Pretty Amazing To Think About...

Before I start my post, I want to give you a link to an OUTSTANDING post I read this morning...  It's by my cousin who just adopted again, you can read it at Stitching To China...

So, the reason for my post...  Since I want to try and share some of my journey towards knowing God more this year, I thought I would start with something I read yesterday that has really grabbed hold of my heart and mind...

It's from Psalm 35:1-3 (NIV)...

Contend, LORD, with those who contend with me;
   fight against those who fight against me.
² Take up shield and armor;
   arise and come to my aid.
³ Brandish spear and javelin
   against those who pursue me.
Say to me,
   “I am your salvation.”

As I thought about these verses what hit me is that David is calling on God Almighty...  Sovereign Creator of the Universe to take up a shield and armor...  To brandish a spear and javelin...  To be the one who goes against the enemy...

It made me think about the office of President...  They have men who surround them and protect them...  They don't pick up weapons and run into battle, they get as far away from danger as possible. 

And yet, our GREAT God leads the charge, He goes before us!

There's a great story in 2 Chronicles 20 where a vast army comes against Israel and all the people of Israel had to do was stand still and sing praises while God routed the enemy for them... 

Most of our enemies today are not tangible ones like King David faced, or the Israelites...  But the truth still applies...  Whether it's a financial enemy...  the enemy of addiction...  or gossip...  or depression...  whatever it is that you or someone you love is facing, God is your Mighty Warrior...  He will not only go with you into the battle, He will pick up armor, spear and javelin and fight the enemy for you!

And we can be certain, when God is fighting the battle for us...  HE (and therefore WE) will be victorious!

Sing praises and watch what He will do!

My Longing For 2011

I can't believe this is my 3rd time doing this on the blog  but as a New Year rolls around, once again God has put a longing in my heart for 2011...(you can read 2010 here 2010 Heart's Desire and 2009 here, 2009 Heart's Desire)...

In the past, I always felt like God was laying something on my heart that needed some work...  To love more like Him...  To guard my heart and not be so worldly...  But something is different this year... 

It began on Christmas Eve with a skit our church did at our Christmas Eve service.  It was very simple, but the gist of it was 3 different people trying to give Jesus the perfect Christmas gift when all He wanted was them...  Simple, but profound and it got me thinking...

I spend SO much time trying to serve Him that sometimes I forget to just spend time with Him and know Him...  One of my favorite verses, I would probably even consider it my life verse, is Philippians 3:8:

"What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ..."

Paul considers all things garbage compared to knowing Christ...  A big house...  garbage compared to Christ...  A cool vacation...  garbage compared to Jesus...  A new car...  rubbish compared to Him...  I could go on and on...  But whatever it is that grips our hearts is garbage is compared to knowing Jesus!

Paul goes on in verse 10 and says simply, I want to know Christ...  I want to know the power of His resurrection...  Paul even considers suffering as an opportunity to fellowship with Jesus and know Him more...


If you know about Paul, then you know that he wrote most of the New Testament, he planted numerous churches, you could say that God used him to help firmly establish the early church and strengthen the church for all time...  Wow, can you imagine being used by God like that?! 

But from Philippians 3:8 and 10, it's clear that Paul had one primary mission in life...  and it wasn't about what he would do...  It was all about who He would know...  everything else was the overflow of knowing Jesus!

How wonderfully simple to have a single focus in life!

So as I head in to 2011, I'm setting my heart on knowing Jesus more...  Yes, I want to serve Him more... Yes, I want to know victory over the things I still struggle with... Yes, I want my heart and my life to reflect Him more...  But I believe that all of that will come when I FIRST know Him more!

I don't want to make any big sweeping commitments about how much I'll write on my blog this year (I can never seem to follow through on those)...  but I would love to share some of this journey with you...  So I will do my best to write, at least weekly, something I'm learning about knowing Jesus more...

I want to leave you with the words of a beautiful song by Casting Crowns...  To Know You... I think it says beautifully what God has put on my heart for 2011...

