What Saturday's Stillness Says

 

 "...But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment." Luke 23:56b

       By nature I am a talker. Silence makes me uncomfortable. How can I know what you are thinking if you aren't speaking? How can you know what I am thinking if I'm not speaking? Anyone who has ever spent any great amount of time with me doesn't have to worry about that. I won't be quiet for long. 

    But there are times when even I do not speak. It doesn't happen often, although as I mature it seems to be increasing in frequency. I think perhaps it is a sign of wisdom. I am least prone to speak when I am angry-it is not a good sign if I stop talking in the middle of a fight. But I have also learned to limit my words when someone is grieving. I have begun to see that there are no words that I have that can make that right. At those times people usually just want someone to be with them, not offer empty platitudes or trite phrases of consolation. They don't need the sound of my voice, just to know they are not alone is enough. 

  "The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." Deuteronomy 31:8

    Today is Good Friday. Sunday is Easter. Saturday is...silence?  We tremble before the power of the crucifixion. We rejoice at the power of the Resurrection. But what power does Saturday hold?

I like to think it holds the power of silence.

Sometimes when God doesn't seem to be saying anything He is speaking the loudest. Sometimes He is sitting with us in our grief. That verse is from the Old Testament. Well in advance of Jesus' death God had promised to be with His people. Jesus time in the tomb did not undo that promise. 

"For the word of the LORD is right and true; He is faithful in all He does." Psalm 33:4

What happens in silence? We start to listen. We wait. We think of what we already know. When God does not seem to be moving we should start paying the closest of attention. There are times we have strayed from His immediate presence, to be sure. But I have found that in times of grief and loss, confusion and pain, we feel like God is not moving. And perhaps it is because He is sitting with us in our grief.

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." Psalm 34:18 

   I cannot speak for those waiting women. But Scripture speaks for them. Look at it again:

 "...But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment." Luke 23:56b

The emphasis is mine, but every word of Scripture is true. In the dozens of English translations that word is rendered "rested" except in one (Darby) that says "remained quiet." 

    What do rest and grief have in common? How can you be at peace in times of greatest loss? How can you remain quiet when your heart is wailing with fear and loss? Was there any greater loss than that of Jesus? How could these women rest? How could they remain quiet?

"There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from His." Hebrews 4:9-10 

"When He had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, He bowed His head and gave up His spirit." John 19:30 

We can rest when our work is done. And our work is done for us because we could never do it ourselves. We can remain quiet in the stillness of grief, knowing that we don't have to fight anymore. The battle is won. God didn't have to speak in the stillness of Saturday, the Word had already been spoken. All that remained was to believe. 

   And that is how we can rest in the stillness of whatever Saturday we may be currently going through. The end has already been written and it is glorious. The Word has already spoken and He is victorious. We can live on Saturday like it is already Sunday. We can walk in the same faith knowing He is risen even while He seems to be very silent, as still as the grave. 

"The angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay." Matthew 28:5-6

  He has already spoken. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. (John 1:14) He is with us, He is for us, He has given us rest. So if this "Saturday" seems so silent you feel like you are going crazy, remember that rest is possible. If those women could have enough faith in the promises of God to rest while Jesus was in the tomb, you can find rest in Him here. He is using the silence to speak and it is saying:

"For no matter how many promises God has made, they are 'Yes' in Christ. And so through Him the 'Amen' is spoken by us to the glory of God." 2 Corinthians 1:20 

 

Lord of Peace Printable

Find the printable version here!

    I am not that old. However, my mind is very resistant to memorization at this point in my life. I have Scripture verses I learned in childhood that I can rattle off without error at a moments notice. (Thanks, Mom!) But I was really struggling to memorize Scripture as an adult, to the point where I had given up trying.

   However, I believe that a big part of leading is setting an example, and I apply that to parenting, as well. Both my kids have participated in Awana since they were quite little. The amount of effort it takes for them to learn Scripture: zero. But when my son started Awana's upper elementary program he challenged me to start learning verses with him. I figured I would give it my best shot and then, when he wasn't paying any attention, I would quit.

