Where'd My Joy Go?

Somehow,
somewhere along the road of my journey I lost my joy.
Lost may be a far fetched word and I most likely choose to misplace it.
Misdirect it.
OK, so like my hairbrush, my wallet and my keys, I lost it.
For now.
or,
for then.

I'm getting it back.
Slowly.
But it's coming.

JOY
Jesus
Others
Yourself

As I sat across my kitchen counter I asked her, "what's the deal with joy?"
She shared the above acronym and the tears swelled up.
"I don't even need to share with you what I wanted to share" I said
"For all I have to say deals with me."

See I was trying to spell joy, yoj or yjo.
Either way I was working hard at making the "y" sound say the "j" sound.
Working hard and keeping me first and wondering why I was hating it.

So I "googled" joy in my Bible app.
The list was long.
God has a lot to say about joy.

"Rejoice in hope
be patient in tribulation
be constant in prayer." Romans 12:12

Rejoice in hope. My hope in in Christ and Christ alone. My rejoicing, my joy comes from that hope.
My hope can not rely on circumstances, job, address, bank account, closet, dreams, future, husband, kids; 
no 
my hope, 
my source of rejoicing------lies in the Lord. 
It's simple.
Jesus--- that's the start of joy.

"When they saw the star,
they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy" Matthew 2:10

That refers to the wise men when the star they were following came to a halt above the place where Jesus was.
The place where he was.
Did you get that? It wasn't when they saw him or heard him speak, they just knew he was near.
They rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. That's a lot of joy.
and yet they hadn't even seen Jesus yet.
They just knew he was near.
How often to I demand a sighting?
He is near.
That my friends is worth rejoicing over- and rejoicing with exceedingly great joy.

I want that.

So I could share more but for now it's that simple.
I need it simple.

Life is complicated enough with late nights with toddlers and teenagers.
Preparing and cooking meals,
taxiing kids and staying on a budget.
Laundry and housework, friends and family;
yeah life is complicated and I desire for simple.

Simple things like Jesus.
Finding my joy in him.
Resting in Him.

From Jesus my joy can grow,
is growing,
has grown.

So to you, I ask...
where is your joy from?
The everlasting or the temporal?
The One who all hope rests in or the fleeting hope of the world?

Have joy,

How I Paint A Pallet Sign

Pallet signs are all over the place online but seem to be pretty scarce in the real world. I caught the bug about 18 months ago when I made my first pallet sign but didn't really pick up speed until this summer. 

Now I am on a quest to build and inventory to sell. 

But first, I thought I'd break down the method I use to paint my pallet signs.

Most of my signs are free hand so here is a peak behind my signs.

I begin with a blank pallet, scissors, paper, tape, paint brush and paint.

I either choose my pallet and then decide what to paint on it

or

I decide what I want to paint (or have been commissioned to paint) and have the pallet sign custom made.

I then use graph paper to cut strips of paper the same size as each pallet board, or if the artwork will cover multiple boards I make a paper "sign" the exact size of the pallet.

Next I lightly paint the design on the paper. This allows for spacing and any color or lettering changes.

Next I tape the template to the board and go ahead and paint the artwork on the pallet. 
Sometimes I need to go over the work with a second and even a third coat, painting on rough wood has lots of bumps and crevices along the way.

I repeat this until the sign is complete. 

Lastly, I sign and date my work.

As of now I have my oldest son cut down and put together the pallets and Steve installs the wall hangers, but those are my next tasks to learn to do myself.

That's it! Hope you enjoyed it.

peace, love and Jesus

Old Post but Worth Sharing

I found this in my posts archive, not sure why it didn't get posted; but here it is...

Catching up with pictures. 

Back in June Steve, Aubry and I traveled to Detroit to see my friend Lisa graduate from high school. Most of the pictures from that trip I uploaded to Shutterfly and just don't feel like accessing them right now, 

but I will

cause I want you to see Lisa and her unique graduation and our trip to the city.

Aubry and I had been reading Baby's Day Out leading up to the trip and as we visited all the sights of the big city we, OK I, could related all those real life big city spots to spots in the book.

We stayed in the old Polish community center and home to Detroit Love Inc. 

Buildings, like the great outdoors are not done any justice by photos. I've learned that while photos can look beautiful and amazing once the naked eye has laid it's gaze on something so beautiful no photo could ever compare.

But trust me- a 100 year old building in Detroit is amazing.

Aubry loved the sink baths and I loved the brick walls and large windows that hung as her backdrop.

Detroit's Eastern Market is always a must on a stop over in Detroit. the Menninte oatmeal creme pies being my main reason to go- yum! So it was a joy for me to take both Aubry and Steve. 

Back on the home front pallet wood has been where it's at. You can see my stash of broken down pallets. My oldest son Vaughan has become an expert at breaking them down and assembling them so I can then brainstorm or Pinterest for ideas.
This stack in the picture is now depleted down to a few boards.

Holidays lend to themed signs. Here is a sign I made for my mom's cottage and it served as a nice greeting when we attended the annual 4th of July party at her place.

I hope to do a few other signs with barns on them; growing up in New England old barns are as pleasing to the eye as 100 year old Polish community centers.

I will always recall 2 barns in my home town, an extra large size barn just north of the high school that seemed to own the field it lived in and swallowed up the farmhouse lying between it and the road

and then an old yellow barn not far from the extra large one, a little off the beaten path on the way to Steve's high school home.

I am sure they will both serve as inspiration.

 My daughter-in-law suggested I get this bird feeder and I'm glad she did.
Every morning Aubs and I wake up, grab our morning drink and sit watching the birds come and go just feet away. We are so spoiled.

School starts Monday and the love-hate relationship I have with most things in life applies to back to school as well. 

We first must do school shopping.
I know 2 days left, but it's how we roll.

I love the routine that comes with school.
It kind of kicks my butt into gear, making for more visibily productive days.

I hate not having my kids here.
It's sad to send them off, to not eat lunch with them or talk with them.
It's why I loved home schooling,
but such is life and Justin enjoys school and his calling and place in life right now is to be gone.

I hope you find balance as the fall approaches and as I am constantly doing I hope you enjoy your now and in enjoying it you find joy.

Peace, love and Jesus,