To know You is to never worry for my life
To know You is to never give into compromise and
To know You is to want to tell the world about You
‘Cause I can’t live without You

To know You is to hear Your voice when You are calling
To know You is to catch my brother when he is falling
To know You is to feel the pain of the brokenhearted
‘Cause they can’t live without You

More than my next breath
More than life or death
All I’m reaching for, I live my life to know You more
I leave it all behind, You’re all that satisfies
To know You is to want to know You more
To know You is to want to know You more

To know You is to ache for more than ordinary
To know You is to look beyond the temporary
To know You is believing that You’ll be enough
‘Cause there’s no life without You

All this life could offer me
Could not compare to You, compare to You
And I count it all as loss
Compared to knowing You, knowing You

All this life could offer me
Could not compare to You, compare to You
And I count it all as loss
Compared to knowing You, knowing You

And I count it all as loss
Compared to knowing You, knowing You

An Amazing Evening!!

It has been a tiring week... Last week I had a 2 evening show for my jewelry and then Monday and Tuesday this week, I did an Open House at our house...  I love doing the shows, but they can be exhausting (lots of physical labor and late hours) and draining (I tend to be more introverted) so being 'ON' for that many hours is sometimes difficult.  Add to that the emotional drain of my grandmother's passing and her not being with us for Christmas, and I'm just tired.

But for tonight, I had signed our family up to go and serve dinner at a local ministry that is a rehab facility for men struggling with addiction.  I admit, I grumbled inwardly all day because I'm so behind and Christmas is just 2 days away...  I even thought about telling my husband to go without me because I was at that place of tired where it seemed like tears would spill over at any minute...  But there was something in me that wanted to go simply out of obedience to what God tells us to do...  So I kept my grumblings to myself, put on my best face and went.

I was nervous...  I always am in new situations like this...  What would I say?  How do I act?  What if I accidentally offend someone?

We arrived about an hour before dinner and the first person I saw was a dear, sweet friend of mine and her family...  It was their first time too, what a gift to get to serve with them!  We were given our assignments so that everything would be ready and then G., who coordinates our group from church spent some time talking to us about what to expect...  All of the men are battling addiction...  So we were to serve them dinner and then get a plate for ourselves and go and sit with them. 

I had NO clue what to talk about...  But G. told us not to worry, God would give us words...  Right on schedule the doors opened and the men filed in...  They seemed genuinely pleased to see us...  They had us introduce ourselves and one of our group offered a blessing...  And then the men filed through the food line. 

And at that moment, my heart started to break...  Men of all ages...  All different backgrounds...  Addiction is color blind...  culture blind...  class blind...  It grabs hold of whoever is vulnerable and takes them captive to a life that no one would choose...  For the first 15 minutes I fought tears...  But they were so happy...  So grateful to us for showing up to serve...  I looked around and saw a room full of hope!  A room where Jesus, through His servants, is setting the captives free!  It was AMAZING!

As the line dwindled, I knew the time was approaching when I would need to get a plate and find a place to sit...  I did and it was just as G. had said, the conversation came naturally...  No uncomfortable lulls...  no awkward pauses...  The men we talked to knew the mercy and grace of God in a very real way and they were happy sing His praise...

The last man left and even though 2 hours had passed, it seemed like a few minutes...  And it was time for us to go.  I could have stayed the evening, especially talking to one very special gentleman...  There was just something about his spirit...  You could tell he had been broken, but he was a man with faith...  Faith that his Heavenly Father loved him...  Faith that he would know victory in the battle of addiction...  Faith that God had a very special plan for his life...  The man was full of hope! 

I was not ready to leave...  Tired and grumbly were gone and in their place was joy...  unexplainable...  overflowing joy!  There is something about serving those whom Jesus came to save that brings you into the presence of Jesus Himself...  I've experienced it in Africa, on a street corner in our city and tonight in rehab facility...  Jesus can always be found among those whom our society would consider "the least of these..."  And more and more I'm realizing, I just like being where Jesus is!

Africa has taught me that consistency is SO  essential...  It's not enough to go just once...  It's important to keep going back...  And so I will...  I may not have great words of wisdom to offer them...  I will most likely never change or fix anything...  But I can give them a smile...  And a word of encouragement...  And most importantly I can show them that no matter what the world may say, God sees them as His dearly Beloved children whom He takes great delight in...