   I'm not proud of that. But don't look down on me, yet. That was 3rd grade. He is now in sixth and we are finishing our fourth Awana book-together. I have learned over 25 verses each year (the amounts vary) and I realized that the same Holy Spirit power that enables me to walk in truth was available to me to commit that same truth to memory. It hasn't been easy, I'm not going to win any awards for saying my sections without any "helps", but I am truly appreciating God's Word in a new way. 

   And, of course, God's Word will not return void (Isaiah 55:11). The passage that I have been working on this week is one that blew me away with its simplicity, and absolute perfection to this uncertain season we are all in. Right now, in the midst of this coronavirus craziness, one of the things we are all desperate for is peace. And, of course, only Jesus can provide true peace. Normally I use the NIV (NIV 1984 is my preference) but this verse is so beautiful in the ESV.

"Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all. 2 Thessalonians 3:16

  Wow. Just mediating on that single verse has brought me such incredible peace, peace that the world can't give. Jesus is truly the Lord of peace. He alone is in control. I don't doubt for a moment that He challenged me to work on memorizing Scripture all those years ago because He knew that in this very trying time I would need a reminder to which I could cling. Now, don't be mistaken: there has been plenty of passages that I have memorized that have been very meaningful and appropriate to me through the years, but isn't it incredible that He can use something like that in so many ways and allow it to continue to benefit us?

    Jesus came so that we could have life, and joy, and hope and peace. That is truly the message of Easter: we can be forgiven and restored to right relationship through the sacrifice of Jesus, and then we can begin to truly live. We can only find peace in Him alone. He is risen and triumphant over every thing that would cause us unease and turmoil-we can look to Him to give us peace in all times. Even these.

    Because I loved this verse so much I put it into a graphic printable I wanted to share. It prints black and white so if you want it to be "fancy" you can use colored cardstock, like I did. Perhaps put it somewhere you can work on memorizing it? You never know when it will come in handy...

Find the printable version here 

   P.S. If you are looking for more verses to bring you peace, check out this list of 40+ Scriptures I put together. They're printable too!

Promises That Bring Peace

Click here to get the printable!

     I lead what is essentially chapel time at the homeschool co-op our family attends. We divide our weeks at co-op into quarters and as chapel leader I choose different topics for each quarter. I had spent time praying about what to speak on for our recent winter quarter, ultimately needing to decide on a topic before the first of January that I would talk about for the next nine weeks. After much prayer, I felt strongly that I should focus on worry, or rather, on how *not* to worry. So for nine weeks at co-op, ending with our final week in the first week of March, we talked about how Jesus tells us not to worry, and why we don't need to when we trust in Him.

     The Lord does not ever waste any energy. His timing is always perfection, and this was certainly the case in this. As I write this there are many efforts in place to stymie the spread of COVID-19, or coronavirus. We, with the majority of America, have stuck pretty darn close to our home since about the 13th of March, watching and waiting.

    And, much to my chagrin, sometimes worrying. On our last day of meeting, unbeknownst to all of us that we would not be meeting again for who knows how long, the Lord strongly impressed on me that I should write out a variety of promise Scriptures, and so I did. I typed out 43 different Scriptures, from twenty different books of the Bible, each one a beautiful reminder of why we don't need to worry: because God is mighty, because He is in control, because He loves us, because He is on our side. I took the printed verses and cut them apart, and each child and parent that day received their own promise, a reminder that God is always with us, and we do not need to worry. I hope that those verses are serving to encourage them during these uncertain times!

    I realized the other day that these verses might benefit others outside of our group, so I thought I would post them here. You can grab the link to the printable up top under the photo. If all you do is print these out and read them, they will be immensely valuable, not because they are anything fancy. As a matter of fact, you could probably type them yourself if you wanted. No, because the are the powerful, eternal, perfect Word of God. It is always worth our time.

