Have you ever said, "All I can do is pray?" I did the other day. Today I was challenged in my prayer time. After taking thirty minutes and calling out the names of my loved ones and praying specific prayers of need, God asked me why do you say ALL you can do is pray? I pondered on this question and realized that although I believe in the power of prayer I had minimized its power. I was talking with a hurting friend on the phone the other day and I said "well, all I can do is pray" as if it was the last resort or something that was so minimal to her situation. Miracles are made on our knees and although many of us make it a practice I think we can get caught up in the routine of what we are doing and forget the power it produces.  I was challenged today to pray with a different mindset. To pray and recognize the value of what I am doing. You never know your little 30 minute pray time or one sentence request might trigger the Heavens to open up and release mighty miracles in your life, or the lives you took the time to mention. Pray with expectation don't minimize the one you are talking to, but realize the power He possesses. It will change your time on your knees!!!

Creating More Beauty!

Your Friend, Cheri

A little motto I speak to myself over and over again.
LOVE HARDER!!!
When you're rejected.....Love Harder
When you're deceived........ Love Harder
When you're troubled.........Love Harder
When you're wronged.........Love Harder
When its the unlovable..........Love Harder
When it's the impossible..........Love Harder
When it's yourself..........Love Harder
Love is like a medicine if we would just learn how to use it!!!
(simple thought for the day)

Creating More Beauty!

Your Friend, Cheri

Time is screaming!!! Every part of our lives is needing more time and yet instead of stopping time we try to create more. The whole borrow from here to pay there. It’s not like money where you can go make more and yet I would say its way more valuable!!! Let me prove it to you. There are only 24 hours in 1 day, you can't create more, you can't go back and redo, you can't save hours, and you can't earn them. If you think about it there is not too many things in life that have these narrow restrictions and yet we squander time. Do you plan your time with your children, your family, God, your spouse like you plan your money? Do you calculate and prioritize like you do your investments or your retirement? Or do you operate your time by whatever is screaming the loudest? Time, the most valuable thing we have and most of us don't even control it.  We have not even talked about the unknown expiration of it!!!  We are weeks away from a school shooting that just happened in Sante Fe Texas a town down the street where 10 people ran out of time!!! Their time was drastically cut short. The value of time something that doesn’t even land on the stock market, however, 10 families I would venture to say would trade everything they have for more time!!! These events tend to jolt us for a moment, but do they change us for a lifetime? The 10 family’s lives will never be the same! At the hands of another they must now cope with their time. Could this event be a wakeup call? Could we honor the fallen by giving something they no longer have to give? Could Time be one piece to this disturbing puzzle?  Make time is the general statement used to encourage us to act, however, time isn’t something that can be made. Maybe we should face the reality that in prioritizing our time we have a lot of work to do. We don’t need to make more time ........ we need to make more with the time we have. More family, more God, more good, more laughter, more rest, more love, more memories!  Maybe our young people need more of this. Maybe our young people with all the devices that steel their time need some good old family attention. Maybe our young people need to be given our time instead of our money! Maybe our young people are suffering from the mismanagement of time!  Give the gift that is highly honored and never forgotten, Make your time matter in the lives around you.

Creating More Beauty!

Your Friend, Cheri

Ingredients
¾ cup oats
½ cup baking soda
¼ cup coconut milk powder (or other milk powder of your choice)
10 drops each lavender and chamomile essential oil (optional – adds extra soothing and skin-healing benefits and makes your bath smell nice!)

Directions
In a blender or food processor, combine oats, baking soda, and milk powder. Blend until oats are powdered and everything is blended together.
Add essential oil drops and pulse your food processor a few times to mix them in.
Store in a mason jar, in a cool dry location when not in use.
To Use: Run bath water at full force and sprinkle ¼ cup of oatmeal bath mixure underneath running bath water. Stir any oatmeal that might settle at the bottom into the bath. Soak in the oatmeal bath for at least 20 minutes, and more if desired!

To heal dry skin, do not wipe your skin dry when getting out of the tub, PAT it dry instead. Follow up with a body butter.

Creating More Beauty!

