His Message In The Heavens

I spent some time this evening rejoicing in "this Divine Romance"....this "thing" that my Creator and I have for one another.

As I lay there, sprawled precariously across a short wicker love seat on my back porch, the rhythmic song of cicadas and the briskness of night air, so different from the usual languid warmth of southern summer evenings, filled me with joy.

And He spoke of His love for me.

And He spoke of my destiny - nothing big at all, in light of the fact that the Creator of the universe also created me and knows me by name and loves me. Is there a better destiny, a more-to-be-desired-than-this, lot in life? Not to my captivated heart. Frankly, whatever you desire other than Him....you can have it all. You can have my portion. Give me Jesus...lover of my soul.

And I sang to Him.

And blew Him a kiss or three. (That's my personal expression of profound worship.)

And I rejoiced in all He has done for me of late.

And He pointed out to me the fact that the outrageous love I'd experienced from The Preacher yesterday, was in fact, also Him loving me through my nearest physical vessel...

...yesterday, I had suddenly become sick, with aches and cough and misery and no voice. I could only sleep. And croak. And feel terribly unlovely. Yet...yet...

...yet The Preacher brought me flowers.  And throughout his busy day, he managed to bring me a dozen or so juices, hot ciders, teas, and home made soup...enough to float a battle ship...crazy-extravagant care by any marriage standard...constantly checking in on me, by text message, by phone (though I could only whisper) and in person as he worked...

...God was trying to get something through to my heart.

"I know that was Tim, but...that was You, too, Lord?"

Yes, it was Him. Then He said to me, "I'll prove it. Look at the sky...just get still, and watch...I will blow you a kiss in the form of a falling star."

So I looked straight up...watching...no longer than five or ten minutes...and just when I thought I might have heard wrong...

...blazing and bright and bold and brief, there it went. A falling star, streaking the ink blue sky.

Remarkably, I didn't weep. I didn't feel chill bumps or Holy Ghost fire. I broke out in a grin, laughed out loud, and said, "God, you're crazy!"

It just popped out. He knows I wasn't being irreverent. I was responding in sheer delight, because there was something of His smile in it first. He laughed first.


Oh, how He loves me.

"...it is more to worship God, and more very delight, that we faithfully pray to Him of His Goodness, and cleave to Him by His grace, with true understanding, and made steadfast by love, than if we took all the means our heart can think. For if we took all these means, it is too little, and not full worship to God; but in His goodness is all the whole, and then faileth right not."

~Julian of Norwich


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My Motto

Well, not literally. At least, not literally, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But oh, how I love and long for the outpouring of the Spirit of God!

I do want to write drunk. Come what may of it.

College Bound...

These are Harvest's high school grads this year - all college bound. The first one, on the left, is my youngest - who moved into his dorm at Johnson University on Saturday. Next, is Philip, who moved into his dorm at MTSU yesterday. Then, is Christopher, who is attending UT here in Knoxville.

I am beyond proud of these boys, and of the young girl in our church (not pictured here) who recently graduated from college.

I drove to Johnson U today (an hour from my home) with my son in law ( full time artist, Maryville College summa cum laude art school grad, and new dad!) and a young college friend I have been meeting with (senior MTSU nursing student). We set up a table, along with other churches and banks and credit unions, to greet incoming freshmen and invite them to make Harvest their church home away from home.

Harvest's pastor (my husband) has long maintained that a college degree is not necessary for success...not as God defines it, and not even as this world defines it.

He has been misunderstood, at times, for his stand on higher education...a stand that clearly states, "If God's plans for you require a degree, go get one. If they don't require a degree, but you want one anyhow... go get one. If God is not leading you to pursue a degree, and you have no desire to spend your parents' money - or your money - do not let anyone tell you you must have a degree to succeed.".

We are sure some are convinced that The Preacher says these things, not because they are simply true, but because he himself does not own a piece of paper called a degree. They can think what they like...and if they want to buy into the modern myth of The Degree, they can.

They can join the ranks of the bazillions who got degrees in areas they can't find a decent job, or a degree that has to also rely on a spouses degree to make ends meet, or a degree that has to depend on a parent's degree (money) to succeed...or a degree that, if they trade a life in exchange for a living, they make lots of money...or a degree that enables them to one day change professions, and take up farming, or gardening, and raise llamas and bulls for the tax write off, and live out the same sort of joy that many who never even finished high school are able to live...or they can go get that degree so they can meet and marry someone else who wants a degree, and have babies who will grow up to get degrees and seek spouses with the same.

I am such a Jesus Freak. I don't get that. Not at all.

No one is saying that obtaining a degree is bad or wrong. How foolish and extreme to say that. (...and some DO say that...they really do.). But to pursue a degree for social standing or snobbery is such a waste of time and resources that could be otherwise spent on the Kingdom or on an entrepreneurial venture.

Funny thing is, when you preach grace, people eventually break free from sin - because they want to live in such a way as to bring credibility to The Message. And when you maintain that a college degree isn't necessary for joy or success...you end up with nearly every kid in your church going on to college...because they want to. Because they know they don't have to...yet believe God is leading them there.

