This is a purse album I made for my niece for her 11th birthday. (Can't believe she is 11!) The chipboard, handles, hardware and pages come in a "handbag book" kit from 7 gypsies. You have to put it together and decorate. I tried to make it "girly." I think it came out pretty cute. My husband got drafted to help me! Ha. I am not a measuring kind of girl. That takes patience of which I possess little or none! Ha. He is a mesure to the degree kind of person. So, it was important to get the hinges and handles centered and placed correctly, therefore, he helped with that part and the hole punching. I do wish that the kit would not have expected the average scrapbooker to own tools such as an awl (to punch the holes in the chipboard and in the signatures) and waxed thread to sew the pages. We improvised and did OK though. I left the inside pages unfinished so she could sketch, journal, scrapbook, whatever she wants. I hope she has fun with it.

She had her birthday party last night. She got to have a slumber party with a group of friends. The rest of the family came for pizza and brownies. We had a nice time.

We are sooooo close to getting to move into the new offices in our new church building. We have been in temporary offices since the fire for over 17 months now. Another very kind church in town has let us use several rooms for our offices as well as many other parts of their building while we were without ours. It was quite a blessing. It is so exciting though to now be so close to moving back into our own facility. I will have to post a photo of my new office once we get in there. It will probably be in the next week or two! yay!

Well life has seemed non-stop lately so I am hoping to relax some for the rest of the day. I might scrap, take a nap, do some reading......sound good?

Blessings everyone.

Wow- I've been tagged. Never been "tagged" before so I figured I'd better get my assignment completed.

1. Have you ever been searched by the cops? No
2. Do you close your eyes on a roller coaster? I do NOT get on roller coasters! If I did I certainly would close my eyes!
3. When's the last time you've been sledding? I don't think I've ever been sledding.
4. Would you rather sleep with someone else, or alone? With my husband, absolutely.
5. Do you believe in ghosts? No
6. Do you consider yourself creative? Yes
7. Do you think O.J. killed his wife? Yes
8. Jennifer Aniston or Angelina Jolie? (silly, I know ... but very "now") Jennifer
9. Can you honestly say you know ANYTHING about politics? Not much. Doesn't interest me in the least.
10. Do you know how to play poker? No
11. Have you ever been awake for 48 hours straight? I don't think so.
12. What's your favorite commercial? The one with the little boy trying to figure out how to dunk his oreo with his sippy cup.
13. Who was your first love? Jesus
14. If you're driving in the middle of the night, and no one is around you, do you run a red light? Nope. I am a rule follower.
15. Do you have a secret that no one knows but you? Don't think so. My husband knows everything I know.
16. Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees? Either?
17. Have you ever been Ice Skating? No
18. How often do you remember your dreams? Not very often.
19. What's the one thing on your mind? An argument I had earlier today.
20. Do you always wear your seat belt? No (you're thinking, thought she said she was a rule follower right? )
21. What talent do you wish you had? Playing the piano
22. Do you like Sushi? No!
23. What do you wear to bed? Can I take the 5th on this one?
24. Do you truly hate anyone? No
25. If you could sleep with one famous person, who would it be? I would only sleep with my spouse.
26. Do you know anyone in jail? Yes
27. What food do you find disgusting? oysters, calamari, coconut
28. Have you ever made fun of your friends behind their back? I don't think so.
29. Have you ever been punched in the face? No
30. Do you believe in angels and demons? absolutely

I don't know if I should tag someone.....not sure if anyone that Blogs actually reads my Blog regularly anyway...Ha! I'll try tagging Jane O., Jennifer S., and Stacy K...

Blessings!

Can you feel it? Have you noticed it in the air? FALL is coming!! OK, I know, it's still July right? You are thinking, "is she nuts? It's like major hot and humid outside!" Nope, not nuts. I just ADORE the fall! I swear it's like it's part of me. About this time of year I start to notice subtle little signs. They remind me fall is next and it's coming soon! Have you spotted the potted mums out in front of Walmart? The school supplies? Those are some of the signs I have spotted. I've even seen a few corn stalks starting to turn brown too. I cannot wait for autumn. I love the cool crisp air. I love the COLOR! I mean think about it. Why does God make the trees turn such amazing, gorgeous colors? He could have just decided to make the leaves turn brown, shrivel up, and fall off. Instead we get to enjoy such beauty all around us. It takes my breath away. I love the smell of the leaves, the sound of the leaves crunching beneath my feet, the feel of the fall air and that first evening where you want your sweatshirt.

