Have you made the switch yet? I procrastinated and procrastinated until the very last minute and finally gave in and made the switch.
I hopped on over to bloglovin...
I know there are other choices but this one was easy for me to figure out and I really like their reader format. If you haven't made the switch, your time is running out to be able to import all the blogs you follow with the click of a button. It was so easy, bloglovin did all the work for me.
I've added the bloglovin button on my side bar if you'd like to follow me. You can also follow me on facebook...the button's at the top of my sidebar. Just click on the icon and hit "like" on my page.
So as of July 1, 2013, it's bye, bye Google Reader, you have been a faithful blogging friend.
xo, Patty
I hopped on over to bloglovin...
I know there are other choices but this one was easy for me to figure out and I really like their reader format. If you haven't made the switch, your time is running out to be able to import all the blogs you follow with the click of a button. It was so easy, bloglovin did all the work for me.
I've added the bloglovin button on my side bar if you'd like to follow me. You can also follow me on facebook...the button's at the top of my sidebar. Just click on the icon and hit "like" on my page.
So as of July 1, 2013, it's bye, bye Google Reader, you have been a faithful blogging friend.
xo, Patty
It is quite a balancing act we do when we strive to mind our own business, not be judgmental and still be held accountable, isn't it?
"John is the man to whom the Scriptures refer when they say, 'Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way before you." Matthew 11:10
John the Baptist knew his calling, he knew his purpose and he didn't let the cost stand in the way. He wasn't afraid to stand out in the crowd even if he stood alone.
I admire people who have a passionate voice for a cause and are not afraid to speak up no matter what the cost. On some matters like child pornography, murder or sex trafficking it is easy to take a stand but on others especially with those we love, our voice may grow a little dim.
"Sometimes it's dangerous to be a voice. At other times it's damaging to our relationships or our reputations. But if we're a voice and have to make headway in people's lives so Jesus can enter, there's no option. We have to speak up so they have the chance to clear up the mess. Knowing what we should say is one thing. Saying it is another." Jill Briscoe
I have been in the Word for long enough to know what is right and what is wrong and what I need to stand for and yet I found myself on my knees this week because my mind defaulted to the easy way out for someone I love. I was ready to give them an out and not hold them accountable. I can make excuses and say my voice never followed through, but God knows my heart and my heart had already stepped over one of those lines I thought I would never cross.
Sometimes I get so discouraged with myself because I am such easy fodder for the enemy. But then I remember, if I always got it right and could avoid every sinful thought and action, there would have been no need for a Savior. I remember God gave his people the law and they could not keep it, so he gave us his Son who showers us with mercy and grace.
xo, Patty
"John is the man to whom the Scriptures refer when they say, 'Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way before you." Matthew 11:10
John the Baptist knew his calling, he knew his purpose and he didn't let the cost stand in the way. He wasn't afraid to stand out in the crowd even if he stood alone.
"Sometimes it's dangerous to be a voice. At other times it's damaging to our relationships or our reputations. But if we're a voice and have to make headway in people's lives so Jesus can enter, there's no option. We have to speak up so they have the chance to clear up the mess. Knowing what we should say is one thing. Saying it is another." Jill Briscoe
I have been in the Word for long enough to know what is right and what is wrong and what I need to stand for and yet I found myself on my knees this week because my mind defaulted to the easy way out for someone I love. I was ready to give them an out and not hold them accountable. I can make excuses and say my voice never followed through, but God knows my heart and my heart had already stepped over one of those lines I thought I would never cross.
Sometimes I get so discouraged with myself because I am such easy fodder for the enemy. But then I remember, if I always got it right and could avoid every sinful thought and action, there would have been no need for a Savior. I remember God gave his people the law and they could not keep it, so he gave us his Son who showers us with mercy and grace.
xo, Patty
My mom is worried about me. I know this because she has been having people call me “out of the blue” to check on me. Like many of you, my world has been turned upside down once again. And true to form, her mama bear instincts and defense mechanisms have kicked in and she wants to make sure I’m okay. I reassure her that I am, she marvels at my strength and yet, she continues to worry. I love her for that but I really am fine.
“It’s the absence of the thing that startles: I have no fear. I’m looking at barns counting gifts, and I’m jarred: There is no choking angst. I am not anxious and I breathe easy and that worry child I’ve clung to , she deserts. I feel no fear and it makes no sense. The market still teeters, the future of our livelihood still hangs precarious, and there are still no guarantees, no assurances, no change. Nothing has materially changed since yesterday’s fears, last weeks’ anxiety. But I have.” Ann Voskamp, one thousand gifts
As I read these words during my quiet time this morning I couldn’t help but give thanks to God for his assurances and the peace that comes from trusting him with everything.
