free stuff and a purchase thanks to the Refupeas...ya enablers...

 A couple of weeks ago, on our local buy and sell...a friend of my dd and ddil put up some scrapbook stuff...thinking $20 each for the paper rolling rack and for the stack of inks and stamps..this is CTMH...so I responded immediately.  AND because of the family connection, she gave them to me! (I offered to pay at least some, cuz I know the value of these) (but she refused)

 She says her mom used to be a CTMH rep but her husband works for one of the online photo processers...so she now does all her scrapbooking online and just has no need for these things.  I told her if she ever gets the urge to create again, she knows where to come and visit.

I have not had the chance to go through the papers...but first glance tells me it is very organized.  She has 2 boys, so I am hoping lots of good boy papers...

Wow!  what treasures...now gotta find their new homes.

This was a purchase from the closing sale by a fellow Refupea...A Walk Down Memory Lane...

 And there was a thread about storing 6x6 pads. So I bought one of the refrigerator organizers mentioned.    Previously I had these stacked...but I do like this better.

 And dh's father's day card made from the new stamps...I just blocked off the face of the rocket.  Used alcohol inks, stickles and washi tape.  Warning, if you stamp over alcohol ink (as I did for the rocket) WAIT to start cutting it out...the ink will smear.

So, not much time for actual scrapping the past two weeks.  I was on a bit of a spending freeze...think it lasted 2 weeks...siiiiigh, but the floodgates opened...and am in the process of organizing those purchases.  Darn that Scrapbook.com...ha!!!

exhausting...and something I've discovered

So, I kinda left this blog in a 'series'...a challenge from my pastor.  Was going to finish it up on Saturday, but discovered something about myself.  I don't spend much time on the computer weekends.  Esp this past weekend.  So hopefully I can finalize it...sometime...

Not today, I am too exhausted.  I've had 2 days of babysitting with grandson.  He is teething, all 4 molars...and he is very grumpy and at momnts  not a lot of fun.  I mean he is still adorable, but keeping up with him right now is exhausting.  He's also figured out a couple of new tricks.  Opening doors and getting past his barriers.  Today was a new one.  Won't go into detail, but thought of his MiMi (son in law's mom) and how she said she still has a nervous breakdown thinking about son in law as a baby/toddler.  Yeah, just gonna say this is definately his kid...and I cannot take my eyes off of him.

I mean as I type he is in his playpen within arm's reach.  Watching  Baby Einstein.  Time for ear plugs.  He is seriously such a love, but today and yesterday very exhausting.

But our fault, we threw his morning schedule off...yesterday by taking him to the dentist....today by taking him to give mil a ride to the grocery store and to her home. So, there has not been a real naptime, just falling asleep a bit in the car.

She is now staying with us for part of the week.  Usually with us for weekends and the weekend family get togethers we may be having.  This weekend it was a father's day spaghetti fest (my dh makes the best spaghetti sauce)  Next weekend we are invited to a friend's home for Saturday night dinner.  Think he wants to bring out the smoker...

It works out well for all of us.  It has to be hard for her to be in her empty home. It has been difficult for me  to drop her off, I see his things and it just brings it home that he is gone.   She talked about how she has not even been able to take care of fil's clothing from his closet.  We discussed that she might give his sweatshirts and stuff (mostly Marine Corps related to the great grand kids).  I think that is something they will all enjoy and use as they hit their teens. 

I cannot imagine what she is going through. 

Okay, tonight I hope to prep some pics and get back to blogging my passion...grandkids and scrapbooking!  ha!

Scrapbook trivia, a while back I had the chance to watch most of The Visit by M. Night Shyamalan...in the beginning while the kids are traveling to see grandparents they had never met, did you catch what the brother said?   Something about "we don't know anything about them...what if they scrapbook??".... yeah, you could only be so lucky.

Scripture Challenge day 4

This past Sunday, our pastor issued the challenge to read the same 10 verses, twice a day for the week.  I have been looking at 1 Timothy 1:1-10...the reason is outlined in the post titled day 2...

