Well, it's not HOT in my neck of the woods in temperature (not today anyway) but it's sure been a HOT minute since I last posted. For that I am so sorry but it seems my life has been consumed with doctor appointments, tests, and MORE tests, biopsies, surgery and so much more. One day at a time sweet Jesus is all that any of us can ask for. Wanted to pop in on this beautiful Sunday afternoon to share a little about what I've been up too. Marty and I enjoyed a weekend at the beach before I had breast cancer surgery and took advantage of the time I had in between so many doctor appointments and testing. It was sure a good little getaway. We celebrated our 47th wedding anniversary in September. WOW! Just babies! LOL! We were high school sweethearts. Started dating at age 16. Married at age 18 and started a family at age 20. We celebrated Marty's birthday in October. He says that he's feeling his age these days. LOL! He still works 4 days a week and has a long commu...
One of my all time favorite quotes is from the Gandhi who once said, “Be the change that you wish to see in the world” .
A team of us from my church went to Nicaragua this past February on a mission trip and our theme was "Change The World; Be The Change". God had given this key phrase to one of our ladies who I call my "Soul Sister" to be our main theme for the mission trip and challenged us all to be that CHANGE. A Change that would be so evident for Christ that others would want that change in their life and in doing so YES, we could change the world...one soul at a time, one woman at a time, one wife at a time, one mother at a time. Well, that phrase has not left my mind nor my heart and when I saw these words on a decal I knew that I had to come up with something that would be a cute gift for my friend.
As you can see I winded up buying several different sheets of quotes to use in the future. I bought a plain black frame.
I took the cardboard part out of the frame and went to work with my gold spray paint. Anybody else love spray paint as much as I do????
I spray painted the cardboard gold and let it dry.
Then I simply took my decal and peeled off the back and adhered it to the gold cardboard.
The black lettering looked so pretty up against the gold don't you think?
Popped it back in the black frame and spray painted a brown easel gold for display.
Nope, not an expensive gift by any means. Nope, didn't take a whole lot of time to do. Nope, wasn't anything spectacular. The whole concept is that we must be the change that we want to see.
We can change things without changing our moral and Christian values. We can change the way we do things without changing who we are.
If we want our marriages to be better then sometimes that requires a change. If we want our relationship to be better with our children then sometimes that requires a change. If we want things to be different then yes, sometimes, oftentimes, it requires change.
Please do not misunderstand me as I am well aware of how sometimes it doesn't matter how much we are willing to change to make things better it just flat out doesn't happen! But I think you are getting the message I'm trying to convey.
So funny at the timing of this message. This past Monday I was talking with a lady that I have known for several years now and our conversation went from "sharing a recipe, grandkids, what's the best spot remover for ink" to "Thanksgiving and Christmas" is almost upon us. You know we women can cover lots of ground in a short amount of time. Of course when she said she dreaded the holiday season I had to ask why? Though the holiday season may get hectic I still love it so my inquiring mind wanted to know her reasoning. She told me that there always seems to be chaos among her two daughters and her son because they could never agree on family holiday schedules. The more we talked the more I learned quickly the problem wasn't with the children. The problem was with her. She was dead set against making any changes to her holiday season or trying to work with her family to make it work for the family. I share that to say this; if we want change...then sometimes we have to be willing to change. I didn't say we had to like it or love it....
Most oftentimes....CHANGE BEGINS WITH US.
The definition of Change is: to make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of (something) different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone: the action of changing something.
The bottom line: In order to make a difference we must be willing to make a change.
And my sweet soul sister loved her little gift. It brought back a wonderful memory of how the Lord used a group of eleven women that totally depended on Him to make a difference in the lives of many women and that for us...required our willingness to change!
What is it this week that you might need to change for the better?
A team of us from my church went to Nicaragua this past February on a mission trip and our theme was "Change The World; Be The Change". God had given this key phrase to one of our ladies who I call my "Soul Sister" to be our main theme for the mission trip and challenged us all to be that CHANGE. A Change that would be so evident for Christ that others would want that change in their life and in doing so YES, we could change the world...one soul at a time, one woman at a time, one wife at a time, one mother at a time. Well, that phrase has not left my mind nor my heart and when I saw these words on a decal I knew that I had to come up with something that would be a cute gift for my friend.
