the real me....

The real me is a child of God.

Born…. And protected by God my entire life.

As a child my parents took me to church, chapel, vacation bible school, and they were involved in the church wherever we moved, serving and leading small groups and youth.  I had an excellent example! My dad had wanted to be a pastor, but God had a better plan for him.

One night as we left church late it was dark in the parking lot we ran to get to our car, my dad was away at work and it was just us girls, running in the dark.  “Whoooo” my mom said, as she rushed us to the auto, “we have to hurry we don’t want the boogie man to get us!”  “Oh my” I replied, “God will not let anything bad happen to us.”  My faith and the fact that a 5 year old would say it shocked my mom into calm. 

I grew and adjusted…. God continued to whisper into my ear… I listened. As a young child I was somewhat concerned that I would not confess my sin enough…so I prayed a lot.

At 14 I went to a Bible Camp in the mountains of Japan, there was an evangelistic speaker, Dr. Cook, who took us through the steps to salvation.  I had heard those before but for the first time I realized I didn’t have to continually ask to be forgiven.  I stood up and told my testimony to my group that I always knew God was for me and that I was saved but this was the way to find peace.

~~~ after 16 I had a heart break, a young girl with a broken heart is mad at everything, I turned away from God, and decided to do everything my way… It was a sad and confusing youth, the details that are not necessary to share…

One night at 19 years old, I was alone in my apartment, sad, worried, lonely, and self-evaluating….

I prayed for God to help me and told him I could not continue on my own because all my ideas had ended in more sadness and loneliness…  within a half hour, a couple of people knocked on my door and handed out a flyer for a new church that just opened up nearby… I knew this was the answer.  I attended and got baptized.

I continued to follow God and thought there were times of desert and times of full spiritual engagement… there was always God.

I have to say that in Christ is the way to peace… in Christ is the way to wisdom…. In Christ is the way to grow spiritual strength.

I think that there are times and seasons, for everything in your life… and there are spiritual gifts that sometimes show up when God needs you for them and then are not in your life for a while, or ever.  I have had many seasons and there are times I have had wisdom and times I do not… times I had discernment and times I don’t.  It goes on… and I know I am his.

Redescovering Flickr...

I was looking at all my online stuff recently and realized that Flickr was the original ~ pintrest and instagram... here is the link to my stuff...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryann/ 

Travel with family...

In the mid 1960's we crossed the USA and visited all sorts of attractions etc... Here is a classic photo of my family, my dad in the middle and my sister and I on both sides of him... in the background brightly washed out is the Grand Canyon. 

I may have been frowning because of the bright light or envious of the unknown girl with her binoculars.

Here is another photo on that same day with mom.

We have a wonderful life.

 

I Phone Apps I like :)

Here is a short list of apps I like... don't feel like you have to have them all or that you need to buy the ones that are not free... I haven't found one that wasn't worth the small price however.

Social type apps;

Words with friends ~ a scrabble type app were you play with others and can communicate also ! I like to play with family, I'm not too good but it is helping me with my spelling. To connect ~ (leave a comment and I will send you the info about how to play with me)

Facebook ~ social interaction and information, I keep up with my daughters lives and they check in with me as well as share photos and info... about charities and other things I am interested in... (I am Terry Ann Skipper Wilson)

Instagram ~ I love taking photos and there are simple filters here to make little works of art, I keep up with friends I know in real life and get to see some inspiring work of my friends... (I am Terryanns)

EMOJI ~ these are those emoticons, the little smile faces and tiny cartoon drawings of items that add to your text and emails etc... it adds a second keyboard to your texting.

Work;

I have a stylist, since I have fat fingers and my nails are in the way of the keyboard, I use it to type when I need to do a lot of it. It also keeps me from making mistakes when I need to "select" things ... I miss-dialed too many times. Purchase one from the apple store, but you have to ask for it they don't want you to think you need it.

Any Dictionary app ~ I like Dictionary.com ~ look stuff up and has a voice that will give you pronunciation.

YP ~ Yellow Pages Mobile - works when other apps fail me to find things and has good phone numbers etc...

Smart Traveler ~ state department app for travel warnings and itineraries...

Microsoft TAG ~ Scans those tags, both the multi color and black and white blocks that connect to more information about places, events, items to purchase and people.

