I have recently placed another order on Shutterfly! I can't wait to get my 8 x 8 Photo book!! What better way to see all my pictures from a photo shoot we had with our friend Danielle @ bardenphotography.com!? So thrilled to see our pics in this book!
Take a LOOK at my 8x8 BOOK here!!
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Stationery card
Blessed Tidings Religious Christmas Card
Visit Shutterfly.com for classic photo Christmas cards.
View the entire collection of cards.
Monday, July 30, 2012
House in Order. Part 2
How do I cultivate a culture within my home that works towards excellence in everything we do? It's a question I find lurking in my subconscious a lot. I struggle daily with my children and their lack of effort to keep their playroom or bedroom cleaned. I wonder when that struggle will come to an end. I struggle with keeping my house cleaned. I often wonder when that will end. Or when I will stumble upon some new inspiration or method to get things done.
A few months ago, the Lord spoke to me and told me to get my house in order. Those words. In my thoughts. Very clearly. It was not something I would have thought of on my own. He preceded to speak to my husband about the same thing. It has become our family motto of late. It's more than just organization of things. It's organization of heart. Relationships. Family. Attitudes. Physical. Mental. My husband preached on it. Good Word. The declaration itself can be found at Harvest Family Fellowship- The Declaration
As I am hearing and seeing the people in our congregation really HEAR the Word of the Lord, and DO IT, it is VERY encouraging! I have been practicing this in my own life. Trying to practice it in my own life. Hubby and I went through the basement the other day. So amazed and impressed how much we accomplished while the little monkeys were taking naps. We have been carting around 9 years worth of stuff accumulated from us both (mostly me) in our marriage. Broken kids toys. Papers from my ELEMENTARY years...the list goes on. We carted 3 GINORMOUS contractor trash bags out. They were seriously big enough to fit me in! FULL of TRASH! Full of stuff that we were carrying around, from house to house. Stuff we obviously didn't need. We made trips to the Yard Sale SITE, around the corner. Are we done in the basement? No. Not yet. But little by little, we WILL finish. I am back to the idea that I will make that useable space. I will turn a wall of the basement into a sewing/craft area for myself. And a craft table/play area for the kids. It's already being stored down there. So why not?
The Lord was with me as I quickly went through things that day. I knew clearly and decisively, what I needed to throw out and what I needed to keep. He is always with me. His Word promises it. Why wouldn't He be with me as I sort through junk in the basement? He was physically carving out a space in my home, and He is spiritually carving out a place in my heart. A place where I make time for Him. A place where I make it a point to have coffee with Him every morning. Does it happen every morning? No. I'd like it to, but I'm human. And humanity gets in the way. I've got to continually dig it out, everyday, so I can sit in The Well. The Well of Him, of His living waters.
So I'm learning that I really have to teach out of a place of personal experience. My children aren't going to get it if I'm yelling the concept of "do what I say, not as I do!!" I have to model for them what I want their room to look like, by keeping mine clean. Sure, it's not REALLY messy. Not if you don't count the million baskets of laundry that don't get put away because I don't have enough room to put them... wait? no room for laundry? What does that mean? Could I possibly have too many clothes? YES! So in this process, I've bagged up approximately 10 trash bags of clothes that I had been hoarding and brought them down to the local consignment shop. Hopefully I will be able to teach my kids another lesson in that too. Or multiple ones. Lead by example. Be consistent. Trying to live that out. After all, it's what Jesus did and does to us daily. He leads us now, by the examples He set in the Bible, and He is consistent to His Word, and in our lives.
What is God speaking to you to give up, or get rid of, to make more room for Him?