And when they graduate, they won't be insufferable snobs. There is a fine line between true respect, and a condescending attitude. That line exists in the heart of a person who either actually does respect others, and those who smile benevolently from their lofty position.

I am pretty sure I know which heart should belong to a child of God.

The Results of Today's Beauty-Seeking...

The Consensus of Opinion Is (warning: grand baby flaunting ahead...)

...the consensus is that she looks like me.





Be still my heart. She is so beautiful I can't stand it. This raises my self esteem level alarmingly.

No Time To (Video) Weblog...

...not this week. You cannot know how much time and effort goes into one video weblog posting, unless you do it semi-regularly.  No time for that this week.  But there are beautiful and true-truths being pondered. That's my ponder-ful face (up there).

No, really.  Seriously.

I am pondering what love is, as defined by God in 1st Corinthians 13. I am pondering how that love is patient and kind and focuses on what is true and beautiful, etc etc.

I am pondering how that all those things imply boundaries. Love implies boundaries. God has already defined all that is true and beautiful. We too then, have to Biblically define what is true and beautiful, which, in turn, forces us to define what is untrue and ugly.

I am pondering how that "believing all things, hoping all things, enduring all things" does not mean believing lies, or hoping for our own way. It doesn't mean enduring the arrogant unbelief of grace-haters who minimize the Finished Work of Christ...whether by flagrant sinning or by being so religious they could intimidate the Antichrist.

I am pondering how that the wisest thing I did (as well as one of the most profound lessons I've learned) was to place distance between myself and COMS...

Women who COMplain...
Women who COMpare...
Women who COMpete...

I am pondering how that real love isn't random sacrifice or giving my body to be burned in a fit of melodrama. The moment I begin to think I have the corner market on caring...and why don't others do as I do...I am, in reality, a noisy and needy sinner in need of being informed as to my boundaries. Love is not puffed up, you see. Stop right there. No more being puffed up. Boundaries.

Boundaries define all that is beautiful in our lives, from doctrine to property lines, from relationships to health, from choices to the lanes on the highway, boundaries make us safe, and inform us continually when we are tempted to think of ourselves as the Exception To The Rule.

The Psalmist David said it best, "...the lines are fallen to me in pleasant places..."

Grace

"The grace of God calls a man or woman to greatness..."

- Sheila Atchley

The Winner Is...

We printed out every single entry, bright and early this morning, before heading out to the hospital to see Aidyn...




Hannah, preparing to draw the winner's name...

And the winner is...




Kris Boisen!!!

(sorry the picture is sideways...)

Kris, please email me (sheilamatchley@gmail.com) and give us your address, and your choice of bag! We will get it out to you next week!

And for everyone else, Hannah is offering a 20 percent discount on any bag!

Thank you so very much for participating! We both have had so much fun with it. Please stay tuned, because I do have more giveaways planned...

...and now, back to Grandmother Bliss...

(posting this from the hospital, in fact!)



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She Is Here

It is after midnight, and I am finally home and settled. My heart is full, I feel so blessed. Aidyn Esther arrived this evening...all 9 pounds 5 ounces and 22 inches of her! It was love at first sight for PopPop and me both.

I didn't get to really hold her until after 10 PM! But I was patient and kind...unassuming, letting others feel like they were getting their special moment.

Because grandmothers do not have to assert who they are....they simply are. And Aidyn will get to know me well and early. And I am so rich I can afford to be gracious.

And grandmothers have impeccable manners.

Besides - she's mine. All mine...in that special way that only grandmothers (and great grandmothers) can say.

Are you ready to be dunked in adorableness???? Here you go:






I. Am. Solid. Gone.

We finally got to have our long talk together, Miss Princess and me. I told her I was wild about her. She told me it was mutual. I told her I would bring her some mousse for her hair first thing tomorrow morning. She said "Thank you, Mimi. You "get" me."

Oh, I get you, baby girl. You and me? We got our own thing going.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Checklist Before Becoming a Grandmother

(above oil painting by Gaye Lynne LeGuire...)

I've been going about the house, today, preparing to be a grandmother. My daughter Sarah and her Jonathan will become parents tomorrow.  Aidyn Esther comes tomorrow afternoon. Tomorrow, a granddaughter is born, and so is a mother, a grandmother (yours truly), a great grandmother, and an auntie...


 How does one prepare to be a grandmother? How...how...how...


I know what to do to prepare the house. I still have to clear out the fridge, sweep the floors, and make sure my little bag of power bars, knitting needles, yarn, and Diet Coke is packed - I'll be there, at the hospital tomorrow, per Sarah's request.


 I know how to prepare a home, but how do I prepare a heart? How do I prepare my heart for the birth of a Sunflower baby...my Summertime granddaughter? How do I get ready again to step seamlessly into what I now know for sure to be the sweetest role I will play in all of life?


 I wear a lot of hats, have worn many in my history, but this hat of "grandmotherhood" is by far the most joyful and delightful. How do I prepare my heart to meet a small Someone who I will love till the day I leave earth for heaven...and then beyond? How do I prepare to look into her eyes...this sequel-daughter (grand daughter) who I have prayed for since before she was even conceived, and will cherish for all eternity? Relationships are eternal.


