Thursday, May 2, 2013
Monday, April 22, 2013
Monday, March 18, 2013
Friday, March 8, 2013
IT'S OFFICIAL!
I am moving to the Michaels Store in Flowood, MS!
As of April 1st, I will be teaching the PaperEd Classes in Flowood. Please come by and see me! We will have a Scrap-In (formerly called Crop Night) the first Saturday of each month, 3:00-9:00pm, only $5.00! It includes door prizes, a sketch handout, and lots of fun! Plus you get to use our classroom tools to play with!
I will be posting a list of classes for April next week.
Blessings!
Renea
I am moving to the Michaels Store in Flowood, MS!
As of April 1st, I will be teaching the PaperEd Classes in Flowood. Please come by and see me! We will have a Scrap-In (formerly called Crop Night) the first Saturday of each month, 3:00-9:00pm, only $5.00! It includes door prizes, a sketch handout, and lots of fun! Plus you get to use our classroom tools to play with!
I will be posting a list of classes for April next week.
Blessings!
Renea
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
I am posting the following email in it's entirety. Please take a few moments to read it. If you have been looking for an opportunity to bless someone this Christmas, well, here it is. My family and I have participated in this festival for about 20 years. The only one we missed was 2007 when one of our daughters went into labor prematurely, and we were all at the hospital. (Our daughter started crying during labor when she realized she was going to miss this party!)
The Wingards do amazing ministry with very little resources. They do the work that most of us would shudder at. This festival isn't about the presents. It's about the opportunity to physically, emotionally, and spiritually touch the lives of 283 children and their families with the love of Jesus!
I know it's been a tough year financially for many of us. And things aren't looking too great for next year either. But look around you, at your home, at your cars, at your . . . stuff. Then just think about your kids only getting 3, that's right, 3 presents for Christmas. Nothing else. Need I say more?
I will be glad to answer any questions. I will do the shopping for you if you want to give money instead of shopping. If you can provide one of the games or booths, that would be awesome. You can message me by this blog, email, facebook, twitter, or call/text me. And Charlotte's number is at the end of the email along with their website. They are a 501c3 charity.
God bless,
Renea
EMAIL FROM CHARLOTTE:
UPDATE!!!! The Happy Birthday, Jesus, Festival is this Sunday on the Dec. 16th at the Trade Mart in Jackson. We have pre-qualified and interviewed 283 children for Christmas wishes and help for their family. WE HAVE ABOUT 73 CHILDREN NOT SPONSORED AT THE TIME OF THIS E-MAIL!
These children are "little lambs" because their Christmas wishes are listed on little lamb cards and are hanging on a Christmas tree at the Flowood Walmart. These children will show up at the festival on Sunday, because it is being given to honor Jesus....... and the needy and homeless children are HIS special invited guests. We do not want them to show up at the festival and have to watch the other children receiving gifts and they have nothing to receive.
Please help us spread the word. If you would like to help, but do NOT want to shop or go out to the Walmart in Flowood, then we would be glad for you to financially support the sponsoring of the child and we will do the shopping.
Just call me at 601-906-1976 and we will arrange to come to you!
To summarize, we need the following:
SPONSORS FOR THE NEEDY CHILDREN (lambs on the tree at Flowood WalMart)
BICYCLES....ALL SIZES
A SANTA SUIT IN XXL
DECORATION TEAM TO DECORATE THE FESTIVAL AREA ON SUNDAY MORNING
A CAKE WALK FOR THE FESTIVAL.....this is the Kid's favorite every year!
ACTION GAMES FOR THE OLDER KIDS AT THE FESTIVAL (football throw, basketball throw, ring toss, bean bag toss)
CHRISTMAS LIGHTS!!!
PHOTOGRAPHER FOR THE FESTIVAL (TWO HOURS)
SOMEONE TO VIDEO THE FESTIVAL (TWO HOURS)
Please spread the word and help us get these needs out. We know there are folks out there wanting to help someone for Christmas.....you may be the key to connect them to us ....social media! word of mouth! workplace! church tonight! e-mail! facebook! call the TV & radio station! ...........just please help us spread the word! There is an old Christian song that I remember! It says, "it only takes a spark to get a fire going, and then all those around can warm up to it's glowing....that's how it is with God's love once you've experienced it You want to spread His love around....you want to Pass It On."
