Christmas 2009, Georgia

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Christmas 2009 in Tennesee

Make a Smilebox greeting

Thanksgiving 2009, Rome, GA

Make a Smilebox greeting

ART FOR SALE

Link to art for sale...click here


Then leave a comment if you want to place an order.

A little "mushier" than the norm. But a revelation just the same.

I have not had the life I planned.

Two Plans for Life
Plan One:  White picket fence. Dr. Husband, 5 sons and a nicely decorated home...

My plan did not work out.

FLASH FORWARD to Plan Two:  A 2 room basement apartment with a dog. A son is living in Australia. The husband is an ex. Family spread all over the world.

I am trying to prepare to move to Albania. I don't know for how long. Everything must be sold or given away - you cannot take dog, lamps, candles and couches to the mission field.

As I look at when I have been closer to God, and consequetially more content, it is in this second scenario. What I held dear - is now out of my hands. What God is blessing is not my plan.  This was not my plan nor my dream. But, God saved me, from myself!

watch this video

My plans were not His, they were not what He dreamed for me. He had a life planned for me. A better life planned for me. Once I "lost" everything I held as dear, I prayed He would give me a new plan, a new passion to hod onto (Psalm 37:4 Delight in the Lord and He will give you the desire of your heart.)


What he gave me was a renewed love for Him, a desire to have more of Christ and less of me. (Philippians 3:7-8, 13-14 *v8 I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ.)

Even though this was not my plan at all, not my dream, I have to trust that God is the God of the Bible, the creator, sustainer, and giver of life. His plan is better.My dreams were dust, my stuff was holding me down. I was not free to do what He wanted me to do. I was saved from myself, and made free to go where ever He wants me to go and do what ever He wants to do.

So, when my neck is aching because I am straining to look back at all I don't have, this is what I try to dwell on: the surpassing worth of knowing Christ!

Knowing You Jesus (click here)
Graham Kendrick

All I once held dear, built my life upon,
All this world reveres and wars to own;
All I once thought gain I have counted loss,
Spent and worthless now compared to this.

Knowing You, Jesus, knowing You
There is no greater thing.
You're my all, You're the best,
You're my joy, my righteousness,
And I love You Lord.

Now my heart's desire is to know You more,
To be found in You and know as Yours,
To possess by faith what I could not earn
All surpassing gift of righteousness.

Knowing You, Jesus, knowing You
There is no greater thing.
You're my all, You're the best,
You're my joy, my righteousness,
And I love You Lord.

Oh to know the power of Your risen life,
And to know You in Your sufferings;
To become like You in Your death, my Lord,
So with You to live and never die.

Knowing You, Jesus, knowing You
There is no greater thing.
You're my all, You're the best,
You're my joy, my righteousness,
And I love You Lord.

Where the Streets have Four Names...

Hueytown Alabama.  I thought that was some fancyfied nickname for Birmingham...silly me. Hueytown is a, for lack of a better word, a Town.  I do not mean to offend the peeps of Hueytown, nor google maps, but someone was asleep in one of those places. We forgot " (insert Sues Garmon name here)  " so we had to rely on googlemaps on my iphone. (note to readers, use google earth, google maps and/or Hueytown are not right) Even tho' I "felt it in my bones" that walmart was just up the road, googlemaps and my little pulsating blue dot could not identify the road we were on and all the cross roads had 4 names. Davey Allison Blvd can be main Street or Artesian Springs Rd, or Allison Rd.   In the real world Woodward does not exist, nor Brookline. and  when you think you are Brookline, you may be on Knight or Hueytown which is Forest. There are two Fairy Alleys and one Fairy Avenue which is also Wickstead Rd.  And while you are there you must visit the People's Chapel Funeral Home, Integrity Funeral Home and Cafe Huey.  A Chest was for sale, which relieved some of us, as we weren't sure where my chest actually went.  License is spelt lisence, and I cannot remember the rest of the knowledge needed to get around "Hueyville" (as I call it).

Regardless, we arrived, got Katie and Micheal married, partied and laughed our way back to J-town. Even after "forced dilly" and "coerced dally". Once we found out what the humming was (it was Sue's "thing"). And after Ronda told her phone " I am in Alabama, I you want me to hear you call  back in an hour" and hanging up. It was then that we found the all 80"s  all the time station and we sang our way home. "no-one, no-one is to blame", "she's tidied up and I can't find anything", Duran Duran, Manic Monday, the only thing that could have made this day better was a chorus of "SSSAAAAFFFFTTTTYYYY Dance".

