The artwork in the framed print says, "Focus on the day, not the years!"

I guess for birthdays, that fits perfectly.

But in marriage, I think it's fitting to focus on the years!
We're celebrating a milestone for us, 30 years...

It's exactly one decade since our marriage appeared to be ending.
It seemed like I'd never ever trust again...

In those days, I had to focus on the day...just to stay in it!

But now, I do focus on the years, and it's a positive focus.  

The years of us working hard together to overcome the obstacles that came our way.  

The years that I wondered if I'd ever "cross over" to the other side and find my way back to love him like I'd loved him before the betrayal.

And yes, I did learn to trust him again - and honestly I questioned whether I ever could for many many years.   

I did learn to "cross over" to the other side and have found I love him more than I did yesterday.

We are driving off soon to St. Augustine, FL where we'll spend celebrating our milestone Anniversary...

We'll reconnect, and we'll celebrate the "Miracle" of God saving our marriage.

I always heard that a true marriage takes "3".

In our case, that rang true~

Thank you Lord for rescuing me, "us"...

and for giving us a marriage that beat all the odds...

It truly was all  because of "You"!

I continue to work hard after all these years just to "Stay in the Day"...

but now for different reasons~

Happy Anniversary to US!

~CC Catherine

Seeing me in Her!

Last week I learned that a precious young girl that is dear to my heart is walking through marital discord. Even though the journey she's on is totally different than what my own was nearly 9 years ago, the heartbreak is just as deep and real! She reminds me of what I looked like back then!
I learned never to diminish another’s depth of pain by comparing the wounds that have been inflicted on us, it’s just not fair. "Pain is Pain", regardless of what all the different situations might be!

I remember a friend telling me about a book called Unintended Journey years ago after my situation erupted. I never got to purchase or read the book, but the title never left me. No mate, no matter how young or old, ever intends to walk down the aisle so that years later they find themselves in a broken state and on this journey. We just wake up one day and it's as if someone has packed our bags without our knowledge, put them in our hands, and with a shove forward...off we are sent into this unknown place of disclosure ~ learning the authentic mate we married, instead of staying in the dream we thought we were in of a normal, or even what some would deem as a "perfect marriage"!

Today I'm reminded that my nine year anniversary is nearly here, and with good Godly counseling for both my husband and myself...the journey has come to a good place of healing, restoration, and renewal! We didn't get here overnight, but the time it took and the things we did in getting here...were all worthwhile! We still have one another, and we're authentically still doing the things we need to do to keep healthy emotionally and relationally. Our children still have the two parents they love "together" working hard to stay in recovery and healing and not turning back.

To be fair to all those mates that did "everything" they could, yet seen their relationships or marriages still fail... my heart goes out to you! Hold your head high if you did all you could to save the relationship! "I did the best I could with what I had", many of you might say. Trust me, I believe you! I have friends from a support group that I was a part of years ago. Some of their journeys with their marriages are still suffering, someone in the partnership is still stuck... thinking they'll always be like this, they can't change they say. Change is a choice, not something that comes natural to us. If you're in this category, find your hope in the fact that God knows how hard you tried, and move forward in your life.

The great thing about God is He gives us a second chance…and many times a third and fourth in life. I like who I’ve become today! I may not like the reality of how I came into my “fullness”, so to speak! ~ Sometimes in life there will be questions we’ll never have answered…the whys can be endless. It’s when I stopped asking “Why” in my own broken marriage, and started asking “What” about me that I felt like I was on the right track…and little by little God led me to the path that worked for me to learn more about “Who” I am and change what I could, ME!

For my young friend, and all those that are in the “midst” of working hard to save their marriages or relationships ~ my Hat’s off to you! You’ll learn more about yourself than you have your entire life!

Staying in the Day, Sweeping my Own Side of the Street!
~CC Catherine

Being Silent amidst the Busyness ~ Is a Lost Art...

Photography by ~CC

In the year of 1993 I bought myself a journal.