 How do I go about the mundane preparations for this sort of glory?


 Life really is all about maintenance. Even on the eve of weddings and births, even on the day after death, there must be clean clothes and warm meals and physical comfort given to the people I love. Such is the Life of Woman. Ask me how I know.


 Somehow, my heart assimilates. Somehow, my mind is slowly wrapping itself around the fact that God is the God of the New Thing. And New overlaps Old, always. One must always be cleaning up around the edges, where Old and New have collided. One must always be ready to tend to the business of tidying up in the place of transition, while simultaneously airing out the chambers of the heart...letting the breeze of newness freshen old routines and mindsets.


 I've heard it said that women wear lots of hats.  Well, this particular "hat" has been waiting for me, in its box, since the moment I gave birth to this daughter of mine and her sister.


Today I get the hat out. I admire its loveliness. Yes, this hat suits me. I think I will look just fine in this hat called "Aidyn's Mimi".


 Tomorrow, I put on the hat for the very first time.


 For the rest of my life, I will wear that hat with obnoxious pride.

IN THREE DAYS...

...my granddaughter, Miss Aidyn Esther, will make her appearance!

...this is a picture of her, when she was but little bigger than a lima bean...

...and this Thursday, I will get to hold her in my arms.

Sarah and Jonathan will be checking into the hospital THIS Thursday, at precisely 3 PM.  If Miss Aidyn does not make her appearance before Thursday on her own, she's coming no matter what on Thursday afternoon.

Pictures are guaranteed.

Bliss, wonder, joy, and crazy-grandmotherly-love.  That is what I am feeling this week.  Heaven help me, I am good for nothing.  I seriously got nearly nothing done today.

I'll say it again:  whatever you got going on in your life...whatever you are "about"...I'm happy for you, I truly am.  But please understand me (and try not to misunderstand me) when I say - I am rich in most ways money can by (comparatively)...

...but I am rich in all ways money could never buy.

So yeah.  You can have your estate, you can enjoy being your high profile "bad self", you can have your thriving business or your Lexus or your sheep and oxen and various farm animals, your acreage and assets, you can enjoy your diamonds or furs or exotic vacations...

....give me this.  Just this.  Give me "sequel motherhood", give me grandchildren, give me the generations, give me little souls to care for, give me old souls to care about, give me newborn-in-Christ souls to rejoice over...give me the local church, give me friends, and give me my Preacher to have and to hold.  Give me one man who is completely crazy about me, and me about him.  You can't write a check big enough to buy that.

Those are the "things" I am about...and you are right...they aren't "things" at all.  You can't drive them or use them or flaunt them (well...you can flaunt your grandbabies) or wear them or display them or design them or deposit them in your account or show them at a 4-H competition or fence them in.

You can only love them.

The crazy thing is?  They love you back, sometimes.

God's favorite "things" aren't things...not even mountains or flowers or "nature" or Nubian goats or gardens are His favorite...

God loves people.  People are God's favorite.  Oh, may I be found valuing what He values!

Another Friday Giveaway (This One's Going to be a Favorite!)

I am so excited, this gorgeous (and sunny and hot) Friday to offer you the best darn Giveaway YET...(and I am always looking for ways to make my Giveaways bigger and bigger)...

My daughter Hannah has been sewing bags and totes for about a year now.  I've waited and watched as her skills have increased exponentially (under the able tutelage of Miss Mary, in our church)  and I think she is ready to take her business to the next level.

I am proud to be offering your choice of one of three of her designs.  I almost feel sorry for everyone, because you do have to choose...and I am not sure I could choose!  I am pretty sure I love the Leslie bag the best...but then, there's Albany, and I very much want a bag in her rich, mustard yellow color, since that is one of the "it" fall colors, this upcoming season!  But then...I so love the structure of the Ashley bag...

Nevermind.  You go on ahead, and choose for yourself.  Then, be sure to follow the steps at the bottom, to be entered to win one of these very well made bags!

Good Morning Lovely People, 


 It’s so nice to “meet” some of you and to “chat” with you others of whom I’m so proud to know. My name is Hannah McConnell (for those of you I don’t know). I am a new mother, teacher’s wife, aspiring philanthropist/homemaker/designer--- you name it I haven’t decided yet--- and last but not least, daughter to Sheila Atchley of none other than Sheila Atchley Designs/A Season of Harvest. 


Thus,… the give-away on her blog! I have been slowly churning out different purses and such over the past year or so, trying to get my feet under me dreaming of starting my own business… in the near/distant future. 


“One small step at a time.” If I’ve heard that saying once I’ve heard it a hundred times… but, it’s so true for me. I take what I do no less seriously than the next person; however, I am a new mother and time doesn’t come easily to me. That being said, I LOVE what I do… and I love ROCKING at it. I am proud of the product I create and sell… if I weren’t you wouldn’t see it here!


I am so thrilled that I was asked by my mother (someone who never skimps on quality) to participate in a giveaway on her blog because that says something about how she views my work. She wouldn’t ask just anyone to participate. She has very high standards… and I am HONORED!


