2010 I'm glad to see you go....

Hello All,

In preparation for our watch night service tonight I've spent the last couple days reflecting on 2010. While I'd like to say this was a year of "mountain top" experiences, overall it was a rough year for not only my family but a lot of families at Revival Tabernacle. I can say without a shadow of a doubt I have the awesome privilege of going to church with some of the strongest saints in Pentecost.

I can't even begin to get into detail of what has transpired, especially in the last few weeks without falling apart. Even in the face of the most extreme tragedies I've seen my brothers and sisters give God the glory.  At the end of the day, no matter life's circumstances God is still good. We may never understand why things happen, why children die, why families suffer but we have a God that is touched by our hurts and infirmities. We'll understand it better by and by...

As Christians its important to remember that we were never promised a perfect care free life. Our promise is that we have a God that will never leave us or forsake us. 

All that being said I am looking for 2011 to be the year of restoration. In Jesus name this will be the year miracles happen,  lost loved ones are saved, more Bible studies are given and we see a revival of backsliders.

Wishing you and yours an amazing 2011!

Siena

All Partied Out

Hello All,

I can't believe the Christmas is about a week away. This year flew by!

I never thought I'd say this but I think I strongly dislike (I HATE to use the word hate :-) hehe) holiday parties. We've had two or three at work, my husbands work party, the youth party, ladies party, church wide party and partridge in a pear tree (no not really).

I'm sure I'll be back to party goer mode once Christmas has passed. I just hope I don't completely turn into Ebenezer Scrooge before I have a house full on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day! I know, I'm a bit dramatic tonight. (Its 8:00pm and I haven't eaten all day. The "grumps" always follow hunger pains). All grumbling aside, I am really looking forward to some much needed time with my family (also a week and a half off!).

I'm still sewing, just haven't had a chance to upload any photos. I am getting ready to ramp up again, as of 1/1/11 The Polished Plume will be featured in a local boutique.

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas and New Year! Looking forward to a great 2011!

Love,

Siena
The Polished Plume

West Coast

Hello All,

I am back home trying get into my daily routine after West Coast Conference. What an amazing Conference! Such anointed preaching and teaching. I can say without a shadow of a doubt that Brother Howard's  message changed my outlook on faith.

Sometimes the most profound thoughts are delivered in the simplest forms. At one point in the preaching Brother Howard pulled a brother out of the congregation to give an illustration. He asked the brother what he did for a living, the brother answered and Brother Howard said "now what if I said I don't believe you". He went on to say that we do that do Jesus, when his word says He's a healer but we don't have enough faith to believe we can be healed we are essentially saying we don't believe God can heal us. He is willing and He is able.

I was so overcome with a flood of emotions, both of hope and of conviction. How many times have I not gotten what I have prayed for because deep down I didn't believe God would do it for me? Its easy to have faith that your brother or sisters prayer will be answered, but when it comes to your own we somehow feel God is not as willing. Shame on us.

I am so happy to say that most of our Youth Group made it to the Conference. I cannot emphasize enough how much good, solid meetings are a necessity for Young People. Especially if they are the only ones living for God in their family. They get an opportunity to be away from the filth and carnality of the "day to day" and completely submerge themselves in the preaching and Godly fellowship. My husband and I (along with thousands of other Youth Pastor's) have spent many days and nights fund-raising and fretting on how to get enough money to send young people to meetings like these. Many times making up the difference out of our own pockets. Every dime spent, the countless hours of work, all the energy and stress are worth it all to see just one young person walk away from the meeting knowing they can make it.  God save our young people...

That's all for now. I have to go dry my eyes, I'm such a sap I cry every time I think of our kids.

P.S. To  any of you boys (or if you're friends with any of the boys) who were swooping down on our beautiful girls just know you'll have to get through me first. We don't give million dollar girls to ten cent boys! You'll be tested and tried. :)

Siena

Flower Update - November

Hello All,

As promised (though slightly late) I am posting a few pics of some flowers in preparation for West Coast Conference. I am hoping to have a few more posted over the weekend.

Any orders for West Coast Conference must be in by Sunday November 7th vanheusenconsulting@gmail.com

Have a great week! Hope to see you in Fresno!

Siena

The Polished Plume

The pics don't do this piece justice! Beautiful navy lace over a warm melon silk!

Pinky Promise Postponement & Praise Report

Howdy All,

I know in my last post I made a "pinky promise" to have photos of the latest flowers posted but I'm afraid I am feeling a bit under the weather. So I am asking for a "Pinky Promise Postponement". Thank you for your patience! My goal is Saturday afternoon...ish.