The inscription I wrote in the front goes like this:

" A Gift from me to me ~ to learn how to be silent amidst the times of my busyness...to learn to be obedient when I hear Him calling to my heart"

Hmm...I love finding things I've written in past years like this~ It makes me realize that 17 years later I'm still working on doing my best to be silent amidst the busyness and being obedient when I hear Him calling to my heart! Life sometimes is like that, isn't it? Growth doesn't always happen overnight, but it's a "life long process". I certainly haven't arrived, but it's nice to know that I'm still working at improving my game!

Sighing a fresh breath of relief today, because I've Stayed In The Day!

How about you?

The Victorian style home that I've shown in the picture above was taken in a lovely little college town in Davidson, NC. There was something magnificent about the architecture of it. I love photographing old homes. They provoke me to think about the people that inhabited them over the years and the thousands of conversations that had to have taken place over it's lifetime ~ I'm guessing many times their prayers could have been the same as mine back in 1993.

Be a Blessing to someone today!

~CC

Sometimes the tears seem easier to fall when a heart is weary over things we cannot change

"Photo by Juli"

Today I was reminded that some days are really tough to walk through. Sometimes the tears seem easier to fall when a heart is weary over things we cannot change, the day sometimes seem too difficult to bear.
So, I chose to put on a worship and praise CD and was reminded of the Hope I have in "Jesus". I ran to words of encouragement in His Word and was reminded I don't have to walk this journey alone.
I searched for Hope, Encouragement, and Peace...and found some of each... Thank you Heavenly Father!

Even though my journey in marital recovery is going very well, the rest of life and family still has a way of tapping into my temptation of "loving too much". Today I prayed I would stay faithful in sweeping my own side of the street so those I love have the freedom to live their own lives and make their own choices. Even when some of those choices bring painful results, I still have to sweep my own side of the street and allow them to sweep theirs...and I can love them in a much healthier way by doing so.

1 Thessalonians 5:16 - Be joyful always ...pray at all times...be thankful in all circumstances.

Staying in the Day the best I can with "HIS" strength & guidance!
~CC

Legacy Rings Through...As I laugh, I hear her voice

Today I am reminded of how much our legacy rings through into our daily lives.
This photo is of my Mother, Myra, and myself early last spring while taking her to enjoy her 75th birthday in Memphis, TN. We were there to enjoy something she loved most of her life, Elvis and his memory~

The trip there with my two sisters and mother were so much fun. And, while there, it was if Elvis had never died...and his legacy is very much alive there.

I see the same with my Mother and I the older I get. When I laugh, I hear her voice supernaturally as if it were her; when I reach out to help someone in need, I feel I'm walking in the shoes my mother has walked all her life in helping others; when I love on my grandchildren, she's with me as I repeat the songs she used to sing to me~I love you a bushel and peck, a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck; and when I cook a meal for my family...her presence is with me when I remind myself that she says to never boil eggs more than 8 minutes or it will make the outside of the yolk turn green. Her legacy is alive through me....even while she's still with me~ And I'm so blessed!

I'm sure you have your own legacy you are continuing with those that are most precious to you...and I pray as you enjoy these moments of reflection that you will know that God in his infinite wisdom allows us to pass our good deeds on in life by mentoring our little ones while they are impressionable. As I continue to love spending time with the elderly, God reminds me that I learned it from my mother when she took me to visit the elderly with her when I was around 10-12 years old. She helped them make crafts...I was scared of them back then, but my mothers love to them made me feel safe and OK to love on them. Today I cherish spending time with the elderly and listening to their life stories....I am so blessed by their energy and recall of the most precious times of their life.

I pray you will be encouraged to pass your own legacy on.
"Stay in the Day" as you embrace what gifts you are giving to those you love in the way you are mentoring them~

Our actions today will produce results tomorrow in others~
Pray that you'll be a blessing to all that are around you!

Until then...
"The Joy of the Lord is Your Strength" ~ Nehemiah 8:10 NIV
~CC

Ever feel like you've been planted in a MIXED pot with?

Photography by ~CC

Some days I feel like I'm planted in a mixed potted plant too!
How about you?

It's times like these that I need help getting out of that pot!
It looks like Abbie, my Sheltie, could use some help too! :)

Have a blessed Day while you do your best to STAY IN IT and allow God to help you get out of that mixed pot you might be in!