So, after a great deal of thought (and maybe even prayer) I have decided to give all readers and followers of Sheila Atchley Designs THEIR CHOICE of one of three of my designs, as follows:

Please meet the "Leslie" tote...she's feminine and beautiful and Bohemian, and comes with a detachable fabric flower (not this exact one, but one like it.  This one belongs to one of my mom's Jeanne Oliver bags...). 




She is lined on the inside with a striped ticking fabric...beautiful!

And Leslie has three...count 'em...three inside pockets!




Next design is this mustard yellow bag (huge, going into fall 2012!) ~

Her name is "Albany".  She wears a beautiful mustard yellow ruffle, and is lined at the top, and on the inside, with a slate gray chevron pattern - chevron is the "it" pattern this year.  She also comes with a detachable fabric flower...

...she also has THREE inside pockets...

...and Albany has a zipper closure!


Last, but not least, perhaps you'll choose this beauty ~

Meet "Ashley".  She too is lined on the inside.  She is structured and preppy, unlike her Bohemian sisters (who she loves, by the way).  She has one pocket on the inside, and a pocket on each outside panel, for a total of three pockets...

...and comes with a detachable bow.  You can keep the bow, remove the bow, or substitute the bow with a bow of your own...Ashley is flexible.  


So there you have it.  This Giveaway is for YOUR CHOICE of one of my bags, either the Leslie, the Albany, or the Ashley bag.  
  
 Anyway, moving on towards how you’re going to win your choice of one of my lovely bags (if-I-may-say-so-myself). 

1.  First, comment below on this blog posting- this will give you 1-one entry 


2.  Second, go to my blog: www.daughterbydesign.net and leave a brief comment on my blog re: this giveaway (if you really want to you can check out my shop while you’re at it) This will count as 2 (two) entries 


3.  Third, become a follower of Sheila Atchley Designs here (if you’re not one already). This will count as 3 (three) entries 


4.  Fourth, share this giveaway on your Facebook and/or Twitter account by including the information that there’s a giveaway and the www.sheilaatchleydesigns.com web address. This will count as 4 (four!) entries.


 Anytime you do any of the above steps…and you can do one step, just leave us a comment...or, to increase your chances of winning, you can do all steps...but when you do,  please come back and let us know in the comments section of this posting so that we can be sure to count that for you. 

The end.  You can do one or all of the above steps, depending on how many times you want to enter for the drawing!  You’ll find out who the grand prize winner is next Friday!  I hope it is YOU!


 Thank you, Hannah McConnell

13:13

"And now abideth faith, hope, and love...these three...but the greatest of these is love."

I finished my Poppy Series this evening...well, I am not quite finished. I want to have them framed. I think I want graphic-yet-vintage, unusual frames for these. Maybe stark white. I haven't decided. They'll be in the shop soon.

 It has always struck me, that I can accomplish what can seem to be such great things. I can "speak with the tongues of men and of angels"...I can be a great communicator. Or I can operate in a very real spiritual gift. But I can do that without love.

 I can build and create incredible things. And have no love.

I can be so very, very giving...give my body to be burned, in fact. And, in fact, have no love.

But I can't be patient without love. I am not kind without love. I can't believe all things, hope all things and endure all things (all in context of relationships)...without love.

 And without people to try my patience, without people to be kind to, without people to endure all things with and for...love is just an idea. We must be in faithful relationship to practice love.

 Love never fails.

1 Corinthians 13:13...I am considering designing a leather charm cuff...with a sterling silver chain, or set of three chains, twined together and anchored across the top of the cuff, and then those chains would have four charms...one that is stamped the numbers "13:13"...one that says "faith"...one that says "hope" and one charm that says "love"...

True W.E.L.L. Being...A Video Weblog Series

A Customer Review From My Beta Launch Giveaway...

What a great blessing it was to win the beta review. I could not wait for my special parcel to arrive. When it arrived in the mail I quickly opened the box to find the most unique and fun wrapped gift. First I must say that I love online shopping, mainly because I love receiving packages in the mail. However when I received this package it was better than any package I could of purchased online. The package was very personable. You could tell that time, talent, and creativity went it this package. It had great flair and warmth to it. It may sound crazy but it did. It was so nice I almost did not want to open the rest. After admiring the beautiful parcel I finely opened the rest up. 




One of the wrapping was the bracelet that read "loved" I really admired the bracelet in looks and that it had two settings for how tight it would be so that you could wear it accordingly to how it suited you or fitting if you have a petite or larger wrist. That was a winner for me. Looks may be there but if you can adjust it to what you need or comfortably then to me it is not worth it. This bracelet had both and I was very pleased. 




 The number one thing I loved about the purse is that it was reversible. What a great way to mix things up without having to buy another purse or rummage through a box for the changing of seasons. I carry a lot of items in my purse and heavy ones at that so it was nice that the straps were nice and strong as well. For my own personal taste I do prefer a purse deeper and more stiff. A few more pockets would have been nice but I know that can be more difficult to do when you are making reversible purses. I latch over piece would have been nice as well but again not sure how you can make it work for reversible. I am still using the purse right now and like it and it is great if I just out for an evening and need a few items in my purse. It does not fall over my shoulder easy at all which is great because I hate it when a purse won't stay on your shoulder. I was very pleased with the items and would love to see more of different type of purses. 




