Reverb 10: day 6

December 6: Make - what was the last thing you made?

I've found since dating :) I haven't had time to sew! or to read much!  but in July when Riley and Josie were at my house, Josie (the beautiful girl in the picture) asked me if I would make her a purse. Ok - this is a girl after my heart! A PURSE!!!!! As I've said before I'll go barefooted as long as I can get a new purse!!!

I let her go through all of my fabric. She picked out fabric for 4 or 5 purses! She has an eye for what goes together and an eye for embellishments. She may embellish more than I would but she is very good and she's only 8! When I asked what she wanted the purse to look like, she went to a website for young girls and found a "cartoon" purse she liked and we made a pattern. Then I started cutting out and putting this "Josie Creation" together.

About an hour and a half into the project she asked me if we could play a game. I explained we can play a game or we can make a purse. She said, "Well, I had no idea it would take you so long to make a purse!!" Loved it! Not only lessons on putting fabric together, picking our embellishments and pattern making but also a lesson on how long it actually takes to create beautiful things!

So here is our finished project:

It's hard to see but there is a "shoe button" on the camo fabric and on the flap is a button shaped like glasses! She did great on the whole project!

Reverb 10: day 5

December 5: Let go. What or whom did you let go of this year?

I'm sure all of you think I will be talking about marriage or something like that!! However, I'm not! :)

I'm going to talk about my youngest child! My baby! I really haven't thought about Jonathan as a baby for years. And in some ways I let go of him in 2005 when he left for college. But the final "letting go" came this fall. After graduation, he became a true independent adult, got a job and moved into his own place. This was the true letting go for me.

Jonathan was my "surprise" baby. You can ask his brother and sisters - he really was a very good baby. I used to joke and say "God knew He had pushed me as far as I could go and He gave me a perfect baby." That was no exaggeration. He really was good. He was good from birth and continues to be a great man. - There were a couple of times in high school I lost sleep over this child... Well, only once, but he stood up like a man and did what he needed to do to make things right. I was very proud of him. I am very proud of him.

So, this fall, I let go. I no longer pay his car insurance. That's really the only financial responsibility I had concerning Jonathan during college. Everything else, tuition, food, board, spending money, everything else, he took responsibility for. Now he's an adult. Standing on his own. I'm proud of him. I'm excited for him - he has his whole life ahead of him, a promising future.

I'm also a little sad.

Reverb 10: day 4

I am so far behind. I knew I would get behind, I just had no idea it would be this soon. I want to post pictures with my posts, but am either on the wrong computer or don't have my camera memory card with me....

Dec 4: Wonder. How did you cultivate a sense of wonder this year?

I always think wonder comes from looking at things - at life -  through a child's eyes. Once you've reached your 50's and life gets in the way, it's sometimes hard to look at life with the wonder of a child. My 2010 has been a year of new things, new lifestyle, new relationships, old relationships renewed, a new relationship with God.

For several years my only conversation with God has been "Why" "What can I do to change this situation" - conversations of that sort.  Romans 8:26  "We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans."  My version of this in my prayers was "God, help. I don't even know what to say. Help." For more than 3 years everything I said to God consisted of these words or no words - just groanings.

Then January 1, 2010. A new day, a new week, a new month, a new year. My philosophy is that God created our cycles of days, weeks, months, years so we can continuously be provided with "new beginnings". So here I was on the first day of a new year. A very new beginning.  A new year after years of dismal living, depression, helplessness. I decided at that point that 2010 would be my opportunity to pull myself up by my boot straps :) and move on with a better life, a better outlook - more importantly, a better relationship with my God.

I began looking at my spirituality with a sense of wonder. I was amazed at what God had for me. I also realized during this time of renewed relationship, how very wrong I had been over the years about spirituality, about God, about relationship with Him. I had spent so many years trying to be spiritual. Saying the right words that made me sound spiritual - oh, I know all the right words - praying "spiritual" prayers.. Oh how wrong I was. I began building my relationship with God as a child would. No special words, just my words. No looking at others with pity - because they didn't quite "fit" the spiritual mold. Trying to be kind to everyone about everything because everyone has their own struggles.

God has revealed Himself to me in a new way (not that He changed but I did). Nothing out of the ordinary, just regular love from Him to me and from me to Him. Just the everyday stuff - not the over the top, flashy stuff. Just like an old friend returning after a long trip. Comforting, familiar, forgiving and unconditional love.

My whole year has been filled with this sense of wonder because when you let God work on your attitude, it touches every single aspect of your life.