Swimming for Her Savior

For a few months now, our daughter Katherine has been telling me that she has been praying and asking God to show her how to use her competitive swimming to glorify Him.  It has really started weighing on her heart that she has to make choices between church and swimming.  At the tender age of eleven, she is already starting to see how quickly the world gets in the way of leading a Christ-centered life. 

Seriously.  This kid of mine has such a mature relationship with the Lord – probably more mature than my own relationship with Him.  It’s the one blessing for which I am most grateful!

 As many of you know, Katherine is a competitive swimmer for a USA swim team.  She does well at her sport and has advanced more rapidly than we could have ever guessed was possible.  She swims her heart out whether at practice or in a race, and she absolutely loves every single minute she’s in the water.  She is dedicated, focused and determined to do her absolute best – and a truly loyal teammate.  She’s at it five days a week, two solid hours or more each of those days.  And 8am practice every Saturday morning.  Then there’s the summer 5am practices and two-a-days.  Very committed.

As much as she loves swimming, she loves the Lord more.  Way more.  And it has been a struggle for her to balance her church life with swimming.  She misses out on Wednesday night fellowship in order to attend practice.  She misses church at least one Sunday morning each month to compete in meets.  It has not been easy for her to make these choices.  God has blessed her with a talent, and she knows in her heart that He wants her to use her talent to reach others for Him. 

But she’s been waiting on a word from Him.  And waiting.  And waiting.

Until now.

Inspired by a few news articles and a photo of Tim Tebow’s eye black {quarterback, Denver Broncos}, Katherine is now determined to spread the gospel in much the same way:  instead of eye black {just wouldn’t look right on a swimmer J}, Katherine will have scripture written across her back at every meet she attends.  As she walks the pool deck, stands at the blocks, or is warming up between events, hundreds of people of all ages will be able to see where her heart truly lies. 

While her method may not trigger the 93 million Google hits for a particular scripture as did Tim Tebow’s, it is a way for her to possibly reach many others and share God’s word.  And maybe even lead an unsaved soul to Christ. 

At her meet this weekend, Katherine said several people asked her about the scripture on her back.  One was an adult that was timing at the blocks, the others were all kids aged 9-14. 

Katherine told us that she will continue to pray about how she can use swimming to honor the Lord.  She is prepared to do more, and wholeheartedly knows she can.

And why not?  After all, “nothing is impossible with God.”

Blessings to one and all,

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Blessings,

1 Corinthians 13

The very first scripture Katherine ever memorized was
1 Corinthians 13. 

The whole chapter. 

Not only did she memorize it, but she fully understands the importantce of those 13 verses that make up the entire chapter. 

To hear her recite 1 Corinthians 13 brings tears to my eyes; she speaks with her heart and I can see in her face her willingness to learn to love like Jesus wants us to love.  I believe we should all live having this piece of scripture hidden away in our hearts.  1 Corinthians 13 means something real to my daughter; it is alive within her.

When we were browsing at our church's craft market earlier in October, we were both beyond excited to find that a new friend and fellow church member had a booth showcasing her amazing creative talent as a photographer and artist.  And boy did she have something special on display:

My photography skills stink and this photo does not do the artwork justice.  Hannah B. made this set of 1 Corinthians 13 canvases and there was no way we could leave without them!  In fact, the original set was the same color as the walls of Katherine's bedroom, so she custom made these for her.  The background of each canvas is pages from the Bible with the lettering hand painted over layered paint.  They are lovely and are going to be perfect in Kat's room.  {Hannah delivered them to us after church today and Katherine is currently pulling stuff off of her walls and rearranging her artwork to showcase her new Faith * Hope * Love canvases!}

Get to know Hannah B. at her blog Everything Sunny Always.  You can click on her silly blog button at the top right of my home page and it will take you directly to her site.  Hannah is also working on creating an Etsy shop, which is still in it's early stages.  But when she gets it up and running, you need to check it out because she has some wonderful talent that she will be showcasing.  Her photography is even more beautiful than her art pieces -- and she's available for booking!

The really special thing about Hannah B. is not her talent.  It's her trust in God and her willingness to be obedient to His will.  Hannah B. is a young woman with an amazing story of faith.  If you head over to her blog, you will be blessed, I promise.  I know she has blessed me tremendously in the very short time I've made her aquaintance.

I wish each and every one of you a week filled with faith, hope and love!

Blessings,

Can You Stand to be Sharpened?

Things that make you stop and go, "hmmmm..." 

I liked what my friend Debbie at Learning Along the Way had to say about friendships.  Follow the link below to read her whole post.

Learning Along the Way: Can You Stand to be Sharpened?: Over the weekend I was reminded (through conversation with some friends) of the scripture in Proverbs 27:17: "As iron sharpens iron, so on...


Blessings always,

Happy Family

Hello, sweet friends!

While Katherine worked on her chemistry today, I goofed off on my computer.  I love this phrase, and believe it with all my heart.  I’m not a graphic designer {duh – it shows!}, but I figured there had to be a way I could create a digital piece of art I could share with others.  Enjoy!

Blessings always,

Season's Greetings!

Happy Holidays!

Okay, I know it seems a little bit early to start with the holiday cheer, but the way the last few years have flown by, Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here before I know it.  Last Christmas snuck up on me and had me in a state of  shock, panic and total exhaustion.  I am determined for that NOT to happen again!

I want to be able to live in the moment

this holiday season.

I look forward to spending another Thanksgiving with my family in the hill country, a tradition we have carried for all eleven years of Katherine’s life {and a few before she came along!}.  I love this special time with the people who have my heart,  just hanging out and spending time together.

