Be Encouraged, Be Inspired, and Get Something Done!
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I've decided to try something new here at AP Tuesdays. I feel myself getting behind on this house of mine, so each week I am going to focus in on a different area (zone) and write some goals here at AP Tuesday. You can all hold me accountable!:) Here are my goals for this week...want to join me?
Zone:
Living Room
Goals:
Walls & Windows
Vacuum Under Couches and Couch Cushions
Purge Magazine Baskets
Spot Clean Couches
Clean Wood Floor
Time:
15 minutes/day OR
1 hr. 15 minutes in one day OR
35 minutes twice in the week
Make Sure You Let Me Know In The Comments If You Are Going To Join Me!
It will be great to feel less alone in my mess!
Feel free to list your 5 goals, yours might give me some good ideas..
{push play, then click through to YouTube. It is worth it}
Our worship leader in church today lead us in prayer. In the middle of the prayer, she said "Lord, you make us beautiful." This song above, "Beautiful Things," immediately came to mind and it has been on repeat in my brain all day. It is a favorite of mine. Its words go perfectly with a reading I have found lately that has also been on my brain. I thought I'd share them with you:
From Jesus Calling:
As you become increasingly aware of My Presence, you find it easier to discern the way you should go. This is one of the practical benefits of living close to Me. Instead of worrying about what you should do if...or when... you can concentrate on staying in communication with Me. When you actually arrive at a choice-point, I will show you which direction to go.
Many people are so preoccupied with future plans and decisions that they fail to see choices they need to make today. Without any conscious awareness, they make their habitual responses. People who live this way find a dullness creeping into their lives. They sleepwalk through their days, following well worn paths of routine.
I, the Creator of the universe, am the most Creative Being imaginable. I will not leave you circling in deeply rutted paths. Instead, I will lead you along fresh trails of adventure, revealing to you things you did not know. Stay in communication with Me. Follow My guiding Presence.
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I love that my Creator does not "leave me circling in deeply rutted paths" but "leads along fresh trails of adventure." As He does this, He guides me, changes me, grows me. Sometimes it is painful, change often is. Refining often comes through fire, and oh, how uncomfortable it can be!
Malachi 3:3
He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver..
A good refiner never leaves the crucible but, as the above verse indicates, "will sit" down by it so the fire will not become even one degree too hot and possible harm the metal. And as soon as he skims the last bit of dross from the surface and sees his face reflected in the pure metal, he extinguishes the fire.
Arthur Tappan Peirson
Ecclesiastes 3:11
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
Isaiah 61:3
To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
Isaiah 64:8
But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
1. It softens the skin.
I remember taking a facial class (I'm a cosmetologist), where the instructor had been an esthetician for 15 years. She told us about dry brushing and had us each come up and feel the skin on her arm. She was in her 50's, but her skin was as soft as a babies butt! I was amazed. She gave all the credit to dry brushing daily.
2. It is a simplistic, inexpensive approach to healthier skin
I love that you can gain great results without expensive potions and treatments.
3. It stimulates the lymphatic system.
After my cancer treatment, I saw a physical therapist who did lymphatic drainage massage on me to help prevent lymphodema. I was intrigued by how gently she massaged, sweeping soft strokes across my skin, all towards the heart. This was my first experience with lymphatic massage and I was always amazed at how I needed to immediately use the restroom after lymphatic drainage massage. My therapist said that was a great indication that she had done her job, stimulating lymph fluid to be released. She suggested I dry brush at home in the same manner to continue to keep my lymph canals to drain properly, which is detoxifying to the body.
4. It helps with ingrown hairs.
No more razor burn bumps or ingrown hair bumps. The combination of dry brushing and shaving with a good, natural soap was the answer for me.
5. It sloughs off dead skin.
I used to struggle with small bumps on the back of my arms and on my legs. Not anymore. Dry brushing and again, using a natural soap from my local health food store did the trick. Makes me happy!