 Thanks, Rays of Sunshine.


Thank you so much, "Rays of Sunshine" for such a great review...honest and detailed!  I appreciate it so much.

Do You Have a Hidden Agenda?

‎2 Cor 4:2


We have renounced hidden agendas (employing a little bit of the law in an attempt to “balance” out grace); we have distanced ourselves from any obscure craftiness to manipulate God’s word to make it mean what it does not say! With truth on open display in us, we highly recommend our lives to every one’s conscience! Truth finds its most authentic and articulate expression in human life. This beats any doctrinal debate!

~Mirror Bible Translation (and no, this isn't a perfect translation...and no, I do not use it for study purposes...and no, Du Toit is not a universalist...and yes, repentance is necessary - mostly, repentance from dead works, whether they be "sinning" dead works or "sainting" dead works - and salvation from our sin condition is necessary, and has been accomplished through no other means but Christ.)

And The Winner Is....

...so...I prepared for the Big Moment:

We are so high tech around here.  No, seriously.  Don't believe that.  Actually, we kick it old school.

All the names...in a cute little Anthropologie-esque bowl... (if you don't know Anthro, where have you been?)

This drawing is legally certified by my daughter Hannah McConnell.  She drew the name of the winner.  Everyone acquainted with me had deep concerns that I'd draw my own name.  (Brownies were involved in this giveaway...)

And the winner is....

LIZ!!!!!!!

Liz, Maria Kear will be emailing you privately, to get your mailing address.  Sistah, your brownies will be on their way.

I'm jealous.

And hey...stay tuned.  Call the neighbors.  There will be another giveaway here NEXT WEEK!  And you will want one.  And your odds are GREAT at winning, since I haven't gone all "Pioneer Woman" on y'all.

(Pioneer Woman does a lot of giveaways, but she has, like, 30,000 followers on her blog!)

Aren't you glad I'm not a household name?

I Was Inspired...Poppies, Friends, and Brownies

Yesterday morning, I kept a sort of mentoring appointment.  I say "sort of" because she lets me coach her via Skype, and she's a fun girlfriend, so it doesn't feel so much like an "appointment" officially.

We talked about souls and their restoration.  I was so inspired by our time together.  There were tears.  There was laughter.  I then thought about the things we talked over all day long...and late yesterday evening, this popped out of my heart:

available in my shop  

I'm "feeling it" so much...this truth about soul restoration (see yesterday's re-post from 2008...you can see these are things I've long lingered over)...I'm almost sure that my next video weblog, in my series "True W.E.L.L. Being", will be full of some of the things my friend and I discussed.

Also, don't forget that tomorrow is the big day for the giveaway, in collaboration with Maria Kear and her new business, Send Out Cards!  (There are brownies involved.  You will want to leave your comment here....and then Facebook it, or tweet it, so that you can be MORE certain of obtaining said brownies...)

...a picture of  Send Out Card's brownies...not the exact ones you'll be getting, if you win.  Yours will be fresher.  Sorry if you haven't eaten yet.  Or you have, and now you want brownies, too.  So sorry. 

Well, my day has not been the cheeriest.  I won't bore you with drama or details, but suffice it to say, I need my soul restored.  Yet again.  Nothing terrible has happened...today, I was simply reminded that I am living in a state of bliss lately, and it does get interrupted now and then with some familiar sources of stress and frustration.

No matter.  Big things or small things, God is in the soul restoring business.

...by still waters, friends...he leads your soul there.

He Maintains My Soul

(a re-post from the archives...enjoy...)

"He leads me beside still waters..." a photo taken on our anniversary getaway.

I have been soaking in some old, familiar passages lately. They come to life for me, repeatedly, and bring me great hope and consolation. One of these familiar mainstays is Psalm 23:


The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.


I have been smitten by the phrase, "He restoreth my soul". The concept of stillness has been overtaking my thoughts these days - this whole idea of being still before God, and being still before my circumstances.


You cannot be still without a fully restored soul. A less-than-restored soul is a soul that frets, fears, fumes and flails about for a solution, and panics when no solution is in sight. An unrestored soul is anything BUT still.


You cannot restore your own soul. Such a dilemma...


I bring you good tidings - good news! GOD is fully committed to the full time job of soul restoration. If you look up that precious Hebrew word "restore", you will find a connotation that of "over and over again and again". In fact, I counted up the number of times, (in the mere definition of the Hebrew word "restore"), that the word "again" is utilized:  that word "again" is utilized twenty times in the Hebrew, to define the word RESTORE.


Again and again and again and again and again and....you get the idea. God restores my soul as often as necessary. This "restoring my soul" thing is a Self-designated focus of the Lord of the universe. He considers it His ongoing, daily avocation...the thing He delights to do for me. This Lord is my shepherd....oh, I shall not want!


