Honor to His Name... and... XOXO

Today is Saturday, January 28. I'm feeling quite a bit better today. And that's good because I don't do sick well. I'm pretty much a wimp who likes things comfortable at all times. Obviously, these days are a bit of a challenge to me. But so many people have it so much worse — and I try to keep that in mind. I may have a brain tumor but I'm still incredibly blessed.

 

I think I'll do some of our beach photos at the end of this post. But, now we'll go right into the daily scripture.

Psalm 23:3-4

"He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me."

I think just about everyone must be familiar with the 23rd Psalm. It's been a great source of comfort for many people through the ages. I mean... how could you not be comforted by the words, "He renews my strength"... especially when you're feeling week. And I'm sure everyone must feel week from time to time. I know that I do. How reassuring it is to know that the Lord is right beside you, protecting, comforting, and guiding you?  

 

When we went to the beach last weekend, I took a limited number of craft supplies with me... some precut patterned paper, four coordinating stamp pads, a couple of stamp sets, and a few miscellaneous items. It was a bit of a challenge to limit my supplies, but I was able to squeak a few cards out... like the ones I showed you yesterday, the ones I'll show you tomorrow, and these two.

SHOW

I often like to make two similar cards using the same layout but different papers or stamps. This is an example of that. It means that I'm able to turn out a couple cards relatively quickly, but I don't get bored doing the exact same thing over again.

And, I think I mentioned that I'm trying to use the patterned paper that I can't seem to stop buying. This is a great layout for using that paper up. It's a 4"x4-1/2" piece of patterned paper with a little stamping and embellishment at the bottom. Quick and easy. And pretty good looking, too. :)  

AND TELL:  stamps are from Papertrey Ink (Heart Prints); cardstock is PTI (Stampers Select White); patterned paper is My Mind's Eye (Lime Twist: Life of the Party Sweet Bon Bon, Fine and Dandy: Tickled Pink Delicate); ink is Stampin' Up (Blushing Bride, Regal Rose) and Memento (Tuxedo Black); also used fiber I bought in NYC over a year ago but can't remember the specifics and PTI's heart die. 

So I thought I'd share a few photos from our first day at the beach. In Ocean Isle the garages or carports are on the ground level and the living spaces are above.

Pretty, aren't they?

You can probably tell that not many people go to the beach during the winter in North Carolina.

We have friends who own a condo in Ocean Isle and graciously offered it to us for the weekend. (Thanks, Ron and Teri!) The condo is about one block inland from the watertower (to the right in the photo).

You can see that the weather was a little cloudy. My favorite. :)

The people you see here are about the only ones who were on the beach besides us. I love that. I'm not fond of a crowded hot beach.

You can see that I'm wearing my son's band jacket from high school. Those things are warm! It may not look so great, but that's OK. The beach (in winter at least) is not a fashion show. I love that.

I also love pictures of the sun as it's going.

The sun casts such fun shadows.

I always wanted long legs. :)

And that night  we went into the town for dinner.

They gave us fresh bread with garlic butter and I ordered a crab cake, sauted vegetables, and garlic mashed potatoes. All was delicious. 

For me it's been a day of watching HGTV. Ken and I did take a walk in the afternoon. Just one, though. It was all I could force myself to do. Since I've felt so much better today, though, maybe tomorrow I'll feel like doing a bit more. We'll hope so.

I've been really struggling with nausea over the last couple of days, so this afternoon I broke down and took the anti-nausea pills that the doctor prescribed for me months ago. I'm not sure why I didn't take them earlier. It really doesn't make since to deny myself something that could be making me feel better. I guess I just get tired of pills being shoved at me. Even vitamins. Blech.

Well, that's it for today. I feel like I'm kind of ending on a downer. Really, things are going pretty well around here. And tomorrow they'll be going even better, I'm sure. :) Thank you so much for stopping by for a little visit. I hope you'll be able to come back tomorrow. See you then!  

Comments

[Janis]

Glad you had a better day... cute valentines cards... and great photos.. I"m a food fan, so I love your pictures of menu items! And yes, perhaps it is a good thing to take anti-nausea pills...certainly better than nausea! love you much, janis

[Kathy Mc]

Great Valentine's, Janelle, and agree we should use up some of our patterned papers before buying more. Who would have thought up such a concept??? Can certainly understand you not wanting to take any extra meds, but anti-nausea will make you feel so much better. It's like having a terrible headache and not taking anything for relief. Sometimes we just have to rely on drugs to make us feel better. : )

[SueB]

Glad you're feeling better. Hope today is even better. Hope those pills helped your nausea. Love the photos of the beach. John and I were just talking that we'd like to see more of the east coast. Love crab cakes. I had one when we were in Washington State and it was so delicious. I hope you don't mind but I'm saving your cards to my computer so I can CASE them. Great design and I just got some fabby new DP. Love you, sweetie. Hugs and prayers.

[Laura]

Love the beach pictures! I'm with you -- I like it when the beach is peaceful and not heavily populated and when the dress code runs to jeans. :) Hope the medication helped with the nausea.

[Laurie W]

First off....love love love the cards! So fun! The pattern paper is so cute and I love the layout! The pics of the beach look fantastic! I wanna be there! It's freezing here in Kansas right now! Hope all is well! Hugs to you!

[Vicky]

It looks wonderful there on the beach Janelle, really peaceful and beautiful. I'm sorry to hear you've been struggling with nausea and hope it will pass soon. Those valentines are great quick cards and they look superb!

[Armando Cortez]

So that's what the "Little Brother"(Atlantic Ocean)looks like. Not sure I could get used to such small waves. Glad you enjoyed your time there. The food looks yummy! Hope you were able to enjoy it some. Continued prayers for your healing. Both physical and spiritual!

[Roni Falls]

Janelle Matthew was married on Ocean Isle last July 3rd. It is so beautiful there. I hope to return there again this summer if all goes well. I am so glad you and ken got away and had a good time. Hugs Roni

[Kristine Dartnall]

THANK YOU DEAR FRIEND FOR THE TRUTH THAT HE DOES STRENTHEN US. HE HAS FOR ME AND I KNOW WILL AGAIN AND AGAIN... LOVE YOU