I've Been Featured....and have new items! =)

I woke up this morning and discovered that I've been featured at Welcome Wednesday, hosted by Take It From Me!

What a nice surprise.....and what incentive to get me to get together a post that I've been trying to get to for 3 days! ; )  With all the Fall craft fairs rolling around, I've been busy getting some things made for them while fulfilling other orders as well.

I have some new Team Spirit purses now available!  These Team purses are some of my most consistent best sellers.....we ladies love to show some style and personality, even when it comes to football fan loyalty! ; )

For my FSU friends, family & customers:

For my local Jacksonville Jaguar fans:

And, for my Bulldog fans:

Of course, I still have the Fl. Gator version available, too...... I've sewn so many of these,  I often think my machine should know how to do it by itself by now! ; )

I've got some new baby items as well, but I'm going to save them for next week's crafty post.....so come back and visit!  I know you'll be waiting on  pins & needles to find out what they are! ; )

Interesting (not really) and random fact: "Pins & Needles" was one of the names offered up when we were brainstorming business names for me.  We liked "Sweet Diva" better.  Obviously. =)

Join in the hop, hosted by Take It From Me, and you might be chosen to be featured next!

Multitude Monday....on Wednesday: Gifts 252 - 268

Moving my Gratitude List to Wednesday again due to my commitment to the Fun in the Summer Sun Event, which is running every Monday throughout the summer......so this may not be the last time I move it.  = )

Whether on Monday or Wednesday, or any other day of the week ~ my Gratitude List will continue.....

Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving.

~W.T. Purkiser

252.  Fresh peaches from Georgia

253.  Fresh blueberries from Florida

254.  Fresh eggs from a sewing student's sweet mom ~ from their own chicken =)

255.  A new (to us) vehicle!!!!!!

256.  Not having to be paranoid that I'll be stranded with 3 kids on the side of a busy road

257.  My kids wanting to take care of it......and doing an excellent job of keeping it clean

258.  My Granny in good spirits (a rare event these days.....so good to hear of her being cheerful)

259.  A ♥sweet♥  friend telling me of an answered prayer ~~ that I've been praying for =)

260.  A morning at the park with yet another ♥sweet♥  friend

261.  Air conditioning!!!!

262.  A new thermostat installed that is so much nicer to look at than the ancient one it replaced (it's the little things!)

263.  A comment from my ♥Dad♥ telling me he's proud of me =)

264.  The storm that brought much-needed Rain  (please send more!)

265.  A ♥sweet little girl♥ excitedly waving to "Ms. Jill" as her car passes ours

266.  3 people who experience on a daily basis just how crazy/weird/silly/nuts  I really am....and keep my secrets ; )

267.  "Mom, I love you the most out of anyone!"  (Sigh.....they melt my heart ♥.  They're only mine for a little while ~ and yet, not really.  It is to Him that they belong.  May He bless them and keep them, drawing them close to His side, every day of their lives.  And may they always let Him.)

268.  The privilege of being ♥"Mom"♥


My Mustard Seed Planting verse of the week:

"Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren, especially concerning the day you stood before the LORD your God in Horeb, when the LORD said to me, ‘Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children."

~ Deuteronomy 4:9-10








3 Four & Under

Multitude Monday....on Wednesday: Gifts 236 - 251

Our home served as a pit stop last week, therefore Monday was spent catching up on a couple of orders and returning some sense of organization and cleanliness to our dwelling-place. ; )  And so, my thankfulness list appears today.

Grace isn't a little prayer you chant before receiving a meal. It's a way to live.

~Attributed to Jacqueline Winspear

236.  Beach days with out-of-town (and in-town) friends

237.  Not getting stung by the jelly fish invasion, and.....

238.  The excitement of catching one in a bucket.... (considering I had a child studying marine life in Science this year, this makes our beach day count as a field trip, right?  I'm sure all the homeschooling moms out there agree!)



 239.  His last Children's Musical (this actually makes me a little sad.....I may be the only mom among my friends that doesn't mind all the rehearsals and prep leading up to these....I love the end result and that my kids have the opportunity to do this!)

