You can have a great life...don't believe the negative you here...you are GREAT!!!

Today I’m inspired to encourage.  It’s kinda my gift.. 

So I encourage you to cast a vision….a vision for a great life.  We talked about this before didn’t we? I’m all about decorating your life, living decorated, making the world you live in a more beautiful place.  Well one way is to write down your vision.   Seek God for what He wants you to do, to have and to be this year.  I know this is a BIG year...for YOU…if you step into God’s perfect will for you specifically.  We can’t look at someone else & say “I want what she has” or “I wanna be like him”.  Yes, there are people in this world better looking that you, wealthier and smarter with greater talents than you.  Who cares?  God made you special. No one can be YOU like you can...so I encourage you to be the best God has made you to be and that starts with getting a vision for where you’re going. 

I remember there was a season I was traveling so much I only saw my home about 3-4 times out of the year...I knew I couldn’t go on like that forever & couldn’t start a family on the road.  So for about 6 months (give or take) I sought the Lord... I told Him...”I can’t travel like this forever...I’m burned out...what have you called me to be?  What in this world could I do?  tell me Lord...PLEASE!”  So one night I was on a plane going who-knows-where looking at a decorating magazine I picked up in Australia and it hit me...I’m called to be a decorator.  I had been doing it for friends & family (those willing to listen to my elaborate plans for their house & actually DO them) for years...maybe since I was 10 or something:)  It seemed absurd I didn’t think of it earlier.  I don’t know how many months it took (not many) until I quit Princess Cruises (right after 3 months in Tahiti & before a scheduled 3 month stint in Asia) and started my own decorating business in Buda (a town which I had never even heard of before buying a house there).  I didn’t know ONE single person.  But I knew what God called me to do.  I had faith He would see me through & boy did he?  I had my first client within 3 weeks & I was off & running. 

I tell you that story to say there is NOTHING you can’t do with the grace of God.  That grace comes by walking in His plan for your life.  You can’t just do whatever you feel like doing & expect His hand of blessings to overtake you.  Am I making any sense to you?

Do it!  Find out what He says...it may take hours, it may take days, or even months but open your heart...your ears...your eyes...and your BIBLE!  Oooo…this is a great year...not just for me but for you too. 

Habakkuk 2:2-3 is so good...you should read it.  In fact I’ll give it to you...

²And the Lord answered me and said, Write the vision and engrave it so plainly upon tablets that everyone who passes may [be able to] read [it easily and quickly] as he hastens by.
    ³For the vision is yet for an appointed time and it hastens to the end [fulfillment]; it will not deceive or disappoint. Though it tarry, wait [earnestly] for it, because it will surely come; it will not be behindhand on its appointed day.

Whoohooo!

I leave you with this…

Pastor John, speaking on vision, gave an example of a GPS in your car ... it can’t help you get to your destination until you tell it where you’re going.  Duh!  How can you get where you need to in life without a vision?  Turn left here, go 3 miles, turn right, etc.  A favorite scripture: Psalm 32:8 “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.  I will guide you and watch over you.”      

Before anything comes into this world it has to be incubated… Examples:

A chick is in an egg

A tree is in a seed

A baby is in the womb

Your future is in your vision!     

“a seed must grow down before it can grow up & out” and before it can be seen

Get it?  Good!  Now this is important….don’t let ANYONE tell you that you can’t do it…you’re not good enough, smart enough, you don’t have enough money to do that….don’t even let your own mind put limits on you…God didn’t put them there so don’t allow them to keep you down!  Really, folks, I know this sounds elementary but we all have to break free from some limiting beliefs placed on us by our mind, family, friends, the media ….there are NO limits with God and if you know Jesus as your Lord you are His child….ooops…sounds like I’m preachin’ :)  Well there you have it…the TRUTH…maybe popular, maybe not but I’m not here in this world to please you…I’m here to live out my calling:)…and oooo boy it’s BIG!!!!  You’ll see!

I send you loads of love n hugs & I pray you receive these words with an open heart:)  Ni-Nite!

Have a Great Life...start here...

Finally!  I woke up!  I mean not right away but that was to be expected.  6:15 I was in the middle of my first snooze...which means the third song on my Binions praise CD ...and Marc brought Koko to me for a feeding (doesn't he know he's supposed to wake up at 7:30?--still working on that one).  So I didn't get up the way I had hoped but after putting Ko back to bed I went into the play room & started my muddled -"I love you"-wakeup talk with God.  

