Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Stumbling into Grace

What They Say:
Humorous yet poignant stories from Lisa's life help readers relate to spiritual truths found in the life and ministry of Christ.


Stumbling Into Grace is the diary-devotional of one woman's honest, ongoing, bumbling journey of faith and how she finds encouragement through a deeper understanding of Christ's time on earth. Within each chapter she alternates her often humorous memoir with stirring portraits of Jesus and his own encounters as recorded in the New Testament.

Both intimately relevant and refreshingly inspirational, this book will help readers to jettison the theological misconceptions, guilt, shame, and hypocrisy they struggle with, exchanging them for a vibrant, passionate relationship with Christ that results in a more abundant, joyful life.

My Take:
I laughed and cried! Lisa is funny and easy to relate to her life. I found as I was reading this book, I was posting quotes from the book on my FaceBook feed. For example:


"....since the beginning of biblical history, people of faith have attached rules and conditions—far beyond the directives God gives us in Scripture—to our belief systems. The heavenly Father’s precious children—filthy scoundrels all of us, apart from His mercy—seem intent on making each other miserable......more from the book I am reading!"
It seemed like the God was using the book to speak directly to me where I was that day. The daily journal entries really helped me to learn about myself too! If you are looking for a devotion, check out Stumbling into Grace!

I would recommend this book and give it 5 out of 5.

Disclosure:  I was provided with a copy of this book through my membership with Booksneeze to help abide in a complete and honest review of this book.  All opinions expressed above are complete, honest, accurate and 100% mine.

A Couple of Chunkies!

I've been creating again! This Mona Lisa is a special request, so she will be off to Oklahoma! The butterfly....she may have to live with me for a while! I really like her!

Monday, August 15, 2011

A Sunday School Challenge turns into....

These are going to Aunt T.
Butterflies are made with copper.
The paper was hand marbled.
My daughter was given a dollar in children's church and asked to invest it and bring back the return on the investment like the parable of the talents. Well, we had invested in some garage sale art supplies the day before, so we decided that her investment would be what was spent at the garage sale. I contacted her aunt and uncle and asked if they would be willing to buy some art from their favorite (only) niece. They both agreed. :-) So, my little princess and I set about working on creating some original art to sell. Since my sister loves to write and send cards, we decided to make her a set of blank cards that she could buy.  We made 2 sets, because we didn't know exactly what she would want. She decided to buy the set with the flowers, so the other set is going to be put up on eBay! Here's what we came up with!
I was going for a more abstract look, but the little princess made butterflies out of the copper mesh and wires. I think they are very cute, but may not be very good for mailing! She had a great time!

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Funky Fridge Magnets

I'm doing a swap on ATC's for All of hand-made fridge magnets! Here are three that I created.

Life Is a Verb.


Dog: It's what's for dinner



Copper

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Artist Trading Cards!

I have been playing around with artist trading cards. They are small and fun....and people trade them like baseball cards, so even if no one will buy my art....I can say that my art has been distributed all around the world! LOL



Well, today I went "garage sailing" and scored some great copper mesh, wire and sheeting! The box also contained shrink film....I love the way these turned out. I can't wait to play some more!

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Strike It Rich With Pocket Change by Ken Potter and Brian Allens

Have you ever picked up a book thinking it was one thing, only to find out it was something totally different? Yeah, reading subtitles is important! Maybe I have been too focused on saving money lately that I ordered this book without reading the subtitle, but I was pleasantly surprised.

They say:
In late 2007 a collector found a double die cast 1969 Lincoln cent piece in a plain brown roll of coins. That penny was auctioned in early January 2008 for $126,500.00. To the untrained eye, that penny might look no different than any other. But in their concise and informative book, Ken Potter and Dr. Brian Allen give you all the tools you need to spot mint errors and turn small coins - ones you may have in your pocket right now, or that big glass jug at home - into big cash. They distill their years of collecting experience into simple chapters like 'Age Does Not Equal Value', 'Tools of the Trade', and 'Where to Sell Your Coins' that show you step-by-step how to spot and sell these treasures.

My take:
While not all error coins will bring big money, it might be worth a second look at the coins in that coin jar. Potter and Allen have filled this book with lots of photos and examples of what to look for in error coins. They give you specific directions on how to store and care for your coins. What amazed me was that the coins that are in this current book aren't ancient coins that my mom has tucked away in her safe deposit box, but coins that were struck in my lifetime. They also deal with the myths of coin collecting like all those wheat-backs that Mom hoards! Sorry, Mom!  While I don't expect to be buying a magnifying glass and scanning my coins before using them, I might take a second look now and then.

Check out this book! You might be surprised by what you learn about that jingle in your pocket!

I received this book FREE via Booksneeze for the purpose of this review, and no other monetary compensation was received.  All opinions are 100% mine.