Stained Glass

I have always been completely fascinated by stained glass windows. The church I grew up in had beautiful stained glass throughout the building. I can remember a few times when I had the pleasure of being alone in the sanctuary and sitting cross legged on the red carpet with all of the beautiful colors of the windows falling around me and just being still and quiet. Somehow, the warmpth of that light always made me feel just a little closer to God. I can't get over the thought of the peasant of centuries ago, whose life was dull and drab, entering a church and marveling at the beauty of the light pouring through similiar windows. It must have felt like a bit of heaven on earth to them. These days, that experience is a little harder to come by. Many of the churches in the south, were built in a different age. Though some have stained glass, it is hard to find the magesty of the windows I knew up north. Those churches who can afford such a luxury down here often place all of their windows so far from the ground that you can't really experience them as closely. Many churches prefer nice stone facades or impressive artwork on the walls to stained glass, and their budgets at the time of building reflect that. I think today, with our multi-colored tech-filled lives, often we miss the beauty of simpler things; things that were truely treasured generations ago, and no where is that thought more obvious to me than while standing in the light of a beautiful stained glass window.

Crafters United!

Remember that craft sale I mentioned before to benefit Katrina survivors? Well, I finally got my stuff together and submitted it, and it's now up on the site! I have 17 items, all for scrapbookers.

• With Love Border
• Winter Fun Duo
• Vertigo
• Squiggle Stars
• Silent Night
• Retro Border
• Pixels
• Mirror, Mirror
• Let it Snow
• Independence Day
• Happy Halloween
• Give Thanks
• Easter Pair
• By the Sea
• Border Sampler
• Birthday Girl
• Birthday Boy

Comments on any of this would be greatly appreciated. I have never sold pre-made designs like this, so I could certainly use the input! Bonus points to anyone who can guess which item was actually made by the Moose...

Health

You know how "they" are always saying "At least you have your health!"? "They" aren't kidding!!!

I've been doing this thing lately where at night my mind is all "Sleep? You're kidding! We don't need no stinking sleep!" but during the day my body is all "Since you didn't sleep last night, when you should have, you're going to sleep RIGHT NOW! And NO, I don't care what you're doing at this moment. And NO, I don't care that you have to be leaving for work in 10 minutes." Needless to say, this is not so very much fun.

So, I did what any sensible person would do. I went to the doctor. And the doctor said "Hmm." Yeah, that was about it. So she ordered a ton of blood tests and made me pee in a cup (yuck!) and said she'll let me know in about two weeks. TWO WEEKS! Did I mention that I am leaving the country a week from today? On a missions trip? If it was a vacation, it wouldn't be such a big deal cause I could just lounge around the whole time and not worry about it. But I don't forsee much lounging time in Russia. Oh, yeah, and the fun part -- I get to teach a class! I think I'll call it "Why sleep deprivation is a bad thing 101". Kinda catchy, no?

In a not-so-unrelated note, those new vanilla Tylenol PMs are WONDERFUL! But they don't last all night. I'm clocking them at about 4 hours. Cause, why would anyone want more that 4 hours of sleep at a time? Right?

BTW, yes, I know grammar and spelling have gone out the window today. I am sorry. Deal.

The Moose is loose - kinda

Well, after much thought, I am going to jump back in. At least a little. I don't guarantee that I will post often or that what I write will be of any interest whatsoever, so if you don't like it, oh well.

1. I am sick of the media slamming FEMA. They are a government bureaucracy, not God. Why anyone expects ANY government agency to act immediately is beyond naive. They were slow getting there, but there are on the job now. In any case, strutting and posturing does absolutely nothing to help those affected by this disaster. So shut up already!!!

2 The Church has a golden opportunity to show the rest of America (and the world) that there is much more to us and our faith than a few ganging cymbals (...cough pat robertson Cough...).

3 Finally, Bun-Girl and I leave in 10 days for Russia. Please keep us in your prayers.


As an added note, our Ekat. team is doing a blog about this trip. Check it out! ~Bun-Girl

Donate a dollar, without spending a penny

Go here and enter your info to donate a dollar to the relief efforts. I have been promised by Danielle of Knotty Yarn that no spam will be sent. How easy can it get to help out those who need it most? (Also, it's kinda cool to watch the map fill up with pink and blue dots of people who have already donated!)

A Unique Relief Effort

So, there must be some crafty people out there, right? I heard about this great idea yesterday and I just wanted to pass it on to you all. If you have any sort of craft/artsy/whatever ability, or know someone who does, this would be a great way to help out some folks who are in dire need right now. Of course, if you'd prefer to just donate cash, my own personal favorite charity, World Vision, is doing disaster relief too. Then there's the one donation we can all make and it won't cost you a dime. Please be praying for all of those who have been touched by this nightmare. Not only in NOLA, but all throughout that region.