craft with emmy // fall tree painting

It had been a long time since I'd done Q-tip painting with Emmy.  I decided it would be the perfect time to make a fall tree - one for us and one for Uncle Don, who had just gotten out of the hospital.  I free-handed a tree trunk on white construction paper.  Then Emmy colored in the trunk with crayons and added grass, too. I asked her what color leaves were in the fall- orange, yellow, red, brown - and used those colors.  They turned out super cute.  In the picture below, she was half-way through painting the first one.  Leaves ended up in the grass, too, because where we live the leaves were already starting to fall.

Here is one of my favorite painting tips.  I once got this Crayola Washable Paint Set for a special project we were working on in my preschool class.  When the paint was all gone in the jars, I washed them out and then added our school paint.  Before I was using paint cups, but I was always throwing tons of paint away at the end.  These Crayola jars have lids that screw on and will keep paint good for a really long time.  I buy lots of colors in larger bottles of paint (like this) and refill the jars as needed.  I'm wasting less paint and the jars are perfect for painting with small paint brushes, Q-tips and toothpicks.

craft with emmy // owl painting

On Halloween afternoon, Emmy & I did some crafting.  I printed out this witchy owl template.  I highly recommend using cardstock, especially if using paint.  This website has lots of printables I pinned in the past and I think we'll be doing lots of these projects in the future.

Here is the first one she did that she actually gave to me to keep, which does not usually happen.  I plan on mounting this owl and framing it to use as a decoration next year.  

craft with emmy // scrap art

Back in July, Emmy and I had an art day out on the porch.  I decided that we would do some open-ended gluing. I had purchased the Seafoam 12x12 paper to cut down into 4x6 pieces to use in my Project Life album.  There were leftover pieces of paper and I didn't want to just throw them away.  Into my "Emmy Art Stash" they went and they turned out perfect for her art.

I gave her a pair of scissors and she was able to cut down the strips.  We started with small sheets of cardstock at first - probably 4x6.  Once that was gone, I gave her a piece of 8x11 cardstock.  That is when the magic kicked in.  She decided to fill in the entire sheet. It looked like a quilt when she was finished.

I just love open-ended art like this.  It is so fun to see what kids will end up making.  And maybe Elise - the designer of the Project Life Seafoam Edition - will design some super cool fabric next?  

lunch in the middle of the river

We spent quite a bit of time this summer at the family's new river lot.  There were several dinners and holiday celebrations.  Even now that the weather is turning we are still using it for things like watching Ohio State football.

As our first year on the river, it was amazing to see just how much the water level fluctuates.  In July, the river got almost as high as the bank.  Yet by August it was low again. So low, in fact, that "islands" emerged from the river bed.  Which brings us to yet another check mark on a goal: 

14. Do 40 things I've never done before. 

On a Sunday afternoon, we joined the owners of our campground for lunch.  We went up river to a spot where a large sandbar had become an island in the river.  We anchored the boats and went exploring the shore.  These "islands" are great for finding river glass and other shells.  My aunt referred to it as "Treasure Island."  Then we cooked hot dogs on a small grill and ate cooler corn.  It was a lot of fun.

A few weeks later, we did it again with Bean & Emmy.  It was perfect weather.  We grilled out.  Spent hours combing the island for river glass.  Some of us even ended up swimming in the river.  I hope we get to do it lots more next summer, and the summer after that, and the summer after that...I think you get the point.

driving boats & finishing degrees

I cannot believe that it is October already.  Tomorrow it will be a week since my birthday.  Crazy fast how time flies.  

I not only turned older this year.  I also marked one year into my 100x40 goals.  I made some pretty good progress, but I now only have six years to finish the list.  Six years?!?!?!  I'm half panicked at the thought of trying to finish these goals in the time I have left, half inspired to work hard and enjoy the journey.  Dude, I’m weird like that.

I want to share two goal accomplishments from this summer today.  One was a completion.  One was progress. 

7. Complete Master’s Degree.

This was a big one.  In May, I completed the coursework towards a Master’s Degree in Religion – Church Ministries from Liberty University.  I did it in less than two years.  Lots of work and reading and writing, and by the end my brain hurt, but I truly think it was (or at least will be) worth it.

We were sitting on the porch on a rainy afternoon when my sister presented me with a black tube that came in the mail.  You apparently needed a Ph.D. to get that tube open.  But a few minutes later I was pulling out an extremely expensive piece of paper with my name on it in fancy script.  Just a simple moment, but one that I will treasure.

14. Do 40 things I’ve never done before. 

One of the fun things I did for the first time last year was drive a boat.  I’m sure that is not the correct terminology.  It wasn’t planned.  I just went out on a spontaneous late afternoon ride with my mom, stepdad, aunt and uncle. After going down river in search of the eagles (a mommy, daddy & baby), we headed upstream and, out of the blue, I said, “Let me drive.” 