Your Friend, Cheri

This recipe came from The Hippy Homemaker

I have landed in the world of adult children and there is no holiday like Mother’s Day to bring a little reflection. Mother’s Day has always been very special to me since it has always been my favorite responsibility. I have always felt honored to wear the title of mom. Most Mother’s Day role like routine, however, this one called for a transition. Maybe it was the fact that for the first time one child was missing as he pursues his own passion on the other side of the world. Maybe it was the goodbye at the end of a meal, watching them all leave with their own children back to their own homes. Maybe it was the little hands of grandchildren I held as we strolled through the park. Either way this Mother’s Day inspired the realization of change but also reminded me of the importance of value. My role as Mom looks very different today, instead of influencing three I influence seven. As I looked around the table today although my day to day responsibilities have changed my role that we celebrated today has multiplied. The reflection of today made me realize this huge value I still play in the lives of my children and the opportunity I have, as my role of mom, continues to grow. Celebrate Moms day every day because the value of your voice, the importance of your touch, and the security of your presences is always needed. Happy Mother’s Day!

Creating More Beauty!

Your Friend, Cheri

I think it’s a beautiful thing when we are challenged to search our heart. I didn’t always feel this way. It was probably fear of what I might find, and then the responsibility to deal with it. Searching our heart can uncover so many things from dreams to failures and everything in between!!! Probably why most would rather not walk into this deep place with chambers of emotion. The investigation of the beats that forcefully push us to feel and the rapid flow of these life-giving thoughts that cause us to act. It truly is the control center of how we live. Which is why I’m beginning to be open to this heart-searching exercise because when the chambers are to full to function, and I am unable to feel the beats, the flow begins to stop, and life is not lived. My heart-searching exercise routine has been ramped up lately, I can feel the aches and pains, I might be moving slowly but thank God I’m moving and I can still feel the beautiful challenge to search my own heart. Don’t be afraid of what you might find…..Embrace It! Heart felt freedom is a gift you give yourself.

Creating More Beauty!

Your Friend, Cheri

Why is living in the present so hard? Or is it just me? This is a real question out of a raw heart. Probably one of the most challenging things I face and ironically not just today but for as long as I can remember. Here is my thought process If I prepare for all the things that COULD happen when they do I will be ready. Here's the reality, no matter how much I prepare I'm NEVER ready!!! God is really dealing with this one and I imagine I'm not the only one. We don't even live in a society that lives in the present. We are always consumed with tomorrow. My battle has been realizing the difference of preparation for tomorrow (which I do believe we are called to do) and being so consumed with tomorrow we loose today. If this is a vicious cycle on a daily basis every opportunity is lost! "You must discipline yourself to live in the boundaries of today" Jesus Calling Devotion. This is my new "must have" thought. I'm probably going to have to hang it on every wall of my house and plaster it on every window in my car, but I don't want to miss the opportunities of the present.
Do You?

Creating More Beauty!

Your Friend, Cheri

1. Select your space: Your space doesn’t have to be an entire room. Sometimes we just need a little corner to create. Selecting your space, keeps from getting distracted, it creates a border for you to work within. One of the most challenges I hear in design projects is knowing where to start. That is what selecting your space does for you. Find it, Pick it, and Start!

2. Discover what you want to accomplish. Design can be very practical as well as creative. Almost every project has some sort of a goal you want to accomplish and its more then making it look pretty. For example, let’s use a sitting area. How many seats do you want? Do you need large chairs or small chairs? Do you need lamp lighting or no lighting? at all, do you need a table? Etc. Figure out the practical then make it look pretty.

3. Budget, Budget, Budget, there is nothing more frustrating then finding something you love and realizing that you can’t afford it. Some of you might not have a budget, but this is usually not the case. So, after you pick your space, discover what you want to accomplish, put a price tag on it!

4. Gather!!! Gather your thoughts of what you want it to look like. Color schemes, style, clip out pictures from magazines even if you just like one small piece, this will help you when you to find those treasures on where to go and what to look for.

5. Be prepared! Many times, we rush out the door to go find that perfect piece and then we get there, and we ask will it fit? Where are we going to put it? Is it to small? Etc. Measure your space, look up average sizes of things, use paint tape on the floor to create pieces so you can see how everything will look, take pictures of where your purchases will be placed. Being prepared will save you a lot of headache, do not forget the list of measurements, pictures of space, and the budget to keep you on track.

These 5 things will save time and money! There are a lot of options out there, this will help you narrow those down to find that perfect piece for that perfect space.

Everyday has the opportunity to be designed!

Your Friend, Cheri