Gotta admit, did not do the 2nd reading yesterday.  Thursday is my Bible Study night..

One funny note, this morning's scripture verse on my phone app was Romans 3:20...just interesting after yesterday.

so by reading my passage in the Message, this is what stood out to  me...

^5-7 The whole point of what we’re urging is simply love—love uncontaminated by self-interest and counterfeit faith, a life open to God. Those who fail to keep to this point soon wander off into cul-de-sacs of gossip. They set themselves up as experts on religious issues, but haven’t the remotest idea of what they’re holding forth with such imposing eloquence.

then NIV and ESV says it like this...

 
⁵ The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. ⁶ Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, ⁷ desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.

(I am copying these from Bible Gateway...a favorite website for Bible reading, cuz you can see different translations on the same screen)

What do we know about Love...well, from the great theologians DC Talk, we know that "love is a verb'... also from the 1 Corinthians passage about love...it ain't about the feeling it is about the action.

And Jesus himself said to Love the "Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind" and to "Love our neighbors as ourselves"... and when asked who is our neighbor He told the parable of the Good Samaritan.

But I have experienced the other half of this verse!!

My own, many years ago, gosh 15 or so...I became fascinated with the study of theology and apologetics.  While at a woman's retreat, while worshipping...I felt God tell me..."Karen, you are pursuing knowledge but you do not love".  Well, I stopped the pursuit of knowledge and worked on the love.   I think exercising love is like...exercising...it took little steps, it took being focused on it.  Praying that I would begin to see people as He sees them.  Stopping myself and Catching myself when I did not and Reminding myself to see them as He does.  Finding women who had that Spirit of Love as my example to try to emulate (still not there).  Forgiving and following his command to pray for my enemies...Gotta say it was not in MY nature, but I do see the change.  (background, as I have mentioned I grew up half Japanese, in South Texas, during the late 60's and 70's...does that paint a picture of the childhood I had, school was horrible even the neighborhood was filled with bullies...so it was very difficult to love and trust people)(but there has to come a point where you let that go...forgive, release, understand, and even see them as hurting people also)

Also, many years ago, one of Dh's friend and wife was into listening to one of the tv evangelists...I use the term lightly, as I find him to be a false teacher.  They were so into their 'knowledge' they were getting from a tv and had no love...no connection with fellow Christians.   We were at a restaurant with them and they were talking their crazy stuff...sorry it was crazy...something about us being the fallen angels getting a 2nd chance at redemption by being born on this earth.  As they spoke, people at the tables near us would leave.  And they would say, "shine the light and the cockroaches will flee".     I finally had enough and told them, "this cockroach is also leaving" and walked out.  

Today, they are divorced and I don't know about her...but he is no longer a "Christian", he has rejected it all.

Our walk is certainly a balancing act...between Grace and Law...Love and Knowledge...good thing we don't have to do this on our own!! ha!!

Today I plan to read my verses using the 'big guns"...the John McArthur Study Bible...ha!!!

Scripture Reading Challenge day 3

The challenge this week is to read the same 10 verses from the Bible, twice a day for the week.  I chose 1 Timothy 1: 1-10...reasons listed in the day 2 blog

I know, I am writing this on Thurs not Weds.  We did not have internet last night.  Yes, it was a very odd night, but a good one also.  Without the distraction of internet I read a few chapters of my book by RC Sproul , a commentary on the Book of Acts.   Which worked really well, as I went over the chapters about Paul's time in Ephesus...which takes me back to my challenge.

So, Tues night, I decided to read the verses that my Legacy Bible referenced in the passage.  Which took me to Romans 6...a lot.  Now, I have a 'history' with Romans 6.  Almost 30 years ago the church we went to was Mt. Hermann AME in San Jose, CA.  One year, Pastor Hyatt asked me to represent our church at a convention...they have a Mrs AME contest...kinda like a beauty pageant...anyways, one of the questions was your favorite verse.  I chose Romans 6.  and even Tues night as I reread it...it just brings a smile to my face.  "We are no longer enslaved to the sin nature". or as Mel Gibson  in Braveheart...Freeeeeeeedooooooommmm!!!!!

