Friday, July 31, 2015

Another Giveaway

Another Giveaway.

I am giving away a FREE bottle of Nerium.
I want you to experience the difference.
Deadline is August 15.


This contest is only for my blogging buddies.
Ways you can win:

1.  Share this post with a friend by linking back to this post.
2.  Follow me if you don't already.
3. Leave a comment.
What is it about your skin that you'd like to improve?
Where is your problem area?

I look forward to hearing from you. 

I'm going home this weekend. 
Will share when I get back.  
Just a short trip to see the folks. 


A photos of the changes my friend experienced. 

Don't forget
about my other giveaway,

Meet Lindsay Huggins

Monday, July 27, 2015

Remembering Again that God Takes Care of the Little Birds

My home now is completely different 
from our old home place. 



I'm trying to just feel like it's a clean slate
and not mourn what was.


I still keep bringing out the birds to remind me 
of God's care for me.

I was so heartbroken today to hear that 
a young wife and mother with a four year old little boy
has cancer.  It has metastasized to her lymph nodes 
and the doctors are trying to find out where it started.

I am so burdened for her.  She is the niece of my best friend
growing up.  I still believe in God's healing.

When my son-in-law had cancer, 
the Lord gave me a song, 

I am the God that healeth thee
I am the Lord your healer.
I send my Word and heal your disease, 
I am the Lord your healer.

The same day, 7 hours away, 
the Lord gave him the same song. 

Seven years later, he is cancer-free.

Please join me in praying for Emerald.
Emerald was born without a cornea in one eye.
She was an honor student and has done great in life
despite the challenges. 

No, this doesn't seem fair. 
I am hurting for her. 

Please join me in praying for Emerald.

With a heavy heart, 
Bonnie:(



I Won! I Won! I Won!

I Won! I Won! I Won!

Thank you, Mari


I'm listening to it even as I write.
It is truly a message of Hope. 
If there's one thing we need in our world today,
It's Hope.


What an awesome place this must be to visit.
Christian music with a meal.
This today is my inspiration.

Thanks my friend, Mari. 
Visit Mari and you will always find encouragement!


Our little miracle baby is growing so fast.
Be still my heart!
Those eyes have me!



This is one little mess right here. 
She has come into her own.
She makes funny faces that make us laugh,
loves being a little mommy, 
loves jewelry and babies, 
and is a doll.  


This little man whirls by in a blur. 
He's so busy and so funny. 
He had us in stitches at dinner the other night. 
He was the first to capture our hearts. 

Our hearts are full to overflowing!

Loving Life, 

Bonnie:)


Saturday, July 25, 2015

Giveaway: A Chance to Meet Lindsay Huggins and Win Her Latest CD

Meet Lindsay Huggins



Life is complicated. Ask any woman who has tried to walk the delicate balance beam of being a wife & mother, minister & entrepreneur, artist & businessperson. Coping with that kind of complexity often requires creative individuals to compartmentalize their lives, to build a wall between the spiritual and the intellectual, the temporal and the eternal. But it is that tension between the hereafter and the here-and-now that dresses Lindsay Huggins’ faith in flesh. Her music, her ministry and her calling are so intertwined it is impossible to determine where one stops and where the other starts. It is that connection between the intangible spirit and the corporeal expectations of this workaday world that infuses her music with a sweet transparency that crosses boundaries, cuts through bonds and nestles gently in the hearts of those who hear her sing.



 “God used a song to speak to me,” Lindsay explains. “It was music that drew me to my own personal salvation experience. I want to use my music to minister to hearts and souls, to encourage believers, and to reach non-believers with the message of the Cross. I am persuaded that there is nothing He can’t redeem.”

Lindsay with Southern Gospel Great, Sherri Easter

Lindsay’s music mirrors her personality. It is vivacious, joyful and relentlessly enthusiastic while maintaining an uncanny ability to speak with honesty and vulnerability about life as it is. And about life as it should be. “As a wife and mother I know life can get crazy at times. But even simple experiences with my two-year old son can jolt me back to the realization of how much God loves me. In His eyes, we are all like little children. Not only has that made me thankful for even the smallest of blessings, but it compels me to focus on the nature of redemption. I want to sing to those wounded hearts that wonder where God has gone, who feel like their time is past, or may feel like they have blown it and God cannot use them. I want to tell them, ‘It’s not over. It’s never over.’ Regardless of your situation, there is nothing that is beyond His redemption.”

