Women of Faith Blog Hop, May 27-29

  

"Welcome to another special Faith Blog Hop sponsored by Paper Tree House Studio! You should have arrived here from Diane's Blog if you are following the hop.  If you just happen to have fallen here go to the beginning of the hop over at Paper Tree House Studio. 

At the end of every month a group of bold women gather to give Glory to God with the talents He has given us in a very loud way... :) Our prayer is that through the projects we have created you Will be able to see Him in all of His Glory! May He touch you today as we look at the theme of the Proverbs 31 woman, and may you find that you are indeed everything He designed you to be.

This is how the hop works:
Below you will find a link to the blog of a beautiful and brave women that is ready to show their weaknesses in order that you may see His strength. :) Follow the line-up and please leave some love throughout the way. Allow yourself to cry, laugh, smile, along with any other emotion the Lord may bring your way. You will find that there are many prizes throughout the hop. In order to qualify to receive them you must be a follower of the blog and you must leave a comment. Know that if you are announced as the winner of a prize you are responsible for contacting us in order for us to make the prize go your way. *KJ note--see information about my particular blog candy below*

Here are our sponsors:

Paper Tree House Studio: Scrapbooking Kit (valued at $45)
Tombow: Amazing Adhesive Pack
Scrapbook News and Review: 1 year subscription to their magazine.
Punky Sprouts: Sweetie Album
Sweet Stamper: Stampin' Up Stamp Set

Now let's get the hop started! :)

The woman described in Proverbs 31 seems to be perfect! She works hard for her family, keeps up with the house, makes sure that the entire family is fed, is respected by others and her husband, and the list goes on... It can be very overwhelming to try to attain her status- which leaves many of us feeling as though we do not amount to God's standards. If you are anything like me, you too have felt as though there is always something that is just not right in your womanhood. Maybe you are not sweet enough, or neat enough, or submissive enough, or clean enough... Whatever label you do not amount to it can leave you feeling overwhelmed and discouraged.

God did not put this part of Scripture in the Bible so that we would draw away from Him filled with shame due to our incapacity to do what He expects of us. On the contrary, I have become every day more certain that He inspired these words because He wants to show us His Grace. The truth is: we all fall short of the Glory of God and there is not even one that is good amongst us. He KNEW this when He made us and when He decided to save us- and in this He loved us.

The Proverbs 31 woman is meant to be a reminder of how much we need Christ! God desires that we would be women like the one portrayed there, and He knew that these areas would be our weaknesses, so He gave us this map of virtues so that we would not conform to the world but allow Him to transform us. The Bible teaches that in our weaknesses He is strong! My prayer is that you would allow the Lord to show you those areas where you indeed fail so that in turn you would learn to be mesmerized by His great strength. You will be doing things you never imagined when you fully rely on Him. In Him you already are the Proverbs 31 Woman you so desire to be. May He show you that truth today as He heals you from all insecurities."

I have to say, I struggled a bit with this.  I fall so far short of being a Proverbs 31 woman (at least in my head) that I really didn't see how I could honestly represent myself in this hop.  I spent so much time praying about this that I think I forgot to be quiet and listen for the answer!  Once I did, it was one of those *duh!* no-brainer things that have to smack me upside the head before I see the forest for the trees.  I chose Proverbs 31:22, "She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple." as my focus.

A while ago, the hubs and I bought some rather expensive tab-top curtain panels for our sliding door to the backyard.  We found them on sale at a going-out-of-business store, but they were still more than we would normally spend for something that gets so much pet abuse---the cats lay under them and the dog can't seem to go out without brushing up against them--so easy washability was a must-have. They claimed, prominently, on both the tag and the package, that they are machine wash and dry. Well, we took them down and washed them....and, when we put them back up, they were about 6 inches shorter than they were before!  (Yes, we followed the directions!)  Along with many in our country, we are in a monetary crunch, so something not too costly had to be done to fix this, since taking them back wasn't an option.  

When we were going through my studio (more on that in another One By One Post!), we found some fabric that I'd forgotten about that we both like.  While it doesn't exactly match the decor in the family room, it's not too bad, and there was enough to make the needed addition to the shrunken curtains as well as some panels for the windows and a few pillow covers.  While they aren't bed coverings, nor am I clothed in fine linen (it wrinkles so!) or purple, I do try hard figure out ways to make our home attractive and pleasant for my hubs to come to after work.

These are the curtains that started it all---you'll see that I didn't just add a strip of the plaid to the bottom.  I cut the curtains about a foot from the top and inserted the 8 inch plaid piece to lengthen them there.  I made sure all my seams are Frenched, so there are no raw edges to ravel  when they are washed again.

These are the curtain panels I made for the windows.  I'm sorry the lighting isn't better---we're having a thunderstorm and, even with all the lights on in the great room, this was the best I could do.  Anyway, they are just simple, straight panels, with curtain rings clipped to the to for easy sliding.  Stevie the Cat needs to be able to part them easily to bird watch!

I bought two new pillow forms at JoAnn's (on sale for 40% off!) and then also simply recovered the existing throw pillows we had on the couch.  (The blue blanket is so the dog can sit on the couch---we so cater to our pets!  And, yes, we remove it if company comes!)  I make all my pillow covers with a pillow-sham type overlap in the back, so they can be easily removed for laundering. 

 This is a bonus photo of some curtain panels I made for the kitchen.  I love the mid-century modern barkcloth I used for this set!

God has given me some talents that I try to use as a Proverbs 31 woman.  It's not always easy, but with prayer and thoughtfulness, I know I'll continue to be strive to be a woman whose price is above rubies.

I'd love to make a fun pillow cover for you!  If you'll send me the colors you'd like it in, I'll make you one that will fit on a 14 inch pillow form.  To win this, please leave a comment, along with your email (in the safe ksjennings at gmail dot com format) on this post before midnight on May 29.  One Monday, I'll ask Randy, from random.org, to select a comment number.  I'll announce the winner here, and contact them directly for their mailing information. Remember, too that you need to leave a comment here to be considered for one of the Grand Prizes.

You should now hop over to Jennifer's Blog for the rest of the hop.  Enjoy all the wonderful creations--and Be Blessed!