Perhaps my biggest lesson of the evening...  God blesses obedience!

A GREAT Story!!

One of the things about adopting an older child that I have found to be particularly challenging is teaching her about God and Jesus...  How do you explain God to a child who has never heard of Him and (in the beginning) doesn't speak the same language?  Over the last couple of years she has asked MANY good questions like...  Is Jesus coming for His birthday party?  How old is He?  How old is God?  Who is God's daddy?  And if God made us, then who made God?  Pretty amazing questions for one so young...

But I have to admit, I've been a little discouraged because when I talk to her, I'm just not sure she really understands...

So today she came home from school and sat down with me to do her homework...  I was working on jewelry and she was supposed to be writing her spelling her words when she looks up and says, "There's a little girl in my class who doesn't believe in God."

Me...'Really?  That's pretty sad.'

Abby... "So I asked her, 'Then who made the world?'"

Me..."Well what did she say?"

Abby... "She told me it grew....  Now mommy, isn't that silly?!"

Me...  "Do you understand why it's silly?"

Abby...  "Not really"

Me...  So I picked up a bead and I said, "Abby, can this bead decide to become an earring, all on its own?"

Abby with a giggle...  "No mommy..."

Me...  "You're right...  It needs a creator, or a designer, to make something of it.  That's just like the world...  We needed a Creator...  We couldn't just make ourselves on our own."  (Now I admit, I didn't go down the path of trying to teach how God created from nothing...  I'll save that mind boggling truth for another day!)

Abby...  "So it really was silly.  Well then I asked her if she knew what the Bible is...  But I don't think she does...  And do you know, she believes that Santa Claus is God!  That doesn't even make sense!"

I don't know when these little seeds started to take root, but I couldn't be more thrilled that she feels strongly enough about the beginnings of her faith that she's willing to take a stand for it!  How cool it is to watch faith as it begins to grow!!

Since I've been very remiss in posting photos lately, here's a few from our Christmas Tree Cutting this year...  It amazes me how quickly they're growing!

That's our 12 year old daughter walking with her over 6 foot dad!

It's Open...

My new web boutique is open! 

www.d4hope.com

Keep checking back as I will be adding more over the next couple of weeks!  Profits will go to finance our trips to Swaziland...  Both of the boys want to go with me next summer, so I'll be working extra hard!!

Alexis did a GREAT job!  You can find her at http://www.blogdesignsbyalexis.blogspot.com/!

Sneak Peak...

I had planned to open my web boutique yesterday... But with my grandmother's home going, it just wasn't possible and really, it just didn't seem right yet.  At her funeral, one of her friends was wearing a bracelet that she bought from me years ago when I first had my business...  She said, "I wore this bracelet today because your grandmother was so proud of you for doing this..."

So as I thought about it yesterday, I decided to honor my grandmother and open my web boutique on her birthday, December 7!  I'm so excited to give her a tribute in this way...

But I thought I'd give you another sneak peak at some of the things I've been working on since I posted a while ago...  Designing a website is hard work, but Alexis has done a GREAT job, I can't wait for you to see it!

I can't promise that all of these items will be on the website since I have a show on Friday, but it's a taste of what you can expect to see there...  And if you want to see even more, you can check out my flickr photo stream at D4HopeJewelry.

The most recent additions have an order number and a price below the photo, so if you see something you love, e-mail me at sharlam@d4hope.com and I'll set it aside for you and you can order it next week from the website...

N10-337b-$25 (I also have the keys in antique bronze)

N10-341b-$25

The next necklace can be worn long or doubled...  This style is one of my favorites!  I love to wear it long with another silver pendant, or double it and even let a pendant hang below it...  The collage shows it short and long and then the beads up-close.  The beads are beautiful!  They're a turquoise/brown agate that I have a hard time finding...

N10-333-$58 

This next necklace is made from some of the most beautiful cranberry colored quartz beads I've ever seen...  I only had one strand and I'm not sure if I can get them again...  This necklace is a little over 16" with a 3" extender...

