August Break

I've decided in my exhausted and stressed out state, that I will be joining Susannah Conway for The August Break. Maybe a post about something else here or there, but I need a little break, and this is the perfect thing (and will make me go out and take some photos!). To join or find out more, click link (since the button appears not to be loading!).

Meredith LeVande CD winner

I'm 2 days late drawing for this cd - I've had a Bad Headache week. BUT, for those that entered, I finally have a winner! I went to Random.org and used their random number generator and according to the generator, the winner is

Orangeheromama!

she said "OOOH! My youngest would LOVE this! :D"

and now your youngest get to have it!

So, Christy, I'll be emailing you, but if you see this first, I need your mailing address to get the cd to you. Congrats!

The Rose that Grew from Concrete

The Rose That Grew from Concrete

Did you hear about the rose that grew
from a crack in the concrete?
Proving nature's law is wrong it
learned to walk with out having feet.
Funny it seems, but by keeping it's dreams,
it learned to breathe fresh air.
Long live the rose that grew from concrete
when no one else ever cared.

Tupac Shakur

All photos property of Erin Wallace

Queen Anne's Lace

"Legend has it that Queen Anne, the wife of King James I, was challenged by her friends to create lace as beautiful as a flower. While making the lace, she pricked her finger, and it’s said that the purple-red flower in the center of Queen Anne’s Lace represents a droplet of her blood. Also called Wild Carrot (since Queen Anne’s Lace is the wild progenitor of today’s carrot), Bishop’s Lace or Bird’s Nest (for the nest-like appearance of the bright white and rounded flower in full bloom), in the language of flowers, Queen Anne’s Lace represents sanctuary."
From teleflora

My gardens are infested with Queen Anne's Lace. It is incredibly difficult to control. The tap root is quite strong and if the entire root isn't removed, another plant will appear. The flower self seeds and one plant can have hundreds of progeny. This year, the Queen Anne's Lace won. At least it's pretty.

All photos property of Erin Wallace

Thank you Beth for telling me about rollip.com. The filters are amazing and for a gal who doesn't own photoshop it's great to finally be able to see what these great edits would do to my pictures. Go try it out if you haven't already!

Book You Need To Read: A Word to the End Time Church by Georgie Newman

When Bring It On! Communications sent me a copy of Georgie Newman's "A Word to the End Time Church" to review I was a bit hesitant about the book. I will admit that I am not the biggest fan of end time theology, as the bible clearly states that no man shall know the time that Christ will appear. My hesitation was quickly wiped away as I started to read this wonderfully written, insightful book.

Georgie Newman is a layperson with no formal education in theology but she possesses an incredible gift for interpretation and teaching the Bible. The first section of her book, How Well Do You Know Him?, is a straightforward introduction and explanation of Christianity. Though this book is written for Christians this section is invaluable; the section on How to Hear God answered a lot of questions I have been asking myself for years. I was also fascinated by the discussion of the rhema and the logos (the two ways in which God can speak to us): logos is a systematically written or laid forth, like a sermon or the Bible while rhema is described as a word, an utterance, a pouring forth of a message from the Holy Spirit. It is those messages that we receive in our hearts and souls from God. There is also instruction on how to determine whether words that we receive are, in fact, from God, and what we should do when we receive rhema from God.

In the second section of her book (Are You Ready?), Georgie Newman challenges the reader to take a close look at their faith walk. While a case is made for the fact that we are living in the end times, this is not the theme of this section; rather, we are reminded that as Christians we are instructed to live our lives as if we are always living in the time of Revelation. The reader is asked tough questions such as "Are you standing on solid ground?" and "What do you really believe?" and given guidance if they find they are lacking in certain areas. This book probes all areas of the believers walk and implores the reader to make change where it is needed.

"A Word to the End Time Church" is a compelling, thoughtful book written by a woman who is clearly a messenger of God's word. I found myself unable to put it down and was forced to ask myself questions that I had been avoiding regarding my faith. It is a highly recommended book and one that I am sure I will be returning to many times in the future.

Book Information:
Title: A Word to the End Time Church
Author: Georgie Newman
Non-Fiction
150 pages
Suggested Retail Price: $14.99
VMI Publishers, published 2009
ISBN:1-935265-02-4

Cicada Song

Yesterday, we bombed the house for fleas. It's just one of those unexpected perks of being a pet owner in a state where the flea population is at an all-time high. We had to find somewhere to go for at least 5 hours (4 for the bombing, 1 for the airing out). The kids went to their grandparent's house and Tim had to run errands, I decided to accompany him.


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Did I mention that I had one of my all too frequent headaches? I really was in no shape to be running all around creation. Truth be told, I spent much of my day in the car, air conditioner running, wasting gas. But for as long as I could stand it (as the weather was stifling hot) I layed down with the windows open, looking at the power lines and listening to the cicadas sing to each other.


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I've mentioned that I have a love for cicadas. I love their high pitched buzz that permeates the air from July through September. That sound that makes me think of children jumping into swimming pools, people sitting on rockers on the porch, fanning themselves with whatever they can get their hands on, and that gives me permission to feel lazy from the heat.


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I love finding cicada shells on the trees, although I rarely find them. Here in Ohio, we have annual cicadas and 7 year cicadas. When that 7th year hits, it is Amazing the number of cicadas that emerge! You walk outside to find maybe a hundred on your car, and in wooded areas you can't walk without them hitting you mid flight. Cicada song gets Loud those years!