Weds morn, read it in the NIV.  So far that makes The Tree of Life version, the NKJ and NIV.
(I like the NIV).   Weds night, read it in the ESV, as it is what my Daily Bible app is on, cuz it is the one our pastor is using. and my phone is my 'church' Bible...ha!

I like reading verses in the different translations.  For me, it helps sometimes  to see the different wording used in the translations.  I know some struggle that there are so many translations.  But from what I see, as Hank Hanagraff puts it...style may be different but not substance.  I am half Japanese, so I know that there are times there is not translation from word to word...so I have no issue that the 'words' are not the same.  One of my favorite Bibles is a New Testament that has 8 different translations side by side.   But gotta admit, I 'lean' more on the translations that are by a group of scholars as opposed to an individual.  I may read something like the Message, but it is not my primary learning Bible.   (and since I am talking about the Message, think I will make that my version for today)

I know I am going backwards, but what 'hit' me was what was said about the law (or Torah in Tree of Life)...vs 8  We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. or ESV  Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully

leads to the question...what is proper or lawful use of the law?

I have been listening to Ravi Zacharias this week.  Just gonna leave you with this.... 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWBISvwRWlA

pretty cool!  He also tackles a question about denominations.

Okay, let's keep studying and looking.   I am enjoying this challenge.

Scripture Reading challenge day 2

On Sunday our Pastor challenged us to read one set of 10 verses, 2 times a day for the week.

Since I "work' with the Young Adults, thought I would read 1 Timothy as this is Paul's letter to his mentee, Timothy.  And yes, I looked up the word mentee...ha.  I also say 'work' as it really is not work...I get to hang out with these wonderful young people on Sunday morning.  I think they mentor me as much as I try to mentor them.   We are joint mentees.  (okay I did not look up how to pluralize that one)

So, 1 Timothy 1:1-10...wowza.  First thought, that I need to continue to verse 17 as this seems to be a prelude to 11-17.  

Monday,  I used my Tree of Life version, so I ran into the word "tzaddik"  a quick google search revealed this meant "righteous one".  okay dokay.

This morning, while in the shower...cuz my clearest thinking is in the shower...well, except when I forget if I washed my face yet or not.... I was thinking.  "Why does Paul start this with such a list of heavy  sins?"   I mean that is quite the list in verses 9-10.

So, for this morning's reading, I picked up my Legacy Bible and read the prelude that was there...and my question was pretty much answered with the Where.  Timothy was leading the church in Ephesus....I've been there!  During my European cruise, we stopped in Kusadasi Turkey and toured the ruins of Ephesus.

Now, Ephesus is an ancient port city.  Huge and full of commerce.  It was also the home of the Temple of Artemis, one of the 7 Wonders of the World.  I remember during our tour, the guide pointing out how you can still see engraved in the stone, the symbol used to point the way to the brothels...as this was big business in a port city visited by sailors.   I will leave it at that.

Also, this is the city in Acts 19...where there was some trouble(okay pretty much a riot) because preaching Christ was threatening the commerce of the city and challenged their Goddess, Artemis.  So, Paul knew this city well.

Do I dare?  a hustling, bustling city...where licentiousness is allowed, promoted ..  Where the local authorities are hostile to the spread of the gospel...is there a city near us that we can see a parallel to?  or even a state we live in?    see this letter from the university my dd went to in So Cal about SB1146.

Vanuguard University call to Action


I would say all things considered I understand why Paul starts with such a heavy list in this epistle.
But looking above the list...who is he talking about?  because....

