Christmas Lights in a Wine Bottle

So this idea was definitely not original with me. I saw this at a friend's house and LOVED it and had to copy! (That's right - I took a picture of it...along with a ton of other things in her house because it was SO cute!) So I thought I would share in case anyone else wants to do this.

Of course I went to Pinterest and there were tons of pins on how to do this, but almost all of them required drilling a hole in the bottom of the wine bottle, and a glass drill bit is just not something I have on hand. Plus with the way my plugs are located, it would be better for the cord to come out of the top to be even with the plug-in and therefore less cord would show.

So anyway I got some Christmas lights (after Christmas) at Garden Ridge for 50% off. Then I bought a bottle of wine - not for the type of wine - but based SOLELY on a cute bottle....of course.

There may be an easier way to do this, but this is just how I did it. Since I didn't know how many lights to cut off, I shoved as many in there that would fit (I used one of my husband's shish kabob skewers to push them down as I went, but a screwdriver would also work), then I counted how many excess I had. 

Then I had to pull it all out and cut them off from the other end (the end without the plug). After I cut it, I wrapped up the end in electrical tape. Stinks because I had to pull them out and do it all over but, again, not sure of a faster way. And all in all this project did not take more than 20 minutes. 

And this is the finished product. I feel like it adds that extra touch of warmth to the kitchen! 

Mission Trip to India

Here I go making a guest appearance on Sam's blog with an India recap. :) Thanks again to everyone who prayed for and supported me! Here's a link to all of my pics.
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0UZNmLdy1aOag

Day 1 & 2

We arrived in Delhi at around 2 am after 10 hours in the air, a 4 hour layover in Germany, and another 7 hours on the plane. The city was still quite alive and moving even at this time. I got my first taste if traffic in India, and it was unlike anything I've ever seen. The lanes painted on the streets were merely suggestions as cars, rickshaws, bicycles, and motorcycles weaved in and out coming within inches of each other. Outside the city cows and water buffaloes also took their spot in the traffic. Horns honked consistently; not an angry honk like in the US, but it's encouraged and appreciated to let the other drivers know about your presence. As we approached our hotel we saw six stray dogs roaming around and eating the trash in the alley. I'm told that there are some really beautiful hotels in Delhi; however, we weren't there to be pampered so we crashed in a Motel 6 equivalent. I felt like I was in a Jason Bourne movie as we walked down the hotel hallways with most of the power out and a light flickering in the distance providing us just enough light to find our rooms.

I was awakened the next morning by an airplane flying overhead that felt like it was going to rip the roof off our hotel. I didn't quite know what to do when I stepped in the shower and saw a big plastic bucket. I learned that to take a shower you fill a bucket with water and then use a smaller pitcher to get water out of the bucket and wash the soap off. Some of our team had hot water but nothing but cold water for us for some reason. :) Breakfast brought my first taste of chai (tea) and it was delicious! The Indians mix milk with sugar, black tea, and spices. I was unaware at the time but this was the first of MANY cups of tea that I'd consume on the trip. Indians love their tea and I'll admit I had withdrawals after returning to the states. 

The first couple days involved travel and getting some sleep. More to come....

Day 3

Last night we took a train (about 5 hours) to Kanpur. Some of the scenes that I viewed out the bus window broke my heart. People living in tent communities surrounded by trash and many living in straw/mud huts. India has many beautiful cities and places; however, Kanpur is not one of them. When we told people on the plane that we were going to Kanpur they were confused as to why we would want to go there. There's a lot of poverty and the moment you walked outside you could taste the dust and pollution.

When we got to Kanpur, we met the Indian translators and pastors that we would be working with. Each of us had a translator with us at all times since most people didn't speak English in the villages. I was surprised to hear that most of the translators traveled more than 24 hours by train to meet us. Many came from down south and made the trip because they knew that most in this area had never heard of Jesus and what He did for them. It was encouraging to me to hear that our Indian friends traveled so far with the same mission: to reach the unreached in love. Our translators risked a lot to join us as it is not popular to be Christian in a predominately Hindu country. Once you experience a new life in Christ you can't help but want to share it with others.