All of a sudden I picked up my journal, reread some notes I had from Pastor John's Sunday service about vision and started writing...it actually came quite fluidly. I could instantly tell the grace of God was on me for my task at hand.   

He showed me some things I need to work on, some habits to change & adopt as well as some goals I'll have this year.    It's not complete but a great start.  

When I asked Marc about his prayer time he said the same thing...he was lead to answer some pressing questions Pastor John posed and he experienced God's grace in doing so.  oooo....cool!    God is so amazing, we were both working on the same thing by the same grace and we're well on our way to creating a solid vision for our lives and family this  year and years to come.

The 4 steps he gave to "A Great Life" are as follows:
1.  Decide what you want
2. Develop the plan
3. Execute the plan
4. Evaluate the progress

So here is my challenge:  take time to praise, pray and wait on God for the vision He has for your life this year.  Sit down with a pen & pad ready to take down all He speaks to you.  

Here are some questions Pastor gave us Sunday that go along with step 2:  (now I'll just throw out there that I missed the first Sunday of this message where he gave all the starting questions for step 1...must get the CD:)

1. What are the sacrifices you need to make? (for example: to get out of debt  you might want to start eating at home more)
2. Who do you need in your inner circle? this could include friends, family, tutors, housekeeper, bookkeeper, contractor... anyone you need to surround you and help you reach your goals
3. Who do you need OUT of your inner circle...who drains you?
4. What do you  need to learn to fulfill your calling?  books to read , conferences to attend, classes to take
5. Do you need to change vocation or career?
6.  Are you mastering what God told you to do?   (example: I need to master photoshop to take my art to a new level)
7. Do you need to get out of debt...save more?  (hello...YES!!! and YES!!!  this is our year for DEBT FREE)
8. What bad habits do you need to stop or good habits? and  what do you need to start?
9. What do you need to spend more time doing?  less time doing?

All good questions.   Get started...

I encourage you to Live Decorated by creating a vision for your life...the one God has for you not just one you makeup in your wild imagination.  Hab. 2:2-3 says write the vision, make it plain.  

Some scriptures to meditate on while you do:  if you don't have a bible check out www.biblegateway.com
Psalm 37:4 (one of my favs)
Mark 11:24
John 16:13
Prov. 29:18

Be blessed!  hugs n love....T

daily used items on display...Love Out Loud

As I sat tonight to type some great—well, in my opinion great—tips for you I just wasn’t feelin it... I was rambling on and on about the cleaning and organizing I did in my kitchen and how you can use beautiful containers to house & display your day to day items...all good stuff, right.  I’ll even include some pics to show what I use for the dishwashing detergent or the homemade hand soap or the trays for the fruit and coffee setup...that’s all well n good but something was off...is off.

This day started a little differently than I like & even though it was a wonderful day, I felt something amiss.  Marc had to bring Koen into bed because even though I could hear him crying my body was acting like dried cement.  After nursing him and getting him back to sleep (cuddled in my arms:) Tiernan comes in for some morning cuddles.  So in my bed was a family cuddlefest at 7am.  Sounds perfect, right!?  Not as perfect as waking up at 6 (I can’t believe I just said that) and spending time with God (yes, getting up at the crack of dawn is amazing when you hear from The Creator).  THEN back to bed for family cuddles.:)   Now that’s what I call a recipe for joy & success. 

My alarm is set & this time I plan on hearing it...and responding with only TWO snooze sessions...then......GET UP!!!  God made some people morning people and then there’s us night owls... what to do?  My advice to you would be discipline your flesh...get up...spend time with God and your day will be greater than you could ever imagine.  It’s time to take my own advice. 

Oh, here are some pics to give you ideas for using containers for housing regular items you use everyday.  First, The coffee station (yes, we have coffee in the morning) a cake plate holds all the goods--a sm green vase full of spoons, my Grandma Barb’s silver sugar dish, mason jar with some baby cereal (not coffee related I realize), a small brass bell, again, not coffee related but I’m a decorator & I must have every inch decorated:) then the butter under the cake plate—OKAY it’s no longer called my coffee station, alright!  I guess I just keep stuff I need on hand in front of me but I display them all as a collection which doesn’t give the feel of clutter. 

Then I have my soap holder for my organic hand soap by E’s, a silver sugar dish I use to hold my Cascade dishwashing drops or bags or whatever they’re called, a cigar box in the background which houses anything extra I don’t need out and visible (its currently empty:).  I would look at thrift stores and garage sales for cool containers you like to hold your daily bits n bobs.