Jacob is 2nd from the left =)

240.  His brother, who still has a few more to go...

Robert is Abednego, on the right =)

241.  The man who took these pictures, and many more ~ capturing these precious memories forever

242.  Surprise *free* tickets to the Third Day concert!!!! (for my daughter, her friend and I....if you know how much I ♥ Third Day, you would know just how excited I was about this!)



243.  My husband, renting a car for a week so that we could have TWO beach days in Crescent Beach with our friends AND make it to MANY musical rehearsals (due to our van, which has issues.....he earned himself some brownie points for sure!!)

244.  My thumbs, which are now both injured  (never take your little body parts for granted.....you don't know how much you use them until you can't!!)

245.  Little Caesar's $5 pizza....

246.  Lemonade in water bottles, prepared by Jacob....

247.  4 sets of roller blades....

248.  Amazingly big oak trees with limbs low enough for climbing and strong enough to support even my weight ; )

249.  A mild, breezy end to a very warm day....

250.  A nearby park perfect for enjoying all of the above (245-249)....

251.  ....and, following making a fool of myself on those roller blades after not using them for over a year, this comment from my daughter in response to my apology in case I embarrassed her with my dork-i-ness ~~~  "You are NOT a dork!  If you're a dork, then dorks are fun." ♥♥♥♥

Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

~ Ephesians 5:20



The T-Shirt Dress....and the Mannequin that Taunts Me

A couple of weeks ago, I received a call from a friend.  Her sweet daughter had come home from school with the good news that she needed a t-shirt dress constructed for a school play......and she needed it in two days. =)

Sweet Diva to the rescue. ; )

The order:  Pink t-shirt to be transformed into a dress by adding ruffles for the skirt.  And make it cute  {well, of course! ; ) }.

Fortunately, I was planning to head to ♥Hobby Lobby♥ the very next morning anyway to purchase items needed for another order.  I searched around for inspiration on how I wanted to construct this cute concoction and found several cute tutorials:

Cool People Sew ~ I love this blog and stalk it frequently....and I sew, so I must be cool! ; )
Cut-Out and Keep ~ Make & Share Step-by-Step Craft Tutorials ~ ruffle skirt {I am So coming back to this ~ my daughter loves this skirt}
Kuky Ideas ~ tiered skirt tutorial

The finished product:

Cute, yes??

Even laying on it's side! (why does Blogger sometimes do this to me?  This photo refuses to load right side up!  Posting anyway out of stubbornness.)

Notice that although one photos is sideways, neither are laying on a flat surface!  I purchased a set of mannequins from Amazon.....a toddler size that was used to display the cute aprons I posted about yesterday, a child size, and an adult female size.  Items look so much nicer when displayed properly, don't you think?!

I must admit, however, that I have issues with this female mannequin ~ and since I'm pretty sure that about 99.9% of my readers are female, I'll go ahead with my rant.  This mannequin taunts me every time I pull her out of the box.  She has no head, no face, no arms, no legs, no hands, no feet.......and yet she taunts me.  I am shallow.  And I don't look as good as she does!!  I think she must do nothing but excercise, and she must not each very much at all.  Ridiculous, I know.  But have pity on me...........I just celebrated turning another year older and I need to go bathing suit shopping.  And I'm having a hard time lately finding time to make it to the gym......and I eat healthy, but I do like food so I think I will never be as thin as I'd like to be....and  to be honest, I don't think I've ever looked as good as she does!! 

Wretched mannequin.  I have her hidden in a box in the back of my closet. =)  I only bring her out when I need her and make sure my husband and my boys don't see her when I do.....unless she has layers of clothing on.  When she does make an appearance ~ without fail, that nagging voice, that persistent lie that inspired THIS post reappears as well.  I suppose I'll always battle with feeling like I'll never measure up { <------- pun not intended, but I just noticed it ; ) } even though I know that it really isn't what matters.  Sigh.

