On the wall...

I'm putting the Lord's Prayer on pause until Tuesday - my granddaughter is coming in about three hours and I must finish getting things ready for company.

The final project in the guest room was to put a vinyl saying on the wall above the headboard.  I've always wanted to put one up, but never found one that seemed to fit.  Hobby Lobby had them on sale and this one is perfect for the guest room.  They really are pretty easy to put up.  Just follow the instructions:

I cut the pieces apart then taped them on the wall, using masking tape and a level.

 I put marks on the pieces with a pencil in case they moved.

Then I flipped each piece up, one at a time, and removed the backing.  I carefully put each one back down and pressed them onto the wall.

A plastic card came with the kit and I used it to rub the saying, pressing it onto the wall.

Then I slowly peeled the top paper away, using the card to smooth down any parts that weren't sticking.

"They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength."  The guest room is finished!

Our daily bread...

Our Father, who is in heaven,
hallowed is your name.
Your kingdom come, Your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread...

When we ask God to give us our daily bread, we can expect Him to provide the food our bodies need to survive.  For most of us, He has provided jobs so we can buy food.  There are many people in our country today who don't have jobs.  This request has become so vital to them.  God knows their need and puts people and organizations in their lives through which He can provide food for these families.  My honey and I enjoy helping out families that God brings to our attention.  Thank you, God, for our daily food!

Decor

Our middle daughter has a gift for making cute decorative pillows. She made the sweetest pillows out of my dad's shirts for all of us for Christmas after he passed away.  I'm better at finding coordinating fabric to make simple square pillows and I found some pretty brown and cream zebra outdoor fabric that was on sale at JoAnn Fabric.  It is a sturdy fabric and because it is outdoor fabric will stand up better and should wipe off to clean.  I bought 1 1/4 yards of fabric so I would be sure to have enough to make two 18" square pillows - allowing for a 1/2 inch seam. 

I cut two 19 x 37 rectangles, folded each in half (right sides together) then sewed around the other three sides leaving a 4" opening for stuffing. 

I trimmed each corner so the corners would be sharp when I turned the pillow right side out.

At this point, the pillows were pretty wrinkled so I ironed them then stuffed them to the desired plumpness. I only used a little over half of the bag of Poly-Fil. A quick stitching with needle and thread closed the opening.

 The finished pillows provide that punch of texture and pattern for the guest bed.

Tomorrow:  The last little touch above the headboard.

His kingdom and His will...

Our Father, who is in heaven
hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done on earth
as it is in heaven.

Yesterday we looked at to whom we pray, the Father, and a few things about Him.  The next section of the Lord's Prayer talks about His kingdom coming to earth and His will being done here on earth like it is done in heaven.

There are two aspects of God's kingdom that we should understand: a spiritual kingdom and a physical kingdom.  The spiritual kingdom is the kingdom of God within the human heart.  It is the Holy Spirit who dwells in you if you have believed in Jesus Christ.  The physical kingdom has yet to happen, but is found in the prophecy of the book of Daniel in which Jesus will be the king of a literal earthly kingdom. 

Your will be done...
I found the meaning of the Greek word for will (thelema) very interesting.  Some mistakenly think that by "giving in" to God's will is somehow proof of selfishness and egotism on His part.  That could be true if He were human!  Think about this definition - "not to be conceived as demand, but as an expression or inclination of pleasure towards that which is liked, that which pleases and creates joy.  When it denotes God's will, it signifies His gracious disposition toward something, used to designate what God Himself does of His own good pleasure...it does designate what occurs or what should be done by others as the object of God's good pleasure in the carrying out of the divine purpose or the accomplishment of what He would have."

on earth as it is in heaven...
Earth (Ge) - "Since earth stands in antithesis of heaven, it is associated with the idea of emptiness, weakness, sinfulness, and does not correspond with the wisdom and power of God."   Have you watched the news lately?  The words emptiness, weakness and sinfulness describe our world.  We desperately need God's will to be done on earth!  There are only two ways that will happen:  1) there needs to be a great revival where we turn away from our sin and become a people of obedience to God or 2) Jesus will return to earth and set up His kingdom.

Tomorrow:  forgiveness

Decor

I did not want to buy a pattern for a new bed skirt for our guest bed and I liked the tailored pleated bed skirt (uses less fabric, too), so I removed the old bed skirt and laid it out on the living room floor.  I used a tape measure and measured everything, recording the measurements on a sketch I made on a 3x5 card.  These are the measurements I took:

the foundation length and width (the part that goes under the mattress)
the side skirt length and width
the end skirt length and width
placement of the pleat in each skirt
pleat width
(I added 1 inch to each measurement for hems)

I purchased a flat sheet at Walmart for the foundation and chose a sheet the same color as the coverlet so it won't be as noticeable if it shows. 

I laid the flat sheet on top of the old bed skirt foundation with the bottom of the sheet at the top of the foundation.  Using a sharpie, I marked the other three sides where I would cut and sew on the skirt.  I used the tape measure to make sure the measurements were correct, then cut off the excess.  I folded each cut side 1/2 inch, ironed it flat, folded each side another 1/2 inch and ironed it again.  I then sewed each hem.

I then cut out each skirt piece and hemmed them each on three sides - one long side and the two short sides.  Using the measurements I'd taken, I folded the pleats into each skirt, pinned them in place and ironed them flat.  I then sewed them in place at the unhemmed edge of each skirt. 

I laid the new foundation on the floor, right side up, then laid each skirt piece on the foundation (the end piece first, folding up and pinning the ends so they wouldn't get caught in the side seams), right sides together, and pinned them in place.  The last step was to sew each piece on to the foundation. 