One of my favorite things to do in the fall is decorate our back porch. The photo above is from last year. Our back porch is one of my absolute favorite places on earth. We had not lived here very many weeks when that porch swing went up. Now I love to sit there and swing and listen to the birds and the sounds of the country. It is amazing to sit there and read and swing in the fall. This summer has been so busy that for the first time since we lived here we did not get summer flowers planted or the porch decked out for summer. So, this year especially, I cannot wait to get it ready for the fall. Once it is decorated I usually cant walk up to the back door without smiling.

I spent last night and part of today with my Mom. She had a DR appointment, yet we still had a nice time just being together and talking and laughing like always. I miss my Dad though. He is in California on a temporary job. He's been gone awhile now and it could be several more months. It makes me a little sad. I miss him and wish there weren't so many miles between us. My brother and his family just got to go visit there for their family vacation. I think I am a little jealous! Ha. I hope both my parents know how much I love and treasure them. I am very blessed to have them.

We had a great message at church yesterday. Our Pastor is away on vacation and we had a guest speaker. He preached from Philippians 3 about pressing on towards the goal and running the race. He talked about how we need to keep growing and changing and repenting as we run the race all the while keeping our eyes & our focus on Jesus. He reminded us that sometimes we get stuck and have our eyes on worldly things. I really needed to hear that yesterday. I think I have been a bit stuck. I have had my eyes on my own plans and ideas and expectations and what I think I need. As a result I have been a bit crabby and depressed because things didn't happen like I wanted. That is exactly why we have to keep our eyes on Jesus. His way is the only true joy and fulfillment. The stuff I think I need or want will never ever fill that void. Only Him. The Pastor closed with an illustration about teaching his 4 year old twin grandsons to run. He said at first he held their hands and taught them and ran with them. Then, sometimes, he is standing at the side, clapping and cheering them on saying "Come on! You can do it!" Then at times he is at the finish line, arms outstretched, ready to gather them up and celebrate finishing the "race." He talked about how Jesus does all of that for us. He runs with us, He stands on the side, right there with me saying, "Come on Deanna, you can do it!" and then he is there to gather me in His arms at the finish. That image brought tears to my eyes when I first heard it and it does now as I type it. Sometimes I am just awed at His love for me, for us.... Thank you Jesus.

Hope you have a great week! Blessings to you!

Ok - so look what my husband gave me for my birthday! Isn't it cool?! I used to have a palm several years ago but it got broken and we never replaced it. I am totally a calendar/organizer/planner kind of a girl. He knows me well. This one is so cool! I can edit, create and view Word, Excel, & PowerPoint documents. I can listen to MP3's or view videos. I can be on the Internet and get my e-mail with a wireless connection. Then of course there are all the regular calendar, tasks, memo and address book functions. I stayed up very late last night playing with it! Ha.

My birthday was good. My sweet husband brought home Mexican food for dinner and made me an Eclair Cake - Yummy! I received several e-mails from family and friends with birthday wishes, and I received my yearly message from my Dad with him singing "Happy Birthday" for me. He is too sweet. I was surprised and pleased to find a thread on 2 peas wishing me Happy Birthday from the Pub ladies, and another on Goode Scrapbooking for the same reason. One of my message board friends even sent me a birthday card. Isn't that sweet? I had a wonderful 40th birthday. Thank you to all my friends and family for making me feel special and loved. I hope I do the same for you on a daily basis!

I renewed my drivers license last Friday. I believe I mentioned on an earlier post that I thought it was cruel and unusual punishment to require someone to get a new BMW photo during the same year that a person is turning 40. (And why can I ask does the state of Indiana have to call it the "BMV" ?? I find this annoying! Ha. My whole life I have known it as the "DMV." On TV they call it the "DMV" right? So why do we have to be different here? Why do we insist on calling it a "Bureau" rather than the "Department?" I vote that a vote should be taken and we should return it to its rightful name - the "DMV!") Anyway - as I believe I also mentioned -I was sure the photo would be scary so of course they had to prove me right. When my husband got home I told him I never intended for anyone to ever again see that photo if I could help it. Of course this prompts him to run to the bedroom, grab my purse and wallet and then play keep away with me so he of course can see the aforementioned ugly photo. If he wasn't so tall, perhapys my short shelf could have reached it and gotten it back in time. Well he insists its a good photo. I am here to warn you that he is WRONG and I would advise staying away from this photo! I intend to keep it well hidden in my purse.