Proverbs 15:1 - A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Be blessed,
~CC

Some Days Life Can Be Scary...

© Photography by ~CC

Some Days Life Can Be Scary...

But when we come to the realization that all things are God Filtered...
it somehow lifts the fear and puts us right back where we belong,
In His Hands...

Praying you are doing better today at Staying In The Day!
~CC

Holding His Hand Tightly As He Leads...

Tulips have a way of waiting for the perfect moment to reveal their true beauty, our lives sometimes are the very same way... God's timing is always perfect with everything he's created!

Who Was I?

Today I'm reminded of how much "My Story" of the past has bled into different chapters of "My Story" in the present. Those too familiar words have rung in my ear as I've journeyed, "Let Go and Let God".

I would find myself giving the wheel to God, and before I knew it, it was as if my life was heading for a sharp curve. The fear foundation that I was raised in would begin to bubble up within like a rising thermometer...and before I realized it, I'd ripped the wheel out of God's hands and taken it back into my own.

The Pieces all Link Together, One Way Or Another...
Everything from our past molds us into the individuals we become today, both good and bad. Larry Crabb's book, "Shattered Dreams" says it best. He writes that shattered dreams are never random, they are always a piece in a larger puzzle, a chapter in a larger story. He moves on to write that the Holy Spirit uses the pain of shattered dreams to help us discover our desire for God., to help us begin dreaming the highest dream. He continues on in his book to share that it's our shattered dreams that have the power to change our lives for good, Forever." Reading his book would prove to be part of my process of breaking some of the barriers that needed broken down so God could do what He needed to do within my heart for the rebuilding of my marriage to begin.

Along Life's Way...I'm Getting it!

I have learned throughout the walk of our Marital Restoration that God uses "everything" to help us "GET IT". In the past seven years of walking in Marital Restoration and healing He has taught me more and more about myself, about the deepest fears that I would never acknowledge existed. He's taught me about "My Trust Issues" with Him. He's revealed to me all the hundreds of questions in my heart that I never allowed myself to voice aloud...and he showed me the depth of the anger I'd never allowed to surface my entire life. Did these things have anything to do with my marriage if their origin didn't have anything to do with it? Yes, inadvertently...I'm positive they did; regardless of whether the questions, fears, trust issues, or anger had anything to do with me or my husband's relationship directly or not. The "Dance" of marriage we observe and learn along the way becomes "Our Dance" as a couple. It's up to us then to make sure the steps we're dancing together need corrected by "The Professional", God, or not... Good Christian Marital counseling by trained individuals is critical for healing in a marriage. They were definitely part of His Blueprint for our healing and restoration.

Don't Sugar Coat It!

With all that I've learned these past years, I'd like to say that I have forever given the wheel to Father God, never to rip it out of his hands again. I'll be honest and transparent instead here and not sugar coat it..."it's a process" that I'm getting better at each time I'm allowed to walk through a period of crisis in my life. I owe God much, I owe Him everything. Throughout my life I've tried to save myself at every sharp curve and did a horrible job of it. I did the best that I could with the knowledge I had at the time. Within the past seven years God has used my life experiences in my marriage to get at the deeper core of all the roots that were robbing me of the full joy and peace that I could have if I just gave Him the wheel of my life, my heart. I learned that it's in my heart that I needed to give in, it's in my heart that I needed to "Let Go and Let Him be God"~

Where I'm At Today

Today I am using the "tools" that He has guided me to so I can continue to learn more about who I am and why I have done the things I have over the periods of my life to survive. What helped me survive my abuse as a child no longer work to survive my life crises as an adult. It's when I began to learn why I did the things I did that I could begin to change the things I could about myself, and that was only something I could do with His guidance and support every step of the way.

The Gift

Ultimately...my Marriage Crisis was a gift to me. I couldn't have made that statement on January 16, 2002...or December 25, 2005, etc... If the gift were packaged in the most beautiful gift wrap and tied up with the fanciest bow, I'm positive I would have never opened it if you'd told me what me, my husband, and my family would need to walk through to come to the place we are today. Trust is something I've learned along the way...and just like a real marriage, God is teaching me new ways to love him, new ways to trust him, and new ways to "Let Go and Let Him" control every area of my life, every crevice of my heart...

