Mo' Scratchin'

I know I just blogged about this but if you can't scroll there from here, here is what this library looked like to begin with.













So my wonderful volunteers worked with me again today then my best friend came to check out how the shelves are acquiring books

and to give us a ride home.


As of today there are over 600 books input & around 400 on the shelves.

I like it when a plan comes together. :-)

Scratching Along, Library part 2

Work needed, in no specific order:
Sort materials > started by other folks there & continued by us.
Input media info into the program > currently my baby.
Process for check out > all hands welcome.

Another item important to a guy in charge was for books to be on the shelves (the donor may want a photo) so some of the organizers made use of the available space - and notice two round library tables with chairs!
A homeschooing benefit is being able to take school with us wherever we go. Here my favorite two students are flying through their work, completing all they brought in under two hours. Amazing!



And beneficial:
Instant volunteer labor for me!
They went to work sorting, stamping and attaching spine labels.








They only whined complained a little.

And the next time we came, they brought more school work to do. :-)


Don't all those books on the shelves look good?
They'll look even better when they're ready to check out.
The ones on the cart are in the pc.

See the desk near the front? That's the official librarian post. I'm still happy losing everything on this long table though. It's a good work site.

I plan to share up-to-date photos after our next visit.

So don't get yer knickers in a knot, Peggy! :-)

A Library from Donated Scratch

Well over a year ago, I told a friend who works for a non-profit that I would be happy to help with the setting up of their library. They had many donated books, a computer & a room plus a company had promised to provide shelving but had yet to do so.

So we waited.

This summer someone (else I believe) donated those shelves! My friend told me they would put them together & then I could come work.
My first sight of the library. Look at all the welcoming space!

See the various boxes and piles of books? Wouldn't it be fantastic if there were some organization inherent in that apparent disarray?

Wonderful idea? Yes!
Reality? Not so much.


See my friend peeping over the wall? She was concerned that I'd scream & run. :-)
She's obviously never seen my children's bedrooms.

Yes. That is on purpose.


Here is the workspace where most of 2 days was spent just getting the bugs out of the programs. I got to experience the amazing remote computer controller as the software tech guy ("Hmm. That's not supposed to do that...") investigated the problem while I worked on organizing some books.

Him: "Mutter, mutter, mutter"
Me, phone in one hand to ear; mind, eyes & other hand on books, "Did you say something to me?"

Great fun.
You should try it sometime.

Whispers of Unbelief Meet Noise & Clutter

Chapters 4 & 5 of Do You Think I'm Beautiful by Angela Hunt seemed to be written just for Mardy's Leaders Prayer Retreat. They address lies that we believe (in other words, not believing His truth) which effect everything we think & do then explain how to move from bondage to those lies swirling around in our head to hearing & seeing God's wonderful truth.

Mardy's "Magic Formula" for the Christian Walk:
1. Call on God, cry out to Him.
2. Be still & wait on Him.
3. Listen to what He says.
4. Do it: OBEY.

Many bog down in items two & three; then don't have a solid number four to act upon. Isn't that awful? Fully half of what's necessary is not happening and one fourth is based on potentially shakey information.

PTL we have the truth in His Word to guide us but we must be listening!

Book snippits:

If we can't get past our unbelief then we will absolutely never know the joy of
the dance. We'll continue to live around the edge of life, never truly entering
in.

Mark 9:23-27
v. 24 "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief."

Let the truth of God's love be the exclamation that silences the muttering
in your head.

"I don't know how to describe it."
"Can you try?"
It's like there are a lot of voices in my head.
It's loud in here. I wish I could turn it
down."
"You are not alone.
A lot of people tell me it's noisy inside their
head."
"Really? This is normal?"
"Yep, perfectly normal, but incredibly
distracting."