As you can see I winded up buying several different sheets of quotes to use in the future. I bought a plain black frame.
I took the cardboard part out of the frame and went to work with my gold spray paint. Anybody else love spray paint as much as I do????
I spray painted the cardboard gold and let it dry.
Then I simply took my decal and peeled off the back and adhered it to the gold cardboard.
The black lettering looked so pretty up against the gold don't you think?
Popped it back in the black frame and spray painted a brown easel gold for display.
We can change things without changing our moral and Christian values. We can change the way we do things without changing who we are.
If we want our marriages to be better then sometimes that requires a change. If we want our relationship to be better with our children then sometimes that requires a change. If we want things to be different then yes, sometimes, oftentimes, it requires change.
Please do not misunderstand me as I am well aware of how sometimes it doesn't matter how much we are willing to change to make things better it just flat out doesn't happen! But I think you are getting the message I'm trying to convey.
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So funny at the timing of this message. This past Monday I was talking with a lady that I have known for several years now and our conversation went from "sharing a recipe, grandkids, what's the best spot remover for ink" to "Thanksgiving and Christmas" is almost upon us. You know we women can cover lots of ground in a short amount of time. Of course when she said she dreaded the holiday season I had to ask why? Though the holiday season may get hectic I still love it so my inquiring mind wanted to know her reasoning. She told me that there always seems to be chaos among her two daughters and her son because they could never agree on family holiday schedules. The more we talked the more I learned quickly the problem wasn't with the children. The problem was with her. She was dead set against making any changes to her holiday season or trying to work with her family to make it work for the family. I share that to say this; if we want change...then sometimes we have to be willing to change. I didn't say we had to like it or love it....
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It's the same thing with church. Whew are we quick to say, "I wish that they (key word here being THEY...anyone else but US) would do this or that and change things up a bit in this area or that area. Maybe the Lord is calling us to be that change that is needed. If we want the people at church to be more loving then we may need to be the change and start loving others. If we want our church to be more exciting then we might need to do a little changing and get out there and start doing things for God. Go on a mission trip, get a team of people together and go visit those in the hospital or nursing home. Get involved with an activity that involves your community. Start a new ministry in your church. Do something that brings about change for the better. Be willing to step up to the plate and serve in some area. We may wish that folks seemed more accepting of others in the church. We may need to be the change and look around us at our next church service and see who we might feel is being overlooked or even neglected. The ideas to make things better or endless...the problem is that it means we might have to change a little to make it happen. Change our lifestyle, our daily routines, our way of doing things the same old way....Most oftentimes....CHANGE BEGINS WITH US.
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The definition of Change is: to make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of (something) different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone: the action of changing something.
The bottom line: In order to make a difference we must be willing to make a change.
And my sweet soul sister loved her little gift. It brought back a wonderful memory of how the Lord used a group of eleven women that totally depended on Him to make a difference in the lives of many women and that for us...required our willingness to change!
What is it this week that you might need to change for the better?
Joining Jemma this week for Thoughts of Home.
Hugs and blessings, Cindy
This is so true! I've always loved this quote from Ghandi and I love how you turned it into a work of art! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Heather.
DeleteThat is such an expensive but thoughtful gift! I agree with you about change. I've noticed as I've grown older, that change is harder on me and I resist it more. But change is inevitable and so I adapt. Our church is in a building program and the church building is about half done. This change, although good, has been an interesting experiment in human interaction as they choose colors and so on. Have a great day.
ReplyDeleteThanks Melanie. I am looking forward to seeing pictures of your new church building.
DeleteLove the quote and your little piece of art turned out great Cindy. So simple but yet so very meaningful. I must admit I only like change if it's beneficial to me but the older I get the more I understand that in order for life to go on change must happen.
ReplyDeleteConnie Royal
Thanks Connie.
DeleteI've had to change MY attitude, and it's made all the difference in the world! ( not that it still can't use some improvement!) Such a sweet and thoughtful gift for your friend. It's so true that change isn't always easy but often it does begin in our own hearts and Minds. Great food for thought, my friend! Happy Wednesday to you!
ReplyDeleteLord Debbie, the most needed change that I ALWAYS have to do has to do with my attitude! Thanks my friend for always being real!