Everything is a lot…it is my marriage, my children, my relationships, my health, my finances, my very existence and salvation. It is…natural disasters, food, shelter and random violence. It is…did I lock the doors, turn off the stove and close the garage door. It is…do my children know God, are they well adjusted and do they do well in school. It is…am I a good mom, a good wife and a good enough daughter. It is…fill in the blank with whatever worrisome thought pops into my mind and even those that don’t.
Somewhere along the way I decided to trust God with e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g.
Believe me, this hasn’t always been the way in my life. I have wasted many hours deep in the pit of worry. I have spent countless sleepless nights choking on the angst and real struggles of the day. I have shed buckets of tears and pulled the covers over my head and desired to never come out from under them again
.
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand, His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7
I know the tears will still flow, the sorrow will cut deep and the thanks will be hard, but my trust will never waiver because His love will never change, His promises will never fall short and the ending has already been written.
And for this I give thanks.
xo, Patty
“It’s the absence of the thing that startles: I have no fear. I’m looking at barns counting gifts, and I’m jarred: There is no choking angst. I am not anxious and I breathe easy and that worry child I’ve clung to , she deserts. I feel no fear and it makes no sense. The market still teeters, the future of our livelihood still hangs precarious, and there are still no guarantees, no assurances, no change. Nothing has materially changed since yesterday’s fears, last weeks’ anxiety. But I have.” Ann Voskamp, one thousand gifts
As I read these words during my quiet time this morning I couldn’t help but give thanks to God for his assurances and the peace that comes from trusting him with everything.
Everything is a lot…it is my marriage, my children, my relationships, my health, my finances, my very existence and salvation. It is…natural disasters, food, shelter and random violence. It is…did I lock the doors, turn off the stove and close the garage door. It is…do my children know God, are they well adjusted and do they do well in school. It is…am I a good mom, a good wife and a good enough daughter. It is…fill in the blank with whatever worrisome thought pops into my mind and even those that don’t.
Somewhere along the way I decided to trust God with e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g.
Believe me, this hasn’t always been the way in my life. I have wasted many hours deep in the pit of worry. I have spent countless sleepless nights choking on the angst and real struggles of the day. I have shed buckets of tears and pulled the covers over my head and desired to never come out from under them again
.
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand, His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7
I know the tears will still flow, the sorrow will cut deep and the thanks will be hard, but my trust will never waiver because His love will never change, His promises will never fall short and the ending has already been written.
And for this I give thanks.
xo, Patty
I just realized I never shared the photos of the family tree I worked on for our reunion last weekend.
I knew I wanted something a little different with the emphasis on the love that is required to keep a large family together, so hearts as a theme seemed like a natural choice.
I started with a large heart in the center and worked my way out with five smaller hearts representing each of the five siblings and then I attached a heart for each child of a sibling that has a family of their own. (It sounds more complicated than it is...lol).
Gathering the photos from my archives provided me with so many good memories and a few tears.
I am happy with the way it came out and more importantly, so was my mom.
The reunion was a great success. Each of my moms siblings was represented by their families with a shirt of a different color. My mom chose bright orange for us (gee, I wonder where I get my love of color?). I am proud to say we were the largest branch of the tree present. With the exception of my sister and her family who live in Texas, my sister in law in New Mexico, one great niece and one nephew who had to work, every single person you see in these photos was present and glowing in a bright orange shirt.
Of course, my dad's presence was felt ever so strongly. It was an event tailor made for him...oh, how he loved having his family gathered around!
Hope you have fun plans for this first weekend of summer, it's going to be a beauty!
xo, Patty
I knew I wanted something a little different with the emphasis on the love that is required to keep a large family together, so hearts as a theme seemed like a natural choice.
I started with a large heart in the center and worked my way out with five smaller hearts representing each of the five siblings and then I attached a heart for each child of a sibling that has a family of their own. (It sounds more complicated than it is...lol).
Gathering the photos from my archives provided me with so many good memories and a few tears.
I am happy with the way it came out and more importantly, so was my mom.
The reunion was a great success. Each of my moms siblings was represented by their families with a shirt of a different color. My mom chose bright orange for us (gee, I wonder where I get my love of color?). I am proud to say we were the largest branch of the tree present. With the exception of my sister and her family who live in Texas, my sister in law in New Mexico, one great niece and one nephew who had to work, every single person you see in these photos was present and glowing in a bright orange shirt.
