I got to scrap!!!!

I was finally able to scrap last night and it was sooo much fun! I have really missed it. I did a LO for a circle journal over at Faithfully Yours and two cards. The cards are made from scraps left over from the LO.

Dreams Come True

Journaling says:

Left side: Like many young girls, I dreamed of someday having a husband and being a stay-at-home mom to our children. On December 28, 1984, the first part of my dream came true when I married my Mr. Wright. Just a week less than 15 mos. Later, our son was born. As time passed, my arms began to feel empty and I was dreaming in pink. After three years of prayer and some fertility treatments, the Lord graciously gave us our daughter. I was able to not only stay home with our children, but I had the privilege of homeschooling them as well. Truly dreams do come true.

Psalm 37:4-5 Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

Right side: I grew up in a Baptist pastor’s home and my husband’s parents were home missionaries in KY. When we were dating, Tim told me the one thing I never had to worry about was being a pastor’s wife. He said he knew the headaches and responsibilities and he didn’t want them. I was a bit disappointed because I’d enjoyed being a pastor’s daughter. As the years passed however, Tim began to feel the Lord leading him towards the pastorate. First it was just getting a Master’s degree in Bible, then being ordained, and finally the day came when he told me he felt the Lord wanted him to pastor. I was thrilled. At this time Tim was the Minister of Music of our church. Thru a long series of events, that only the Lord could have arranged, Tim became the pastor of our church on May 12, 1997. I have thoroughly enjoyed being the pastor’s wife.

Here are my cards:

Supplies used: Paper: A2Z Essentials - Sugar Candy - Caroline; cardstock: Provo Craft & Archiver's; Ink: Colorbox Fluid Chalk - Deep Green; Brads: Paper Studio; Metal plate on layout: K-Ology; Ribbon: Misc.; Stickles: Stardust I also used pop-dots for dimension.

Melissa's Circle Journal

I worked on a circle journal layout today. I used two different sketches from Triple the Sketch for my pages. The left side was sketch #6 and the right side was sketch #12.

I was to do a 2-page 8.5 x 11" layout about a time when the Lord taught me some lessons. I chose to do a layout on the lessons I learned before we had Kendra. Most of what I learned can be summed up in one word....Submission



The journaling says:

Submission seems to be a dirty word in our day & age. But one of the lessons the Lord taught me was the blessing of being submissive to my husband as well as to Him. I once read that submission is cheerful acceptance. Wow! That’s tough at times.

When our son, Ian, was about a year old (approx. March 1987), I began praying that in His time, if it was His will, could we please have a little girl someday. At that point in time I didn’t feel "ready" for another child but knew that someday I would. As our son approached his 2nd birthday, I was bitten by the "baby bug." My husband, Tim, however, was not bitten by the same bug. While he certainly knew how I felt, I did my best not to nag about my desire for a baby. The months passed & Tim didn’t seem any closer to agreeing to have another baby.
Finally, I prayed, "Lord, Tim is the head of our home. I need to submit to his leadership in this area. Help me to have a cheerful acceptance of his decision in this even if it means we never have anymore children." When I was able to pray this prayer, & sincerely mean it, I felt a peace I’d been missing.

Several months later, my husband told me that we could begin trying for a baby.
Months passed & I didn’t get pregnant. This was an unexpected difficulty for me, because we’d had no problems getting pregnant with our son. In fact, I’d gotten pregnant with him when we weren’t even "trying" for a baby. I’d also thought that since I’d (finally) been submissive to my husband pregnancy would quickly follow. I went to the doctor for fertility counseling but my husband & I agreed that there would be no drugs that would"get our picture on the cover of Time Magazine" as my husband put it. I truly learned that it is the Lord that opens & closes the womb.

Once again, the Lord had to bring me to the place where I could honestly pray, "Lord, You are in charge & You know what is best for us. If You don’t want us to have another baby, I accept Your will in this." The Lord graciously answered my prayers for another child with a "Yes" & Kendra was born May 1, 1990.

I learned a lot about submission. Not that submitting is a magic formula for getting what you want because we all know it isn’t. There have been many times where I’ve been submissive & things haven’t gone the way I thought they should. More times than not, later on, I saw where what I’d wanted would not have been a good thing. What I did learn is that submission brings joy, peace, marital harmony, & a knowledge that I’m doing what’s right. I am so glad that the Lord didn’t put me as the head of our home. That’s a responsibility I do NOT want. Even when it’s hard, being submissive, whether to Tim or to the Lord Himself, is always the best. God’s way truly IS the best way & you’ll never be sorry for putting the Lord first.

Circle Journal #2

At Faithfully Yours we are just starting a new Circle Journal. Each of us chose a theme, made the pages for our own journal, and sent it on its way. I really enjoy circle journals and can't wait to get started.

An interesting note about the first journal I did. The round finished and my album was waiting here for me when I got back home from Columbus after Dad died. Guess what theme I chose for that journal? Words of Comfort! We started these journals 6 mos. before. Only the Lord knew I would need these Words of Comfort 6 mos. later.

Anyway, for this journal, I chose Marriage Advice. With two young adults in the house, marriage and how to chose a marriage partner are frequent topics of conversation. So...my journal asks the ladies to do a page of advice they received and then a page of advice they would give now. It's understood that any potential marriage partner should be a Christian and that you should have similar beliefs, convictions, standards, etc.

Here are my pages. I used the Foof-a-La Red, Cream & Black line for all of mine.

This is the Title page:



This is the Introduction page & the Map page. Each participant will put a brad on the map showing where they live.




These are the Getting to Know You pages. Each participant will put a small pic, their name, username, how long they've been married & their favorite Scripture verse on the back of the tag that has their intial on it.



This is my LO of advice Dad & Mom gave me and then what advice I would give. I used a sketch from Triple the Sketch for this layout.



Journaling for the left page: My parents were perpetual sweethearts. Watching their marriage and how they treated each other was a constant example of what a godly marriage should look like. Dad always said, "Make sure yo marry the right person. During the day you can keep busy but if you’re married to the wrong person the nights can be awfully long."
Mom told me, "Don’t marry someone you can live with; marry someone you don’t want to live without." There are two pieces of advice Mom gave me for after I was married that have always stood out in my mind:
1. If your husband asks you to go do something, GO! Don’t let dirty dishes or housework keep you from saying, "Yes." The dishes & housework will be there when you get back but if you repeatedly turn him down, he’ll quit asking you to go.
2. Never say anything negative in public about your husband. Mom was extremely loyal. I remember her saying, "I live with your Dad, I know he’s not perfect. But I’m sure not going to tell someone else that or listen to them talk negatively about him."

Journaling for the right page: My top advice for marriage would be:
1. Put the Lord first in your relationship. Marriage is a wonderful thing but also a hard thing. You need to have the Lord’s help for a successful marriage. Ecclesiastes 4:12 "And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken."
2. God designed you to be a help to your husband not someone who is in competition with him. Genesis 2:18 "And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him." Leave the competition in the sports arena and business world and kick it out of the home.
3. In the words of a wise man named Dr. Donald Worch, "If you do after you’re married what you did before you were married in order to get married, you’ll stay married." While it sounds a bit confusing, when you think about it, it makes perfect sense.
4. Be a team. Approach projects, challenges, joys, dreams, & activities together. Some things we do just for the sake of our relationship (aka Us). Sometimes "Us" goes to the scrapbook store and other times "Us" goes to Bass Pro Shops. Remember you’re both in this together and face things side-by-side – you need each other. Ecclesiastes 4:10 "For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up."

Each of the ladies will sign this page before they send it on to the next participant.