I'm back

ONE week...how can so much happen in one little week?  Even the past couple days.

After the party I took a week to regroup, refresh & get back to basics.  Without a pressing project at my heels I could finally breathe.  3 days actually, of nothing but breathing…. & taking care of my boys, of course.  What a joy just to watch them grow!  They're playing together a bit more which mainly means Tiernan pinning him to the floor & Koen giggling.  Pretty adorable.

I laid my heart on the line at my party & shared things I know God wanted shared. I know this because I spent many hours in prayer.  I prayed that I would speak only what God wanted me to speak, that the right ladies would attend, that everyone would have hearts to receive whatever God had for them. I also had some mighty prayer warriors lifting me & the other ladies up in prayer.  I can’t begin to tell you how many women were drastically affected by that evening!  I’m still getting calls or emails with great reports of the things God is doing for them.  To be utilized by God in such a way was a true honor & I hope each person will know their Maker & Savior in an intimate way from here on out.  He is a BIG God and NOTHING is impossible for HIM!!!!

I have so much inside me.  I can only share bits & pieces at this point and some not at all as I have to guard what God has given me personally until it’s able to be seen in the natural.  But something to ponder as I’m walking this out right now….Have you ever felt wrongly judged?  Well I have.  Recently…. 

After the party I took a break from blogging…..from talking to anyone…. so that the things God was/is doing inside me could saturate my soul without being exposed to judging eyes.  I will NOT allow the spirit of offense & strife to mess with me & rob me from what God is doing in my life right now.  I’m just a bit shy getting back in the swing of things with this blog.  As if I’ve missed you but I’m nervous to let you into my heart again.  Silly?  Well, we’ll just have to see how it all plays out

Now that I’m back I don’t even know where to begin. 

  In this lesson I’m learning I ask you to learn alongside me:  reflect on what God is sharing with YOU… guard it...pray about it...read the word...what does He say about your situation in His word? 

A good friend taught me ages ago that you must keep your mouth shut when you don’t have the freedom or peace to share.  That’s one lesson I learned the hard way & honestly, am still learningJ

Proverbs 4:23

Amplified Bible (AMP)

²³Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life.

housework can wait! much to do

Koen just demanded this nap so I’m at home trying to finish creating one more art piece for the show...I mean party Saturday.  Too much to tell & each moment I spend typing I feel I neglect my duties. 

Dad is working on the chest cabinet (painting & adding legs) and “Faith”—which is the word spelled out in old rusted tools or parts of things...most I don’t even know what they are but I dug them up & they inspire me!  BEAUTIFUL!!!

¨      Measure & cut piece for one of the Huge squares of old wood we have

¨      Print image with CC West—I hope they can have it in time!

¨      Parking sign—cut & paint

¨      Setup sign-in book pages with pens

¨      Sand chair down a bit

Laundry??? 

Dishes???

FLOORS???  May have to wait till next week!

Now back to work.

pickin' with the gang & serious forward motion.

3 days late!  I haven’t updated you for 3 whole days!  Well, it’s been a little busy to say the least.  I mean really, you can’t imagine. 

Clearly giving you 3 days’ worth of updates would bore some of you to tears so I’ll start with last night. I had a friend over to stay the night & HELP me with...well, anything & everything to do with this party.  So we all played with the boys, ate dinner, Marc gave T a bath, I put Ko down then work began...

We started with our Scentsy orders for the party.  In order to make this happen the 3 of us had to smell each & every scent.  TonS!  Marc finally broke out the bag of fresh coffee beans.  Good move Honey! After about 23 different yummy fragrances & a few hairy ones, we were all a bit slap happy for some reason.  Giggles ensued.  And continued...fizzled...then returned for a grand finale.  Fun times.