My Only Guarantee in Life

God is my only guarantee in life. Isaiah 42:16 "I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them". When my Beloved first came home, this was the first scripture we put on a card and taped to our wall...we memorized it and would say it over and over and over. I realized that what I thought I wanted in the early stages of my journey was a "Blueprint" of weeks, months, and years ahead of me ~ The haunting question early on was, "What would we look like as a couple, family, would we make it?" And if we did, what would that look like? Instead "He", The Lord, wanted to lead me by holding my hand one moment and day at a time. Not only has that taught me how to trust Him more, but it's also how I've learned to trust my Beloved again...

No matter what our journey, He is here with us to "Stay In The Day" forever, regardless if we get the Blueprint we wanted or not! Just hold His hand and let him lead...you!

xoxo ~CC

God's Still Working On Me, One Piece At A Time...

Yes, God is still working on me, one piece at a time; just like this lovely art of stained glass that my husband was making for his Aunt.
And just like this art, there are some pieces that are so tiny to work on, that it takes longer in the process to get it worked out just right.

Like this gift, in the end of my process where I get it worked out...I'll be just as beautiful and at peace with myself, just as this lovely stained glass dove.

This Gift of Love to his Aunt has been completed now, but God is still working on me~

The answer for us all is in God's Word. Have you allowed the Word of God to examine the attitudes and opinions in your life? It's true that the very things that can hold us captive in our lives are the attitudes and opinions that we've been raised in that "can" follow us into our marriages and adult lives.

Have a heart to heart with God today and ask Him to reveal to you supernaturally what it is that He wants to do in your life today, and each day!

Staying In The Day...along with you, one day at a time,
~CC

Things don't always look like they really are, even in L*O*V*E

Sometimes throughout my journey in my marital restoration, it was easy to feel disconnected. I continued to stay focused on reading encouraging books for couples who worked hard and had success in going the distance. It wasn't easy, but it was worth it! I joined The Barnabas Center and learned how I could find "Dignity" for myself, despite what had happened in my marriage.
In the end...well, not the "end"...but once we'd reached what I call "My Renewal in Trusting", I started feeling connected again. My marriage felt beautiful again, just like this crocheted sachet that I made recently for a special friend.

During the process of crocheting the sachet, I didn't want to work at it. So was the process of my journey in my marital recovery; but just like the finished sachet, my dedication to stick it out and finish what I'd started helped me to find beauty again in trusting my Beloved!

"My Renewal in Trusting" is much more beautiful than even this sachet! ;)

Staying In The Day... ~CC
Psalm 30:5 "Weeping may endure for a night, but JOY cometh in the Morning"

Quiet Reflection...Words That Inspire

"Where there is no time for quiet, there is no time for the soul to grow"

Anonymous

Staying In The Day...~CC

Old Love Never Rusts...

Excerpt from a book called "By The Fireside" by Charles Wagner

Book written in early 1900's

"We are too familiar with these unions where love, dying early, sleeps forgotten in a hidden corner of the memory, like the wedding-dress and orange blossoms in some remote chest. We end by believing that it must be so, that it is the law of life.

Let us lift our hearts to something more lasting, to a more tenacious love, not ending with the roses but faithful, deep-rooted and abiding, a love that braves the tempest and fears no frosts.

It is not at all like a pretty child, full of caprice and half rebellious; it is a rough and ready comrade, not indifferent to fine weather, but known for what it is, and proven in dark days.

It knows how to suffer, to pardon and to endure.

It does not hang upon a ray of sunshine or the colour of a lock.

It has no age, or rather, like good wine, age mellows it.

As the delicious German proverb has it--"Alte Liebe rostet nicht," old love never rusts."

This post is dedicated to Elouise & Barney, the couple whom these hands belong to.

They celebrated 67 years of marriage just this February!

~Staying In The Day

~CC

Words That Inspire....

I Samuel 16:7

"Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the Heart"

I'm Hangin On Hopeful Friday with ~Cielo...

Today is Hopeful Friday, hosted by Cielo at "House in the Roses". Please be sure you drop by Cielo's to see every ones Hopeful Friday share after you've visited a while!