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I spent my time thinking about this insect that emerges from the ground every 7 years, just to mate, lay eggs, and die. What purpose could they have? I saw something on television that if you look at a tree ring, you can see that the trees received more nutrition during that 7th year as the dead cicadas and nymph shells fall to the forest floor and provide nutrients to the soil. And omnivores and carnivores, such as civets and waxwings may get the most calories and nutrition of their entire lives in year 7. Oh, and they let us know that summer truly is upon us with that sound. So a creature that seemingly has a meager life actually has a great impact on the world around it. Yet another example of the amazing web of life that God has created on this earth.


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Yes, I am fascinated with the cicada.

The ABC's of Me

I found this great post over at Diary of a Dreamer. Rachel has a wonderful blog that you should check out right now if you are not familiar with it.


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A is for Age: 37 - almost to the top of the hill!

B is for Book: The Time Traveler's Wife and What's So Amazing About Grace (helped me immensely)

C is for Career: Right now I have to say mommy blogger and crafter, though in a few days I may be able to add professional writer to that list (will give more details if it all goes as planned).

D is for Dad's name: Mark

E is for Essential items to bring to a party: Hmm - I usually take spinach dip in a bread bowl if it's finger foods or a Buffalo Mozzarella, tomato, cucumber, and basil salad if there will be forks involved.

F is for Favorite song or music: I don't know if I have just one - I love R&B and hip hop, but I also listen to a lot of 60's and contemporary folk music. E the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and pretty much anyone who played at Woodstock. I listen to it all, except death metal, which I just Do Not Understand.


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G is for Goof off thing to do: I quite enjoy singing like an opera singer. It delights me so!

H is for Hometown: Columbus, OH

I is for Instrument you play: Piano and I can sing. I've always wanted to learn the cello

J is for Jam or Jelly you like: Strawberry jam


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K is for Kids: Well, you probably know them all by now: Kendall, 17, Tommy, 16, Collin, 12, and William, 3

L is for Living arrangement: 1968 brick ranch that is stuck in a time warp and has THE COOLEST mid century modern kitchen and bathrooms.

M is for Mom's name: Cheryl

N is for Name of best friend: Cheryl :-)

O is for Overnight Stay in a Hospital: First was when I had my appendix out and the second was when I had William (I was in the hospital almost a week after him because of my insanely high blood pressure.

P is for Phobias: going down on escalators. I feel like I'm going to fall forward.

Q is for Quote you like: "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." - Albert Einstein



R is for Relationship that lasted longest: My husband Tim - almost 6 years now.

S is for Siblings: 1 brother and 3 sisters

T is for Texas, ever been? Used to go there summers. Out in the middle of nowhere. The jalapeno pizzas were good, the insects gigantic, the rainstorms torrential, and mowing the lawn involved these barbed burrs flying at your legs.

U is for Unique trait: My earlobes are straight, I can smell cyanide, and I can roll my tongue. And I have a HUGE stork bite on the back of my head.

V is for vegetable you love: Broccoli, fresh sweet corn, sweet peas, eggplant, tomatoes, and cucumbers. I love veggies!

W is for Worst traits: I expect greatness from myself and thus am frequently unhappy with myself.

X is for X-rays you've had: Pretty much everything (including my innards!) except my skull and my legs.

Y is for Yummy food you make: coq au vin

Z is for Zodiac sign: Virgo


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The 60/40

Today I'm over at The 60/40 guest posting for my good friend Roxanne.


vis We Heart It

I'll be doing Things that Make Me Happy. Please stop by and take some time to look at Roxanne's gorgeous blog. Her's is one of my fave's and she's one of my favorite people.

xo

Innocence

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I'm thinking about . . . Lighting!

I love table lamps. And I love CSN. So, just for a little window shopping and to use my interior decorating skills, I looked for some lovely table lamps for a few popular interiors.

French Country

Isn't this bedroom gorgeous? And I love the French Country Rabbit Lamp ($125.40) - very whimsical, but understated. It would be perfect for the bedside table. Or if you are one for something with more polish and sophistication, this Alabaster Lamp ($143.91) is just the thing.

Romantic Decor

*Swoon* over this beautiful, shabby living room. Am also swooning over the Sabrina Accent Table Lamp in blue ($137.30) and the Minka Ambience Romance Small Table Lamp ($89.91).

Scandinavian Design

I've waxed poetic about Scandinavian design before; this room is amazing. The Robert Abbey Double Gourd Table Lamp in baby blue ($207.70) picks up on the classic blue of Gustavian design; for a more contemporary take, the Andre Glass Cylinder Table Lamp ($162.20) is a beautiful choice.

Classic Decor





The Kenroy Home 31" Spyglass Table Lamp ($104.40) will create a stylish statement on any side table; this Deco Steel and Wood Table Lamp ($152.90) is elegant yet understated.

Enter my children's music cd Giveaway here

Tired

Go enter my Meredith LeVande cd giveaway here!

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I am tired. Worn out. The stresses of everyday life, all of the issues that I have shared with you in the last few days have left me feeling depleted. I think I need to rest.


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My friend Manda writes a beautiful blog called There is a Time. . . (For everything, and a season for every activity under heaven). She writes about the important things in our life that we need to make time for, and she writes about these things beautifully. She has spoken about the need for rest before. As have many of my other friends who remind me that I run on empty far too often. I have a sneaking suspicion that there are others who are reading this who know all too well what I am talking about.


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"Come to Me," Jesus said, "all that labor and are heavy burdened, and I will give you rest." Rest from the thoughts of insecurity, the wrongs in our lives, our burden of sin. The rest that only Jesus can provide. Soul rest.


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So now, I am going to Him, and I will ask for rest. Quieting of the mind, slowing of the heart, peace from within. Renewal and strength for the days to come and the challenges that will come with them.


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