Music is pretty final.  I wanted a jazzy bluesy funk all in the Christian genre.  Nearly impossible feat.  She did a great job coming up with various artists & sounds to make the evening great (I can see its been loads of work for her...huge blessing).  I picked up a couple Big Band Swing CD’s.  Come on, you know you want more swing music in your life.  Now, if we could just have some cool God music with that beat...NICE!  The music is pretty random with a funky, jazzy, contemporary, hip hop vibe.  It’ll have a little something for everyone.

I was able to formulate a plan for the Scentsy table setup (since that only came up in my plans yesterday...guess I’d better get on that). 

Marc has also been a HUGE help the past couple days. We went pickin’ on his parents land as a family & found this amazing piece of corrugated rusted tin that will be perfect for a big lovely work of art.  He’s also been helping me brainstorm and making sure I haven’t forgotten anything—a few things already have come to light so thanks Honey. 

We’re planning to get some carpentry help from my dad—going Monday to San Antonio after he gets off work to discuss a couple projects (and maybe leave them with him to finish:)  He’s amazing & I just know he’ll be able to pull it off.  So happy happy to have help in this area...especially since I’m down to the wire.  Less than 7 days left & I need to make a HUGE statement.  I hope the world is ready for this husband & wife duo.

Love & hugs...sleep well,

Trish

Help is here--now take it!

God is sending me the help I need and now I need to find the time to reach out and ask for help...today was all about my family!  I felt a bit scattered but all in all it was a great day.  Did you see that amazing blue sky with puffy white clouds?  My favorite kind of sky actually.

Marc worked on the jeweled cross for a while after the boys went to bed & I sat across the table from him.  Its looking rather good. 

I finished the “G” which I painted on an old railroad tie.  I have about 15 more so I’ll take orders at the party if anyone wants a monogrammed conversation piece for their entry...perhaps above the door bell:) 

Have a vision for 3 more paintings on old wood...just need to make time to be creative.  Now would work but I’m fading fast...thought I’d drop an update in case I have any readers yet:)  Some people seem to think a blog has to be purposeful.  Isn’t this full of purpose?  To share the Favor of God on our lives & how it affects those around.  And from time to time random thoughts about life, family, God, hair, The Party, and food.  Ok, food doesn’t get too much attention on this blog, lets be honest!

That’s all for now my friend.  Till tomorrow (should be picking up my clock then). 

Love & peace

Trish

how to recover a chair with a hot glue gun...start where you are

Some of you may already know but one of my favorite quotes was taken from someone, perhaps famous, but I can’t remember who...

Start where you are,

Do what you can and

Use what you have

That says so much right there about our business and our style.  So in order to promote the use what you have line I’m all about reusing, recycling & GIVING generously.  I’ll start randomly showing stay at home moms how to do things, create things, organize things, etc.  I add the word randomly because I don’t know what that looks like for me with 2 little ones, a husband, a decorating business, my art, our furniture projects, this party I’m planning and a small portion of my brain dedicated to the technical aspects of this technical world I’m making every attempt to keep up with through blog, website, and facebook.  Anyone else have a lot on their plate...raise your hand.  I know too many moms to count who have their plate just as full if not more than I do.  Surround yourself with a strong support team.  I’m still building mine right now.  Pray in the people that will be part of that team...pray blessings on them, financial increase on them, healthy family life, peace & joy as well as LOVE!  God will send you the right individuals who will help you shine & guess what...in the process YOU get to bless their hat crooked!  You know what I mean by that...bless them SO much by a smile, a touch, a listening ear, a caring heart, a special gift and your loving words.  God loves when you love on His sons & daughters. 

So the question I have for you tonight is a question a dear friend from church asked me when I had just had Tiernan, How is your relationship with God? It was a tough question to be asked in the middle of the hustle & bustle of checking kids in, greeting friends that pass, and remembering diapers.  I said it’s good, I’ve been having great quality time with God.  I mean, what do you say to that?  No, I’m really not where I should be, could we talk?  NO.  I didn’t even feel at the time that my walk with God wasn’t close.  I thought all was great.  Now a couple years later I realize that was just the beginning.  My walk with God is so much more than it has ever been.  Its not just a “hallelujah I’m healed” kinda deal.  It’s the real deal & some days more than others honestly.  Some days I get wrapped up in life then turn to God & ask Him His opinion of something.  Other days I can sense Him walking with me & guiding through each conversation, decision and memory.  The good news is I’m NEVER going back!!!  I’m so happy to be walking through this life growing closer every day to God & my husband...each day brighter & brighter.

