Color Outside the Lines!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day. The day started out so special. Two little girls woke me up saying, "Mom, we made cinnamon rolls for you." My first words, "You used the oven? Did you use the pie pan?" (they turn out best in the pie  pan!) Of course. Yes, they are 12 and 10 and quite capable of cooking, but this mom is always afraid to let them because I'm afraid they will get hurt/burned. I want to be there to watch every move they make to ensure their safety, and I have to admit, perfection. I have to tell you this precious action of theirs has to be credited to my husband, Brian. He's not afraid to let them try things like I am. He loves coloring outside the lines!!

Early in the day, my husband says to me, "Shelli, let's let the girls color underneath our dining room table. No one will be able to see it. Only we will know it's there. Their drawings will be special memories down the road."

Now, our dining room table is fairly new. It is the nicest dining table I have ever had. When Brian and I first married, he was an enlisted airman in the Air Force, and believe me when I say our pay was little. I was thankful to have a small table all those struggling years; buying a dining table was not high priority. We actually didn't have a dining table until a precious elderly friend passed away and left us a monetary gift. When we lived in Fort Worth some twenty years ago, she was our neighbor. Brian always mowed her yard for her and wouldn't take a dime from her. She found a way to pay him back!! So with that gift, we decided to buy something that we needed, that would be around a long time, and that would always remind us of our precious neighbor. That was our dining table.

Color on the dining table? Really? I'm such a color-inside-the-lines type of person, but I'm so thankful for a husband who loves to color outside the lines.

The mural began!

I crawled underneath my dining table last night, and this is the first thing I saw:



Karalee's handiwork

Then I looked and saw this: (Grin.)



from my flower girl, Katelyn

When my eyes focused on "Believe in the Lord" ... I knew this was the beginning of an amazing Masterpiece. Karalee will look back at this one day and see that her thoughts were on God that Thanksgiving Day. And I'm so thankful that my color-inside-the-lines personality didn't cause me to miss out on something so special.

Color outside the lines? You bet!

The Promise Keeper

This is the time of year when people start thinking about what they are thankful for. As I was putting on my make-up this morning, it came to me: I am so thankful that our God is "the" Promise Keeper! He is not wishy-washy, or indecisive like we can tend to be. He does not wake up on the wrong side of the bed. He is faithful. He is the reason I can smile today; and the reason tears can well up in my eyes at the thought of where He has brought me and what He has seen me through, in spite of me. Oh, I love Him.

I thought I'd share two of my favorite promises:

1. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

2. "Call to me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things which you do not know." Jeremiah 33:3

Happy Thanksgiving.

Project HELP

I have another article out regarding what WMU is doing to prevent human exploitation. This sweet lady, Sheryl Churchill, actually grew up in Fort Worth and attended Travis Avenue Baptist Church (where we go). Speaking with her was such a blessing for me.

A Cry for Freedom

I recently had the amazing privilege to interview Sandra Johnson, president and founder of Triad Ladder of Hope (TLH) in North Carolina. She is an amazing woman. Her service to the Lord includes helping rescue victims tangled in the web of human exploitation/ human trafficking. I know you will be blessed by Sandra.

A Toddler's Cancer Changes a Family

** Update ... when you click on this link, on the left side, click on year "2010" and Issue "04, Oct-Dec" ... hope you are blessed.

Katelyn in hospital April 2001

I have a new article out with Chinese Christian Mission about our daughter Katelyn's battle with cancer. Once you click on this link, look to the left and click on my article's title, "A Toddler's Cancer Changes a Family."

Katelyn 2009

Katelyn was only 13 months old when we discovered she had a Wilm's tumor.  If I look extremely pale in the picture above, just know that I am very fair-skinned and my make-up may have been too light, but I had been so sick.

I pray you are blessed by the article. And if you would like a copy of the publication, Challenger, with the article and pictures included, just call them or email them through their website, and they will send you one for free in the mail.

Love, Shelli

Brian blowing bubbles!

Katelyn (10) and Karalee (12) 2010

The Challenge

I have a new article out on WMU's myMISSIONfulfilled titled The Challenge. This article was truly a challenge for me. This article was on the challenges of a person living with HIV/AIDS and the challenges of a "caregiver."

I had a high school classmate die from this tragic disease years ago, and his sister was so sweet to give me a quote about her brother for my article.

One thing that struck my heart ... no matter what hardships we endure ... in life and in death, God continues to use our lives and our testimonies. I praise Him for that. I praise Him that when our lives are over, they aren't "over." Not eternally and not on this earth.

May you be blessed.

True Love

This is absolutely the sweetest thing my husband has ever done for me.

Spontaneous. Surprising. Glorious!

We were painting a section of our kitchen wall red.

Taking a break, I sat down at the office computer.

Eventually, the girls came in and blocked me from leaving the room.

After tickling them silly, I broke free to see such a sweet masterpiece of love!

 

I ran so excitedly to grab my camera -
and this is the love I captured!

This is one sweet memory I'll never forget.

And it's going to be mighty hard to paint over.

It may take me several days to figure out what to do about this ...

 

This melted my heart more than anything he's ever done for me.

I guess I'm easy to please ... but it feels like, after 23 years ...

true love!

Yahoo! That's my "B"!

Planting a Vineyard with my Little Sister!