The fact that I know so many other women who struggle with this issue as well is the only reason I'm willing to admit it here.  Even as I'm berating myself over my inadequacies, the Lord is reminding me of His truths.  It's a constant back and forth.....this battle of the flesh and the world's ideals vs. What Really Matters.  It's in times like these I often think of and am thankful for one of the side effects of the busy-ness of Homeschooling, being a WAH mom and juggling everything else as well.  I simply don't have time to dwell on the outer shell that will never be what the world says it should be ~ this is a good thing.  I am also thankful anew for the Homeschooling lifestyle and my fellow Homeschooling moms.  It is a lifestyle that has me so immersed in focusing on what is right and lasting and worthwhile, so dependant on God, that it's literally impossible to stay in that woe-is-me-I'm-not-perfect mentality for long.  Praise the Lord for that......I don't like being there!

So, since I just had to dress the mannequin-that-stays-in-the-back-of-the-closet.....and then put her back there ~ way back ~ my Mustard Seed Planting scripture for the week is:

 "But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart. 

1 Samuel 16:7

It may say He's talking to Samuel, but trust me......He's talking to me as well!



Blessings in Disguise....

I've been posting on Lies Women Believe and the Truth That Sets Them Free by Nancy Leigh Demoss on Wednesdays for a while now, but I have to admit......I finished the book a long time ago. =)  Posting once (sometimes twice) a week on it is making it go on forever!  I'm finding myself wondering, "Is anyone still interested?" and "Should I continue?".

Also, to be perfectly honest, I've hit a section in the book that is a difficult area for me, and I'm finding it quite difficult to write about something that hits so close to my current hurts and struggles.  I don't know if I should continue to post without revealing too much of myself, or just let it go.........feel free to give  your opinion. ; )

In the meantime, I still want to link up with Rebecca at Mom's Mustard Seeds.

I posted last week that I was undergoing an attitude adjustment.....and part of me still is. =)  I had to write a devotion for a group that I'm in and almost bowed out ~ but due tothe fact that I feel guilty if I don't follow through with my obligations, I did it anyway.  This is a slightly altered and less personal version of what I shared with them ~ and I'm sharing it with you, too.  Because......well, I'm still kind of there ~ and I think that a lot of people are right now.  It seems like everyone I know is struggling with something and maybe I'm not supposed to act like everything is perfect in my world ~ maybe being real is what I'm supposed to be.

My personality is an encourager and I feel anything but encouraging. I am the quiet, shy one ~ and when I'm going through difficult times, my natural inclination is to become even quieter and fade into the background until I get a better grip on things. =) I am also generally happy and cheerful, and it is rare that my faith and trust in the Lord wavers, and when I get really discouraged it usually only lasts for a moment or two and I am right back to normal {or my version of it, anyway ;)}.

The past few weeks....or months, I've been drowning in drama ~ and I don't do well with drama.  If you know me and want to get rid of me, just go "Drama Queen" (or King) on me and that'll do it! ; )  It seems like the relationships that God gives us that are supposed to be our sources of support are the ones that Satan is using to discourage me the most. Add to that the fact that I haven't had a full good nights sleep in probably 2 months and have had almost contant pain from headaches, and my propensity to have a positive outlook has dwindled.

The other day, I lay in bed waiting for Excedrin Migraine to work, looking up at the skylights......and thought, "Lord, the sun is shining so brightly today.....why can't I feel your warmth?" I eventually got up and reached into my tote for something, pulled out my music folder, and a piece that my ensemble has been working on, "Healing is in Your Hands",  fell out. (I actually posted the video a couple of weeks ago for "Then Sings My Soul Saturday"). I looked at the words and then pulled it up on YouTube. As tears filled my eyes, I was reminded that His warmth never left me....it was me in my hurt that backed away so that I couldn't feel it.

I also decided to check my email before I logged off, and a friend had sent me this song......having no idea of where I was emotionally.  But Someone else did and His timing is always perfect.

(mute the auto music player below to hear the video)


How thankful I am that He hears my every prayer, sees my every tear.........and that His mercies are always there, even if we have to lift the veil of our own lack of faith to find them. How thankful I am for ♥music♥, that He uses to reach my heart and wrap His warmth around me when I am unable to feel it, and to give me hope to get me back to "normal"........until the day that I am Home.