Day 4

Today started with a time of training and prayer. We met the local Indian pastors who were going to take us to multiple appointments throughout the week to meet people. For lunch we ate rice, butter chicken, and naan. I could eat Indian food for every meal - it was that good! One of the translators prayed passionately in Hindi for our meal. My eyes teared up as I thought about how cool it was that he was praying to the same God as we sat in a room on the other side of the world.

At night we headed to dinner on rickshaws. A rickshaw is a guy peddling a bicycle that's attached to a 2-person seat with wheels. Wow, I got my feel for Indian travel as horns blared, motorcycles and cars zipped past, and I knew it was just a matter of time before we got hit. Surprisingly it's somewhat controlled chaos because everyone is used to this abstract way of commuting. We saw fewer accidents than we would in the states given the massive amount of vehicles on the roads. I was surprised to see a husband and his wife holding her BABY on a motorcycle and of course none of them were wearing helmets! I laughed that in the states I often worry that I should have tightened Avery's car seat one notch tighter!

Everywhere we went the Indians stared at us because they were shocked to see white people. They don't see tourists in Kanpur very often. It's not rude to stare in India so it was amusing to be stared down everywhere we went. The nights always ended with brushing your teeth with bottled water. We had to be very careful not to drink any local water or get it in our eyes.

Day 5

Today we went out in teams of 2 Americans and 2 translators to local gatherings of mostly believers in Jesus. We took a car about an hour and half on dirt roads to the villages in Unnau. To say the roads were bumpy would be an understatement. We got to the first church which was an open air brick structure with an aluminum covering and tarps acting as doors/windows. There were about 50 people with women and children sitting on the right and men sitting on the left. They put folding chairs at the front and told us that we were in charge. :) My friend shared the gospel using a cube that shows pictures to go along with the story, I told them how and when I came into a personal relationship with Jesus, and then I told them a couple of stories from the Bible  (Jesus feeding over 5,000 people with a handful of food and Jesus healing a man born blind). We sang a worship song with them in Hindi. An older gentleman played a drum that you hold and beat both ends. It was great singing with them, and they went out of their way to make us feel welcome. I prayed that they were encouraged by our visit and what God put on our hearts to share with them.

Then we went to a village about 20 minutes away. This was a much smaller mud/straw hut with about 10 people packed in. They laid tarps down outside the door and about 15 sat on the tarps and listened from out there. I shared the gospel and my friend shared her testimony.  I had been praying that God would use me to perform a physical healing for someone on the trip like in the book of Acts. I saw a man whose eyes didn't look normal and I immediately felt a connection with him. We asked if there was anyone who needed prayer for healing. Someone grabbed the man and led him toward us. It was apparent that he was blind. I laid hands on him and prayed in the name of Jesus that He would be healed. Tears rolled down my face as it was a very emotional time. I never felt like that before and I just knew that God would heal him. We finished praying and they helped him up. I looked at him really expecting him to be able to see, but he was still blind. I sat there confused and a bit disappointed. When you listen to most people's testimonies in India they either came to beleive in Jesus because they were physically healed, or they had a dream where God revealed something to them. Healings and visions freak most of us Americans out, but God continues to work through those avenues like he did in biblical times and very much so in India.

After talking to more people from my team that day I realized that God asks us to be persistent in prayer and to continue to have faith. God might choose to heal physically on the spot, or he might want to do more work in us before healing to deepen our knowledge of him and our relationship with him. And sometimes God heals in different ways besides physical healing. At another house we prayed for a crippled man to walk. God did not heal him that day but the man said that after we prayed he gained confidence that he would walk someday. God taught me that HE knows what we need and WHEN we need it and that He will provide in HIS timing. And that we must continue to pray and have faith that He will heal, and then get up and do it again the next day. The Father knows best how to teach and train His sons and daughters because He sees from a different vantage point; A much higher vantage point with the big panoramic picture in view.