News;

Get your local news apps for local news info while you are away from home...

CNN ~ News of the world

BBC ~ British News of the World.

Finance:

Your Own Credit Card ~ to keep track of points, travel plans and charges

Your Own Bank~ to check your balances, and to deposit checks with a photo.

Other Stuff;

Pandora ~ a self controlled radio app, you choose an artist or a type of song and the app will play other songs in that same style... you can like or dislike each song and it responds by playing more things closer to your style...

Zippo Lighter ~ just a fun app that makes a flicker from an old style lighter.

Starwalk ~ once you learn the app, you can aim this toward the sky and it will label the stars and constellations... as you move it across the sky...it is a beautiful app.

Games;

It is difficult to tell someone else what games to get some are free, most of them cost a couple of $ up wards of 5 or 6 dollars... Here are a few that have made my eyes cross... from playing them so much...

Angry Birds

Chuzzle

and

Bookworm...

Enjoy!, I find my iphone so flexible and fun that I am willing to get stronger glasses to keep using it. My whole family now has one and even my mom loves hers and plays words with friends with me... It is an easy way to keep in contact with her without making a call.

Being at Graduation ~ As a family member

It was fairly fustrating to be at the UW Graduation for something like 3,000 people. 

There was just no way to find where she was... so we texted, "Where are you?"  But because of so many people doing the same time, most of the texts didn't go through the first or second time... It went on for hours, but some time in the first hour I got this text photo, along with a general location description...

So here she is...

AND there she is somewhere over there....

So I replied with a general area where we were sitting and this photo...

It was raining just a tiny bit.

Later that evening I got a good photo of her hat.  It was a great day!

A Study on the Movie "Eat, Pray, Love" and my own working out of grief.

Eat, Pray, Love Ha!

     When grief has got a hold, for any reason, a death, a broken heart, a broken marriage, weariness, or the death of a dream... it is.. more like this....
    It's cry, pray, eat or avoid eating, cry, pray, sleep or can't sleep, cry, pray, shop, shop, shop, cry, pray, hope or lose hope, cry, pray, grab loved ones or push them away, cry, pray, anger, cry, pray, bewildered, cry, pray, shop more,cry, pray, ...
     Find new life, still cry, and pray... stay stuck, cry, pray, Jesus, yes! Pray and ...find joy hiding, be confused and repeat above....
     I haven't read the book, I saw the movie.... when I do read the book I will have the right to criticize that, right now all I know is the bare bones of the story --- according to the movie.  In which a youngish wife leaves her husband behind to "find herself".  I found myself, my true self when I contemplated the same thing.   But my faith in Gods plan and knowing that I had to stay true to the promises I had made --- How could I trust another if I could not keep my own promises?  If I could run away from my life then all my new plans could fall apart too... All I knew ... Gods promises that he had a good plan for me even if I could not see the outcome it would be a good one.  I had to have faith.  It was a good life, it was the right thing to do. 
   I see in the movie she finds another to be her husband and puts her faith again in a man --- I still do not see how this new man will be any different than her first, could she not find herself and re-devoted her self to her marriage? 
     For me now I am free of such entanglement and I am now again on the launching pad of another adventure... something has to give... I have faith.  Big Breath! Jump In!!
     WHEE!!!!

with this group I Eat, Pray and Love...............................................................................................

love is like that

My daughter once gave me her heart..... she drew it herself!.. Love is like that!

Snow on the Porch!

Ok just for fun I am posting a few photos that my mom took yesterday... We had a bit of snow in the Northwest!

A couple of old photos of me, my sister and our Japanese Cat.

Trying to learn the piano when you are tone deaf is futile!  I tried.

       My favorite tree on the lake in the snow...

Sister and the cat named Clyde, he had only a nub for a tail and talked all the time.

So we went fishing!

I love to go fishing... after this photo was taken we caught three more. It was a beauiful day! Fun on the water for the whole gang!

Here is a beauty, I cooked this one for lunch the next day!

My daughter caught this one and I almost couldn't wait to eat it. Sushi is good too!

Love One Another !

This is actually a photo of me and my sister, in 1973!

I Love this commandment and work to follow this one like no other!

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
John 13:34
Jesus makes many statements in the Gospel of John, but this is the only commandment that he identifies as such, calling it "new." Perhaps if he emphasized it so specifically, we should cling to it with every ounce of our effort.