Thanks Diana, Ronda, Sue and Hueytown for the laughs.

Jeezalou Art

My great friend Emilie makes these awesome shoes....I will find prices and let you know how to order some....

Kennesaw, GA. Home.

I just wanted to post some pics from an old favorite store The Painted Butterfly. The owner/artist is Holly Jones.  She is not on line yet, but her address is  2760 S. Main Street NW, Kennesaw. For those of you near Kennesaw, she is down from Wildman's and across from Country Kitchen. Lots of fun stuff...Feast your eyes....

Be the Yellow Crayon

Matthew 5:13-14

"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.

'nuff said...

Link to Sam's blog

Sam Headen Has an interview with a music video company tuesday!!! w00t!!

Ok so I have exactly 7 people who actually follow my blog. And, I tell you it is no fun to blog without feedback (we are a social human race). So please, PLEASE if you read a post, comment about it, I am happy to get a :0) or something!

Looking for you on the internet,

Me

don't you just wanna GO somewhere?

It's back

Ok, I decided I do need a blog for my art, so it is back
Look
Like
Buy

originartcarol.blogspot.com

I just love these peeps!

Boy, Sailor Moon, Rain, and Pslam 8.

My wonderful sister called me last night on skype and the phone ( so we can hear and see eachother -as I cannot afford to have my microphone fixed on my computer) and I got to not only visit with her, but see my boy. Yep I saw him for about 10 minutes. just looked at his sweet face.

You see it was Saturday morning and he was fresh out of the shower, so no words can formulize in his mouth until about 30 minutes after waking, I am the same. So, I just looked at him. After a while he looked at me. He was still asleep so it took awhile to notice my "look". It was late Friday night for me so I was sporting the "dirty hair out of face: look. Once he woke up, however he was quick to call me Sailor Moon and lament on the uniforms of some of the schools there in Oz, some ok, some very Sailor Moon.


It is still raining in West Tennessee. We have battled standing water, stench and open car windows here at the Jackson Garden Suites. And it continues. But wait, I just actually looked out the window and I see a patch of sun. We haven't seen that golden globe in weeks....yippee.

The rain has mirrored life for some friends these past weeks; lost jobs, new lives, goodbyes, the economy and busy-ness has taken its toll around here. I have been reminded of Psalm 8 lately:

¹ O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.

² From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise
because of your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.

³ When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,

⁴ what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?

⁵ You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.

⁶ You made him ruler over the works of your hands;
you put everything under his feet:

⁷ all flocks and herds,
and the beasts of the field,

⁸ the birds of the air,
and the fish of the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.

⁹ O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Especially this part in the middle "what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?" the KJV says "that thou visitest him", HCS "that you look after him", the Message "why do you bother with us? Why take a second look our way?". Indeed, He is so massive, awesome, gigantic, fearful, huge, mysterious, wonderful. I am so small, insignificant, selfish, mean. And he bothers to look at me?, he bothers to visit me?, he thinks and cares for me? Whoa. The King of all Creation, that every knee will bow in the entire universe, cares for me. He knows my needs, he knows my fears, he knows when I lose my keys, greive, and rejoice. And according to this he cares about it. He will visit me when I need it, he will look my way.

Once again scripture asks us to stop looking at ourselves and look to him. So much of life is about ourselves. Read the Psalm again. It is all about him. The only verse about us is to say we are so tee-niy-nee and insignificant in comparison. Even though I am significant to Him, and He cares and looks after me, the focus is on His greatness.

This passage forces me to see my sins and shortcomings and come to Him, in humility again. It is this comparison that catches my breath and centers me every time to remembering it is about Him. All of it is. I am his tool, I am to be used by him for others. Not the other way around, NOT the other way around. We tend to use others for ourselves. What can this friend do for me?, or she gives nothing to our friendship,?, so what! You are there because God needs you there. You are his hands and feet. I am his hands and feet. Thats it, bottom line.

So my question, is for those who read, Am I (are you) being JUST his hands and feet, not expecting anything from it. Just doing for Him, and forgetting self. Humility. It is a hard lesson.

Have you ever seen such a thing?

Syndey is choked by dust storms resembling armaggedon!
read this article and I have added some pictures...

