Thank you for the Cross Lord!

Happy Easter All! Or should I say resurrection Sunday!!!

A day that my Lord and savior conquered death by rising from the grave three days after his crucifixion.

Lord I Love you and Thank you with all of my heart for the infinite love you have for me.

You sent your son Jesus into the world to save me!

 He endured on the cross, He was nailed to it, He was beaten, abused, spat upon, ridiculed...

He endured all of this for YOU and for me! For OUR sins! Thank you Lord, Thank you my God!

I pray for your leading and guidance in this sinful world. I pray for your Holy spirit to lead me all the days of my life and I pray that you will find me worthy to use as a vessel to bring souls to your kingdom.

"Thank you JESUS for the cross, Thank you for the price you paid, Thank you for bearing all of my sin and shame."

To God be the Glory

Charlene

 

Barbados Beach Babe!

I'm on a well deserved holiday on the beautiful Island that is Barbados!
Days have been spent strolling along the beaches, gazing & dipping into the endless turquoise blue sea, reading, resting my bones & just basking in the hot rays from the sun.
Every time I come here, I am in utter awe and reminded of the beauty of God's creation. Pure perfection!
I feel so blessed.
Life is so peaceful here & I've been enjoying every moment.

Lots of love & May God Bless You!

Charlene xXx

cleaning out...

Too much stuff. I seem to have an on going battle with clearing out my junk.There's just too much! Every time it feels like I'm getting somewhere I take a look in another drawer or cupboard and it just seems never ending. I may be slightly blowing it out of proportion here but to me it seems huge.
I've been taking bits & bobs to the charity shop, some things I've never even used, Just an accumulation of stuff over time adding to my clutter.

Since the last post I wrote on this subject I didn't get very far on my sorting but at least I have not really added to the pile.

I dream of bright & open space, white walls. Starting over, a fresh canvas to being again.

Changes are very much needed

With my birthday approaching, I'm getting into reflection mode.
Embarking onto another year of my life and I'm definitely feeling the wiser. As the saying goes "You live & you learn"

I'm definitely learning.

Much Love

Charlene

The Wedding: August love in the air!

My friends wedding In August was wonderful! The weather was fantastic, the sun blazing all day long. The bride was stunning! & the bridesmaids scrubbed up pretty well too. It really was a great day.

As we entered the church I almost shed a tear. It was as we began walking down the aisle Cristina turned around looking at Stephanie & I with what looked to be complete joy and fear all rolled into one. It was a look that said to me " I'm really doing this right now!I'm getting married & every emotion possible I'm experiencing at this very minute!" That's pretty much what I imagined in my head anyway. I felt so nervous & happy for her and at that moment all of these emotions came up settling into my throat so that I really thought I was going to burst into tears. Thank God I managed to swallow it all down and hold it together.

I was asked to do a reading at the church service of 1Corinthians 13:4-8 which I was more than happy to do, although a bit apprehensive I would get tongue tied and mess it up but all went well. Yay!

I was very happy with my hair, the photos I took didn't really do it much justice, but it really was a job well done by the lovely 1950's hairstylist.

It really was a fabulous day, with great company, a beautiful venue, delicious food and oh so romantic!

Hearing the speeches especially the grooms and seeing the connection & love between the wedded couple was so lovely! Don't you just love, love?!?!?!

The month of August saw two of my friends get married, another engaged and my parents celebrating over 30 years of Marriage! I'm so excited and totally happy for them all!

Stay blessed & know that you are very much loved

Charlene x

July

My first post for July, on the last day of July.
It's been a strange month. Stormy, Cloudy, Sunny & wet weather.
 A month of discoveries, beginnings, endings, loss & sadness.
It's been good & not so good.
I'm looking forward to August.

Keep looking up!

Love & blessings

Charlene

Sunday

I adore this photo. To me, it's full of anticipation & expectation...

 Just thought I'd share it with you.

That's all.

Love & Blessings

Charlene x

Hair Trials...

In preparation for my friends wedding we had 'Hair Trials' which is basically a run through of styles for the big day.

I was a tad apprehensive on how my hair would be treated & managed but to my complete pleasure it all went really well.

The 1950's are renowned for their intricate hair styles with lots of curl & kink detailing on sleek and smooth hair. (Pictures are of the Singer & Actress Lena Horne, I love her hair!)

I have thick & tightly coiled Afro hair which has a lot of volume, I love it!

The stylists who are 1950's specialists in hair & beauty were super gentle with my hair and made me feel so comfortable & relaxed. I almost fell asleep whilst my hair was being styled!

To save on time on the day of the wedding and to help enhance and define the style that will be achieved, I will prep my hair before hand by blow drying it semi-straight on the lowest heat setting to protect it from heat damage & to stretch my hair, which will help to achieve more length and reduce volume.

Using heat on my hair is something I rarely do any more but I'm cool with it on this special occasion & I'm surprised to find I'm becoming a lot less precious about my hair. Not a bad thing at all I think.

Love & Blessings

Charlene x

Weddings & Bridesmaids

I love weddings!

Unfortunately the invites have always been few & far between, but in August one of my loveliest friends is getting married! & I'm going to be a bridesmaid!

I'm so excited!

The wedding has a 1950's feel to it hence the pictures above, so our dresses & hair will have that cool retro edge and styling.

I've been a bridesmaid once before for my Aunt years ago, so I'm super happy to be doing it again with this creative and fun twist.

Love & Blessings

Charlene xx