My Love

Friday night was rough.

It was one of those moments that started slowly; in fact, it has been building for awhile.

Like the kind husband he is, Travis started asking questions.

And my heart started coming out.
And then the tears started coming.

It was one of those moments when you start crying and then the tears won't stop.

I stopped a few times, but each time, within a few minutes, the tears just came flowing back out.

And my husband was so sweet and gentle.

He cleaned the living room, played a board game with my, let me cry all over him, listened, and then carried me to bed when I finally fell asleep on the couch.

It is one of those days where I am just blown away by how blessed I am. Travis in my life is simply the grace of God toward me.

So today, I want to take time to express my thankfulness for one particular area of my life...
     my husband

Travis,
Thank you for being mine, and only mine! I'm so thankful I can trust that completely.


Thank you for loving me unconditionally


Thank you for being willing to say the hard things out of love.


Thank you for constantly trying learn how to love me best. Thank you for asking things like: "How could I have said that better? What would you prefer? And, does that make you happy?"



Thank you for being close to me: physically and emotionally.



Thank you for working so hard to provide for and take care of me.


Thank you for patiently explaining things to me...over and over and over again.


Thank you for making me laugh everyday!


Thank you for singing to me and for me and about me constantly! I love your singing.


But truly, the one I need to thank is Jesus. It is from Him that all good blessings, like my husband, come.


Lord,
You have blessed my life so much, most of all through the your sacrifice on the cross. Your grace is amazing and makes me thankful everyday.
Thank you for my husband. He is truly the biggest blessing of my life. I am humbled and amazed that you would bless me with such a godly and wise husband. Keep him close to You. Teach me to love, serve, and honor him well. Bless him richly. Thank you again for the beautiful gift of my husband.

I am blessed,
<3

Alphabet Week 19: SSS

Hello lovelies!



First Word that Pops into My Head:
Snake...I think this is due to the fact that seeing the "sss" made me think of snakes. (And Harry Potter...)

People I Know:
Sarah - lots of Sarah's, including my cousin!
Sam - Both boys and girls!
Samantha (see above)
Samuel (see above)
Scott - Are "s" names just really popular?
Sandy - My small group leader for women's bible study in WA
Shane -  Again...a few!

Colors:
Saffron
Sandy Brown
Sand
Sangria
Sapphire
Scarlet
Sea Green
Shamrock Green
Silver
Sky Blue
Slate Grey
Steel Blue

Favorites:
Swimming
Swings
Singing
Skies
Skillets
Skeins - Of yarn! =)

Dictionary Word I didn't Know:
Sabliere - Sand pit

Food:
Salad
Shrimp - If any one of you ever wants to buy me shrimp...let's just say I will eat it all as fast as possible (while still trying to look lady-like) and be exceedingly happy! Cold with cocktail sauce or in a pasta is best. I could probably write a whole post on shrimp, but I will spare you.
Seafood - Yum
Salmon - Also yum
Sandwiches
Salami
Sausage
Soup!

I hope this puts a Smile on your face! I wish you a smiling and sunny weekend!

Be blessed.
<3

Insta-Thanks

 I am thankful for...

The beautiful city I live in. It takes my breath away every day.

My loving family. I miss them all so much. My heart is heavy thinking of them all so far away.

My wonderful husband who fills my life with blessings daily. I cannot imagine life without him. He is my number one blessing for sure.

The #SheReadsTruth community. These devotionals have encouraged me and helped so much to keep me accountable in reading God's Word daily.

Coffee. I'm not thankful for it in the dependent on caffeine sort of way, but in the way that is simply thankful for the joy it brings into my life. I love the taste of coffee.

For our amazing church family and the opportunity to be a part of what God is doing in Delray Beach.

The fact that Christmas is coming soon.

My kitchen that I can cook, bake, and wash dishes in.

The opportunity I have had over the past (almost) year to write and express myself creatively through this blog.

The wonderful network and community of bloggers that I am beginning to be a part of.

The opportunity to share my passion for crochet and design with all of you through my Etsy shop.

The fact that my sister arrives in Florida to visit me, soon! Very soon!

I am thankful for delicious sweets and treats like pumpkin pie for breakfast.

But most of all, I am thankful for the One to whom I give thanks. I am thankful for grace, for not only a clean slate, but for the righteousness of Jesus credited to my account. I am thankful for the hope of heaven someday. Truly, I am blessed.

Be blessed,
<3

Happy Shopping

Who is out Black Friday Shopping? Who is afraid to try and brave the crowds?


Well if you fall in the first category and you feel like your feet are about to fall off, or if your snuggling at home shaking your head at all the crazy people out running around, turn on your computer and come check out Alesha Blessed Designs on Etsy.

Through Monday at Midnight, I am offering 30% off EVERYTHING in my shop.
{Yes, you read that right! 30% off everything}

Want a custom order? Email me and I'll work on quoting you a price. <3

Happy shopping friends!

Oooo! Wait! One more things. If you want more discount codes for handmade shops, head over to My Beautiful Crazy Life and check out Brianna's holiday gift guide!

Be Blessed
<3

What I Wore {and Thought} Wednesday

Hello Beautiful! (or handsome if you're my husband reading this)

This outfit embodies two of my favorite fashion choices:

Maxi Skirts and Comfort!

And I absolutely LOVE this shirt even though it feels a tiny bit long.

As I was reading yesterday's #SheReadsTruth devotional, I got curious. We were reading in Lamentations, a book written by "the weeping prophet", Jeremiah.