Then Angela described the "regular pandemonium" in her head which ranged from life noise all around (she has 4 kids too) to the lists of things to do & remember THEN hit the REAL noise - the "unanswered longings, lies we've believed, fears we've embraced, choices we've made":

You mean this is all there is to life? I've wasted so much time. It's all my fault. Who have I become and who is the real me? My sin is too big. My life doesn't count for much. My scars are too painful. I'm an embarrassment. Somebody get me out of here. Time is running out; hurry up and do something.

The solution to noise? Quiet time in prayer, listening for God's truth. Mardy's items number two & three.

Then there is the clutter.

Soul clutter is the collection of emotional, relational, and spiritual
issues that we have been stepping over and ignored, thinking we'll get around to
it eventually. Realize that you might have to get messy to get clean, and it
could take awhile to get it all sorted out.

Clutter happens when an issue begins to get in the way, when the steps of
your soul are stacked with piles of emotions, thoughts and relationships that
need attention. Maybe you've been tripping over them for years now.

Steps for dealing:
1. Acknowledge the mess.
2. Realize that you may have to call for help.
3. Pray and seek prayer covering.
4. Expect this season of reconciling, reordering, and repairing to take longer than you think it will.
5. Journal.
6. Allow God to lavish you with His grace.

Psalm 103:8-14
v. 14 for He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust.

Yep, that's me. I'm a beautiful little dirt person.

So are you.
Believe it.

The Other Lovers

No, this is not a confess-all. I know you are disappointed but don't be 'cause it's chapter 3 in Do You Think I'm Beautiful by Angela Hunt.

"We can become distracted from [God's] invitation [to dance] because of the other lovers."

I am so blessed with the relationships God has placed in my life - family & friends keep this walk lively & entertaining, yet, they are only "appetizers intended to make you [ME] want more."

Angela calls them "vessels of God's love". Doesn't that sound wonderful? Sounds like a song - "make me a vessel of God's love to someone today".

But
expecting other people to fill that empty God-sized hole in our soul will leave us unfulfilled and demands more out of a relationship than people are capable of producing.

You know the other lovers:

the man, who wasn't made to be enough & can never make us whole. He is JUST a man, so let him be who he is & let God fill the depths of our souls.

the other man, the dad. "No other man will be able to fill what your father never gave. The only Person who can give what you have missed is God.

the children, precious as they are, they cannot fill the place that was designed for God.

the friends. "If I wanted to ruin the blessings we enjoy, all I'd have to do is begin to expect her to fill my soul. She'd feel the pressure. I'd be disappointed. We'd grow distant. > That place is reserved for God."

the stuff, which was not even made to be a vessel of love. Stuff can be enjoyed BUT our "need for love can never be filled by the pursuit of stuff." It has nothing to do with our soul.

PTL!
Can you imagine trying to fill God's place in someone's life?
How draining a thought.
And yet, I know I have done this.
"Please, Lord, help me never to do it again. Fill Your Spot in my soul with Your Holy Spirit."

Wallflowers R Us

Chapter 2 of Do You Think I'm Beautiful by Angela Hunt is entitled "The Wallflower Who is Asked to Dance".

Being a life-long Southern-Baptist who danced mainly in gym class that one semester and NEVER danced a complete dance with a partner of the opposite sex, not even my husband, I figured I would not relate well to this topic. At all.

Plus there's my two left feet and I've always been comfortable as a wallflower.

Do you know what the dance is? The dance is your life. The dance is
you in the arms of God gliding around the center of the room, becoming the woman
He thought of when He dreamed of you. To dance is to say, "I can do that," and
then to magnificently step out into the strength of God's call and shine. to
dance is to grab hold of what you were made to be and then let Him show you how
to become.

Since beginning to dance with God and getting the hang of following,
I have been learning more and more of His love for you & me. In His arms
I've found permission to ask all the questions that have rattled around in my
soul. "Do You think I'm beautiful?" seemed to capture the essence of my
longings, but more questions have since spilled out:

"Do you notice me?"

"Is anyone listening to me?"