Real Wedding Pics!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Trista and Charlie

Today,September 12, 2009, two very dear friends marry each other. I am so excited for them. One I met when I taught her 5th grade Sunday School Class, we hit it off even then. The other I met in when he was in Youth group,actually because of the the death of his best friend who was my friends son. As they both went thru youth group I watched them grow mentally, physically (ok not so much, lol) best of all, spiritually. They then became best friends to my own boy, for that I can never thank them enough.

God has made these two for each other.

This much everyone agrees on. They have dated most of their teenage and college lives and have aspired to remain pure, not an easy thing these days. I love them as if they were my kids, but as my dearest friends here in Jackson. Congratulations Trista and Charlie! I cannot wait to see what God has instore for the rest of your lives.

I love you guys!

Oh, and little bro Harry gets to wear a "soup" to the wedding!

Generally, I am not a "knee jerk" kind of reactionary, nor a "doomsdayer", I am sort of like "Que Sera, Sera" meets "the glass is half full". In fact, my blog says it all I am generally upbeat and not too chatty. So, please, I write this with the most sincere seriousness. (I can't even make that sound sincere...)

Many of us have read parts of Revelations, you might want to review the following:

Revelation

13:16-18

14:10-12

16:1-3

19:19-21

20:3-5

View the slide show below...

All this and a "global currency" is on its way, click here to read all about that...

BUT remember...

Isaiah 60:19-21

¹⁹ The sun will no more be your light by day,
nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you,
for the LORD will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory.

²⁰ Your sun will never set again,
and your moon will wane no more;
the LORD will be your everlasting light,
and your days of sorrow will end.

²¹ Then will all your people be righteous
and they will possess the land forever.
They are the shoot I have planted,
the work of my hands,
for the display of my splendor.

Boy Has Link

Well, my boy has finally set up a blog.
I told him that he is in a foreign country with a new language. Believe me the slang there is hard to pick up, so he needed to document his days for us back here. It is

sgheaden.blogspot.com

go there and watch the comedy ensue.

A Day of Art

Today was just stay at home and play with watercolors. Sorry my camera is not focusing well, and it seems downloading wasn't working too well either, but you get the gist.

Is anyone out there?

Hey
Hi
C'kemi

I see that you look at my posts....thanks to the "live feed" but who are you? and why don't you leave a comment?
It does my heart good (and Heidi's) to know you read us and agreed, disagreed or had a similar moment intime, let me know, leave a comment if you read me.

Please
te lutem

thanks
faleminderit

There is but one blog and one blog only.

Alas, life is full. Dogs demand treats. Cats demand attention. Laundry is to be done. Floors must be washed. Children taught. Computers fixed. Money raised. Life lived. Missions accomplished.

Therefore,

I have closed my "art" blog at cmshroo.blogspot.com

Just too much to do and not enough time to compartmentalize my life.

I will do ALL blogging here at the original one. I have tried to move all those blogs to this site should you NEED to re read them, tee hee, for they are so wise and creative, ha ha.

So go to where you manage the blogs you follow and delete originartkangaroo. It is no more.

Watercolor Fun

This is so fun.

1. paint a colorful wash on the paper, make it VERY wet

2. place plastic wrap on top of the wet paper and move colors around under the plastic.

3. pinch the plastic so it is in little shapes

4. put up to dry with the plastic still on

5. when completely dry, gently peel off plastic

6. paint colors into the "shapes" left behind by the plastic, leaving gaps between the color as you see them...

Make a Smilebox slideshow

God, the artist

Sometimes I think we forget, perhaps on purpose, that God was first and formost and artist. This makes people like me smile. God is creator, he created, he is creative. One only needs to look at the the wildlife in Australia (or the Jackson Walmart after dark) to know he is not only creative but has a sense of humor.

When someone asked Michelangelo how he did such magnificent scultptures, he simply said,"Carving is easy, you simply go down to the skin and stop". Or "I saw the angel in the marble and set it free."

Michelangelo carved down and took away all that was not an angel, person, horse, or whatever. Just chiselled it away until it resembled his vision.

Take the few minutes to view this video. Than marvel at the work he does on you.

Philippians 1:6 "He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

Romans 12:2 "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this worls, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's wil is - his good, pleasing and perfect will."

We are his masterpiece

The Almighty Creator is an Artist

We are his masterpiece, his workmanship...he don't make junk.

"The Gorge", ALBANIA

Early in our stay in Tirana, we joined the Brewers and drove up the mountains to a place the MK's affectionately call "The Gorge"...Fun ensued...

Make a Smilebox slideshow