My stepdad gladly turned over the wheel to me.  He probably shouldn’t have been so quick to say yes.  Because a second later I was asking where the brake was.  Yep, I really asked that.  I think that, in my defense, it is a legitimate question for newbie boat drivers.  So after a quick lesson on using the throttle, we were off for a couple mile journey up the river with myself at the helm. 

I think I did good for the first time driving a boat.  I state the following evidence.

1. I did not get the boat stuck on any sand bars.
2. We did not get lost. (hee hee)
3. No one fell overboard.
4. My uncle, who was in the Navy, said I did a good job.

Maybe next summer I’ll learn how to start the boat and park it, too.  I’m sure they’ve got good insurance.  And if I collide with the dock I can add wreck a boat to the list of things I’ve never done before.  

Works in the Life of a Christian

(This was the basis of a paper for graduate school.)

Works are not needed for salvation. Salvation can only come through faith in Jesus Christ and the saving grace his death and resurrection provide.  But what do works mean for a Christian?  It is said that “faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead” (James 2:17).  What is the purpose of these works for a Christian?

Evangelism
Matthew 5 might be the most important reason for good works given in the Bible. Its summary is here: “Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven” (Matt 5:16, The Message).    What we have here is servant evangelism.  It is not some new, modern way of doing evangelism.  This is what Jesus taught.  Investing in people’s lives allows the non-believers to “meet” Jesus in a completely loving way.  Today, perhaps more than ever, this is an especially important part of being a Christian.  Doing good works for others may give you the opportunity to share the gospel with someone who is untrusting or dissatisfied with religion.  Showing that you truly care opens their hearts to hearing the truth.  By investing in others, you are potentially growing the Kingdom.

Encourage BelieversHebrews 10:24 tells us that we are to “spur one another on toward love and good deeds.”  Another reason for works is to encourage fellow believers.  By raking the leaves of an elderly widow, bringing dinner to a grieving family, watching a sick friend’s children…by doing this things you are reminding them in a tangible way that Jesus is with them.  While it may be your body that is doing these works , it is Jesus within you that spurs you to compassion, to put love in action.

Future Reward
In 1 Timothy 6, Paul is telling better to instruct the believers to do good works. “Command them do do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share” (1 Tim 6:18). Paul continues that good works are important because in doing them they are laying up “treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age” (1 Tim 6:19).
A by-product of good works is a future, heavenly reward. Luke 6:35 says, “Love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.”   In Mark 9:41, we are told that if we give “a cup of water in (Jesus’) name” because we “belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward.”  Matthew 6 also tells us that we will receive rewards for giving to the needy, praying for others, and fasting.  These treasures will be bestowed in heaven.

I’ve Been Reading

I have been a reading machine lately.  I guess that is what happens when you finish the term up a week ahead of schedule. So instead of just a one week Fall Break, mine is two!  Yeah for me!! 

One of my 100x40 goals is to read 100 books.  Here’s my progress so far:

1. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien – Started way before my birthday, but finished after. So it counts.  At first I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it, but I did.  It is interesting to pick up little bits of things that go along with LOTR.  I still have no idea how they plan on stretching this book into three movies.  But the first trailer looks pretty good.
2. Seven by Jen Hatmaker – You’ll be hearing more about this one. A lot more.
3. My So-Called Life as a Proverbs 31 Wife by Sara Horn – I liked it in that, to me, it read like a novel. I didn’t like it in that I was expecting it to be more of a “How to Be" book.  But it was interesting to look someone else’s take on the whole Proverbs 31 girl.
4. Almost Amish by Nancy Sleeth - Let me tell you a little bit about that last one.  Don’t you just love this cover??  It just screams, “Pick me up and read me!”

Almost Amish is the true-story of how one Christian family took inspiration from how the Amish community lives and applied these principles in their own family. This book covers everything from technology and family to money and faith.  Nancy Sleeth shares how her family adopted practices from the Amish into their modern, “English” lives.
The main idea behind the book was Nancy’s quest for a simpler, slower life.  This led the family to downsizing their home, planting a garden, buying locally, and embracing their community.  There wasn’t one thing that I didn’t like about this book.  It actually left me wanting to be Nancy’s neighbor. 
I want to fully embrace the principles in this book.  While reading, my mind often wandered to the life I had dreamed about for myself in high school.   What I once wanted and what I now want are two completely different lives.  I once wanted a busy, glamorous life.  Now I crave an Almost Amish life.  17-year-old me never would have dreamed that I would be canning homegrown food in my 30s.  Especially not when I should have been racing with my briefcase to my next meeting on Capitol Hill.  High school me would never believe that my first sewing project was a quilt that I completed all by myself.  Not only that, but I want to learn to make actual clothes. 
Almost Amish is not about trading in your SUV for a horse and buggy (although with these gas prices, one might consider it).  It is not about unplugging completely from the grid.  It is about balancing our dependency on technology so we can engage more fully with our families and communities.  It is about taking better care of our environment.  It is about putting God in the center of our world and putting our faith into everything we do.  I encourage you to read it.  It will make you think and question and, quite possible, make some changes in the way you live.

(Tyndale House Publishers provided me with a complimentary copy of this book.)