When Will Things Get Better? It May Be Up to You.

Not to belittle or laugh away the gravity of the situation in Boston - it is senseless and horrifying.

However,

We must immediately do whatever necessary to have legislation introduced that will get bombs off the streets.

~Background checks on all those buying bomb making materials? Definitely...You say you're a gardener and you just want that fertilizer for your tomatoes? Likely story. We'll get back to you in six months and let you know if you passed the background check. In the mean time, your tomatoes will die, but that's okay - you can buy these GMO government-approved tomatoes instead...if you get sick from eating them, well,  Obama-Care will hasten your death for you.
~Limit the amount of bomb making materials that citizens can purchase? Why, certainly! You can buy four grains of fertilizer and no more; there's no reason why any normal, law abiding citizen should need any more fertilizer than that at one time.

We should not hesitate - the longer we wait to pass these bomb-control laws, the more innocent people will be harmed by illicit bombs! 

This is completely tongue-in-cheek - most will realize that. Like I said, the things that went on today in our country were horrible acts of violence toward innocent people. No one should have to fear dismemberment when they're out on the streets of their city.
But the facts are these: we (and by 'we' I mean the American people) rush to 'do something about guns' when a mentally unstable person goes and starts shooting in a school, but enacting more laws is not the answer -
Evil people do evil things.
This is fact.
Taking away a normal person's rights does not stop an evil person from committing evil - they just find another method of doing it.

Guns, bombs, knives, hammers, you name it - you can write laws banning all of them, but until you get rid of the evil in the hearts of those who would use them for harm, you cannot cure the problem.

Jesus is the only solution for violence in the world today.
Jesus can stop the violence in schools - if He was allowed there.
Jesus can stop the violence in our streets - but he's barely tolerated there.
Jesus can stop the apathy in our churches - if we'd let Him.

But it's too much trouble.

And so we whine about the pain and suffering around us. We beg our elected officials to 'do something' about it.

Because we don't want to take the time to get our hands dirty and reach out to the sin-ridden people in our cities; because we don't want to make the time to pray, fast and beseech almighty God to have mercy on our nation - because if we do, He might ask US to do something about it.

And that's too much trouble.

More government, more laws are not the answer.
More God is the answer - and until the Christians get up off of their self-righteous little backsides and learn to love people and help them out of their sin instead of judging them for doing what comes naturally to every human being that has no moral code to live by, nothing is going to get better.

In the words of a great children's book author:

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,

Nothing is going to get better. It's not.”  (― Dr. Seuss, The Lorax)

If my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 

 (2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV)

Note: I have no idea what the bombs used in the bombing today were made of - I just used fertilizer as an illustration because it is readily available in large quantities, and bombs can be made of it; I'm sure there are many other just-as-readily-available items that they make bombs out of as well. May as well make laws about those, too, while we're at it! :)

Spring Wreath Project

Alrighty, folks,
Do I have any Pinterest addicts up in here? Come on, step right up - don't be shy! :)

Hi. I'm Gillian. And I spend WAAAAAYYYYY too much time on Pinterest.

But where else would I find inspiration for projects like this one?

(image source)

So, I was wandering about on Pinterest one day and I spied this wreath. 

"Why," I says to myself, "I could do that!"

So I pin it.

Now the wreath the I had on my door at the time, while nice enough, is kind of dark colors, a bit more suited for winter, and my door is a rather drab grayish teal color, so something was needing to change - it's spring after all! I can't do much about the door - we rent - so it was going to have to be the wreath!

Well, a few days after I pinned the image above, I was wandering around in Dollar Tree and saw the display of silk flowers which just happened to have some bright springy tulips on it. 

"Why," I says to myself, "I could make that wreath!"

So I picked up a few bunches of tulips and a roll of ribbon; then, while I was at Walmart, I grabbed a grapevine wreath and we were all set!

After about 30 minutes of snipping and wiring, this is what I came up with: 

Please, pardon the blurriness - my small people seem to enjoy putting fingerprints on my camera lens, which I don't usually discover until AFTER I take pictures - and find them all blurry in certain spots.

My biggest problem with it is that Walmart only the smaller size wreaths in at the time, and rather than wait or drive somewhere else to find a bigger one I just went with what they had - I'm impatient like that! :) It would look better if it was bigger, but it's a nice bright springy spot on an otherwise drab spot. 

