A New Chapter is Here!

I stumbled upon a website a few weeks ago as a result of a powerful testimony I read. 
(Read that here) from Emily at Chatting At the Sky.  A brave question and answer moment about Emily's decision to travel to the Philippines with Compassion International as one of a few talented bloggers that will be writing about the trip.

Well.  At the end of this article were these words:
And if you’re inspired to take a couple steps outside your comfort zone into the action, we’ll start registration this weekend for the next session of the Maximize Your Mornings Challenge. Stay tuned.

Hmm.  A challenge.  I don't need another challenge in my life.  But this one leads me right to God's feet.  I need that.  Every morning!  With accountability?  I really need that.  I know it won't be easy.  We are getting ready for summer break here with my one school aged child and a teacher husband.  But I am committed!

Here's the most exciting part for me.  I began this journey last week.  Monday-check.  Tuesday-check.  Tuesday afternoon-internet out.  Caput.  Gone.  We just finished the final repairs and are back online today.  I see that as a perfect confirmation that this challenge is for me!  The devil tried to discourage and distract with the computer, colds, and commitments other than this challenge.  I persevered.  If the devil is after it, it's got God's plan all over it!

I'm meeting new ladies from all over the world on FB and Twitter that are commited to this as well.  Their encouragement is awesome.  So many different situations and so many strong women coming together to draw closer to Christ.  I'm honored to be a part of that!

Inspired to Action is overwhelming me with support for this Maximize Your Mornings challenge, too.  So blessed to have found this wonderful blog!  God continues to make Himself real to me.  Intentionally making myself available to Him.  Praise God!

Yard Sale tray

Little girl and I found this tray on our "Girls with Girls" date a couple weekends ago.

It needed some love and was screaming for sandpaper and a facelift!

Hubby thought I'd bought a drawer.  Must have been the handles.

These handles had seen better days.  And they weren't really speaking to me.  So...

I took a good look at the screws and went for my favorite screwdriver:  Philipe

And made quick work of the handles.

This is also a good shot of the questionable black stuff under the screws on this side.  Probably some moisture had gotten into that crack at some point.  Didn't bother me, since I plan to use this for drinks and it's gonna get messy.  BUT-I brought some tough grit to get most of that gone if I could.

This is a small tray, so I just folded over a sheet of sandpaper and sanded by hand.  There was also a shiney finish to it, so I chose medium to get that off quickly.  Or because I'm lazy and the medium made the sanding go a lot faster.

Once sanded, I hit it with a base layer of spray paint.

But it seemed too light to me, so I grabbed another can I had and layered it on.  (I think it was Krylon Pebble).  The real fun began when I started shopping for the new handles.  I hit a few different favorite stores before settling on these.  They didn't come with screws, so I then hit up my dad's awesome stash and found four that worked and four nuts to hold them on.  Daddy helped me saw off the extra length on the screws, and this was where I learned that metal work is not for me.  (Can you say sparks on my arms and legs?  Yeah, done.)  Then I touched up the inside where it had gotten scored a little from sawing off the screws.

And here she is!

The perfect start to my day is a peaceful cup of coffee and some time uninterrupted with the Lord.  I love it when that actually happens, too!

 

I left the extra hole in the top open for future ribbons, string, or cute "accessorization."

I am digging the tray on the deck, too.  Every southern gal needs a way to get her refreshing sweet tea outside. 

And there's no better friend to sweet tea than Banana Cake with Quick Caramel Frosting, right?

 

 

Occasionally there's a little girl lurking around the freshly cut cake slice, too...

 

It didn't last long!

A small project that is already bringing a lot of pleasure to our family!