Do you ever just feel overwhelmed...

...with God's GOODNESS in your life??

For MOST of my life, the sentence would just ended with "Do you ever just feel overwhelmed?"  I would have answered with a YES YES YES.  To be honest, for most of my life I have struggled with depression and a lot of hard knocks.  Really, I was never one of those people who had it easy.  I had a lot of GREAT things in my life (a family who always provided above and beyond what I needed, exposure to the truth of Christ's love) but it would be dishonest to say I had an easy life.  When I read people talking about how easy life has been for them I sometimes (in my total sin and jealousy) think, "oh, they better brace themselves.  Their luck has to run out sometime!"  Nope, not me.  Things have not ever been easy.  But you know what, I would not trade any of it.  Was it fun to go through?  Nope, not at all.  But I can say with Paul, "...God, who had set me apart even from my mother's womb and called me through His grace."  From the time I was six, I KNEW I was different. I didn't know why or how, but I knew that my life would not look like other people's.  It took many, many years to come to understand that it was God setting me apart...that He had a plan for my life, that He had things He wanted to take me through to prepare me.  And boy, did He take me through a lot.  But now I can take these words to heart:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. (2 Corinthians 1:3-7)

I see so much of what He has taken me through as preparation for me to help others.  He also had a lot to teach me in the process.  I still have a LONG way to go...I still struggle with unforgiveness, jealousy, and discipline to name a  few.  But I can see growth in my life.  And I really can see God's light shining on me.  I feel His love and goodness and I am overwhelmed.

He has just been so good to me lately.  Not in big, huge things.  No winning lottery tickets, no instant weight loss and beauty, no problems disappearing into thin air.  But He has been so good and so faithful in the small things.  And not just in meeting my needs, but even meeting my wants.  He has blessed me in my scrapping and my business.  He has blessed this little family of ours and given me three totally different but totally wonderful kids.  He has been patient with my shortcomings and He has shown me glimpses of what He has in store.  I am so thankful and so humbled and so blessed. 

How has God been blessing YOU lately?  You might have to look hard.  Sometimes it is hard to see God's blessing in all the craziness that surrounds our lives.  I have also found, through years of experience, that sometimes God's blessings are hard to see because we are too focused on the bad things in our life.  And for me, I think there were times when God was basically saying to me, "Janet, you are so busy looking at the bad things in your life that even if I did send blessings you way you wouldn't even notice.  So I'll just wait until you are ready to SEE what I want to give you."

************************

So yep, I am feeling His love and His goodness.  One of the neat little ways He is blessing us is with an unexpected vacation.  All year we have wanted to take a trip to Colorado Springs to see friends of ours from when we lived there three years ago.  But every time we would talk about it we would get stuck on where to stay.  Five people in one hotel room for three or four days doesn't sound like fun and even if it did, we really couldn't afford it.  And it isn't like five people staying at someone's house is a good option either.  So, we would just quit talking about it.  But the other day one of my friends from the Springs wrote to tell me that she has an apartment we can stay in.  These are really nice apartments and it will be SUCH a blessing to get away for a few days.  We had planned on booking our moving truck and Jason's flight from Florida that same day (which would have prevented us from going to Colorado) but we were waiting on a phone call from the moving company and so we hadn't booked yet.  So now we get to have a mini-vacation as a family!  Yea!  So Whitney (has Ella arrived yet?) and Laura, mark your calendars!  We will be there May 22-28th!  Yippee!

Yes, you read that right.  In less that TWO WEEKS Jason will be done working.  So, this week my parents come to visit.  Then we have graduation and the last week of school.  Then we pack, pack, pack for a few days.  Then almost a week on our little vacation.  Then we drive back here, load the truck, and Jason drives to Florida while the rest of us drive to Michigan.  Then it is three or four weeks in Michigan (we aren't sure yet) and then we are off to Orlando.  Then we have a few weeks before we start work to get settled.  Then, right before we start work, I get an amazing weekend away!  I am going to CHA!!!  I am so excited for this trip.  Four days and three nights with some of the most creative and crafty women in world.  I will get to meets LOTS of my scrapping friends and hopefully some of my scrapping idols :)  Hollie and I are rooming together and it should be a blast!  Can't wait.

So it is going to be a whirlwind of a summer but I am super, super excited!  I am also loving the cleaning out and packing thing!  I cleaned out and organized some of my office yesterday and hope to do more today.  Love the organized feeling!

************

Okay, enough rambling.  I was going to show you my goodies from NSD but I think I have gone on long enough.  I didn't shop toooo much (we were gone most of the day) but I did pick up a few things.  And other than Shabby Miss Jenn's OLD CABANA kit which was only $1 (crazy girl, LOL!), I tried to pick up stuff from people I don't normally buy from. I picked up some stuff from Sweet Shoppe Designs (I am really missing being a Sugar Babe over there!), a few things at Designer Digitals, a font and some brushes from Miss Tiina, a custom handwriting font from Darcy Baldwin, and maybe one or two other things.  I can't remember!  LOL!  I didn't scrap at all on NSD but I did get some time yesterday here and there.  Here you go!

Background paper, overlay, and flower brad by Michelle Coleman.  Those awesome flowers are by MandaBean and you can grab them HERE.  Word art also by MandaBean and the little A is by Gina Cabrera.

LOVE this sweet picture of Caleb!  Kraft paper and "C" alpha by Gina Cabrera.  Striped paper by Little Dreamer Designs.  Buttons by Kim Christenson and Shabby Princess.  Photo turns by Shabby Princess. Paper tear by Steph Krush.  Alpha by Lauren Reid.  Font is Batik.