So today I am going to do some scrapping. I am starting a layout about my niece Lauryn when she was about 4 yrs old and we were taking her out for Halloween. My Mom and I got to help her dress up as Dorothy from Wizard of Oz. I can't remember for sure but I don't think she had been out trick or treating before. At the first house the lady greeted her and called her Dorothy. As we walked away I remember Lauryn saying, "Grandma! She knew my name!" She was so cute and so excited. After the second house she proclaimed "This is brilliant!" It was way too funny!

Have a great day!

Many blessings ~

Birthday Party photos! Yay! You were just waiting for these weren't you? I had a fabulous 40th birthday party yesterday. It was held at our church and was a come and go open house kind of thing. We had between 35-40 people attend! I was so excited and touched to have friends and family there that wanted to celebrate with me. Did you see the cute flip flop photo? My amazing friend Julia was in charge of decorations. Knowing my love for cute summer shoes, and PINK - she decorated these pink flip flops as centerpieces for each table! Isn't that so creative and cool?! She then put the shoes on top of pieces of colorful gift wrap and tied balloons in pink, blue, yellow and green to each shoe! It was so cute and adorable - I LOVED it!! My other amazing friend Lisa made some yummy taco dip, brought food, helped serve, & helped clean up. Julia helped with tea and clean up and they both spent the afternoon with me. Aren't they the best friends ever? My Mom & my sister and her family were able to come too and they brought and prepared food and helped with set up and clean up. It just all means so much to me that my friends and family would do so much just for me. I want you all to know how much I love you and that you are an incredible blessing to me! My sister gave me to coolest pink mug that says "Indulge Your Inner Princess" isn't that perfect? I received a lovely heart pendant from my parents and many wonderful cards, gifts, and gift cards from my friends. I think I am spoiled to have so many wonderful people around me. Thank you so much everyone. You made my party so special.

My most important thank you I saved until last. That is for my sweet husband. He has spent many weeks planning this party. He spent much of last week, baking 3 batches of cookies from scratch, making cheese balls, buying groceries and ingredients for the party, & making punch for the party. He made special trips to the church to decorate and deliver the cake. He spent time going and shopping for a gift for me. He did all this himself people. He wouldn't even let me help clean up when he was baking. He even posted a message on my favorite scrapbook message board telling people it was my 40th birthday and to post his birthday wishes for me and to tell me that he loves me. He is the best, most amazing, thoughtful, wonderful husband ever. I just wanted to make sure everyone knows that. Thank you honey! ILY!! P.

Just a quick post to show you what is happening in the kitchen as we speak (or should I say type?)! Ha. Tonight he is making chocolate chip cookies just for me. Just for my party. Isn't he the best? Isn't he cute? ºÜº He made a punch mixture too that goes in the freezer so we just have to mix it on Sunday.

It's been kind of a quiet one today. Made spaghetti for dinner. It is one of my husband's favorites and I wanted to do something sweet for him since he is doing so many sweet things for me. Tried to spend a small amount of time in the pool, but ended up spending more time cleaning it then enjoying it. Note to self - do not leave the pool unattended for 2-3 days. Not good! Did a little housework. Spent some time on the Internet. Watched "So You Think You Can Dance." Anyone else watching that? Love that show. Benji and Donyelle are our favorites! Also watched Big Brother and we are happy with the voting outcome.

Good scrapping mail days. Got my new CK yesterday and my AMM totes today. I now have cool new pink totes and no where to tote my stuff to. I know something is wrong with me. Ha. ha.

Hope everyone has a great Friday & weekend!

Blessings ~

Hi all -
Here is a layout I completed this evening. Isn't Ethan so cute! Who can even believe this was 3 years ago! I have planned on scrapping these photos forever it seems. Glad I finally got it done! I did good this time because I had a note in with the photos with some details from the day! Otherwise I probably would not have remembered that we sang Jesus Loves Me, ate Honeycombs and watched Little Bill! Notice the little name/date stamp in the corner? I am seriously loving this stamp set from Stampin' Up! I have wanted to order it since I first saw it and finally just recently did when I realized I was about to purchase a whole scrapbook kit just because it had a similar stamp in it that I liked. At least with Stampin' Up, I got like 5 stamps in the set (I think) that are all different name/date stuff. Love the look of these!

OK - I have decided people that there should seriously be a law that you do not have to get your driver's license renewed in the same year that you are turning 40! I HATE driver's license photos and now I have to go get one taken for my 40th birthday! Ugh. I should have planned this better and moved to Indiana a year sooner or something so this wouldn't have happened to me now! Ha.

