First post of 2010

2010. Not sure how I feel about that. I'm not feeling the excitement of it being a new decade, and it hardly even feels like a new year to me. Perhaps the new decade thing is making me feel old, and even further from the simplicity of how things used to be. Anyways, I set about three goals for myself this year:

#1. To really work on my relationship with God. He does so much for me, the LEAST I can do is spend time with Him each day. And in the end, I benefit from it. I'm tired of being stubborn with Him and dancing around the fact that I need to just surrender my time to Him. He is SO GOOD! He never fails, never.

#2. To budget. Yeah . . . that was my resolution last year. Maybe the fact that it was a resolution set me up for failure. I spent so much money on junk I didn't need, but it was like the merchandise was latching onto me! Haha. I'm trying to keep the "make do or do without" mentality. Do I really need another black clutch? Or is it just because it's on sale? Unless it's vintage . . . then I'll give in ;) I developed a simple budget which should be easy to stick to.

#3. Be more organized. Whether in getting tasks done or just keeping my stuff in some order, I HAVE to get organized. I'm also trying to thin out some of my stuff. It's amazing how things accumulate.

In addition to the goals, I have a list of projects I'd like to accomplish. On the top of that list is sewing two new patterns. If anyone knows of any vintage (or vintage reproductions) patterns that are fairly simple/easy, please let me know. The last time I sewed a skirt it looked like a shapeless tube. Sewing tends to frustrate me, but the only way to get better is with practice.

On a vintage note, I received Volume 1 of The Barbara Stanwyck Show for Christmas. It's fabulous. You need it. And my new favorite red nail polish is "Frankly Scarlet" (color 745) by Revlon. You won't be disappointed!

Now I Belong to Jesus

I love hymns. They are so rich! They are "deeper" than many of today's worship songs. Don't get me wrong, there are tons of modern worship songs that I love, but there is something about a hymn. It's as if there is more of a reverence to God written into it.

Anyways, we usually have one hymn in our Sunday worship. I'm always checking to see if there is a copyright to tell me when the hymn was written. It's rare to find a copyright, since most of the songs are public domain. If you do find a date, it's usually from the 1800's through the 1920's. But today's hymn, "Now I Belong to Jesus", was written by Norman J. Clayton and copyrighted 1943. This made me excited! I don't know of any other hymns that are dated during the war. Here are the lyrics:

Jesus, my Lord will love me forever,
From Him no pow'r of evil can sever,
He gave His life to ransom my soul;
Now I belong to Him;

Now I belong to Jesus,
Jesus belongs to me,
Not for the years of time alone,
But for eternity.

Once I was lost in sin's degradation,
Jesus came down to bring me salvation,
Lifted me up from sorrow and shame,
Now I belong to Him;


Now I belong to Jesus,
Jesus belongs to me,
Not for the years of time alone,
But for eternity.

Joy floods my soul for Jesus has saved me,
Freed me from sin that long had enslaved me
His precious blood, He came to redeem,
Now I belong to Him;


Now I belong to Jesus,
Jesus belongs to me,
Not for the years of time alone,
But for eternity.