A Family History in Blues

I was searching for a blue piece to share

with Sally today.

I found a piece of history.....

My husband's Grandmother Charlotte was 

a Southern Belle by birth but a 

very loyal York Pennsylvanian by heart.

She was an interesting mix of both.

Such a lady.

The man she married had a house built for 

her in the city of York, Pa in a time 

when the city was much smaller and 

more rural in feel.

It made a lovely mosaic for Mary too!!! 

As I came to know the family it was

obvious to me that Grandma Charlotte was proud

to hold pieces of history in her care.

This painting hung in her living room.

The artist is F. Marion Dyer.

It portrays a much simpler time

but one of community and action at the 

City Square.

We are honored to hold both the plate 

and the painting in our care.

It is a heritage of which we are pleased.

Warren's Grandfather was a businessman

in the city of York.

He served in the Navy during WWII.

Grandma Charlotte worked in one of the

largest department stores for some time.

They were members of the Moravian Church

which holds a long history all its own.

It was a joy to attend Candlelight Christmas Eve

Services over the years.

This church held so much history and impressive

architecture...not to mention the traditional music

and readings of the service itself.

My husband enjoys...

a rich heritage indeed.

Linking with Smiling Sally at

Blue Monday

and 

Mary's Mosaic Monday.

Thank you, ladies for your dedication

to these Blog Parties.

It is such a nice way to meet new friends

and visit old ones.

A Fruit of the Spirit - Gentleness

As I prepared for our ladies group, which 

will meet after our fellowship meal this afternoon,

I was reminded of some wonderful truths about

this particular Fruit of the Spirit.

It is one that I desire to grow more evidence of.

Gentleness has been defined as "softness of manners, 

mildness of temper, sweetness of disposition; meekness,

tenderness".  I cannot find the online dictionary source

I used for this...

but it is similar in many.

In the case of Galatians 5 we see that it is one of the evidences

that the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives.  

Our ladies group will discuss how gentleness impacts our lives

at home, in our communities, and in our church.

Some of the scripture passages we will look at are:

Ephesians 4:1-6

As it relates to other Believers:

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.  There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called. one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

From Philippians 4

Gentleness is a result of a certain knowledge

Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again: Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all.  The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable -  if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.  Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice.  And the God of peace will be with you.

Colossians 3:12

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

There are several other passages that we will look at today.

Some for encouragement with our spouses and children,

others as a testimony to others.

But if this is something that you have an interest in cultivating and an area where you would like to produce more Godly fruit I encourage you to do a little study for yourself.  It surprised me to see how many times the word gentle or gentleness is used in the Bible. 

I am looking forward to the discussion and the results we will enjoy with each other and in our families as we intentionally put these truths into practice in our daily lives.

Priorities....

I think my important items in life are in their proper place.

God, family, friends.

But there are some in our home that I must, 

really must, work on.

One of these is our evening meal time.

Over the winter candle making season we get used

to eating in a very....VERY...casual way.

I have been in the habit of filling the dining room

table with all things candles during those busy months.

This is not good.

It carries over then to the non-busy

times because we are so used to it.

I am going to change that.

From now on I declare our dining room table

a place for family, fellowship and food.

The work will have to happen elsewhere.

Dinner time will now hold

a place of higher importance

at Hospitality Lane.

Oooohhh this is going to be fun!

Recipes, planning, cooking...

I have missed you!

Priority Operation One in Progress!!

Now where is that Taste of Home magazine.....

Perhaps you would be willing to share

your favorite family dinner menus?

I am a Winner!!!!

No, I am not practicing 

my positive reinforcement

messages.....

Really, I won a superb

gift from Rhoda at Southern Hospitality

and one of her sponsors...

Timeless Settings.

I was so very excited to receive 

the news that I had won a $50 

gift certificate for this adorable site.

There were so many things I would have

loved to have chosen but my practical side

won out when I chose these wooden planter

boxes.  

 

I mean, the things I can do with these

are endless.  Maybe I should do a week of posts

with these in all different purposes.  

But don't hold your breath for that.  

So many of you are very 

gifted with things like that...

I am way too scattered.

A week of posts on any one thing is not 

likely to happen here.

Consider it part of my charm...lol.

In fact it has taken me a week just 

to take these point and shoot pics to 

show you because I wanted to come up 

with some fabulous photo shoot and 

blow your socks off.

Nope!

If I keep waiting for that

you'll never see them.

Just too much going on here these days.

Some of that is thanks to you and your

candle orders!

Love that!!!

Thank you.

So, anyway, back to my winnings...

See the little birdies?

They came as a set of six.

So tiny and adorable.

They will be part of our decor

at the annual breakfast just 

after our Sunrise Service

on Easter Morning.

So.....HUGE thanks to 

Rhoda and Donna!

I love, love, love

my selections and will be 

back to see more!

Timeless Settings....

Unique Home Decor.

It is Going to be A DAY!!

One crazy day coming up!