My Mustard Seed Planting verse for the week is simple and well-known to those of us in the Faith.  But simple Truths and His promises of what's to come is sometimes just what we need.

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."

 Rev. 21:4



Lies Women Believe.....About Marraige

from Chapter 6 of Lies Women Believe and the Truth that Sets Them Free by Nancy Leigh DeMoss.

And the lies continue......and are Satan's greatest tool in achieving his destructive purposes in our lives ~ and in our marriages.  What was meant to be a joyful, fruitful, and intimate relationship between a man, a woman, and God has often become a battleground.

If he can get use to believe and act upon his lies, he will succeed in putting us into bondage, stealing our joy, and wreaking havoc in our relationships.

Lie 21 : "I Have to Have a Husband To Be Happy"

Satan has distorted the truth about marriage and has us believing that its purpose is personal happiness and fulfillment......and that we cannot be truly happy without a husband to meet our needs.  Or, that our husbands are supposed to make us happy.

The Truth is that marriage is good, it is right, and it can be a source of great happiness and blessings in our lives.  The Truth is that the ultimate purpose of marriage is to glorify God ~ not to make us happy.

Those of us who look to our marriages and husbands to make us happy and fulfill our deepest needs are setting ourselves up for disappointment.  We live in a world that searches only for personal happiness and fulfillment, a world of romantic ideals, Hollywood fantasies and unrealistic expectations.  A world where everyone has a soul mate, and once you find your soul mate.....you live happily ever after.  The problem is that the romantic ideal is very rare, if it exists at all. 

When I was younger, I believed ~ as many others do ~ in the whole soul mate scenario.  As I've gotten older,  lived through my own marriage relationship difficulties, and observed others, and observed divorce rates, etc., my mind has changed.  I believe that there are a number of people in the world that you could end up with and have a happy life together.  I believe you choose your soul mate.  You choose the person (hopefully with the Lord's guidance) and make a choice, every day, to love them.  Because in my world, reality is often not my romantic ideal and looks nothing like the Hollywood fantasies or Disney movies I loved as a little girl.  Real life is difficult, it is sometimes messy......and my husband (bless his heart) doesn't always make the choices, or say the right thing, notice what I'd like him to notice, respond the way I'd like......or do many of the things that would make me gloriously happy every day.  (And the same goes for me making him happy).

The problem with our current view of "soul mates" is that when things are hard, when they are ugly....when they don't turn out the way we imagined that they would and we don't feel happy, we assume that we made a mistake.  That our "soul mate" is out there, somewhere.....waiting for us to find them.  And people spend their lives in and out of relationships and marriages, looking for that elusive, fulfilling happiness.....leaving damaged people and broken hearts along the way.

"The Truth is that happiness is not found in (or out of) marriage; it is not found in any human relationship.  True joy can only be found through Christ.  The Truth is that God has promised to give us everything we need.........The Truth is that contentment is not found in having everything we think we want but in choosing to be satisfied with what God has already provided." ~Nancy Leigh deMoss

When we stop expecting our husband to make us happy and fulfill our every need, and look to God instead ~ it is then that we find true joy and contentment.  The type of joy that Satan can't steal and the peaceful contentment that gives us grace in times of difficulty and the ability to love our "soul mates" when they're not so lovable.  It is then that our marriages can begin to be what they were intended to be ~ a glorification of God, of His Love, His Joy, His Contentment, His Grace and His Mercy.

The Truth is ~~ It's really not all about us after all.  The strange things about the Truths of God :  the less we make things about us and the more we make things about Him, the closer we are to getting what we were after in the first place.

My Mustard Seed Planting verse of the week:

"My soul, wait silently for God alone,

For my expectation is from Him.

He only is my rock and my salvation;

He is my defense; I shall not be moved. 

In God is my salvation and my glory;

The rock of my strength,

And my refuge, is in God."

Psalm 62:5-7