knew i needed to talk to her so I watch her as she wipes her tears and goes into the next business. Talk about determination. I assume she asks again if they are hiring and soon comes out wiping her eyes again.
So here iam standing outside, in a robe with "orange hair" calling out for this girl to talk to me. Now that i think about it i was deperately trying to get her attention but if I took a look at the BIG picture... I know this was actually Gods way of getting MY attention! (I'll explain later)
I told her I seen her crying. and I asked her what was wrong? She bursts into tears and shares with me that her daughter had been taken from her. She crys and says she needs a job..she continues to cry so i hugged her and we talked for a bit...
Eventually she went on her way with my phone number and i sat in the stylists chair knowing that God had just placed her in my path for a reason.Do you see the BIG picture?  It wasn't about my hair at all.
Just like I was desperately trying to get her attention...He had been trying to get mine. To remind me of what he has called me to do...minister to women. After all it does say in Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

God is always reminding  me that there are ladies out there dealing with worse...and how they need to know that His love is near and to give them encouragement to make it through!
I'm sure you can relate, and maybe you too have been so busy that the Lord is trying to get your attention..maybe even through this post!! Does He have your attention? What is it that the Lord is saying to you right now?

Through the Seasons

It's been such a long time since I've blogged I guess you can say I was in a "season"..a busy one! This morning meditating on Ecclesiastes 3 I realized that it's so true, there IS a season for EVERYTHING under heaven. (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

For the last year I went through a wonderful season of growth being the director of the Life Builder Women's Resource Center. I have to say it was an AMAZING season that God took me through.

I can still remember the day that I was there alone, an empty building, dirty floors, so quiet i could almost hear my own breath echo in the building because it was so empty...

I remember saying to the Lord, "Why do you have me here?"
(being a stay at home mom for 11 years and enjoying it, I was a little curious!) and He said, "Because I want you to see that you can do this from the ground up"

Wow, talk about a season! A season of true growth..we went from empty to overflowing.

 

I met so many wonderful ladies, which many became my friends. As I sit here thinking about this season I can only imagine what the seasons were for them and what was truly nurtured in that season in their lives. (Ecclesiastes 3:2 a time to plant and a time for harvest) I have to believe that what was planted for both them and I , one day will be a wonderful harvest!

There were such great times there... it makes me smile thinking "it's true when you love what your doing, it doesn't seem like work!" It never once felt like "work".

At the center ladies learned how to manage their finances, how to start their own business, some ladies came to do 1 on 1 computer training, ladies even came out to have a fun night of zumba! I was just reminded that even the zumba instructor learned that she could do a zumba class! (that story brings tears to my eyes because she was grieving her moms death when she came in my office.)

I remember it like it was yesterday..She said, "I can't volunteer right now, but when I'm better id love to help." The Lord prompt me to ask her, "What is it that you like to do?" She said, "Zumba, I have my zumba certificate to be an instructor when I retire!" I said, "Well when your ready you can do a zumba class for us! She said, "wow really? Ive never done a class before." I told her, "Than this would be a perfect place to start! You'll be in a safe place!"

For her it was a season of new things, being ready to retire, she was ready to dance! (Ecclesiastes 3:4 a time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance.)

The year was full of so much good stuff it would take me forever to share..

But in early October an injury to my neck would put me in a whole new season, a season of healing. (Ecclesiastes 3:3 a time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up)

On November 12, I walked into the center to tear it down, pack up and get stuff ready to go to storage. Our rent free lease for 1 year was up...no new building yet, so we decided to store everything until a new building was found. It was definitely an Ecclesiastes 3:5-6 time...it was time to scatter, time to gather, time to embrace, and time to turn away, there was a time of searching and a time to quit searching, a time to keep and a time to throw away.

I find myself now in late November out at the ranch believing for rest and complete healing. In another season, Ecclesiastes 3:7 a time to tear and a time to mend. a time to be quiet and a time to speak.

Wanting nothing but to mend and be back to my old self. I have to be honest with you..I find myself asking God "Is it the old self i want or the new that I should look forward to? In this season... I'm believing for an even "better me." 
If you've ever been in so much pain, you know that at times you really don't even want to speak. And at times I thought it was better that I NOT speak, fear of saying something I really didn't mean. So i stayed quiet. (that's a new me!) ;)

Though this season has been rough (pain wise) my marriage has even healed in the midst of so much pain, because there were those Ecclesiastes 3:8 moments... "a time to love and a time for hate. a time for war and a time for peace."

My husband has been so supporting in this season, and I was so surprised and proud when he mentioned and encouraged all the couples at a recent couples event, "We need to support each other in these seasons, one moment you can be lifting up your spouse and the next moment he could be lifting you up!" We need eachother!

Although we go through seasons, some good and some bad, we have to believe that God has made everything beautiful for it's own time. (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

Pain, grief, unemployment, arguments, graduations, births, deaths, new opportunities, a finished assignment, all those things, every single one of them under heaven...has a purpose, and even though we can't see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end, we should truly find a way to enjoy and embrace EVERYTHING... for IN them are the gifts from God.

"Listen my daughter, this season shall pass, and I will continue to show you all the things that I have for you, be of good cheer, be strong and courageous, don't look to the left or to the right, but look to me, I am the one who will heal you, I am the one who loves you, I am the one who will guide you, the healing is yours, the victory is yours. Look to me."