6. It feels good!
It is amazing how good it feels to dry brush skin. Especially if you have itchy, dry skin. It is great early in the morning right before my shower..it helps wake me up!
:: How To Dry Brush:
1. Purchase a natural bristle brush. Not synthetic. Ideally with a long handle.
2. Perform dry brushing before your shower while dry and naked (or nudie, as my girls say)
3. Work in long, upward stokes toward the heart.
4. Use whatever pressure is most comfortable for you.
5. Avoid sensitive areas and anywhere the skin is broken
6. After dry brushing your skin, rinse off in the shower.
7. Don't forget to wash your brush using soap and water once a week. Hang to dry.
Stay tuned for more tips on getting healthy, glowing skin! I will be writing soon about my two favorite, natural and cheap beauty products that keep my skin so soft. Hint: they both are edible..
I am so very happy to have found this recipe! I have made it twice in 4 days and may make some more tomorrow...it is THAT good. It is a vegan recipe, but it would be a keeper even if I were not vegan. It is a recipe by Happy Herbivore that has been getting lots of attention on twitter, so I am not the only one who loves it.
Speaking of Happy Herbivore, I have browsed her cookbook and it is GREAT...hint, hint for whomever has my name for Christmas..:)
Back to the bread..it was super moist but had a nice crunch on the sides and bottom. Loved that. I cut the brown sugar down to 3/4 cup, that was plenty. I used almond milk. I loved that there was no fat used, and if you are out of eggs, NO PROBLEM, for there are no eggs in this recipe. It is amazing how much cheaper a recipe is with no butter and eggs!
Pumpkin Bread Recipe
Servings: 12
The Happy Herbivore Cookbook (p. 52)
Ingredients:
½ tspbaking powder
1 tspbaking soda
2 cupswhole wheat flour
2 tbsppumpkin pie spice
1 tspvanilla extract
2 tbsppure maple syrup
1 cupbrown sugar
15 ouncespumpkin
¼ tsplemon juice
¼ cupnon-dairy milk
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease or spray a standard bread pan. Whisk non-dairy milk and lemon juice together until bubbly and set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, cream pumpkin, sugar, syrup and extract together. In a large bowl, whisk pumpkin pie spice, flour, baking soda and baking powder together. Pour both wet mixtures into dry mixture and stir until just combined. Pour into bread pan, using a spatula to evenly distribute and smooth out the top. Grab a large piece of aluminum foil and make a tent over the pan. Bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Once the bread has cooled but is still slightly warm, gently remove it from the pan and on to a serving plate.
I heard this song in the car today, on the way to the doctors office.
Ready for confession time?
The last 2 days I have been holding a grudge against someone I love dearly, because I was hurt by them. Instead of lovingly communicating and talking it out, I just wallowed in my hurt and decided I was mad. Now granted, I have not felt great, physically, the past few days (I will get to why in a moment), but I've learned that physical pain is no excuse to treat someone with disregard, creating emotional pain for everyone involved.
This song spoke to my heart, a great reminder of what cancer has taught me this past year--we all need to live like we are dying. "86,400 seconds" is all we have in each day, and every second counts! I don't want to be wasteful with my moments.
After a long discussion with a doctor today, I left his office and again, started thinking of the importance of this song.
I have been having stomach pain the last week. It is in the evenings, and there have been 2 nights where I thought I may have to go to the emergency room if it didn't let up. They are checking my gallbladder for stones with an ultrasound tomorrow. They are also going to check my stomach lining next week.
This is the test that has me a little nervous. Women with lobular breast cancer are more likely to get ovarian and gastric (stomach) cancer metastasis. I just had a dear friend die from stomach cancer. I've seen firsthand what what would be in store. Facing reality, I know that could be me.
Despite this reality, I have a peace. A peace that "passes all understanding." (Phil. 4:7) I know, KNOW there is a perfect plan for my life, no matter how long or short it is. I KNOW God has me in the palm of His hand, and nothing can separate me from His love. This makes me think of my favorite Bible verse:
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38,39
This peace, this unending love from my Creator, allows me..frees me.. to live like I'm dying. To release hurt, to come out from "hiding behind skin that's too tough," to say I love you enough. To admit fault, wrongdoing. To ask for forgiveness and to forgive. To let go of "Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda" and live like I shall, can and will.
