The Valley of Vision

Regeneration

"O God of the highest heaven,

Occupy the throne of my heart,

take full possession and reign supreme,

lay low every rebel lust,

let no vile passion resist thy holy war;

manifest thy might power,

and make me thine forever.

Thou art worthy to be praised with my every breath,

loved with my every faculty of soul,

served with my every act of life.

Thou has loved me, espoused me, received me,

purchased, washed, favoured, clothed, adorned me,

when I was worthless, vile, soiled, polluted.

I was dead in iniquities,

having no eyes to see thee, 

no ears to hear thee,

no taste to relish thy joys,

no intelligence to know thee;

But Thy Spirit has quickened me,

has brought me into a new world as a new creature,

has given me spiritual perception,

has opened to me thy Word as light, guide, solace, joy.

Thy presence is to me a treasure of unending peace;

No provocation can part me from thy sympathy,

for thou hast drawn me with cords of love,

and dost forgive me daily, hourly.

O help me then to walk worthy of thy love,

of my hopes, and my vocation.

Keep me, for I cannot keep myself;

Protect me that no evil befall me;

Let me lay aside every sin admired of many;

Help me to walk by thy side,

lean on thy arm,

hold converse with thee,

That henceforth I may be salt of the earth and a blessing to all."

from
~~The Valley of Vision~~

My Sister is Talented

Taken by Marissa Dickey

<3

An Admirer

These are the fabrics I choose to use to make another Coffee House table runner.
A good friend of mine saw the first one I made and loved it.
I've chosen colors that will match her dinning room decor and color scheme. But she really loved the one I already made. So after I finish this one, I'll let her pick the one she wants.

I'm thrilled someone loved my work and will pay me to make another! :)

My Current Phase

Lately I've been quilting a lot.
I've had several projects planned and waiting to be started. I just had other things I was working on or busy with or simply hadn't found the motivation to get them done.

However, since I started piecing quilt tops together and making visits to my local quilt shop for notions, batting, matching fabric etc I've gotten into a phase I don't see ending any time soon. I've bought fabric for at least 3 more quilts. And have found patterns for more great quilting ideas.
Having JoAnn's in Elko open in January also hasn't helped my current obsession.

And having so many friends and acquaintances who quilt is feeding the addiction.

Bought these for a Coffee House Runner. I've had the pattern for about 2 years and finally got it out and picked fabrics for it.

I really like how it turned out! Was a project of many firsts.
First time picking out colors all on my own (I usually pick coordinating fabrics of the same collection).
First time doing applique
First time making a table runner

I'm getting much better at Free-Motion quilting. Going to keep practicing with random curvy lines before attempting a design. But I do really want to try it.

I love my Coffee Cup table runner!

A friend I babysit for showed me her quilts she made with this pattern. And scheduled a sew day at local quilt store to work on it with other ladies.

Since it was a last minute decision to do this project I used a jelly roll of pastel solids I got from Craftsy. I added the white in so the pattern would be simpler and I would have 6 different colors to work with.
(Craftsy has also been a factor contributing to my quilting phase - lots of good deals on cute fabrics).

Used minky on the back.
I'll probably save this for a gift for a baby or something.

I used up some scraps from my stash and supplemented them with fat quarters that I purchased and participated in a class at the quilt shop to make this table topper.

Unfortunately, I realized when it was mostly done I need a bolder color for the white star points. The white doesn't show up very good.
Other than that I love it!

I will probably be posting pictures of more quilts in the near future. 

Devotional

Christ is All

O Lover to the Uttermost,
May I read the meltings of thy heart to me
in the manger of thy birth

in the garden of thy agony,

in the cross of thy suffering,

in the tomb of thy resurrection,

in the heaven of thy intercession.

Bold in this thought I defy my adversary,

tread down his temptations,

resist his schemings,

renounce the world,

am valiant for truth.

Deepen in me a sense of my holy relationship to thee, 

as spiritual Bridegroom,

as Jehovah's Fellow,

as sinners' Friend.

I think of thy glory and my vileness,

thy majesty and my meanness,

thy beauty and my deformity,

thy purity and my filth,

thy righteousness and my iniquity.

Thou hast loved me everlastingly, unchangeably,

may I love thee as I am loved;

Thou hast given thyself for me,

may I give myself to thee;

Thou hast died for me,

may I live to thee,

in every moment of my time,

in every movement of my mind,

in every pulse of my heart.

May I never dally with the world and its allurements,

but walk by thy side,

listen to thy voice,

be clothed with thy graces,

and adorned with thy righteousness.

~From The Valley of Vision~

Training Body and Spirit

I've been thinking about these verses today:

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

I thought a lot about what purpose we have for anything we do in life.

As I train, prepare, and look forward to participating in the Tough Mudder race this fall, this verse made me consider a few things.

"All the runners run, but only one receives the prize"

Am I merely participating? Or am I striving for a "prize" am I focused on a specific goal?

"...so run that you may obtain it..."

This requires determination, serious and specific training. When one has a goal, they do what it takes to obtain it.

"...every athlete exercises self control in all things...but I discipline my body and keep it under control..."