"Will You rescue me?"

"Do You really love me?"
Sometimes we taste this love in our lifetime... parents... husband... friend.
But here is the catch about the design of our souls: the love we will know here
on earth will never be enough. We have been made by God for God. To
operate with only the taste of love we get on earth will leave us incomplete.
That's by design.
The cup of our soul will never be filled apart from the love of God.

Bet'cha Grandma would even join in in this dance!

What about you?

"Pretty is as Pretty Does"

which is Southern for "Well you are kind of homely, but try not to think about it."

My book has arrived!

I'm talkin' about Do you Think I'm Beautiful (the Question Every Woman Asks) by Angela Thomas - remember I mentioned it before? I perused through it briefly, having to leave it behind at the cabin in Blue Ridge since I chose not to steal it - always a good choice that - but knew it would be a good study despite the non-practical title.

CONTENTS
If there is a question attached to the soul of a woman, maybe it's Do You Think I'm Beautiful? When God answers from the depth of His great love, it makes some of us feel like The Wallflower Who is Asked to Dance, but we can become distracted from His invitation because of The Other Lovers, Whispers of Unbelief, Noise and Clutter and because we are Sometimes the Prodigal, Sometimes the Elder Brother.
To return to the music and strong embrace of God requires A Desperate and Pursuing Heart. When a woman chooses to remain in His arms of devotion, God gives The Only Hope We Have, His Perfect Love and A Beautiful Crown.
God is enthralled by the beauty of a woman and calls her His beloved. He wildly pursues her heart with romance and intimacy to make her His Beautiful Bride.

I re-read the first chapter in my quiet time this a.m.
Psalm 45:11 "The king is enthralled by your beauty."

Snippets for you:

When you've learned never to ask, longing is banished. Living becomes more
comfortable when it's shallow; that way we can avoid the questions. it is easier
to keep rules than to grab hold of the grace that sets our hearts free to feel.

If the question "Do you think I'm beautiful?" came attached to my soul, then
maybe the answer wasn't ever meant to fully come from this world. Maybe the
purpose of the question is to take me by the hand and walk me into the presence
of the Creator... Maybe all that really matters is what He thinks of me.

If you want to read it too, a used hardcover copy (which is listed at $19.99) is available right here from Amazon for under $5 including shipping.

Yes, I've ordered one for the library but this copy is MINE.

Dragon Reading

I've just polished off the final two novels in the Dragon Keepers Series by Donita K. Paul and must say that I've enjoyed these allegorical Christian fantasy novels. I like how her varied characters have relationships, grow spiritually, share and learn to live by "principles" based on scripture all while having fantastic magical adventures.

Oh, and the dragons are really cool too.
Wait - make that HOTT. :-)

When I popped over to the official website I was delighted to find, not only info on her materials but a library scavenger hunt (hint: these books are in our church library), advertisement for her newest book Vanishing Sculptor which starts a new series based in the same imaginary land and was just released last month. We don't have it in the library yet so if anyone is interested in donating it...
:-)

Other items to note:
Her resources section which includes tips for writers and links for home educators

Interactive activities including a monthly drawing & the above mentioned library book hunt

Fun stuff including games "for the dilly dallier in all of us"

Her personal testimony
She came to know the LORD through the reading of His Word.
Make it a priority!

Right Proper Reading Material

As I've mentioned previously, I am a church librarian, a voluntary position I greatly enjoy. PTL!

I may not have told you that I compose a monthly library newsletter for our church announcing newly added materials, topical suggested reading, media reviews, memorials/honorariums, etc. Have been for nearly 3 years now. Publisher is the bomb.

What a laugh I had last week when I found our most recently published Beacon in a friend's "reading room". You know your publication has "made it" when it is thusly discovered.

My friend was puzzled when I rushed out to grab my camera whilst cracking-up. When I explained my jovialty, she was good enough to inform me that it was located in this place of honor in case they ran out of TP. LOL!