I have a new article out titled Planting a Vineyard: "Couponing with Lucrecia Wingfield." What a fun article this was because my sweet friend (like a little sister to me), Lucrecia, agreed to do an interview/article for me. I started a facebook account because of Lucrecia ... she kept posting pictures on there and I kept getting invitations to see her pictures ... it was more than I could take, so I started a facebook account. I had to see those sweet kidos - her 3 boys and my girls' best friends.

Well, not long after, I kept noticing her posting pictures of groceries and personal care items that she purchased for so little money. She, once again, got my curiosity up enough that I had to ask her how on earth was she doing that. She showed me all her great websites for finding great coupons ... convinced me to start buying at least two Sunday papers for the coupons ... and I have really saved a lot of money since the first of the year. Not only that, I have so much more groceries and personal care items in my pantry and bathroom cabinets ... enough to last for months.

The best part ... I can give so much more away than ever before. I am a stay-at-home mom who home schools and writes, but basically we live on one income. We are probably the only "one income" family on our street. Earlier in the year, the post office did their yearly food drive, and we were the only family on the street that put out an overflowing sack of grocery items to donate.

It's just proof that one can do much on one income if you take advantage of money saving opportunities.

Shelli and Lucrecia

I thank my good friend, Lucrecia, for the interview and for the special memory/keepsake of an article on her - written/compiled by me. That is mighty special indeed! And I thank my precious Savior, who makes blessings like this possible.

I hope you are blessed by the article. And that you are able to save money and stock up as I have.
Love, Shelli

Beauty for Ashes

I have a new article out! I am so thrilled about this one because it is written on a lady, Mary Clemons, who lives in my hometown of Terrell, Texas. We actually went to high school together for a few years until she moved away. It is a tragic story of domestic violence ... I say tragic because there was not a happy ending to her marrige. But her life is victorious, and the best thing is that she is alive today to proclaim how much she loves the Lord and is a servant to helping others escape domestic violence. I know you will be blessed by her story!

And Mary will be featured in Good Housekeeping toward the end of this year!
Love, Shelli

Life

I have a new article posted on WMU's myMISSIONfulfilled called A Valued Inheritance regarding "life." Vicky Payne had me in tears, and the video, The Silent Scream, was horrifying, disturbing, and heart-breaking ... yet, an eye-opener. I found it on-line and forced myself to watch it completely. I pray you are blessed by this article.

Love, Shelli

Texas Bluebonnets

Every year it's such a challenge to get "Bluebonnet pictures"! They are so beautiful, but it is always rainy this time of year which makes the ground so soft and muddy! The only place you usually see them is on the highway/interstate, unless you make an intentional country drive for pictures!

 

It's driving on the highway that reminds me ... I need to get pictures!

 

This last week as we were driving home from our Saturday ritual of Rudy's breakfast burritos and donuts, we found a place easy to pull off on the highway for pictures.

 

You have to be careful where you stop ... you don't want to cause on-lookers to have an accident!

 

The ground was so soft from the rain, there was some complaining over that and over the precious flowers we squished to get pictures, and we came home with some mud on our shoes, but I got pictures!

 

It's very windy, and I can't help but laugh when I see my youngest daughter's hair blowing up against the back of her head ... but, I got pictures!

 

See ... with Bluebonnets ... you only have about two weeks to accomplish this amazing feat!

"The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever." - Isaiah 40:8

Inconceivable Love

Sweet friends, I have a new article out by a Chinese Christian publication called the Challenger!  This article touched my heart more than most ... though they all touch my heart. This one had me crying all the way. So ... caution! It is regarding little girls in Africa and Islam ... and broke my heart so much because I have two small girls. I cannot imagine what these babies are going through. No one should have to.

Be blessed. Grab your tissue.
Shelli

Go here to read this, year 2010, issue 3 (July-Sept).

A Surrendering Heart

I have a new article out on WMU's myMISSIONfulfilled.com. This young man's name had to remain anonymous for obvious reasons. It was a blessing to speak with him ... I know you'll be blessed, too.

Love, Shelli

February is for Snow and Valentine's Day!

We received over 6-8 inches of snow in Fort Worth, Texas, this February! Hard to believe. Looking at my recipe for snow ice cream ... the last time we had this much snow was when we lived in Wichita Falls, Texas, in 2001! The girls really enjoyed it.

and so did their kittie cats, Aslan & Lucy ...

I shoveled all the snow from our driveway and have a definite back pain from it!

Have to throw in a few pictures from our December/ Christmas snow!

"Crystal" is her name, and she even made me look small! A few days later ...

We had a wonderful Valentine's Day. Started off with our sweet 4th grade Sunday school class at Travis Avenue Baptist Church. Then we were off to the Rain Forest Cafe in Grapevine!

Karalee & Katelyn

It was a wonderful day, until about 9pm. Karalee started having a stomach ache and here comes the old bad stomach virus. NOT a very nice Valentine's Day present. But two days later, she is a new little girl! Now, hoping Katelyn doesn't get sick, too.

Manila Flood

I have a new article out at Woman's Missionary Union's myMISSIONfulfilled.com. I interviewed a precious missionary in the Philippines who lived through the awful flood. I am so glad the Lord allowed our paths to cross, and I appreciate her for sharing her story.

Be blessed.