It took about four hours to cut and sew this bed skirt.  Not too bad and the bed looks beautiful!  Tomorrow I'll show you how I made the accent pillows and show you a picture of the finished bed.

Our Father who is in heaven...

I'm sure there are a lot of us who can quote the Lord's Prayer.  What's really interesting is that many of us don't know what it means beyond the English words we say.  Yesterday, we began with the setting of the prayer. 

Today, we will address who we pray to - our Father who is in heaven (God).  The Greek word in this passage is "pater" and it means father, parent, father of man by redemption.  Where does He live?  He lives in heaven - "in a physical sense, the whole expanse of the sky beneath which is the earth and all that is therein, also is used for that heaven of the residence of God."

There is one more word in verse 9 of Matthew 6 used to describe God's name.  The word is "hallowed" and I found the definition very interesting.  Hallowed (hagiazo) means, "to sanctify, to withdraw from fellowship with the world by first gaining fellowship with God."  Isn't it interesting that "hallowing" God's name is something individually personal that happens or doesn't happen depending on who we fellowship with - the world or God.  

I needed a little more information, so I looked up the definition of fellowship in my trusty Webster's Dictionary.  Here's what I found - "a community of interest, activity, feeling or experience; a company of equals or friends."  Am I fellowshipping with the world or with God?  Does my attitude towards life, towards God make His name hallowed, especially when I pray?  Very interesting and definitely something I need to put some thought into!

Decor

Note:  I've been getting nasty looks from husbands who tell me I make too much work for them and give their wives too many ideas.  Sorry, guys!  Your wives will get ideas from me or someone else, like the thousands of people on Pinterest.  My goal is to present homemaking in a balanced manner.

I need to point out that I do not have unlimited funds for these projects.  I have learned over the years to be patient and thrifty.  Since we have transitioned to Dave Ramsey's way of budgeting, I get $40 cash every pay period to use as I wish.  Many times that money is used to make or purchase special gifts for others. That puts any projects for the house or yard on hold until I have saved for them. Have I said I have learned to be patient and thrifty?!  


This blog was not meant to promote materialism or out of control spending on anyone's part.  I am a homemaker who wants everyone who comes through our door to know that this is a special home where they will feel welcome, comfortable and nurtured because we serve a living and loving God. 


Now, on to this week's project:

Unfortunately, material things do not last and well-used comforters must be replaced.  The comforter for our guest bed was pretty but was getting very snagged and worn.  I found a replacement coverlet at Tuesday Morning for $24.  Yea!!  Not bad for a queen size!  But, the bed skirt that went with the old comforter looked horrible with the new coverlet. I shopped everywhere I could think of for a new bed skirt, but couldn't find one that was long enough that wasn't part of a bedding set.  Wait! I did find one that was beautiful at a bed and bath store, but it was $400!  Um...no! 

So, I took advantage of a sale at JoAnne Fabrics and bought paisley fabric, along with a flat sheet from Walmart, to make a new bed skirt that goes with the sheets and pillow cases I already had.  I also purchased some pretty brown and cream zebra fabric and a bag of stuffing to make two accent pillows.  The pillows that were on the bed found a new home in the living room where they brighten up the couch.

Tomorrow, I will show you how I made the new bed skirt using the old bed skirt as a pattern.

The Lord's Prayer...

Well, I'm back - after two trips, being sick and redecorating the guest room.  I missed you all! 

My honey and I are doing a Precept Bible study on prayer. I've been praying all my life and I am 50+ years old.  And yet, I've learned so much!  If you have been reading my blog for any amount of time, you know that I love to do word studies.  So many times we misinterpret what the Bible is really saying because we read it with a modern western mindset. Don't misunderstand - the Bible has always been and will always be relevant.  But I have learned so much when I look at the definitions of the words and phrases in their original languages.  So, when this Bible study referred to the Lord's Prayer, I pulled out my concordance and I learned some amazing things that I can't wait to share with you.

When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray in Matthew 6, He started by saying, " Pray, then, in this way."  Let's break this down:

Pray - This literally means, "implies praying to God, whether for the obtaining of good or the averting of evil...embraces all that is included in the idea of prayer, thanks, asking, requesting special things."
By the way, it is in the present imperative active tense.  That just means it's a command and something we should actively be doing...all the time!

In this way - In verses 5-7, Jesus tells them about two ways not to pray and one way to pray.  First, He tells them not to pray like the hypocrites who pray in public so others will see and hear them.  He also tells them not to pray like Gentiles who use meaningless repetition, thinking that a lot of words will make them be heard.  What is really interesting and something that I am still pondering, He told them to go into a room where they could not be seen or heard and to talk to God privately.  "And your Father who sees in secret will repay you."  So does that mean we shouldn't pray out loud publicly? This is going to require more study...  I love it!

Decor

It's a little embarrassing to think that I started on the guest bathroom renovation in May and it's now October.  But, I am determined to get it finished this week!  I've had the fabric for the valance for almost two months, but had no gumption to get it done.  It didn't help that I just couldn't decide what kind of valance to make. 

I seem to have more energy now that the weather is cooler.  This last weekend, I bought new milky globes for the fixture above the vanity that match the new Walmart Better Homes and Garden ceiling fixture.  I purchased the globes at Walmart and got all four of them for less than $25.  The first picture shows the old globes - almost forgot to take a before shot and had already changed one of them before I remembered to get my camera. The old globes weren't awful; they just didn't match the other fixture.

Much better!  Now I just need to get that valance done... 

Um...

Ok, I know it's been a while since I've posted.  I've been out of town, got home then went out of town two days later again.  With jury duty tomorrow, I don't exactly know when I will be posting again.  But I will post again!  I promise...