Creative Reflections

A Day Set Apart

I've always loved the idea of the Sabbath; a day set apart to rejoice in the provision that Holy God has made for us to live in intimate relationship with Him. To be honest, most Sundays have a sweet habit about them. Attending church, worshiping, hearing an uplifting or challenging message and spending time with church family is sort of the warp and weft of what Sundays have come to mean to our family. But every once in a while the Spirit of God will be so palpable that is shakes me out of habit, lifts me out of the routine and reminds me again of the indescribable beauty and power of the God who loved me, rescued me and daily shows His loving kindness to me. Today was such a day and this layout was born of my gratitude to Him....awestruck I fall to my knees as I humbly proclaim, you are amazing God! (Lyrics by Chris Tomlin)

Tonight at our monthly Vesper service the worship leader encouraged us to spend a few moments writing down our prayers of thanksgiving. This was mine: I thank you Lord for being the Great Author! You are the author of creation, of history, of life; the author of salvation and of faith. Unless the author puts pen to paper there is no story. How my heart trembles with overwhelming gratitude for the majesty, holiness, loving kindness and indescribable beauty of the story you have written for all mankind.

Thank you Lord that the simple, small story you are writing in and through my life is a story filled with the touch of your common grace, the power of your redemptive work, the tenderness of your mercy and the brilliance of your Spirit writ large upon my heart...you ARE amazing God!!

May you all have a blessed week, filled with the joy of God's kind provision and grace!

A "Treat" of a Sale on all Dee Bee Designs TODAY ONLY!

To celebrate Halloween I'm offering a 50% discount on all of my designs...TODAY ONLY....so don't miss out!

Sometimes It All Just Comes Together

Late this afternoon, after a long day of doing administrative work I thought I would unwind by listening to some music, editing some photos and...if inspiration struck....create a layout or two. I was listening to one of my favorite contemporary Christian groups, "Casting Crowns." The photos I was editing came from from our trip to Tahoe this past summer.

I was working on this photo when the song "Somewhere in the Middle" started to play:

The Song Lyrics:

Somewhere between the hot and the cold
Somewhere between the new and the old
Somewhere between who I am and who I used to be
Somewhere in the middle, You'll find me

Somewhere between the wrong and the right
Somewhere between the darkness and the light
Somewhere between who I was and who You're making me
Somewhere in the middle, You'll find me

Somewhere between my heart and my hands
Somewhere between my faith and my plans
Somewhere between the safety of the boat and the crashing waves

Somewhere between a whisper and a roar
Somewhere between the altar and the door
Somewhere between contented peace and always wanting more
Somewhere in the middle You'll find me

Fearless warriors in a picket fence,
reckless abandon wrapped in common sense
Deep water faith in the shallow end and we are caught in the middle
With eyes wide open to the differences, the God we want and the God who is
But will we trade our dreams for His or are we caught in the middle

Lord, I feel You in this place and I know You're by my side
Loving me even on these nights when I'm caught in the middle

This song has always spoken to me of some of my own struggles in my Christian walk. I KNOW that our most powerful experience of God is only found when we abandon self and fully embrace HIS path, HIS call, HIS ways and HIS holiness and yet in my brokenness I so often cling to my own willfulness....caught in the middle between temporal comfort and selfless abandon.

How precious is the thought that even in this in-between place the beauty of the Lord still shines, the reality of his love still comforts, and the certainty of our hope still encourages us to move forward. Like the sunrise coming up over this mountain someday, soon, we too shall be able to stand in the full glory of Holy God and NOT be caught in the middle anymore!

A photo, a song, a moment of prayerful thought, a creative process....sometimes it all just "comes together!"

A Break from House Cleaning

I got up early this morning to do a "deep cleaning" of the house. I've made good progress but sometimes a girls got to take a break from the bleach fumes and tediousness of climbing the ladder to wipe down the ceiling fans. So.....I tip-toed away.....just for a few minutes mind you....and put together a new layout! Believe me, remembering the beauty of an early morning hike in Tahoe is WAY MORE fun than cleaning a boy's bathroom!!

Here is the layout:

The journaling reads: On our trip to Tahoe this past summer Anthony, Justin and I got up early one morning and headed over to Spooner Lake. We got there just as the sun was rising. The fog, lifting off of the lake, seemed as if it were the lake's very breath made visible as she whispered praise to her Maker for a brand new day.

A New Mini Kit: Autumn Dawn

This is a new mini kit I put together as a FREE GIFT with the purchase of the October issue of the Artisan Notebook. You can also purchase this kit as a separate purchase HERE.

A New Add-on Set for the Just Released Guild Encore Kit: Licorice & Lollipops

We just made the June Guild kit "Licorice & Lollipops" available as a Guild Encore Kit. As part of the release I put together a NEW add-on set to go with the kit. It is filled with some really fun layered cluster frames, borders and word art.