This Christmas I am going to focus more on celebrating the greatest gift ever given – the humble birth of my Savior, Jesus. 

For the last few years, our family has watched The Nativity Story on Christmas Eve,  and I always enjoy reading the book The Handmaid and The Carpenter  by Elizabeth Berg.  

This year I will add The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare {one of my all time favorite books} as a story to read with Katherine. 

But before I can relax, I will make my list

and check it twice – then be done with it!

I am already starting to gather supplies for what will be the homemade presents I will be giving this year.  Here is a sneak peek of a few projects in the works:

I am also starting to put together my list of baking supplies that I will need for those special treats I will give to my friends and neighbors – it is just one way I can let them know how much they mean to me and how grateful I am to have them in my life.  Of course, my little helper elf has always enjoyed delivering the Christmas goodies, so she, too, will have to plan her delivery route ahead of time.

Are you already planning for your Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays?  Do you have any special traditions during the holidays?  I’d love for you to share them with me here on the blog so others may be inspired to start a tradition, too.

Blessings,

A Blessing from the Back Seat

I was attempting to organize my photos on Picasa today when I came across this sweet picture of me and my hubby holding hands while driving to church this past spring. 

I think it was Easter Sunday, and the camera was in the back seat with Katherine.  I asked her why she took the photo and she said, "Because it makes me happy to see you and Daddy hold hands.  It makes me feel safe." 

I'm glad our daughter enjoys the view from the back seat.  May we all be so content.

Be blessed!

School Organization Blessings

Our first week of home school went smoothly, partly because we worked hard to re-establish our school area.  In this blessed matchbox of a home in which we live, there isn’t much room for us to spread out, so we modified and relocated our “school room”. 

Out of the “spare” bedroom we moved {it is used as a playroom, a library, a storage room and, on occasion, a bedroom for any guest willing to sleep on a roll-away bed or in a sleeping bag on the floor}.  Using the room as a school room was difficult - too many distractions.  We are now doing lessons out in the dining room, which is the only dining area we have – so it has to look nice.  Fortunately, there is a bookcase built into the end of the kitchen island on the dining room side of the kitchen.  That bookcase is serving as command central for most of our home school books, curriculum, and supplies.

We pared down our books, binders, folders and supplies so that we had only what we will need for the first six weeks of school. 

To organize Katherine’s six subjects’ worth of textbooks, workbooks and folders, we repurposed three large magazine organizers {that previously held long forgotten coloring books}.

To keep pencils, highlighters, colored pencils, rulers and scissors in one neat spot, we repurposed a large, cardboard “drink” carrier we found in my in-laws’ recycle bin.  Originally, I thought about covering is with scrapbook paper, but it was a pain and I really wanted it to just blend in on the shelf and not stand out too much.  Instead, I spray painted it a neutral ivory and wrapped the handle with jute to keep the cardboard from digging into our fingers when we carry it.  A nifty little jute bow wrapped around the middle finished off our project.

And because I really didn’t get crafty much this summer, I made a fun little wood plaque to display on our school shelves.  It’s so much fun to see what you can make out of a scrap piece of 2x4, some sandpaper, spray paint and left over rustic red scrapbook letters!  And in less than 15 minutes, it satisfied the need to get my craft on – yet still be relevant to keeping our school area organized!

How did you get organized for your first week of school?

Blessings,

Happy at Heart

Hello, dear family and friends!

Can it be that my baby started 6^th grade this week?  Monday was Katherine’s first day of 6^th grade and our second year of home school.  It was a wonderful day, which Kat started off by posing for a few “first day of school” photos.  Don’t you love the backpack?  Like she needs one for home school…!

It was so great to start our day with Bible study.  We didn’t do enough of it last year and are really looking forward to being in God’s word first thing in the morning.  It really is a wonderful way to start the day!

We are also getting ready for another big swim season.  Short course starts in October.  Katherine will be training hard and is already focused on her goals for the short course season.  God has blessed our sweet girl with a unique gift; please pray for her as she moves through this swim season and toward some pretty big opportunities.

The summer seemed to have flown by.  We didn’t do much outside of swimming, though we were able to break away and celebrate my Mom-in-Law’s birthday {she’s a Fourth of July baby!}, and then spent almost two weeks with my awesome in-laws during early August.  I miss them so much and wish we lived closer to them.  Maybe one day…

Have a wonderful weekend!

Blessings, 

Today's Fabulous Finds: L*O*V*E Letter Photo Art: Free Prints!

What a week! 

u   Dad fell down, but thankfully didn’t break his crown – just banged himself up pretty good. 

v    The washing machine started to emit an acrid burning rubber     smell, but Super Hubby managed to dismantle the       beast and it’s as good as new.

I love it when the Lord has my back!

You know how much I love my family {and my cherished friends}, and how much I love special projects celebrating those meaningful relationships. I found this sweet and original piece on one of the blogs I follow. While I definitely love the artwork and the talent behind the project, what I appreciate even more is the meaning that it has for Janet and her family.

Follow the link to read about this special little project celebrating a love of family.  Let me know if you create a little masterpiece of your own!

 Today's Fabulous Finds: L*O*V*E Letter Photo Art: Free Prints!: "I've seen letter photo art around for awhile now, but for some reason I suddenly became very interested in it this week and just had to tr..."



Blessings,

NICE Assignment: Hold a Gratitude Session

Now THIS is what I’m talkin’ about!

NICE Assignment: Hold a Gratitude Session

Blessings,