Sunday Scripture

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.

John 14:27 

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

R-E-S-P-E-C-T...That is what he needs from me

Ok, I'll admit it.  I really didn't come up with this title myself.  I took it from the Proverbs 31 devotion for today which is too good not to share!  If you have never visited Proverbs 31, please go there after reading this post!

I feel so strongly about this subject and have posted before about celebrating your husband and celebrating wives, and this devotion fits with both of my previous posts.  Today's devotion by Renee Swope talks about respect and submission - which will not cause you to lose your identity in your marriage.  I think/know that so many wives will not  have anything to do with the "S" word because they feel like their husband will treat them like a doormat, or that they will lose their identity, or even that they may be taken advantage of or appear weak, but that is so untrue!  And if your husband does take advantage of you or will sometimes treat you like a doormat, you need to remember that God commands us to love one another at all times.  We are to forgive at all times.  Wives, this is such a hard thing to do.  I have trouble doing this.  My friends have trouble doing this.  But do not give up!  The more you "love" your husband, the more he will respond in a positive manner (more on this later in the post). Someone once shared a verse with me that changed my thinking forever about marriage and how I treat my husband. It's Philippians 2:3-4 (NIV):

 ³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴ not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of others.

It really made me think about my husband, his needs, and how being a wife that shows her husband respect will win his heart for God.  Here are some suggestions from the P31 devotion to help you show your husband respect and submit to him:
  
•  Ask God to show you ways to respect your husband.  He will show you things to do or say - no matter how large or small, easy or difficult!
•  Say “I’m sorry” and mean it when you dishonor him.
•  Say “I forgive you” and mean it when he dishonors or hurts you.
•  Let him overhear you telling someone one thing you appreciate about him.
•  Praise him when his decisions turn out well and encourage him when they don’t.
•  Tell your husband one thing you are thankful for – about his character, his work ethic, his provision, his humor or something he adds to your family.
* Some of these ideas are from What A Husband Needs from His Wife © 2006 by Melanie Chitwood.

So, what do you value and respect about your husband? How often do you criticize or encourage him?  Take the time to write a list of of these things and maybe ask him to do the same for you.  We have so many things that we are thankful for and we don't hesitate to share it with others - let your husband be at the top of that list this Thanksgiving.

Digital Scrapbooking - My Newest Addiction

I've always wondered why anyone that does traditional scrapbooking would want to create a digital scrapbook page.  It always seemed so not normal, or kind of like I was betraying a friend.  Maybe it was because I didn't understand it or was too scared to try it.  But I tried it and I liked it!!  I'm totalled hooked, but I still want to do traditional scrapbooking.  It's just that I have soooo many digital pictures that this would be a great way to capture so many of them.  Here are a few examples of some of my first digital pages.

All of these kits were purchased from My Memories and I edited them using Photoshop Elements 8.  Overall, it was very easy - the hardest part was trying to figure out which kits to purchase!  If you are a digital scrapbooker, I would love to hear your thoughts, likes, and dislikes.

Sunday Scripture

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

2 Timothy 2:15

Christmas light garland

Are you looking for an inexpensive and easy Christmas decoration or gift?  Look no further because help has arrived!  You can make this super easy Christmas light garland project for your home, office, or to give as a gift.

You will need a box of 140 mini Christmas lights and your choice of 4 different Christmasy fabrics with each color cut into 1" x 6" strips.  Keep in mind that even though I chose 4 colors, you can choose more if you like. 

Step 1:  Take one of the twist ties that held the lights together and use that to tie both ends of the light strand together.  Match up the first and last light - one end of your strand will be longer than the other.

Step 2:  Take one strip of fabric and tie it around both strands of lights.  I put one piece of fabric between each light, but you can put more between each if you want.  Alternate colors as you go.  My colors were red, red/white stripe, white, green with white polka dots. 

 Keep tying :) 

 This is a good project to work on when you're watching tv.

Step 3:  You're done!  These lights would be great on a small tree, a mantel, or on a window sill.  

  

This project would be good to use at Easter with pastel fabrics, or in the fall with beautiful reds, greens, and yellows.  Anyway you make it, it's an inexpensive cute decoration.

Linking up to Making the World Cuter,  Made By You Monday, Sew Can Do Craftastic Monday, So Very Creative, The Girl Creative, Craft-O-Maniac.

