Unseasonably Warm Weather

The weather has been so unusual this winter. Now with spring "officially" starting next Tuesday, one would think that we'd expect it to be like spring -- but it's not usually so. This year it appears to already be here! We've already been using the grill & enjoying sitting on the patio. It's so good to hear the birds & frogs and to enjoy God's beautiful world. Yesterday we took a drive over to the state grounds, it was so exciting to see some of the birds we don't see at home; the sand hill cranes, swans & coots (which I had never seen before).

Then there were those that we do see a lot around home, but I got some good pictures of them too:

And we stopped by the trout rearing station. Most of the pictures there were not so great, but will make good overlays for very interesting background papers to scrap with.  I did get this one of a big guy in there:

And one more -- the frogs have been deafening this year & I was so excited to be able to get a shot of one:

It's always so much fun to go see what's going on in God's world, there is so much to learn from stopping and taking a good look at what's happening, I'm going to enjoy this weather because you never know what tomorrow may bring.

It's Officially on the Blog!

Dawn has posted my information on the Faithfully Yours Blog! You can find it here: http://faithfullyyours.net/Blog/digitally-inspired/
I'm hoping that I can help them out as much as she makes it sound. If there's anyone who has questions about digital scrapping please feel free to ask me. If I don't know the answer, I'll find out. People have asked what program I use to digital scrap & I thought, wow this can get expensive. But then when I watched a video about traditional scrapping I realized that it was perhaps even more expensive. They have all sorts of gadgets to create their pages -- stamps, cutting systems, fancy scissors, brushes, paper cutters, containers to store all the supplies; not to mention the papers, ribbons, paint, glitter, glue & adhesives that are all consumable. And oh the mess that you have to clean up when you are done.
Now if you scrap digitally, you have the expense of the program you use -- unless of course you use Gimp which is a free download. There are all kinds of free supplies as well, and fonts, brushes, patterns, styles, and so much more for your program. Lots of free tutorials on how to achieve the look you want. When you use a photo, you don't have to print it out or have it printed at the store then cut it  to size only to find that it's not quite big enough to fit your space. With digital you can resize it, of course it's not too good to enlarge it too much. You can blend it into the background paper for an effect you can't get with the traditional method. You can reuse your papers to coordinate an album without purchasing several sheets. You can reuse your embellishments the same. And it all stores on your computer, or an external hard drive.
If you like to go to crops, it's also much easier. When I think of the times I've had my trunk full of supplies for scrapping. Now I just pack up my computer & I'm ready to go. (I use a laptop!) Even if I take my EHD, my Bamboo & maybe a few magazines to get ideas from it doesn't take too much.
So, give it a try. I started in 2006. Gradually I did more digital & less traditional. By 2008 I had pretty much gone totally digital. I still have a lot of my traditional supplies, but I'm ready to clean them out now.
I've gone on long enough, but it's something that I really believe in, something I really enjoy, and I feel blessed & honored to be a part of Faithfully Yours. And I feel blessed & honored that God has led me to take the steps down this path. I pray that I will be able to bring glory to God in the venture.

Spring Fever

If I didn't have spring fever before today, it certainly kicked in today! It was so nice we decided to go out to Pine Knob for our first walk of the season. Although there aren't any flowers blooming & we didn't see many birds - just a few sparrows & a blue jay -- it sounded so great to hear the frogs. Their chorus was astoundingly loud & continuous most of the time we were on the trail. You know they are one of God's ways of telling us that spring is just around the corner. After three times of hearing the frogs there will be no more frost according to Mrs. Wall. Makes me wish I had written down all of the things she told us about looking at what was happening in nature to know what was in store for each season. Some of them I do remember; like the frogs.
The Holy Spirit has been guiding me so much the last week! It is exciting! I have all kinds of ideas running around my head & I've been trying to get them down in my word processor & filed on my computer for reference as I build kits & make layouts about my journey with God. I thank him daily that He led me to apply for the DT at Faithfully Yours.
Tonight I'm exhausted, so I will only look over my emails -- no designing this evening. :)

First Tornado Watch of the Season

The tornado season has started. Actually it started in southern Indiana a few weeks ago. That was so fresh on my mind this evening it got me thinking about sitting in the basement when the kids were young. It made me think about how Andy would get so upset that he would actually make himself sick. It made me think about the Psalm Sunday tornadoes when I was in high school. We weren't hit as bad as west of us, but there was a lot of damage, power outages for three days, and 22 deaths in the county. When I think on these things, it can bring fear into my heart. But there's no room for fear for God has filled all those areas with His peace. So when fear starts to enter & bubble up, I turn to God. I take His hand & let Him calm me down.
The storms have passed for now. I know that God is with me & will keep me safe no matter what comes tomorrow or the tomorrow after that. Thank you Lord!