"The one who walks through a countryside sees much more than the one who runs."

~Anonymous

I love that verse! It really reminds me to take heart to stop, be present, and savor the moment I'm in...regardless if it's a huge moment or not... Listening to the wind outside my window right now is a "big" thing...if I just listen...

Today my Hopeful Friday post is about a dream I share with my husband...

The teacup is one from my collection. I purchased it on one of my travels to New Zealand about 10 years ago. It holds many precious memories, and it inspires me to believe that with "Hope", all things are possible! This outdoor rustic picnic area is a unique place of rest in a very old garden...it's part of our dream...
The dream of Hope extends further in the garden...and an outdoor fireplace is preparing to warm the unknown guests that should bask in her presence...

And the Hopes and Dreams of a large old historic home(like this one) where we can devote our lives to enriching others in Marriage Restoration begins to build, and build, and build....

Little by little the foundation is coming along in our hearts...in our minds...and it's all a matter of time before we see what God does to provide what we envision ourselves doing some day.

Someday, our Hope is to have a safe place for couples to come to when their marriage is in crisis. It won't be a home that will provide counseling, and it won't be a home that will provide quick answers. It will be a haven of peace where a couple can come and learn how to breathe again...and where we can just "Love on them" at a time in their lives that they need it most. It will be a home where my husband & I will share our own journey of where and what God has rescued us from... It will be a place of rest for them, for however short of time they have. It will be a place where they'll be encouraged, to learn that couples can grow beyond tragedy, beyond infidelity, and beyond addictions...and that they can come out on the other side a more fulfilled person, despite how they got there. Our Hope is to send them back home with a "Blueprint" of things to do in preparation for the long road to recovery. Our Hope is for them to see that with hard work and commitment, there marriages can survive, and even better...can flourish!

My Hopeful Friday share is a reminder for us all, that in time, "All things are Possible"

Don't forget to drop on over to Cielo's to join in visiting all others Hopeful Fridays!

~CC,
Staying In The Day

Lights Illuminate Even The Darkest Soul...

I love this little Rooster lamp that I found recently on one of my Antiquing Road Trips.

There is much depth in light......without it, we can often feel we've lost our way. With it, we realize we can see the path a little bit at a time; depending on how bright the light is.

Isn't that just like life?

My prayer is that I will always see His Light...to follow the right path of life I'm intended to journey on, no matter how difficult or how easy it may be.

Proverbs 3: 5&6

Have a blessed day, and do your best to "STAY IN IT"~

~CC

Seven Years...God's Grace IS Awesome!

Happy Anniversary to Us! It's a bit after midnight, the day after January 18, our seven year anniversary of the day we had our miracle! The miracle was that I got my husband back, and I never knew I'd lost him...but I had. The Story, way too long to explain... but if you want to hear more, start by reading my Blog Archives from September of 2007.

Pic of my Beloved holding our new Granddaughter Cate on 12/18

This blog actually started as a result of our journey...I wanted to encourage other women to move on in their lives with dignity, regardless if their marriages weathered the storm or not. I wanted to offer a place where they could find someone that maybe was a little bit further in her journey of marital recovery so they could see that it's possible time "can" heal broken hearts.

It seemed I was meeting so many women with torn relationships, separated or divorced...it seemed easier to send them to this blog to hear my own story...and I could do what I try to do more in my life now...focus on the "now" and Stay In The Day with them...encourage them! My story is an important part of my life, it made me realize how precious my Beloved is...and how quickly I nearly lost him. It made me realize that he wasn't the only one that needed to change, I learned I did too. I feel blessed that our family survived the war...but it wasn't easy.

My husband dedicated himself to much counseling, I followed......we worked hard, and still do to learn all we can about each other. We never stopped loving each other, yet our life was nearly stolen from us. I feel we experienced a miracle.....everyday I feel like this. None of this would have been possible if it were not for the Grace God gave us......and the constant helper that He is to us. I always wanted a blueprint of what our recovery would look like in the early years.....I now understand "God" just wanted me to lean on Him, trust Him, one day at a time... I'm getting better at that every day!