That all being said... ask yourself...just you, no one else around...

How is your relationship with God?  Every relationship involves 2...are you seeking Him?  Asking Him into every moment of your life? 

Proverbs 3:5-6 says

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart & lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct & make straight & plain your paths.”

So trust in Him, inquire of Him.  What does He want you to see today?  What does He want you to do today?  Do it...walk it out.  He’ll be there to guide & protect you.  If you wonder where in the Bible to find that one check Psalm 32:8.

On a silly sidenote before I head back to my chair project...Marc ran a video of me on YouTube which I’m going to try to attach to my blog.  He wasn’t supposed to get my face & I forgot to address the camera to explain what I was doing.  But ya know something... this isn’t my regular thing. Sometimes I just need to figure something out & work it through.  That’s a whole other entry & since I don’t think you can take it right now I’ll have to save it for another day...remind me to tell about the process, how I work & why you’ll have to excuse me as we take this journey together.  Together...you, me and anyone else out there reading this quirky, long winded, random words on a page blog.

Love...

Trish

healed & prosperous! You???

Healed!  I am healed!  So I felt totally terrible all morning & honestly slept on & off until 2pm.  When I woke up at 2 after eating I noticed my prayers were answered!  I was totally healed.  I’m not even messin’ around when I say I felt terrible.  Some kinda funk had gotten into my chest & was affecting Marc & the boys as well.  We all seem to feel fantastic & it goes to show the God we serve is a good God who still heals, saves, delivers & sets people free!  WOOHOOO!!!

When Marc & T went down for their well deserved nap Koen & I were left to ourselves.  I took a video of him crawling all around, ignoring me & eating food off the floor.  When Ko finally joined the other boys for his nap it was party time for me.  I felt fantastic!  This video I shot of Koen embarrassed me to the point of cleaning my floors on my hands & knees.  That lasted for about the time it took to finish the playroom floors (and that was just cleaning around the rug).  The real action started when Swiffer entered the scene.  I was a busy bee cleaning all the floors ...oh, not any of the bedrooms actually...so what took me so long?  I also cleaned the kitchen & spray painted a frame for the Psalm 32 art.  I said I wasn’t going to work in the garage today & I meant it.  I worked on the front porch. 

I also kinda finished ... ok almost finished ... the Louis Shanks chair.  Which, by the way, I don’t think I’m gonna sell.  I think that’ll be added to our staging inventory.  Gotta start somewhere, right?  Marc ran a video of me on YouTube which I’m going to try to attach to my blog.  He wasn’t supposed to get my face & I forgot to address the camera a lot & explain what I was doing.  But ya know something... this isn’t my regular thing. Sometimes I just need to figure something out & work it through.  That’s where all this talk about helping the normal housewife do things to save her money.  Hence this blog entry. 

Sprayed the butterflies again on the unnamed butterfly art I have yet to reveal.

I think I have the plan for the top piece of the side table.  The one where I used the drawer as a jewelry caddy.  Anyway, I’m between 2 ideas... gluing old foreign stamps on the entire surface then painting over with a scripture or something OR I could paint it, do a painting on top of that paint then seal it really well & make another table out of it with funky legs.  I wonder what will happen with that one!  Any suggestions?  Crickets.

Anyway...God just continues to show himself more & more each day.  Through my new friend Cat He told me I was going to have each hostess draw & give their gift away themselves.  Each hostess will also get 30 seconds to talk about what they do, who they are & whatever they want to share in that time... could be words of encouragement, a story, something interesting about them or what they make or do.  It’ll be perfect.  God has His hand on every aspect of this party.

