My Empty Shelf Challenge Update #2

September 4, 2014

Wow! I just checked to see when I did my last Empty Shelf Challenge Update, and it was back in March! At that time, I had finished reading 12 books. My goal for this year was to read at least two books a month, for a total of 24 books for the year.

So how am I doing? Since March, here are the books I have finished reading:

Mission Drift by Peter Greer
The Antelope in the Living Room by Melanie Shankle
Esther by Beth Moore
How People Change by Timothy Lane
Dancing with My Father by Sally Clarkson
The Beauty of Broken by Elisa Morgan
Hope Rising by Scott Todd
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Rhinestone Jesus by Kristen Welch
Chasing Francis by Ian Cron
The Nesting Place by Myquillyn Smith
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Radical by David Platt
Grace for the Good Girl by Emily Freeman
Me, Myself, & Bob by Phil Vischer
Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman

Well, since the end of March, I have read 16 books, which brings my total to 28 books for the year! Woo hoo! Guess I should have upped by goal a bit.

Of course, this does not mean that I am going to stop reading for the year, that just wouldn't be right. So you might be thinking, what is in my book pile right now? Glad you asked:

I pulled out our copy of Operation World, so I can really start learning more and praying for the countries where our Compassion sponsored children live. Not really sure if I will read the whole book (it is a really thick one!), but I am thankful for resources like this one.

The Time Machine and I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist are books for our upcoming school year (which we plan on starting next week). And The Best Yes and You and Me Forever are books for me to read and learn from.

Hey, do you have a Goodreads account? If so, you can find me there and follow along to see what books I am reading next.

I would love for you to share what books are in your book pile. Won't you share them in the comments below?

Tackle It on Tuesday: Car Seat Blanket

September 3, 2014

If you have been reading my blog for any length of time, you know that I like to work on projects, of all types. I love that we have access to so many resources that can be made into beautiful items to display, use, and/or share with others.

Last week, I started on this car seat blanket with the yarn I purchased at my favorite yarn shop up in the foothills. The pattern was free with a purchase, and I thought this yarn would be perfect for this project. The blanket will measure 14 inches wide and 20 inches long when complete. I have about 8 inches still to knit before the blanket is complete.

We had our yard sale over the weekend, which means I was able to clear out more boxes from the craft room. I know this room still needs a lot of decluttering, but I am really happy with the progress being made in here!

One reason I am happy that progress is being in the craft room...there is actually room in there to work on projects! God continues to bless me with opportunities to earn money for my next trip with Compassion!

This time, I will be making some curtains for a friend. Her family just purchased a cute little trailer. She is working on adding a glamping factor, and she asked me to make the curtains for her!

So this week, I really didn't finish any projects, but I have made good progress on a couple of projects. I would love to know what projects you are tackling this week. Share them with me in the comments below.

Be exalted above the heavens

August 30, 2014

Taken last night with my iPhone 4s, edit in Snapseed app, text added in Rhonna Designs app

"Be exalted above the heavens, O God;

Let Your glory be above all the earth." - Psalm 57:11

Back to School with Compassion

August 28, 2014

One thing I have been learning as a Compassion sponsor and advocate is a better sense of geography!

And I don't feel bad admitting this, because we learned at the Experience Compassion Conference at the end of June, that even Scott Todd didn't know where the Dominican Republic was when he became a Compassion sponsor in college.

As Compassion sponsors, I believe one way we can build a better relationship with our sponsored children is to learn more about the country where our sponsored children live. Compassion's web site has a Where We Work link with access to help us learn more about each of the 26 countries where Compassion is currently working to release children from poverty in Jesus' name.

So I want to challenge you to earn a gold star!! Do a little research and tell me the following in the comments below:

What is your sponsored child's name and what country do they live in? You would be surprised the number of times I ask people where their sponsored child lives and they can't tell me!
What is the capital of the country where your sponsored child lives?
Tell me one unique fact about the country where your sponsored child lives.

See this book? If you answer all three questions above, you will earn three gold stars! Each gold star gives you a chance to win this amazing book, Too Small to Ignore, by Dr. Wess Stafford.

But in order to be eligible, you must leave your comment prior to Thursday, September 4th at noon Pacific time. Winner will be notified by e-mail, so please leave your e-mail address in your comment so I can contact you if you are the winner.

Tackle It on Tuesday: Photo Wall

August 27, 2014

This past week, I have still been working on my craft room, collecting up items for our upcoming yard sale, and moving things around in the craft room to make more room to actually get craft projects finished. Phew! Maybe after the yard sale is over, I can share another photo of what the room looks like, but right now, there are still many boxes filled with items for the yard sale.

One project I did finish last week was updating my photo wall. Here is the before picture:

I have been wanting to rearrange the photos on this wall for some time now, but finding those prints last week was just the thing I needed to drive me to work on this project.

First thing I did was to mat and frame the new prints. Then I took down the photos I wanted to rearrange. After that, I cut out paper the size of each photo that would be going back up on the wall and jotted a quick note on the paper so I knew which photo would be going where.

Then with my daughter's help, we arranged the papers up on the wall to get an idea of what the wall would look like with the photos in those spots. Once we had an arrangement we both liked, it was time to put the photos back up on the wall.

Ta da! Now I can enjoy all these memories as I walk by this wall every day!

So what project will I be tackling this week?

My husband and I were up in the foothills this week, and they just happen to have a wonderful yarn shop there. I couldn't resist purchasing some yarn for a new project.