Cost? 

Flowers: $4

Ribbon: $1

Wreath: Around $2.50 (don't remember exactly)

Total: $7.50

(I used a small amount of florists wire, but I normally have that on hand. I could have also used hot glue, but that would have required me figuring out what I did with it when we moved. Wire was easier.)

Obviously, you can tell if you really want to that it's made of el cheapo flowers - but for something that's going to hang outside in this Louisiana weather (which destroys things pretty rapidly), I'm not about to pay $5 a stem for nice flowers - I'm cheap like that.

Mostly, it's pretty and colorful - and that makes me happy!

I'm linking up with Charity's Finished Object Friday HERE

This Is My Song!

I love music.

I know, big revelation...that should be pretty obvious to anyone who knows me - I mean, after all, my husband and I have been singing together pretty much since the day we met, we've been music ministers and song evangelists, and our cd collection pretty much would take over the house if we let it. It's not just a 'LIKE', it's pretty much our LIFE.

It's been a big part of my life from the time I was very small. Growing up, we had music playing in our house most of the time. My mother plays the piano, all of my siblings play instruments; by the time I left home we had not one, not two, but THREE pianos in our house. One was an upright grand that my mom has had for eons (it was so big and heavy my dad had to brace the floor in all of their homes to hold it- but boy did it have some resonance to it!), then when I was probably 8-10 they bought another smaller spinet-type upright for my sister to practice on, and when I was in my teens Dad rescued one from a college fraternity home that he was remodeling - a baby grand that had been trashed by the guys. They had it rebuilt and have it (and the others!) to this day. Many times Mom and I would each take a piano and play together.

But it wasn't just the instrumental music - we sang everything! It wasn't uncommon for us to ask each other questions in song - or to make up new (and often odd) words to an old song. On our 45+ minute trip to church three times a week, we'd take an old hymnal and sing the songs - if we didn't know them we'd learn them! 

Music was a way of life for us.

But there was one thing I never understood...

As much as we sang, played, made a joyful noise, etc. it always slightly puzzled me when Mom would start singing old hymns out of the blue.

She'd be minding her own business, maybe working around the house or in the garden, and you'd hear her start humming; after a while, you start to hear snippets of words coming through, then she'd break out in, "This is my Stoooory, this is my song! Praising my Saviour all the day long!" 

That song just didn't make much sense to me.

What was  the story?! WHY was she singing about 'praising the Saviour all the day long'?!

I wasn't exactly a heathen, folks. I grew up in church - at LEAST three times a week, every night during revival - if the doors were open, the Graham family was THERE. I knew the songs, I knew the stories.

But that song still didn't make sense.

It mostly aggravated me when she'd sing the lyrics wrong - maybe part of the third verse when she was singing the second verse, that sort of thing. But it didn't matter to her whether she sang it in the right order or not - she was just singing the words that meant something to her right then.

Fast forward a few years...

One day I learned the meaning in those words - and it's now one of MY favorite songs:

"Blessed Assurance - Jesus is mine!

Oh, what foretaste of Glory Divine!

I'm an heir of Salvation, purchase of Blood

Born of the Spirit, washed in His blood!"

I understand now - this IS my story!  Jesus IS mine! And because I'm an heir of Salvation I can praise my Saviour all the day long! I, who once longed for peace to come in all the jumbled chaos of my heart can sing it - and mean it -

"Perfect Submission, All is at rest!

I, in my Saviour, am happy and blest!"

Life's not always easy - we've had our share of very big problems. But God is gracious and merciful - and a very present help in time of trouble! And even in the trials I'm still blessed - and happy in my Saviour; even though I don't always understand how He's working, I know that He's working for my good.

And every once in a while, I'll be going along, minding my own business, maybe doing housework, maybe not, and I'll break out in a rousing chorus of,

"This is my Stoooory, This is my Sooooong!

Praising my Saviour all the day long!"

And my kids look at me like I just sprouted whiskers and a tail and say,

"Mom, could you stop singing - you're being too loud!"

And I just tell them, "Nope, can't do it!" 

Lord willing - They'll understand one day.