Day 6
Today my team visited homes in the city of Kanpur. We arrived at the first home and I shared the gospel with about 10 people. Many said they believed and wanted to put their faith in Jesus. It was illegal for us to ask anyone if they wanted to believe in Jesus so we always turned that part over to our local translators. A man from that house wanted us to tell the story at his friends house. When we asked everyone if they had ever heard this story before and most people said no everywhere we went. They had never heard of how Jesus did not deserve to die but offered his life for us. They were amazed that they were being offered this gift for FREE and it did not require them to earn it by doing a bunch of good things or being a good person. That just had to recieve the free gift and believe. It was exciting to be the first people to share this good news with them! At the next home we shared with about 16 people. Many of them where children that had been out in the streets playing cricket. We gave them little cards that had pictures on it to demonstrate man's sin, Jesus dying to pay for our sin, Jesus rising from the dead, a cross showing how Jesus provides the way to God, and then two hands shaking symbolizing a personal relationship with Jesus. We handed the cards out to almost everyone we shared with and told them to share the story with at least one other person. We asked if anyone would want to practice telling the story and we almost always had someone volunteer.

We returned to the house we visited previously with the crippled man. He decided to put his trust and hope in Jesus yesterday and today you could see the change on his face and in his body language. He was holding the little gospel card that we had given him and he had told his friends. We determined that he was the right person to start a house church so we gave him a solar powered device that played over 60 stories from the Bible, taught him how to use it, and had him practice asking his friends questions about the story. We knew that we were only there for a short time and that in order for the house church to survive it had to be led and fed by local believers. We visited another home that we were invited to and spent some time with them. One lady needed reading glasses so we were able to give her a pair. Of course we always ended with some snacks or sweets and hot chai! The Indians know how to treat their guests!

Day 7

At our first appointmet that our local pastor had setup there were about 10 people. We entered into a dark room in their hut and noticed many Hindu idols on display. After telling them about Jesus they said it wasn't for them because they have friends who became Christians and they got rid of their idols and were the talk of the village. We said no problem, enjoyed some tea with them, thanked them for their hospitality, and then we headed to the next stop.

We visited more homes that were very receptive to the message. We must have prayed for 15 people or so. Everyone wanted to be prayed for various things so they just kept coming. :) Many indicated that they wanted to follow Christ; however, I was a bit skeptical because at times we heard coversations that made it apparent that many were adding Jesus to their list of other gods. This troubled me until I had conversations with my friend Brad who said that in the US we tend to separate evangelism and discipleship and make conversion an event instead of a process. Some folks come to faith in an instant. But most have some teaching and understanding of Christ / God before they "decide" and at some point in the process a light turns on and they truly understand what it means to follow Jesus. The people in India truly responded to following Christ, but it will take followup and discipleship to continue to help them understand all of the implications of that decision. We initiated a process that by Gods grace he will bring to completion. After we leave E3's local Indian team will follow up with the people who decided to follow Christ, encourage them, and answer any questions that they have. It was a great couple of days!

Day 8

A couple of our team members were sick so I switched teams and went to a village in Unnao with the leader of our trip Al from E3. This is a village that another team had visited yesterday and found that the people there were very receptive to the gospel. Today they brought more friends and family members to learn about Jesus. I shared the gospel with a group of people and as I was sharing I noticed one that man's eyes were lighting up and he was leaned forward like he couldn't wait to hear what was next. You could tell that God was working in his life in that very moment. Our translators asked if anyone wanted to believe in Jesus and this man, among many others, raised his hand. Our translator prayed a prayer that they repeated. The man (who's name was Bhola), came up to me and said "I can't believe that you came all this way to tell us this story". He had a sense of amazement and thankfulness in his voice. We also handed out some Bible's to the few who could read (many were illiterate). It was awesome to see them thumbing through the pages and starting do dive in.