It's all Good!

Last night Anthony and his best friend spent the evening with one of our pastors. This particular pastor had been serving as the High School youth leader. Anthony and his friend have grown VERY fond of him. However, the elders of our church have asked this pastor to redirect his ministry and begin to oversee the children & Awanas' program. Our pastor had the boys over last night so that he could share the news with them personally. I knew that it would not be welcome news on Anthony's part and so I spent the better part of the evening praying for them all.

When Anthony got home he came in to tell me the news. I told him that I already knew but that our pastor had asked us to not say anything until he had a chance to talk to Anthony. I asked Anthony how he was feeling. He was honest and said that the news really bummed him out. But then he said something that I realized he has been saying A LOT recently, "Don't worry mom, it is all good!" "What do you mean Anthony?" I asked. He replied, "I can't be selfish about this, if this is what is best for our church, then....it is all good!"

Honest to goodness this kid blows me away sometimes! As a proud mom I like to think it is just because Anthony is such a special kid, filled with all kinds of wonderfulness.....and he IS!! But at the heart of it I know that the most important refining aspect of my young son's character is the fact that he absolutely loves Christ and desires with all his heart to seek after Him. God's Spirit day by day continues to shape and mold the heart of my son and I have to say, it is a beautiful thing to behold.

I worked on this layout tonight trying to capture some sense of the wonder of his special, new "catch phrase."

Journaling reads: I’m not sure who you’ve picked it up from but you’ve started using a new expression, “Don’t worry mom, it’s all good!" Good when you don’t get the ball passed to you in football, good when I accidentally lock you out of the house, good when your team loses a close game due to a bad call, good even when you are saddened with news that a beloved Pastor is moving out of youth ministry, still you say,”It’s all good!” I find this such a sweet testament to your faith; the Lord is teaching you to “count it all joy.” Your obedience to His call is a beautiful sight to behold....it really is ALL GOOD!

Playing with a New Kit

My business partner Stacey and I are trying very hard to press forward with deadlines for the magazine so that we can get to a point where we are working two and three months ahead. The anxiety of finishing our monthly magazine just a few days ahead of deadline is wiping Stacey, Amy (our sweet, amazingly talented co-editor) and myself out. We take a lot of pride in the fact that we publish the magazine on time every month and have done so for more than a year; the same cannot be said for other online digi-scrap magazines. To make sure we maintain that record of excellence AND to give us a break during the holidays we have pushed up all of our deadlines through the first of the year. What that means for me personally is that I have to make sure that our Guild kits for November and December are completed by the end of this month and the Guild kit for January needs to be done by the middle of November....whew!! Thankfully, I DO have November's kit finished and have already sent it out to our creative team; I'm eager to see what they do with the kit-I think it turned out pretty cute and is a fun change of pace from some of our most recent kits. I've been playing with it myself! Shhh.....if you promise not to tell anyone, I'll give you a sneak peek at my layouts! :) :) :)

A Frantic Fall

I'm know I'm not the only one feeling this way but my goodness it has been a frantic fall! The pace always does seem to pick up when the boys go back to school; there is the driving up and down the hill to take Austin to and from school, the soccer & football practices & games, helping with homework, youth group and other assorted "have to be someplace" type of events. This year we also have the added challenge of trying to make it to as many of Alex's college soccer games as we are able.

In addition, I'm serving women's ministry and helping to oversee our women's Bible study. The planning meetings and some unexpected complications in terms of the curriculum and finding enough small group leaders threw me for a loop. BUT, I do have to say that when I got to Bible study this past Wednesday and met with all the precious ladies attending the study it made it all worthwhile. Seeing their eagerness to be back together after the long summer break and knowing their hearts were eager to be renewed as they seek Christ through the study of His Word moved me deeply. That God would allow me to be part of this simple, yet sacred gathering of His saints humbles me.

Of course, having a puppy in the house CAN, at times, add to the chaos. But it also adds a whole lot of fun and hilarity. I was thinking the other day how thankful I am that we have this new little guy in our home. With Alex away at college, the boys away at school and Mario working from an office downtown my days could get pretty lonely without the company of my pets. Poor Mario! He never had pets growing up and here he is looking at his wife of 25 years trying to figure out what the heck happened to that quasi-urban girl he married! Come to find out she had a secret passion to be a cowgirl, live in a small rural town, hum country tunes and surround herself with animals! There is a secret anxiety I see lurking in the back of his eyes as he wonders if I will continue to ease my empty-nest pangs with yet MORE animals! HAH!! (I haven't told him yet about the email my best friend sent me about the need to find homes for horses that are being abandoned due to the economic downturn...don't worry Babe, Dee was just teasing with that email!!)