I'm trusting my husband again...and I'm trusting that even though there are no guarantees in life with the exception of the Lord never leaving me, we'll grow old together rocking away; just like we always said we would. Happy Anniversary to us! On July 4th we will celebrate 27 years of marriage, by God's Grace...

On a calendar that sits on my husbands desk that is in front of me now, it reads the following for 1/18: "A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them" (taken from Ecclesiastes 3) This seemed so fitting for our anniversary bible verse. We now laugh, we now dance, we now gather stones...

Staying In The Day with you... ~CC

~Focus on Today - Today is where you are, Stay In It and Fall Backwards...

Treat Yourself With Dignity - Eat Healthy!

Butter Bib Lettuce, Red Cabbage, Mango, Oven Roasted Walnuts, Blueberries,

Drizzle w/ Rasberry Vinigrette Salad Dressing Salad

Last evening my husband had an "A'ha" moment. He was bringing me a cup of hot tea. As he walked into the family room, he was reminded of a tracing of my hand print I had made for him over 6 years ago. Around the outside of the handprint I'd copied an old poem I had written for him when we fell in love over 27 years ago. As he recalled this memory, he had a sweet smile on his face. I reminded him, lovingly, "That's the poem I sent to you six years ago when you weren't well, right before your call to me the following week". The call I was referring to was when he told me he would not be coming home, and that he was in a relationship with another woman.

He had totally misplaced in his memory why and when I'd given that to him. He only knew how much it had meant to him. Consequences of poor choices always have a way of creeping back into our memory. For me, that handprint and poem were a good memory. I felt God had inspired me to draw my handprint and copy that old poem around it, mail it next day air with a 13 page letter to remind him of my love and committment to him. At the time I thought he was nearing a nervous breakdown, but I had not a clue as to what was causing it. The memory for him when I shared why I had gave it to him brought sadness. Sadness on reflecting who he had become, and the pain that his sin had brought to me, our children, and himself.

We have rare flashbacks of those painful days, weeks, months, and early years when he came back to us. Fortunately for both of us, the counseling and support groups we joined in those early days of recovery continue to help us stay on the right track!

• We focus on the things we can change, not on the things we cannot; "the past".
• We live each day to the fullest and pray for God to guide us in each of our steps.
• We do our best to allow one another to sweep their own side of the street, we're still working on this one. This equates to not trying to control each other.
• We continue to strive for growth individually, both spiritually and emotionally.
• We realize that it's important to have accountability partners of the same sex, each of us. Marriage is work, regardless whether we are men and women of faith or not. By sharing our struggles with a "safe" friend that can pray with and for us, this helps us to stay on the right track.

  I leave you today with some food for thought:
• Never keep a secret to yourself of thoughts you're entertaining regarding an "emotional" connection to someone you know or have just met. Emotional connections are considered an emotional affair. When we are frustrated about where our marriage is, or what our marriage is not, it's very easy to fall into a trap of admiring someones kindness to you. This is definitely a baby step toward an affair beginning. Purchase the book, Torn Assunder, by Dave Carder if you relate to what I'm explaining here. Become Aware so you can "Beware" of what could ensnare you in this vulnerable time.
• Be appreciative that you are surviving one day at a time! Don't borrow what tomorrow holds, stay in today. Pray, read the word, (write it if you feel you are not remembering what you are reading, I did this) eat healthy, walk or exercise.
• Find a good marriage counselor & support group. We chose Christian counselors that were able to both speak to our spiritual and emotional needs. They were great!
• If you have children, get them into counseling; we did not do this. That was an oversight that we struggle sometimes to forgive ourselves for not doing. Sometimes we are so engrained in our own grief that we think that if our marriage makes it, that's all our children need. Children can be damaged in deep ways. They need to express their own emotions of the pain they are experiencing as they see their parents struggle to keep their marriage in tact. And they need to express them to a professional that can help them sort out their feelings to cope in a healthy way.
• Treat yourself with Dignity! Dignity for me was no longer trying to find out "who" she was. No more searching the web to find a phone number to call and dump my frustration and emotions out on her. No more trying to ask questions about how he had felt toward her. Dignity for me was to begin to hold my head high, and be good to myself. When I felt like I was being sucked back to that "victim" mentality, I had to purposefully choose the higher road.