We asked Bhola to lead us through the village so that we could pray. We walked and prayed that God would move in this village and that peoples lives would be transformed. As we were walking many people came out of their homes and were interested in what we were doing in their village. After walking for a while we came to opening shaded by a large tree. Our translators started singing praise songs in Hindi. I don't know if it was the singing or the crazy white boy swaying back and forth while clapping but people came out of nowhere. Before we knew it there must have been 50 people gathered around! I shared how Jesus provides the way back to God because of his death on a cross and many decided that they also wanted to accept this free gift, which leads to eternal life in heaven. 

After I shared we asked Bohla to play a Bible story from the solar powered audio Bible that we gave him. After the story he stood up and asked the others questions like "What did you like about this story?"..."What does it say about God and people?"..."How can you apply this to your life?". The answers that came back were often not in sync with the question but it was good start. Their education system does not encourage them to interact so it took some prodding to get them to contribute to the conversation, and when they did talk it didn't always relate to the question. It was a sweet moment for me to have just told many about Jesus (who were hearing about him for the first time), and then have a local Indian lead a small group Bible study for the first time.

Day 9

We went back to Bohla's village today because we really wanted to try to invest in that body of new believers instead of moving to another village. We really felt like God was moving here and that we needed to spend more time with them. We shared bible stories, testimonies, and the gospel with even more people. We had Bohla lead another bible study and familiarize himself with the process. As I listed to the conversations I looked around and realized that I was experiencing a day in the life of these villagers. A teenage boy walked past leading a cow to help plow the rice fields. A water buffalo stood a few feet away munching some type of grass. A large monkey jumped from the roof of one of the huts onto the roof of our hut! To my left a small boy drew water from the well and poured it over his body to get cleaned after working in the field. An old lady walked by with a large stack of rice stalk on her head. Another woman returned from kneading cow patties that would be used for cooking fuel, and yet anther returned from the fields after a hard days work cutting rice stalk with a sharp metal tool. It was so contradictory to see these women dressed in beautifully bright colored saris out in the field doing manual labor. I took a minute and simply soaked it all in. 

Another American team was at a nearby village and they were going to baptize around 14 new believers today! We said our goodbyes and headed to that village in hopes that we could catch the baptisms. We didn't get there in time, but we heard it was an amazing time as these men and women walked past their friends and families and were baptized in what we would consider a very dirty body of water. It didn't bother them one bit. They were splashing around as their faces were brimming with smiles. When we arrived at the village there were TONS of people (practically the entire village) sitting on tarps and singing songs about Jesus in Hindi. It was a great experience as I clapped and danced around and the kids looked at me and laughed. What a way to end our last day in the field!

I'm sure you're ready to unsubscribe by now since I've sent so many emails so I'll cram it all into this last one. As part of our cover for being in the country, and because it was awesome, we visited the Taj Mahal on our way back. I was blown away at how beautiful and massive it was! It took 22 years to build and 22,000 worked on it. The detail is crazy!

Thanks again for your prayers and support! God was glorified as we took the name of Jesus to people who had never heard it before. Some lives were definitely changed and others took the first step and need more time to digest and grow. Please pray that others would travel to India to this wonderful unreached people group. Please pray that those who we came in contact with would continue to grow in the Lord and He would do might things in India. Please pray for the local Indians as they follow up with the people that we shared life with for such a short time. To God be the glory!

Guest Bath Renovation (Sort Of)

I have been DYING to replace the builder mirror with a framed mirror for years, but have been too scared. I've heard horror stories about it being caked with glue on the back and people having to rent these suction machines to get it off. Then of course, it wouldn't be textured behind there, and that scared me too. Rustin had tried to match up texture before in another house and said it was really hard.

So I did what anyone would do in that situation - I consulted all-knowing Facebook and asked if any friends had done it. I was surprised how many had and had no problems! A friend of mine even said she did it BY HERSELF... what?? Another friend made the point that it would have been harder for the builders to texture AFTER hanging the mirror because they would have had to cover it, so it more than likely would be textured.

Armed with this new information, I decided it was time! I taped the heck out of it with leftover painting tape. Side note - it's REALLY hard to get a picture in a narrow bathroom that doesn't look like you're taking a bathroom selfie. Somehow I did it. 

