Dorm Room Haul Part I

One of the most wonderful times in a parent and child's life is when your child is ready to leave the nest.  It is especially encouraging when your child's mentors, Bible study leaders, close friends come to you and say, "You've done a good job. S/he is ready." For us, that day has come. Our daughter moved into her college dorm earlier this week and starts her classes on Monday. 😊

For an 18/19 year old young lady who is getting ready to go off to college, one of the most important things in her life is shopping and collecting decor for her dorm room. And I have to admit, it is a lot of fun for mama as well. Here is a video down below of her dorm room haul. It is much longer than most of my videos. I will be following it up with a Part II sometime next week.

In the interest of Full Disclosure I need to say that at this time I am not sponsored by any of the company's or manufacturers mentioned in the above video or listed below. Everything featured was purchased. I am affiliated in the roll of a Customer and an Independent Marketing Executive with the Wellness Company that I purchased the cleaning products from.

To find out more about the about the cleaning products and the wellness company I am affiliated with go to
Link to Missy's Wellness Products or email me directly by clicking the envelope in the top of the sidebar to your right.

Coordinated Dorm Room Set:  www.roomify.com
Vacuum Cleaner:  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06X1G4KTW/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Lap Desk: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005DIQDI2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_9lZCzbSMEH7TC
Sorbus Organizer:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005DIQDI2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_9lZCzbSMEH7TC
Teal Tapestry: Urban Outfitters https://www.urbanoutfitters.com/shop/maina-medallion-tapestry
(The teal is no longer available.)


If you have a question about any of the other items in this video, feel free to ask in the comment section below.

Next video will be Part II! So stay tuned!

His Grace is Sufficient

"For Power is Perfected in Weakness"

I love these verses. Currently my Precept (Precept Ministries) Bible Study class is on break. What I will often do between courses is a quick devotional read or go to www.biblestudytools.com read and use their material for my quite time with the Lord. When I went to Bible Study Tools today, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 was listed as the verse of the day.

The Apostle Paul writes often of his weakness(es). He never identifies the weakness(es), but referred to a "thorn in his side". Many scholars and theologians believe it had to do with his eyesight or maybe his frustration with his eyesight, but I beg to differ. I believe it was some sort of sin or a sinful desire that was within him. Like the rest of us, he was not immune to sin. And I am sure that the enemy had temptation set up around every corner waiting for the Apostle Paul to take the bait.

We all have that little secret desire that we struggle with. For some it might be the "little white lie". For others it is "not loving our neighbor". Hey folks! That means not loving someone for no other reason than their skin is a different color or they are from a different country. Now, what about "gluttony"? And it comes in all forms. Food, alcohol, money, power, and that list can go on and on. Gluttony is just another word for "greed" & "covetousness". "Attitude", now that seems like a little thing, but it can effect, good or bad, groups, families, churches. A bad attitude is like a poison and can have an effect that will last for generations!

Now let's talk about "big" sins.... (Or are they? More about that further down in this paragraph.) Murder, adultery, stealing, what about homosexuality? fornication? abortion? even borrowing without asking? Sin is sin. Some try to re-write scripture, discredit scripture, discount scripture, re-interpret scripture to suit their way. Still does not change what God said. And what is more? God sees all sin as the same. I know, we in our both conservative and liberal Christian ideology tend to want to categorize sin, as in this one over here is worse than the that one over there. I am here to tell you that on judgement day, when we stand before God, all of our sin will be equal. And did we hand that sin over to God? Did we allow the Holy Spirit to convict us of that sin, confess it, be cleansed of it and allow God to be glorified in our weakness? Or did we deny the Holy Spirit?

Again, we do not know what the Apostle Paul's weakness was, whether it was a physical weakness or a sinful desire, but we do know that he gave it over to God. Paul gladly boast of his "weakness so that the power of Christ might dwell in me". WOW! There is a man at our church, who proclaimed this to me the first time I met him 12 years ago. We shook hands and the next thing he told me is how he is a drug addict and how God delivered him from that darkness. To this day, he is faithful. You can see him walking with Christ daily! Oh to be so bold and open to profess God's graciousness!

"Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses,  with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong." (vs 10) And that strength coming only from the Lord. I have to confess, when the man I spoke of in the previous paragraph told me he was a drug addict, I was a little taken aback. I wasn't going to insult him, persecute him, cause difficulties or distress, but I wonder how others may have addressed him? Old friends he has shared Christ with, other Christians who like me, were taken aback and perhaps didn't want to associate with him. This young man told me that it was a daily struggle and he could get through it only by Christ alone.

Paul was a Jew and a follower of Jesus Christ. His struggles and difficulties were real. Prior to his conversion, he had a good life. He left all that behind to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The letters he wrote to the churches, most of which he started, offer words of encouragement, just as the words in the above (and below) are to encourage us.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

          9. And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness". Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
         10. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

Let this be an encouragement to you. Whatever you struggle with, know this: God's grace as being sufficient. Allow Him to be glorified in our weakness. His strength will see you through, just as it did for the Apostle Paul.