Lindsay leads worship for women's reteats and special events.


Born into a loving, nurturing Christian home, Lindsay knew the stability of a family that sang and ministered the Gospel together. Music has been a touchstone in her life for as long as she can remember. “My dad has been a musician all his life and my mom, who is a gifted singer in her own right, was my first vocal coach,” Lindsay recalls. “She encouraged me to not just sing the words, but to communicate what I was singing. She used to tell me, ‘Say your words clearly. If people can’t understand what you are saying, it doesn’t matter how pretty you sound.’”

Lindsay always sings with her heart and soul.


By the time Lindsay graduated from high school there was no doubt in her mind about her future calling. She packed her bags and headed for Nashville – where she earned a degree in business with an emphasis on music industry from Trevecca Nazarene University. Lindsay had plenty of opportunity to see both the music industry and the music ministry from both sides of the microphone. She toured regularly as part of a contemporary Christian vocal ensemble with the university, then later interned and worked for country music superstar Reba McEntire.



“I had the unique opportunity to study Reba’s process as she selected songs, her fashion line, her home décor line. Talk about someone who has done it all,” Lindsay says. “It was an amazing experience and a dream come true for someone who wanted to be involved with the music industry. She has a great team, and it was wonderful to watch how she and her husband, Narvel, worked together. It was a great model for me and my husband, Craig.”

Lindsay left McEntire’s organization when she felt called to launch her own ministry, a move she says Reba supported. Lindsay even had the opportunity to record a song Reba passed on. “God Whispers” became Lindsay’s debut radio single, generating enthusiastic responses from radio and charting on the Singing News’ prestigious Top 80 chart.

Her time working for Reba McEntire also provided Lindsay with the opportunity to meet and develop relationships with some of the finest musicians, songwriters and producers in Nashville, including Jerry Salley, SESAC’s 2003 Country Music Songwriter of the Year. “I knew Jerry was an amazing songwriter and performer, but I didn’t realize he was also an incredible producer,” Lindsay confesses. “I found out quite by accident after talking to another artist whose music I really liked. When she told me Jerry was her producer, I reached out to him to see if he would be interested in producing my new project.”

Lindsay has been blessed to sing among the greats
in Southern Gospel Music
Lindsay credits Salley with helping her craft her most personal album to date. “He helped me find the right songs and guided the whole process,” she says. “The overarching message of the project is God’s redemption – of our lives and of the things in our lives. Stylistically, it skews country, but it stretches the genre. Some songs incorporate big church choirs while others have a soulful black Gospel feel, but I think there is something for everybody.”

Lindsay captures the inherent tension of each song on the project, wrapping her rich vocals around each, injecting them with warmth and charm. A self-described ‘song interpreter,’ she also has her first songwriting credit on her new album. Lindsay teamed up with long time family friend and Gospel music legend, Marcia Henry, to write “Nothing He Can’t Redeem,” a Gospel-tinged barnburner that speaks directly to the album’s theme of God’s redemption, not just of our souls, but of the situations in our lives. “Recording a song that I have written has been a big goal, and I’m thrilled with how it turned out.”

Lindsay and Marcia Henry, co-wrote the song
"Nothing He Can't Redeem."


Lindsay Huggins is a multi-talented artist who expresses her musical ideas in her own inimitable style. But ministry is more than a hit record for her. It is a calling, and a way of life. “Even with my family background, I didn’t feel confident in my own salvation,” she confesses. “I accepted Christ as my personal Savior in the living room of my home after listening to a song on my CD player. It is my prayer that my music can have that same impact on someone else who is in need of God’s love and redemption.”
(bio from http://www.lindsayhuggins.com/)

Listen to 

Ways to be eligible for the drawing of a free copy of 
Then Jesus Came, Lindsay's newest CD release.

