When Things Don't Go Your Way

When you have everything planned out, your ready for your day, you're happy, and you're motivated, what do you do when everything falls through?

I've been thinking a lot about this, about wanting to be in control but not being able to. And it goes much deeper than just daily plans. I hate to see my brothers and sisters do stupid things or not believe and trust in God. I hate not being able to help people understand. I don't even like being in a car with certain drivers.



In short, I always want to be in control.

I've written about this before, but apparently I need lots of reminders. I'm incapable of being in control. That's the truth. I was not meant to be in control. God is over everything, He's in control. He'll work out everything for his glory.

God's got this.

So, when I am in desperation, when I'm out of control, I need to remember that "the eternal God is [my] dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms."~Deuteronomy 33:27

Adventures with Friends

Our friends and we like to go on adventures. Throughout the years, we have gone on several outings together. Lydia and Charlotte have been good friends for a while, and our moms go way back. I just come along as that fifth wheel that takes pictures and has fun with them.

This time we went to Yancyville. We had lots of fun, and I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Here we are in a little Amish type shop. 

Then we went to a coffee shop and got very sugared and full. 

It was a nice little shop. 

Mom and our friend sitting in the warm sun. 

Then we went to jail. It was pretty cold out by this point. 

Pretty epic jail if I do say so myself. Apparently, they were using this up into the 1970's. 

I was able to peak inside the back door of the jail. 

Look at that old stove!

Behind the jail was a school. I wonder who had the brilliant idea to put a school by a jail?

Love the reflections in these windows. 

Interior of the school. 

God has blessed me with older and younger godly friends, and I am thankful for the fun things we can do together no matter our ages. 

Cards

Recently, I made a stack of greeting cards as a gift for a friend. Here they are.

Here are all 8 of them together. The following pictures are all but one of them closer up. Do you have a favorite?

Song of Spring

Winter Blossom

Spider thing; I don't know, it looks like a bunch of legs coming out. 

It is what it says. 

Christmas in Vietnam

This one took a lot of work, but I really like the outcome. 

The Journal Rose. 

Have a great Thanksgiving. 

Another thing I'm thankful for is SUNSHINE!!! We had a lot of rain last week, and I'm just so glad God is letting the sun warm us up again. 

Spring, Art, and Sunshine

This is a bit of a random-things-of-life post, so I hope you enjoy a peek into my days of late.

After our hurricanes back in September, a bunch of leaves were torn off. Well, in the last few months new leaves have come back on. This green maple right here was quite empty a few weeks ago, but now it is looking nice a green again. 

We have had so much rain this week, and some things look so springy. 

I LOVE water, especially running, bubbling water. 

More fresh green leaves. 

Some art. I have been feeling a little more artsy lately. Last week, I braided my hair all up, and I think it is a kind of art. Also, my crocheted shaw is rather artistic as well. 

Where the imagination blossoms. This has been my card-making desk as of late. 

Drawing when you're nearly blind. My eyes are usually 4 or 5 inches from the paper. 

This was a difficult one, but I love the end result. 

Ahh...imagination. I love drawing card designs. 

"Just my type"

One of my little models. 

Even in the rain, I can find some cheer. 

After all the rain, we finally got some sun. Here it is flooding the kitchen table cloth. 

It's so bright! It was a wonderfully brisk 35 degrees out. 

I love the wet leaves reflecting the sun. 

Little drops aglow. 

I went down to our Leakey Spring. It was so clearly and bubbly. 

More glare from the sun. I cleared a bunch of debris from this little creek. 

When Four Friends Come for a Visit. . .

. . .You have fun.

You see, we all worked together this past summer and haven't really seen each other since then, so I decided to invite several of them over for dinner and time together. As it turned out, only four ended up being able to make it. However, that did not hinder us from having a lot of fun.

Dad took a bunch of pictures of us, so I'll just show them to you real quick.

We went for an adventure in the woods, including a visit to my "house" and the spring, when Dad spotted us from the porch and asked us to line up for a picture. I think this one's kind of cute; reminds me of a funny family picture. From left to right we have Michael, Jessica, Anthony, me, Mom, and Lydia. Yeah, my hair was slightly crazy that day.  

Then we stood around and chatted. 

We had dinner when Zach, the guy between Michael and Anthony, finally arrived. He had traffic troubles. 

Relaxation after dinner. Zach must have still been hungry as he was eating the pillow.

Dad took a bunch of us on the couch. 

Something was funny and we actually caught Anthony smiling on camera. I look a little devilish, but oh, well. 

I think this was supposed to be the silly one. I guess Zach and Michael thought that fighting was silly. 

Attempting to be serious, but we were struggling. Anthony's smirk...

OK, there we go. Very serious, because we're never laughing. 

Never laughing. 

Zach eating the pillow. Haha!

Well, all I can say is that God has given me a gift in recent years that I haven't always had: good friends. These people drove over an hour, close to two or even more, to see me, and so I am very thankful. With Thanksgiving coming up, I am thinking more about thankfulness. I think I am often not thankful and content for what I have, and I can easily think of bad things in my life, but I know that God is good, and He has given me much more than I need or could have even thought of. 

Good Monday to you!

Ellie