Walk Humbly

Confession time:  Sometimes I get too big for my own britches, or, er, petticoat.  Sometimes I am loud and arrogant and just plain ridiculous.  Sometimes I embarrass myself.

Today I am thankful that God slows me down and allows me to be humbled... in flubbed speeches, in over-extended calendars, in the little trip that happens when I run too far ahead.  My God wants me to be HIS creation, HIS best, not my best (which is a contradiction in terms!).  He allows me the freedom to learn and grow and reflect as the very best Father would: He allows me my prideful mistakes.  These are hard lessons, indeed.

Today I am thankful for the loving and open arms of my Father as I run back, bruised and humbled.  He opens His Word to me, showing me the right path.  He allows me the grace of a new day to walk humbly with Him.

Today I am thankful to a family member who brought this wonderful verse, one of my favorites, to mind:

 He has shown all you people what is good.

And what does the LORD require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy 

and to walk humbly with your God.

Micah 6:8 

 

Humpback Rocks Mountain Farm, milepost 5.8, Blue Ridge Parkway 

Restful image...

I took this photo a few years ago at the Frontier Culture Museum in Staunton... a place of history and wonder.

forty-seven

How can it be... I was just a little girl a few days ago, riding in the truck beside my Daddy eating bologna and cheese and crackers, grinning from ear to ear.

How can it be... I was just a young wife and new mother yesterday, watching my Mom cry at the sight of my precious child.

How can it be... I was just holding that handsome, young sailor, home from sea, two little ones wrapped around his legs, only hours ago.

How can it be... that my Lord loves me so unconditionally, so tenderly, so faithfully, that He's allowed me forty-seven years along this journey of living, learning, laughter, and loss... He's allowed me forty-seven years to seek Him and find Him and know Him... He's allowed me to feel His presence close by when the dark days seemed never-ending and when the dawn broke pink and fresh and hopeful.

How can it be... that there are unknown days ahead to deepen my love for my Lord, my family, this life and the one to come.

My bag is packed, I've got my walking shoes on... I'm taking the first step into the next forty-seven years...

Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning,
      for I am trusting you.
   Show me where to walk,
      for I give myself to you.

Psalm 143:8

Refresh...

It was time for a new look... a new coat of paint, crisp lines, and new art.  Have I mentioned that gray is my very favorite color?

The lovely teacups were shared at the Centennial Tea at Massanetta Springs in June.  Each one was a work of art!  Especially beautiful were the milk glass cup and fluted saucer.  Here on Flannel Jammies Farm, I may tramp through the vegetable garden in bare feet and overalls and I may give my sweet flowers a cool drink in my flannel jammies, but I do enjoy the graciousness of tea.

Independence Day Garland

Long, long ago... in another life... I was the holiday decoration QUEEN!  I loved holidays!  I once asked for (and did not receive) a tall, thin faux evergreen tree to adorn throughout the year with seasonal trinkets.  Well, then the challenges of my own journey got in the way and the decorating slowed to a snail's pace around here.  But NO MORE!

 Pretty Pinwheels on our Porch Posts

I got inspired while savoring each page of the latest Victoria magazine. (Amazing magazine.  Each issue is a vacation in loveliness and bliss.  Subscribe today.)  I'd been wanting to try my hand at making some of the cute garlands I've seen on all the creative girls' blogs, but this one really caught my eye...

 Victoria Magazine, July/August 2010, page 25

The instructions were pretty easy:  start with fabric.  We have lots of outdated fabric sample books obtained for FREE from a local fabric store, so we went through them and pulled out fabrics with reds, blues, creams, whites, tans, and golds...

Cut the fabric into workable pieces and apply fabric stiffener.  The instructions suggest 12"x12", cutting it down to 6"x12" when the stiffener is dry.  My daughter and I decided we'd skip the middle man and cut them to size first, then apply stiffener.  The trick is to have the longer sides of the rectangle at least double the length of the shorter sides.  Since we didn't have fabric stiffener (and we're really inventive girls) we took the half jar of Mod Podge we had on hand and filled it up with water, diluting the glue inside.  We applied the 'stiffener' to the back sides of the fabric rectangles...

Once the fabric rectangles were dry, we folded them accordian-style, as instructed...

Now the instructions are to fan out each side to create a circle, then secure the edges and center with white craft glue, clothespinning in place until dry.  We didn't have nearly enough clothespins to hold the number of pinwheels we wanted to make (and we're really impatient girls), so we used hot glue instead...

Continue making pinwheels, varying the patterns and sizes as desired.  Then punch two small holes in each pinwheel and string onto twine to create a garland.  We had quite a time punching the holes!  We used a 1/8" hole punch so the holes would not be noticeable, but some of our fabrics were thicker and more textured than others.  We muddled through and strung our pinwheels.  As I am NOT tall at all, my dear husband helped me hang and drape the garland on our porch posts this afternoon.  So far, we've had one neighbor come to the door to ask if we'd done it ourselves and how, and one neighbor called to ask if she'd missed a party!!!

 What fun!  We have a few extra pinwheels left... I'm thinking of hanging them in the tree that overhangs our outdoor dining table.  What special touches are you adding to your own 'farm'?