Obtaining Mercy

A Fun Day At The Ranch

We were able to visit a therapeutic riding facility yesterday here in our town.  We had heard about it before, but were just waiting on the right timing for us to try to begin Isaac's riding again.

Yesterday they sponsored a fundraiser and silent auction, and invited us to come out.  It was a beautiful day, and we all had a wonderful time. 

Isaac will start riding in September!!!

Enjoy the pics.

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This last picture was Isaac's response when we asked him if he had a good time riding the horse.  That smile speaks for itself!

Blessings on your upcoming week!

Alesha

Living Small in a Big World

Some days I feel overwhelmed with s.t.u.f.f. - literal, physical, because-I-went-out-and-bought-it "stuff."

Just this morning, I did an inventory of the electrical appliances in my kitchen.

I found the following:

• stove
• refrigerator
• microwave
• water distiller
• air popcorn popper
• crock-pot
• roaster oven
• toaster
• food processor
• personal blender
• hot water dispenser
• juicer
• dehydrator
• bread machine

And these are only the things that are out on a shelf, table or on top of the refrigerator.  In my cabinets you will find the following:

• blender
• can opener
• waffle maker
• stick blender
• small food processor

When you consider that my kitchen is 10'x9', has one door opening and one door to the outside, that list is really amazing, isn't it???

We do use almost everything in that first list on a weekly basis, so it really is more efficient to have the appliances out where they are easily accessible. 

I think that whoever the person was who created those "appliance garages" in newer home construction was absolutely *brilliant*!

The rest of our home is, likewise, very small (less than 800 square feet of living space); and is also, likewise, jam packed with "stuff".

Due to that, we have obviously had to come up with some "coping mechanisms" - some ways to make this small space work for us and for all of our big stuff.

I know that, these days, many people are trying to simplify.  I thought I'd share a few of my ideas with you.

Plan #1 - The Desk

Hmm...right...we don't have a desk.  If we did have a desk, we would have no room for it.  So what do I do with all of my bills, financial budget, receipts, coupons, and the like?

I use this:

 

A lap tray.  It can move around the house with me, no matter where I am for the day.  Everything stays tidy and neat.  When Doug has receipts, he put them in the little box (the box in which the bank mailed our checks to us). 

The large box (a card sorting box from Hallmark - free with a purchase of so many cards) holds all of 2010 receipts, check stubs, January-July budget pages, and bank statements. 

To be honest, that box is very full.  I am hoping to be able to finish out the year with it, but if not, I will store it somewhere and find another box to travel with the lap tray.

I also keep my coupons here, along with bills to be pain, calculator, pen, pencil, checkbook and tithe envelopes.  Everything is right at my finger tips, no matter where I choose to settle to work on the budget.

Where does my budget lap tray roost when it is not in use?  Here:

 

It isn't lovely, but it is up out of our way and it doesn't block our view of the tv.  It works for us.

Plan #2 - The Work Bench

I have a business:  a jewelry-making business.  So I need a work bench, right?  Well, yes, a work bench would be absolutely "loverly", as Eliza Doolittle would say!!! 

However, if I had one, there is no place to put it in the house.  I live in Florida, so working outside on the porch is not an option for about 9 months of the year.

Here is my solution:

 

A rolling microwave cart

Everything I use to make jewelry, my shipping materials, my books, my photo props, my finished pieces and all my tools and supplies fit on this.

When I work, I can easily move the 2 containers from the top, and use the surface there to work.  I also have another lap tray on which I work most of the time.

This cart can also move around the house with me.  It usually stays parked in my bedroom, in front of the dresser.  I do have plans to clear a corner for it soon, so that we don't have to roll it out of the way to get into the dresser drawers.

So, those are two solutions that we use to help us live small in our big world.

I would love to hear if you have any "small living" solutions!  I can certainly use more ideas on fitting us into the house.  Isaac's equipment will only keep getting bigger, as it has to grow with him; so we will need to make even more space as the years go by.

