Fun Friday

My new obsession is Pinterest. I could spend hours there! After pinning and pinning, I decided it was pointless to pin without actually doing anything. So, I made this...

Here are the instructions. It is just a standard frame and you use dry erase markers to write messages or quotes. I love it!

We recently celebrated Mr. D's 6th Birthday. Every year, since the kids were old enough to respond {we started at age 2} I interview the kids on their Birthday and write down their answers {word for word}. Some of the responses are quite funny and our extended family always looks forward to reading the latest edition. I save them with their special papers so we can look back and remember. I reformatted the layout this year and decided to share. Here is a new printable for you!

Birthday Interview


Christmas is just around the corner! I am offering a coupon in my Etsy shop to all of my blog readers. If you are looking for a special gift please take a look. All of my jewelry is Scripture based and I am adding new items all the time. The coupon code is TOAST and you will receive 10% off of all items purchased in November.


One last thing, I was a guest blogger at Faith in Between this week. Please hop over and visit.

Have a great weekend!

Fun Friday

Just some random fun Friday stuff for you.

My first printable! Sometimes Dan is working at the firehouse (like the year Mr. D was born) which leaves no one to pass out candy. I wrote a cheesy poem for you. {blush} It would work great to print, trim as necessary, put it in a page protector and leave it on the front porch with a bowl of candy!Trick or Treat

We received this game last year for Christmas and our kids love it! We decided it should be called something else though, our kids want to play at breakfast, lunch and dinner. I highly recommend it!

We have been saving our milk jugs and plan on making these this weekend!

We had this for dinner one night last week and I am already craving it again!

What are your plans for this weekend?

Marvelous Memory Monday

Happy Monday! It is amazing (and sometimes convicting) the way God uses our kids to speak to us. Recently, Little Miss came to me and said she wanted to start memorizing scripture. I have stopped and started this habit several times, so I told her I would join her on this journey.

I chose a scripture that is fairly simple to get us going. I created a printable 3x5 card that I will post in several spots around the house to help us commit the verse to memory (and maybe get more people involved).

Would you like to join us?

Just click on the picture and print as many as you want.

We will keep this scripture for two weeks and then move on to a new one. Make sure you stop in next Monday and see how we are doing on our memorizing and I will have some fun ideas to make the memorizing more fun.

Please let me know if you plan to join us! I want to talk with my kids about the impact one idea can have on other people. Leave a comment here or on FB and let me know you are in! (We would love to hear if your kids are "in" too.)

Fun Friday

I love searching other blogs to find new ideas. I happened upon this one this week and couldn't wait to share it! There are some really great ideas and fugal too! Enjoy your family this weekend.

Circle of Friends, Part 2

The previous post titled: Circle of Friends is actually a devotional that my favorite cheerleader and I put together. It was a collaboration of ideas and personal experiences. I decided that I needed to write a follow-up to explain my friendship experiences and how my actions affected each of the circles.

God created us to need other people. In Genesis 2:18, God said, "it is not good for man to be alone", and I have felt that need for a long time. I patiently waited and prayed for a number 5 friendship in my life. I believe I was trying too hard to fit people from the 3's into the 4's and I think my pursuit of deeper relationships came across as being needy.

Another stumbling block for me was that, I wasn't comfortable being me and so, in every situation I tried to make myself be the person others would want to be with. Unlike Gidget, I am not an outgoing, flamboyant red-head. It is easy for me to get lost in the crowd. For so long, I tried to change my personality so that I would fit into any situation. But, like last year's jeans, it was really uncomfortable and it never really worked for me. I was never truly transparent with my thoughts and feelings and that made it difficult for people to befriend me. I didn't know who I was, so how could I expect others to know me?

I wanted so much to be liked, but I often found myself being forgotten or excluded. The loneliness multiplied.

My life has changed in the last several years. I owe it all to my new relationship, with my best friend, Jesus. When I sought him first (Matthew 6:33), everything else began to fall into place. He began chipping away all of the hurt and lies that I was clinging to. He showed me that:
   He created me in His image (Genesis 1:26-27)
   He created me on purpose with specific traits (Psalm 139:13)
   He has a specific plan for my life that will bring Him glory (Ephesians 1:11-14)
   He always loves me just as I am (Ephesians 1:4-6).
With Jesus, I am safe. He never hurts me or ignores me. He cries when I cry. He holds me when I need comfort. And of course, He is the first to joke or laugh when I get too serious. I know who I am now, I am free to be the person He made me.