   But, if you are so inclined,  you can just print these. You can do a variety of things with them, beyond simple reading. I printed mine on colored cardstock and sliced them up with my paper cutter and filled a vase with them. I plan to pull one out when I am frustrated beyond these circumstances beyond my control. You could read one each day, or read them all each day! You can encourage your children to adopt one of the verses as their own. Look for the similarities between verses. Look up the surrounding passages and see what the verses say in context. Have your kids group them by book of the Bible, or put them in order by passage. Interact with them and see how they will really, truly take on a deep and personal meaning.*

   God is still very much says to us, "For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, 'Do not fear; I will help you.'" Isaiah 41:13 

This circumstance is not beyond His control, "Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for You." Jeremiah 32:17

He is with us, and hears our prayers. "But You are a shield around me, O Lord; You bestow glory on me and lift up my head. To the Lord I cry aloud, and He answers me from His holy hill." Psalm 3:3-4

   For every promise find a reason it applies to this strange time, or to your life specifically. Make it real, take it personally. It is so, so good. I pray that these Scriptures bring you peace, God is certainly strong enough to keep all His promises. He is working!

* I wanted to share how we have been using these recently. I have each of my children choose one every night and they read it aloud, and then I challenge them to incorporate that particular verse into their prayers. Teaching your children to pray Scripture is so important and this makes it very easy. It has been so sweet for our family! 

Beautiful Feet

My Dearest Daughter,

    I wanted to apologize to you for something: we tease you about your feet sometimes, and it isn't very nice. You, unfortunately, have your Dad's feet. We jokingly refer to them as "Hobbit feet" (although, just to clarify, yours are not hairy!). You often lament that you wear a bigger size shoe than I do, evidenced by that span of less than three months you jumped two sizes. Don't feel bad, I am definitely out of the running to be America's Next Top Foot Model, too.

    But I wanted to tell you something today: you have beautiful feet. (And not just because we got pedicures earlier this week.) And you are smart enough to know that I am not talking about the things that are at the end of your legs. You have the kind of feet that Isaiah was talking about:

"How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!". Isaiah 52:7

   I learned that verse in VBS before you were even a thought to me. The summer of my junior year in high school, a single year spent at my grandmother's, feeling adrift because I knew that my time there was fleeting. Frustrated, because I had big hopes and dreams but no way to give them...feet. Knowing so strongly that I was called, but only hearing a Voice, with no words.

    It would be many years before there was you. You and your beautiful, beautiful feet. You and your going feet. Finally, my dreams are starting to become clearer: it was you. You are my calling, to raise you up in the knowledge of the goodness of God. And while you may not have my feet, you do have your grandmother's: feet that love to take the Word to everyone. And your great-grandmother's: feet that long to share the greatest Gift to the ends of the earth. And maybe, just maybe you do have a little of me, after all. Because in knowing about those beautiful feet from Isaiah, all those years ago, I've spent all your lifetime praying to God to help me prepare your feet. Feet that are literally taking the Gospel in answer to this:

"[F]or everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on the One they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"" Romans 10:13-15

    You are the beautiful feet of my dreams. You are living boldly-and I, along with the Body of Christ, am sending you and your precious feet. It is the hardest thing I have ever been asked to do, this sending. But, I know this to be true: the Good News that you and your feet are carrying is far too wonderful for me to keep here at home, no matter how much I want to. And I hope that in this, one day, my feet will be as beautiful as yours. I love you.
                                                                                          Love,
                                                                                                   Mom

Achieving Godly Goals

All Scriptures from the New International Version

        I don't share much about health or fitness on my blog. While I definitely see the importance in those things, they aren't my area of expertise. I have a sweet friend who has been a great encouragement to me, and keeps me involved in various Facebook groups that help me stay on track when it comes to eating right and staying active. A group that I am part of right now challenged each participant to create a "vision board". I tend to roll my eyes at those type of buzzwords. I am not inspired by models in swimwear or cliched quotes. I'm too "hip" for that stuff. (Or something!)

    So, I dragged my feet, feeling like a kid with a dreaded homework assignment. Until I realized that I could do a board with what never fails to motivate and inspire me: Scripture! Using my fav (FREE!) program, Picmonkey, I put together the collage above. I don't make "resolutions", but I do always have areas of my life that I am striving to improve. And none of those areas function in isolation. Each choice that I make should be filtered through the most important goal of all: honoring Christ with all that I say and do. Everything must pass the test: Does it bring me closer to Him? Does it help me accomplish His will?

    These Scriptures, some of them as familiar as John 3:16, others less well known, will all help to keep me on track, not just with eating and exercise, but with Scripture study, mothering, marriage, church, friends, and anything else that will come up this year. I wanted to share my "board" with you, because it will help keep me accountable. And maybe, it will inspire you.