Personalize Your Favicon

Have you ever wanted to change the little favicon by your url?  Maybe personalize it to reflect you or your blog?  Well, now you can do that in a few easy steps. Check out my new favicon below - I wanted something that reflected my blog name, so I picked a home with a heart.  Isn't it cute?!

I was surprised how easy this was and the best part is it’s FREE!  Follow these steps to create your own unique design:

* Go to http://www.favicon.cc/ and create an account.

* Create a favicon or upload an image. 

* Once you have created your favicon, you need to download the image.  You can “preview” it first, but just remember where you saved it so you can add it to your blog.

Gardners2 Bergers listed two ways of installing your favicon and I only tried one which I will post below.

* Go to your dashboard and click on design.

* Right under add and arrange page elements, you'll see favicon.  

* Click on edit and add the saved file here.  You can save your changes and preview your new favicon.  If you don’t like it as much as you thought, or something is wrong, you can delete it and start over.  Save the changes and voila, you’re done!   

That was easy, wasn’t it?  For the original post on Gardners 2 Bergers, click here.

I found this tip through TipJunkie's Homemade Projects Party.  If you link up to a "party", it pays to check out out what other people have posted and I have found some delicious recipes and neat projects.  Gardners 2 Bergers has a great list of blogs that host parties - and I know there are more out there, so one night when you want to relax and there's nothing on TV, check a few out.  These ladies put a lot of work into setting up parties and posting about them - please let them know how much you appreciate it!

Sunday Scripture

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.  Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interest of others.

Philippians 2:3-4

Men's Brains and Women's Brains - They are Different

It's a beautiful sunny day here and I'm up and ready to go today.  There are several projects to finish at home and I'm sure there's not enough time in the day to do them, so let's get the show on the road. 

Thankful day 11:  I am so thankful and grateful to all Veterans for the sacrifices they have made. Thank you for the freedoms that I have in this country!

I love this picture!  I'm not sure who took it, but I found it on facebook.

Thankful day 12:  I'm so thankful for my dad and everything he did for my family.  His words of wisdom (sometimes not well received), his work ethic that he tried to instill in us, his humor, the sacrifices he made for our family, and so much more! 

See what I mean about humor?

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Last night a friend shared this video with me and I think it perfectly describes how a man's brain and a woman's brain work.   It's just a little something to get your morning started and give you a little laugh, but it's so true!  I hope you enjoy it and have a wonderful weekend!!

 

Thankful Posts & Carrot Cake Recipe

I see that I'm a few days behind in my thankful posts - better catch up on that :)

Thankful Day 8 -  I am so incredibly thankful for God's healing. Not for me, not for my family, but for a friend.  I'm praying that through all of this there will be a sweet, loving relationship formed between my friend and God.

Thankful Day 9 - I am thankful for my health.  Thankful that the things that are wrong (bad knee, bad back) with me can be corrected or managed by how well I take care of myself.  Thankful that I have the resources to do it and a husband that encourages me to.

Thankful Day 10 - I am so thankful that my family has a home to live in.  A roof over their heads.  A safe place. A sanctuary.  I pray that God will always be present here, that he will guide my family, and be felt by our guests when they are here.

There is so much to be thankful for in our lives, isn't there?  I have to admit that I find it hard to pinpoint one thing to put on here.  Some things are private and I would rather not share them publicly, and others seems so little that when I think about posting them it all sounds so silly.  Like the sun.....I was so thankful for the sun earlier this week.  Just feeling the warmth on my face.  Seeing the brightness of the sun when I looked out my window.  The happy smiling faces as I walked down the sidewalk and hearing others talk about what a beautiful day it was since the sun was out.  Does anyone else have a hard time deciding what to write about?

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Ok, let's talk about food - that's an easy subject for me!!  I want to share the carrot cake recipe that I made for Carl for his birthday.  It was soooo yummy! 

Carrot Cake III

Recipe from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

4 eggs

1 1/4 cups vegetable oil

2 cups white sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3 cups grated carrots

1 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup butter, softened

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

4 cups confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup chopped pecans

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.  In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, white sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir in carrots. Fold in pecans. Pour into prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.  To Make Frosting: In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Stir in chopped pecans. Frost the cooled cake. 

Do you have any favorite recipes that you make for special occasions?  Please share - I would love to hear about them.  