Over and over, every day, again and again, twenty times a day and more, the Lord wants to refresh and revive you. He will, time and again, pick up your disheveled soul, dust it off, and set it to rights. He longs to breathe new life into you - right now. And then again. And then again.


Oh saint, do you hear me?


It is his avocation (not by constraint, but willingly He shepherds you, dear one!) to cheer you, enliven you, prod and quicken your spirit. He enjoys rejuvenating you, invigorating you, healing and rebuilding you, and He considers it His good pleasure to do it over and over and again and again and again.


Consider yourself rebuilt and reinstated, oh crumbled soul! Be strengthened, twenty times over, by the very hand of the Good Shepherd.


He restoreth my soul!

Don't Forget...

Don't forget Friday's giveaway...read about it here.  I will try to mention it each day between now and then, but you might want to go ahead and take a moment to give it a looksee.

These are included:

Oh.  my.  dear.  sweet.  salvation.

I repeat, this giveaway includes, but is not limited to, a box of delicious brownies.  Who doesn't want...nay, need, that?

True W.E.L.L. Being (A Video Weblog Series) "I Get That Now"...

A New Collaboration - a Giveaway in Collaboration with Maria Kear and Her New Business, Send Out Cards

I am so blessed to introduce you to a life-long friend of mine (we've been friends pretty much our entire adult lives) Maria Kear. She is coming up just behind me, in terms of the "empty nest"...she will graduate her youngest from their home school next year. In searching for what God would have her do in her next season, she has discovered a new business venture that she's excited about - and I am discovering that God is really giving me a heart to see women succeed in business and ministry and art. So I want to get started exactly where I am (is there anywhere else you can start?) and promote a woman-friend and her business.

 So I have invited my friend Maria to do a giveaway here on my blog! It is a generous giveaway...you will enjoy it, so much, if you win!  We will draw a winner in one week - Friday, July 20th.  If only one person enters, that person wins!  I know Maria - she just loves to have fun with things like this, and is fine with one person or one hundred people entering her giveaway for her new business.

Please note:  I am not a distributor for Send Out Cards.  I receive nothing in exchange for promoting Maria's business.  

Without further ado, may I please introduce to you a lovely lady friend of mine, who is as passionate about the health of the local church as I am - a trustworthy person, who will be a great business woman...Meet Maria Kear!

This is Maria Kear

Hello friends of Sheila Atchley Designs! I’m so blessed to have the opportunity to “meet” you. 




 My name is Maria Kear. I’ve been a stay-at-home mom for almost 22 years, and have home schooled my 3 children all the way through. My last one will be a senior next year. It has been one of the greatest journeys and “works” of my life. I am honored to have had the opportunity to teach and train 3 people who will impact the world in their own unique way. I’m in a new season of life and have been praying about what to do with myself….


My good friend Sheila asked me to be her blog guest, because like Sheila, I am a new business owner who is excited about sharing what I do. I love my new business, because at the heart SendOutCards is about showing gratitude simply for the sake of being a blessing. Sure, I am here to build a business, but I understand that we all “reap what we sow”. My heart is to “sow” hospitality and gratitude; to encourage those I meet to be the best they can be in whatever they put their hands to. 




To get the word out about my new business, I will be holding a drawing right here on Sheila Atchley Designs. What I want to gift you with is two-fold. The Grand Prize will be a 30 day membership to use the SendOutCards system to bless 30 people with a real paper card, which SendOutCards prints, stuffs and mails FOR YOU.


I have done this myself, and my heart is forever changed. SendOutCards calls this the 30 Day Gratitude Challenge. 


Added to this (30 days worth of free card giving) I am adding a box of the most delicious brownies you have ever tasted (I’m not exaggerating!).  They are called Chocolate Indulgence Gourmet Fudge Brownie made by Cookietree Bakeries...


...AND a great book I’m almost finished reading called Appreciation Marketing by Tommy Wyatt and Curtis Lewsey

To view a video and get more information regarding the 30 Day Challenge, please visit this website: 


http://www.socgratitude.com/MariaK 


 In addition to the Grand Prize, and because I want you to experience that great feeling of showing someone gratitude, I’m going to gift everyone else with the ability to send 2 free cards to someone you appreciate! 


 You may visit that website by following this link www.sendoutcards.com/MariaK 


 I hate to sound like an info-mercial… but there is no obligation. You may try the system, give me feedback, and if you love it, give it your own 30 day trial. But if you aren’t in love with the idea, I still believe your outlook will be changed in just thinking about others with a heart of gratitude. 


 To enter, I’m asking that you:


1.  Take one second's time to “like” (on my personal facebook page) a video that I’ll post about the 30 Day Gratitude Challenge. https://www.facebook.com/maria.kear  Leave a comment here on this blog, letting me know you did so - that will be one entry.


2.   If you will also tweet “30 Day Gratitude Challenge www.socgratitude.com/MariaK", come back and leave ANOTHER comment here on this blog.  That will be a second entry.  Remember, come back RIGHT HERE, and leave another comment on this blog, and you will be entered again.


3.   AND if you’ll join my good friend Sheila’s blog as a new follower (click "follow this blog" or "join this site" over in the right-hand sidebar), you’ll get a third entry.