Have a great night & remember, wake up early with your Maker...there is much to be thankful for ... so start there!

Gratitude!!!

Ooo…almost forgot the kitchen table…fruit, napkins (Grandma Barb’s napkin holder just spray painted a cool fun color), and a daily devotional we read as a family at dinner…LOVE IT!  By Joyce Meyer...Love Out Loud...get it!

Beautify your world...Pray for your enemy

So I received this email from a lady who follows my blog anonymously…which is really cool for me to know because if there is one person out there who’s not on my “follower” list but actually reads my stuff….then perhaps there are moreJ  what a trip!

So I mention her because she wrote me this amazing…ok, I know I throw that word around a lot but we’ll talk about my vocabulary later…back to my “amazing” story…she wrote me this stellar email.  Not only in the fact that she reads this blog:) but it was filled to the brim to overflowing with words of exhortation, enlightenment and encouragement (all the good “E” words).  So I asked if I can quote her a bit…she said yes so I’m using the handwriting font to show what she said…then my font to show my comments….please read on…

I must tell you too how I have been enjoying your blog… it lifts and inspires me.  It makes me really stop and think – contemplate – meditate on …I will even venture to say that it makes me feel like the cobwebs of this 62 year old brain get fluffed and blown and aired… Hello….I LOVE this gal...funny!  It reaffirms that my identity in Christ is so much stronger now than ever before  now this blessed me immensely because we should all know who we are in Christ...I’m still getting there myself:)

it makes me wish I was more disciplined to journal my thoughts and conversations that my Creator and I have.  Let me say...do it folks.  But don’t get down on yourself if you don’t.  I’m this way...I’ll journal beautifully for a while (a week, maybe a month) then all of a sudden DRY.  No time to spend writing, my life is on supersonic speed.  So I’ve learned to just be ok with it either way...do or don’t.  BUT, now listen here, if God tells you something...speaks to you in any way...do yourself a favor and record it.  If God spoke it to your spirit then its important!  And the fact that you’re taking the time to hear from Him is equally important...IF you take the time you can bet He’ll speak to you so be ready...back to juicy quotes...

.,..you inspire and encourage me to hold on to truth and not settle for compromise…... .

 Yay!  I don’t know how I do that for someone but God spoke to me months ago to blog & I’ve been muddling through with random thoughts & finally I feel I have purpose.  To share my unique way of looking at life...in a decorated sense.  It should be beautiful & my prayer & hope is to continue to be “light” and “salt” WITHOUT judgment or condemnation (ditto…and more ditto to follow)

He has been showing me who He created ME to be and it has been such a revelation of love, freedom, joy, contentment, peace – what an AWESOME God we serve.  What an AWESOME LOVE!!!  So simply thank you… you are such a blessing in more ways than you can imagine!! 

His light shines – actually BURNS through you!!! She went on to share with me a recent victory she experienced after spending time in prayer for one of her “enemies” (my word not hers) and how God turned a situation around so I encourage you to

Live Decorated by praying for someone not exactly on your favorite list. 

I was challenged to do the same today! 

Yay…super big shout it from the rooftops…THANKS for the encouragement & for letting me use your words to lift others hearts.  God is a BIG God & He has great things for you!  YOU!  Did you hear me???  You… sitting right there reading this seemingly pointless collection of words.  Take ahold of it by faith & lift someone else up along the way. 

Be blessed!

t

Make Someone Smile today

Last night, Marc drew me a candlelit bubble bath with music softly permeating the master suite.  What a delight.  So here’s my tip for living decorated today.  Bless someone you love.  Think of their needs or desires and do something extraordinary to put a smile on their face.  Nothing decorates a person’s face more gloriously than their smile.  

So it got me thinking...I have a friend at home now with yuckies.  She can't leave her house since she's contagious so I really want to make her smile.  I asked God what I can do for her and I plan on taking over a little surprise.  She may or may not like it but I'm sure she'll be blessed. 

So do it!  Bless someone today.  Show them the love of God.  Go out of your way to do it....it can be simple or it can be grand...your call....just move your bootie!

xox

t

By the way...ALL must know how amazing, and I mean rockin' amazing, this cream is that Erin & Chris make is...Skin Repair Lotion.  You can find them on http://www.naturesorigins.org/ or look 'em up on FB.  Bless them and bless that beautiful face of yours NOW....Marc said my skin is "glowing".  big smile:)

Oh, here's the cool pic from the NB Farmer's Market with Erin (on the right) and Reese (on the left)...thanks Reese:)

something to meditate on before bed...Jeremiah 17:7-8

Take a swig of this before heading to bed tonight!