DeleteYou are a good friend!
ReplyDeleteIt's the thought, not the gift that means a lot. This gift does BOTH!
You are so right Christine, it's always the thought that counts.
DeleteChange can be one of the hardest things.....but required sometimes....Great post
ReplyDeleteThanks BJ.
DeleteHI Cindy, LOVE your special gift and the message behind it. This is such a timely post with the holidays upon us. Many families do have chaos with time and visiting. Change can be difficult at times but in the end delivers results of a peacemaker. I think God wants us to be the one willing to make the first step to make a difference. Beautiful lesson my friend, Hugs and joys!! xo
ReplyDeleteThanks Celestina. Love your wording...change can most certainly be the peacemaker.
DeleteLove your message about change. You point out some great areas for us to look at with the holidays coming. I had to learn also that peace is found in a changed attitude rather than stubbornly wanting it to be my fixed thoughts about so many things. Love the way you spoil your friends with gifts that you make. You create treasures, Cindy, and you are a treasure! Big hugs to you.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mary. Attitude is everything and most days I have to work on mine to be honest.
DeleteSuch a sweet and thoughtful gift for your friend Cindy...she will love it! Thank you for sharing a reminder of what we as Christians must do to make change happen :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Karen. Hope you are doing well and your sweet family.
DeleteI'm sure your soul sister just loved the special message in the frame that you created for her, Cindy. It will always and forever be a symbol of your trip and your friendship. Thank you for sharing your sweet wisdom with us. We should all be willing to make changes in our lives to make it better for ourselves and for others. Love and hugs are sent to you.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kitty for your sweet words.
DeleteA very special gift for your sweet friend. I love how it turned out. It looks gorgeous with the gold. Blessings to you Cindy.
ReplyDeleteAwe thanks Linda.
DeleteI can tell that you are a very good person, Cindy, and a beautiful one too, and I am very fortunate to know you even just through blogging. Were you affected by hurricane Matthew?....Christine
ReplyDeleteAwe thanks Christine. I try to be a good person but I am afraid I fail miserably some days. Hurricane Matthew caused power outage for a few days and some debris in the yard but that was it. Blessed and Blessed once again.Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteThat turned out really nicely. I suppose it is a better expression than "Somebody's Got to Die" (to self) LOL! Yes, thanks for the clarification, it is so important that we not change our values as based on The Word of God. That's just PC run amok.
ReplyDeleteThanks Vee. You always crack me up girl.
DeleteWhat a wonderful gift.
ReplyDeleteYou are a dear friend to have.
Happy TOHOT!
Laura
WSP
Thanks Laura. You are always so sweet.
DeleteWhat a great message!!👍
ReplyDeleteThanks Judy. Glad you stopped by.
DeleteCindy, I loved this message, it really gave me a lot to think about and a goal to strive for!! Change does begin with ME !! Now I'll just see what I can do about that!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Miss Mary. There's some things I need to change and I too am working on that. Have a great weekend.
DeleteCindy this is so, so true. Manytimes we are not happy with the way things are and expect others to do the changing for us, instead of taking the initiative and realizing that we have to be the change. Thanks for reminding us with your wise saying and I love your little DIY project.
ReplyDeleteThank you Mary . Hoping you have a great weekend .
DeleteI can tell from your blog that that quote is your heart.
ReplyDeleteThanks sweet lady .
DeleteI really like this Cindy. This would make a great graduation gift. :)
ReplyDeleteI didn't think about. Great idea .
DeleteCindy,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post!! Loved it and you are so right in that we all need to be willing to change...
Thanks so much for stopping by!!
Hugs,
Debbie
Thanks Deb .
DeleteGood Morning Sweet One,
ReplyDeleteWell I am late, had some oral surgery done and it's taken me a bit to get going again! I am here and I am well and I am loving this post!
You sure did hit the nail on the head with this fantastic post. Yes, change we must and for the better. Often times as we age we get frustrated and set in our ways and refuse to budge off of those notions. But, it's best we do and then give back 5 times more to our communities. You are such a fabulous writer and have definitely touched my heart with your words. Love the craft and gift you have shared too!
xoxo
Jemma
Hope you are feeling much better sweet lady . Dental issues are no fun . Thanks for your sweet words .
Delete