Monday, April 28, 2008

Thoughts on Dough

Some interesting thoughts from John Piper:


"For a moment, forget the political puzzle of getting money back when the country is nine trillion dollars in debt. The more immediate question is: How will you make much of Christ with your "economic stimulus payment"? The president says it will be in the mail in time for Cinco de Mayo.

Clue: Nobody in the world will see you spend your money on yourself and conclude that Christ is your treasure. They will assume you are just like them, no matter how loudly you thank God for this boon. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t spend it on yourself (the way we do with most of what we earn). Not everything we do can look different from the world—eat, pay utilities, fill up the car, wear clothes (even thrift-store clothes). And yes, we hope (somehow) that spending on ourselves in some way contributes to our being more Christ-exalting people.

But do we really need this money? Very few do. We would have gotten on fine without it. If we didn’t know it was coming, we wouldn’t even be feeling the desires we are feeling right now.

May I encourage you to be radically creative and hedonistic. Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). And those crazy Macedonians in a “severe test of affliction” and in “extreme poverty” had an “abundance of joy” that overflowed in a “wealth of generosity.” They even begged Paul “for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints” (2 Corinthians 8:2-4). They really believed what Jesus said. Really.

Before the check comes dream of some person or ministry which might make much of Christ because you treasured him above your next home project.

The reason God created money and enabled us to earn it is so that we could show by the way we use it that money is not our treasure, Christ is. That’s why the checks are coming. So we can make Christ look great.

“Be content with what you have, for he has said, 
‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’” (Hebrews 13:5-6)."



Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Turning My Room into a Studio...Pt. 1

I am getting organized...
And I am SOOOOO excited!!!!

My messy stacks of fabric all over the kitchen floor were the first items on the list...Now they are neat little stacks on shelves...

Small Stacks:
Not As Small Stacks:

...even my books are color schemed! (the poor darlings never get read, so I decided they should look pretty while they sit there)...
Blues Stack:


And right now, I am very much in love with my eclectic treasure shelf, filled with varying levels of sentiment. It will soon be undergoing an overhaul, so I thought I'd share it with you while I can..
.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

I found this interesting...

Dear Daddy Obama a Daddy Dearest on Abortion

April 3rd, 2008 www.mothermayibeborn.com

This post comes with no intention to intrude upon or disrespect Barack Obama’s private relationship with his children.  No doubt, the Democratic presidential hopeful loves his little girls. 

I address only Obama’s public relationship with the issue of abortion, as Ben Smith’s Blog on Politico.com reports here.   

When a woman at an Obama gathering in Johnstown, Pa., pleaded with him to “stop these abortions,” his response included: 

“This is a very difficult issue, and I understand sort of the passions on both sides of the issue,” he said. “I have two precious daughters — they are miracles [my emphasis in bold letters].”

and

“Look, I got two daughters — 9 years old and 6 years old,” he said. “I am going to teach them first about values and morals, but if they make a mistake, I don’t want them punished with a baby. I don’t want them punished with an STD at age 16, so it doesn’t make sense to not give them information [my emphasis in bold letters]. ”

Cartoon by Lisa Benson on Townhall.com

Obama’s selective life values speak for themselves.  If we make a mistake, we will be punished with a President Obama.

(c) 2008  Marybeth T. Hagan

Cartoon by Lisa Benson on Townhall.com

www.mothermayibeborn.com

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Success!

After my recent post on my upcoming dresses, I am sorry to say the burgundy dress has been pulled, due to a calamity involving my inexperience with taffeta...
This tragic experience nearly sent me over the edge of sanity, plunging me into a time where absolutely nothing I tried to make worked. Nothing. (Even my thread started fraying)
I know you have all been anticipating the listings, and now you know that when I am stressed out I tend to shut down entirely. (Thus my "C"s in college...another tragic story for later) And in this case, "soon" turns out to be an incredibly relative amount of time.
However, today I was able to pull out of my creative slump, pose Barbie, find my camera, charge the battery, take the pictures, edit them, and get her party dress listed!!

(I even found time to take her to the zoo to visit someone with equally long limbs...if a neck can be considered a limb...)

How did I force myself out of said slump, when my stressed self only wanted to crawl back in bed with a bowl of cookie dough?

1. a LOT of prayer
2. a lot of cussing
3. Mew's "Comforting Sounds"
4. Muse's "Invincible"

I could not function without my ipod, really.
Moreso(a word that means "More so", but looks like"morose", an acceptable alternative for "morso" because it means "having a sullen or gloomy disposition." Which I have had lately when I try to work on things. But "morose" is not what I meant, I meant "More So."), I cannot forget that this store is God's doing, and the icky depression I am prone to is only a fight against that purpose. Icky devil.

My inspired self will now go work on more Quite Lovely clothing for my lovely long-legged model. Bimbo...

~Dutchess