1.  Comment on post.
2.  Share this post on your Facebook or Twitter page.
3.  Provide me with the name of your church contact and phone number.
4. Visit Lindsay's webpage at http://www.lindsayhuggins.com
5.  Like Lindsay Huggins Productions Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/lindsayhugginsmusic?fref=ts

You have 5 chances to win.
Let me know how you qualify.
Deadline to enter is August 10, 2015.

I have known Lindsay since she was a young child of four, 
singing on a church platform, a talent expose', or with
Southern Gospel Group, Latter Rain.

I have followed Lindsay and watched her grow both vocally and spiritually.
I promise you she will be a blessing to you.

If you don't win, I know you'll want to get the CD or contact her 
for your next event, retreat or revival.

Prayers and Blessings, 

Bonnie;)


Friday, July 24, 2015

...I Love

Not much for words tonight.


Paper hydrageas, I love.


Stacks of ironstone and porcelain, I love.

Junkin', I love. 

Bonnie:)


Thursday, July 23, 2015

Part-Time with Full-Time Fun

Once again, I've been away too long. 

This week has been a blur.
I had my first solo Nerium presentation on Saturday.


I agree with Zig. 
It's about building relationships. 
It's not a get-rich-quick scheme, 
although some people sure are good at getting there fast.

For me, it's building people, 
one at a time.
So, it's a start at doing Nerium in my new place, 
one person at a time.


I stayed with Christy while Troy was away for work.
This is one of my doll babies who has captured my heart.
In a period of two weeks, she's
sitting up,
rolling over
from back to stomach and stomach to back, 
playing with her feet and toes, 
eating baby food, 
trying to talk
(I think she said, "hey".  I can make language out of oos if I want!)
and getting up on hands and scooting.

My other babies have been sick this week.


Connor man is just too busy for
the camera these days.

Next week, I interview with 
Saving Grace Adult Day Care.
It's a part-time position.
I'm super excited about the prospect.

Today I started booking for one of my favorite Christian artists, 

Lindsay Huggins


I hope you'll watch her video of Praying Women.
Get your Kleenex!

If you would like to have her at your church or women's event
or know of someone who would, please let me know.

I guess you can say, I'm a part-time bookie, junkie (for sure)
BonBon, skin care marketing rep, and adult caregiver.

Learning, growing and having fun in the process.

Bonnie:)












Wednesday, July 15, 2015

What I've Learned Since Leaving Facebook...Really?

I wrote an article for our church newsletter.
Before it was printed, I pulled it.

Because "Yours turly" here was 
having Facebook issues herself.

Friends hurt friends.
Family hurts family.

We say things and see things
that may or may not be there.

It's a sensitive matter, 
FACEBOOK!


Don't we do it?
We compare our likes, comments and followers to other people?
Just like we do in real life but FACE IT,
FACEBOOK is not always real life. 

We know how to paint a beautiful picture. 
I do it too.
Nice family, nice "friends" (and lots of them) nice children, nice car, 
nice home and to the world, everything looks ,,,NICE.

I can even do it here, the safest social media I have, Blogger.

I realized awhile back that no one wanted to read 
the sad, sob stories of "Debbie Downer," so
I added a blog "The Upside of Down,"
 thinking "I can help someone else."
 and my few faithful friends followed.


But do most of us really want to hear it???


Or someone took out the trash.
Thank you...very much..."friend."

Facebook has been hard for me since we moved. 
I see all my friends and family enjoying each other. 
Fun! Fun!  High Fives! Yippee! Woo Hoo!
And I want that, I really do!
But I'm sad, too.

 "Wow, look how everyone is moving forward."
The problem has moved and so we move on!
She's gone, let's party!

Sounds really stupid, huh?

But don't we do that?

There's a verse that God often uses to get my attention here,

"Each one should test his own actions.
Then he can take pride in himself, 
without comparing himself to someone else."
Galations 6:4

So before we post, speak, or vent, 
we should test our own actions, 
make sure our motives are pure and not offensive...
and then test again.

(Hey I'm not even sure I should post this..)
Oh well, 


Who's leaving Facebook?
Did I say I was leaving Facebook?
How many times have you left Facebook?