You may be the spark that gets this thing wrapped up and the homeless and needy children will surely be warmed by your love and concern for their needs.
God bless you in a great big way,
Charlotte Wingard Festival Director
cell: 601-906-1976
Charlotte A. Wingard
1279 N. West St. Jackson, MS 39202-2059
Women's Pastor Ministry Co-Director
cell # 601-906-1976
www.wingardhome.org
The Wingards do amazing ministry with very little resources. They do the work that most of us would shudder at. This festival isn't about the presents. It's about the opportunity to physically, emotionally, and spiritually touch the lives of 283 children and their families with the love of Jesus!
I know it's been a tough year financially for many of us. And things aren't looking too great for next year either. But look around you, at your home, at your cars, at your . . . stuff. Then just think about your kids only getting 3, that's right, 3 presents for Christmas. Nothing else. Need I say more?
I will be glad to answer any questions. I will do the shopping for you if you want to give money instead of shopping. If you can provide one of the games or booths, that would be awesome. You can message me by this blog, email, facebook, twitter, or call/text me. And Charlotte's number is at the end of the email along with their website. They are a 501c3 charity.
God bless,
Renea
EMAIL FROM CHARLOTTE:
UPDATE!!!! The Happy Birthday, Jesus, Festival is this Sunday on the Dec. 16th at the Trade Mart in Jackson. We have pre-qualified and interviewed 283 children for Christmas wishes and help for their family. WE HAVE ABOUT 73 CHILDREN NOT SPONSORED AT THE TIME OF THIS E-MAIL!
These children are "little lambs" because their Christmas wishes are listed on little lamb cards and are hanging on a Christmas tree at the Flowood Walmart. These children will show up at the festival on Sunday, because it is being given to honor Jesus....... and the needy and homeless children are HIS special invited guests. We do not want them to show up at the festival and have to watch the other children receiving gifts and they have nothing to receive.
Please help us spread the word. If you would like to help, but do NOT want to shop or go out to the Walmart in Flowood, then we would be glad for you to financially support the sponsoring of the child and we will do the shopping.
Just call me at 601-906-1976 and we will arrange to come to you!
To summarize, we need the following:
SPONSORS FOR THE NEEDY CHILDREN (lambs on the tree at Flowood WalMart)
BICYCLES....ALL SIZES
A SANTA SUIT IN XXL
DECORATION TEAM TO DECORATE THE FESTIVAL AREA ON SUNDAY MORNING
A CAKE WALK FOR THE FESTIVAL.....this is the Kid's favorite every year!
ACTION GAMES FOR THE OLDER KIDS AT THE FESTIVAL (football throw, basketball throw, ring toss, bean bag toss)
CHRISTMAS LIGHTS!!!
PHOTOGRAPHER FOR THE FESTIVAL (TWO HOURS)
SOMEONE TO VIDEO THE FESTIVAL (TWO HOURS)
Please spread the word and help us get these needs out. We know there are folks out there wanting to help someone for Christmas.....you may be the key to connect them to us ....social media! word of mouth! workplace! church tonight! e-mail! facebook! call the TV & radio station! ...........just please help us spread the word! There is an old Christian song that I remember! It says, "it only takes a spark to get a fire going, and then all those around can warm up to it's glowing....that's how it is with God's love once you've experienced it You want to spread His love around....you want to Pass It On."
You may be the spark that gets this thing wrapped up and the homeless and needy children will surely be warmed by your love and concern for their needs.
God bless you in a great big way,
Charlotte Wingard Festival Director
cell: 601-906-1976
Charlotte A. Wingard
1279 N. West St. Jackson, MS 39202-2059
Women's Pastor Ministry Co-Director
cell # 601-906-1976
www.wingardhome.org
Friday, November 23, 2012
Creative Chaos and Martha Stewart Markers
This is an old post that I forgot to publish. A few months ago I got to play with some new, some not so new, products at Michaels for a demo. In case you didn't know, Michaels now has it's own line that is similar to SMASH. It's called Creative Chaos by Recollections, and I LUV it!
Of course, I forgot to take pictures of the books. But one of them is all black, white, and kraft paper. No color at all. Sounds boring, huh? Well . . . not if you happen to have some Martha Stewart markers on hand!
It's really hard to see all the sparkle. You'll just have to trust me. Here are a couple of the pages that had flowers on them that I 'colored' with these fun markers.
