In the Storm

all about me | my reason why

Several years ago now, prompted by, I believe, the Holy Spirit I began a journey. The sole reason for the journey was to bless the Name of the Lord. When learning how to pray - yes, we can truly learn how to pray and, in fact, I am still learning about prayer and the unlimited access to God and the relationship with God forged through prayer, and being a warrior in prayer - I have come upon prayer - devices, if you will - to remain focused, to guide or direct my prayers. One such device uses the acronym ACTS. Acknowledge, Confess, Thanksgiving, and Supplication.

I first read about this device in the mid-nineties when I was reading Becky Tirabassi's book Let Prayer Change Your Life and I was intrigued when she shared in the story of when she and a group of women began praying with this device they struggled making it through the entire acronym ACTS. In fact, in the beginning, when they gathered, they rarely made it past A - acknowledge. They spent so much time acknowledge who God is, giving blessing to God, praising God that they ran out of time.

It is my preferred way to begin prayer time. Acknowledging God and blessing his Name.

In 2012 I heard a song on the radio by Matt Redman, a Christian music artist, called 10000 Reasons (Bless the Lord). There is a line in the lyrics,

You're rich in love
And You're slow to anger
Your name is great
And Your heart is kind
For all Your goodness
I will keep on singing
Ten thousand reasons
For my heart to find

...ten thousand reasons for my heart to find. Those words moved me to find those ten thousand reasons to bless the Lord. Towards the end of 2012 I began a journal writing down blessings to the Lord.

You rescue the sinner.

You save

Your Word is Truth

Your love is Great

You are the Prince of Peace

You are eternally steadfast

You are Rock of my salvation

Your burden is light

The grave could not hold You

You are my sword and shield

Your compassions are new every morning

You are the Great I AM

The Lily of the Valley

Your grace overwhelms

Repairer of broken walls

Chain-breaker

You are my firm foundation

Every painted sky is a canvas of your grace

...and so much more

Infinite

One by one, numbering as I go only because I wondered...10000 reasons...how long would that take?

I'm not there yet. I'm not even close.

Do I write every day? No. Sometimes, I go months and then I am spurred on to journal blessings to God once again.

I read an article later that said the song was written based on Psalm 105: 1-5,

Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;
    make known among the nations what he has done.
² Sing to him, sing praise to him;
    tell of all his wonderful acts.
³ Glory in his holy name;
    let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
⁴ Look to the Lord and his strength;
    seek his face always.

⁵ Remember the wonders he has done,
    his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced...

and written to explore how we can never run out of reasons to bless and praise God. Yes! This is what I set out to do. I am inspired by songs I hear on the radio, songs we sing in church that beat loudly on my heart, and passages I am led to in my Bible study. I may reach 10000 reasons to bless the Lord, in my journal, but, even so, if I had 10000 years to forevermore I would still be blessing the Lord,

And on that day
When my strength is failing
The end draws near
And my time has come
Still my soul will
Sing Your praise unending
Ten thousand years
And then forevermore -

10000 Reasons, Matt Redman

 

Don't let the 'girly' page fool you! These guys are all men. And real men can wear pink and orange without hindering their manhood.

And that has nothing to do with the story.

For John and Jarrod's birthday celebration we all awoke super early on a Saturday morning so we could drive out to Tybee Island and get into line (yeah! we were first in line) - because there is always a line - for the 7 am opening of The Breakfast Club, our favorite Tybee Island breakfast - club for the atmosphere, the food, the togetherness, and the music.

With 70's Rock playing non-stop on Pandora and seating at the counter directly behind the short order cooks, we enjoyed a full plate of amazing food. Jeff and I ordered our go-to plates (he orders an omelet fully loaded with hash browns and I order the club's homemade sausage, eggs and, of course, hash browns). John gave me a chuckle when he ordered a burger for breakfast and received a kudo from the cook because they're tasty burgers. John concurred. Jarrod ordered thick, syrup laced French toast - yummy!

We love interacting with the cooks and we always, in addition to tipping our server, tip the cooks (for their beer money). I know. It's enabling. But, they do this cheezy banging and sing out every time someone tips the cooks.

stories 2018 | you are my sunshine

Living so far from grandkids I am under the photo-taking discretion of my daughters. Sooo, when Elizabeth posts a bunch of photos on Facebook I am a 'saving as' grandma to my computer for the purposes of making sure these sweet things make it into our albums - even though I'm not there.