    What challenges are coming this year that you need to find a verse to help face? What goals do you feel the Lord leading you towards? Perhaps, you can find just one passage that is especially meaningful, or maybe you can make an entire collage as well. Either way, don't move ahead with any goal or resolution that you haven't tested through prayer, Bible study and the Holy Spirit. If you have made goals, do a keyword search through a site like Biblegateway to see if you can find a verse that will encourage you. Or maybe you should spend time in the Word and prayer and then set your goals. Perhaps I should have added Proverbs 19:21

"Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails." 

Linked up:
"Motivation Monday" at A Life in Balance
"Hearth and Soul" at April J. Harris
"Thrifty Thursday" at Living Well, Spending Less

Easy Does It

  

     Sometimes, (okay, most of the time) I just want things to be easy. I like simple, uncomplicated, no-fuss. I do make exceptions (especially when it comes to party planning) but for the most part, I just want things to be easy.

   I like to make crafts, and I have some rules. To be easy it:

1. Can't take more than about an hour (somehow I have equated easy with instant gratification)
2. Can't require a sewing machine (mostly because I don't have one because I couldn't use mine, so I returned it!)
3. Can't involve drawing or painting (other than just actually covering an object with paint-if you want the paint to look like something, say a person, I am *not* your girl.)
4. Can't require anything that I can't find at Target/Hobby Lobby/ The Dollar Tree or a combination of the three.

I also have some rules about cooking. To be easy it:

1. Needs to take me less than 30 minutes to put it together. I don't care how long it has to cook-in my oven, on the stovetop or in the crock pot, but I don't want to prep it for more than 30 minutes.
2. Preferably it is cooked in my crock pot, because I don't need to attend to that in any way.
3. It can't require weird ingredients-especially spices I don't keep on hand. Like coriander, or cumin. Or pretty much anything that isn't taco seasoning or Italian spices.
4. It shouldn't require a thermometer. Candy, meat or otherwise. Those things hate me!

 I also have some rules about technology. To be easy it:

1. Needs to have explicit directions that my 5 year-old will understand. It should not include any type of instructions beyond: copy this, paste it here. 
2. It should pretty much be something I can do on my iPhone. See above. 

    Are you picking up on what I'm putting down? To me, easy equals proficiency, and clearly, that is limited on my part. I don't like to be out of my comfort zone, I don't necessarily like to learn new things. I hate to admit it, but it is true. However, that doesn't seem to be the life God has called me to.  And then, I read things like this:

"He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join Him in the work He does, the good work He has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing."

 Ephesians 2, roughly verse 10, (the Message)

      God's work is simple-but it is not easy. Getting up every morning, schooling my kids, being kind when I don't feel like, doing laundry, making dinner-those concepts aren't complicated, but sometimes they are beyond easy. And sometimes He calls us to even bigger things- weathering a serious illness, or death, working on the mission field, heading up a major project. And those are even more complicated! But that is when I have to remind myself: this is what I was created for. Maybe those things are not always monumental, but they are important. 

   When I consider salvation- it is so simple! Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved. But it certainly wasn't easy:

  Going a little ahead, He (Jesus) fell to the ground and prayed for a way out: “Papa, Father, you can—can’t you?—get me out of this. Take this cup away from me. But please, not what I want—what do you want?”

Mark 14:35-36 (The Message)

    I will be honest- I had forgotten that I was searching in The Message (I use www.biblegateway.com for my translation work, if you were wondering.) when I looked this up. And when I read it, it just blows me away. "Not what I want-what do YOU want, Father?". Oh, for that to be my heart. That I would quit longing for easy, and long instead for simplicity: to simply be what God wants me to be. Trusting that He will provide all I need- that instead of my proficiency, I would rely on His provision. Instead of my competency, I would trust His compassion. Then, I think I will be surprised. Because then won't it really be so much more easy?

"Raindrops and Sprinkles" Baby Shower

It has been a while since I posted a baby shower, the last one was the "Purple Butterfly Shower" back in May. I did a bachelorette party and a wedding in July, but since then it has been pretty quiet on the party front. It was nice to get back into the swing of things with a super cute "sprinkle" (another name for a smaller shower for second or later child).