Yes this is my mom !

Last month Costco connections magazine, she was so surprised! Nice.

OUCH! Sumiko!

My darling little kitty cat Sumiko, cut her back leg on some sharp metal. The vet had to put her out to clean it up and sew it back together. This is right after I brought her back home, she had to wear a collar to keep her from licking it. She is all better now and the stitches are out... but I just thought I would share this funny little photo of her in her collar, my other kitty is tentatively sniffing her out, in the background.

this is the morning & here is the JOY!

Today in my daily verse!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime.Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.
Psalm 30:5
God doesn't hold grudges. His personality is not like ours; His ways are not like ours. Be free from your self-condemning chains. Be joyful this morning. Experience the grace and freedom that abound through Christ living in your heart!

Some thoughts I have had and have to keep re~learning.

Trials have no value or intrinsic meaning in the themselves... It is the way we respond to those trials that makes all the difference. J.E. Tada

My thoughts exactly..... as humans we tend to want to look only at our own hurts and either soak in the pain or lash out at others.

Both the the lamb (who soaks in pain) and the lion (who lashes out) feels the thorn prick each responds in an inappropriate way... for humans.

God wants us to "give him" the thorn and the pain and learn compassion for the experience or patience. Sometime the lesson is specific for us alone. We can either get bitter or better. Those around us will either suffer from our inappropriate responses or reap the added benefits from our learning our lesson. What a "better way" to learn how to, take care of another with pain, than have experienced it yourself.

Peace!

Flood ~ My Soul !

And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'
Matthew 25:40

Your service toward those in need is your service unto God Himself. Don't endeavor to preach the Gospel; be the Gospel.




Nashville Flood Relief
If you're interested in helping with the relief efforts for the Nashville Flood, please visit here for more information on how you can be of service.

Shoes to be married in!

So...OK............, we saw some beautiful shoes in the most recent "In Style" magazine. My daughter was looking for shoes to wear with her wedding dress this summer.
There is not a chance that we could afford those designer dreams... go look them up on page 394, lace treasures!!! So I had a bit of a creative brainstorm. We went to the bargain shoe store and purchased a plain pair of white strappy pumps for $10!

The end result are these beautiful designer inspired pair, using ..... my old and stained, wedding dress... yep the backs were covered with the cuffs, and the toes took some of the lace from the top. We made some little rosettes from the tulle, and put shell buttons in the middle, those are on the top of the heel area. I am not sure if we are finished with the layers of lace, but I had to take these photos. WOW ! and it was so fun!

Venice with a little photoshop fun.

A few years ago my husband, my daughter and I went on a trip to Venice Italy. There were so many lovely views that I took hundreds of photos! I took a photoshop class about a year and half ago... this is the combination of one of my photos and my newly discovered photoshop skills... I really like it and though I should share it.

Christmas is made of this ~ Love

And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
Luke 2:10,11

For His sacrifice, let us be thankful. Let us celebrate the true meaning of Christmas as we endeavor to love as He loved and give as He gave.

My Feet ~ a story that I didn't plan to tell.

Well I didn't start out to tell a story about my feet, or even decide to take pictures of my feet and put them on my blog... however, one day I was sorting through my many photos and noticed how many, many, many photos I had of just that very thing! My feet... so here are a few photos... I seem to have taken some by accident and others by design... explanations follow each photo.






This one I was trying to photograph the tote for my online Etsy shop and well.... I didn't have a model that day so I just snapped it with my right hand....





Again my model wasn't around and my toe nail polish just happened to match the Ultrasuede! This one will be listed soon.

This was my daughters graduation day and I was beginning to get bored, I had put a top layer of sparkle~ly paint on my dark purple toes. It was so pretty and so I distractedly snapped a photo while someones name I didn't know was being called... really 3 hours to get through all the names and speeches... yawn~! pretty toes however!

Here I am trying again to take a photo of product without a model.... not a bad shot... of my feet! ☺

And at last... my favorite shot of my feet.... so far ~~~~~ ! ♥ ♥ ♥

This one I took while I waited for my daughters to get ready... we were in Disneyland, the ankle bracelet says "PRINCESS" and yes I am! Silver toes, shoes and bracelet! WOW What cute feet....
Not a single stinker! Now wasn't that fun?!