As you can see in the second picture, the Creative Chaos books are 3 ring binders, which I really like better than the spiral binding on SMASH books.
*Pictures are clickable for a better view.
These next two pictures are stamped. The first is a leaf on a wood mounted rubber stamp, I think by Inkadinkado, stamped with Peeled Paint Distress Ink. Then I went over the lines in the veins with a Martha Stewart glitter marker.
This last one has a wreath rubber cling stamp in the middle, I think by Recollections. (I should have written this stuff down.) I stamped with Peeled Paint then colored some of the image with the glitter markers.
THEN the real fun began! I stamped around the wreath with the awesome Stamping Gear by Inkadinkado. I used Peeled Paint and Fired Brick. THEN I traced over the lines with the Martha glitter markers. Look at all that gorgeous sparkle! Its way better in real life. Fun stuff!
So, in case you didn't know this either, we are now teaching a Stamping Gear class and have several classes using distress inks and techniques. If you are in the Jackson, MS metro area, I'll be glad to send you a copy of our Flowood, MS calendar.
We also have a monthly crop for only $5.00. I'd love for you to join us!
Blessings,
Renea
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Enter to win . . .
Want to win a spot in Courtney Walsh's new class at Big Picture Scrapbooking? Check out the link to see how to win!
http://courtneywalsh.typepad.com/telling_stories/2012/11/big-picture-home-blessings-enter-to-win.html#comment-6a00d8341c1a6753ef017c33cf937c970b
Friday, November 9, 2012
Friday, September 7, 2012
Monday, September 3, 2012
Lessons in Grace
This post has been sitting in my drafts box for weeks. The title of it could have easily been phrased a thousand other ways. For example:
Why I will Never Be a Manager;
Motherly Instincts and Other Forms of Danger to Society;
Stupid Things that Go Through My Head When I'm Angry;
What NOT to Do;
Let He Who Has No Sin Cast the First Stone;
But, I digress. I'll just stick with the original.
A few weeks ago, upon arriving at a small, local retail establishment, I walked by a car that was parked out front, right next to the sidewalk. The car was running. The windows were partially down in front. There was no one in the driver or passenger seat up front. But, to my shock and horror, there was a small child in a carseat in the back. There were actually two carseats, one with the sleeping child, the other empty.
As you can imagine, my mom/grammy instincts kicked into high gear. I stepped inside, saw the manager and promptly informed him about the situation. Fortunately, he was as concerned as I was. He went outside and immediately took ownership of with the situation. He told me later that the young mother's words were, "I was only going to be in there for 2 minutes. They're twins. I can't handle both of them in the store."
Had it been me who found said young mother, these are the immediate responses to that statement that went through my head:
Calling her an idiot while ripping her hair out at the roots.
Calling the police and accusing her of abandonment.
Screaming something like, 'You can't handle them? Here's a word for you: ADOPTION!!!!!'
Snatching the baby out of the car and the other out of the buggy and tucking one under each arm and
running for it.
I have no idea what I would have actually done had I gotten to her first. But, much to the manager's credit, and the safety of the young mother, cooler heads prevailed. His response was simple and direct.
"Young lady, those 2 minutes could have you crying for the rest of your life."
Needless to say, I'm so thankful that he got to her first. How much more impact that must have had on her than all the angry, violent responses that went through my head. How much more gracious and kind his words were. How much more Christlike his compassionate answer was than my tirade would have been.
I was humbled. I was embarrassed. I saw her as a villain. But I was the one who wanted to act like one.
Yes, I'm still outraged that a mother would leave a sleeping baby in the car, with the car running, outside the door of a retail establishment. She should have known better. Maybe she did know better. But all that aside, it doesn't excuse what would have been my angry outburst toward her. Yes, I believe I needed to act, and quickly, when I saw the child in the car alone. No, my violent reaction would probably not have helped and certainly would not have represented Jesus well. Would I have actually played out my in-head scenarios in real life? I'm not sure. The 'mama lion' gene is a pretty strong one and not something to be messed with.
As I continued to think about this the rest of the day, I was heart-broken at how quickly I ran to judgement. She was young. Very young. She had twins. She may have been a single mom who has no one to help her with her children. She was still a kid herself. She could have chosen to abort those sweet babies. In my anger, offering her help or wisdom never entered my mind. All I saw was the danger to the child.
