Faith Family Friends

Celebrating the Joy of Living & Home Making ~

Baking, Cooking, Decorating, Tea Time, and taking Inspiration from those I love and the world around me...

A sharing of my heart and my home from a Christian perspective

...with a wee bit of whimsy added.

Friday, 27 August 2010

A Special Pink Saturday and Spiritual Sundays Weekend


It's a Good Thing!
Happy Weekend, bloggerettes! This weekend, both of these blog parties are all about A Miracle Makeover!


Beverly at Pink Saturday http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/my_weblog/ and our own Pink Saturday participant Sherry at Country Wings in Phoenix http://countrywingsinphoenix.blogspot.com/ are joining with
Charlotte and Ginger at Spiritual Sundays http://bloggerspirit.blogspot.com/ and Kelee at The Katillac Shack http://www.katillacshack.com/ for a very special weekend event to honour Colette, a very special lady. Please go to Kelee's blog to read this very moving story.


Kelee and her team at Guideposts Magazine http://www.facebook.com/guideposts went in and created a 'healing room' for Colette Gauthier, a cancer patient. Please go to Kelee's site to watch a very special video about how they transformed an ordinary room into a beautiful space for Colette to recover in; a room filled with beauty and peacefulness.

Thank you Kelee for giving us each a chance to give in some small way to a wonderful cause. For every comment left on Kelee's post and the others mentioned above, one dollar will be donated to help someone else receive a Miracle Makeover. There are also some wonderful Giveaways too. So please check out Kelee's blog and all the others today.

We were asked by Beverly, Charlotte, and Ginger to share a short story of inspiration, a poem, or photo which will inspire others.


This is my offering of what I pray will be an inspiration to you ~

A pink stained glass butterfly was one of the last gifts my friend Carol gifted me with.


Carol and I were best friends and she was the only best friend I ever had because when I was growing up my family moved around a lot. I moved from one province to another and from one community to another. Her family also moved around a lot. In fact, her family moved from one coast of Canada to the other. This was one factor which drew the two of us together, for we were both lonely and in search of a good friend. Well, actually it was God who drew us together! I guess you could say we were more like sisters as we had so much in common.


Carol and I were both passionate about our love for the Lord and we both adored our families. We both had three sons and we loved all the same things when it came to home decorating. We loved music, pretty clothes, and the beauty of nature. We loved walking through the woods together and enjoying fields of flowers.
Christmas was an especially wonderful time because we both shed our more mature facade for the little girl within. We loved everything about Christmas and we both decorated our homes to the hilt in celebration of our Lord's birth.

In 1987, Carol was struck with Breast cancer and she had to have a masectomy. For several years she led a fairly normal life and then tragedy struck again in 1990 when the cancer came back. We spent as much time together as possible because we didn't know how long she would be with us.

Sadly, for her family and for me, and all those who loved her, Carol lost her battle in November of 1990 and she went home to be with the Lord. Sometimes it just seems like yesterday that she left us! She is in a better place, I realize that. She is free from pain and surrounded by beauty which no one can fathom. I still miss her terribly as I never knew anyone as much like myself as she was. The good news is, I will see her again someday and we will once again skip through fields of daisies and walk through the woods enjoying God's nature.


Carol's pink butterfly adorns the window of my china cabinet. It reminds me of the beautiful lady who was my friend and just like the caterpillar once caught in its cocoon, Carol is now free and has spread her wings to enjoy a better place filled with peace and beauty.


Carol left behind a legacy of faith, grace, love and of life. She was one of the gentlest people I have ever known and she inspired me to live my life to its fullest every day.
One never knows what lies around the corner!


I am myself stricken with a form of Muscular Dystrophy but even on a bad day, I try to glean as much happiness as I can from it for there is always something to be thankful for!


We are reminded in the Bible to, " Speak to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." ~ Ephesians 5:19


To Carol and Colette, and all you beautiful and brave ladies and gentlemen who are fighting or have fought breast cancer, or indeed any kind of cancer, I salute you! You are special! You have showed us how to live graciously in the midst of the storm.

Thank you for stopping by today and thank you Kelee and Guideposts Magazine for making this weekend possible. Thanks also go out to Beverly, Charlotte, and Ginger for hosting so faithfully week after week.



God bless you and have a wonderful weekend, my friends.

Sharing from my heart~ Sandi

Monday, 23 August 2010

Tea Time Tuesday


Hello friends and welcome to Tea Time Tuesday! I'm so happy to invite you all to my 31st tea party!

Since last week's tea party, I have been blessed with over 300 followers. That's quite an honour as I never in my wildest dreams thought that many lovely folks would be interested in my little blog! One day in October of 2008, I took a deep breath and created my blog and what an adventure it has been! How lovely it has been to 'meet' all you sweet blogging friends. You're the best!

