See you soon...

 I'm up to my eye balls in doctors appointments, testing, projects, spring cleaning, family happenings and on and on. As much as I LOVE blogging, I am afraid that I can't post ahead to cover this upcoming gap.

 I will have a small-ish procedure done, and I'm not sure how long it'll take until I'm back on my feet. Could be a week, could be three weeks. So, for the upcoming weeks, I will be prepping for it. I will try to cook and have frozen meals ready, re-stocking the Etsy store, which will stay open, and try to make it easy for The Mr. to send out orders (Wish me luck on that one), and just a good cleaning of our home to make it easy for me to relax and heal afterwards.

In a perfect world, I will heal super fast and be up and running again a week after! Now, this isn't a major thing. It's just one that every one's recovery time is different, and I tend to take a while to heal. I don't want to feel rushed to get back to this blog or my Etsy shop, so I'm going to take a few weeks and recharge my batteries! I will miss y'all, and know I'll be chomping at the bit to get back to the blogosphere! 

Take care and God bless! 

One good...

 ...ole attitude adjustment is what my Daddy calls it, and the Lord knows exactly when I need one! I get caught up in my own head at times, thinking too much about scenarios that may or may not ever happen. When my to-do list becomes so great that I have neither the strength nor the brain space to get through it in 5 lifetimes.When I start thinking about the past and get stuck there in all my mistakes I've made that I don't know how God can love and forgive a sinner like me.

 And when I create this hurricane in my head, and when I can bare it no longer, God swoops in and gives me that attitude adjustment. It could be in a stern way, or in a loving way.  This time, earlier in the week, it was in such a loving way that I wanted to share some of the bible verses that jumped off the page at me and brought the adjustment.

Acts 10:43- All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him recieves forgiveness of sins through his name.

Eph. 1:7- In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace.

Col 1:13-14- For he has rescued us from the domination of darkness & brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

And the big mama-jama that sealed the deal... Psalm 6:4- Turn, Lord, and deliver me, save me because of your unfailing love.

  Before I got his message through my thick skull, (as my Mama says) I was as cranky as a child. NOTHING was making me feel better! I was so stuck in my own head it was beyond ridiculous and something had to be done. So, what's a girl to do? Grab her doggie and her Bible and head out for some fresh air. Luckily it was warm that day and the sun was out! It was perfect timing. And after the verses spoke to me, and I had a heart to heart with the Lord, I felt like a million bucks! God's love for is beyond words. And I think finally, I have it in my head and believe it with all my heart that God loves me so much for who I am, that he sent Jesus to pay for my sins, and he did, so who am I to keep feeling guilty over something that is done?

 Now, I've known this my whole life, John 3:16, but after making mistake after mistake, I felt so guilty. And that guilt was getting in the way of my relationship with God in the present time. Now, finally, He's gotten to me and my attitude has been thoroughly adjusted! Praise the Lord!

After all of this, it's so amazing studying and devouring this bible. My faith and knowledge has grown by leaps and bounds this year, and I'm so excited to share it with you! Previously, I was hesitant to post anything about religion that might offend someone. But the truth of the matter is, this is my blog. You wonderful readers come here to hear what I have to say, to get to know me. And my religion has always played a big part of my life, it's just grown even bigger lately! If you choose not to follow me any longer, hey, no hard feelings! I still thank you for coming along these last 8 months of my blogging journey!

DIY Elastic Book Band Closures

I know, you've all seen the many accessories that you can purchase with different planners. I just personally think that if I'm spending $50 on a planner, that it's hard to spend extra on more accessories.

However, I do see the need in certain things, such as the elastic book closures. If I have a large tote or purse and am carrying my planner, I do worry about it opening and pages getting creased, damaged, or even torn off completely. BUT, I didn't want to spend the extra $7-$10 for the closures when it looked pretty simple to replicate. Actually, I thought a simple stretchy headband would work fine. It didn't. Which lead me to purchasing more of my favorite elastic. One of my very first couple of blog posts was using this elastic to make pony tail holders. (See it here)

So, let me tell you what I did...

This is what I buy from Joann Store. It was $2.79, I believe, and they have lots of different colors.

This is what I wanted to close, my bible and my planner. Different sizes, which is why the head band idea didn't work.

To measure it, I pulled it as snuggly as it needed to be to keep the book closed. I didn't want to pull it as tight as it could go because I didn't want big dents in my book edges.  Once you're sure it's a good length, cut it straight across. But you know how the old saying goes, "Measure twice, cut once."

Now, I used my machine for this. Just set on a regular stitch. You can certainly hand stitch this if you don't have a machine. Just make sure your stitches are tight and go over it three times to be certain it's a good binding.

Trim the threads and you're all done! IF you don't care for the rough edges, you could always wrap a bit of ribbon around that seam and stitch it down. I just put the seam to the back of the books and it works for me.

AND, I had just enough elastic left over to tie into another hair tie! I'd say it's well worth the $3 I spent on the elastic! 

I've used mine for the last 3 days, and it's working very well! AND I saved moolah, which is always really nice!

What do y'all use to keep books from flying open in your bags?

What is this about a life verse?

You may or may not have heard people speak of their "life verse". What are they talking about? Why do you need one?  From what I've gathered on different sites and from talking to many folks, is a life verse is one verse from the Bible that you've chosen to be your mantra. The one you will commit to memory and be willing and able to recite back to folks. And since there are over 31,000 verses in the bible, you should be able to find one no problem. Sounds great.... until I started to try and find one! There are so many that I love, that pulled my heart strings, and that seemed like they should be a life verse.

Decisions decisions! Here are my front runners, (for now-there may be more later)

1Timothy 6:11- Pursue a righteous and a Godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, & gentleness.

Psalm 34:10- Those who see the Lord shall not lack any good thing.

Joshua 1:9- Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or troubled. The Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

Psalms 37:4- Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Lamentations 3:22-23- God's mercy is bigger than any of your mistakes.


Aren't those awesome verses? It's so hard to choose one! How do you choose? These are tips I've come up with to help me narrow the search:

1. Reflect on what your weaknesses are. Now, don't go getting yourself into a depressed mood. Just look back in your journal or think about the last prayers you've prayed. Is there a common theme? Maybe relationship trouble. If that's your problem areas, then maybe your weakness is wanting to feel loved or to have a stability in your life. Which isn't necessarily a weakness, just a temporary problem area.

2. Once you've decided what your trouble area is, then start contemplating on one word that sums it up.

3. After you've found your word, then look up and copy down verses that are on that subject that jump out at you. Write down many and pray about them. See which one is working for you.

Now, this is if you have a trouble area. I suspect everyone does, but if you'd rather go about it in a different way, you can also figure out what makes you the happiest while thinking about it. Does God's amazing love make you feel happy? Then check out verses having to do with that.

It's not hard to collect quite a few verses that are standing out to you, the problem I'm running into is having too many awesome choices! As of now, the verses mentioned above are my front runners. And I will continue to pray about each one and give it some time to simmer in my heart.

However, I do think that one life verse may be a little too much to commit to. How about a "Year Life Verse"? A verse to keep for a year? I think I like that one better!

What do you guys think? Do you have a life verse?