N10-360 - $38

N10-374 - $15

N10-367 - $22

N10-372 - $28

Most Earrings Are $15 

(The black agate earrings are $18)

Well, that's a sample of what I've been up to...  There's ALOT more on my photo stream (link above), so feel free to check it out...  If you live in my neck of the woods, I'll be at a market in the area December 15 & 16, I'd love for you to stop by...  Just let me know and I'll send you the details!

Hope to 'cyber' see you next Tuesday, December 7...

She Went To A Shindig...

My grandmother loved a story better than anyone...  I think it's in all of our family's DNA because we ALL love a good story!  We often laugh about how the stories that circulate through our family get bigger and bigger with each telling (kind of like a really good fish story)...  But my grandmother left us with one last story that will never need embellishing, it is BIG on it's own...

On Thanksgiving morning she went to breakfast...  She was so excited because she was going to a "shindig"!  My mom was going to pick her up and they were joining my aunt and uncle (her son) at more of our family's house to celebrate Thanksgiving.

That morning, she went back to her apartment, put together all of her things because she was going to spend an extra night with my mom so they could go shopping on 'Black Friday.'  Pretty amazing for a 97 year old woman!  But on this Thanksgiving, God had something bigger in store for her...  She got to go home!  As she sat and finished getting ready to go, she quietly went to sleep and woke up in Jesus' arms...  My mom found her with her bags packed by the door, only where she was going, we don't need bags to travel.

My grandmother did indeed go to a shindig on Thanksgiving Day, a homecoming party beyond our wildest imagination...  She went to heaven.

I am sad, probably the saddest I've been in 12 years since my grandfather Pop died, but I'm so thankful for the years that God gave me with them...  I am thankful for the example they set for me, I am so grateful for the love they poured out into my life...

My grandmother taught me that people love in different ways...  With her, it was always a hot pan of biscuits, and fried salmon patties (some of my favorite)...  Often there was a big pot of green beans and some fresh creamed corn...  I never remember a time that there wasn't a bottle of Karo Syrup to eat with my biscuits and when she learned that Bama Grape Jelly was my favorite (and we couldn't get it where we lived) she always had an 'extra' jar waiting in the cabinet for me to take home.

None of the grandchildren ever have to wonder if she was proud of us because when we would go to visit, all of her friends knew who we were and EVERYTHING we were up too...  And I LOVED that!! 

My grandparents blessed me in so many ways...  My heart is so full of incredible memories of times spent with them and the people they loved.  Not only did I grow up surrounded by a wonderful family, including aunts and uncles and cousins...  But my grandparents also filled my life with wonderful people from their church and community who lived and loved like Jesus... 

As the memories roll past the window of my heart, there are so many that I wish I could grab hold of for a while and go back and visit...  Mayfield Chocolate ice cream in the evening... stringing green beans... roasted peanuts... My grandfather shooting pecans out of the pecan tree and then sitting around and cracking them in the evening...  'Styling' my grandmother's hair on the nights before she went to the beauty shop...  Manicuring her toe nails...  Dipping my fingers in the buttermilk and patting it on the biscuits (my small contribution to the best biscuits ever)...  Hanging out with my granddad at his grocery store...  Family reunions that were full of fun and laughter...  Trips to the beach...  My granddad teaching me to parallel park...  Running to watch the trains go by their house... Playing Skipbo with my grandmother... Hanging sheets on the clothes line and then running through them...  I could go on and on...  My grandparents left me with a memory full of smiles and laughter and legacy of love and faith that I pray will be passed on to my children.


I will be sad for a while...  Christmas will be hard without my grandmother...  Our next family trip to the beach will be difficult too...  But today, I don't grieve without hope...  Hope that because my grandparents knew Jesus as their Savior (and because I do too), I will see them again in heaven someday...  And until that day, I have great comfort in knowing that I'm surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses cheering me on to finish the race well...  And when that day comes, we'll have another 'shindig' that will go beyond anything we can dream or imagine possible!  To borrow the words of an old hymn...  "When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be...  When we all see Jesus, we'll sing and shout the victory!"