Control over all things. Disciplined, consistent training. They make training a priority.
Not just physical training. But proper nutrition and diet, adequate rest and healthy habits. Self control in all things must take place in order to obtain your goal & win the prize.

 "... I do not run aimlessly..." 

Again, a purpose and goal that one is striving toward.

These verses also have a spiritual application.

"All the runners run, but only one receives the prize"

All men participate in the race of life. Not all receives the prize of eternal life.

"...So run that you may obtain it..." 

Run as one worthy of your calling as a Child of God. Live in obedience to God because of His grace given to you.

"every athlete exercises self control in all things... I discipline my body to keep in under control..."

Self control being part of the Fruit of the Spirit. Discipline or Teach your mind to be focused on the truth of God's Word and practice self control by walking in the Spirit.

"I do not run aimlessly..."God has a purpose for our lives. We must live according to His will. Not merely go through each day aimlessly but strive and work toward knowing and obeying God.

"...They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable... lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified."

Unlike physical training, our Spiritual goal is imperishable. And we must be disciplined and self controlled so that we are disqualified by our witness and testimony.
If we do not practice what we preach, and our lives don't give evidence to what we say we believe our witness is disqualified.

3-10-12 Shopping Trip

The new experiment of shopping twice a month is turning out to be successful!
I bring home less and less stuff in one trip! :)

I'm also very proud of myself today for not buying things I didn't need...

Ok, I bought some things that I didn't need. But they will get used/consumed.

For example, of something I turned down. At Raley's Progresso canned soup was on sale (select varieties) for only $1 a can!! With my $1/4 coupon I could get them for $0.75 each. Which is a really good price for that kind of canned soup. The only reason I didn't take advantage of the deal is because I don't need canned soup. I have a good stockpile of it already, and I don't feel that I need to add to it at this point.
So even though it was a good sale and coupon deal I still saved $6 by NOT buying any (I had 2 coupons).

As for the purchases I did make it to the checkout line with, here are the highlights from the trip, as well as a break down of my transactions and savings at both CVS Pharmacy and Raley's stores.


Everything in the picture below was either a $1 or less!!

Ocean Spray Juice $1 ea.
Dole Tropical Fruit $1 ea.
Fresh Express bagged salad $0.99 ea.
Nature Valley granola bars $0.99 ea.
Variety of Protein bars (21 total) averaged $0.94 ea.
French's Classic Yellow mustard $0.74 ea.
Uncle Ben's ready rice cups $0.71 ea.
Johnson & Johnson hospital grade gauze pads $0.57 ea.
Softsoap Body wash $0.50 ea.
Iodized salt (kroger brand) $0.45
Tortilla chips (raley's brand) FREE
Fire Roasted salsa (raley's brand) FREE
Pepper and Corn salsa (raley's brand) FREE
Jelly Beans FREE


Paid a little over $35 for everything in the picture below. Did 4 transactions to make it happen!

Transaction #1
Colgate multipack toothbrush $7.29
used $0.75/1 coupon
Total OOP: $7.04 w/ tax
received $3.00 ECB (extra care bucks/CVS cash)

Transaction #2
2 Softsoap body wash 2/$7
used 2 $0.50/1 coupons
1 Jelly Beans $0.99
used $3.00 ECB from Trans. #1
Total OOP: $4.47 w/ tax
received $5.00 ECB (for softsoap)
received $0.99 ECB (for Jelly beans)

Transaction #3
4 M&M's bagged candy $12 ($3 ea.)
used 2 $1.50/2 coupons
used $5.99 ECB from Trans. #2
Total OOP: $3.01
received $3.00 ECB

Transaction #4
Listerine $5.99
used $1/1 coupon
3 Zone perfect bars $0.37 ea. (clearance)
3 Met Rx bars $2.57 ea. (Buy 2 Get 1 Free sale)
used $2/2 coupon
3 Pure Protein bars $2.19 ea. (B2G1 free sale)
used 2 $1/1 coupons
12 Balance Bars $1.77 ea. (B2G1 free sale)
used 2 $1/5 coupons
used $3.00 ECB
Total OOP: $21.19

All 4 Transactions together:
Spent: $35.71
Saved: $47.18
I love saving more than I spent!!


At Raley's spent less than $20 on everything in the picture:

Just one transaction this time :)

Downy softener $4.49
used $0.50/1 coupon
2 Filippio Berio olive oil $3.99 ea.
used 2 $1/1 coupons
2 Keebler cookies $1.99 ea.
used $0.55/2 coupon
2 Fresh Express Salad $0.99 ea.
2 lbs Tomatoes $1.49/lb $2.71
Bob's Red Mill whole grain oatmeal $2.49
used $1/1 coupon
Raley's Tortilla chips $1.99
Raley's Fire roasted Salsa $1.25
Raley's Pepper and corn Salsa $1.99
used Raley's store coupons Get all 3 items free when you spend $20

Spent: $19.58
Saved: $29.26

I also shopped at Smith's, Albertsons, and Walmart. Most of the $1 and under items were from Walmart. And, at Smith's I purchased mostly meat as they were having a very good sale on Beef and Pork, and, even though I did buy other items at Smith's I didn't use any coupons there today!!