Please leave me a link here in the comments if you blog on this subject!  I look forward to reading your ideas!

Blessings,

Alesha

This is incredibly cool...and addictive. Don't say I didn't warn you! :)

http://www.ustream.tv/theowlbox

Hope in the Sacrifice of Praise

Psalm 54:6 - I will freely sacrifice unto thee: I will praise thy name, O LORD; for it is good.

Sometimes praising God is a sacrifice. 

• Not because He isn't worthy - because He is. 
• Not because we don't know to praise Him - we certainly do know that we should. 
• Not because we don't want to praise Him - because rightfully, in our minds, we do want to give Him glory.  

In the last decade, "praise and worship" has become a shallow activity of singing songs that appeal to the emotions.

"Praise" is so much more than that. 

It is vocalizing God's goodness and responding to that goodness by living our lives according to His principles and precepts.

Praising the Lord is a sacrifice because it is often emotionally painful. 

As we sing the glories of all that God is, we are confessing all that we are not.

• When we praise His will, we are surrendering our own will. 
• When we praise His worth, we are acknowledging our own unworthiness.
• When we praise His ways, we are saying that we will abandon our ways. 
• When we praise His wisdom, we are agreeing to lay our wisdom aside. 
• When we praise His works, we are admitting that even the difficult things are from Him, and therefore are meant for our good.

Hebrews 13:12-15 - 

Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. 

Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.

For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.

By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.

But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

What things are mentioned here as "such sacrifices"?

• Going outside the camp - leaving the familiar
• Bearing Christ's reproach - living our lives differently than the non-believer, and suffering for it
• Having no continuing city - not getting too comfortable here on earth
• Seeking Heaven - having our eyes always on eternity
• Offering sacrifices of praise to God - giving voice to the goodness of God
• the fruit of our lips giving thanks - the result of our verbal praise bringing honor to Christ's name
• Doing good
• Communicating all of this to the world

This then, is true "praise".

So there will be days when singing out our praise and living out the truth of that praise will be a sacrifice for us.

Can I just encourage you to PRAISE Him even when it hurts.  As we relinquish our will to His, even though it may cause us pain, He fills us with His incredible peace.

Having peace is so much greater than having control.

May your tears be more than an emotional response to the music of a song.  May they be the outward response to an inward surrender to His will for your life.

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If my lips sing it, my life should live it.

Alesha Kay's Shop Facebook Giveaway

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I'm having a jewelry give-away on my Facebook fan page! 

I just hit 70 fans for my page!!!

Just click on the Facebook button below to see all the details.

(If you are not on Facebook, please don't feel sad.  I plan to have a bloggy give-away soon.) :o)

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I Forgot I Was Grieving

I am, on balance, a fairly happy person.

I love the Lord, and I love my life.  I feel content in most circumstances.  Even if I get temporarily thrown off my usual stride, I can usually find my equilibrium, so to speak, pretty quickly.

You see, I like peace.  I like to feel peaceful.  I dislike anxiety, fretfulness and worry.

So, I'm learning to focus on my Lord, and to allow His peace to fill me.

That is why I have been extremely frustrated with my self the past month or so. 

I have not felt very peaceful.  I have been quite fretful.  I have been grouchy, cantankerous, and (I say it to my shame) a tad unforgiving lately.

And I don't like being that way!

I have been unhappy with myself that I am feeling unhappy with others and with life in general.

Then, this morning, I was working with Isaac, listening to the music playing in his room, and I just burst into tears.

The song was about Heaven.  I hear songs about Heaven several times every day.  I don't usually break down over them.

This song, however, was about our friends and loved ones who are already in Heaven, how we miss them, and how happy we will be to see them again.

Then I remembered.

Gail.

I am still grieving over losing Gail.

Don't get me wrong.  I think about Gail every day - usually more than once a day.  I mostly think of things that I want to tell her --- then I remember that I can't.  So, I move my thoughts on to something else, and get on with my day.

