True Blue Charmer

Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Focus ~

I don’t really make specific New Year resolutions.  Most people make a resolution and can’t keep it until the evening of January 1st.  Most things that I would resolve to change are things that I should be doing anyway.  I was thinking a lot about focus.  Where is your focus? Focus often is what prioritizes things in our life.  If we have the focus where it should be, things more easily fall into place. 
It made me think about a kaleidoscope. I’ve always loved them! I have marveled at the beauty that a little tube with tiny pieces of glass can create. The word kaleidoscope comes from the Greek words “kalos”, which means beautiful, “eidos” which means shape, and the Greek verb “Skopein” which means to look.   Hold it up to the light and look through it.  Inside are beautiful pieces of brokenness.  It contains shards of glass or small beads that may be beautiful, but are often pieces of something broken.  You must hold it up to the light and turn it to focus it, and then the light shines through all of the broken pieces and the pieces come back together and it becomes something that is beautiful.
It is much like our lives.  They are ever changing, and when we take them out of the light, the images are blurred and out of focus.   We can have many areas of brokenness.  Beautiful and not so beautiful shards from this daily walk.  There is only one thing that can mend the brokenness of our lives and put things back together in a beautiful way.  Looking to Christ, the Light of the World, turning your focus on Him and what He has done for us, can bring our lives back into order and mend the areas that are broken.  And the only constant we have, is Christ. When the focus is skewed, or the light dims, the pieces fall apart again. 
Many of us may make resolutions, but I choose to continue with my focus.  Focus on Christ and HIs Word, and place things in the order He has intended.  He leads and guides us by His word, shows us the importance of our relationship with Him.  It is then, that  our marriages are strengthened, our families become stronger, we seek to follow Him more urgently and with greater care, tend our temples, and share what He has done for us. 
In the coming year, I pray we can all look to Christ, the author and finisher of our faith.  Let us seek Him in every aspect, let us put our focus on Him first of all and let His light shine in us and through us. 


"Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."
"Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life."
"Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid."
"And I will bring the blind by a way [that] they knew not; I will lead them in paths [that] they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them."






In His Love ~ Kim

"With Jesus in Her Heart, and Coffee in Her Cup" 

Monday, December 12, 2016

Kitchen Changes

I've been wanting to change up my kitchen a little bit for a couple of years now, but I'm a bit too scared to paint my cabinets.  Last week I did a mini makeover and I love it! I don't know if I will ever dare to paint the cabinets or not, but until then, this is a nice change for me.  
I saw a blog last week where the woman featured her sisters gorgeous kitchen.  She said it's not the coveted "white cabinet" kitchen that everyone seem to want these days, but it is a gorgeous kitchen. That's how I feel about mine.  I am blessed with a beautiful kitchen, and a space that I love working in.  I spend a lot of time in my kitchen.  It may not be the "in" kitchen, but it is still a great kitchen and I feel so blessed to have it!

The yellow in the before pictures seems brighter than it really is, but nonetheless, it is a gold color.  I had very beautiful, but dark and heavy drapes on my sliding glass door and double windows, that I had custom made for the space many years ago.  


Most of the rooms in my house are painted grey. I so wanted a grey color in the kitchen too, but most grey seemed to wash everything out.  I found this color, that has undertones of grey depending on the lighting.  I really like it and feel like it brightens up the room nicely!


Still working on finding the perfect accents for the space now that I've re-painted it.  But it feels so fresh and clean and bright, that I am really enjoying it! 


In His Love ~ Kim
"With Jesus in Her Heart, and Coffee in Her Cup" 

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Little Red Sled Bazaar ~

Another year in the books for The Little Red Sled Bazaar.  We had a successful day of sales, sold out fairly quickly (had a few marshmallows left), and now we are focusing on Christmas with our family. 





Quick I-phone picture the night before the bazaar, of my booth.  I didn't have my cinnamon rolls in the case till the next morning, but the pictures from the morning aren't as clear.   Many hours of work in a little space!


In His Love ~ Kim
"With Jesus in Her Heart, and Coffee in Her Cup"