Should I also mention that I think I have done pretty good here..... I mean its been what 2 or 3 days since I mentioned my birthday? I am excited! I love birthdays. I thought 40 might be hard - but really I have just been happy and excited and having fun with it. I guess Sunday will be the official start of "birthday week." A friend of mine from where I worked in Illinois invented what she called "birthday week." I thought it was a fabulous idea! She and I decided during birthday week you should get a present every day, get to eat out at restaurants of your choosing, and generally just get to do whatever you want because hey, it's birthday week! Of course most of this really doesn't happen, but its fun to joke around!

My sweet husband spent the evening in the kitchen making cheese balls and cookies for the party on Sunday. (yes I know about the party - I am not so much a "surprise" kind of girl. I have much more fun knowing, planning and anticipating.) He wouldn't let me help. He said I couldn't cook or clean up for my own birthday. He told me to go scrapbook. I was happy to obey as you can see above! Ha. Isn't he the best husband ever? I mean that in itself was a fabulous gift. He ordered a cake with pink roses on it for me for Sunday too, and plans on making an eclair cake for home. Like I said - what a guy!! I mean you saw the roses from a couple of days ago too right? Best Husband ever. He could definately give husband lessons. Love you honey!

Learned some more about Quick Books at work today. I am really liking all I have learned and have been doing with the accounting side of things. Two other ladies from church have been teaching me and they are great teachers. I think the accounting thing must be hereditary. Grandma was good at it, Mom is good at it.......

I remembered another great quote from the book I finished a few days ago (seriously good book guys! I mean I have pages turned down, things underlined.....) and wanted to share that in closing. It reads: "People marvel at the genius of Mozart because he supposedly wrote "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" at the age of three and composed his first symphony at the age of twelve. And yes, of course he was a genius, but another way to look at it is that he just discovered early what is was God made him to do. That's all. For some reason, God gave him a little extra, or a little something different, and Mozart found out what that was and then got a head start on using it. Of course he was brilliant, but that's not the point. The point is he knew, and then he got to work." Isn't that good? Reminds me so much of what I learned in The Purpose Driven Life. I have seen it so many times in myself and others at church over the past few years. When you find out what God has gifted you in, and then put that gift to work, it just flows and it blesses you and others. The thing I liked about the quote here is how it is not only the finding out what you were meant to do, it is finding out and then get going on using it. I felt like I was really doing something I was supposed to teaching the girls classes scrapbooking in VBS a few weeks ago. This might now lead to a monthly crop night at church. It is so cool to me that God gives us a gift, like with the creative thing, and then we get to do something we really love and enjoy all at the same time and yet He can use it.

Blessings to everyone!

Look what my sweet husband gave me yesterday! Pink roses. Aren't they pretty? He went shopping for my birthday yesterday afternoon and came home and handed me these. He is so sweet. Seeing I have a pink obsession recently, these were just perfect. They made me smile. Yesterday was kind of quiet. While he was shopping I was going to spend some time in the pool, but it wasn't a good pool day. It was cloudy and a little windy. That combination usually leaves me feeling cold in the pool. So I stayed in and checked out the message boards, finished my book and started a new layout. My book was great! I highly recommend it. Several parts were so good they made me cry and there were a few surprise twists at the end! Very good story. Just to remind you its called When Crickets Cry and the author is Charles Martin. This was the first book I have read of his. One of my favorite themes and quotes in the book was "Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life." Wow. Isn't that good? I first heard of Charles Martin's books from Faithfulreader.com which is a pretty cool site too!

I liked this book so well, I started on a second book of his as soon as I finished. It is called The Dead Don't Dance. I will add the link at the right in case you want to check it out! I have only read 20 pages and am already finding it hard to put down!

Church was really good yesterday. We had the Indiana South Youth Choir with us and they always put on a great concert! During the worship time we were challenged to get alone with God and just be silent before him and wait on Him and see what he has to say to us. We were reminded of the place in scripture (1 Kings 19:11-13) where God tells Elijah to go stand on the mountain because God is coming by. Next a mighty wind, an earthquake and a fire go by, but God was not in any of those. Then comes a whisper and God was in the whisper. I remembered my Pastor sharing those verses with me when I was counseling with him because I was in a clinical depression. I remember how that stuck with me then, and am not surprised how it hits me now. I have to remember that sometimes I am waiting for thunder and lighting and a brick to hit me upside the head when God is in that quiet, urgent whisper trying to get me to be still and quiet long enough so I can hear Him. This same topic came up today in staff meeting at church about waiting on God and being on God's time table and being alone and quiet before God. Usually when the same theme keeps coming up in my life, God is trying to tell me something. I am feeling like maybe sometimes we all need less activity and noise and to wait for Him and hear him!