But grief eventually needs its outlet, doesn't it?

I can't keep just pushing it aside for other things, because that's where the discontent comes from.  That's why I'm so easily frustrated and angered and why I hold on to those feelings longer than usual.

I've pushed aside the grieving to get on with my life, but the sadness just isn't disappearing. 

So, today, when I burst into tears, I should have just let those tears continue until I was finished with the crying.  As usual, I stopped them so that I could go about my business.

I think the next time they start, I'm just going to indulge them for a little while.  Maybe some of the anger, fretfulness, anxiety, unforgiveness with flow away with the tears.

Yeah, so I remembered I'm still grieving.  That's ok.  I think I will just give myself a little break today, and grieve for my sweet friend who I am missing so very much.

Our God is such a great God to create us to feel so many emotions, and then build into our very bodies the outlet for those emotions:  tears, laughter, and the huge array in between the two.

I almost wonder that if I allow myself to cry, I will find that my laughter returns as well.

I just think it might.

I Forgot I Was Grieving

I am, on balance, a fairly happy person.

I love the Lord, and I love my life.  I feel content in most circumstances.  Even if I get temporarily thrown off my usual stride, I can usually find my equilibrium, so to speak, pretty quickly.

You see, I like peace.  I like to feel peaceful.  I dislike anxiety, fretfulness and worry.

So, I'm learning to focus on my Lord, and to allow His peace to fill me.

That is why I have been extremely frustrated with my self the past month or so. 

I have not felt very peaceful.  I have been quite fretful.  I have been grouchy, cantankerous, and (I say it to my shame) a tad unforgiving lately.

And I don't like being that way!

I have been unhappy with myself that I am feeling unhappy with others and with life in general.

Then, this morning, I was working with Isaac, listening to the music playing in his room, and I just burst into tears.

The song was about Heaven.  I hear songs about Heaven several times every day.  I don't usually break down over them.

This song, however, was about our friends and loved ones who are already in Heaven, how we miss them, and how happy we will be to see them again.

Then I remembered.

Gail.

I am still grieving over losing Gail.

Don't get me wrong.  I think about Gail every day - usually more than once a day.  I mostly think of things that I want to tell her --- then I remember that I can't.  So, I move my thoughts on to something else, and get on with my day.

But grief eventually needs its outlet, doesn't it?

I can't keep just pushing it aside for other things, because that's where the discontent comes from.  That's why I'm so easily frustrated and angered and why I hold on to those feelings longer than usual.

I've pushed aside the grieving to get on with my life, but the sadness just isn't disappearing. 

So, today, when I burst into tears, I should have just let those tears continue until I was finished with the crying.  As usual, I stopped them so that I could go about my business.

I think the next time they start, I'm just going to indulge them for a little while.  Maybe some of the anger, fretfulness, anxiety, unforgiveness with flow away with the tears.

Yeah, so I remembered I'm still grieving.  That's ok.  I think I will just give myself a little break today, and grieve for my sweet friend who I am missing so very much.

Our God is such a great God to create us to feel so many emotions, and then build into our very bodies the outlet for those emotions:  tears, laughter, and the huge array in between the two.

I almost wonder that if I allow myself to cry, I will find that my laughter returns as well.

I just think it might.

I Keep Reminding Myself

...that shorter posts are ok!  It's hard for me to just pop on here, say what's on my mind, then move on to the next thing.  Somehow, I feel the essentials of great writing must be observed here.

And, for the most part, I guess they should be.

But blogging is also about saying what's uppermost in your mind.