Did I mention I also HATE the light fixture?? That was going too. 

I took off the two brackets at the top and Rustin sort of "straightened out" the brackets at the bottom. We went around the perimeter with a putty knife to loosen it, and like my friends said, it came off pretty easy. Apparently it was only attached with two glue spots.

Obviously the spots weren't textured but that didn't matter because the new mirror would cover it up. So after that, I painted so it would match the rest of the wall. The color is Latte by Sherwin Williams.

Also, I sold the builder mirror on craigslist for $20. The guy who bought it was really nice - he got laid off and has been repurposing mirrors like that to make money. If you take yours down, let me know and I can put you in touch with him.

Rustin and his dad replaced the light fixture (got at Lowe's) and hung the mirror (got at Hobby Lobby for 50% off). And here is the finished product! (Again, really hard to get pictures and NOT be in them..)

We also replaced the nickel towel holder with a bronze one I got at Target after I took those pictures.

There is still a lot I want to do in there like replace the nickel faucet, the counter, tile, cabinets and redo the tub, but one thing at a time right? I really am so glad I finally did this though. It was a low cost and low labor way to make a huge difference! 

DIY Reclaimed Wood Wall Art

I have been slightly obsessed lately with all the reclaimed wood art. But wood is a little out of my comfort zone. I mean it's hard core compared to the stuff I sell in my Etsy shop - it's heavy and you have to do stuff to it that has the word "power" in front of it like power sanding, power sawing, etc. BUT... I LOVE the signs!!

I saw a few on Etsy that were cute, but they weren't big enough and also since I'm cheap, I didn't want to pay for them when I knew I could make one.

I scoured Pinterest and pinned several different things that would help me do what I wanted to do, but they weren't all in one place, so I thought I would write this post in case someone wants to make one on a budget and without any fancy machines.

The first step was to get some wood. A friend of mine gave me a tip to check local nurseries. So the next day I was driving by the one by my house and lo and behold, a shipping pallet was just sitting in their trash pile! I walked in and asked if I could have it. They reluctantly said yes, but did not offer to help me load it. (I guess I can't really complain though since it's free??) Anyway pallets are deceptively heavy, but I managed to get it loaded into the back of my SUV by myself. Also, if you can't find any pallets for free, the guy at Lowe's told me they sell them for $10.

Next, I needed the pallet broken apart WITHOUT breaking any of the wood. I tried a little and it didn't budge, so that's where the husband came in. It was pretty tough since pallets aren't made to come apart (I found out), but he got it done!

I sanded the pieces down (by hand), but not much because I wanted that distressed look. Next, I stained all of the pieces I wanted to use. I ended up using seven boards. For the stain, I used Minwax Dark Walnut. They aren't kidding when they say dark. But our hardwood floors are REALLY dark, so I wanted it to go with them. After I brushed on the stain, I wiped it off with an old cloth. Then to lighten it up even more, I sanded it lightly when the stain dried.

Now I needed to get them to all the stay together. Rustin rounded up some spare wood for me and I thought I would just nail it to the back. Well I didn't get small enough nails and they went through the front, so I just decided to do wood glue. (There is a picture of the back when I show how I attached the D-rings to hang it.)

And the part that was stressing me out the most - the lettering. I have the handwriting of a 3rd grader, so free-handing was not an option. I could have went out and bought a Cricut or Silhouette, but spending an extra $200 would have really blown the idea of doing a "thrifty" project. Luckily I found this tutorial and it worked perfectly! So I just figured out the size font I wanted, printed it out, cut the letters out, scribbled chalk on the back and traced over each letter with a pencil. Then it left the chalk line and I could paint it from there. (She goes into more detail in the tutorial.) You can tell my lettering isn't perfect, but hey, it's handmade. 