Back to day one, the tzaddik...he is saying that the teaching of the Torah is not given for the tzaddik.. (back to Tree of Life) but for those who commit the list... something else to explore? You betcha.

a 'mini' crop... a little shopping...

My friend Michele came over to scrapbook...this is how I set up my room.   She arrived around lunch time, so we scrapped/crafted for @ 4 to 5 hours.  A break @2 to pick up my dgd#1 to join us.

 And this is basically what I got done!  I actually made 2 cards and envelopes like this.  Now before she arrived I worked on a penant for the baby shower we are hosting this afternoon.  Aaaaaaaand that is pretty much it.

I bought a set of cards and dies from the 2 Peas Refugees Trade and Sell, wowza, all this for $15...it is Studio Calico..since I WILL NOT ever buy from them *see  the thread on the Refugee site*...I was happy to get a some 2nd hand.

Indulged in a Stampin Up purchase.   The new 'in colors' inks...Christmas paper (cuz I don't have enough, no seriously, I do like the rich traditional colors in this set) and a punch.  My demonstrator retired, so seeing that one has joined our 2 Peas Refugees Blog Thread, Kara, actually made me quite excited.

Now I do need to get serious about a spending freeze.. though I think I have a A Cherry on Top and A Walk Down Memory Lane (she is also a Pea and has a thread about her store closing).packages on their way...after them FREEZE.  I've actually walked away from the Freckled Fawn blooper bag,...so hard to do, but kinda proud of myself.  Yup, had a cart and then stopped myself.  siiiiiigh

At least till Santa Clara Expo in August.   First Year in many that I am not going to crop...but hotels are over $300 per night (of course the Expo price ones were gone when I looked) and my usual roommate is out of town that weekend...so...just cannot do it.  Guess I will just do a day trip.

monthly kits, an impulse purchase and WOYWW...

My June kits have arrived and I am one happy grammy....Gossamer Blue

and the cards...

Scrapbook Circle....

Also 'impulsed' on the holiday weekend with Kiwi Lane's sale.   Time to give their papers a try. 

And this is what is on my desk, a canvas I made for dgd#1 many years ago that needs fixing.  and a layout for dgs#1 that is in progress...

I know it is Thursday...but this is what was on my desk Weds...

I have been 'impulsing' more purchases...I know spending freeze...gotta do it.

On Monday we went tile shopping for the bathroom.  Fun, but a little stressful.   Not only is is making the choices you want...but making sure there is enough.  I kinda let the guys talk me into the floor...not 100% sure about it.  But we will see.   Will post pics as it is done.  Let's just say I was very influenced by Fixer Upper and Rehab Addict..as they use a lot of white subway tiles!  ha!

Scraproom status...June is gonna be fun

Here is a pic of what you see when you open the door to my scraproom....

 The door to the left is to the bathroom and it is in the process of being 'revamped'.  Dh says the tub/shower wall was 'wonky' so it needs to be redone.  Also, there were a couple of toilet leaks over the years...so he wanted to make sure all was well under the floor tiles.

 We decided to turn it into a shower only.  It is California, land of the droughts and taking a bath is rare.  So, we went for it.  Not sure if it was right move for resale.  Think I want to do the glossy white subway tiles in the shower, still thinking about the floors.

My fairly undisturbed sink area.  Keeping the sink and beadboard.  Want to maintain a farm/country look in the room.  Plus I still like the peach champagne color walls.

 And all the stuff in the hallway.  The guys originally put it in my scraproom...ummm, nooo, I am going to use my room during this remodel.   Dh told me to go ahead and tear down the plastic barrier as needed ...they will just put it back up when they work.

It is coming down tonight, dgd#1 is spending the night and we will probably be working in there...

Today is a busy day, babysitting dgs#1...his aunt is flying in so I will not be the official babysitter next week...so will be working on the accounting stuff I do for my dh's companies next week.   Tonight dgd#1 is spending the night...and tomorrow after church I babysit the other 2 grandbabies.  So, a fun grandkid filled weekend is in store for me.