Most of the time I'm sharing my words, like here, but sometimes my girls write a few words. I love that - getting their perspective and including those into the stories told. Noah seems excited and yet serious about feeding his baby sister, Sophia - and, then, he gets this soured face. I'd love to know why!

Besides that, the photos are seriously precious!

stories 2018 | a few more

Our 'friend' Webster, so named by Jeff, when he (Webster) made his web on the front porch every night. Thankfully, he has since moved to higher ground, because, more than likely, the bugs are more prevalent. A cheesy little story but a conversation each morning as Jeff walks me out to the truck to say goodbye as I head for work.

Sometimes little stories come to me that, really, have no pictures, nor are 'important'. They are just stories that are fun, and they were a part of our life as a whole. A story in a nook of my life. This story is about how I, and Jeff and I, and how even the kids and us, have used military phonetics over the years. Only because I happened to use my initials in military phonetics did it make me think of these stories. And, made me think about this last time Ashley and Brad were home that I talked to Ashley in military phonetics (rather than spelling out the words) because her boys can spell now). The story has continued on through.

I seriously do not like summer. It's hot and humid here in Savannah. Give me air conditioning any day of the week. But, this. This is the best thing about summer.

Observing thunderstorms like this. In the distant. And capturing with my camera.

all about me | dear mr president

I read this article written about former President Obama; how he read 10 letters from the American people every day he was in office. Interns were used to cull through the letters (wow! what a job that must have been) and given a generalized criteria they selected 10 letters for the President to read.

I read the article filtered through my love of everything story - and not politics. I loved reading how important and compelling stories are to people and the difference each person's 'sacred story' can make. The following beautiful quote by former President Obama highlights how reading the stories of others can impact the heart of [even] the leader of the free world.

"“I learned in that process that if you listen hard enough, everybody’s got a sacred story,” he said. “An organizing story, of who they are and what their place in the world is. And they’re willing to share it with you if they feel as if you actually care about it. And that ends up being the glue around which relation­ships are formed, and trust is formed, and commu­nities are formed. And ultimately – my theory was, at least – that’s the glue around which democracies work.” - The Guardian, Jeanne Marie Laskas, (August 18, 2018).

Words matter. Stories matter. I loved reading how the stories of the people 'sustained him' and that my own stories might be life-sustaining, too. Not in the sense that my story sustains my life but that my stories sustain, they grab hold, infused with life, as if when read, they are being read seen through my eyes and as if the reader understands.

Obama isn't the first president to have read letters from the American people, nor to write letters, and he won't be the last. That any president tries to, purposefully, understand the heart of America, is something to be applauded. I give him great credit for having done so.

 

all about me | today

Not today today as in today but today as in Saturday today.

A Facebook friend created a page recently of no pictures just words of her 'feelings' of 'today' (whatever day she was documenting). I took her page more literally and documented my (our) day with broad strokes, same concept, different approach. I used digital stamps, stickers, and chipboard and quick blurbs about our day.

8/18/2018

I woke up with excruciating back, hip, wrist, and knee pain to the point of tears. After two weeks of near pain-free I was totally bummed the pain had returned.

I planned the meals for the week, made a grocery list and went to the commissary for our groceries.

I made a dozen egg cups for this weeks breakfasts: chopped ham, red pepper, onion, pickled jalapenos, and Monterey Jack pepper cheese

Jeff and Jarrod served at Compassion for the Journey set building that Jeff co-leads. Serving in this way is Jeff's sweet spot.

I washed our bedroom sheets. Nothing like clean, fresh-smelling sheets on the bed - glorious!

I organized my scrapbook albums.

I created 2 scrapbook pages and added tons of photos to my Blue Wall 4 x 4 template and folder on my computer. Once I get 286 photos in the folder I will have them printed and replace all the photos currently on the Blue Wall's frame in our living room with these freshly printed, newer photos.

Today was stinking hot and humid and I'm so thankful for air conditioning.

Jeff and I went on our weekly date night to Sugo Rosso Italian Kitchen, a fairly new spot in Savannah. Phenomenal! Unbelievably, amazing! I'm not sure what we did, or maybe our server was just ecstatic and generous, but she gifted us with a huge piece of the best (I'm not lying!!!) piece of cheesecake smothered in the best caramel sauce (I'm still not lying!!!) I've ever eaten.

 

all about me | date night

Almost finishing up a good things filled week with an amazing date night with Jeff. Easy going, leisurely, laughter filled, cheap fun, and really good food.