Praise God I’m healed & prosperous!...how about you?!?!

Love...

Trish

missing church today:(

I hate missing a church service!  Especially with the anointing so strong the past few months ...you really wanna be at every one.  You see, we’re blessed to receive rich word at our church, however my family is missing today because we are overcoming!  We are NOT sick!  We are the healed of the Lord!  Marc & I were talking & asked ourselves do they really want us greeting at the front door today the way we look & sound…probably NOT.  Sorry John to cancel on you last minute!  The good news is God shows up at our house too…right where we are.  He is so faithful.

To top it all off...it’s POURING...with lightning & thunder (favorites of mine),  I’m going to guess we’ll be exiting that stage 3 drought we’ve endured for so long.  Now that makes for an amazing day of restoration with my family. 

So today there will be NO work in the garage so no project update this evening.  Maybe some insight, a story or some words of encouragement later.  Have a blessed day & feel free to send some scriptures or prayers for healing our way!

Thanks for your prayers & LOVE

Trish

busy...fast paced day..loads DONE!

Oh boy folks… TODAY: a day to rejoice, to give God thanks for all He’s done & is doing in our lives.

Garage sale started at 8am and was a huge success!  Darlene made good money & some treasures found new homes.  Looks like we’ll have another one after the party since she has TONS more stuff.  

Marc was a champ today watching the boys while I used my time, energy & muscle power to help Darlene.  It was time well spent.  She is a dear woman & God is pouring out His favor on her life.

Project update:  I finished the Psalm 32 map art I started 2 months ago…Joanne will be happy.  That is, if she likes it.  Can I handle rejection?  YES.  I can.  I can handle the fact that not everyone will love what I do.  You may not love what I create but that doesn’t mean I don’t love you!  A little smile there:)

Ooh, let me tell you… my new best friend Erin (met her once before) came with her girlfriend, Lee & helped me move my huge sign into place & I only just realized I didn’t take a picture of it in its new home.  She’ll be an amazing “hostess” for my party since she already has a tent, lights, and amazing creations…she does what we do…makes something from nothing.  Talented!!!  I can’t wait to see what she does with her “store”.  Did I tell you I am calling them “stores” instead of booths.  It just fits so much better for what I’m trying to accomplish. 

Now its off to bed.  I know I said last night would be an early night but it was well after midnight & 5am always comes too soon.  I’m in great need of REST!!!!  Ni-night.

Thanks for reading & LOVE

Trish

new hostesses--party updates & WOW...amazing day to share

Today was amazing!!!  I mean really & truly amazing!  I had a divine appointment with this amazing mom & her 2 daughters.  Both daughters are going to be “hostesses” at my party.  One is a decorator & artist, the other bakes yummy cupcakes & goodies. I’m certain loads of ladies will love their creations. 

I had my first RSVP phone call today…LOVE IT!  Thanks Kathy for signing up & bringing your 2 daughters!

Spent all afternoon getting ready for the BIG garage sale tomorrow at the Motley Menagerie….getting ready for the big party & cleaning out every nook & cranny. So make sure you come to the garage sale tomorrow morning!

I’m also working at redesigning the space & remerchandising all the rooms with our creations & unique finds.  You must also take a look inside and watch as it takes shape from now until October 22^nd.  Change is good & you know I love to make things look pretty. FUN!!!!

Project update:  So you wanna know what projects I worked on today?  Why in the world do I ask, of course you do! : )

I stained the wood that will frame out the sign and an extra pieces as a shelf for tea cups.   I also moved 2 works of art into Motley’s tonight for showcasing as soon as I have space & time to hang ‘em.  I believe for favor as God is sending me the photo booth people!  Good stuff.   I spent a lot of time with my boys playing in the back yard, teaching Tiernan about “room time” and teaching Koen “no”.  He seems to really like cat food.