4.  If you mention the 30 Day Gratitude Challenge on YOUR blog, with my link http://www.socgratitude.com/MariaK , come back here and leave a comment with your blog URL.  That will get you a FOURTH entry...and you'll probably win.  :-)


Either Sheila or myself will draw a winner one week from today.   I’ll work the details out with the winner by e-mail, or by phone if you want me to contact you that way. One thing I will tell you is that if you sign up for a gift account, no one will pester you! I alone will have your information, and I will not share it with anyone.




 And I will likely send you a card ;)

A Granddaughter Any Day Now!

We are in Sarah's final days of maternity...and I do mean "WE".  Our whole family is in a state of high anticipation.  Our whole church is in high anticipation.  The picture you see, up there, was taken just today.

Isn't she the cutest, most beautiful little momma ever?


I plan on posting pictures of her nursery.  Her sister Hannah designed it, sewed the crib linens, and decorated the room...it is so, so lovely and amazing.

She is due any day now, and I absolutely cannot wait.  My second monkey, Miss Aidyn Esther Howe, will make her appearance, and I have a feeling she is as eager to be held by her Mimi as her Mimi is to hold her.

I'm pretty sure I am the most blessed and highly favored woman on the planet.

Actual Church Life

...when I think of the welfare and health of "the church universal" - her struggles, her flaws, her beauty, her care and tending and preservation, her value and her worth...I have had this place before me.

This one small particular represents the universal whole far more tangibly and accurately, demanding more pressing love and sacrifice and talent and commitment than any idea of the universal.

When I have considered grace, kindness, patience, betrayal or carelessness, devotion and worship, when I consider weariness, ecstatic joy, fresh babies and precious children, I have had in my mind's eye the people of this place, their faces and their words and their smiles and their pain.

I can recall the look of a hundred different daylights on all those faces, the worship postures and body languages of the men and women who have labored here, and those who do labor here to this very day - I can see them, in my mind's eye, tending their little patch of ground, because all of us know that you have to stick and stay to reap your harvest.

Harvest Church.  You have given me the great privilege of living actual, versus imagined, church life.  Your very (seeming) smallness has made you great among churches - your size forces honest connection.

I love you for that.

Post edit:  this piece is a "riff"...it is my improvisational "take"...on a paragraph from a Wendell Barry book of, believe it or not, agrarian essays.  He was writing about the countryside of his native Kentucky.  I thought of the ecclesia.  My mind is at the mercy of its associations.  Likely, no one would ever recognize the similarities...because I took Barry's thoughts on agriculture and culture and definitely re-made them into my own thoughts on the church.  But still...the inspiration was a very direct one, and I meant to say so!   (And no...no one called this to my attention.  I am self-editing, here.  I meant to give credit where credit was due, and simply forgot.)

True W.E.L.L.-Being (A Video Weblog Series)

Oh dear.  I look angry.  I promise, I'm not...

New Design - Might Already Be Sold

...a leather cuff watch...upcycled watch face...hand stained and hand stamped with 1/8 inch metal stamp lettering...trimmed in a brown dotted "torn" fabric, for a great vintage look...

...a side perspective...

...the hand stamping, worn at the wrist.  All you have to do is turn your wrist ever so slightly, and you'll get the message...

...that you are LOVED.

This is the only one like it I've made, so far.  Each watch will be a little different, since each one is hand made and hand stained, and each watch face, and the fabric choices will be different.

This one may have already sold, (post-edit...it in fact did sell...) before I can even get it in the shop.  I'll let you know!

Another Huge-To-Me Beta Launch {My First W.E.L.L. Being Video Weblog}

I'm so Beta, I stare at my own bad self.  And it ain't pretty, what I see.

All I can say to the Lord is, "Allright, already!  I did it!"

All I can say to you is, "Here!  Here you go!"

...and then picture me running out of the room.  It is hard to be brave.  Please be kind.

And The Winner Is...

I wrote down every person who commented - and wrote them down again if they tweeted or Facebooked about Sheila Atchley Designs...

...and the winner is...

Rays of Sunshine!

Please email your mailing address to me privately, and I will get your bag and cuff out to you right away!

Thank you, EVERYONE, for tweeting and Facebooking, thank you for supporting me and for having fun with this.  I want to do more (and better) giveaways in the future - sometimes in collaboration with other businesswomen and artists and shop owners - sometimes a bag or painting of my own.  So "if at first you don't succeed, try, try again."

And don't forget that my leather cuffs are available in my shop...and soon I'll have a few one-of-a-kind bags available there, too.

Now Offering Prints (on select originals) - and Beta Giveaway Reminder!

For the first time, I am offering prints of select originals...please stay tuned as to which ones!

But to get started, here is a brand new original I've entitled "Beautiful Moments" ~

This is a 10x10 mixed media board canvas, rendered in acrylics, ink, oil pastel, and charcoal, on a ~gorgeous~ background of vintage papers.  The watermark is only there in the photos, and obviously is not on the canvas.  One of the vintage papers I used, is a genuine circa 1940's letter that dropped out of an old art book I bought at the antique store. I am so excited about that letter, love how it peeks through the paint, and so thrilled to use it - the original letter - in this painting!  There are also other antique book pages and vintage papers.  The quote says, "...in a woman's life, as in any work of art, it is the moments that are beautiful...".