Of course, my dad's presence was felt ever so strongly. It was an event tailor made for him...oh, how he loved having his family gathered around!
Hope you have fun plans for this first weekend of summer, it's going to be a beauty!
xo, Patty
I just wanted to pop in and say Hi and to show you a little more of what came out of my craft room last week.
I am knee deep in my purge a thon this week and trying to stay on schedule. I spent about an hour and half outside taking things out of the sun room/storage shed and sorting them into keep, donate, kids better pick up soon or they will be donated, and trash piles.
I'm proud to say that the car has been loaded with my first haul to Goodwill. There is so much more to go but the heat has set in so I am moving inside to the linen closet next. I'll head back outside tomorrow morning.
Oh well, my break is over so I'm going to get back to it. I am so easily distracted that if I stay on this computer a minute longer I may just check my facebook and pinterest boards and we all know how long that can take.
Hope you all are having a sunshine filled day.
xo, Patty
I am knee deep in my purge a thon this week and trying to stay on schedule. I spent about an hour and half outside taking things out of the sun room/storage shed and sorting them into keep, donate, kids better pick up soon or they will be donated, and trash piles.
I'm proud to say that the car has been loaded with my first haul to Goodwill. There is so much more to go but the heat has set in so I am moving inside to the linen closet next. I'll head back outside tomorrow morning.
Oh well, my break is over so I'm going to get back to it. I am so easily distracted that if I stay on this computer a minute longer I may just check my facebook and pinterest boards and we all know how long that can take.
Hope you all are having a sunshine filled day.
xo, Patty
Next week I am going to close the door to my craft room and really begin to tackle a few things on my to do list. I have been on a creative binge and have neglected my poor house so that now there is no way to rearrange the stacks and hide the dust bunnies any longer.
I have been sewing up a storm and working on some fun mixed media projects including this one.
Isn't she pretty? I think she may be my favorite girl so far.
I will be teaching this Julie Nutting stamp panel at my next mixed media class on June 22nd here in Southern California.
I am also having a couple of girlfriends over for a beginners quilt class that I think I will be opening up to all of you as a sew along. How about it? Ever wanted to learn how to make a basic quilt but didn't know where to begin? I will have all the details for you on Monday and we will get started soon there after.
Hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday!
xo, Patty
I have been sewing up a storm and working on some fun mixed media projects including this one.
Isn't she pretty? I think she may be my favorite girl so far.
I will be teaching this Julie Nutting stamp panel at my next mixed media class on June 22nd here in Southern California.
I am also having a couple of girlfriends over for a beginners quilt class that I think I will be opening up to all of you as a sew along. How about it? Ever wanted to learn how to make a basic quilt but didn't know where to begin? I will have all the details for you on Monday and we will get started soon there after.
Hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday!
xo, Patty
Hello there. It seems like I've been away for awhile.
I have been trying to get my summertime groove going but life keeps getting in the way. So I've started a little list of things I'd like to accomplish in the next couple of months.
2. Clean out the sunroom. Someone in their infinite wisdom decided to put a beautiful windowed sunroom on the Southwest facing side of the house. This pretty much makes the room unusable for 8 out 12 months of the year because of the heat so it has become one giant junk room. So number two on the list is to get it cleaned out so that we can address making it a more useable space.
3. Gut the upstairs bathroom down to the toilet, shower and sink. This room is stuck in a time warp from the 1970's and not in a cool retro kind of way. The only problem is that there is no air conditioning vent in there and heat rises...nuff said. So realistically this one may need to be moved to the fall months when the temperatures in there are more bearable.
4. Stock up merchandise for the fall/winter craft shows. This is one of those goals that I have had for a couple of years now but this year is the year...(read into that, I am broke and miss my working paycheck so I have to get serious and do something to make a dime).
5. Prepare the guest room for guests. Finish up all the little projects that are keeping it from looking like a place someone would love to spend time in.
6. Purge every. single. closet!
How's that for some summertime fun? We do have a few quick trips planned so it won't be all work and no play.
What about you? Do you have a summer to do list or is it all about fun in the sun for you?
xo, Patty
You know how I've been doing a lot of talk about doors opening and closing in my life? I can finally share one of the opened doors.
The Women's Director at our church has asked me to facilitate and write for my churches blog.
It is truly an answer to prayer that I did not see coming. While I have shared my faith here on this blog, it is not primarily a faith blog so I struggled with how much to share, careful to keep a good balance. Being given this opportunity gives me the vehicle I have prayed for.
I don't see the way I blog here changing as a result of this. I will still share what is happening in my life and what is pressing on my heart just as I always have.