SMJ's OLD CABANA kit!  YUMMY!  Pin date by Holly McCaig and alpha is by Gina Cabrera.

'

I picked up this kit from Sara Amarie at SSD. Cardboard background by Tracy Ann, alpha by Gina Cabrera, alpha bead by Kimberly Giarrusso, stitching by Lisa Whitney, word art stickers by MandaBean, acrylic heart by Michelle Coleman.

**********************

How is that for a Monday morning post?  LOL! Should a good day.  It is a work day for me and I am *hoping* to work on a project I have had in my head for a while but just haven't had time to work on it.  And maybe I will sneak in some time to scrap. 

Have a WONDERFUL day!

Comments

[KellieP]

Again...you have no idea how much I needed to read this post this morning. I thank God for you and your willingness to be so open...and to make me think upon His great goodness in my life. I've had lots of things happen in my life that I would wish upon no one...but I know that He is still so good to me. Thank you for reminding me to remember that!

I'm so jealous you're going to CHA! I only live a couple of hours from chicago...but since I'm not a designer, no go for me! Maybe I'll have to sneak up there for some of the get togethers. I would love meeting my scrapping buddies!

Good luck with all of the packing. I'm swamped trying to get my stuff organized for a garage sale...I can't imagine trying to pack everything up!

[MandaKay]

Ditto Kellie's comment - you are so open and willing to share your thoughts - I love it! I am in a point of focusing on the negatives for sure - I tell myself to get out of it and I can't. I will list right now 10 blessings just to get me jumpstarted! Thanks!

Great LO's and you picked up some great stuff! I love the LO of Alaina in the yellow Carters jumper - Selah and Braelyn have that one - so sunny!!!

Have a great workday!!!

[Shabby Miss Jenn]

Overwhelmed? YES YES AND YES! OMG! All the time! It's sooo normal!!! And I LOOOOVE your cabana page! OMG Yummmmmy girlfriend! :)

[joyce]

It's so nice to find out there are others out there like me... well, not *like* me, I guess; but have been through the fire (so to speak) and come out on the other side with a different perspective!! I, too, have not had an easy road, although I know in my heart I've not had it nearly as hard as some other people in the world. I used to have the "why me?" attitude until I sat back and really took a hard look at my life. Do bad, icky, not fun things happen to me? Yes. But, it could always be worse, and I have the love & support of family which in the grand scheme of things, is the most important thing to have. I live my life with one phrase I carry in my head: your perspective is your reality.

Great pages!!! I haven't created any pages in almost a week... time to get scrapping~

[Jenna (Sweeet)]

What a powerful post this morning, Janet and thank you for your openess toward it, I appreciate that in you! Great verse, btw....I can honestly say God has blessed me with 2 beautiful children, a very patient and understanding fiance, as well as blessing "US" that our newborn girl did not have internal bleeding after the skull fracture she sustained from a baseball at my son's little league practice. I know those may seem the obvious and I can tell you the unobvious blessings....and that is...the strength he has blessed me with especially during this time of sleepless nights due to colic and gas with our baby. I know it will subside, not so much from the norm of hearing it from her pediatrician but the fact that I have given it ALL to the Lord and he WILL comfort her since he is the great physician. It's like the wonderful and my favorite verse: Faith is not knowing that he can, it's believing that he will. Amen-

Lovely LOs, btw...and yanno I will be thinking about you during your moving..wow, just made me tired reading all you will be going through. Lastly, out of all the designers, I wish someday to meet you...you're a wonderful inspiration and I'm so blessed to be in touch with you somehow even if it's only through a blog. Have a wonderful day sweetie.

[Laurie Garza]

hey Janet!!!
I'm coming out of lurkdom to thank you for lifting so many up (so often) with your words of truth and your perspective on life!!!

I remember one time in church when I was pregnant with my 2nd child. We went to a small church at the time. It was a small evening service and my DH was in the nursery with DS. We started singing Great is Thy Faithfulness and I totally lost it! "Morning by morning new mercies I see, all I have needed Thy hand hath provided!" I had to walk out and tell DH just how thankful and blessed I felt to be close to delivering our second child after losing our first to miscarriage.

Also, my DH is on disability, but at that point in time he had already been denied (the previous year on Christmas Eve no less!) and he wasn't approved until after DD was born in January 2003. God provided for us for soooo long with no "reliable" income coming in- it was unbelievable!!!

A few years ago I was feeling down, thinking we would never be able to afford a house- and of course jealous of everyone else our age who had one already *sigh*. So after living with my mom for 10 years (children for the last 5), we finally (I was 35 and DH was 41) were able to buy her home from her. We started making mortgage payments to her in November of 2005. (She moved into a nice "Senior" complex the following April.) We only have a 10 year mortgage so we'll be done in about 8 1/2 years!

God is good in soooo many ways- I could go on and on LOL!!! Thanks for starting htis blog post today!

Awesome LO's as always too!!!

God bless!

[Margie]

Loved reading your post Janet! Thanks for all the inspiration and truth you shared!! The Lord is so good and I love being reminded of His faithfulness and goodness in the little things-things noone else might even consider amazing, but God wanted to show us His love in a certain way! So thrilled you are going to CO Springs! How fun!! CHA should be a blast too!!

[Keela]

Wow, what a fantastic post Janet! I just came here looking for the scanning info and then saw this... Yes, I needed to hear it. It's easy for me to get down and dwell on the not so good things in my life. It so quickly pulls me into depression. UGH! Thanks for the reminder of God's blessings! :)