PRAISE REPORT: We just had a college classmate of one of our young ladies get the Holy Ghost. Thank you Jesus! Feel free to leave a praise report or prayer request in the comments section.

Sick as a dog,

Siena
The Polished Plume

Youth Service and Lock-In

WOW! What a tremendous move of God we had Friday night! If you weren't there you truly missed out.

Bro Hyler preached an amazing and timely message about young people waisting their potential. After a powerful altar call the group headed over to City Beach of Fremont for fun and fellowship. Thank you Sis Melissa Roe for putting together the slideshow below! I was so busy I forgot my camera. :-(

FLOWERS UPDATE:

I have more photo's to post (they'll be up by Thursday, pinky promise)! I have ramped up my sewing in order to sell at West Coast Conference (I can't believe its only a few weeks away!). Please feel free to e-mail me if you'd like to order anything in advance or if you have any special color requests. Especially if you are interested in any of the larger headpieces with feathers(dupiani silk). vanheusenconsulting@gmail.com

This free digital slideshow customized with Smilebox

Paint My Mind

"Lord I know you can't erase every line and every trace of a used to be, but the marks will cease to show when they're placed beneath the flow of Calvary.
Lord, paint my mind with Calvary's blood, wipe away the stains of yesterdays pains with your brush of love.
You've covered the earth, the skies and seas Lord please do just one thing for me, paint my mind with Calvary's blood". ~Paint My Mind, By: Wayne Lawhorn

I'll never forget the first time I heard that song, I could not stop weeping. I was still somewhat fresh out of the world and the bad memories were not so far removed from my mind. On my way out of town with my husband this weekend that song came on, and it brought up a lot of emotions but not the same ones as before. I began to feel convicted that I had become a little too comfortable with my life the way it is now.

I had lived life to what I thought was the fullest for 18 years, I have scars that have faded physically and emotionally. Its the fading of the "emotional scars" that somewhat scares me. If I am not careful I can forget just where God brought me from. God forbid that I ever begin to feel that I have a good husband, a good job or a good life because of something I've done. The things that I do have, including my right mind is only by the grace of God.

I remember for so long not wanting to have anything to do with my old life and I believe that I have achieved that but I can't afford to forget that I was once bound by sin. Thank you God for my life and all you've done but please don't ever let me forget my testimony.

If you're reading this and were raised in the church the fact that God kept you is a beautiful testimony. You don't need to come from a life of sin to appreciate what God's done for you.


Love,

Siena

Its a small world after all...

How many times have you gone on vacation and noticed other church folks but are too afraid to say hello? I’ll be honest, I’m guilty (and you are too) but why do we do that?


If there is ever a group of people we should feel totally comfortable walking up to and making introductions its other Pentecostals. There should never be the “intimidation factor” with church people. Just think how joyous it will be when we get to glory and we recognize faces we’ve met over the years. Life is tough, we are a gazing stock to the world but we gain our strength from God and one another. Why not get to know as many brothers and sisters as possible?


Let’s not get in ruts or cliques. A clique can be one of the biggest tools the devil uses against young (and older) people. It’s easier to wander off when you feel alone or to make friendships that are unhealthy. Could it be intimidation? One of our young ladies made the comment that she was afraid to make friends because she didn’t look like the other girls. Other excuses I’ve heard is their not friendly because their P.K.’s, which is totally an excuse (and FYI G180 youth that doesn’t fly with me!). No more excuses!

I think there are a lot of friendly folk out there but WE are the ones that need to get over our pride or fear and just say hello. Let me be the first: Hello, my name is Siena. Thanks for stopping by! If it’s your first visit, Welcome! If you publicly follow, thank you! If you follow privately, chicken (j/k)!

Siena

Love, Life and God’s timing

I was blessed to be able to celebrate my 7th wedding anniversary with the love of my life this week. God truly blessed me with an amazing husband. 

On the way back from Youth Alive my husband and I were chatting with some of our young ladies about love and life. The girls had decided to make a list of everything that they wanted in a potential husband. The list had everything that we both expected, that the person would love God with all their heart etc. etc. What I found most interesting was none of the girls were really sure how long it would take to make sure “Mr. Perfect” matched their listed criteria. 

Let’s be honest folks, there is a perception in Pentecost that if you’re not married by the time you’re 24 you’re an old maid. How horrifying (an untrue) is that! Why would we want to rush into a relationship that we’ll be in for the rest of our lives and will have a huge impact on our salvation? Take your time.

Some of you know my testimony. My husband and I started dating in high school and had been dating for 5 years before we got into church. We knew we cared for one another but it would have been a horrible mistake for us to get married any earlier then we did. God was still working on us.