If you would like to follow me over at the new site I would love to have you join me. Here is the link. There will be other contributing writers that I know you will love.
I will be back here tomorrow to share a few things I have been working on here at Lemon Lane Cottage.
xo, Patty
The Women's Director at our church has asked me to facilitate and write for my churches blog.
It is truly an answer to prayer that I did not see coming. While I have shared my faith here on this blog, it is not primarily a faith blog so I struggled with how much to share, careful to keep a good balance. Being given this opportunity gives me the vehicle I have prayed for.
I don't see the way I blog here changing as a result of this. I will still share what is happening in my life and what is pressing on my heart just as I always have.
If you would like to follow me over at the new site I would love to have you join me. Here is the link. There will be other contributing writers that I know you will love.
I will be back here tomorrow to share a few things I have been working on here at Lemon Lane Cottage.
xo, Patty
Good morning. It is still on the cool side here on the West Coast as we are knee deep in what we affectionately call June gloom.
I have been enjoying some productive hours behind my sewing machine and am busy putting a super simple pattern together for a summer quilting class I will be teaching here in my home.
I've been thinking that I will post it here on the blog as well, so that you all can sew a long.
I had to share a few photos of the cute little book I made for the shower I went to on Sunday.
These little memory albums are so fun to put together. I think we'll have a book a long in the near future, too.
I just finalized the details on one of the doors that has opened to me recently and I can't wait to share it with you soon. There are still a couple of puzzle pieces that need to come together and so my learning to wait skills continue to be sharpened. Ha! I guess they must have been pretty dull to start with to require so much work now.
I guess that's it for me this lazy Tuesday morning. Now it's your turn, what's keeping you busy? And does it feel like summer where you are?
xo, Patty
I have been enjoying some productive hours behind my sewing machine and am busy putting a super simple pattern together for a summer quilting class I will be teaching here in my home.
I've been thinking that I will post it here on the blog as well, so that you all can sew a long.
I had to share a few photos of the cute little book I made for the shower I went to on Sunday.
These little memory albums are so fun to put together. I think we'll have a book a long in the near future, too.
I just finalized the details on one of the doors that has opened to me recently and I can't wait to share it with you soon. There are still a couple of puzzle pieces that need to come together and so my learning to wait skills continue to be sharpened. Ha! I guess they must have been pretty dull to start with to require so much work now.
I guess that's it for me this lazy Tuesday morning. Now it's your turn, what's keeping you busy? And does it feel like summer where you are?
xo, Patty
I went to a baby shower yesterday for the daughter of one of my good friends. The weather was picture perfect and so was the theme, sunflowers and burlap.
I love attending events where the attention to detail is obvious right down to the little bows and yellow duckies they attached to each paper plate. I bet you wish you could see a picture of them but guess who didn't think to bring her big girl camera?
I stole these from my friend Jackie's (the grandma to be) instagram photos because I had to share the adorableness of it all.
I have been working with her daughter Emily on a little bit of custom sewing for the nursery. These were the fabrics she chose (another instagram photo). I'll share the results when the room is all put together, she has promised me a photo shoot.
I had just enough left over fabric to surprise her with this little ruffled pillow for the crib.
It's been a while since my last baby shower (my grandbabies are four and five now) and I had forgotten just how much stuff one little baby girl could possible need. Instead of cards with our gifts they had us include our favorite children's book with a message to the new baby. By the time the presents were all opened she had a nice stack of books to read to the little one. What a great idea!
I will share the photo book I included in my gift to her tomorrow.
Happy Monday all!
xo, Patty
I love attending events where the attention to detail is obvious right down to the little bows and yellow duckies they attached to each paper plate. I bet you wish you could see a picture of them but guess who didn't think to bring her big girl camera?
I stole these from my friend Jackie's (the grandma to be) instagram photos because I had to share the adorableness of it all.
I have been working with her daughter Emily on a little bit of custom sewing for the nursery. These were the fabrics she chose (another instagram photo). I'll share the results when the room is all put together, she has promised me a photo shoot.
I had just enough left over fabric to surprise her with this little ruffled pillow for the crib.
It's been a while since my last baby shower (my grandbabies are four and five now) and I had forgotten just how much stuff one little baby girl could possible need. Instead of cards with our gifts they had us include our favorite children's book with a message to the new baby. By the time the presents were all opened she had a nice stack of books to read to the little one. What a great idea!
I will share the photo book I included in my gift to her tomorrow.
Happy Monday all!
xo, Patty
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Social Icons