An early sign off tonight…thank God Darlene made me leave early.  I would’ve stayed all night long working!  Thankfully I get an early night.  After today’s work…I’m sleepy & need to recharge for a 7am sale.

Ni-Night folks….LOVE

Trish

party details--added a hostess & worked a ton!

What an amazing day!  I had a blast with my boys, took them to The Jumpy Place for the morning.  If you live in this area you really should try them out…friendly, clean, fun & safe.  Great time meeting new ladies too—forgot my purse so I didn’t get to give out invite or business card though.

Naptime rolled around & I was in a fancy rush to accomplish as many projects as possible.  So I finished ONE! 

• The fence coffee table art. Took a LOT longer than I thought but I did finish it & all that has to be done is the mounting stuff on the back. 
• Then I started TGP sign (pegboard)—now halfway finished with the painting -- still need to buy, cut & mount the 1x6 frame.
•  Wood glued the bench & picked a color for paint (tomorrow perhaps) unless I change my mind---on the color that is.  I would love the Holy Spirit to jump in on this one & show me which color is best for the future owner of this neat bench. 
• Applied the fabric tape or ribbon to the back of the chair & cut n fixed the seat fabric.  Looking amazing!  I have to really be on with that one because I don’t do this type of thing often & I don’t want to mess it up.  Every piece I mess up I think we’ll just have to keepJ  I mean I don’t want to sell anything I don’t just love...right?!  Not sure if that sounds right but we shall see.

I know this is pretty random tonight but so what!  Another random yet poignant thought: Funny – in a really cool and I don’t have another word to describe it kinda way--is God has really been working on my art.  Every time I make a mistake on a piece(which sadly happens often) He turns it into something beautiful.  A whole story on this will be attached to “LOVE”.

One more side winding trail here and I’ll leave you with many blessings:  I spoke with this wonderful lady (friend of a friend) who sells Dolce Mia products which I had never heard of until today.  She has the same idea about design that I have for this party & she’s totally ready to come onboard.  What a great God we serve ya’ll!  Hello!!!  Anyway, believing Him to bring more amazing women across my path for this journey! 

Love n hugs,

And many many blessings!!!

Trish

I've got it! "hostesses"

What do you think?  Instead of that awful “vendors” title I’ve decided to call them Hostesses.  We are ALL hosting this party & I want the right people being marketed by my efforts.  This is my seed sowing into them, their business, their family. 

I’m so excited!  Get ready ladies for a really fun evening.  I REALLY am thrilled about how this party is taking shape by God’s grace.  I only have anything by the grace of God!!!

Side trail:  I think I need to take the time to figure out an easy way to get pictures & videos in my blog then you could SEE the progress I’m making on these pieces.  Or maybe that's silly & no one would care to watch.  Not sure about that one. I'm sure Marc will tell me if ya'll will care or not:)  He always seems to know those things. 

Back on track:
So tonight--  I got a wall calendar out & started the timeline that my wonderful husband has been encouraging me to do….keep me organized.  Thanks Honey for helping me get it together!  He’s amazing ya’ll!!!

In my random scheduling process I planned out my day tomorrow…

kids play

jumpy place with boys

home for lunch & naps

work in garage creating new fun things

kids get up then our normal routine kicks in.

Tomorrow’s naptime projects entail:

our BIG yellow sign

a bench I forgot to mention in early posts

the fence coffee table piece (mount, name, figure out how to hang & write out story)

the Louis Shanks Chair

and several phone calls & some computer work

With God ALL things are possible.  I give it all to Him because after all, He’s the reason all this is goin’ down (using the Michael Murphy gesture here)!  I’m celebrating His favor in our lives!!!  Hope you’ll celebrate with me & be introduced to some really neat gifts to buy for Christmas!

Love ya’ll

Trish

party details---need unique vendors!