God's Word, one of those daily "Big"

...Things in Life,
Hugs, 
Missy

Re-potting House Plants

I am currently attempting to move through a "punch list". That is "a list of things to do". And mine grows every day!!! One thing I have been wanting to do is re-pot many of my plants, both my house plants and plants that I set outside. Many of which, are in the original pots they were in when they were purchased or given to me. I love gardening and having plants all around. And as long as they get attention from me, I have much success with them. While fall is usually the best time to do this, I decided that mid August is probably close enough. 😏 

I have also been collecting new pots. I like to go to places like TJMaxx & Ross to find pots because they usually have a beautiful selection of good quality pots and wonderful prices. One thing that you need to keep in mind when you go to either store is, if you see it, like it, you need to get it. You can always take it back if you it does not work for you, but chances are, it will not be there if you decide to think about it and come back to purchase later. 

And you will see an example of that below.

Beautiful Blue & White Pot Purchased at Ross

I found these beautiful blue & white pots at Ross. I should explain that I am sandwiched between 2 Ross stores. And I tend to go to both of them on the same day. At the first store, I see this pot and love it, and decided to "think about it". Went to the 2nd store, see that same pot in 2 sizes, decided to get one in each size. When I get home, I put them on the deck and set my poinsettias from last Christmas in them and decided to "think about it". That evening or next morning (can't remember) I decided that I wanted two in the same size. Rushed back to 1st store, sold out. Will not be getting anymore in. Rush to the 2nd store... yep, you guessed it, sold out! The smaller one was $7.99 and the larger one was either $9.99 or $12.99, can't remember. But definitely a BARGAIN!

I expect that the plant in the larger pot will grow into it

I did look at other stores, online, etc and never found these exact pots, but similar ones were going for $39.99 and up. Again, when you see something at these designer discount stores, and you think you might want it, go ahead and get it. You can always take it back, and I do that all the time. 😄

By the way, check out the poinsettias! Don't they look nice? They are left over from this past Christmas. I had to go to Home Depot the day after Thanksgiving and they had rolling shelves loaded down with beautiful poinsettias for .99 each. Yes, .99! 

.99 Christmas Poinsettias from Home Depot

They also had Christmas Cactus and small succulent gardens for a good price as well. The above photo was taken with my cell phone in.... February! I was using them for Valentines decor. I have never kept poinsettias alive that long, and was very proud that these not only seemed to be thriving, but were only .99 each!!! (I cannot say that enough!) By early April, they did not look this good. And I knew very little about poinsettias. I had set them on in the shade on the deck in order to get them out of the house until I decided what to do with them. One had gotten puny and I threw it away. The other four began to "come back to life" in their new spot! All lush green and beautiful. A friend, who recently moved back here from Jacksonville, FL was visiting and I showed them to her. She told me that they are hardy outdoors in that part of Florida and will grow as big as a house when planted in the ground. She said by Christmas, they start blooming and the to leaves are bright red. I asked her if she would like to take two of them home and put her green thumb to work and she accepted the challenge. I kept the two that are left and am tickled at how well they have turned out.

My last Christmas cactus was left outside (we are in the deep south, central Alabama, and we see very little cold here. Sometimes we will get a light frost in October, but often it is not until the end of November that we even get chilly.) until around Thanksgiving and it was full of beautiful blooms. So that is my plan with the poinsettias. Meanwhile, they seem to love being outdoors in bright shade. 

See how lush and green this plant has become. The pot is about a foot in diameter. When the leaves start turning red and it begins to bloom, it will be an amazing display in this pot.

I think that this poinsettia will look gorgeous in this blue & white pot when the leaves turn red.  I plan to display it on my hearth. (Would have been nice to have two of these larger pots and display them on each side... but I digress.) The poinsettia in the smaller pot will be displayed in the dinning room either on the table or sideboard. 

I did pot and re-pot several other plants, such as the Christmas Cactus that I purchased at the same time as the poinsettias and the succulents. 

Christmas Cactus (Pot purchased at TJMaxx)

Christmas Cactus

Succulents (they were in two pots, but each pot had some loss, so I combined what was left into one pot)

One of the succulents that had outgrown the succulent garden pots

My carnivorous bog plant I purchased sever months ago at Lowes

 I also took this opportunity to re-pot a couple of house plants.  The one on the left I bought several years ago for $1 at Lowes.  I found it on what I call "the discounted dead plant shelf". Some TLC turned it into a beautiful house plant!

Kimberly Queen Fern

Several weeks ago I found a couple of pots for 1/2 price at Lowes and knew they would be ideal for My Kimberly Queen Ferns. I love this variety because they just thrive in shade, sun, drought and shed very little.  I may bring these inside to over winter. 

If you have any tips or tricks for poinsettias, please feel free to share. I really have not fertilized these shown here. I am not sure what to fertilize them with. I did replant in Miracle Grow. That seems to be my "go to" potting soil and I have much success with it.

Just a reminder for when you do re-pot, remember to reuse...

OR

All containers and bags! 

Container gardening,Another one of those

Little Things in Life

Hugs, 

Missy