On the business front we are very encouraged! My partner Stacey Stahl has been working like crazy expanding our market. The Artisan Notebook is now being sold in several wonderful digital scrapbook stores. Not only does this allow us to increase our market presence but it is also affording us the opportunity to invite some remarkably talented layout artists to contribute to the magazine. Each issue just keeps getting better and better. I am SO thrilled that we are able to put together a product that is filled with such inspiration. I just love being part of a creative environment where people share ideas and encourage one another to ever greater levels of creative expression!

And speaking of creative expression. I finally finished the October Guild kit (just two weeks past my self-imposed deadline...but hey...at least I'm trying to defeat that "procrastination demon" that is always tripping me up!) Want a sneak peek of the kit? Well....here is a layout I worked on this morning:

The composition for this layout was inspired by a layout created by Psyren. She is one of our new "Color Cuties" who will be contributing layouts for future issues of the magazine. See, I told you we have some amazing talent, didn't I?!!

Remembering 9/11

“Now, we have inscribed a new memory alongside those others. It’s a memory of tragedy and shock, of loss and mourning. But not only of loss and mourning. It’s also a memory of bravery and self-sacrifice, and the love that lays down its life for a friend–even a friend whose name it never knew. “ - President George W. Bush, December 11, 2001



It has been eight years, eight years...so hard to believe. Life moves forward but the memories remain. Sometimes I'm taken aback by how close to the surface the feelings of that day still rest. All it takes is one look of a photo of those burning buildings or a replay of the radio news broadcast from that morning and bam...I'm right back there.....staring at my TV compelled to look even as a part of me wanted to look away. Watching as "things" were falling from the buildings and then realizing it was people jumping; horrendous! Trying to get my mind around what had just happened to our nation the television ran 7/24 for days and days.

In the days that followed I was DESPERATE to get my hands on an American flag. I don't know why it became so important to me but I kept thinking, I've GOT to get a flag and fly it in our yard. There were none to be found! I would stop by Home Depot 2, 3, sometimes 4 times a day. The store ended up hanging a huge sign in the parking lot letting people know when to expect the new shipment of flags. Obviously I was not the only one who needed to have that visual proclamation of country & courage & love. When they finally came in I purchased five and cried at the check out counter as I wrote out my check.

I planted a red, white and blue flower garden in my backyard in memory of all those who were lost. As I dug in the dirt a fleet of fighter jets flew overhead on a practice run from Camp Pendleton. I jumped up and ran after them waving my hands over my head and with tears streaming down my face cried out, "thank you, thank you, God bless you and keep you safe."

It isn't very popular to say these days but I always remember the comfort and peace I gained every time President Bush came on TV. I'll NEVER forget his visit to New York, standing on that pile of rubble, his arm around the fireman and his exhortation through that bull-horn. People forget it now but he gave us courage in those days and the days that followed.

The enemy that attacked us that day is still active and prowling. I pray that our leaders and our nation do not become complacent. I don't ever want to live through another day like that one. My prayers this day are first and foremost with the families whose loss on that day must still be like a piercing sword. May God grant them peace and comfort and mercy. I also pray for our first responders & military; the firefighters, police, EMT, CIA, FBI all those who serve in our military and all those who stand ready to sacrifice self for the sake of another. You are the pride of our nation! May God bless you in mighty ways, keep you safe and enable you to fulfill your mission to protect our nation and provide rescue when it is needed.

The layout above is one I made several years ago on another 9/11 anniversary. The journaling reads:

Looking back the 1990's seem like such a feckless time. We took a 'break from history' and entertained ourselves with the peccadilloes of a truly inconsequential President.All the while the evil plans of evil men were being hatched and plotted. We would learn later that there were many who feared this day might come. But I think for most Americans this day burst upon us with shock and horror.

My boys, my three brave, beautiful boys, have grown up in the shadow of 911. They are part of a new and different generation. I wonder what lessons they will take from living through this history. I hope they have learned these things...that America is a good and wondrous place that deserves our love, service and if needed our sacrifice...that evil is real, it is played out through the hearts of evil men and women and it touches the ordinary & the innocent; it shatters and destroys. But most importantly I hope that they learn this lesson...that courageous and good people can stand firm in the face of evil and redeem the heartbreak and the sorrow. The heroes of this day and all the days since...the firemen who ran into the burning buildings, the businessman who would not abandon the crippled stranger in the stair-well, the passengers on Flight 93, the men and women serving in our military....THESE are the people to pattern your life on....THESE are the heroes...THESE are the ones who live life for something greater than self. THESE are the lessons I want my boys to take from this awful, horrible day.