My relationship with Jesus has freed the people around me. I am no longer looking to my friends to fill the place that only He can fill. My marriage has benefitted most from my new foundation in Christ. I was looking to the wrong person to keep me grounded and happy and fulfilled. A person can't do that. Humans are imperfect. As hard as we try, our feelings, temptations and moods get in the way of our relationships with other people. We end up hurting one another even when we don't mean to. Seeking fulfillment from the only one who can truly give it enables me to love others without fear of rejection or a hurt that won't go away.

He fills me, so that I can give that love to others. Any relationship that is worth having, is going to take work, effort and love. Whether it is a friendship or a marriage, you will get out of it what you put into it. I'm not saying that every relationship only needs more work to succeed. There are relationships that just don't work. There comes a time when you have to seriously consider whether your efforts are paying off. When the respect, love and friendship is not reciprocated, there is a clear break in the circle.

This week, while writing this devotional, it was necessary for me to look at one of my relationships that has taken a nose-dive off the edge of the circle. I can't continue to reach out to someone who has already moved on. I wanted to care for someone and heal them. I realized that I was being selfish. In trying to help them, I only really wanted to make myself feel better about letting them go. I also realized, that I was trying to take the place of God in this person's life. He is the Healer, not me. So, I will let go of this cherished friend for now. I will continue to pray for healing and restoration of this relationship. Although I am sad, I feel blessed by the time that we walked together and maybe our journey will cross again someday.

Friendships enrich our lives and make all things bearable. They are well worth the time and effort.

Lord, I thank you for your friendship. Thank you for sending your son to teach me how to truly be a friend. I know that it will not always be easy to be friends with other people. Please help me to be kind, loving, forgiving, generous and patient. Help me to reach out of my comfort zone and connect with other people. Show me where I am looking to the wrong person for friendship and please help me love the 4’s and 5’s in my life (or bring more if needed). I know that you will always be my very best friend and no one can take your place at the center of my Circle of Friends. I love you and look forward to our future together. Amen.

Dangerously Straight

I recently got a new haircut. I have discovered the key to making it look its best, is to straighten. As my hairdresser suggested, I went out and bought all kinds of products to help me achieve the desired effect.

My new shampoo is called Dangerously Straight, and this morning, it reminded me of a conversation I recently had with a friend. We were discussing the boundaries of having fun as Christian Women. We both agreed you can take it too far. In fact, we got a good laugh out of remembering her concern about dying her hair red "because Christian women don't have red hair". We can laugh about it now, but I think this is a real problem for Christian's. We tend to make up our own rules and put such strict boundaries around our life, that we end up not having fun. This "church lady syndrome" ends up being a terrible witness to the world around us.

Our goal in life should be to become more like Jesus. In the second part of John 10:10, Jesus said "I came that they may have life and have it to the full". Strong's Concordance defines full, as abundant. God wants us to have a full, abundant, happy life. He has given us boundaries. It is our job to live within those guidelines, not set up more of our own.

Why are we giving ourselves more boundaries? I think the key is in the first part of John 10:10, The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy. I think that we have bought into the rules of this world. I can't think of a better way to destroy the people of God and keep new people away from Him, than to make a relationship with Him look like drudgery. Satan tells us lies and we believe them. Good girls don't ____________. Before we know it, our lives are not filled with joy and fun. Our faces hang low. We are not experiencing the freedom that Christ died to give us. We accept Christ in order to be set free from the penalty of sin. This does not mean we can't have fun, it means we have a different kind of fun.

After the conversation with my friend, I did a google search for: what do Christians do for fun. I was amazed at the "hits" that I found. Some people poked fun at others who asked this question, some people provided extensive lists, one poor woman said "I accepted Christ and now I'm bored. I can't do any of the things I used to do". This woman, who received poor advice, quit reading anything but her Bible, unplugged her tv and quit calling her friends. I know that this is not what God had planned for her life!