A few months ago, the Lord spoke to me and told me to get my house in order. Those words. In my thoughts. Very clearly. It was not something I would have thought of on my own. He preceded to speak to my husband about the same thing. It has become our family motto of late. It's more than just organization of things. It's organization of heart. Relationships. Family. Attitudes. Physical. Mental. My husband preached on it. Good Word. The declaration itself can be found at Harvest Family Fellowship- The Declaration
As I am hearing and seeing the people in our congregation really HEAR the Word of the Lord, and DO IT, it is VERY encouraging! I have been practicing this in my own life. Trying to practice it in my own life. Hubby and I went through the basement the other day. So amazed and impressed how much we accomplished while the little monkeys were taking naps. We have been carting around 9 years worth of stuff accumulated from us both (mostly me) in our marriage. Broken kids toys. Papers from my ELEMENTARY years...the list goes on. We carted 3 GINORMOUS contractor trash bags out. They were seriously big enough to fit me in! FULL of TRASH! Full of stuff that we were carrying around, from house to house. Stuff we obviously didn't need. We made trips to the Yard Sale SITE, around the corner. Are we done in the basement? No. Not yet. But little by little, we WILL finish. I am back to the idea that I will make that useable space. I will turn a wall of the basement into a sewing/craft area for myself. And a craft table/play area for the kids. It's already being stored down there. So why not?
The Lord was with me as I quickly went through things that day. I knew clearly and decisively, what I needed to throw out and what I needed to keep. He is always with me. His Word promises it. Why wouldn't He be with me as I sort through junk in the basement? He was physically carving out a space in my home, and He is spiritually carving out a place in my heart. A place where I make time for Him. A place where I make it a point to have coffee with Him every morning. Does it happen every morning? No. I'd like it to, but I'm human. And humanity gets in the way. I've got to continually dig it out, everyday, so I can sit in The Well. The Well of Him, of His living waters.
So I'm learning that I really have to teach out of a place of personal experience. My children aren't going to get it if I'm yelling the concept of "do what I say, not as I do!!" I have to model for them what I want their room to look like, by keeping mine clean. Sure, it's not REALLY messy. Not if you don't count the million baskets of laundry that don't get put away because I don't have enough room to put them... wait? no room for laundry? What does that mean? Could I possibly have too many clothes? YES! So in this process, I've bagged up approximately 10 trash bags of clothes that I had been hoarding and brought them down to the local consignment shop. Hopefully I will be able to teach my kids another lesson in that too. Or multiple ones. Lead by example. Be consistent. Trying to live that out. After all, it's what Jesus did and does to us daily. He leads us now, by the examples He set in the Bible, and He is consistent to His Word, and in our lives.
What is God speaking to you to give up, or get rid of, to make more room for Him?
Sunday, June 3, 2012
House in Order
Not doing a very good job at writing on my online journal...lots been going on. Good things. Hard things. Life. But God remains faithful. Humanity is what gets in the way. I heard a wise man say from the pulpit the other day, "I used to say, O that's just life getting in the way. But it's not life. God says I give you life and life abundantly. He wants to give us good life. Humanity is what gets in the way! US!" We get in the way with our selfishness, and stuff, and humanness and we make a mess of what God is trying to do through us. So profound. That wise man? My husband. :)
God has been speaking to us on the matter of simplifying, and getting our house in order. Those words. "Get your house in order." It's been a revelation to us. As I dig deep into it, I realize that Jesus wasn't asking us to live a life of poverty. People get so hung up on the "prosperity message". I know I do. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say my personal opinion, of late, is that God wants to give us good gifts. It says so in His Word. James 1:17 says that every good and perfect gift comes from Him. Jesus is okay with us having good things. It's when our good things get in the way of what He wants us to do that it becomes and issue. When we have so many earthly things, things that bog us down and keep us from being obedient to what He's asked us to do, is when we need to step back and reevaluate, why we are here.
He has commissioned us, called us to GO INTO all the world and make disciples of every nation. I looked up the word "Commissioned" and it means this: 1. the act of committing or giving in charge, 2. an authoritative order, charge, or direction. Jesus gave us an order, a charge, a direction and path that we need to be on. He put us in charge of this! When we have too much stuff in our house, this can sometimes keep us from getting OUT of the house to do what He has called us to go!
