Wednesday, March 30, 2011

PostHeaderIcon Old vs. New

I was really excited back in August to jump in and be a youth leader at my church. I felt that it was something I was being called to do. I am by no means the most Bible knowledgable of the people available but that was ok. I was willing to learn right along with the kiddos. Our church membership is small and a majority of the members are over the age of 50. So the youth program that would be built would be a "from the ground up" process. Fast forward.....new church year begins...youth committee nominated and approved.....we hit the ground running!
All is good for just a little while. I am finding that everything that tries to be implemented is either being met with the "it won't work" "it costs too much money" or the one that irked me the most was "if all of them can't do it then none of them can because Mr. and Mrs. So and So will be mad if their child/grandchild etc is not included" even if the activity was only age appropriate for the older kids or vise versa the younger kids. Two words----Church Politics. I wanted no part of it. I worked my tail off on 2 fundraisers and still had to out source to a different church for my DD to a youth evangalistic conference in our state. This made me very sad and mad all at the same time. As I go along I find out that the lady that helps me teach the devotionals on Sunday evening does not believe in parts of the Bible. I mean, really?!?!?! You are teaching something you do not believe in? I was floored and amazed. This same person broke the trust that we were working to develop with the youth by calling her SIL and gossiping who in turn called the mother to one of the kids involved. Well there went our cast for the Christmas play. We had 8 kids, 9 parts with an adult playing the extra part. When that set of parents pulled their 2 kids out and I found out the reason...how could I be mad? I would have too. Now let's scramble for a new play. I found one. It was fun, mostly narrated and with the message of Christmas. My other leader found one also...fun, could be read from cards the kids held but no Christmas message at all. I ended up walking out and never going back when we met with the kids to work on what the Christmas play was going to be and "She" wanted to let the kids pick which play they wanted to do. EXCUSE ME!!! Who are the adults? We are not promoting Santa. No amount of explaining why her play was inappropriate seemed to sink in. Sometimes you have to know when to call it quits. I did. That was the first part of November of last year. I did not step a foot into a church until February of this year. I chose the church that my son attends. It's a 20-25 minute drive verses the 5 minutes I was used to. It's people I don't really know, a preaching style I am not used to and challenging to my comfort zone just because it's in the area where my ex husband lives...you would think that being divorced from him for 17 years would diminish that feeling. It's also where I see my DD smile, where she sings (she never did before) the hymns, where she is excited to leave for and where she will grow and fellowship with youth in her age group.
I had a teary eyed Mama moment 2 weeks ago when my son came down for Sunday morning service and I was able to attend worship service with both my children and my husband who was in from work that week. My son also brought his GF. I had my family with me in the house of the Lord. My heart was full of emotion and love.
I have decided that I will move my church membership. I have never done this. The church I am leaving is where I was baptized, married and was even thinking of being buried. My Grandfather was baptized there not too long before he was unable to live with me anymore.
So many emotions and heart strings are attached. I almost feel like a traitor. My son made the statement, "Sometimes you have to move a plant into the sun for it to blossom." in a conversation I had with him about all of this. He is correct. I am keeping a continuous prayer in my heart that I am following the path God has set before me. I know change is not easy. But I don't have to like the process. I do see the signs God has given me to move forward to grow myself and most especially my DD in Christ. My husband agrees and understands what and why I am doing this. I do not know yet if he will come with me to the new or stay at the old. Eventhough I know I will join the new, I can't until I know how he fully feels. I think he is still praying on it himself.
I guess this posting sorta sounds whiney or gossipy but it's an issue that has weighed heavily on my heart and it's really helpful to me to just get on paper...even if it's digital. =)
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Tuesday, March 29, 2011

PostHeaderIcon Must Love Cats

Here's a cute little page I created in honor of my fur babies. I can just picture my female kitty carrying out this mantra. It uses the fun kit Art Doll Fashionistas! by Beth Rimmer at Deviant Scrap. The mice came from her Steamtown Scientifics kit. They just fit so perfect with the whole vision of the page.

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Thanx for peeking in!
Balinda

Sunday, March 27, 2011

PostHeaderIcon 5 New Pages....the mojo is groovin' big time!

