Sunday, October 30, 2011

Whats Wrong with Sadness

???

Today I'm thankful for tears.

I think we try to avoid sadness-- I sure do.

We see it as a bad thing. But sadness is just an emotion, and we are very feeling-beings.

I've been avoiding it the last couple weeks...avoiding feeling. Too much to do.

Avoiding having to stop and take the time to take a heart-inventory check.

Busy-ness = no time for sadness...?

Nope, see the problem with that is its still there. Just gets worse, builds up. And then you get days like today with a few all-the-sudden crying spells that are triggered by nothing in particular, or just very small things.

So, I need a reality check.

I've realized that some of my most intimate, sweet times with the Lord have been in some of my saddest moments.
Why?
Because when my sadness/anxiety finally reaches the point of overflowing, I am unable to go to the thing that I normally would for temporary satisfaction and happiness.

My heart, pleading. I have no choice but to turn to Jesus.
No work out...
No food...
No artwork...
No song...
No facebook...
No drink....
No text....
No person...
No man...
will help this time.
I just need Jesus.

I need to quiet my heart and just let myself cry.

Dramatic and sensitive? Maybe.
Real? Very.

What's wrong with sadness?
Nothing.

Life is hard. 
It could always be harder... this I know, but its so easy to forget and be stuck in my own little world where my problems are the center of the universe. Selfish? Quite. Real? Extremely.

It could always be harder.

Busy-ness.
brokenness.
lonliness.
hearteache.
death- both physically and spiritually.
separation.
emptiness.
dysfunction.
conflict.
darkness.
seasons.
                               It could always be harder.

But hearing that sometimes doesn't help in the moment of deep sadness.
So, I choose to embrace it, I 'spose.

I'm thankful for tears today.

When some of the women I love and care for allow me to see them cry, I always feel overwhelmed by their sweet delicate beauty.

Why are we so embarrassed to cry in front of other people?

There's something so sad, but yet so sweet about tears.

                             They are so real.
No room for masks in this space. I'm thankful for that.

Beautiful.

Something so lovely.





9-10 God's a safe-house for the battered,
      a sanctuary during bad times.
   The moment you arrive, you relax;
      you're never
sorry
you knocked. 

Psalm 9:9-10 

6 I'm tired of all this - so tired. My bed has been floating forty days and nights On the flood of my tears. My mattress is soaked, soggy with tears. 7 The sockets of my eyes are black holes; nearly blind, I squint and grope. 

Psalm 6:6-7
Dear Jesus,
3-5 You're my cave to hide in,
      my cliff to climb.
   Be my safe leader,
      be my true mountain guide.
   Free me from hidden traps;
      I want to hide in you.
   I've put my life in your hands.
      You won't drop me,
      you'll never let me down. 

Psalm 31:3-5

You turn my sadness into dancing...


11-12 You did it: you changed wild lament
      into whirling dance;
   You ripped off my black mourning band
      and decked me with wildflowers.
   I'm about to burst with song;
      I can't keep quiet about you.
   God, my God,
      I can't thank you enough. 

Psalm 30:11-12





I love simple. and i love lovely.
Ricky and I are so excited to have a home full of colors....
here's some eye-candy for the lovers of color



 So close to our wedding color pallet, love it.






 Lime makes everything better.

Sweet girl :)




I pray whatever emotion you feel today, you embrace it and allow God to do what He wills with it.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Mini Fall Treats

I found this super easy and fun recipe  to these ridiculously cute bite-size mini caramel apples a couple weeks ago when I was making a bulletin board for my residents on fall treats. I've been so excited to make them and finally did for my mom's Halloween party!  

They are so stinkin' cute.
I've always loooved caramel apples, but somehow they are always too big for me to finish. So this is really exciting hehe :P

So colorful! 

You can also use different things like coconut or nuts to get different tastes and looks, but I liked this one.











 You cut small bites out of an apple using a melon baller... however the one I was using was pretty old and snapped.... so I had to use just the very end of it to cut my pieces out...less convenient, but no problemo :)








The instructions doesn't mention this, but before you melt the chocolate to dip your pieces in, cut out your bites and have them ready to be dipped and swirled in the chocolate. The chocolate hardens pretty quickly (I found out the hard way). Okay, so I'm new to this kitchen thing, and learning as I go 
but I love it!!



Yum!
 I love the colorful mess :)
Put them on a fun tray, and let them chill til the party starts :) Yippie!

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Art for a poor college student...

 Art...I really dig it. 

However I don't have the means to buy tons and tons of super sweet crafty things all the time. So, I must improvise :)



Here's some fun little lamps I put together.... all for a gran total of about $1.00..... ;)


 Before.....
After........
I made this flower out of an old yellow shirt that I couldn't remember wearing within the last 2 years. So I cut it up and made something new out of something quite old. :)



I got 2 plain white lamp shades last summer at a garage sale... for like 50 cents or something. I just knew I would want to use them for something someday...
 Then I added a little color and a little love :) 
Aren't these colors fun? I love green and yellow :) They may or may not be my wedding colors ;)








 I found some different (and quite random) things to use as the stand of the lamp....turned a refrigerator and a laundry basket flipped upside down with a sheet over it into night stands.....  and voila! 


There we go. Some color, some funk and some fun for the bare corners of my RA dorm room. :)