In my case I tend to be overwhelmed in the area of keeping my house clean. THAT is my JOB! As a stay at home mom, one of the main duties in my "job description" is keeping my house clean, and yet I struggle with this on a daily basis. I have come to the conclusion, with the Holy Spirit's gentle reminders, that I am not the problem. It is the amount of stuff that we have that is. Really, WHEN will I use all of those things that I have stored in the basement, that area subject to floods, which turn into mold and sometimes rust?!?!? The Bible is pretty clear on these things: “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal." Matthew 6:19. If I had less things to keep up with, the task would be more manageable. Easier to teach my children how to keep up with it. Teaching them the life lessons of sorting and organizing is only good if you're sorting and organizing the things that GOD wants you to keep. Sorting old, broken toys, or keeping BASKETS of missing socks, (O CRAP! Thanks God!) is NOT something I want to pass on to my children. (On the List of things to do Monday morning: Get rid of "sock basket" of all the missing socks.) (Note to self: They are GONE! and NOT coming back!)
Am I saying that having a lot of things is bad? No. It becomes bad when the things become more important then obeying God. When the things hold us back from doing what He wants us to do. I know people that are extremely well off, live simple lives, and obey God when He tells them to do something with their money. Their things aren't holding them back from what Jesus has asked them to do.
I have a lot to say about this matter. I hope I am being clear in what I am saying. Jesus wasn't asking us to live a life of poverty, although sometimes He does speak to some people to do that. He does want us to be obedient to Him in everything. So if you're house, and things in your house are keeping you from being fully available for Him to do good works in, then it's time to Simplify. Get your house in order. Please pray for me and I work through what looks like for my family.
God has been speaking to us on the matter of simplifying, and getting our house in order. Those words. "Get your house in order." It's been a revelation to us. As I dig deep into it, I realize that Jesus wasn't asking us to live a life of poverty. People get so hung up on the "prosperity message". I know I do. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say my personal opinion, of late, is that God wants to give us good gifts. It says so in His Word. James 1:17 says that every good and perfect gift comes from Him. Jesus is okay with us having good things. It's when our good things get in the way of what He wants us to do that it becomes and issue. When we have so many earthly things, things that bog us down and keep us from being obedient to what He's asked us to do, is when we need to step back and reevaluate, why we are here.
He has commissioned us, called us to GO INTO all the world and make disciples of every nation. I looked up the word "Commissioned" and it means this: 1. the act of committing or giving in charge, 2. an authoritative order, charge, or direction. Jesus gave us an order, a charge, a direction and path that we need to be on. He put us in charge of this! When we have too much stuff in our house, this can sometimes keep us from getting OUT of the house to do what He has called us to go!
In my case I tend to be overwhelmed in the area of keeping my house clean. THAT is my JOB! As a stay at home mom, one of the main duties in my "job description" is keeping my house clean, and yet I struggle with this on a daily basis. I have come to the conclusion, with the Holy Spirit's gentle reminders, that I am not the problem. It is the amount of stuff that we have that is. Really, WHEN will I use all of those things that I have stored in the basement, that area subject to floods, which turn into mold and sometimes rust?!?!? The Bible is pretty clear on these things: “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal." Matthew 6:19. If I had less things to keep up with, the task would be more manageable. Easier to teach my children how to keep up with it. Teaching them the life lessons of sorting and organizing is only good if you're sorting and organizing the things that GOD wants you to keep. Sorting old, broken toys, or keeping BASKETS of missing socks, (O CRAP! Thanks God!) is NOT something I want to pass on to my children. (On the List of things to do Monday morning: Get rid of "sock basket" of all the missing socks.) (Note to self: They are GONE! and NOT coming back!)
Am I saying that having a lot of things is bad? No. It becomes bad when the things become more important then obeying God. When the things hold us back from doing what He wants us to do. I know people that are extremely well off, live simple lives, and obey God when He tells them to do something with their money. Their things aren't holding them back from what Jesus has asked them to do.