Jeremiah 17:7-8

 ⁷ “But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD,
   whose confidence is in him.
⁸ They will be like a tree planted by the water
   that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
   its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
   and never fails to bear fruit.”

may you be like that tree..planted by the waters...prospering in your body, soul and finances!!!!

MUCH LOVE TO YOU!!!

New Braunfels Farmer's Market

Live Decorated by meeting new friends…let your light shine folks!

What a day!  In more ways than one and in more ways than I care to share.  What I would like to expound on is our random divine appointments at the New Braunfels Farmer's Market on our way to the Children's Museum.  We thought we'd stop for a little exploration of this new market --it was the kettlecorn sign that drew me in.   After first putting my family through a photo minute with the welcome sign ...boy does Marc love those:)
...we hit the kettlecorn guy right out front...yumm.  

Then the adorable "bee lady", Courtney from Round Rock Honey (check her out at http://www.roundrockhoney.com/), sold us some local honey with lots of cedar she says. The taste is delightful & I'll be coming back for more that's for sure.   

 I'm adding the faces & names of those individuals who touched our lives today to give their hard work and products some free advertising.  It should work, right.  We should all share the ins and outs of products we try or people who impact our lives.  Or at least I'm gonna share with you....all those who care to expand their world:)

After I finally settled into our daily adventure I met this warm n cuddly lady who joyfully calls herself "Mom Tart".   While I'm trying to insert photos of my adventure I see that hers didn't turn out.  My phone started throwing a fit right from the start, demanding a charge like an infant needs ninny.  Back to this cool lady with personality brimming over the muffin tins….  She's the mother of the 2 ladies who own the bakery 2Tarts right down the road from the market.   Though our picture didn't stick it out through the phone tantrum you can check April & Ashley out at http://www.2tarts.com/

The journey continued with Erin and her husband, Chris who make all these organic hemp creams, body butters and scrubs.  Oh boy...here we go folks!  For the past few months I had been on the lookout for Climb On! which is an all-natural cream I planned to use at night for my face but haven't seen it in a while.  Enter Erin with all her charm & knowledge of natural creams.  I tried it after washing my face tonight & my face hasn't felt this good since I was stuck on Arbonne a few years ago. visit their newly under construction site at http://www.naturesorigins.org/   While looking for her card among her display I met one of her revisiting clients, Reese.  What a lovely gal!  My phone camera was still having an episode while I wanted to take advantage of this photo opp.  so she graciously stepped in with her phone.  I wait patiently for Reese to send me that money shot!  I just must share these experiences with my readers...both of them:)

The next person I met was Amber, a mom of 2, who wanted to know more about our Beco baby carrier, which my husband looked so handsome wearing today!  I shoulda taken a good shot there.  Well, I hope Amber looks me up on FB cause I can lead her to Lillian, who made my Beco out of Cali.  Sending some business her way because this carrier is the absolute best...yes, better than its look alike which will remain un-named:)

Who was next?  I guess I could look at Marc's camera because after Reese's phone created such an art piece Marc had to take over the task of documentation.  Michael was next with his crab cakes (which Marc cooked for dinner....scrumptious)   What a ham!

Then Scott and his daughter (oops, Marc cut off half her head) with some Beef Sticks Marc and Tiernan sampled and bought for the ride home.  I wasn't even about to cut that open in the car not knowing what kind of juices come from that beefy pouch.  Not a meat lover on my end but they get Marc's taste bud approval.

Next: brussel sprouts with Phil....  

Pause.....Something happened to me while we were getting set for our photo opportunity with this new friend.  Tiernan didn't feel comfortable standing next to him so I realized formal introductions may help.   Can you believe it?  all these new faces & I did not have ONE normal encounter where I introduced myself properly & asked someone's name.  Ok, thanks Lord for this chance to give a little lesson.  Phil totally played along too:)  Thanks man!   Now Tiernan knows how to meet someone new.   Surprising with all the socializing I do these days, getting back to my "social butterfly self" he is just now learning.  I will give him major points for nearly always saying "hi" to passersby at any given opportunity.  That's a step toward friendly, huh?

Today...beautiful experience with my family.  If you get a chance to visit the New Braunfels Farmers Market say hello to some of my new friends & be sure to support their "stores" by spending some money.