What I Love Wednesday

I'm linking up with lollipops today.
I like this idea a lot of sharing things I'm lovin' for the week.
Here are a few of my favorites:


1. Headband from Ruffles and Fringe.
2. Necklace from roomofyourown.
3. This amazing verse (if it's too small to read, it's Romans 5:3-5). Source
4. These cute note cards from lollipops herself.

What are you lovin' this week?

Some New Pieces

I have a bunch of new necklaces to show all of you!

Like I said in an earlier blog, I had lots of opportunities to make jewelry.

The first at the retreat I went on.

And the second at the Ladies Jewelry Night I hosted this past weekend.

I also got the opportunity to make some new things with my sister yesterday afternoon.

I'm also excited to show you the two necklaces I made as gifts...that I can post now...as the recipients have received them now!

Enjoy!

This is the first necklace I made at the retreat. It's one of my new favs :)

Isn't that pendant great?

A little highlight of the details

And the top section

The other necklace I made at retreat

I LOVE these red beads!!

I don't wear a lot of red, but I couldn't pass these up

Me modeling it

I made this one at the Ladies Night

I LOVE this bow!

Isn't it so cute? (I got this pattern from looking at a catalog in the store. It was meant for a bracelet, but I turned it into a necklace)

I made this one for my Secret Sister!

I love these beads!

I like these hearts a lot

So pretty!

And of course, the heart clasps I love oh so much.

I made this one for my friend, J.B. She loves purple!

When I first saw these beads, I immediately thought of J.B.

Aren't they pretty together?

I made this one when my sister was over yesterday. I also started another necklace that I'm hoping my lovely friend E.H. will help me finish tomorrow!

Aren't these beads pretty? It's a simple, but very Spring-y necklace.

And I made this one at the Ladies Night, too. I didn't get any pics of the details, but it was my first attempt at a double chained necklace like this...besides the triple chains on the bow one.

What are your thoughts on me creating an Etsy store to sell my stuff?

The Power of Hope

I got a huge glimmer of hope this week.

An amazing, powerful, wonderful reminder that God can do what He says He can do.

I just had this overwhelming peace and love envelope me this week.

And, wouldn't you know it...stupid satan tried to ruin it all. Someone tried very hard to squash my hope...and I almost let them...but when I realized what was going on, I put my foot down.
Hope is such a powerful thing. It gives flight to the realization that things really could turn out good...or a dream really could come true...or that God really is trustworthy.
The events of this week made me want to look up a bunch of verses on hope. I decided to share a few of them with you (all taken from the NIV):

Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old.
(Psalm 25:4-6)

In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in you.
(Psalm 33:21-22)

Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
(Psalm 62:5-6)

Sustain me according to your promise, and I will live; do not let my hopes be dashed.
(Psalm 119:116)

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.
(Psalm 130:5)

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
(Romans 12:12)

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
(Romans 15:13)

Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
(Hebrews 10:22-24)

Oh man...

Putting our hope in people on this earth will only let us down. I can hope all I want that a person will change their ways...but that doesn't mean they will. I can hope with everything in me that a friend will realize how much they need God in their lives...but that doesn't mean they'll actually make that decision. And yet, when we put our hope in God, all these things are possible.
I love how Psalm 103:5 says that, "...in his word, I put my hope." That is where our hope should reside. And, Hebrews 10:23 says, "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess." The hope we should be professing is the hope we have in Christ! The hope He's given us by the mere fact that we can take Him at His word. He fulfills His promises. He is trustworthy. He is never going to leave us or forsake us.

Where has your hope been lying? In those around you? Or in your Savior? Do you truly believe He can do what He says He can do...and that He WILL do it? Or, do you doubt?

Trust me...I've been in the doubting camp a lot. I was just there last week, in fact. I still have my moments. But I'm learning to hold onto hope...because my God will fulfill His promises in my life...and in yours. Praise be to Him!