I am off to scrap for a bit. I have started a layout of my sweet nephew Ethan. Can't wait to finish and share it with you.

Blessings to you!

Well, I guess you can see what I have been up to today! I bought these little gifts to give to the ladies who helped me in VBS a couple of weeks ago. They were such a huge help to me and made the week so much less stressful that I wanted to show them my apprecaition. I made the little tags to attach to the different bears. They say Thank You on the front and then I wrote a note to each person on the back. I hope they like them!

After that I finished up a layout I have been working on about Darrel on his birthday. Every year he wants Carrot Cake on his birthday because this is what his Mom always made and its his favortie. So, this year I got a photo of the famous cake and took a picture of him cutting it so I could scrap it! Ha. I wanted to include the recipe too and I got so happy when I remembered that I had saved the original card that his Mom wrote out for me even after I transfered the recipe to the computer. As you can see, it has been used just a bit. I love being able to make it for him every year.

It was hard to tear myself away from my book today to get the above things done. I am really enjoying When Crickets Cry (link at right). It's a story about a heart surgeon who lost his wife due to a congential heart defect and his struggle to get thru losing her and to continue being a surgeon. It's Christian Fiction and it is so good! I would love to tell you so much more about the story but I don't want to ruin it for any of you who might want to read it. Today one part I read was talking about the story in the Bible about blind Bartamaeus and how he believed Jesus was the Messiah and believed he could heal Him. In the Bible the blind beggar hears Jesus coming and cries out "Son of David, have mercy on me." Other people tell him to be quiet, but he insists on calling to Jesus. Jesus asks him what he wants and he says, "Lord, I want to see." Jesus tells him his faith has healed him and he recives his sight. The cool thing about this story is after he received his sight, he followed along after Jesus. I love that. He believed Jesus was the Messiah, he didn't let others silence him and he followed Jesus after he was healed. The part of the scripture that said - Son of David I want to see - stuck with me after reading it earlier today because of the way the author used it in the book. In that story the man has been hurting so much over his wife's death he has pretty much been running away from life. At the point in the story where this story is told, he says in his own prayer - Son of David I want to see - because he is willing to face his life with Jesus there. Isn't that so true? He is right there with us, by our faith he will heal us and be with us and we can follow Him and be with Him and learn from Him. I have felt those words all day today.... Son of David I want to see. I love how we can call to Him.

I hope that made some sense to someone besides me! Ha. I also hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Blessings!

OK - Look what I made. Something must be seriously wrong with me. I am actually excited about and looking forward to my 40th birthday. I see these tickers all the time on the message boards but never actually tried one. I think its kind of fun, and it will help us all remember how many shopping days are left..... Ha. ha. ha. ha.

Ok - are these buttons not the coolest? Do I need any more buttons? No! Do I want these? Yes! My kit club (scrapbook obsessions) is doing Rhonna Farrer Enchanted paper for the next kit and these look like they might match. Why is it when I like a new line I need every part of it? I can't just be happy with some of the paper and maybe another part. No, I "need" the ribbon, the rubons, the buttons.................. I think its a sickness.

I guess its a good thing for my checkbook that these appear to be sold out everywhere I have looked. Let's add that I kick myself every time I see cool new buttons because I remember the huge basket I told my Mom to sell at a garage sale!! What was I thinking? When my Mamaw passed away, and we were cleaning out her house, we came across an old sewing basket packed full of buttons. Mom told me how Mamaw would never throw away old clothes without cutting off and saving the buttons. Add to that the fact that she sewed and you have lots of cool buttons. Well, dummy me (who was not a scrapbooker at the time) didn't think I would use them so I said go ahead and put them in the garage sale. Duh!!! I am sure the people that snatched them up knew they hit the jackpot. Note to self - Do not do that again!