Thankful Day 7 & Recipe

Wow - Day 7 of thankful posts.  Only 17 days until Thanksgiving.  Doesn't it seem like the holidays are suddenly here?  Is it because of the warmer than normal weather we've had?  I have to keep reminding myself that Thanksgiving will be here soon, then Christmas, then New Years. 

Today, on day 7 of thankfulness, I am thankful for the smile on my boys faces.  We had a wonderful weekend and both boys were so happy and laughing over silly things which warms my heart.  It's so nice to see them enjoying each other's company.

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I wanted to share a new recipe with everyone - if you're on Pinterest, you've probably seen it pinned a hundred times or more.  Drumroll please.........it's homemade dishwasher detergent from Being Creative to Keep My Sanity.  I made and used it yesterday and it's received two thumbs up.  That's right folks, it's a keeper!  Here's the recipe and please check out Being Creative to Keep My Sanity for more household recipes.

Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

Ingredients:
1 box Borax
1 box Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
24 packages of unsweetened lemonade drink mix, like kool-aid.

(Note: lemonade will stain soap dispenser yellow,

another option would be to use citric acid instead of lemonade)
3 cups Epsom Salt
Lemi Shine rinse aid (this recipe does not work very well without it)

Being Creative recommends sprinkling about a tablespoon of Lemi Shine in the bottom of your dishwasher before you start your load.  Mix everthing together and use 1 tablespoon for each load - that will last a long, long time!  When I mixed my ingredients together, there were large clumps and I ran it through the food processor to break everything up.  Put it in a container like the one pictured (you can purchase that at Walmart) and you are ready to go. 

Have a wonderful evening!  See you tomorrow with day #8!  Have you been thinking about what you are thankful for?

Sunday Scripture & Thankful 5 & 6

I'm a teeny bit behind on my thankful posts, so I'd better get caught up before I'm another day behind.  I hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful weather we've been having - we all know about that white, fluffy stuff that is coming soon.

Day 5:  I know I've already said that I'm thankful for my family, and this may seem a bit redundant, but I'm so incredibly thankful for my husband. He is hardworking, honest, trustworthy, caring, funny, a wonderful, patient father and husband, full of surprises, and he has the cutest smile on this earth.  I can't imagine a day without him.

Day 6:  My grandmother, mother, and mother-in-law for the influences they've had on me.  I've learned so many things from each one of them.  How to sew, cook, bake, can, take care of a home and family, and many other life lessons.  I hope I can pass along some of these lessons to my boys (and my nieces).

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Instead of sharing an scripture verse today, I wanted to share what someone recently shared with me. I think it would even be something nice to print and frame for a home. 

Ten Blessings for Your Home

- Holley Gerth

Peace - may there be peace within your walls.  Psalm 122:7

Joy - May the God of hope fill you with all joy.  Romans 15:13

Strength - May our Lord....encourage your hearts and strengthen you.  II Thess. 2:16-17

Success - May He give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.  Psalm 20:4

Comfort - May your unfailing love be my comfort.  Psalm 119:76

Grace - May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ....be with you.  II Cor. 13:14

Favor - May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us.  Psalm 90:17

Kindness - May the Lord now show you kindness.  II Samuel 2:6

Protection - May Your love and Your truth always protect me.  Psalm 40:11

Love - May Your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in You.  Psalm 33:22.

I hope you have a wonderful week. 

Has anyone started counting the days until Thanksgiving?



Thankful November

It seems like everyone is jumping on the bandwagon and posting something they are thankful for every day in November. So, I'm jumping too even though I'm a few days late.

1. I'm thankful for my salvation!

2.  I'm thankful for my family (husband, kids, brother, sisters, in-laws, cousins....every single one of them).

3.  I'm (very) thankful that my husband and I both are employed.

4.  I'm thankful for my friends, old and new. I hope I can be as good of a friend to all of them as they have been to me.

Who else is writing about being thankful?  We all have something to be thankful for - some days it's easy to see and other days you have to peel back the layers to find it.  It's there - just keep looking!

I'm late writing about this, but last Sunday was Carl's birthday.  I won't divulge his age, but will share a picture of him and his birthday cake.  Carl asked for a carrot cake and, of course, I had to make one! Happy Birthday sweetie <3

And I also have to share a Halloween picture.  We went to the big, booming metropolis close to our small, itty bitty town for trick-or-treating and a couple of Ryan's friends joined us.  It's fun - the city closes Main Street and people are walking everywhere!

The mummy, robot, and alien pirate ready for some candy.