Digging up my Stones - part 2

So there I was, trying to think of what Ebenezer stones I had, when just a few days later I received a box in the mail. It was my first album from Shutterfly.

Now I started digital scrapbooking over a year ago and can not even count the hours* I have spent making pages from the first summer after we were married until the end of 2008. But I hadn't ever developed the album. After I got it finished and uploaded to Shutterfly, I saw how expensive it was going to be to get in printed, so I waited, and waited, and waited. And finally, Mother's day came up and Shutterfly offered a great discount plus free shipping so I did it. And I love it! I was afraid the colors wouldn't print "true" but they look great and the whole thing is so much thinner than a traditional scrapbook that I can easily keep it on our coffee table. But it is more than a collection of picture. Looking through it with Craig, I realized that this is an Ebenezer stone.

It shows how God has been helping us these first few years. I'm not talking about how His provisions have allowed us to go on trips or do neat things, although I am thankful for that. It's more the intangible elements that I see in that album - from the very first page (of our first 4th of July picnic, which happens to be first tradition we started together) it shows the time line of our life together with the struggles and the blessings we have had. Basically, what it took for us to go from two people to a family. And what it took was God. I know that my marriage is a result of God's hand in our lives. And looking at those pages, I can be reminded of all the hard work he has put into it.

Another Ebenezer stone I have is a bracelet. I'm not a big jewelry gal but I really like this piece. I made it last summer with two girlfriends just a few days before we headed out of Utah. It represented the end of a season where God was working hard in my life (not that he isn't now, but that was just an extremely intense time). Looking back, I can see that he was preparing me for something, getting certain truths into my head that He knew I would need later. But at the time, I was just trying to process it all. We made those bracelets deliberately to ensure that we would remember those lessons and keep them close. It worked. I don't wear it all the time, but everytime I see it lying on my dresser, I say to myself "I'm believing God" and on really hard days I put it on, so I can keep remembering that the whole day.

Do you have any Ebenezer stones?

** I decided I wanted to try. I would say a typical page takes me 2 hours, not counting the time I spend editing pictures (which is a lot) or looking for free elements online (I rarely pay for elements because there is so much good stuff out there if you can find it). Some pages take a little less, and some take a whole lots more - like when I get an idea for a perfect page element that no one seems to have! (Maker's mark font complete with red dripping wax?) Considering I have made 46 pages that is at least 92 hours directly making pages. Crazy! But totally worth it)