After a great Saturday of hard work we headed downtown Broughton Street to B&D Burgers. Nothing fancy. Somewhat typical chain restaurant food. But, they have outside sidewalk seating and we were in the mood for some cheap fun. People watching. It is the best cheap fun on the market. We were not disappointed. Savannah's people and her guests came out in full dress - and some in quite a bit less dress - and we were entertained throughout our meal and for some time after as we lingered over our drinks and the veritable sea of delight.

While waiting for Jeff to find a parking spot (he ended up getting a prime spot two blocks away along a square; prime spot because there was no parallel parking involved) I got us a table outside, ordered drinks, and just as the deep fried pickles were being brought outside to our table Jeff arrived and joined me. For me, deep-fried pickles are usually hit and miss. I can take them or leave them. Sometimes they're good, sometimes not-so-delightful. B&D Burgers' deep-fried pickles are order again another time worthy and were amazing!

All the while we people watched.

The food wasn't over the top but it definitely hit the spot and enjoyable. Service was top-notch!

And, the people watching...sometimes had us roaring, sometimes chuckling, sometimes, okay, a lot of times, shaking our heads or rolling our eyes. Modesty is out the window. One lady had a top on and I'm not sure why she even bothered because EVERYTHING was showing! Crazy!

Immodest dressing aside it was just a really wonderful evening.

After dinner we walked into one of the squares, took a bench, enjoyed the beautiful greenery, hydrangeas, people passing through, and the evening breeze that took a bite out of the heat.

Project Life 2018 | Week 32

Wait!

Wait, just a minute!

What happened to Project Life weeks 13 through 31? Yeah, that.

They didn't happen.

That doesn't mean they won't. Because I might be able to scratch (I mean scrap) together a week here or there - but probably not.

Will there be a week 33?

I'm glad you asked.

We'll see.

That's the plan right now and this week is going good so far - picture taking wise.

So, here is week 32. It was a really. good. week. Sure. There were some down spots but even those were infused with good things. My post yesterday pretty much highlights the same week I just expanded on a couple of the stories rather than bullet statements of good things.

Digitally, of course, 2- 12 x 12 pages for the Stories 2018 slash Project Life 2018 album that I am putting together in addition to my All About Me album. Except for the digital templates by Cathy Zielske all digital chipboard and stamps are by Ali Edwards and they are all about summer.

all about me | good things

Full disclosure. I saw this idea for a 'good things' page on Pinterest so technically this is a scraplift. But, the good stuff right here are all mine.

On Ali Edwards' Craft the Story Facebook group which I am a member there was a post encouraging a scrap challenge for August. One of the soon-to-be 8 (total) challenges was make a page using no photos plus up to 5 Ali Edwards products. No sweat! Especially, since I saw that 'good things' page on Pinterest.

For my All About Me album (my words) this is a 6 x 8 page of Good Things I noted August 6th - 12th, 2018. Plus, it is a great way to reframe ones attitude...written down the good things of life; those God blessed things that I have to be thankful for.

Truly, this was not a hard lesson. The words flowed easily. Mostly, because God is good - and I see that He is!

stories 2018 | a few more pages

The last of the more recent pages I've created over these past couple of months that I haven't shared here on the blog. A couple are for my All About Me album and the other one for Stories 2018 - those stories that aren't either my story per se, or solely my story, but are more family-oriented stories I'm telling.

This first one (above) is about me, of course, and a book I read that is going into a 'stack' of keepers.

 

I realized it has been awhile since I read aloud and I was a bit out of my groove, but I still gave it a go because I wanted to read aloud the unabridged yet illustrated Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone that we got Ian, who loves everything Harry Potter, for his birthday in June. We bought him the illustrated books of the first two in the series (and I think a couple more in the series, the illustrated books) will make a nice Christmas present, too)

I love lists as is quite obvious if one has been around my blog for awhile. For my All About Me album I scraplifted the idea for an Elevensies page from another digital scrapbooker who I've come to admire for her designs. She's Australian and elevensies is a British-term, a short break taken at 11 am with tea and biscuits, but translated the term to a list of 'eleven' things - instead of the typical top 10. Because it was July and half of the year has passed - reading my heart out - I decided to record my favorite books - so far - this year.

Most months, at the end of the month, I include a page, or two, of my favorites of the month, highlighting those things over the month that I celebrated - in my heart.