(Original quote - I retain rights on all art.)

close-up of a partial watch - alluding to those "Beautiful Moments" of which a woman's life is made...

 ...right hand side of painting...

another perspective...

I am so blessed and excited to get to offer PRINTS of this "Beautiful Moments" original.  Of course, the original will also be available in my shop as well.  And again, stay tuned as to which originals (among the few I have left - I need to get busy painting more) will be offered as prints.  

Don't forget to read about my Beta Launch Giveaway here, and leave a comment to be entered to win the bag and cuff...and if you tweet and/or Facebook about Sheila Atchley Designs, come back and leave me another comment - you'll be entered twice!  This is your last day to enter...because...

...DRAWING IS TOMORROW!

Final Numbers Are In...

...and after all scholarships and a grant, after doing all we can do, we are still several thousand short of needed funds for the first year of college.  How will it happen?  What will God do?  I have no idea.  But I trust Him.

Please agree with me in prayer that God would make a way where there seems to be no way.

Pray with me that I sell lots of art.

This Gospel of Grace

...available in my shop...

This gospel of grace is so not new.  I remember how that some, upon hearing The Preacher preach on the doctrines of grace with the same emphasis as Paul the Apostle preached them (mostly reading the epistles from the pulpit!)...they actually thought he was preaching something out-of-balance and newish.

It was so sad to me, but I was not surprised or upset.  Most, in this generation of Churchianity, have heard little Biblical, New Testament Gospel.  Truly, it is the performance-based Christian who is an unwitting member of the Cult of the Contemporary.  Many a modern-day legalist thinks that just because a dead guy is a dead guy, that makes him a "classic", and his writing a more legitimate source of food for the soul.

Back up, and learn your church history.  Or read Paul's writings instead of Finney or Wesley or even Owen or Chambers, or some rabbi born in 1962.  I know, right?  Novel idea. 

Just as, in Scripture, grace preceded the law (and later superceded it), so it is also in eras and streams of thought in the Christian faith A.D.  The doctrines of grace are foundational, they have always preceded a spiritual awakening; and excellent treatises on the Finished Work of Christ pre-date the writings of many a  dead moralist.

But in direct contrast to what I just said, I am going to share my latest "underlined bit"...from the writings of Charles Spurgeon.  Even though he joins the ranks of the Dead Guys, he was no moralist.  He was unimpressed with any man obsessed with his own sanctification and self improvement.  Spurgeon was Gospel obsessed...

...but he, though long since dead, is perilously close to being a contemporary source. Still, his sources streamed from far more original founts - the Pauline epistles and the writings of the early church fathers.

For your epic enjoyment:

"He hath commanded his covenant forever." 


 The Lord's people delight in the covenant itself. It is an unfailing source of consolation to them so often as the Holy Spirit leads them into its banqueting house and waves its banner of love. They delight to contemplate the antiquity of that covenant, remembering that before the day-star knew its place, or planets ran their round, the interests of the saints were made secure in Christ Jesus. 




It is peculiarly pleasing to them to remember the sureness of the covenant, while meditating upon "the sure mercies of David." They delight to celebrate it as "signed, and sealed, and ratified, in all things ordered well." It often makes their hearts dilate with joy to think of its immutability, as a covenant which neither time nor eternity, life nor death, shall ever be able to violate--a covenant as old as eternity and as everlasting as the Rock of ages. 




They rejoice also to feast upon the fulness of this covenant, for they see in it all things provided for them. God is their portion, Christ their companion, the Spirit their Comforter, earth their lodge, and heaven their home. They see in it an inheritance reserved and entailed to every soul possessing an interest in its ancient and eternal deed of gift. Their eyes sparkled when they saw it as a treasure-trove in the Bible; but oh! how their souls were gladdened when they saw in the last will and testament of their divine kinsman, that it was bequeathed to them! 




More especially it is the pleasure of God's people to contemplate the graciousness of this covenant. They see that the law was made void because it was a covenant of works and depended upon merit, but this they perceive to be enduring because grace is the basis, grace the condition, grace the strain, grace the bulwark, grace the foundation, grace the topstone. The covenant is a treasury of wealth, a granary of food, a fountain of life, a store-house of salvation, a charter of peace, and a haven of joy.

A Little Slice of Americana...

...East Tennessee style!  I shot this at a music store, a few miles from my house, and this music store has been around for generations.  It is iconic in my area.  If you ever come visit me, I will cook you the best BBQ you ever tasted, and take you to see the Bull on the Roof.  (And the amazing vintage guitars, banjos, mandolins, and on and on...)

Oh, and don't forget my Beta Launch Giveaway!

(the bag and cuff I'll be giving away this Friday!)

Leave me a comment here.  If you tweet or Facebook about it, please come back and leave another comment - you'll be entered twice!

Thanks to all who've entered so far.  You are helping me get started in what has so far been a hilariously happy (and brand new) art career, and a right fine season of life!