Sunday, July 29, 2012

Keep on Keeping on

Matthew 27:51 "The veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom."

 That is the scripture that my friend Peggysue picked for this week at Stampin'Sisters in Christ Challenge. I thought about this verse all week. To me the great significance of the veil being torn is the fact that I don't have to go to someone to have them go to God on my behalf, I can pray to him directly. I love the thought of having that direct line to God. Two weeks ago our senior pastor was asking the congregation how many people remember the old southern gospel song "Jesus on the Mainline." Mostly white haired people raised their hands. The exceptions were my kids and me. Not a song that most teenagers know. With all the trials of this life, I am glad my kids know where to turn. If you are unfamiliar with Jesus on the Mainline here it is:

The scripture on my card for this week says...

 "Consider it all JOY when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance." James 1:2 (One of our sponsor's images)

This week really has put this to the test. My family and I are in our second week of dealing with the fleas in our home problem, and no air conditioning. We didn't really want to use poison on the fleas, but felt we had to. It was very discouraging that after doing the poison route, they were worse than before. My husband finally decided to call a professional. After talking on the phone with the professional, we went home to bag up any clothing or bedding that we had. Now I'll admit that I'm a hoarder when it comes to clothes. I have the clothes that are too small, but I really liked when I was skinnier and maybe I'll wear again if I loose like 80 pounds. I have the clothes I wear now, and the clothes that I need when I gain the weight. Now take my habits and multiply them by the 5 other members of my family and we have a lot of clothes. We also have a lot of bedding because in Iowa, in the winter, you never know when you might need a lot of blankets. We stood Thursday evening, short tempered because of lack of sleep, in sweltering heat bagging the clothing and bedding. The fleas were biting us even though we had sprayed ourselves with OFF bug spray. . It was a very low moment. I felt very discouraged. I didn't really feel like being JOYFUL. I'ld almost reached the point of saying fine, the fleas win, we'll just move out and leave everything.  My boys and I were getting our cots and air mattress out at work where we have been sleeping. They started to complain about not having our comfortable beds. I realized how my attitude was affecting them. I decided to thank God that he had provided what we needed, even if it wasn't what I wanted. That was a turning point for me. I started having a happier spirit. I praise God that the next day I found out that fleas stayed off of us when we rubbed our legs with vaporub. I also found out that this species of fleas really likes water. So we set bowls of water around a light with a little bit of Dawn dish soap. When we checked the bowls this morning, we had captured quite a few of the little monsters. I also found out that you can use salt  on your carpet. They don't like it and will leave. (Add that use to the list of uses for salt that I shared a couple of weeks ago. )  I still have a daunting task ahead of me. I still have no air conditioning, and when we decided to go to the laundry mat to wash all the clothing and bedding at one time, we found out that the laundry mat is closed indefinitely because the owner was found dead in his home this week. I am able to find some humor in the irony of this situation. If I look at all I have to do I start to feel overwhelmed, but I keep reminding myself that I can't worry about the big picture, I can only look at what I have to do this moment and keep on keeping on. That is where the ENDURANCE comes in. I was especially blessed by our sister blog Word Art Wednesday's post this week. I have read it several times.

Peggysue's challenge this week is: use torn paper technique (just tear paper with your fingers and use it somehow on your card, but it must be torn, not cut)

I might have gotten a little carried away with the tearing, but I really like how it turned out.



Our sponsor this week is Inspired Stamps. Make sure you check them out.


Check out what my Stampin’ Sisters in Christ have created to share with you.
Candace
Diane
Helen
Jerusha
Kris
Linda
Michelle
Miesje
Peggysue
Sandie
Traci

When I thought about the trials of life, I thought of this song. I hope it blesses you as much as it did me.

12 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh that is so horrible about the laundromat owner. God bless that poor man.

    You can add borax & baking soda to your salt mixture to help kill the fleas. It really does work. I have furbabies. Fleas love the Ozarks. The fleas will eat the borax, burp & blowup. Our vet told us that. I bet your sons will get kick out of that.

    I am keeping my fingers crossed and sending prayers your way for air conditioning or a huge cold front moves through to drop the temps down to the sixties.

    I am only forty. I do know Jesus On the Mainline. I know that Gaither version wihtout even having to watch the video. Got the song running through my head right now. :) The older members of my family used to sing that song all the time.

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  2. Such a beautiful card and the sentiment is so perfect for what you are going through right now.

    Have you checked into diatomaceous earth for the fleas? We have used it for a number of different kinds of insect problems, although not for fleas, but I would imagine it would work well for them too. I did a quick google search and this site seems to be pretty accurate for what I know about it: http://www.fleacontrolbook.com/naturalfleacontrol/diatomaceous-earth-the-a-miracle-cure-for-flea-control/

    You shouldn't have to order it on-line and pay the expensive shipping. I did a google search to find mine by typing diatomaceous earth and the name of a larger town near-by and found a 50 pound bag of it at company that sells to farmers and landscapers. It was quite reasonable that way. It is non-toxic to humans and pets, but you don't want to breath the dust, so need to wear a mask when putting it down.

    ~ Blessings, Tracey

    http://gracescraps.blogspot.com/

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  3. Marilynn - Still paring for you and the difficult situation you and your family are in. I am thankful you have another place to sleep that is flea free and air conditioned. I am also praying you can get rid of the fleas soon and the weather cools down so the air conditioner isn't an issue. I don't think you got carried away with your tearing, this is a great card! The verse is wonderful!
    Many blessings dear friend!
    Michelle

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  4. Love your card, and the music. I'm feeling so sorry for your plight, MariLynn. I hope you will get relief soon. What a predicament. Praying for you, girlfriend!

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  5. Thats good, your blog is cool, i like it. Thanks for the efforts my friend.

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  6. Oh MariLynn isn't God good to encourage us with the truth that a thankful spirit is such a blessing. Look at the fleas and think that they can be and example of how the enemy will attack us and wear us down unless we focus on God.
    Love your card - the tearing really is the focus of it - and wan't it marvelous that the veil was torn from the top to the bottom, indicating that it was God himself who made the way for us to come into His presence.
    Praying for you and yours.
    Blessings
    Maxine

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  7. Hi Marilynn! Oh my! The battle continues....so we will continue praying! Your card is lovely! The torn paper and stitching for the background is so interesting and artsy! Yet the focus is on the Bible verse...perfect!
    Hugs!
    Sandie

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  8. I really like how your card turned out, too! It's beautiful! I love the gold embossed background and that verse really does sum up how our attitude should be! Hope everything is better and the flees are all under control now & the air is working soon! Take care and have a blessed week! ~H

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  9. Wow, I'm so sorry to hear about your flea infestation. That happened to me about 35 years ago and it was just awful! Your card is beautiful. I love the torn paper look, and your meandering stitching is fab!

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  10. MariLynn I am so pleased and honored that you found the time to make a card for the challenge week despite all the turmoil and moving and heat and stress of your life right now. You are a wonder and God knows it. Wishing you relief from your trials and coming by to say what a lovely card!

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  11. mariLynn, you are a testament to God's grace. I am feeling so sorry for your plight, tho, and hoping you can begin the exterminating soon. Your card is lovely in blues...praying for you!!

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