The first year we “took a break” and decided to focus on God was one of the hardest times of my life. I will spare you the details but I was in a fairly sad state.  That time apart was the best thing that could have ever happened to either one of us. It allowed us to figure out that we wanted to live for God as individuals not because the other person was doing it.  After many months of struggling I made up in my mind that as much as it hurt if we were not meant to be I wasn’t going to fight it anymore.  I can take you to the spot where I was standing when I told God “I give up, I’ll accept your will no matter how much it hurts”. That very evening everything changed! From that night on we started talking again, eventually courting and finally engaged.  I don’t think it could have changed until my will had been broken.  It was simply God’s time. Lord only knows the trials we were spared from because we didn’t get married right away.

Bro. Wayne Lawhorn preached an amazing message called “Missing God in Marriage” (I highly recommend it for any single person). In the message he made a statement that really resonated with both my husband and I, he said “lust is instant desire, but love is a friendship caught on fire”.  So true.

It’s alright to take your time in getting to know someone. You’ll have the rest of your life to enjoy the blessings of God if you can stay in step with God’s timing. 

A very happy wife,

Siena

P.S. I know I’ve done more rambling then posting of flowers lately. Yes, I am still sewing and hope to have more photos up soon.

I love you Bryan!

The Power of Friendship

This blog entry is dedicated to all the young ladies in the G180 Youth Group, I love you girls.

We often talk to young people about being cautious of who influences them but I want to take a different approach. Who do they influence?

My husband and I have been working with a young lady close to 5 years now that has her share of problems. She's been bounced around the foster care system, often times become self destructive/self mutilating and is constantly battling depression. For four of those five years we have done our best to include her in all youth activities and events but to her "Sis. Siena invites me and picks me up because its her job to do that". Roughly a year ago we started noticing a shift in our youth group. Our young people were starting to mature and have a burden for their peers. In the process our girls have really rallied around this one young lady. She's received the precious gift of the Holy Ghost, has a desire to get baptized and seems to no longer desire a self destructive path. She is just now starting to live for God, after five years.

So what changed? Did God's love for her change? Of course not but the love she felt from her peers did. We don't serve God because of friendships but friendships and disciplining is crucial in building a walk with God.

My firs Pastor would tell us almost every service "People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care". Do we have the truth? Absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt. Will arguing doctrine with a single mother trying to survive let her know how much you care about the well being and salvation of her family?

I heard a message once of about a great army that linked their shields when they went into battle so that if someone stumbled or fell the soldiers to their right and left could support them. I pray that army be a model to our young people and to our church. You never know when a trial may come and you find yourself the unstable soldier in the middle. We are our brother's keeper, and sisters too.

Please pray for my youth group, I mean that with all sincerity. I know there are folks reading this blog that do not follow publicly but I am asking for your prayers. We have a lot of new young people looking our way and I pray that our youth can be used to disciple them. If you have a prayer request you'd like to have folks of like precious faith pray for feel free to leave it in the comments section or email me directly. You have my word that myself, my husband and our youth will hold it up before God in prayer.

In all sincerity,

Siena
vanheusenconsulting@gmail.com

Youth Alive

Hello All,

We are just a few days away from our trek to Burbank for the Youth Alive Conference. Our Youth Group/College and Career are really looking forward to it. We did a little extra fund-raising this year so we could spend all day Sunday in Disneyland!! Woot woot!

Since we are within a few days of our departure I must give the "Last Call" on any flower orders. I am sewing like mad and hope to get the last of my current orders complete by tomorrow. If you see something you are interested in please e-mail me as soon as you can at vanheusenconsulting@gmail.com .

Thank You!

Siena

Revival Tabernacle Youth Service and Lock-In

We are swiftly approaching the Revival Tabernacle Annual Youth Service and Lock-In. We had an amazing time last year and are looking forward to the same this year.

After a power pact service we will be heading over to City Beach of Fremont to enjoy exclusive use of the facilities massive rock climbing gym, basketball court, volleyball court and inflatables.

More information will be mailed to your Pastor. If you have questions feel free to contact me at vanheusenconsulting@gmail.com . Hope to see you there!!
...
Bro Bryan & Sis Siena Van Heusen
Revival Tabernacle Youth Ministries

Details:

When: Friday October 22, 2010. Service starts at 7:00. Lock-In 10:30pm - 2:30am
Service Location: 205 I Street, Fremont
Lock-In Location: City Beach of Fremont (RSVP is required)

Dear Ex- Pentecostal Girl

Dear Ex- Pentecostal Girl,

I saw your pictures today and hardly recognized you. The images I saw left me feeling lost wondering where that teenager that use to weep in the alters went. I knew you had walked away but I had always hoped you would find your way back some day.