(Taken on our trip to Santa Cruz in January. I didn't get a good pic of the beach from the retreat, so this beach will have to do)

(Note: The phrase "God can do what He says He can do" comes from Beth Moore's Believing God study. It's amazing. If you've never checked out a Beth Moore study before, I definitely recommend that one.)

Retreat

Let me just say, the retreat was amazing!

God is truly amazing. He brought this beautiful vision to a very dear friend of mine a few months ago. At first, she was thinking it would be a good thing to do with our college girls. We would meet with them once a week for 6-8 weeks, and then end the whole thing with some sort of all day or all weekend conclusion. She presented the idea to me and asked me to be praying about it. About a month later, it evolved into something much greater...an idea for our yearly retreat. The two of us met with another woman (who I happen to co-lead my Tuesday night Bible study with), and we started hammering out some details. We decided to meet with the college girls for the four weeks leading up to the retreat...and decided to go over those same topics briefly with the other women on Tuesday nights.
As time went on, we divvied up topics and responsibilities we would each be taking care of. And before we knew it, we had our retreat planned out...as well as those four weeks leading up to it.
And the most amazing part about it? There's no way we could have come up with this plan on our own. God molded it and shaped it...as well as us...into this perfect plan that touched many lives.
The retreat itself was amazing. The first night, many of the women just opened up and let out some very personal things about themselves. Major walls were falling down all around us. The second day, we all took the time to identify the things that hold us back from living a life of complete discipleship with Jesus. We spent two hours of quiet time with our Savior (some of the women even went down and sat on the beach to do so). We made jewelry together and shared many laughs. And, we came together Saturday night to talk about the importance of carrying each other's burdens and encouraging one another. It was phenomenal. Women started encouraging each other and sharing their testimonies and just being real. We ended our weekend Sunday morning with a wonderful time of sharing some of the things God did in our hearts that weekend.

We worshiped together.

Prayed together.

Cried together.

Laughed together.

It was a perfect weekend that only God could have put together.

18 women, from all different walks of life, discovered how much we all truly have in common. 18 women realized just how much we need other women in our lives. And these same 18 women left that crazy house by the beach with a word from our Savior...and things we need to work on to walk more closely with Him.
I have heard some amazing things in the last couple of days from some of these women. Ways that God has been working on them in their daily lives. It is so encouraging to me. I am so thankful that I was able to share a little bit of my heart about encouraging each other and sharing burdens...but most of all...I'm thankful I was able to share many verses from Scripture that speak that very same message.

My heart is full of the goodness and grace of my Lord.

We all need fellowship with other believers. I am so thankful for the beautiful women He's put in my life...those that went on the retreat...and those that didn't. I'm also thankful for the blogger "friends" I've come across these past few months. I love that He uses so many different things in life to encourage us to walk more closely to Him.
What has God been teaching you lately? What areas is He calling you to work on? Who is He using to encourage you...and who might He be calling you to encourage?

Be blessed this week, blog readers, and open your hearts to the things God might be trying to tell you.

Anticipation...Hurt...Happiness

Anticipation kills us sometimes, doesn't it?
I am getting ready to go on an amazing retreat with some wonderful women this weekend...and the anticipation of what God is going to do is making me all antsy. I am also a little nervous, as I am one of the leaders/speakers at the retreat...and am also co-leading the worship as well. But, I know God has already prepared me for what I'm going to share...and I know He's prepared the other two women as well. We have been praying about and talking about this retreat for a couple of months now...and I am so pleased with how God brought everything together. I know God ordained who would go a long time before we even started planning it...and I know He has amazing things in store to teach us all.
I am just so excited to see lives changed!

On another note, my heart is going out to another friend this week who experienced something tragic. There are so many people hurting right now...and it breaks my heart. Thankfully, they are able to turn their hearts towards God and accept His comfort during this time. I don't know how people can get through life without Him...

And, on another note, I am making some new necklaces in the future...and I am very excited to see how they're going to turn out!