Tender Mercies

I recently read an article on the Tender Mercies of the Lord....have you noticed the hand of the Lord in your life?  I am not talking about big things, but little everyday things that we might pass off as "lucky".  When in all reality it is the Hand of the Lord touching our lives and showing his love for us.  When we realize how well He knows us and is willing to bless and express His love, those "lucky" things become true miracles from a Loving Father in Heaven who is always reaching towards us, his children. 

This past week, I have tried to make a mental note to take notice of those precious moments with my Father.  Like shopping at Ace with my mom, when we got out of the car my phone rang.  So I pulled it out and as I did, my entry key card for work slipped out of my purse unnoticed.  We walked into the store and spent a good 20-30 minutes looking around.  On the way back to the car I noticed an upside down plastic card lying on the ground infront of the vehicle.  I walked on by and as I went to reach for my door handle, I felt promted to pick it up.  I stopped and thought well I could turn it into Ace, someone might come looking for it - it might be a driver's license.  So I went back and picked it up and as I turned it over, I was shocked...it was my picture entry ID for work.  Our building is on lock down so if I had left it there, anyone could have used it to gain access to our building.  I would have been responsible for compromising the safety of others.  Or on Wed when I lost my keys and had to be at Young Women's Activity.  I searched the house everywhere and enlisted my two older kids to help.  We tore up the house searching to no avail.  Finally, I said, "Kierra say a prayer that we will find them, because we are so late and I am incharge."  She asked that the keys be found within the next few minutes.  I went back to the living room and had the thought look in the box of the game James had been playing with.  He had put the keys inside the box and we had even asked him if he knew where they were.  Nope he said and kept on playing.   

The times I know for sure He is aware and is talking to me are when I am having indecision in my life and I will read an article from a Conferene Talk or the Ensign and it has inspiration directly dealing with my problem.  Or when I am need of something to spice up a Young Women lesson or activity and amazingly I will wake up around 4 a.m. filled with wonderful ideas on how to make things work.   So look for these precious moments in your life and don't just think you are having "a good luck day".  Now instead of smiling and going on forgetting all about it or passing it off as a chance happening, I look up, smile, say thanks, and look for opportunities to do something nice for someone else.  It has really made my life much more joyful and fulfilling!!

By the way...here is what I wore on Thursday, Sunday, and today:

 Shirt:  $1.00 thrifted, skirt: thifted $4.00, belt: thrifted $1.00

 (The black blur behind me is my dog, Isabella.)

 Shirt: Thrifted $2.00, Skirt: Thrifted $4.00, Shrug: Thrifted $1.00, Necklace: Papparazzi $5.50

I love this skirt, it has so many colors and I can compile a ton of different outfits using it!

 Purse:  Payless $16.00 - this coral color is amazing!

 My favorite part of the entire outfit - Shoes:  Thrifted $5.00

 I actually made this jacket.  I took a tshirt that was getting a lil snug across the chest and cut it straight down the middle.  Then I took strips and made ruffles and sewed them around the edges.  I chose a more colorful material for the ruffles so that I could accessorize with more outfits.

 Necklace:  Papparazzi $5.50

Skirt:  Thrifted $1.00, slip extender: thrifted $1.00
I added a thick lace to the bottom of the slip to make a nice feminine addition to the skirt.