Today was my first day back to work after vacation. It was a pretty easy, calm day! I love that. I hate returning from vacation to a mountain of work just sitting and waiting for me. That is like being punished for going on vacation! We have the super cool Indiana South Youth Choir coming for a concert on Sunday morning so that has made my work load with the bulletin and PowerPoint considerably less for the week! Yay. I think the whole office staff needed it after VBS week. Tomorrow I am home. Hope to catch up on housework and maybe cook something yummy for dinner like beef and noodles. (are you reading this honey?) Maybe I'll even get in a bit of scrapping.

Oh, and just in case you are counting....There are 14 shopping days until my 40th birthday! Can you even believe I am going to be 40?? Don't answer that!

Happy 4th of July. Hope everyone has had a great holiday. We kept things pretty quiet here. I've been scrapbooking and completed the layout above, Darrel has been playing computer/video games. This is my last vacation day so I just wanted a lazy relaxing day. I am glad I got my wish! Ha.

Hope you like my layout. This one was fun! I am so into the color pink lately, and this summer I have accumulated no less than 3 pairs of pink shoes! Ha. I am really enjoying working on an "All About Me" album and wanted this to be a layout for that. I love summer shoes and sandals! Every year in the spring I am just waiting for the first day warm enough to at least wear my clogs without socks. After that happens I am ready for the sandals. I have always loved my Birkenstocks, but this year I have also gotten into the Crocs. Everyone around me wears them so I had to give them a try. Darrel told me I could order a pair for Mother's Day. I tried to convince myself to order something "sensible" that I could wear with everything like brown or navy but I knew what I really wanted was PINK! Darrel told me I should get pink and that was all the encouragement I needed. Next I found the pink flip flops (It is so hard for me to say "flip flop" I grew up calling them thongs and it just seems easier!) at payless and got those. Then I saw the pink Birks on QVC and had to get those. I fell in love with the pink flower printed insole. Isn't it cool? Anyway - probably way more than you ever wanted or needed to know about my shoes! Ha.

While I was scrapbooking this afternoon it was thundering and looking like it would storm. Suddenly there was a flash and the loudest clap of thunder/lightning I think I have ever heard. We discovered lightning had struck a tree next door. About an hour ago I discovered it also took out our phone line. Yay for DSL so we at least still have the Internet. Once again I feel like God protected our home because this lightning was very close and scary. Thank you Lord for your protection.

Think I will start on a second layout for the day. I hope to get one completed for the contest my kit club has (Scrapbook Obsessions) every month. I haven't won yet, but it's fun to scrap and fun to try so what is there to loose?

Hope your Holiday has been blessed.

Here are the last LO's I completed. I was hoping they were going to get picked up by one of the mags but no such luck. Hope to have some new ones to post by tomorrow.

Well I love reading Blog's of various favorite scrapbookers so I have finally decided I should start one of my own. What has stopped me up until now? I guess wondering if anyone but me will care to read it. Wondering if I should share personal information on such a public forum. Stuff like that I guess. Yet, even with those doubts, I find it intriguing. I like the creative ideas I get from other Blogs, I like the insight and thought provoking things others post and I hope I can do the same. I also thought it would be cool to have more of a personal place to share my work. Hopefully it will motivate me to get some more scrapping done.

So you may be wondering why "Finally Me" for a title. I feel like that describes where I am right now. I am a few weeks, ok a couple weeks, away from my 40th birthday. It feels like a big milestone to me. Something about thinking about this birthday has caused me to realize I am finally at a point where I am OK with me. Seems that most of my life I have been trying to be something better. I always seem to think I am not what I am supposed to be. That I have more to go, that I am somehow falling short or failing. But you know what? I have finally realized maybe God made me to be exactly what I am. Do I still have need to grow and change? Yes! Are there things I wish were different? Absolutely. I wish I didn't have a life long struggle with my weight. I wish I were more patient. I wish I were a better Christian and that I were doing a way better job with reading my Bible and having a consistent prayer time. There are many other things like that. But, all that being said, I am so happy and peaceful to finally be in a place where I feel like I can say, "You know what? This is me. Like me, don't like me, accept me or don't. This is me. God created me and if I never get any better, He still loves me, Jesus loves me and died for me and I am OK with me." Wow. If you knew me you would know what a long way I have come to be in this place.

So, welcome to my Blog. I hope that God can use it and that it might be a blessing to you.

Dee

The revelation of God is whole and pulls our lives together. The signposts of God are clear and point out the right road. The life-maps of God are right, showing the way to joy. The directions of God are plain and easy on the eyes. God's reputation is twenty-four-carat gold, with a lifetime guarantee. The decisions of God are accurate down to the nth degree. Psalm 19:7 (The Message)