About the verse - it is from a favorite hymn of mine - Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing. Rustin and I went back and forth on what to write. (It was comparable to what we went through when we were naming our CHILD.) We thought about a Bible verse, but for some reason I really wanted a line from a hymn. It's funny that it's musical and I don't have a musical bone in my body - pretty sure my singing can break glass - but I love music! Every time I see the sign, I start singing that hymn. And did anyone notice the typo?? Oops! For years I thought it was "sing thy praise." I found out it was "grace" a couple of years ago, but I guess old habits die hard. Luckily I caught it before I painted it!

Then I just hung it using two D-rings and picture wire.

So the cost breakdown was:
Pallet - free
Paint - already had
Stain - about $7
Chalk - 77 cents
D-Rings - about $3

So the total was about $11 for a 26" x 40" personalized wood sign.

There Is Only One Standard

So my family was hit with the stomach bug. Ok not "family" - just Avery and me. She got hers in my car...on the drive home from Wichita Falls...with nowhere to pull over. And it didn't just happen once, but several times. Pretty sure I got that cleaned up (after hours of trying with toothbrush in hand) and a couple days later it happened again. That's when we decided it was time for a new car seat. The throw up one would move to Rustin's car as a spare (haha sucker!).

I decided I wanted something different this time and started researching. It being right after Christmas, we didn't have a ton of extra money to spend on this unplanned expense. I've heard for a while this one brand was good so I decided on that, but got one of the lower levels. Then I started reading reviews on Amazon and panic set in...

People were complaining about the one I bought saying their kid's booty started hurting on long road trips because the padding wasn't thick enough.

OH GOOD LORD!! My child was going to have a hurt booty every time we go to Wichita Falls?! What kind of a mother am I?? Should I have put my family in financial ruin (ok being a little dramatic...) to get the top of the line car seat even if it was hundreds more so she could be more comfortable??

Then I read something about it not having some safety feature the expensive ones have. So what if we get in a car wreck? Is my seat not safe?? Why are they selling it then? Are only the super expensive ones safe? Should I just sit her on my lap in the front seat? Is this basically the same thing??

Seriously these thoughts went through my mind. But now that I am a seasoned mother, (you know, I've been doing it for two years, so I am a pro now) I recognized these emotions. I fought this fight early in Avery's life against the constant mom-comparing and mom-guilt. Back then I would have stressed, researched, and basically felt like a failure as a mother. But not this time.

Although it's a constant battle and so much a part of our culture (commercials even play on this) I decided to not compare myself or feel bad about my decision because I started thinking... when I was little (and definitely when my parents were little) car seats were more of a suggestion. I never buckled up on our yearly road trip to Florida. Helloooo...that would have disrupted my sleeping position in the very back seat of my parents' minivan (and would have made it very hard for my brother and I to head-bang at passing cars).

But what about before cars... How did kids get around? Horse drawn carriage with wooden seats? Horse? Mule? Were they comfortable? No one cared! And miraculously they lived.

I was talking about this with a woman older and much wiser than me. Her and her husband lived in South America for many years as missionaries, and said that there they aren't concerned about safety (much less kids' comfort in seats!) because daily life was so hard. They were just surviving. Rustin also told me how when he was in India they all drove those motorized scooters and he saw a man driving with a woman on the back holding her baby.

He didn't get a picture of it, but this will give you an idea:

The mom-comparing game is dangerous one. Not only can it kill you inside with the constant taunt of "you are not a good mom," but it can cause you to kill others inside who don't abide by "your way" of mothering.

The same woman I mentioned earlier said something that stuck with me: There is only one standard and it is contained in the Word of God. And this may come as a shock to some of you who think your way of doing things is gospel (pardon the pun) but the Bible doesn't set apart one thing as holy over another: breastfeeding vs. formula, staying home vs. working, home school vs. public school, expensive car seat vs. "normal" one, etc.

I know that God allowed me to be Avery's mom, not because I would be a perfect parent (if I was, then why would she need a Savior?) but because I am the best mom for her. And I know He will give Rustin and I wisdom for parenting her, and our wisdom may be different from what God gives you, but that doesn't make it wrong.

I pray that I continually try strive to live up to the only Standard that matters, and that I would guard myself against making judgments on others.