My sweet friend, Denise, was the guest of honor-she just had her fourth! It was an honor to get to plan another shower for her-especially since she is really the one who ignited all the party planning/decorating craziness! Sarah and I did our first "real" shower together for her: the "tiny" baby shower! Honestly, even though that was three years ago, I still love that theme.

We considered this a "sprinkle" instead of a real "shower" because we didn't plan any games and it was really last minute-we pulled it off in about a week. I really believe sometimes that Sarah and I have connected minds, though, because it came together seamlessly. We decided that we would play on the rain/shower pun, and our theme was born. Sarah chose the turquoise and yellow color scheme, and I deemed that gray was a necessity. It was a great way to welcome a sweet, new baby boy!

I did these mason jar drinks for the "Hungry Caterpillar" Shower but since that was in a different state, I decided I could get away with it again. The cupcake liners were from Target, and I purchased the chevron straws at Hobby Lobby. The yellow bucket is Walmart, the turquoise one from Target. I purchased a cloud shaped punch from Amazon (my big splurge for this shower) and simply used an X-acto knife to put a slit in each punch and slid it over the straw. I used yellow washi tape (Target) to attach the straws. Note to self: attach the straws *before* putting in the cold liquid next time! It stuck okay, but it would have adhered better on the glass before it was cold. I filled them with lemonade, and stacked them on ice in the bucket.

The favors were lemon "drops" and I used Avery labels printed with "Thanks for "dropping" by Denise's "shower"! I used scrapbook paper (Hobby Lobby) and stapled it over cellophane candy bags (also HL) and added a cloud punch with a glue dot. I loved the dotted paper with the chevron contrast!

Sarah crafted this adorable topiary. She used felt circles pushed into a styrofoam ball. Then she attached felt "raindrops" on string. We found out through Pinterest that it is easy to make a raindrop by folding a heart shape in half.

I know I always say this, but truly, I loved the Scripture for this shower. It was definitely inspired by the Lord:

 "God's voice thunder in marvelous ways;
He does great things beyond our understand,
He says to the snow, "Fall on the earth" and to the rain shower,
"Be a mighty downpour"
So that everyone He has made may know His work."
Job 37:5-7a (NIV)

I really felt it was so fitting-and especially to just pray that this new little life will be a "mighty downpour" in the name of the Lord. I had so much fun putting it together, too! I positioned all my text to the left to leave plenty of embellishing room on the right for ribbon, clouds and raindrops. I found my fun fonts on Dafont (I used "Champagne & Limousines"  and "Joy Like Sunshine Through My Window"-love all the fun, free fonts, and they are so easy to download.) and typed it up in Word. I slipped it into a spray painted frame from the Dollar Tree. The guest of honor took it home as part of my gift!

I couldn't resist buying some mums at Walmart (only $1 each!) to add some live flowers. I put them in a Longaberger Oval Spring basket and finished it with some ribbon (HL, Dollar Tree and Walmart).

Another one of my favorite touches: I hand stitched the two cloud pillows. It was my first time trying a blanket stitch and I am in love! I actually really like hand stitching-I find it to be relaxing! I put together a little tutorial on the clouds that I will try to get up soon. Sarah did the open frame with the clouds and raindrops-felt shapes on baker's twine, it was so cute! She also put the monogram in the frame-it is a scrapbook sticker letter on scrapbook paper in a Michael's frame (a *steal* for $0.50!). It is easy but such a cute personal touch!

We finished the mantel decorations (my friend Christy, who also hosted the "Vintage Pink" shower, has such a lovely fireplace!) with a pennant banner (handmade by Sarah). She also added the yellow watering can-a nice touch opposite the flowers and a great pop of color!

I hung balloon "clouds" from the ceiling interspersed with giant heart "raindrops" over the guest of honor's seat. Another note to self: remember to put marbles in the balloons the next time you are hanging them from the ceiling!

I wrapped my gift in white paper from the Dollar Tree and added scrapbook paper embellishments. The giant cloud at the top ended up looking a little like a car, but oh well. I love wrapping my gifts to coordinate. It is like a decoration that the honoree gets to open!