I have a lot to say about this matter. I hope I am being clear in what I am saying. Jesus wasn't asking us to live a life of poverty, although sometimes He does speak to some people to do that. He does want us to be obedient to Him in everything. So if you're house, and things in your house are keeping you from being fully available for Him to do good works in, then it's time to Simplify. Get your house in order. Please pray for me and I work through what looks like for my family.
Monday, March 12, 2012
So much for THAT idea...
I can't believe it's been over a months since I last blogged! So much for the idea of writing often, from my last inspirational post. grrrr.... Well, we've had A LOT going on.
Our lives got turned upside down these past 6 weeks as we've had another little girl living with us, through foster care. It's been a very active, crazy, awesome, frustrating, amazing time, to put it in only a few words.
God's good and He has brought us through this as we've CLUNG to His hand, and PRAYED for grace and mercy from Him to see us through what He's asked us to do. The neat thing about that is, He promised to never leave us or forsake us. That means He will NEVER leave me. He will never leave any of us, if we've asked Him to be our Savior. EVER. period. Thank you Jesus!
We have loved on this little girl, loved on her with His Love, and we loved her into the KINGDOM. Praise GOD! I have loved seeing my children active in their young spiritual gifts. Missionaries in our home. Now we will be able to send off another missionary off. We pray God's TANGIBLE love and peace will envelope her as she moves on to her next home, wherever that may be.
While we were praying "the prayer", she was repeating after me, I prayed something along the lines of: "when You live in me, people are going to see the CHANGE in my life..." She stopped repeating, and THOUGHT about what she was saying. SO AWESOME!
God you are good. So good, and kind and loving and gracious. Help us walk out what You have called us to do with GRACE & PEACE.
Our lives got turned upside down these past 6 weeks as we've had another little girl living with us, through foster care. It's been a very active, crazy, awesome, frustrating, amazing time, to put it in only a few words.
God's good and He has brought us through this as we've CLUNG to His hand, and PRAYED for grace and mercy from Him to see us through what He's asked us to do. The neat thing about that is, He promised to never leave us or forsake us. That means He will NEVER leave me. He will never leave any of us, if we've asked Him to be our Savior. EVER. period. Thank you Jesus!
We have loved on this little girl, loved on her with His Love, and we loved her into the KINGDOM. Praise GOD! I have loved seeing my children active in their young spiritual gifts. Missionaries in our home. Now we will be able to send off another missionary off. We pray God's TANGIBLE love and peace will envelope her as she moves on to her next home, wherever that may be.
While we were praying "the prayer", she was repeating after me, I prayed something along the lines of: "when You live in me, people are going to see the CHANGE in my life..." She stopped repeating, and THOUGHT about what she was saying. SO AWESOME!
God you are good. So good, and kind and loving and gracious. Help us walk out what You have called us to do with GRACE & PEACE.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
RE-E-ALY Good...
So I've taken some time off from blogging. Who am I kidding? I haven't been blogging regularly enough to call it a blog! HA! Although I must remind myself, that I really only started this for myself. Well, basically.
I HAVE been doing a lot recently of reading other people's blogs and on that lovely contraption called Pinterest. Lovely, because it's really been EXTREMELY handy while planning MOPS crafts. Contraption because I've been sitting here, late at night, pinning things for HOURS, while I drool over recipes I should probably NEVER make, and my butt is falling aleep! Yiiieee!
I was reading a blog regarding the 10 things someone learned while blogging ... and she said that basically, write often. Write about anything, and some other funny antics that I laughed about. I'm going to try and write more. If only for myself :) If it's something RE-E-ALY good, then maybe, just maybe, I'll post it on facebook! haha!
I HAVE been doing a lot recently of reading other people's blogs and on that lovely contraption called Pinterest. Lovely, because it's really been EXTREMELY handy while planning MOPS crafts. Contraption because I've been sitting here, late at night, pinning things for HOURS, while I drool over recipes I should probably NEVER make, and my butt is falling aleep! Yiiieee!
