Patience! And a wonderful friend

My dear friend Kate has wanted a "Trust God" copper bracelet for at least 2 years.  I kept making excuses and keeping busy with everyone else's project.  

Well, today I finished it!  Finally.  

I pray Kate is encouraged by its message.  She is a blessing to me.

Happy end of January 2013!  One more day left.....

ICE resin pendant "Worry about nothing, pray about everything"

New year.  New challenges.  The desire for greater peace & joy.  Knowing that if I can increase that for myself, I can share it with others.  This little pendant is for me.

Side view.

And the back.  Words are powerful.  I will focus on words of trust and encouragement.

It's crazy busy right now.  Has been for a month!   Good busy.  Full of family, jewelry projects and an article I hope to publish.  :-)  

May your New Year be a year of hope.  A year of greater calm & peace.  I pray that for you my friends!

Resin Cabochon Pendant & An Amazing Day

What a wonderful day~~After worship and a visit to a dear friend, I came home and glued myself to my workbench.   I finished the resin cabochon pendant!  With only a few mistakes along the way~~pretty amazing.  The wonderful part of the day was being fully engaged in creating this piece.  The hours disappeared.  When I came up for air it was 9:30, which is 30 minutes past my bedtime!  Seriously, on work mornings I wake up at 4:30...so an early bedtime is a must.  But today is President's Day and the Imaging Facility I work at is closed...whee!  AND my sweet darling husband is in Bakersfield with my little brother.  I'm luxuriating in sheer selfishness. 

Side view of the piece.    The cabochon is cold connected to the copper plate with the stamped tabs.  Below you can see the rivets I used to attach the tab sheet to the copper plate.  I'm so happy and proud of this!  I'm so grateful to God for this gift of creative joy.

Revelations Chapter 21: Verses 3-4  NLT

"I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, "Look, the home of God is now among his people!   He will live with them, and they will be his people.  God himself will be with them.  He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain.  For the old world and its evils are gone forever."

A new week my friends.  Now I get to catch up on laundry & stuff to get ready for work Tuesday.  But I hope I always hold the joy of play and creation deep in my heart.  Love y'all!

Weirdly ill

I've been ill.  I had lovely red lumps show up on my eyelids, legs, feet and hands.  And fevers.  And sore joints.   For nearly two weeks now.  Not fun.

Look at those attractive eyelids!  NOT a pretty sight.   

I've been off work, visiting the doctor and staying home eating broths & fruit & vegetables & herb tea.  Every morning I've drug my sore body out of bed and done my yoga exercises, doing my best to praise and trust God.

My dear friends and family have been praying for healing and encouraging me.  Blessings! 

I've had plenty of time this holiday to appreciate little things, like good health, the love and care of friends and family, and the devotion and care of an amazing husband.

Here I am today.  I visited the doctor and got a good report.  Most of my red bumps have faded.  No fevers for three days.  Sore joints getting better.  Thank you Jesus!  

The doctors are still not sure what caused all the weird symptoms, and are amazed at how quickly I've been improving with no medications.  But I know why.  And I'm so grateful.

I didn't get much done on these days off.  When the fevers took hold, I just wanted to sit on the couch bundled in quilts and layers of jammies and socks.   But I did manage to finish stringing necklaces and making earrings for my lovely sister.   And the package went out today!  So look out for it sis!

So this Christmas season 2010 has been quite different than I'd expected.  I've been given a gift of perspective, a gift of seeing how truly blessed I am every "normal" day.  I've been given the gift of appreciating good health, and the humble realization that it could have gone either way:  health or illness.  None of us are promised ease and an absence of challenges.  We are just promised that He will walk with us as we travel through the valleys and climb mountains.  May your Christmas be blessed.   May you feel the joy and faith that comes with the birth of a Savior.  My love to you all!

Morning from my backyard

It's going to be a lovely day~~

"Trust, like joy, is an attitude we can choose.  It's a habit of thinking - and one that is worth cultivation if we want to recapture a childlike optimism and expectancy in our lives." Thomas Kinkade

I'm gonna work on trusting God today~~

Happy DH! Happy Day!

Beautiful sunny day! DH got his catheter removed! He's allowed to drive now, which makes him happy. Now we just pray that his PSA stays way low from now on.

Vacation will be over after this weekend...ahhh, if I could be independently wealthy and play with jewelry at home all day long...With frequent chiropractor visits because I'd stay in a permanently hunched over position!

But I know that God knows what He's doing. Without my "day job", I'd turn into a hermit and live in my PJs. LOL! So my work provides much-needed money for our Northern California mortgage payment and keeps me socialized. Not bad!