I made a little wreath for the front door- I wrapped a styrofoam wreath form in ribbon and added the clouds. I loved the dangling raindrops! The "bow: is just knotted ribbon-so quick!

I also made the cloud chandelier (or mobile if you prefer). It was probably my favorite thing next to the Scripture. It is a little hard to see in the photo, but it was a great focal point over the food! I used this fantastic tutorial and templates from HGTV. I usually hate video tutorials, but this one is short and easy to follow. I added the raindrops (more heart punches, although I cut these in half to make them hang straighter and sandwiched the fishing line in between) for a little color. I joked with Joel that I probably use more of his fishing line than he does!

Christy made the cupcakes again-she is the baker/caterer to our decorating skills! (See more of her work here and here and here!) I used my tried and true technique of sandwiching a toothpick between two paper punches. It is a little hard to see, but I added a tiny raindrop to each cloud!

I also made a "runner" of of white wrapping paper, that I tried to cut to look like clouds on the end. It is a little hard to appreciate in the photo, but the thought was good.

The shower was a huge success-we had almost 20 women, which is excellent considering we gave them less than a week's notice. I love to do baby showers probably most of all, just because there is nothing sweeter to celebrate than the miracle of a new baby. This was also a completely adorable theme to work with-if I had more time I had a bunch more ideas on my "Bump Bash"  Pinterest board! I had to laugh because Denise actually said she stayed off Pinterest so she wouldn't ruin the surprise. It *is* pretty easy to tell what I'm working on by what I'm pinning so if you're interested in my next project follow me on Pinterest!:)

Linked up at:
Thrifty Thursdays at "Living Well, Spending Less"

Fancy Framed Scripture

This is such an easy project I almost didn't post it. But I was pretty pleased with how it turned out. It is my goal to have Scripture in every room of my house-but not just generic "as for me and my house" verses. I wanted things that particularly pertained to our family. These verses are actually the theme for the women's Bible study I lead, but they are longtime favorites of mine.

Simple-CHEAP- supplies:

1. Frame-$0.95 from Walmart. Not clearance, regular price.

2. Scrapbook paper- hurry, they are 50% at Hobby Lobby through today-$0.59 for both.

3. Ribbon-again 50% off at the HL, isn't t it always? Could have used what I had on hand, but what fun would that be?$2

4. Buttons (optional) I love these little one color containers from Michael's. I used the red ones for my mobile. $1

Total cost: less than $5 if you purchase exactly what I did
Don't forget your trusty hot glue gun- isn't mine sad? But still very functional!

I was not going to blog about this, so I did not take photos of the first steps. I selected my Scripture and set it up in Word. (I copied and pasted directly from Biblegateway!) Play around a little- you will want to move your margins in so that you get it the right size. My computer actually shows it in actual size, so I just held my frame glass up to make sure it worked. Then I chopped a sheet of scrapbook paper to printer paper size and ran it through my printer. Easy!

I then glued a strip of ribbon across the top. You can't get too fancy, because it won't fit in the frame, but ribbon is flat enough. I folded it to the back and glued to make it look clean.

Popped it in the frame, and you could stop here, but why?

I wanted an extra 3D accent. This is the same flower I used for my notebook, but for your viewing pleasure I will explain it in further detail. Like my expensive tracing tools? Yes, that is a Tupperware lid and a prep cup from Walmart. Depending on the size of your flower, you need two circles: a larger one, and a slightly smaller one. You could also do all the same size, too.

Before I forget, I wanted my flowers to be double-sided. I glued the pink paper to the back of the dotted one before I cut my circles. You could purchase double sided paper, or just skip this step. That will leave some plain white areas, but it it still cute.

Then I hacked them out with my "fancy" scissors. I say hacked, because there is no need to be precise. Then fold them in half.


It is called a box top flower because you put them together like you would fold a cardboard box flaps to keep it closed. Once you get it together, put a small dot of glue in the "corners" to hold it together. Fluff the petals and glue a button in the middle!

I used the second ribbon to cut out some petals. I hotglued the finished flower in the corner and presto! A finished personalized Scripture verse. You can make one to match every room in your house.

It reminds me of Deuteronomy 6:4-9:

"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."

Makes it a little easier, huh?