As Christ followers, we rub shoulders with the world on a different plane than those who don't know Him. We are called to be different, to react differently, to love unconditionally without condoning un-Christlike behavior. At my age, it's easy to forget how young and foolish I once was. This incident may have had more of an impact on me than it did on her. My prayer is that 'in real life' I would have been more loving, more instructive than destructive. I would like to believe that I would have. But I'm just not sure. The whole incident left me with the strong reminder of my loving Father's compassionate response to me. I did nothing to deserve his mercy or forgiveness. But He gave it. Willingly. And when I look at where I am and where I feel I should be, how self-centered and arrogant I can be, I still stand in amazement at His grace. May I grow to be more like Him. And, hopefully, the next time I see a young mother doing something foolish, I will step up and offer something more tangible that will make a difference in her life.
Blessings,
Renea
Why I will Never Be a Manager;
Motherly Instincts and Other Forms of Danger to Society;
Stupid Things that Go Through My Head When I'm Angry;
What NOT to Do;
Let He Who Has No Sin Cast the First Stone;
But, I digress. I'll just stick with the original.
A few weeks ago, upon arriving at a small, local retail establishment, I walked by a car that was parked out front, right next to the sidewalk. The car was running. The windows were partially down in front. There was no one in the driver or passenger seat up front. But, to my shock and horror, there was a small child in a carseat in the back. There were actually two carseats, one with the sleeping child, the other empty.
As you can imagine, my mom/grammy instincts kicked into high gear. I stepped inside, saw the manager and promptly informed him about the situation. Fortunately, he was as concerned as I was. He went outside and immediately took ownership of with the situation. He told me later that the young mother's words were, "I was only going to be in there for 2 minutes. They're twins. I can't handle both of them in the store."
Had it been me who found said young mother, these are the immediate responses to that statement that went through my head:
Calling her an idiot while ripping her hair out at the roots.
Calling the police and accusing her of abandonment.
Screaming something like, 'You can't handle them? Here's a word for you: ADOPTION!!!!!'
Snatching the baby out of the car and the other out of the buggy and tucking one under each arm and
running for it.
I have no idea what I would have actually done had I gotten to her first. But, much to the manager's credit, and the safety of the young mother, cooler heads prevailed. His response was simple and direct.
"Young lady, those 2 minutes could have you crying for the rest of your life."
Needless to say, I'm so thankful that he got to her first. How much more impact that must have had on her than all the angry, violent responses that went through my head. How much more gracious and kind his words were. How much more Christlike his compassionate answer was than my tirade would have been.
I was humbled. I was embarrassed. I saw her as a villain. But I was the one who wanted to act like one.
Yes, I'm still outraged that a mother would leave a sleeping baby in the car, with the car running, outside the door of a retail establishment. She should have known better. Maybe she did know better. But all that aside, it doesn't excuse what would have been my angry outburst toward her. Yes, I believe I needed to act, and quickly, when I saw the child in the car alone. No, my violent reaction would probably not have helped and certainly would not have represented Jesus well. Would I have actually played out my in-head scenarios in real life? I'm not sure. The 'mama lion' gene is a pretty strong one and not something to be messed with.
As I continued to think about this the rest of the day, I was heart-broken at how quickly I ran to judgement. She was young. Very young. She had twins. She may have been a single mom who has no one to help her with her children. She was still a kid herself. She could have chosen to abort those sweet babies. In my anger, offering her help or wisdom never entered my mind. All I saw was the danger to the child.
As Christ followers, we rub shoulders with the world on a different plane than those who don't know Him. We are called to be different, to react differently, to love unconditionally without condoning un-Christlike behavior. At my age, it's easy to forget how young and foolish I once was. This incident may have had more of an impact on me than it did on her. My prayer is that 'in real life' I would have been more loving, more instructive than destructive. I would like to believe that I would have. But I'm just not sure. The whole incident left me with the strong reminder of my loving Father's compassionate response to me. I did nothing to deserve his mercy or forgiveness. But He gave it. Willingly. And when I look at where I am and where I feel I should be, how self-centered and arrogant I can be, I still stand in amazement at His grace. May I grow to be more like Him. And, hopefully, the next time I see a young mother doing something foolish, I will step up and offer something more tangible that will make a difference in her life.
Blessings,
Renea
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