I got so busy enjoying that my husband was home from work for a few days that I didn't touch the blog at all this week. He usually has a part time job when he is home from his regular job but for the past couple of times he has been in the man didn't need his help. Hubby's full time job is power line construction and the part time job is electrical work. He really enjoys it because it's not as hard of a job as he normally does and he is learning a new skill. The little bit of extra cash is not a bad deal either. I have also been in a good creative kick with my scrapbooking. When I joined the Art Journal Caravan last year at Scrapbookgraphics I was excited to be learning a new kind of scrapping but alas that did not happen because I got distracted with my Grandfather and his illness. Out of 52 weekly prompts I only did 2. ---->See my sad face<----So this year when I joined I had a renewed passion to just "complete" the weekly projects. I had completely quit scrapping and needed something to really focus on to get me back in the game. One of the ladies in the forum called art journaling "scrap therapy" and that really struck a cord in my heart because that is exactly what I have been doing with it. I find it hard at this point to create pages just to create. I need them to have a purpose or a meaning. Even when I am making pages for the creative team I am on...I want them to have meaning otherwise I feel like I have wasted my time. Time that I could have scrapped real memories and photos for my family. I am not a fast scrapper either. I sometimes envy the ladies that can knock out these fabulous pages in less than 2 hours. It takes me a whole afternoon. Maybe I could be faster if I wasn't watching the tv, doing the laundry or gettting distracted with FB. I still enjoy the process. I feel so satisfied and accomplished when I see something I had only envisioned in my head finally a finished page.
And that is what I have spent alot of my spare time doing this past week. Art Journaling and catching up on some of the weekly prompts that I didn't have time for and/or didn't have a clear picture of what I wanted to create. All LO's are linked to the gallery for the proper credits and to read what the symbology on what some of the pages mean.

This was a catchup page for the Art Journal Caravan. Itinerary #10-Verb:Belong
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Another catchup for the Caravan. Itinerary #7 Verb:Wonder
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This was for last weeks prompt. Itinerary #12. I picked the Simply Started prompt. I wish(ed)....
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This was done for Studio Q's March Keep It Simple Challenge over at Scrapbookgraphics. It's still running and you get this free template to use and can win a fabby prize. =)
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And I just did this one for the joy of it. I had these new templates I purchased from Studio Rosey Posey I had not used yet and they made this page soooo easy and kept the focus on my DD photo's in just the most perfect way.
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Almost a page a day....I feel good! Thanks for popping in and taking a peek.
*****Just a note that I am not on any creative team at Scrapbookgraphics, I just love their products!*****
Balinda

Sunday, March 20, 2011

PostHeaderIcon New Art Journal Pages using Beth Rimmer's Goodies


Tonight I just wanted to share some creative team pages I made using the awesome products of Beth Rimmer over at Deviant Scrap.
This first one is just fun and quirky using the Steamtown Scientifics kit.
This one is a true art journal page for me. I used her Steamtown Detectives kit.
Click Me to read the story behind the page.
I had a play at making an oversized 5x7 ATC using her Retro Calendar Girls.
A full list of credits can be found here.
Thanx for peeking in!
Balinda

Monday, March 14, 2011

PostHeaderIcon Dear Blog

Dear Blog....please forgive me for not posting for 2 weeks....it just happens that way sometimes....but since I have been gone I have spent time with the hubby, met my son's new girlfriend and planned and pulled off a successful slumber party for my daughter and doing a massive backup of files and photos. It's been the most awesome of fun and I won't leave you too often like this but remember...life is to be enjoyed by being in the middle of it...not on the side lines taking notes.
xoxo
Balinda

P.S. As soon as I finish transferring these few files to the new external hard drive I will be back for a longer posting. ;)

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

PostHeaderIcon P365~Days 56~59

My Friend, Samantha had called me on Sunday evening to ask if I could have lunch with her on the coming Friday. I said sure but told my DH that I wondered what she wanted as she was very specific about if I could or could not come. Fast forward to Friday morning and she calls me and wants to know if I could meet her at 11. I could not as I had some things to do before meeting her. She then said to meet her at 1. Mind you, all very specific on the time. Well to make a long story short (cuz I will blog about this more later) she suprised me and our friend, Joni, who I did not know was going to be there...very pleasant surprise...with one of those open heart necklaces that Jane Seymour designed. After all the ooey gooey girly hugs we attempted to take a photo together but the lighting was HORRID. That's Samantha in the back, Joni on the right and me on the left. Girlfriends are just pretty darn awesome to have!
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These are the school supplies I picked up at LifeWay Christian Bookstore to finish out Shaina's 8th grade year.

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I babysat my nephews Sunday because my brother's girlfriend's son got diagnosed with the swine flu and they went to get a second opinion. Micheal is showing me his muscles and Kaleb is folding wash cloths for me. By the time we got to church that evening and Kaleb got still he passed smooth out on the pew. Apparently laundry is hard work!

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My cooling mat died and my laptop gets way to hot without one. I found this one at best buy that I hope will work out ok. The verdict is still out. If it doesn't work good, I will be taking it back and exchanging it.

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And I am too lazy tonight to grab today's photo...terrible huh?
Thanks for peeking in on me =)
Balinda

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Balinda (RebelChick)
Just an everyday girl trying to find my way in the world to live life fiercely and passionately. I was a signature tagger for several years but art journaling has replaced that passion and it feeds my soul creativiely and spiritually. I also homeschool my DD, scrapbook, play around in photography, spoil my cats and drive my hubby insane on a daily basis. My faith in the Lord helps me juggle all these blessings. I keep this blog because it makes me happy. Sometimes I blog a lot and other times it collects a little dust. Thanks for visiting and being my friend.♥
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