Crafty -Yarn Wreath

Hey guys! As stated in my previous post Passion and Purpose I really enjoys crafts. I wanted to share with you one of my more recent creations. Yarn Wreaths. They are so much fun, very affordable and EASY!!!! This would be a great craft for Women’s weekends or any teen class you are leading. Here are a few examples and inspirations.

This one is a creation by my sister-in-law. She is so talented.  

This next one is a great DIY from Kelly Hicks’ Blog.  She cuts little strips of yarn and ties them to the wreath. That’s way too much work for me. I just hot glued the first piece and kept wrapping the yarn around the wreath being sure to overlap a few for character.

And for any of you who want one, but don't want to make one. You can always buy handmade crafts at ETSY.com.  Here is the most popular Yarn Wreath seller on Etsy.... ItzFritz. But Trust me you can do this!

And here is my creation. I know it’s not the best photo my camera was dead so I tried to used my iPhone camera and let’s just say I am NOT a pro with the iPhone. But you get the Idea.

And now for the close ups.

Notice the overlap detail. fun and Easy!

I made this wreath with very fluffy yarn, fabric roses, and vintage buttons for my great friend Amber. If you don’t remember Amber I talk about her in these two posts: Time Travel, and Germination. I am very happy to report that this was made for Amber’s WEDDING SHOWER!!!!! Congratulations Amber and Bryan.

It's a Girl..... well it's a 17 year old girl.

Day 4 : A picture of you and a family member.

Well I think it is time that I introduce the one the only….. (drum roll) STEVIE!!!!

Stevie is my little sister. She was named after Stevie Nicks but her real claim to fame is that she shares the same middle name as none other that the most fabulously wonderful awesome woman in the whole world.  You guessed it ME! Kaye is our middle name. I wish our dad would have spelled it normal, she thinks it cool.

I love her more than words can say. It was not always that way, well secretly it was but I didn’t want her to know that. When I was little I was wickedly mean to my little sister, but don’t tell her all my passwords were her name. (Hey I said WERE so don’t try to hack me)

I figured we had both done some growing since those days and I was ready to present us to you as the fine mature ladies we now are.

But as I began scrolling through all my pictures…. These were the kinds I found.

So I figured. What the heck being grown up is over rated right??? Especially when my lil sis is only 16. Ok ok  so she’ll be 17 in a few days but to me she will always be my beautiful baby sister.

LOVE you STEVIE!!!!!!

No Profanity Here!

Day 3 a picture of your favorite TV show…

Well folks I have to admit I don’t really have a favorite TV show per say. I wish I did, because if I did have a favorite TV show that would be an indicator that I actually have a way to watch TV, but I don’t. I do have a television but it is only hooked up to a DVD player, and I should be able to pick up local stations but I only get a bad reception of PBS, so I don’t even bother turning it on.

You see, I chose not to pay for the luxury of cable because I am vigorously fighting off DEBT that I accrued during college. Yup I said it, that dirty 4 letter word DEBT.

• Disclaimer: Because I don’t encourage profanity I will refer to this dirty word as D**T throughout the remainder of this blog.

I am in D**T up to my eyeballs, please note “up to my eyeballs” does not mean “in over my head.” (I think most Americans are in D**T up to their eyeballs and won’t admit it) But they say the first step to recovery is admitting your problem right? Well whoever “they” are tell them it’s on to step 2 for me…

For years I told myself that student loans, medical bills, and car payments were just a way of life, a fact, like Taxes and death. But it doesn’t have to be; in fact it’s not how God intended it to be. I recently took a biblical financial planning course called Crown Financial and it changed my view on money.

When I started applying God’s biblical principles to my check book (or now-a-days I guess we should say debit card) it was amazing how quickly things changed. I went from being in over my head to just up to my eyeballs. My bad four letter word D**T is still there and I still live pay check to pay check but the burden I carried for my finances is gone. God is allowing me to be very aggressive with my payments and intentional with every cent that he gives to me.

During the ten week course, through faithfulness, blessings, gifts and tears (cause let’s face it I’m a girl and this stuff is stressful) God allowed me to pay off 3 medical bills, one credit card, a loan from my Grandma for car repairs, and he lowered my car payments and the interest rate on one of my loans. It will still be years before I am out or D**T but at least I see the way out now. It has been amazing to see how God has used money to shower blessings in my life. Yes I just used the word money and blessing in the same sentence in reference to an American. I thought money could only be a blessing in a third world country.