I wondered, what comes before Lamentations 3:22?

The chapter begins with Jeremiah crying out prophetically for the nation of Israel.

"I am the man who has seen affliction

under the rod of his wrath;"

Lamentations 3:1

From this verse through verse 20, the prophet is crying out to the Lord. He feels abandoned, rejected, and punished. He admits his sin and cries out that he has no peace.

He is in utter anguish.

But then verse 21...

It reminds me of the Psalms, where time-after-time David cries out to God in the utmost anguish. Yet without fail, his cries of hurt, despair and confusion to statements of trust, faith and hope in God Almighty.

Listent to his statements of faith...

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases:

His mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning;

great is Your faithfulness.

The Lord is my portion, says my soul,

therefore I will hope in Him.

The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,

to the soul who seeks Him.

It is good that one should wait quietly

for the salvation of the Lord."

Lamentations 3:22-26

How beautiful is this cry from Jeremiah's lips? And how much more beautiful that it comes from a heart that feels utter bitterness and pain. It comes from a soul who feels that weight of his sin and the separation that creates between him and God.

Yet...

His feet remained planted on the rock of truth. He knew God's Word and God's character. So he was able to have hope in the Lord.

Sisters, we can hope in the Lord as well! But the challenge for me, and you, today is...

Do we know God's character well enough to hope in Him even when we can't see Him at work?

Do we have the faith to say with Jeremiah, "But this I call to mind"? 

Do I know the Word of God well enough that I can call it to mind in times of need?

But more importantly...will I?

Dear sisters, if you have surrendered your life to Jesus Christ and allowed Him to forgive your sins and save you, then 

                 you have hope.

I have hope!

Will we choose today to look to Jesus and find our hope in Him? Will we, with Jeremiah, list the goodness of the Lord and choose to live in light of His goodness?

My prayer is that God will give me the grace and the faith to hope in Him daily, and I'm praying the same for you.

Be blessed.

<3

Linking Up:

 

Meet These Beauties

One of the things I love about blogging is the opportunity to get to know other women better. So here are a few women that I am getting to know this month, and I'd like you to get to know them as well!

Angie - from Womanhood with Purpose

Blog - Facebook - Twitter - Pinterest

Becky - from For This Season

Blog - Twitter - Instagram - Pinterest 

Pamela - from The Songs on the Way

Blog - Facebook - Twitter - Pinterest

Rebecca - from History Chick Diaries

Blog - Twitter

So go say hello to these lovely ladies! Don't worry, it won't be the last you see of them this month!

Be blessed!
<3

Tutorial: Yarn Wrapped Jar

This project was inspired by a dear, dear friend, who is also a brand new blogger! Yay!
Her blog is called Fleeting Beauty! I can credit her with almost anything I know about makeup.

So even though she is just starting out, you should all go follow her and give her some encouragement to keep going. I promise, if we can convince her to keep going, you will learn a TON from her. That girl KNOWS fashion and makeup!

Anywho, a few months before I left, she showed me how she put coffee beans in a jar and then used it to store her makeup brushes. SO CUTE!

So when I emptied out a coconut oil jar, I decided that this was the perfect use for it!

But my label wouldn't come off, and I wanted to look cute. Hence, the yarn.

Supplies: Yarn                                       Liquid Fusion Glue                                                Glass Jar

The Liquid Fusion Glue doesn't dry very quickly, which was perfect for this project.

This photo shows the lines I made with the glue before wrapping the yarn around the jar.



As you wrap, go quickly (so the glue doesn't dry on you), but make sure that you are getting an even wrap. You want the yarn strands touching each other and covering the whole jar.

From the photo at the top right, you can kind of see what I did with the beginning end of the yarn, but let me explain just to make sure it is clear.

1. Place a line of glue perpendicular to the rim of the jar, running from the middle of the section you are planning to cover in yarn to the bottom edge of the section that will be covered.
2. Place the beginning end of your yarn along the line, sticking it to the jar.
3. Put the rest of your glue lines {see pattern above} on the jar
4. When the yarn is stuck all the way to the bottom of your initial glue line, gently turn the strand of yarn at a 90 degree angle and begin to wrap it carefully around the jar. As you wrap the jar, you will be covering the beginning of strand of yarn. In other words, the strands you are wrapping around the body of the jar will be perpendicular to the beginning of the strand that is glued down.
5. Keep wrapping until you have covered as much of the jar as you want covered
6. Wait and hour or two to let the glue dry. {DO NOT CUT YOUR YARN}
7. Follow the glue lines pattern a second time and wrap your jar again. This will give you a better coverage if you are using think yarn like I did.
8. When you are finished wrapping the jar a second time, clip the end and be sure to secure it with some extra glue.
9. Let it dry overnight and then fill with whole bean coffee and makeup brushes!

{Sorry that I didn't get better pictures of the process. I was hurrying so the glue wouldn't dry on me.}

The BEAUTIFUL final product!

The coffee beans are so beautiful aren't they? It makes me happy. <3

{There's lots of happiness going into this post. Can you tell?}

A day or two after these photos were taken, I moved the jar to the front. I wanted it more easily accessible and it was so pretty that I wanted it more in the forefront!

So pretty! I had so much fun editing all these pretty pictures. So you get to share in my joy by getting an overload of finished product photos!

Have you ever wrapped a jar in yarn? How do you store your makeup brushes?

Be blessed.

<3