Off to Hershey this morning to meet up

with Chelsea's doc and nutritionist.

Prayers that they would see the wisdom 

in backing off the frequency of these appointments

especially with the rise in gas prices.

Then on to co-op where we are just three

weeks out from our big Spring concert and 

there is still much music to perfect.

The students are doing well....but it is still 

a very big job to learn all of it.

Then to take Chelsea to work.

We have to leave co-op as soon

as it is over!  This is not an easy task.

There are always people that want to

talk about this or that.  

With good reason.

Then home for a bit before we have a 

family dinner at a new local restaurant.

We are supposed to have music practice 

after dinner but that is still up in the air.

Pastor Mike said that given our busy day

he would be agreeable to practice on Saturday.

That sounds like a pretty good idea to me

at this point.

Being on the road this morning gives opportunity

to pray for some pretty serious stuff....

Let me share and you can pray too.

1.  Marydon's husband, Harold, is having a very 

serious procedure this morning at 10am. Marydon's

best friend Sherry sent out an alert.  It is here.

I'll be praying for both of them and the medical staff.

2.  My friend, Roxanne (mom to Mister), has been 

diagnosed with stage three lymphoma.  She is in the

process of making major decisions about her treatments.

She needs prayer for comfort and wisdom.

3.  One of the guys who spends a lot of time with us

on the weekends was in a car accident last evening.

He walked away but totaled his car.  I am sure he 

will be in some pain today.  Waiting to hear more.

So, I'll be listening to Praise and Worship music
as we drive...

and asking the Lord to intervene on behalf of 

these friends. 

PYOP

That is the title of the email that popped 

into my Inbox Monday morning.

It meant Paint Your Own Pottery.

I thought about it for a second and then

kept on clicking through the mail.

A while later Chelsea was looking for 

something for us to do.  It was a rainy day

and she had done her schoolwork

so in her mind it was time 

to make up some fun!

About four years ago we made our first 

trip to Jen's Pottery Den.  She had just 

opened and we wanted to do a project

that tied in with our world history.  Jen 

set us up with clay and paints so the kids

could make their own ceremonial masks.

It was such a fun experience.

Creating and laughing together.

So it has become a favorite 

annual activity.

We trek off to "POOP"!

Paint Our Own Pottery...

sorry, 

couldn't resist!

 

It really caught my attention on Monday when

Chelsea suggested that this would be the perfect

day to go paint pottery.  

Really??  

How "Coincidental"!

On the very day I received a coupon!

O.k. I was game for this adventure.

It is so much fun to do.

And I have been looking forward to 

making a second dress vase.  

I love the first one so much!

The first dress vase....

So, I decided to call "the Grandma's"

to see if they would be interested in 

going along.  Some gentle arm twisting

later and they were in the car with us.

We were on our way.

When we arrived there were 

people at two other tables and Jen

got us set up with our pottery and paints.

Not an easy task...choosing your paint.

There are many choices and you have to 

remember that the color you see go on 

the bisque is not the color you will see

after the piece has been fired.

This was Mom's first time and she chose

two ice cream dishes to make for a wedding

gift.  I think they are adorable and the 

couple who is to receive them will love them.

She is not so sure....

But then, she does not have the finished 

project in hand yet.

       Mom made all of us laugh when she was astonished

that it would take three coats of paint to totally

cover it.  I am pretty sure at this point she wished

she had not chosen such an ambitious project.

However, I finished my vase rather quickly and 

was able to help finish up 

one of the ice cream dishes.  

It all worked out fine.

Georgia chose to be an
observer/advisor.
No project for her.

Jonathan made three coasters.

 

We are curious to see the end result.

He did some interesting color and design.

Chelsea found this really cute shoe!

I loved the attention to detail that she 

put into it.  

We'll see what it looks like

after it has been fired.

I predict we will LOVE it!

As I said before,
I knew going in that I wanted

to do another vase.

This one will have a navy blue

speckled skirt and a lighter blue 

top with a touch of white around

the waist. 

Hope it comes out well.

We'll know next week.

I highly recommend this activity if

you are looking for a creative outing.

It is not cheap but when you 

factor in the time spent 

and memories made

it is well worth it.  

Kind of like a leisurely

family dinner

(without the calories)

when you are all around

a table...lots of conversation, laughter

and good time spent together.

Thanks for stopping by.

Have a very wonderful day!

Is She Daydreaming?

If so, 

I wonder what dogs 

daydream about.

Wake up, Bandit!

Well, at least she is trying....
Sweet puppy!!

In other news.....

This morning Chelsea and I will be caring

for babies and toddlers

for a MOPS group in Lancaster.

Then home to finish up the large custom

candle order and schoolwork.

There is never a shortage of things to do.

Yesterday was a fun kind of a day...

I'll show you more photos soon.

We had a creative afternoon!!

Painting pottery.

Thank you, so much, for all of your 

kind comments yesterday.

I am so, so happy to continue

Good Neighbors Candles!

Have a dreamy day!