  I pray you will choose the higher road too! Maybe you are just at the beginning of your journey, maybe you're like me and are years down the road in the recovery of your marriage. Maybe you are walking alone, and life is uncertain either way. Trust God! As painful as all your days can be at times, HE will bring you through them, one by one. I hung on to, and still do, my favorite bible verse, Proverbs 3: 5&6: 5. Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. 6. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.

  Staying In The Day along with you, ~CC
• PS: This post was originally written for an earlier post. I'm reposting again for the recipe I refer to on my other blog this week: http://catherinesteacups.blogspot.com/ I also wanted to say that tomorrow, 1/18/09, will be seven years since the phone call I refer to in the post. Early in my situation I wondered if I would ever get to a place of peace again in my marriage. I longed for a blueprint that would tell me when, and if, I'd ever regain it. I'm blessed to say that "today" I am experiencing that peace. Each day gets better...and I give God all the glory for bringing us "through" what was meant to destroy us! ~CC

You, My Dear, Are a Fingerprint of God!

Many things in life inspire me. My loved ones, my friends, the smiles that I see when I go out amongst people I don't even know, all things French, decorating, collecting teacups, photography...but nothing inspires me like the words of this Steven Curtis Chapman song that he wrote for his daughter when she was growing up through an awkward phase of her younger years when she didn't like what she saw in the mirror. Enjoy as you scroll down and realize that "You" are a Fingerprint of God ~ and allow the words to give you JOY in the deepest part of your soul! It's only one month till Valentine's Day...may this little pic of Cate's hand taken on Sunday get you in the mood to "hand write" a love note or song to your significant other, family member, and friend.

I can see the tears filling your eyes

And I know where their coming from

They're comin from a heart that's broken in two

By what you don't see

The person in the Mirror

Doesn't look like the magazine

Oh but when I look at you it's clear to me that

I can see the fingerprints of God

When I look at you

I can see the fingerprints of God

And I know it's true

You're a Masterpiece

That all creation quietly applauds

And you're covered with the fingerprints of God

Never has there been and never again

Will there be another you

Fashioned by God's hand

And perfectly planned

To be just who you are

And what he's been creating

Since the first beat of your heart

Is a living beating priceless work of art and

Just look at you

You're a wonder in the making

Oh and God's not through no

In fact he's just getting started...

Next post to provide a wonderful Sweethearts Day surprise ` the most romantic and sentimental gift to express to that special person in your life your love in a cute and romantic way~ Till then...Staying In The Day with Cate~

Plates, Teapots, Wall Color, ACTION...

After reading this post, don't forget to click on the Hopeful Friday pic below to locate more Hopeful Friday words of inspiration!

Sometimes it's the most unusual combinations that create the most interesting twist to a room, would you agree? I located this arrangement on a Dining Room wall at a local Holiday Open House in a nearby subdivision. I couldn't help but think how stunning it all looked together on the wall, just as pretty as if it were on the table with a rich burgundy table covering underneath showcasing each piece. How many of us really think about showcasing our china on the wall? We tend to think of what it's specifically used for, and it looks great for what it's used for...serving and looking gorgeous!
Sometimes our lives have the same capability to create a twist with opportunities to showcase our own wall display. If we don't understand that our "talents" can be used in other ways, maybe even for a more beautiful purpose, we're really missing out on life. Take me for example, I'm in Banking. I work in HR Learning and on a day to day basis I work with creating project plans, coordinating fulfillment for classroom materials to arrive at just the right time, at the specific location, and for the appropriate facilitator to receive in order for the class to take place.

A few months back, I was a part of a Women's Leadership Team at my church that was responsible to plan and deliver a catered banquet to be held for 100 women in attendance. It wasn't until a few weeks before the banquet that I realized how much our team needed to stay on the same page, and the way to do that was for me to create a project plan which covered every person, every team, and each responsibility. The talents I've been given aren't just for my profession, even though it's what I do on a regular basis day to day, kind of like the lovely Porcelain Tea Set display seen served regularly on a table. Instead, the talent I contributed in creating the project plan for our Ladies Ministry Banquet helped me to see that I could be used in a more "Beautiful" fashion, like the arrangement on the wall in the photo. Uniquely, the theme of our banquet was entitled, "Beautiful".