To take the 86,400 seconds in a day and be present in them.
Won't you join me?
"Live Like We're Dying" by cutie Chris Allen :)
Sometimes we fall down, can't get back up
We're hiding behind skin that's too tough
How come we don't say I love you enough
Till it's to late, it's not too late
Our hearts are hungry for a food that won't come
And we could make a feast from these crumbs
And we're all staring down the barrel of a gun
So if your life flashed before you,
What would you wish you would've done
Yeah, we gotta start
Looking at the hands of the time we've been given
If this is all we got and we gotta start thinking
If every second counts on a clock that's ticking
Gotta live like we're dying
We only got 86,400 seconds in a day to
Turn it all around or to throw it all away
We gotta tell them that we love them
While we got the chance to say
Gotta live like we're dying
And if your plane fell out of the skies
Who would you call with your last goodbye
Should be so careful who we live out our lives
So when we long for absolution,
There'll no one on the line, yeah
Yeah, we gotta start
Looking at the hands of the time we've been given
If this is all we got and we gotta start thinking
If every second counts on a clock that's ticking
Gotta live like we're dying
We only got 86,400 seconds in a day to
Turn it all around or to throw it all away
We gotta tell them that we love them
While we got the chance to say
Gotta live like we're dying
Like we're dying, oh, like we're dying..
We only got 86,400 seconds in a day to
Turn it all around or to throw it all away
We gotta tell them that we love them
While we got the chance to say
Gotta live like we're dying
You never know a good thing till it's gone
You never see a crash till it's head on
Why do we think we're right when we're dead wrong
You never know a good thing till it's gone
Yeah, we gotta start
Looking at the hands of the time we've been given
If this is all we got and we gotta start thinking
If every second counts on a clock that's ticking
Gotta live like we're dying
We only got 86,400 seconds in a day to
Turn it all around or to throw it all away
We gotta tell them that we love them
While we got the chance to say
Gotta live like we're dying
Like we're dying, oh, like we're dying..
We only got 86,400 seconds in a day to
Turn it all around or to throw it all away
We gotta tell them that we love them
While we got the chance to say
Gotta live like we're dying..
Is it too early to be talking Christmas? I love getting all of my Christmas shopping done by Thanksgiving. I have my Mother-In-Law to thank for this. She is always done by Thanksgiving and is always able to enjoy the beautiful Christmas season despite having a gazillion grand kids to buy for!
We have to be a bit more frugal this year due to my health expenses, so I plan to make some handmade gifts. I have been over at Pinterest getting inspired by all wonderful ideas, and thought I would share some of my favorites with you!
Rosemary Sea Salt
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How about you?
Do you make any of your Christmas gifts?
Do you mind getting a handmade Christmas gift?
When do you start your Christmas shopping?
What is your favorite handmade gift above?
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Do you have a Pinterest account? If so, I'd love to know. To follow me at Pinterest and see more of my pins, click here.
Be Encouraged, Be Inspired, and Get Something Done!
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Before I announce the winner of this week's giveaway, I have to tell you of aHUGE Giveaway happening right now over at Beauty Divine.
This beauty is my sister, and she has put together one of the most impressive giveaways I have seen. If you are a photographer or know a photographer, this giveaway is going to REALLY excite you.
Her giveaway features the Top 16 photography template designers and digital designers on Etsy!
There will be 3 winners of 3 prizes
1st Prize: Just under $400.00 worthof templates and digital items. Here is just a glimpse of some of the templates and designs:
Awesome, huh? There are many more and all SO FUN!
Click through to check out what 2nd and 3rd winners will receive.
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Ok, now onto the winner of last weeks giveaway here at New Nostalgia from
the lucky winner of $25.00 towards a pendant at KraftyKash is:
