I See the Light - The Invisible Woman Part 5

I know, it's a corny title, but it's so very true. If you've been following this series, you have walked with me, learned with me, and hopefully grown with me as I've navigated these difficult paths. But like the title suggests, I've seen the light, and what a wonderful sight it is.

The Invisible Woman Part 1 was the very beginning of this journey. The tough, ugly, I'm-having-a-really-bad-time part of the journey. See, not all journeys are happy times where you're on vacation. Sometimes, these journeys are times of difficult changes. Life changing. Game changing. Porch-cleaning kind of changes. The type that you're going to rock the proverbial boat, and you really don't want to, but you know you have to.

Then, we moved to The Invisible Woman Part 2 - Two Steps Forward, Three Steps Back which is about failure during these changes. You know what you're doing is what God wants you to do, and you're trying so very hard to do what's right, but wham. You fail. Ugh. Been there. Done that.

But after much prayer and repentance, and great friends lifting me and my burdens up to the Lord, we had The Invisible Woman Part 3 - Pressing Forward  when I learned that while this is difficult, this is what is best and that God is walking with me each step of the way. And, that there were certain things I needed to do to help myself Press Forward.

I've heard people say that the darkest hour is just before dawn. When the Going Gets Even Tougher, when you're about ready to give up, to accept failure because returning to that comfort zone would be easier than going through this fiery trial, you hit your knees. You beg God to make it crystal clear what He wants you to do, and then...

We arrived at the next stop on this journey. But it's just a mile marker. It's not a stop. A reminder. I've seen God patiently guide my steps, my thoughts, and my heart, back to Him. It wasn't with a blistering firestorm. It wasn't in the middle of a tornado or some other great natural disaster, or with a great miracle, it was with gentle, loving hands He moved me. He worked in my heart and in my spirit, and the scales fell off my eyes. Because, in a still, small voice, He answered my prayers. He made it abundantly clear like I asked Him to.

I'm not invisible anymore. And I'm glad to be back.
I'm changed, yes, but for the better.
I've learned that I don't want to be so busy that I forget to worship Him.
I've learned that He loves me through my failures.
I've seen the forgiveness of others ~ unmerited and undeserved, yet freely given.
I've seen what rumors can do to a person ~ and I've learned that a wagging tongue can damage much.
I've been the brunt of maliciousness ~ and I've learned to pray for the enemies who once were friends.
I've learned that there are friends that will take my burden to the Lord and will pray for me. Those are the best friends to have and I praise God for them!
I've seen that when you do flirt with sin, expect to get burned ~ no one's fireproof.
I've clearly seen the Hand of God working in my life and bringing me to the fire, and through the fire, and I praise Him for these lessons.

When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. ~ Isaiah 43:2

We truly serve a great God.

Amanda Stephan~Christian Author

BooksByAmanda.com

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Quilts of Love KINDLE FIRE HDX Giveaway & “Christmas Bee” Facebook Party 12/10!

In honor of their new Quilts of Love releases, The Christmas Quilt and Aloha Rose, authors Vannetta Chapman and Lisa Carter are gearing up to ring in the Christmas season with a Kindle Fire HDX giveaway and a "Christmas Bee" Facebook Party on December 10th with fellow Quilts of Love author Lynette Sowell!

One winner will receive:

• A Kindle Fire HDX
• The Christmas Quilt by Vannetta Chapman
• Aloha Rose by Lisa Carter

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on November 30th. Winner will be announced at the "Christmas Bee" Facebook Party on December 10th. Connect with the authors from the Quilts of Love series, Vannetta Chapman, Lisa Carter, and Lynette Sowell, for an evening of book chat, quilt trivia, Christmas traditions and gifts, PLUS get an exclusive look at January's Quilts of Love book!

So grab your copies of The Christmas Quilt and Aloha Rose and join Vannetta, Lisa, and Lynette on the evening of December 10th for a chance to connect and make some new friends. (If you haven't read the books, don't let that stop you from coming!)

Don't miss a moment of the fun; RSVP today by clicking JOIN at the event page. Spread the word—tell your friends about the giveaway and party via FACEBOOK or TWITTER. Hope to see you on December 10th!

Win a “Bonding Spa Day” from Deb DeArmond - Related by Chance, Family by Choice!

Deb DeArmond is celebrating the release of her book, Related by Chance, Family by Choice, with a "Day of Bonding" Spa giveaway!

One winner will receive:

• A $200 SpaFinder gift card (perfect for a pampering day of bonding)
• Related by Chance, Family by Choice by Deb DeArmond (2 copies)

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on November 30th. Winner will be announced December 2nd at Deb's blog.

Don't miss a moment of the fun; enter today and be sure to stop by Deb's blog on December 2nd to see if you won.

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Catie’s Secret Kindle Fire Kid Pack Giveaway from Laura Nonemaker

Catie’s Secret is the second book in Laura Allen Nonemaker’s children’s series, God’s Secret Garden Adventures. Laura is celebrating Catie's Secret with a Kindle Fire Kid Pack giveaway!

One winner will receive:

• A Kindle Fire
• Butterfly Pavilion Hatching Kit
• Butterfly Pattern Carryall Bag
• Butterfly Suncatcher Kit
• Benny's Angel T-Shirt (small)
• Catie's Secret and Benny's Angel with free E-Live audio downloads by Laura Nonemaker

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on November 23rd. Winner will be announced November 25th at Laura's blog.

Don't miss a moment of the fun; enter today and be sure to stop by Laura's blog on the 25th to see if you won.

When the Going Gets Even Tougher - The Invisible Woman part 4

No one ever said life was easy. If they did, I'm here to say they were wrong.

Unfortunately, I've found that quite a bit of my own difficulties are because of not being where I need to be Spiritually.

• Not putting aside the time to pray like I should.
• Not putting aside the time to be in the Word like I should.
• Not being careful what I allow into my mind and heart like I should.
• And sometimes, it takes longer than it should to figure these things out, and when I do finally figure them out, I have to start preparing for the battle that is ahead of me.

How do you fight a spiritual battle? How do you prepare for a war you cannot see? An enemy that is far stronger than you? How do you fight a battle that becomes so terribly strong that all you can do is hold on?

Are you facing a difficult time in your Spiritual life? Are you under attack from the enemy? Is he trying to tear your testimony to shreds and take you to a place you feel you'll never recover from?

There are steps you can take right now that will help take you through each difficulty.

1. Surround yourself with prayer warriors. God admonishes His people to bear one another's burdens. It's up to you to ask. I would suggest you find at least one person that you can trust not to be a gossiping Mimi, and lay it all out on the line. Pray for guidance in this area. You don't want to find that all the problems you told your friend is being passed along in the Rumor Mill. If you're not sure if you know them well enough to lay it all on the line, ask them to promise to pray for you. 
2. Gather around friends that will hold you accountable for your actions. We're only human, and being human, we fail. We may have the best intentions, but we still fail. Find someone that will counsel you with Godly wisdom during those times and will encourage you to repent, get up, and try again.
3. Gather friends that promise to pray and quote Scriptures to you. When you feel terrible, hopeless, or worthless, there's nothing better than hearing how much God really does love you. Do you have a friend that will read those passages to you? No? Then find a little book that has God's Promises and read through those. Here's ISBN numbers of two little books I use. 9781583754764 and 0937347000 - Both are available on Amazon.
4. Find some Christ honoring music to listen to. I'm walking testimony that music does affect attitude. Be careful what you listen to at these times. Well. All the time! :) Need some help? I found these songs to be pretty awesome when I'm down. (Is Anything Too Hard for God, The Promise, and Stand Still are some of my all-time favorites.) 
5. Download and listen to some free AudioBible mp3's.  I have a weekly AudioBible reading on my other blog that runs every Sunday. You can download them for free.
6. Print out and lay Scripture verses around the house. This may seem simple, but it's good practice to get into. During trials, when you're weak and willing to run back into that secret sin that still tempts you and calls out to you, if you have these laying about, it just may catch your eye and remind you why you want to leave that sin alone. Try it. It works.
7. Promise to read a daily Scripture. I know. You're busy. We all are. But it doesn't really take that much time to read a chapter of the Bible every day. During breakfast or right after you get out of bed. Read a Proverb. You'll be surprised how much cleaner and refreshed you feel when you start your day like that.
8. Find an emergency friend you can call or text when you're tempted to run back to that secret sin. Oooh the tempter has been very good at his job since the beginning of time, and no. He's not going to let you go without a fight. Find a friend that you can text and cry out to when the temptation to return to sin is strong.
9. A private place where you can go to pray during those extremely difficult times. No one needs to know that your heart is breaking. If you're anything like me, I wanted to run back to that secret sin a million times a day. But if I were to text my friends or prayer warriors EVERY time I felt down and out, um, I would have driven them away before one day was through. Remember. They're human too, with very human, busy lives, with their own set of complicated problems. And this is where your prayer closet comes in. Find a secret place that only you go to when you need a moment of special recovery prayer. When your heart is hurting because you want that oh so badly, run to your prayer closet, shut the door, and pour your heart out to God. He's waiting for you. He's waiting to give you the peace that passes all understanding. Don't be stubborn. Run to Him and Just. Ask.   

Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. - James 4:8

Amanda Stephan~Christian Author

BooksByAmanda.com

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Shannon Ethridge’s TO KNOW YOU giveaway and Facebook Party

Shannon Ethridge is celebrating the release of  To Know You (co-written by Kathryn Mackel), by giving away a $100 gift certificate to Lisa Leonard Designs and a personal coaching session, as well as throwing a Facebook Author Chat Party!

One winner will receive:

• A $100 gift certificate to Lisa Leonard Designs
• To Know You by Shannon Ethridge

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on November 19th. Winner will be announced at the "To Know You" Facebook Author Chat Party on the 19th. Connect with Shannon and friends for an encouraging evening of fun chat, book club discussion, giveaways, and a chance to win a PERSONAL COACHING SESSION WITH SHANNON!

So grab your copy of To Know You and join Shannon on the evening of November 19th for a chance to connect and make some new friends. (If you haven't read the book, don't let that stop you from coming!)

Don't miss a moment of the fun; RSVP today by clicking JOIN at the event page. Spread the word — tell your friends about the giveaway and party via FACEBOOK or TWITTER or Pinterest and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on 11/19!

Dear Mr. Knightley - Book Review & Tour

About the book: 

Samantha Moore has always hidden behind the words of others-namely her favorite characters in literature. Now, she will learn to write her own story-by giving that story to a complete stranger.

Growing up orphaned and alone, Sam found her best friends in the works of Austen, Dickens, and the Brontë sisters. The problem is that she now relates to others more comfortably as Elizabeth Bennet and Jane Eyre than as herself.

Sometimes we lose ourselves in the things we care about most.
But life for this twenty-three-year-old is about to get stranger than fiction, when an anonymous benefactor (calling himself "Mr. Knightley") offers to put Sam through the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. There is only one catch: Sam must write frequent letters to the mysterious donor, detailing her progress.

As Sam's program and peers force her to confront her past, she finds safety in her increasingly personal letters to Mr. Knightley. And when Sam meets eligible, best-selling novelist Alex Powell, those letters unfold a story of love and literature that feels as if it's pulled from her favorite books. But when secrets come to light, Sam is --- once again --- made painfully aware of how easily trust can be broken.

Reay's debut novel follows one young woman's journey as she sheds her protective persona and embraces the person she was meant to become.

Purchase a copy: http://ow.ly/qDEkp

Meet the author: Katherine Reay has enjoyed a life-long affair with the works of Jane Austen and her contemporaries. After earning degrees in history and marketing from Northwestern University, she worked as a marketer for Proctor & Gamble and Sears before returning to school to earn her MTS. Her works have been published in "Focus on the Family" and the "Upper Room." Katherine currently lives with her husband and three children in Seattle. "Dear Mr. Knightley" is her first novel.

Learn more about Katherine at: http://katherinereay.com/

Follow the Tour!

My Thoughts:

I read books that I know I'm going to enjoy and rarely do I step out of my comfort zone and take a chance on one. I simply don't have the time to waste on a book I'm not sold on right away. I'm glad I did on this. Sam is one of the deepest characters I've read in a very, very long time. Ms. Reay took her time and wrote with deep detail without having information dumping problems or gaps in the plot. While I could guess at a couple things in the story, instead of detracting, it added appeal and I absolutely enjoyed this book.  

I had to check several times to make sure it was a debut novel. Ms. Reay writes with raw emotion as if she personally knows her main character. So in tune with Sam, it's easy for the reader to connect with Sam and see life through her eyes.

Sam is chasing a dream. Her dream of a normal life. But not being able to connect with others creates a deep schism and she comes to realize her true goal is just to matter to someone else. Being emotionally abused and traumatized as a child, she must come to grips with the gritty reality that life isn't easy and people are going to hurt one another; but love and friendship is important enough to take a chance on.

No one is an island. No matter how much they think they want to be one.

This one has made it to my favorites shelf! ;)

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Why I Will NEVER Buy Another Husqvarna Sewing Machine

**This is posted as a review on the Husqvarna Viking Topaz 30 Embroidering/Sewing Machine. These thoughts are from my vast experiences with the worst sewing machine I've ever used. Consider yourself warned.**

We bought this machine as soon as it came out. Yes. We were led astray by the name and once superior quality of Husqvarna. We have learned from our mistakes. Since purchase we've had nothing but trouble.
Here are a few of the issues we've had: 

- The thread hops out of the rocker arm. Their response? Buy Sulky thread. (Excuse me, but we just paid $3500.00 for this machine and you're telling me it won't use other brands of embroidery thread? Gee, why weren't we told that before we wasted our hard-earned money?)

- The machine won't run designs previously stitched. The only thing I can think of to blame this part on, is Gremlins.

- The embroidery unit makes one of most awful sounds ever. (Our son says it sounds like a machine gun.) Their response? Make sure it's on a level surface and adjust the legs of the unit. No paper should be able to pass under the legs. My response? Been there. Done that. Nothing could squeeze between the large, spacious desk it's sitting on and the legs of the machine. Yet, the machine gun still goes off every time it's connected. 

- The machine completely stops with main machine overloads with easy, simple stitching. And yes, this has happened even while NOT doing embroidery. It is scary how often this goes on.

- I've tried to run out a design from a reputable embroidery site that I've purchased from before. The machine calibrates, (machine gun goes off) I add the hoop, and press start to run the design...all it does is beep. I pick a new design, same thing. Repeat these steps four more times to get the full effect of the lunacy I'm having to endure. I call the place where we bought it. Their response? Let us look at it. If we can't fix it, we'll send it out. I said, you can't fix it. She said: Maybe it'll work once it's up here. What?! If we paid $3500.00 for a machine, that thing better work *awesome* EVERY time I turn it on and want to use it!

- Today, I made the mistake of thinking I could use my machine and finish the dress I was making. I thought my machine was reliable enough to run a straight stitch. No such luck. But, it did have a main machine overload, leave a gigantic bird's nest under the fabric, and a pretty awesome HOLE in the shoulder of my new dress. I've always wanted to wear a one-sleeved dress. NOT.

*As of this posting, 11-16-13, I just got off the phone with the dealer again, and here are my options: 
 - pay to have it serviced (which I will do and have no trouble or issues with.)
 - trade up for the Topaz 50 @ $4399 or the Designer Diamond @ a whopping $10,999 (both these prices are without the trade in value for my little piece of Hades.)

OH GOODY! SIGN ME UP QUICK, right?! Look. I may have been born at night, but it wasn't last night. Not. Happening.

A few weeks after purchase told me what a horrible mistake we'd made. My husband bought me the machine as an early Christmas present, and I had no desire to tell him it was a lemon. Yet I did. Their response? Let us send it out. Maybe it just needs a cleaning. It came back in the same irritating condition. Hubby and I took it back. We asked for a swap because there is something seriously wrong with this machine. Their response? Let us send it out again and have it looked at. It returns and nothing is fixed. 

In conclusion, this sewing machine is Satan's toy and their customer service will send you to the looney-bin. 

Now, after the warranty is up, after they've 'fixed' it repeatedly, or at least said they did, (it always returns in the same condition. Yeah. Thanks for fixing it. By the way, did you know gas is almost $4 a gallon and I have to drive at least 35 miles to get to the dealer? Yeah. Thanks for that too, you horrible horrible person.) I am stuck with this pile of doggy-doo that isn't worth the headaches it has given us. I'm stuck with this. I would not even feel right selling this machine on Craigslist because I'd be afraid the buyer would hunt me down and beat me to death after they've tried to use it.

What do I want from this post?
My dream come true would be for Husqvarna to buy this garbage back. Will it happen? Absolutely not. So, this is what I'm planning to do ~ 

1. I will post my negative experiences with their product on *every* website I own or guest post at.
2. I will post my sordid story in the multiple online magazines I'm a contributor to
3. I will tweet my experiences with husqvarna and their lack of quality and customer service
4. I will leave negative reviews on *absolutely every* sewing forum I'm a member of
5. I will write the Husqvarna designer topaz 30 into my next novel series as being of low quality and not stood behind where the heroine runs it over repeatedly with a Mack truck. While laughing like a lunatic.
6. I will post to my Facebook walls (walls, as I have several. One personal, one as business, and one as my author fan page)
7. I *may* write a Kindle single on the series of unfortunate events that have occurred after our purchase of this Gremlin infested, low quality, highly over-priced piece of workmanship. 

**September 2014 update:
I was so disappointed. I was having trouble with my machine again so I took it to the shop. My plan was to have it serviced to the hilt, cleaned, etc, and then sell it on Craigslist. Yes. I was prepared to take a killing on this machine. There were so many different reasons why, and if you read this post, you know many of them. 

I took this in before Christmas and really wasn't in a hurry to get it back. They asked what was wrong with it, and, trying to control my tongue and not be a jerk, I just sighed and said it has been giving me trouble since the day I got it. Their reaction? Rudeness. Nastiness. They acted like I was an idiot. Their favorite question? If you've been having trouble with this, why haven't you brought it in before now?

Oh. No you didn't just go there. End of my trying to be polite. Their ugly attitude brought it on themselves, and suffice it to say, they shut up, wrote the ticket up, checked their records to see how many times I've had it in the shop, (weird fact here. All records were lost. Hmm. Interesting coincidence or conspiracy? I go for the conspiracy. And when they told me they had no records, I, rather smugly, told them that I kept meticulous records of how often it had been in the shop, and would they like me to bring them in when I picked it up? They declined. Uh huh. Yeah. I thought so...) they sent it off to be tampered with. Again.

Well, after a long, long, long delay in using this machine - I simply didn't think I wanted a headache, nor did I think I could heft it over the windowsill and throw it with any force - I used it last night. It worked like a charm. No issues whatsoever. No bunching, no thread jumping, no machine overload, no stopping, nothing. It. Ran. Perfect.

Gee, so all I had to do was own it for years, complain every single time I took it back, be treated like garbage, have the workers act like they hate dealing with customers, have the workers act like they're God's closest relative and I'm the biggest idiot they've ever dealt with, and finally, finally, have it fixed. But I have only used it once since I got it back. Maybe I shouldn't hold my breath yet. 

Pressing Forward - The Invisible Woman Part 3

I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 3:14

Sometimes we have to do difficult things. And we don't realize just how difficult they are until we are right in the middle of them.

Imagine. 
You've started on a journey to get back on track. To fall back in love with your God and Saviour, to put Him first in your life, and in doing that, you find that you have to take a step away from things that have garnered your attention. Not bad things. Just things that keep you busy all the time. 

Too busy.
So busy, that you forgot what was important, and that's when Satan upped the ante. You were serving the Lord. You were doing all you could, but something started lacking and you didn't realize it, until you were backslidden and you found yourself serving because it was expected of you. 

Not because you loved it anymore.
Not because it was a blessing to someone else anymore.
Because you felt obligated to do so. 

Maybe it was then you realized you had a problem. Or worse, maybe that's when Satan capitalized on your weakness and brought along some new distractions. Something that looked innocent enough, maybe was even fun in the beginning, but in the end, had the potential to tear you and your family apart.

It happens. I know this beyond a shadow of a doubt. 
I've been there. 

I'm in that hard part right now.
The part where I'm faced with walking forward, or turning around and running back to my comfort zone because it's easier than the unknown that faces me.The unknown that scares me. 
The part where I have to figure out if this is God leading me, or am I allowing my emotions dictate these scary steps I'm taking.

How to figure that out? How to decide if this is the right path, if this is the path that in the end will draw me closer to God, my family closer to Him, and where I can come back to serving Him with passion and vitality?

Pray. Get in His Word.
I have to pray that He will continue to lead me each baby step of the way. 
To pray that He will fight this battle for me, because I am weak and I know I'll falter.
To pray that He will be glorified in and through my life.
To pray that He will not give up on me even when I fail. 
That He will anoint me with His Spirit again.
That I will feel His presence and guidance; the Peace that only He can provide.

With His strength, I must keep pressing forward; through the fog, through the scary unknown, through the weeds of despair and discouragement. 

Amanda Stephan~Christian Author

BooksByAmanda.com

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Amanda's Do It Yourself Penny Backsplash Adventure

I had this crazy idea that I could do it myself. Without help.

I made up my mind that I would, so I did the only thing any self-respecting frugal housewife could do. I procrastinated. 
Until I couldn't take it any more. So I got up early one morning, rolled up my sleeves, and got busy.

I was time for a penny backsplash.
Now, if you know anything about me, this is how I operate. I see something I like, I research and research, talk to professionals, research some more, gather my materials, procrastinate because someone said it was going to be ugly, or that it was going to entail a ton of work with scary things like mastic, cementboard, etc, basically everything I know zilch about, I try to talk myself out of it, and then, when it's clear I'm not listening to myself anyway, I get to work.

Here's what I did.

I found this delightful tile mat stuff that sticks on your wall called Bondera - Thank you, Mr. Lowes man who endured all my weird questions and pointed me in this direction. You are *awesome!*

I measured and marked where I wanted the line of pennies to start and end to protect the wall behind the stove, and affixed the measured and cut Bondera inside the lines. *Note: Use old scissors. Not your sewing scissors. Unless you want a new pair for Christmas, then by all means, use 'em! ;) Don't say I didn't warn you. I'm still plucking goo off them. Ugh.

I had lofty plans of doing an artsy type of design with darker and lighter pennies, but I was so enthralled by how they looked, (a.k.a., it was four a.m., and I was lazy. Or tired. You choose.) I just stuck them on. After I had finished with the third vertical row, the OCD part of my brain kicked in, and I thought, 'Hey, wouldn't it have been cool if one row was all heads, the next all tails, and then repeat the pattern?' Yes. I did. I went back through the first three rows and swapped out the offending, incorrectly adhered pennies, and turned them the correct way. My fingernails still haven't grown back. Word to the wise? Next time, decide if you want a recurring pattern first, then adhere the pennies. Or perform a lobotomy. Whichever you prefer.

See the pic? This is when I'm starting to get very excited. I found that the more coffee I consumed, the pennies went on faster. I think I had a total of two and a half pots that morning. All before eight. Yeah. School was a blast. hehe

One thing I noticed during this time, though, is I seemed to be getting a little off on my vertical lines. This will send my OCD brain into fits, or the looney-bin, so I came up with my own plumb-line. Praise the good Lord for t-pins and crochet string! I just pushed the pin at the top of the Bondera, affixed a small clip on the end, waited for it to stop swinging, and Boosh! problem-solved! Straight, vertical lines that made me happy.

It didn't take me nearly as long as I thought it would/should to stick all 2300 pennies on (total count was 2310) and at this point, I stood and stared at my wall for a few minutes like any self-respecting, coffee addicted idiot would do. 

And I thought, 

I wonder what it would look like with the stove in there?!

But there too lies a problem. I didn't want to push a non-polished, uncleanned stove back into this beautified spot, so I scrubbed and polished and grinned and then pushed the stove into place.

I wasn't as happy with the results as I thought I'd be. It looked kind of, well, plain. And if I went to all that trouble, I wanted something gorgeous. Something special and fancy.

Out came the stove, up went some strips of Bondera, and some tumbled tile I had picked up at Home Depot (just in case there was an emergency, and apparently, this was an emergency.) The tiles stuck great on the Bondera, by the way. I was nervous when I read some reviews, but these have worked great so far. None have loosened or fallen away from the wall at all.

Then, I grouted the entire thing. Over the pennies, over the tile, waited the allotted time, and then wiped it all down, over and over, over and over, etc. (repeat this step until your sponge is in rags and you're sick of the process. Then repeat some more.)

And this is the finished product. I'm so pleased with it that I can't wait to spend time in my kitchen cooking up fabulous meals for the family. Seriously. I have an entire month's menu prepared ahead and I haven't deviated off it yet. 

I'm telling you, Pinterest is going to be my downfall. I have found so many things I want to do in our house, it literally scares the snot out of my hubby. You can follow my Pinterest boards to see what I have in store...

Muahahaha!

Amanda Stephan~Christian Author

BooksByAmanda.com

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