Among my sweet friends is a precious lady who has been such a blessing to me.... We are kindred spirits, she and I, as we both love the Lord, we both collect the same china, Rose Chintz, and we enjoy all things related to tea. Lorena @ Rose Chic Friends http://rosechicfriends.blogspot.com/ gifted me with a hand made tea cozy
and her special clay roses; a magnet and a lovely brooch. Are these not absolutely gorgeous?
Yes, she made these pretties herself! Believe it or not, I didn't have a tea cozy and she so graciously gifted me with this one which is perfect in my kitchen! Isn't it beautiful with its pretty toile fabric and lace? I just love it! Thank you my sweet friend!
Lorena is one of my regular tea party participants and she is having a Giveaway herself.

She has her own Esty shop too where she sells her lovely clay roses and tea cozies. Please take some time to visit her blog and enter her Giveaway today. I know she would love to hear from you!


Now, as I promised last week, I am going to have a Giveaway myself to celebrate two milestones; my 30th tea post which was last week and 300 plus followers. Further down, I will share with you one of the little gifts in my Giveaway. But first, let's have a cup of tea, shall we?



Today's tea will be a white tea. That is, tea will be served from my white teapot.
This teapot is called Cream Lace and it is a pattern by Skye McGhie. I love anything made in this pattern because it is feminine and lacey with its cutouts around the top of the pot. I also love the Fleur-de-lis adorning it.
"One sip of this will bathe the drooping spirits in delight, beyond the bliss of dreams." ~ Milton

The teacup is Queen Anne and it is made of bone china in England.

This teacup with its assortment of flowers and edged with gold trim was once a shower gift. It is a very thin china and very delicate. I like the handle on it.

"Tea- the cups that cheer but not inebriate." ~ William Cowper


The tea is from the Prince Edward Island Preserve Company and it is called Raspberry Lemon. It is a delicious blend of Ceylon black tea, essence of raspberry, lemon peel, and raspberry leaves. It oftentimes looks pink in the cup. This is the first gift in my Giveaway. The second I will share further down.

Today I am serving simple tea biscuits with some home made Strawberry apple sauce and clotted cream.

My little teacup looks pretty all dolled up with a pink rose, don't you think?
There is also some fresh fruit to enjoy.

Since I am sharing about the love of friends today, I would like to share this lovely poem with you.

Beauty of Our Friendship
Friendship is a Priceless gift that cannot be bought or sold,
But its value is far greater than a mountain made of Gold.
For gold is cold and lifeless, it can neither see nor hear
And in the time of trouble it is powerless to cheer...
It has no ears to listen nor heart to understand,
It cannot bring you comfort or reach out a helping hand
So when you ask God for a gift
Be thankful if HE sends not diamonds, pearls, or riches
But The Love of Real True Friends. ~ Helen Steiner Rice




"There is a Friend who sticks closer than a brother." ~ Proverbs 18:24

This is the second offering in my Giveaway.....a tea strainer. This too came from the Prince Edward Island Preserve Company. As with any really good tea, one should have a tea strainer on hand.
The last of my Giveaway gifts I will share in my tea post next week and I will announce the winner in my tea post of September 6th. In order to win this Giveaway, you must leave a comment on this post or next week's tea post indicating you would like to enter. Due to the high cost of mailing I am sorry to have to limit entries to my friends in Canada and the US. My sincere apologies to my friends across the pond.

Happiness is sharing tea with a friend.

I am so happy you stopped by today and I hope you will come again soon. I do love the company! If you would like to participate in Tea Time Tuesday please let me know in your comment. Just share your favourite teacup, teapot, or china used in a tea. You may also do coffee, chocolate, or iced tea. A poem, tea quote, or scripture verse would be most welcome too. Either of the two Tea Time buttons near the top of my sidebar are available for you to use in your post if you wish. Please link back to me so that your visitors may find their way here to visit my lovely participants.

Today I am also linking with the other tea party hostesses. You will find them with the asterisks ** before their links.

The participants listed below are in the order in which they first began participating.




PARTICIPANTS





Tea Cup Tuesday

Tea Pot and Tea Things Tuesday and Tuesday Tea For Two





Lady Katherine's Tea Time Tuesday


China and accompaniments used in this post:
Cream Lace teapot made of fine porcelain in China by Skye McGhie
Queen Anne teacup produced in England by Ridgway Potteries Ltd
Cream Lace spreader and jam pot by Skye McGhie is made of fine porcelain in China
Silver spoon is Oneida and was my youngest son's baby spoon
Coventry Garden dessert plate by Skye McGhie is made of fine porcelain in China
Rose Chintz creamer made by Johnson Bros and produced in England
Alicia Rose tea plate from my first set of dishes made in England
Martha Stewart lace table runner
Lace table cloth was a gift from a friend





Sharing from my heart~ Sandi