Glorious Sunday -- Spring Fever

It's been a beautiful day here, the sun was shining & it was unseasonably warm. Church was great this morning -- great sermon, great music & great friends. God is good all the time!
Dave & I decided it was a good day for an outing so we headed east, did a little shopping at the Outlet Mall & topped it off with lunch at Bubba's.
Since it's supposed to rain tomorrow Dave fertilized the lawn & picked up the sticks that had blown out this winter. He's going to be sore tomorrow!
I went down to see Mom. Had a good chat with her & with Fritz. I was pleased that she went down to the dining room for her supper this evening.
Tonight I get to do something that I haven't done in a very long time. Janessa is here for the night & she lost her first tooth this afternoon -- I get to play "Tooth Fairy"! Sounds like a scrapbook page in the works. :)
Last night I put together another layout for Faithfully Yours. I have a few more rolling around in my head. But that will have to wait for another day. Here's the one from last night:

First LO uploaded to Faithfully Yours

We're on our way! I have my first LO done for Faithfully Yours as a part of the Design Team. :) What an exciting journey it is turning out to be. It seems everywhere I turn there is a confirmation that I am indeed following God's will for my life. When I asked for prayers from my friends at Makeover 2012 & posted it, there was an answer up there before I hit the enter button -- but after I started typing the request. Now that's quick work Lord -- THANK YOU! Since then there have been numerous little "God"incidents everywhere I turn -- in my daily devotionals; on different websites; on FB; and even in person. God is good all the time!
Ideas are flowing for what will come next & I know that they are truly inspired through the leading of the Holy Spirit. I just need to keep listening & giving God ALL the glory!
Here's the LO from the "No Fear" kit available at Faithfully Yours:

Have a glorious day!

WooHoo!

I am so excited this evening. I got called to the Design Team at Faithfully Yours. And on top of that I've seen God answering prayers almost before they were uttered!
Fritz, Dave & I went down to Mom's house this morning to move things out of the way for the vinyl & carpet to be installed tomorrow. We are a little concerned about Mom's reaction though. She's been a little depressed & we came to the conclusion that it's because of us getting the house ready to put on the market & that we are having to go through all her treasures & make decisions what will be saved & what won't be saved. All I can say is that there is a ton of work to do down there. Fritz would like to have it on the market by the end of the month -- that's only 3 weeks to get it all done!
When we got home I checked the email & found one from Dawn at Faithfully Yours. I've applied to several websites/designers to be a part of their Creative or Design Team but have always gotten rejection letters. That was what I was expecting because she had sent out an email saying there were so many applications that it was taking longer than they expected, but would have a decision made the first week in March. My biggest concern about this is the fact that this website leans mostly to paper scrapping, not digital. One of the reasons I applied was the fact that they are trying to have more digital things available. So I decided that I'd really like to get in on the ground floor of the digital aspect. Reading the email from Dawn, it sounded a lot like they are expecting paper designers. I can do that, but I'm not sure that I want to go back to that -- digital is so much more creative in my mind. I needed to pray about it before I gave my answer.
After lunch we went to the Lenten study up at the church. It was a good session where we talked about prayers; lots of discussion about images people have of prayer. One of those is people who only pray when they have problems. Then there are those who thank the Lord for every little thing & give Him credit for opening up a parking space at the mall. We need to remember that God doesn't always answer prayers the way we think He should. He's not going to answer your prayers that would cause someone else to become like a puppet or to go against natural laws. Although God does perform miracles, it is not the norm. To me prayer is simply communing with God -- and a part of communing is listening. Yes, I ask for healing, for miracles from time to time, and for help in making decisions. That's what I asked for at the study class today. When we got home I decided answer Dawn's questions, but wait for an answer from God about whether I should accept the position or not.
When I finished I thought why not put out a plea on the Makeover 2012 group on Facebook to be able to know God's will for me in this situation. As I was typing my post Kathy was typing another post. In her post was the following "HE made each of us beautiful in our own way and gave us 'wings with which to fly'......He knows our abilities and limitations......it's up to us to use the "wings" He's given us to the best of our ability......"  I got my answer. Thank you Lord.
Now I've gotten an email from Dawn answering my question about the digital thing -- and I'm the digital designer on the team! Oh wow, now I need prayers to do my best & I give all the glory to God! Praise the Lord!!!