I want to bless YOU...or someone you know!  That is, if you or a friend creates something or sell something that's unique or interesting.  I want some "vendors" (for lack of a better word) although that terms give a certain tradeshow feeling, for my big party coming up October 22nd.  I have 4-6 now (working out details with 2) but would like 10-15 at the party.  So that leaves YOU!  Do you know anyone?  You know who she is...she has a passion for making something, collecting something, reselling something, buying something or just something. 

I will warn you in advance that I'm being a little bit selective only because I don't want to have a craft fair and I also want to have people that are lovely, passionate, kind & easy to work with.  I want this to be a peaceful evening for ALL involved. 

I want my guests to have a great assortment of things to choose from but NOT feel any pressure to buy anything from anyone.  If they leave empty handed & just came to enjoy the party then that's totally fine with me.  I just want everyone totally & completely blessed & if that means going home with a few amazing gifts they can pass on to family & friends then everyone wins. 

I can tell you this....the right people will be there...guests & vendors alike.  So if you know someone who wants blessings in their life then please forward this blog entry to them & let them decide. 

God's blessings on all of you & have a good rest tonight!  Oohhh....I LOVE what I do!
Trish

party planning--2 more miracles

Do you wanna hear something amazing?  Well I’m sure I’ve already told the miracle story about my invitations for the party & how they came about….not enough time to read my older posts to confirm so if you’ve missed it here’s a brief rundown of the occurrence:

At about 7am one morning I was praying about the invitations to the party (comment if you want to be added to invite list—ladies only) & asking God for help (long story why my printer & setup weren’t cuttin’ it).  At around 10am I receive a call from Jesse CC West printing.  Apparently I had used their services YEARS and ages ago & they were just checking in on me.  It had been SO long in fact that I didn’t even know what CC West was & had to google them.  Well if that wasn’t a direct answer from God Himself I don’t know what is!  Just a few days later I had them in my hand & boy are they amazing!  Thanks CC West for your help & being used by God to answer my prayer!

Well Saturday I had another miracle.  I’ll share in a couple days due to the sensitivity of the matterJ  stay tuned!

Then today ANOTHER answer to a request I’ve placed before God 2 weeks ago.  I’ve been praying for HELP!  Really really praying for someone to help me.  Well, I now have 2 people helping me with this party!!!!  God’s hand is clearly at work in the planning of this event.

I would share the details but they really don’t matter… what matters is that I asked God & He provided for my needs…just like He’ll provide for YOUR needs!

I heard someone say once that God isn’t moved by NEED.  He’s moved by FAITH!  I don’t know about you but I desire the God kind of faith that moves mountains. 

Much LOVE....and blessings to you

trish

day of rest & words are so powerful

oh my....please excuse me for not blogging last night.  I actually went to bed when Marc did....EARLY!  It was so wonderful.  I really hate waking up to a messy house & that's just what happened...oh well, I enjoyed my rest!

So what an amazing service at church today!  We're learning about the power of the tongue...your words have power.  OH YES they do folks!  I've known this for a long time but when you sit under the teaching again it brings things up & I realized I wasn't doing so hot in some areas.  Pastor said "most of us say what we have but God says we can have what we say".  Powerful, huh!?!  Well I strive to say what God says about me.  This also means I have to spend more time reading His word & really meditating on what it says. 

The very first scripture He took us to is 2 Corinthians 9:6-11.  That’s actually one of the ones I have on my bathroom mirror to read every day.  It’s the one I’m standing on for our financial breakthrough.  From www.biblegateway.com  ⁶ Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. ⁷ Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. ⁸ And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. ⁹ As it is written:

   “They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor;    their righteousness endures forever.”^[a]

 ¹⁰ Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. ¹¹ You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

OOOOoooohhhhh……if that doesn’t get you excited, what will?  I’m excited to give.  I love to give!  But when I really meditated on this for the first time 2 years agao my faith was encouraged.  Now I have something to stand on…to hold tight to when everything around me tells me something different I can say….NO WAY!  Look what God says! I had to share this with you…hope it blesses someone.