Life in the fast lane may be fun for a season but where does it leave you when the people that used you, took advantage of you and robbed you of your innocence are done with you? When you find yourself alone, disgusted with your actions I pray you remember that there are people but more importantly a loving merciful God that is just waiting to welcome you back home. Don’t stay away for too long, we are not promised tomorrow. Sin will take you farther than you ever wanted to go.  As I type this letter to you there is an aching in my chest and I can barely see the screen on my computer for the tears. Please come home.

You may feel embarrassed or maybe even a little too proud to face all the people that you feel “trashed talked you” but its time to get beyond that. We’re not promised tomorrow, and your soul is not where it needs to be. There is no boy that will love you more than God and no drug or alcohol will make you feel better then a powerful Sunday night service . You know the feelings of loneliness and distress you feel when you lay your head down on the pillow at night, please don’t try to flaunt your new lifestyle to those who are younger and once looked up to you. Is the life you’re living now what you would want to pass on to your babies?

Please find your way back to where you need to be. God’s waiting. Time is short.

A broken hearted Youth Leaders wife,

Siena

Sewing on my Soapbox & Youth Alive

Howdy Folks,

While I realize that my last post was not what this blog was created for I did enjoy being able to express my feelings. So this blog will be taking on a slightly new identity. I still plan for its primary use to be advertising accessories but it will now have the occasional thought or rant of the day. I have been sewing like a mad woman, so I thought it was time to load some more photos.

We will be taking our fabulous group of young people to Youth Alive in Burbank, CA and I will be bringing some of my pieces to sell. Most of what I am bringing is by request. If there is something that you'd like (or if you'd just like to say hello) please feel free to e-mail me at vanheusenconsulting@gmail.com

Thanks,

Siena ~ The Polished Plume

 

Cattiness in the Church?

I know this blog was created to advertise accessories, but it’s my blog and I’ll vent if I want to! I read the following quote this morning and was disgusted beyond measure.

“Women dress alike all over the world: they dress to be annoying to other women.” Elsa Schiaparelli

Why do we do that? Are we really that insecure? Does it really make us feel better to talk about another girl?

My husband is a Youth Pastor so we have the awesome privilege to work with some amazing young people. We go to conferences all over the state and I am now starting to notice that level of cattiness coming in to the Church.

We brought a young lady with us to a conference last year that had been coming to our youth functions for a while. She didn’t have the Pentecostal “look” down but she was trying fit in. As we were leaving I noticed a group of girls standing behind her making fun of her outfit, and not being very discrete about it. It took everything that was within me not to grab those young ladies by their ear, march them up to their Pastor or Parents and tell them what the girls had been doing. By the grace of God our visitor did not notice and was able to enjoy the conference and some of the new friends she had made. As I fumed on the way to the parking lot I couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened if she had noticed. What would have been her impression of true Holy Ghost filled young people? Now I do realize the majority of young people don’t act this way or if they do are not as open about it. Would she have ever come back to church?

I’m sorry but I don’t agree with the saying “sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me”. Words do hurt. One careless joke about someone’s appearance can be stumbling block to someone. Who are we to make someone feel uncomfortable in their own skin?

I challenge you today to complement someone. Don’t be so proud to tell someone else they look nice.
Siena ~ The Polished Plume

First Impressions

Statistics show that you have 3 seconds to make a favorable first impression, 3 seconds! Does that sound shallow? Sure it does, but its an unfortunate reality. That's why its so important to look your best at all times but looking your best doesn't necessarily mean a lot of expensive pieces. Pick staple items that can be dressed up with different accessories (ahem, see above), you never know who's watching.

Thanks for visiting. Feel free to comment.

The Polished Plume

Camp, vacation and sewing

Hello All,

Since we chatted last I got the opportunity to spend a few days along the coast while at Pacific Coast Family Camp, went on vacation and have been trying to replenish my headbands and get out a few custom orders from camp. Busy, busy busy.

I've been sewing like a mad woman! I have attached a few of my newest pieces, still plenty more to photograph.

Take Care,

The Polished Plume

Double Flower Pin - Yellow Cotton w/Pink Netting ~ $12.00

Single Flower Pin - Fuchsia Silk Shantung w/ Black Netting ~ $10.00

Vibrant Paisley Print Headband ~ $8.00

Solid Brick Headband ~ $8.00

Fuchsia and Orange Polka Dot Print Headband ~ $8.00

Vibrant Flower Print Headband ~ $8.00

Vibrant Whimsical Print Headband ~ $8.00

Plumb Sheer Headband ~ $8.00

Gold Flower Headband ~ $8.00

Winter White Flower Headband ~ $8.00