So, for what it's worth:

• I've figured out that I get headaches when I'm dehydrated.  If we don't juice our veggies, I end up with a headache by mid-afternoon.
• I made myself a smoothie.  I'm hoping it will help to rehydrate me. :)
• I have not accomplished very much today.
• I turned on the washer (that Doug had already filled), and after the first washing, I re-filled the Downy ball with vinegar and put the load on for it's second wash. (We wash all of Isaac's bed pads twice, with hot water, and use vinegar in the rinse.  It's the only way we've found to completely remove the urine smell.)
• I've kept Isaac semi-content today.  It's been an all-day job! :o/
• I did a little networking for my jewelry Facebook fan page, which leads to my Etsy site.
• I got some jewelry packaged and ready to mail out tomorrow! :)
• I checked the mail...it was greatly disappointing, except for the $10 off a $10 purchase for next week from JC Penney.
• I guess that's all.

• Oh, one more thing...is it just me, or do you have a hard time feeling content when everybody and their brother is vacationing and cruising and traveling?  I need to constantly stay on top of my attitude and spirit about that.  Whew...that's been an all-day job too. :o)  (I know many of them save all year for their vacations, so don't fuss at me.  I just mean that when I'm stuck at home, and others are not, I have to work on my attitude about that.  That's all.) :~D

I do hope that you feel your day has been profitable.  I'm a little conflicted on that today, as you can tell.  I'm hoping to work on some jewelry tonight...maybe that will help.  I'll let you know if I come up with anything FABulous! :)

Blessings to you,

Alesha

A Little Post on a Rainy Afternoon

I've felt like it's Monday all day today. 

Doug was sick and didn't go into work or take Isaac to therapy, so today was his first day of the week.  I guess that's why I've been 2 days behind!  Poor Doug, though, his cold settled into an eye infection.  A trip to the optometrist and an antibiotic for him today, and prayerfully, he'll be feeling better soon.

Isaac is sick too.  You know, that little cough and a intermittent low-grade fever.  Just doesn't feel good, but isn't sick enough to sleep all day either.  Well, except for last Friday, when he did sleep all day.  I thought the Lord was just giving me a little break, but it turned out that Isaac was getting sick after all.

I have been in the midst of a major pain flare, which hasn't happened in a really long time.  So, it has had me out of commission for the past week or so.  I am feeling some better today, although my back is giving me a little trouble. 

Doug and his boss had a special time of prayer for me today at work.  I didn't know anything about it, but suddenly I knew I was feeling better.  I texted Doug to tell him, and he shared that he and the boss prayed for me today.  How's that for a fast answer?  I was so relieved and thankful and overwhelmed.

We have been having these fantastic electrical thunderstorms quite often lately.  I really love them.  We always turn off the computers and the air conditioner, and just enjoy the show.  It's even better when I am near my bedroom window which opens onto the front porch.  It has an aluminum room, and the rain just sounds phenomenal out there. 

Our church is having a special time of giving this summer.  You know, the dip in the economy doesn't affect the Lord, but it does sometimes affect his children and their charitable giving.  Some folks have lost their jobs, others have had increased living expenses, and some are just too fearful to continue giving during an economic downturn.

Whatever the reason, giving has been somewhat diminished this summer, just like it was last summer.  God showed off for us during last summer's special offering, bringing in far more that our goal.  We are praying that our church members will be sensitive to the Lord's leading again this summer, so that the needs can be met.

With that in mind, I'll tell you what I did - only by way of sharing with you how good the Lord is to me.  We really don't have anything extra to give.  We do well to pay our bills each month.  So I asked the Lord if He would sell some jewelry for me this week.  And guess what!  He did!!!  One of my sweet, repeat customers made a purchase yesterday!!!

So, now, I can give a little something extra, too.  Isn't God good? 

He gives to me so that I can give back to Him!!!  

(I'm asking Him to bless my customer, too, and to meet her needs - whether financial, spiritual or physical.  And because I know her personally, I can pray specifically.)

I'm singing with my brother at church tonight, so I guess I'd better start getting myself together.  It seems like it takes a little longer these days to "get ready"!  I don't know whether to blame that on old age, or diminished eye sight!!!  Either way, I've got work to do, friends! :)

Blessings to you,

Alesha