May you search within your life and find what talent you may be hiding and only using for work...or home... Somewhere, someone, or some group could be blessed by the contribution you have to give. Where there is a niche, there's a way!

Staying In The Day while learning what other "Wall Displays" I may have hidden in my life... ~CC

Phil. 2:13 "God is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure."

Did You Know? Maternity Clothes and Christmas Decorations Have Something In Common...

For Me, Maternity Clothes and Christmas Decorations have something in common, I never want to put them away... Grant you, I have "permanently" put my Maternity clothes away, some years ago. But, Christmas, nah...still struggling with that! 8=)

My daughter had Christmas torn down and put away in her home within a few days post the holiday. Not me...I'll be bathing in Christmas till at least January 31st, at least. And my girlfriend Kathleen......maybe till the end of February......at the earliest! Another thing we have in common! This room with the Eggplant and Yellow striped velvet chairs are in my Formal Living room - it has an open view into the Formal Dining Room with two large white pillar columns you'll see in a pic further down in this journal entry. The tree in this area is decorated with ornaments of Romance & Lace. At the top of the tree are two lovely angels that have porcelain heads and hands with a body of elegant organza flowing as their gowns. I have seven of these angels, the remaining five were perched on top of the hutch and base where the Romance and Lace theme continued. On this tree you'll find all types of ornaments, even a handmade ornament I made after returning from Hawaii with sand. (don't report me, please) I'd seen this in a craft magazine once; purchase a clear plastic ornament that snaps together, blue lace where the ornament snaps together, attach a gold strand and use as the hanger on the tree. Inside the ornament is not only the sand from Hawaii, but also a shell that I found on the beach with a purple center. I absolutely love putting that ornament on the tree yearly! Other ornaments have a teacup theme and have been gifts from friends over the years. The tree (all white lights) is sitting on what is called the "Floating Table" (a lesson learned from my girlfriend Kathleen) and this year was the first I'd ever showcased it like this. It definitely got some nice nods when the friends and family seen it!

Since Christmas will be hanging around my place a bit longer, more on my tree in the Breakfast/Kitchen area! The tree that is placed in the Breakfast area is decorated in ornaments with sentiment, and also the glass ornaments that belonged to my husbands grandmother in the early 40's and 50's. This tree has close to 200 ornaments on it, and they encompass the entire tree. The lights stay on from morning till nigh...and it's so special because it brings the warmth of my children in their younger years with all the kiddy ornaments they used to bring home from school. This tree has colored lights, as they are my husbands favorite!

Our dining room has an open forum to the formal living room. The tray ceiling is painted in "Eggplant" (a deep chocolate purple) and the walls in "Creme Brul`ee" (light and creamy yellow). I purchased the fabric in... "Eggplant", you got it! They were quite fun to make, I had to hand stitch them because of the delicacy of the fabric.....not fun, but well worth the end result. The antique chandelier was a gift to ourselves for our 25th wedding anniversary! My friend Kathleen & Prince Charming were visiting from PA and we were in an antique shop when she told me if we weren't going to buy it, she was. We bought it, and it became another new reason to buy more........we absolutely love the ambiance it gives our home. We're going to change the wood dining room set and the hutch and base in 2009 with a Shabby Chic distressed white. Some have tried to change our minds, but both my husband and I are taking the gamble and doing it! I'll share pics later when we get it done! Oh, and the other thing we're going to do in 2009, we're converting the table to a 7ft "ROUND" table! We want to create more of a conversational mood and feel that everyone sitting in a circular fashion will help us to achieve that mood much more nicely! I'll let you know how that works out!
"Can't you just see this set in Shabby Chic White, along with a ROUND table?" I can.......hmmm, NICE!

Ya know, our lives really aren't too much different than overhauling a Dining Room Set to become a new and improved Gorgeous Shabby Chic set. All it takes is some time, determination, and a "Never Give Up On It" attitude!

Staying In The Day with you while decorating and "NOT" putting my Christmas Decorations away, YET.....~CC