Dear Friends Are a True Blessing From God

A dear friend of mine always thinks of me when she sees sunflowers. She posted this on FB and tagged me. Not only did this make me smile because of the sunflowers, but the message really spoke to my heart.
I'm praying she feels better soon. She had a bout with diverticulitis and was very sick. This happened the day her son needed to have outpatient surgery.  Of course she was going to be with her 24 year old son.
She is a very strong Christian and is always encouraging those in her circle of friends. She is precious to me.

As I listened to Alistair Begg, this morning, he preached on True Friendship- Proverbs 18:22-24.
he said we are truly fortunate if we have a few close friends, including God. I truly have been blessed with dear, close friends.

This is a card I made for last week's color challenge. The colors were so saffron, terracotta tile, and Bermuda Bay. This is a new stamp/die set from Divinity Designs. I picked it up at the stamp show in Strongsville two weeks ago. Stamps and dies were 25% off!

This is a card we'll make in my October class. It uses the gorgeous wrapped in plaid designer series paper and the Stampin' Up stamp set called, Cup of Christmas.  The great thing about this stamp set is that two of the stamps are reversible!
Though these mugs are reversed, these aren't the mugs that are reversible. I will be showing my class how to stamp and use a reverse image. Cool huh?

This card also shows the front and back of this gorgeous designer series paper. I love the gold that runs through all of these papers in this pack.

Yesterday was National Coffee Day. How cool is that.  I made a card that I've wanted to make to show my class that this mug set can be used all year round.

                                      

I hope you can tell that these are mugs hanging from a cupboard with hooks. This mug is one that is reversible. I didn't want to reverse it on this card, because it looked weird. Can you tell that the hooks are made from the candy cane dies in the set?  I trimmed them down a bit. I love how this came out. This is the first time I've had something in mind, and created what I had in my mind!
Most times I start out with a set of stamps or paper and move along until it's finished. Each step of the way I'm making decisions about the project.

 Today was a warm day here in Ohio. Tomorrow will be 92 which will break a record of 88. The pool will remain open a few more days. It's heated, but tomorrow we won't need it. A few years after we moved in here we added the heater. We had young kids and wanted to get as much use out of the pool as possible. It's been a true blessing.
I can go in earlier in May and swim in October! Neighbors have closed up their pools already. Tonight Tim came out on the pool deck and we turned the backyard light on to illuminate the pool area. It was great. Now I know that I can swim past sunset with that light.
I just have to watch for bats!  No, seriously, I haven't seen any bats lately. Tim says they have gone south. We don't have bugs for them to eat now.

This verse makes me glad I know Jesus Christ. I know where I will go no matter what happens to me or this world we're living in. I had an interesting conversation with my doctor. I told her sometimes I don't worry about what I eat. It's a win-win for me. I eat what I want, and if I die because of it, I know where I'm going. There's a peace about that for me.

I did tell her that I'm not eating all I want, I'm eating healthy most of the time. Any pounds I can shed will be better for me.

Verse of the Day: 2 Timothy 1:7

This upbeat song featuring Brook Deleary aims to turn the listener’s perspective from focusing on difficulties to considering the good things God has in store on the horizon. 

Even when we go through difficult times, we can have hope. Our God can turn any situation into something for our good and His glory. So instead of staring at the tough stuff, we can thank God for the blessings to come!

This is Building 429 singing Blessing I Can't See. Give it a listen.

Blessing of the Day: Today Tim and I sat on the back porch and watched all the butterflies land on the flowers of our butterfly bush. It was amazing how many there were. It is a purple butterfly bush with lots of flowers still on it.


I also got good news from the dentist. Nothing to do but clean my teeth. That's always great news!

Tim sat on the pool deck tonight and talked to me while I was in the pool. We turned on the light so we could be outside longer. Our days of swimming will be soon gone. Tim enjoys sitting on the deck and talking. He doesn't like to swim for some reason.
Tomorrow a friend of mine will be here for swimming, dinner and card making! Wahoo! This is a dear friend that has blessed my life for many years.

Thanks for stopping by.
Blessings,