I was reading a blog regarding the 10 things someone learned while blogging ... and she said that basically, write often. Write about anything, and some other funny antics that I laughed about. I'm going to try and write more. If only for myself :) If it's something RE-E-ALY good, then maybe, just maybe, I'll post it on facebook! haha!
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Homemade Christmas
I am organizing the creative activities in my MOPS group this year. I was asked to blog about Gifts for our girlfriends, rather then bring everything made to show all the ladies. I couldn't be happer! It's going to be fun doing a treasure hunt online for some pictures of the ideas I already have in my head!
I've really been thinking a lot about Christmas, and what it means to me and what I want my kids to get out of it. What I feel God has really been laying on my heart is that it really IS all about HIS Son coming to earth. It is His birthday, afterall. So I'm trying to get my kids away from the "give me this, give me that" mindset, and more into the serve others mindset that I believe God wants us all to have.
This year, we've talked to the kids about the gifts that Jesus was given on His birthday by the three wisemen. We are really going to try and stick to the "three gifts" idea. We also are going to be catching each other being Christlike to each other and write it down, read it on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, and give our servant gifts to the King. (A great idea I heard about from someone who made that MOPS meeting, where they talked about Advent, that I missed.)
But we all have some special friends that we would love to give gifts to, I'm sure. I certainly love giving and getting gifts. I've tried to be more thoughtful, as I was preparing this list. Here goes!
So here are some ideas for some homemade gifts that you can make for your girlfriends:
Homemade Christmas Gifts for Girlfriends
1) A Coupon Book ~ Coupons could include babysitting-- for a night for her and her hubby to go out on a date! Time together is SO important to build healthy marriages, and keep the romance alive! Wouldn't you love to help your friend out? Consider the fact of how much going out costs anymore, and know that offering your babysitting services would be a HUGE blessing!
Another coupon could be for a girls night out, just the two of you! Dinner and a movie. Or mani pedis! :)
2) CHOCOLATE!!! I saw this awesome idea from non other than Martha Stewart. (shocker, I know) This year I'm lovin' the idea of making chocolate pretzel bark! So easy and you can dress it up or keep it completely simple. And it's SO yummy with a cup of coffee! Package it in a clear celophane bag and tie it off with some homespun ribbon, or sparkly curlies!
3) If your friend loves to cook, make her some flavored olive oil! I saw this neat idea in my All You Magazine...to really dress it up, make your own pretty corks, by drilling a hole in the top of a cork and putting a beautifully designed ceramic knob. So cute!
4) If your friend LOVES bags, (like I do), make her a personalized bag. You could go all out and actually sew a bag, but I LOVE the idea of getting a canvas bag. I've found them as cheap as $.25 in a thrift store, and that was BRAND NEW! Take the canvas bag and but a cute iron on, you can find super cute ones on etsy.com, or go to Michael's and shop their selection. Iron it onto a piece of coordinating fabric and then iron it onto the bag. You can even do a little detailing and sew around the edges.
I love that last picture "filled with joy." Aren't we? What a neat way to share God's love, during this crazy time, filled with hustle and bustle. Also a great reminder to ourselves..( I did mention I LOVE BAGS?!?!) Make yourself a cute reminder of the King's love, Joy and Peace at Christmas time and always!
5) Another idea that I like, that is personalized for your friend, is a dry erase board. Find an inexpensive frame at Walmart, or Goodwill, or Dollar Tree, and some pretty scrapbook paper. Hobby Lobby or Michaels are good places to get paper by the sheet. Or you could make something up in Microsoft Word. Look under clip art. Does your friend have a rooster themed kitchen? Make her a rooster themed dry erase board! Although, that will be more cartoony then soft, and pretty. OR take notebook paper and make a lined board! Insert scrapbook paper the size of the picture and WALA! you have a personalized homemade dry erase board. Use paper that coordinates with a room you think she would use it in her house. Or paper that is specific to her likes. Don't forget the dry erase marker, you can get an entire pack of 3 or 4 at the Dollar Tree for... $1.00!!