I think a lot of people have the wrong perception of Money. I know before this study I did, I thought that it was the root of all evil and that it only made the rich greedy and materialistic, and that it left the poor needy and oppressed. But that is NOT how God views money. It’s hard to think that God even has a view on money but he does. And he can use it just like he uses everything else in our lives to bless us and those in our community, country and yes the rest of the world.

All that being said, I sorrta do have a favorite TV show. I have to wait until the day after it airs and watch in on the internet during my lunch break but I do get to watch this one show. I am not sure if I am more embarrassed to admit my D**T or the fact that I enjoy watching The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. They are actually awful shows of heartbreak, vanity, materialism, greed, and lust and I know I shouldn’t watch it but it’s like a train wreck I just can’t look away. People amaze me, they always have, and not always for the best reasons. Maybe once God tackles my D**T he can start to work on my habit of watching this show. Until then read this blog about Moses watching the Bachelor. It's pretty funny. Bryan Allain Blog

Around the World and Back Again.

Day 2 – A picture of you and the person you have been closest to the longest.

This is a wicked old picture of me and my momma. I wish it was a better quality but we did not have digital cameras back then so this is what you get.

I love my mom very much.  She is my best friend and the first person I call when I am happy, sad, hurt or mad.  She taught me how to do so many things and walked me through the pains of childhood. There is another sweet little pic of us in my Living a new “Always” post.  

My momma flew back home to Texas from Florida for my birthday this weekend.  I am her super special daughter.  We went to the library, ate authentic Tex-mex and laughed until we almost peed our pants. 

She is a wonderful mother, she wasn’t perfect and I could have used a little more discipline, but she loves me so unconditionally. I have a very small apartment and no extra bedroom much less a bed. She selflessly slept on the love seat and let her children sleep in the more comfortable spots of the bed and couch. 

She gave me everything I ever wanted and sacrifices so much for me, I could never thank her enough.

I love you so much mom, Thanks for coming to church with me this morning. I know new crowds are not your favorite thing and you would have preferred to skip church to get on the road a little earlier, but it meant a lot to me that you again sacrificed your comfort to do something that was so important to me.  

Mom,  I love you around the world and back again.

Day One

Ok so I know it’s been like a hundred years since I wrote on here. (Not really but you get my point) I really do miss it. Honestly I just got really busy with the Holiday season and then it felt like it had been too long to just jump back in like nothing happened. So TADA here I am jumping back in.

A ton has happened bad days and blessings, Fun days and sad ones. But it would take me a month of Sundays to explain it all so I won’t. I will tell you that I want to do the 100 days of photos challenge and I think it will help me continue to write plus I love, love, love photos. So here we go.

Day 1: A photo of yourself with 15 facts.

1) This is a photo of me during the summer of 2006 in Japan.

2) I love Japan and have been there several times; sometimes for missions, sometimes for visits. I have family there that is very close to my heart.

3) Unless you live under a rock, and probably even then, you’ve heard about the widespread devastation Japan is facing after the earthquakes and tsunami.

4) My heart is utterly broken for these people.

5) Over 10,000 people have been confirmed to have lost their lives. 17,000 people are still unaccounted for and assumed dead.

6) Over 202,000 people are living in makeshift shelters and the elderly are dying from poor conditions.

7) It is still winter in the impacted area of Japan and there are food shortages and no gas to replenish supplies, with no supplies butane heaters are beginning to be unusable and people are dying from the cold weather.

8) The Nuclear reactor situation continues to worsen.

9) People living within a 30 Kilometer (roughly 18.6 miles) radius are being asked to “voluntarily” evacuate. This is increasingly difficult due to lack of transportation.

10) People working on the reactors are being exposed to very dangerous levels of radiation and it is feared that the reactors are leaking radioactive water that could affect surrounding farm lands and potential food supplies.

11) Radiation levels in Tokyo’s water have been deemed undrinkable and dangerous for infants; there is no more bottled water. Tokyo’s population is 12.9 MILLION.

12) I am raising funds to send to a Christian organization in Japan called Crash Japan. Go to http://www.crashjapan.com/ to contribute.

13) Less than 1% of the population of Japan is Christian.

14) How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” Romans 10:14-15

15) I want to get a team together from Lubbock (or anywhere really) to volunteer in Japan with CrashJapan. Comment on the bottom of the page if you want to GO!

Sleeping Stevie

This is me and my sister Stevie at our brother's wedding last year. I love her very much. She is currently still in High School even though people often mistake her for my younger sister I am almost 10 years older than her. She will be going to Tech soon and I can't wait to have her closer to me so we can grab lunch or dinner sometimes. Miss ya girl!!!!

This is a wonderful little christmas morninig when I wanted her to wake up......