Really?
Nah, just kidding.



Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Taking It the the Patio

I'm still struggling to make the apartment our home
for as long as we are here. 

We are still believing for a house by next year.

I got rid of a lot before moving
but alot of my pretties are still in boxes 

I'm finding that more and more of you 
are downsizing and are facing the same issues. 


So I carried it outside.


I added the canvas art that we were given 
to us before leaving to keep "GA On My Mind."


I had the daughter of a friend make this for my red and gray room. 
Since we have only two bedrooms now which doesn't include red, 
I thought it may look good on the patio.
I'll add a small table or a crate and some potted plants.
What do you think?


This is our view. 
I'd sure rather have the rolling hills beyond us 
and a back yard, but the ride to the city is nice.

I have a silent prayer request for our "now" and beyond
that I can't share.  It's not life or death, but it 
is life altering.  So just say a prayer for my silent request. 

God sees, He hears, He understands and He is concerned.

On our blogs, it sometimes looks like someone else has the perfect life. 
None of us do.  
Blogging is sometimes a place of escape.
I have often found it to be a circle of friends who care for one another-
with prayer and encouragement.

Love and Prayers for You too!

Bonnie:)


Monday, July 13, 2015

Pulling Together Some of My Favorites

Yesterday...

Kinda weak in the knees, 
 a general feeling of fatigue,
with flu-like symptoms.

Checked blood sugar.
Yes-almost 300!

Down a little bit 
but not normal all day.

Today...

Good numbers,
but still tired.


Adding a few of my favorite things
and feeling better.


Missing my white cabinets and kitchen from home.


Spring items from Hobby Lobby,
mark-downs. 
Birds, $1 and $2.


Pattern, Forget-Me-Nots.
A new find.


Pulled a few of my favorite things together.


New photos, my favorite of all!

Thursday, July 9, 2015

Change Again

This morning my DIL and I and the kiddos went to
what we thought was a Splash Pad.
(This is new to me)
Turns out it was a kiddo pool with lots of water falls.
I roll up my sleeves and shorts.
No problem there.
 
I was walking with Cora when she went under.
Oh my goodness!  I tried to pull her up by the arm
when I realized she was under.
I go in fully clothed, body and all!
 
Yes, I did!  Anything to save my babies.
Absolutely scared me to death!
 
She was fine.
Thank you, Jesus.
Me.  Not so much.
My heart was in fight or flight mode.
 
Sopping wet and yes, BonBon got a boo-boo
but my baby girl was safe.
 
Go ahead and laugh.
After the scare, we all did.
 
 
We did lunch together and then I spruced up the house a bit.
This is one of the goodies that I got at Amy's yard sale.
I could not believe she sold this pretty!
 
 
Look at the detail!
 
 
I added a small stack of my favorite pieces.
 
 
I will enjoy for a few days
until it is time to change again.
 
Yelp, change again.
Sure had to change out of those wet clothes!
 
Until the next espisode...
 
Bonnie:)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Hodgepodge Wednesday

Hodgepodge Wednesday



Her goes, Simply Linda

1. When did you last 'swim against the tide'?
Oh how I would love to be swimming against the tide right now. 

No, really.  I'm spent my life "swimming against the tide."  I stayed in the principal's office at school because when "right is right" it is "right" and when "wrong is wrong" it is wrong. Even when it was disagreeing with a teacher.  Yikes, I know.  I learned better.  I guess I got in trouble more for standing up for the underdog than anything else.

2. What's the last self-help or self-improvement book you read?
I have had some wonderful early morning times with the Lord lately reading His Word.  I even told God today that I didn't want to go to work if it meant having to lose this time with Him.  My Bible is my favorite book and it is marked up almost like a journal.  When God speaks to me through His Word, I write the date.  Some verses have more than one date.  The Bible can be read as many times as we want and it will speak to us differently each time and to someone else in a different way.

 3. "Tolerance is a tremendous virtue, but the immediate neighbors of tolerance are apathy and weakness." (Sir James Goldsmith)

Agree or disagree? Discuss. With civility please, because I think we have a good thing going in our very diverse (in geography, age, religion, political persuasion, ethnicity, marital status, upbringing, and cooking abilities) neighborhood here on This Side of the Pond
.