Make it as simple or as complex as you want. Just make sure you're not taking on more then you can handle during this busy time. Remember to take time to celebrate the TRUE meaning of CHRISTmas and show your children what giving is all about!
Love you ladies! Can't wait till our next craft!!
Courtney
I've really been thinking a lot about Christmas, and what it means to me and what I want my kids to get out of it. What I feel God has really been laying on my heart is that it really IS all about HIS Son coming to earth. It is His birthday, afterall. So I'm trying to get my kids away from the "give me this, give me that" mindset, and more into the serve others mindset that I believe God wants us all to have.
This year, we've talked to the kids about the gifts that Jesus was given on His birthday by the three wisemen. We are really going to try and stick to the "three gifts" idea. We also are going to be catching each other being Christlike to each other and write it down, read it on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, and give our servant gifts to the King. (A great idea I heard about from someone who made that MOPS meeting, where they talked about Advent, that I missed.)
But we all have some special friends that we would love to give gifts to, I'm sure. I certainly love giving and getting gifts. I've tried to be more thoughtful, as I was preparing this list. Here goes!
So here are some ideas for some homemade gifts that you can make for your girlfriends:
Homemade Christmas Gifts for Girlfriends
1) A Coupon Book ~ Coupons could include babysitting-- for a night for her and her hubby to go out on a date! Time together is SO important to build healthy marriages, and keep the romance alive! Wouldn't you love to help your friend out? Consider the fact of how much going out costs anymore, and know that offering your babysitting services would be a HUGE blessing!
Another coupon could be for a girls night out, just the two of you! Dinner and a movie. Or mani pedis! :)
2) CHOCOLATE!!! I saw this awesome idea from non other than Martha Stewart. (shocker, I know) This year I'm lovin' the idea of making chocolate pretzel bark! So easy and you can dress it up or keep it completely simple. And it's SO yummy with a cup of coffee! Package it in a clear celophane bag and tie it off with some homespun ribbon, or sparkly curlies!
3) If your friend loves to cook, make her some flavored olive oil! I saw this neat idea in my All You Magazine...to really dress it up, make your own pretty corks, by drilling a hole in the top of a cork and putting a beautifully designed ceramic knob. So cute!
4) If your friend LOVES bags, (like I do), make her a personalized bag. You could go all out and actually sew a bag, but I LOVE the idea of getting a canvas bag. I've found them as cheap as $.25 in a thrift store, and that was BRAND NEW! Take the canvas bag and but a cute iron on, you can find super cute ones on etsy.com, or go to Michael's and shop their selection. Iron it onto a piece of coordinating fabric and then iron it onto the bag. You can even do a little detailing and sew around the edges.
I love that last picture "filled with joy." Aren't we? What a neat way to share God's love, during this crazy time, filled with hustle and bustle. Also a great reminder to ourselves..( I did mention I LOVE BAGS?!?!) Make yourself a cute reminder of the King's love, Joy and Peace at Christmas time and always!
5) Another idea that I like, that is personalized for your friend, is a dry erase board. Find an inexpensive frame at Walmart, or Goodwill, or Dollar Tree, and some pretty scrapbook paper. Hobby Lobby or Michaels are good places to get paper by the sheet. Or you could make something up in Microsoft Word. Look under clip art. Does your friend have a rooster themed kitchen? Make her a rooster themed dry erase board! Although, that will be more cartoony then soft, and pretty. OR take notebook paper and make a lined board! Insert scrapbook paper the size of the picture and WALA! you have a personalized homemade dry erase board. Use paper that coordinates with a room you think she would use it in her house. Or paper that is specific to her likes. Don't forget the dry erase marker, you can get an entire pack of 3 or 4 at the Dollar Tree for... $1.00!!
Make it as simple or as complex as you want. Just make sure you're not taking on more then you can handle during this busy time. Remember to take time to celebrate the TRUE meaning of CHRISTmas and show your children what giving is all about!
Love you ladies! Can't wait till our next craft!!
Courtney
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