Fence Post Headboard

I am starting the new year in a crafty way!
The bed in our guest room doesn't have a headboard, and I have always liked the 'picket fence' type. We replaced our backyard fence back in November and saved some of the old boards. I also had 2 posts that we got from Fred's brother when they moved. So I set off to create!

Fred gave me a small lesson on how to use the sander....

and then let me give it a try! 

this sanding business is messy!

Ready for paint

I wanted to give 'crackling' a try, so I started with a coat of black paint

I painted both posts black and let them dry. After that, I put on a coat of the 'crackel' solution. Had to let that sit for 2-4 hours. Didn't take a picture of that since it's clear... 

Finally, I put on a THIN coat of flat white paint. I have done this before and learned that if your top coat is too thick, you don't get a lot of the crackle effect. 

 You can see the 'cracking' of the paint almost immediately. It's very cool! 

 these go on top of the posts....

I now have the posts finished

 I will be starting on the fence. I originally was going to use the old fence boards, but Fred has a fence section left over and so it is saving some time and work to use it instead.

I will be doing the same process with this. Sand it down, paint it black, put on crackle coat, paint it white. 

I hope to get it all done so Fred can put it together for me this weekend. So excited!!! 

Am I being what I need to be??

Ok, first off, I struggled with how to title this blog....

Our pastor was preaching on the Beatitudes last month, and it was really convicting. My relationship with my mom is complicated, to put it mildly. But I have come to realize that I need to be the kind of daughter my mom needs me to be, regardless of what she does on her side. I can't control what she does/says/feels. But I CAN control me. (well, at least work hard on it)

And God has been working on me on other areas:
The other day, I was at Walmart returning something. There was a man ahead of me. A big, burly black man. He had on a sweat shirt with a 'gangster' snowman, and I thought it was funny. He was cashing a check. When I caught a view of his face, he was crying. Tears running down his face and looking miserable. It broke my heart.  I don't know what was wrong. Did he just loose his job? Did his wife leave him? Did someone he loved just died??   What could bring such a big guy to tears in public?
I felt I needed to do something. Say to him I was sorry for the pain he was in. Pray with him/ for him..... But I didn't know him. Would he think I was crazy? Would he tell me off? Would I embarrass him?

AG!! I did nothing... I found Fred in the grocery section. Told him about the man. I thought we should stop right there and pray for the man. But we didn't.... Would people look at us funny? We had groceries to buy and get back home...  Ok, so we will pray in the car after we shopped.  We didn't.

I thought about him that night when I went to bed and that's when I prayed for him. I felt terrible.
I wasted so many opportunities.
There has been in the news about Tim Tebow. That he should 'tone down' his faith. He answered graciously and stood firm.
 I desire to be bold in my walk, but I have a way to go. Prayers Appreciated!!