 I think there is a fine line between tolerance and compromise and apathy.  Maybe I'm comparing the wrong two and not answering the question but I have had a hard time with this one lately.  I want to be the hands and feet of Jesus.  He would love, but He also turned the tables over.  However, most of his anger was with the hypocrites, the religious leaders.  So I don't want to sit back and do nothing.  We've done that for too long. At the same time, I don't want to judge.  However, if you are a Bible believing Christian and have read Romans 1, you clearly see what God says about homosexuality.  Then again, aren't we all guilty of some sin?  Not on purpose, not purposefully choosing a wrong lifestyle, but still not walking in obedience?  I've asked God to keep my heart right.  I will take this time to say that I believe that the end is near.  There are signs all around us.  I'm not one to say this in my blog, but since you asked...well maybe you didn't ask, but God has impressed this upon my heart that I must not be silent when I am called on to speak.  Can I admit to you that I am afraid.  How is God going to judge?  Will I be judged as the homosexual if I am a gossiper?  Sin is sin, right?  Just Lord, keep me sensitive to your voice and when called upon to take a stand, may I do so boldly in your name and in love
.
4. What is one of your most vivid memories of the kitchen from your childhood?
Granny with her apron on at the kitchen sink, making biscuit with lard and buttermilk and patting them out. Mama always in the kitchen cooking or baking.  The table is where we always gathered and talked long after the meal was over.  Memories, sweet memories.  I'll make you laugh here.  I love to play with the chickens before mama cut them up.  I'd hold them by the wing and walk them around the sink.  Crazy children we were!

5. How did/do your own children's summers compare with your summers as a child? If you're not a parent, answer as it relates to what you've observed about the current generation of children vs. your own childhood.
Oh my goodness.  This one, move out of the way so I can get on my soapbox.  What happened to getting up early to shuck corn and shell butterbeans and peas before you could play?  What happened to having the neighborhood kids help you shuck and shell so you could play?  What happened to playing til dinner and supper as we called it and knowing it was time to come home when we heard our names called?  What happened to catching "lightening bugs" after dark?  What happened to riding bikes and playing back yard ball and walking to the store to buy "Penny" candy?  Oh haven't things changed.  My children did these things!  Really, there was no electronic games in my house.  The kids today, SAD!

6. Tell us what body of water you would most like to be on or near today, and why?

Today?  Usually the beach.  Today, it's too hot.  I'd like to be near a mountain stream.

7. Share a favorite song about water, or a favorite song with the word water in it's title, or a favorite song to listen to as you sit beside the water.

Bridge over Troubled Water and Sitting on the Dock of the Bay, Yelp Linda.  I'd choose these too, but since I'm always singing with the babies lately, I sing "Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream..." 
8. Insert your own random thought here.


Oh so sorry this post is so long.  I really am.  Random thoughts.  I'm as happy as I have ever been in my life.  The Lord says the end will be better than our beginning.  I think he said that to the Israelites, but hey, I'll take it.  I am loving Nashville.  I can't say that I don't miss home.  Monday was one of those days. But the joy of being with my children is more than I can ask for.  God has given us the desires of our hearts.

 
 
 
 
 

 


Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Yard Sale Finds

My favorite finds at Amy's yard sale
were the architectural pieces/wall art.
 
Have you seen what these cost in the antique shops
and even at flea markets?
No less than $25 here and in one shop $35
 
 
There was a longer piece in a local shop
that was $45.  I kid you not!
 

I love the chippy, shabby!
 

You just can't duplicate the natural with the new.
 


 
I'm using the door knob to hold my necklaces.
 
I got this too!
Pefect for holding bathclothes.
 
The apartment is really too new for me.
I like rustic.  Trying to add a little here and there.
 

I'm not sure this works together,
but I love the canvas art.
You know what the bird means to me.
 
 
I may move the wood pieces
and use to hang aprons???
 
Any ideas?
 
Hope your Tuesday is terrific!
 
Bonnie:)