Cafe Table

I wanted to share with you what I did with that cafe/breakfast table set that I got from a friend last weekend.

I decided to put it in our bedroom, kind of weird I know, but that was the only place that had a large available wall that I could find. It is kind of nice having a table in the bedroom for studying, writing, or eating when you feel sick.

There's my favorite pink phone!

I incorporated these thrifted picture finds into the area because the wall just had the center picture hanging on it and it seemed like it was just floating there by itself. So I took some vintage pictures I had from other spots in the house, three new ones from yesterday's thrift shop finds and hung them in random order above the table. I really like the effect! I hope to find more and expand the space. I would also like to find a little cafe lamp to put on the table.

Birds and flowers
These are all thrifted from my work's shop except for the two bird ones on the left--those were from a Florida flea market back in 2001.

This is my favorite -- got it for .25 cents yesterday.
It says "FRANCE" at the very bottom and the whole thing
is about 3" x 2.5"! Just a lovely little scene.

Favorite Verse Today

"Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."

-Romans 5:3-5

Inspirational and educational resources for Christians

My aim is to make my blog a place where women can come and be uplifted spiritually through stories, resources, and bits and pieces of the work God has done in my life. Before I was saved and also at the beginning of my journey to completely trusting the Lord for everything, my blog was completely secular. I want to move away from that, yet still share about things I am interested in, such as crafts and sewing and decorating, but hope this blog can be a source of helpfulness. I want to share with you the things that uplift and motivate me to get through the every day stuff so that we can go through life's trials and blessings together.

Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another,
And the LORD listened and heard them;
So a book of remembrance was written before Him
For those who fear the LORD
And who meditate on His name.
“They shall be Mine,” says the LORD of hosts,

“On the day that I make them My jewels.
And I will spare them
As a man spares his own son who serves him.”

- Malachi 3:16-17

These links below are a few of my favorite places to visit each day or whenever I can. There are so many free resources out there (but do be careful of what you are reading and who wrote it) to help you grow in your Faith, and the internet is actually a blessing in this way! This is one of the few good things I can say about the web!

• Grace to You with John MacArthur: tons of free Bible Study messages, articles, downloads, podcasts, books, gifts, etc. I listen to him each morning from 8:00 - 8:30 on A.M. radio. Great preacher.
• Truth for Life with Alistair Begg: yep! It's the Scottish man with the great accent! He also has a radio show around 12:30 - 1:00 (EST) on A.M. radio.
  
• Blue Letter Bible: for searching the Bible for verses, doing Bible studies, devotionals, general Biblical learning can be found here.
• Revive Our Hearts with Nancy Leigh Demoss. I just read her book, "Biblical Womanhood in the Home" and it changed my life (so cheesy to say that!). I highly recommend it to married women. On her site there is tons of great stuff, including free, uplifting desktop images that I switch out on my computer at home quite often!

These are just a few that I frequent, but I am sure there are more I could link you to. Please enjoy checking these out and I hope you are blessed by them!

Thank you for reading and sticking by my blog!

So Thankful, Anytime of Year

I know Thanksgiving was last week (can it be last week? Seems further into the past than that, for some reason), but I have so much to give thanks for this very minute.

Again and again, I have witnessed and been told of the merciful healing power of God in many different peoples lives, including my own. Just yesterday, we had our employee orientation that lasted all day. All the employees who were hired during the month of December attended and we went through trainings together.

Now, I don't get out of my office much at all, so it was an enjoyable experience for me to be around other staff that I don't see on a regular basis. I usually only see two people during an average day, and the rest is spent with appointments who I will most likely never see again. So being in a room with 15-20 other employees was really a delight. (Most people who work in big teams probably want to gag at this account!)

I sat with some other people, four of whom I never have talked to. I met an older woman who confided to me that her adult daughter had been through surgery to remove a lump from her neck and was going to hear the results at 3:00 yesterday. The woman was a nervous wreck because she is a worrier and practically had her daughter in the grave at this point (even though there'd been no diagnosis).

So I consoled her and told her I would pray for her daughter's healing and suggested that she should pray for her daughter. She was very happy to hear me say that, and we stuck by each other all day. At the end of the day, we hugged and exchanged "I love you's" with tears in our eyes, hoping for the best from the Doctor's call. I told her I would come find her the next day to hear how it went.

This morning I came to work and put a note to myself to find the woman around 1:00. When I went to the grocery store down the street to pick up my usual frozen dinner, I saw the woman coming out of the store as I was walking up to it. In the two years I have been going to that store at the same time every day, I had never seen her there, or anywhere outside of work. Some would call it a coincidence, I call it a work of God.

Anyway, I called her name and she turned and looked so happy to see me. We went inside the building to a quiet corner and I asked her what the results were.

She said that the doctor had fretted over what he feared the results would be for the past week as he waited on the tests to run, and was distraught about what he was going to say to the daughter's family. He was quite sure it was Hodgkins Lymphoma. Yesterday, at their appointment, the doctor told the daughter that the lump was benign and she was in the clear. The doctor was truly amazed and the mother and daughter were praising God!

This is just one of *five* examples of the healing power of God that I have witnessed and heard about this fall. There are many more stories to discover if we open our hearts and realize that He is in control and behind everything. If people believe in Christ, and have faith the size of a mustard seed, we will see many more miracles than this. "All things work together for good to them that love God."

I was so thankful to have gotten out of my office dungeon yesterday and into the real world where people are hurting and need to be helped and comforted. Sometimes being in an office seems "glamorous" to the workers who do service-oriented jobs, but it really isn't better, because you can't foster the same types of relationships as those who work together with others. The grass is never greener on the other side.

I was so blessed that she allowed me to be a part of her struggle and life in this way, and this is what I am truly thankful for today.

Blessings,
Sarah

New Couch

So here are the pictures of our new/used couch. Probably not exciting to most, but to me, it is great! We haven't owned a couch in a while, and it is so nice to have a real piece of furniture in our living room.

We haven't sat on it much yet, but it will be nice for my parents to sit on when they come after Christmas. The plaid matches my country-prim/New England theme and I've got a lot of plaid going on here! I will probably change out the tablecloth to something solid.


Yay for new-to-me furniture! :) Luckily, it came from a good friend who is clean and smells good, so the couch smells normal. I hate getting used furniture from unknown sources (Craigslist, yuck!).

Beauty Blitz

Here are some links about fashion & beauty that I have enjoyed reading, and hope you do, too. Happy December!

• "What about...Grey Hair" at "Feelin' Feminine"
• "Modesty without Frump" at LAF
• "Anti-Britney, the New Look" at U.S. News
• "Growing Old Gracefully" at LAF
• "Old-Fashioned Elegance Everyday" at "In Timely Fashion"
• "Leave Your Hat On, But Lose the Jeans" at Newsweek
• "How to Dress Modestly in a Modern World" at LAF

Throb....throb!!!

I am not sure, but I may have just pulled my back from moving the 200-pound couch up a flight of stairs into our apartment!!! I have that adrenaline-rush feeling where your heart is pounding heavy still and the lower back feels all shaky and is beginning to ache...I am going to go do some yoga-type moves that will stretch it out and then pop some ibuprofen. I will probably also use my heat pack on my lower back tonight. I won't be surprised if I can't move tomorrow!

Please pray that this doesn't happen! This is what happens when you are frugal like me and get free couches that you have to move on your own. Also what happens when you only have one available male to help move it. Stupid me! I know that I can only lift about 30 lbs and that I have a history of lower back problems. Yet I still push it because I want things to get done.

G'night!