We need to know God for ourselves, know his boundaries and keep Jesus at the center of our lives. This will help us discern what is Godly and what is worldly. The more space Jesus takes up in our hearts, the less room for the ways of the world. The more we pursue this kind of fun, the easier it will be to identify. The more we practice this kind of fun, the more uncomfortable the old kind of fun will become.

We also need to know our stumbling blocks. If we have strongholds or addictions, we need to avoid the triggers that could cause us to fall. God may set up additional boundaries for us in these areas. We need to listen to His prompting and obey! He is trying to keep us from sin.

Growing up, we had a collage of pictures of Jesus that hung in our dining room. The images portrayed Jesus with various expressions. Some of them were pained, some were content, but my favorite was the one of him laughing. I found this picture years later at the book store. I keep it in my Bible now to remind me not to be too serious. My Dad always says, "Don't take life too seriously, you'll never make it out of here alive".

Heavenly Father, thank you for sending your son to die for me. I know that you want me to enjoy this life, that you paid for. Please teach me your ways. I want to see the beauty, the comedy and the joy that you created. Please give me discernment to see the ways of the world and the strength to avoid them. Thank you for loving me and giving me the boundaries that keep me safe. Your word says your will fill me with joy and laughter (Job 8:21). I claim that today in the name of Jesus. Joy and laughter are mine and I will not let Satan steal them from me any longer. I love you, Lord and I live to serve you, joyfully. Amen!

Am I boring?

I read an article quite a while ago. It left a big impression on me. In fact, it was one that I kept. I'm not sure how I feel about it though.

It was written by Paul Scanlon. He is the founder of Abundant Life Church Ministries. Scanlon writes, "Christianity is not boring, but many Christians are because their interests go no further than all things churchy. If my one interest is church, then obviously I will only connect with church people, but it won't help me reach the vast majority of the planet who don't live in that world. If I only socialize with Christians, listen to Christian music, read Christian books, watch Christian television, attend a Christian school, vacation at Christian resorts, attend Christian exercise classes and go to my Christian hairdresser, then I think it's safe to say I need to get out more.

Millions of us burned our Elvis records, gave up our interests in politics, business, media, fashion, the arts, technology, entertainment and show business. We did it all for Jesus, who never asked us to give it up in the first place! We've become uncomfortable and at times dysfunctional in the worlds we left, worlds we demonized and theologized into becoming our enemies, worlds that God loves and hardwired us to flourish in. We were designed by God to prosper behind enemy lines- not for comfort, safety or retreat."

He concludes, "God made you to be interesting, so don't let the church make you boring. Don't work on developing a new personality, just work on building some bridges of interest. And before you know it, you will be in another world of potential new relationships and influence. If the great apostle Paul was willing to become "all things to all men," so can we. And whatever happens, it will be interesting!"

You can read the entire article here Are you Bored? on pages 24 & 25.

So what is written?

John 15:19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.

John 17:14-15 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.

1 John 2:15- 17 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

I recently read this, by Beth Moore, "To live victoriously, every day we must learn to pour out our hearts to God, confess sin daily, acknowledge every hollow place and invite Him to fill us fully! Then we need to continue to fan the flame of His love by reading Scripture, listening to edifying music, and praying often. We also need to avoid things that obviously quench His spirit."

Proverbs 13:20 He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.

Proverbs 17:24 A discerning man keeps wisdom in view, but a fool's eyes wander to the ends of the earth.

Proverbs 23:12 Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.

I had a computer programming professor that always said "garbage in, garbage out". He was referring to the programs that we wrote, but could the same be said about our mind?

In order to become "interesting", I can watch Grey's Anatomy and make conversation with others who like that show. But, are those the images and situations that I want to put in my head? I can listen to main-stream music, but what are the messages I am I hearing? I can go to a bar with friends, with the intention of finding someone to minister to, but what am I exposing myself to, in the meantime?

I am NOT trying to condemn anyone, believe me, I have my own guilty pleasures! I am not saying any of these things are right or wrong. I think it would be easy to go off the chart- marking everything as either right or wrong. I don't believe that God calls us to hide out and limit our interactions with the world, as we cannot win others to Christ that way. So, where do we draw the line?

When we are filling our time, and ultimately our minds, do we say this is "good" or do we strive for this is "great"?