Basically I just wanted to learn how to edit, upload, then post a video. Working with the one video I had and the sample videos they gave me on my computer this is what i got. Hope you enjoyed it.

Sleeping Stevie from Robynn Oglesby on Vimeo.

SLACKER

I know I have been slacking. I have just been sick... and tired. On top of that I am tired of being sick. So I am going to be a slacker and just blog some cool picks that make me smile for random reasons.

One place I want to see before I die.

The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, Turkey

I think the watercolor below is beautiful plus it has my two favorite colors in it.

Grey and Teal

While I think it would be cool to have two setting suns like the fictional planet Tatooine.

The 100% authentic images from the Hubble telescope take my breath away.

Penguins are the coolest animals in the world PERIOD. But I can't have one for a pet,

 and I am too afraid to become the Cat lady to get a kitten so I just go without.

I went to Disney World when I was 3 but I don't remember it. So when I went as a 21 year old

it was like the first time.  I cried when I saw Cinderella's Castle.

Snowflakes amaze me so naturally I googled them; this picture came up.

It made me smile so i am sharing it with you.

As cheesy as it is I want world peace. Meaning I wish the whole world knew the peace of Jesus. Below is the 1040 Window an area of the world with great poverty combined with lack of access to Christian resources. - I Love them.

And lastly my families always bring large smiles to my face!!!

This is my Mom's side of the family.

ME, Debbie (my mom), and Cody my lil bro

This is my Dad's side of the family.

Terry (my dad), ME, Nick (my step bro), Jennifer (my step sis) and Stevie my little sis

Now that my slacking is done for the day... I promise to lay off the couch medicine. No more slacking.



Glory in "Sympathy"

Stranger than your sympathy
And this is my apology
I killed myself from the inside out
And all my fears have pushed you out


And I wished for things that I don’t need
(all I wanted)
And what I chased won’t set me free
(all I wanted)

And I get scared but I’m not crawlin’ on my knees

Oh, yeah

Everything’s all wrong, yeah

Everything’s all wrong, yeah

Where the hell did I think I was?

And stranger than your sympathy

Take these things, so I don’t feel

I’m killing myself from the inside out

And now my head’s been filled with doubt

We’re taught to lead the life you choose

(all I wanted)

You know your love’s run out on you

(all I wanted)

And you can’t see when all your dreams aren’t coming true

Oh, yeah

It’s easy to forget, yeah

When you choke on the regrets, yeah

Who the hell did I think I was?

And stranger than your sympathy

And all these thoughts you stole from me

And I’m not sure where I belong

And no where’s home and no more wrong

And I was in love with things I tried to make you believe I was
And I wouldn’t be the one to kneel before the dreams I wanted
And all the dark and all the lies were all the empty things disguised as me

Mmm, yeah

Stranger than your sympathy

Stranger than your sympathy

Mmm hmmm mmm

-Goo Good Dolls

I wonder who they are think they are talking to in this song. Because I am sure it is in refrence to some girl who broke one of their hearts, but if you read deeper they are crying out for a true "sympathy."  Not that God's motives to redeem us were out of sympathy for us, they were obviously for his Glory because who could have "sympathy" for the human condition but the one ture God. Glory in his Sympathy. Thanks Goo Goo Dolls, I pray you find what sympathy you truely seek, even if you don't think it's what you are seeking.

A Simple Gift

I don’t really know where to start. Most of the time the answer is that you must start at the beginning, but I don’t think that is the case in this instance. Honestly I don’t think I am ready to start at the beginning just yet.

Ha; actually not being ready yet has been a catch phrase of mine for the past few weeks.

I have been praying for a while, that God would give me an area where I can be creative; do something I find fulfilling. I have also been struggling with letting God love me and I need a time for reflection on all the things He has given me. I feel like God has put this here for me as an outlet for both. A way to document the little things I notice and his wooing that I tend to over look. This blog in and of itself is a gift to me and answered pray of sorts.

So that is why I felt that I needed to confess that I have already taken this gift he has given me and placed a not so humble expectation on it. (It is quite a ridiculous and far fetching sinful expectation)

You see; I secretly hope that this blog would be an inspiration to others (not just others but millions) and create some mind blowing life change in all who read it. And not only that but I wish it would spread like wild fire and become some new profound way to reach others like Donald Miller’s Blue Like Jazz. Hahahaha, oh how I can take simple God given gifts and set myself up for giant heart breaks by twisting their original purpose.

Post number one and I already need to repent. I do pray that this endeavor is blessed and that with each post I can document a little bit more of how my love story with the Lord unfolds. But moreover I pray that I may find fulfillment and joy form this even if I am the only soul that ever reads it.