2013: Year in Review!

                I thought about doing a year-end post of the most popular posts of the year. However, I decided that chances are good you have already seen those! Instead, I chose my 12 favorite posts of the year (June was kind of a bust, post-wise, since I was busy helping with the wedding, so I chose a post from July that I actually did in June.) So without further ado, here are my personal faves from the year:

January: We made "Adorable Aliens"
February: I whipped up some "Happy Hearts Trail Mix" (Anyone interested in a printable for this? Let me know in the comments!)
March: I shared some of my favorite recipes from my "Crockpot Goodness" Pinterest board.
April: I put together these "Teacher Thank-You Handsoap Sets".
May: I threw Carson a "$25 Birthday Party".
June: More teacher thank-yous: "Cute Coaster World Carnival Favors"
July: I loved the "Wedding Day Candy Bar" from my sister's wedding so much, it got its own post!
August: I finally blogged these fun "Art Party Krispy Treats".
September: I helped decorate for this fun "Raindrops and Sprinkles Baby Shower".
October: I blogged for 31 Days! This was a huge accomplishment. I loved the whole "31 Days of Perfect Party Planning" series.
November: I talked about "Teaching Kids Gratitude" just in time for Thanksgiving.
December: This is definitely the post I am the most excited about: I created a "31 Day Reading Guide to Ephesians" and shared it just in time for the New Year!


This has been a huge year for my little blog. I started a Facebook page (I would love it you would "like" it!). I joined a group Pinterest page (Thanks so much Living Well, Spending Less!). I was featured at several different blogs (check out the right hand side of my blog if you are interested in where). I committed in the second half of the year to blog at least 4 times a month, and gain 100 Facebook fans and I did both. I am so excited to see where the Lord leads in 2014- I know He has had His hand all over this. Thanks for joining me! My prayer for all of us in the New Year is:

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

Happy New Year!

Linking Up:
"Whatever Goes Wednesdays" at Someday Crafts
"Create It Thursday" at Lamberts Lately
"Fabulously Frugal Thursday" at A Life in Balance 
"Thursdays are Your Days" at 52 Mantels 
"All Things Thursday" at All Things with Purpose
"Thrifty Thursday" at Living Well, Spending Less
"Craft Frenzy Friday" at Craft Dictator 
"Super Saturday" at Made From Pinterest

31 Day Reading Guide to Ephesians

 Join me on Facebook to discuss and share what you are learning this month. It's a great way to stay accountable!

   I am so excited to share this special New Year's gift with you. It's a Bible reading guide for the book of Ephesians! I have a passion for the Word, and I love to study and read it. However, I have started to realize that it is a daunting book for so many people, and I think that it is a tragedy that they allow that fear to keep them from delving into one of God's greatest gifts to us. The Bible *is* an exceptionally complex, challenging book. However, that should be the last thing that keeps you from reading it, because we are promised that the Holy Spirit will help us to understand:

"What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for,

“Who has known the mind of the Lord
    so as to instruct him?”

But we have the mind of Christ." " 1 Corinthians 2:12-16 (NIV)

   (By the way, that is a passage we will cover this month!)  We are promised that the Spirit will teach us and impart wisdom. Sometimes, though, it is still hard to know where to start! But if your New Year's resolution is to read your Bible, then I would love to help. I have put together a reading guide that will take you through the entire book of Ephesians ( Did you know it is called the greatest of all of Paul's letters?) including background, and complimentary/explanatory passages. You will read a passage from Ephesians one day, and then the following day you will read other verses from the New and Old Testament that will help you to have a richer understanding of the Ephesians verses.  I've even made a printable!

Right click on the image to save and print

 All you need to do is print it out and place it with your Bible. I folded mine in half and plan on using it as a bookmark. I have scheduled it so that you will not have any passages to read on Sundays. However, that isn't a day "off"- it is a day that you can look up additional verses on your own, focus on different portions of Scripture, or catch-up if you missed a day. I

   The Word will never return void, so if  all you do is read the passages you will be blessed. However, if you are looking to dig deeper, I encourage you to keep a journal, and write down your thoughts and impressions. Or perhaps you could choose one of the particularly meaningful sections to memorize. How ever you use it, I hope it provides a jumping-off point to a deeper relationship with God this year! That is one of my New Year's goals that never changes.

P.S. I made a little error in two of the dates. If you are using the printable for January, you will see that the 11th and 12th need to be switched (read on the 11th, rest on Sunday the 12th) and the 18th and 19th (read on the 18th, rest on the 19th). I hate mistakes, but hopefully this won't be too big of  deal. Thanks for understanding.


Are you looking for Bible study tools? Here are some of my favorites!

Linking to:
"Whatever Goes Wednesdays" at Someday Crafts
"Create it Thursday" at Lambert's Lately
"Fabulously Frugal Thursday" at A Life in Balance 
"Thursdays are Your Days" at 52 Mantels
"All Things Thursday" at All Things With Purpose
"Pin It Thursday" at Sweet Bella Roos
"Thrifty Thursday" at Living Well, Spending Less
"Craft Frenzy Friday" at Craft Dictator 
"Super Saturday" at Made From Pinterest

New Year's Metallic Dot Wreath (Updated!)

             I posted about this New Year's metallic dot wreath I made last year, and I pulled it out again to decorate with this year! It was so easy to update it- I simply pulled off the "3" and since I saved my stickers from last year, I just added a "4" instead! The wreath saved beautifully, and I am still in love with the metallic colors- they are such a refreshing change from the bright, sometimes overwhelming colors of Christmas! I love to leave it up the whole month of January. If you would like to make one, it will cost you about $5 and only take about 20 minutes, and you can find the whole tutorial here! I feel like the poor New Year is overlooked after Christmas, so it deserves some special New Year's  decorations of its own!

Linked at:
"Live Laugh" Thursday at Live, Laugh, Rowe 
"Create It Thursday" at Lamberts Lately 
"Show Your Stuff" at Just Winging It 
"Craft Frenzy Friday" at Craft Dictator

Christmas is for the Hungry

    

    I don't really love to cook. I looove to bake, and make candy, but I don't really get into making "real" food. However, back in the beginning of December, I was taken captive by an idea. I really wanted to make dinner for my husband and all his co-workers, and take it up to their shop. Even I was a little surprised- where did this craziness come from? But, because I love to fill my plate beyond full, I decided to make it happen.

   So now, in my kitchen, there are the ingredients to make dinner for over 20 people. And I started to get a little nervous. *What* was I thinking? These people are not needy! Why was I so intent on feeding them? And then, a little Voice said," Jesus came to feed the hungry, not just the needy. And everyone is hungry."

   Everyone is hungry. We are looking for something to fill that hole. In our stomachs. In our hearts. In our lives. And isn't that what Christmas is all about?

"The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us." John 1:14a

"For My flesh is real food and My blood is real drink." John 6:55

   He knew our souls were starving, He knew our minds and hearts were empty. He came so that He could fill us, so that we need never know that gnawing, biting, all-consuming ache again. He made Himself into the very thing that we needed most, the thing we were literally dying without. 

   And the Word has always spoken of the importance of recognizing the parallels between spiritual and physical hunger. One of my favorite passages from Isaiah says,

"“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
    and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
    and break every yoke

  Is it not to share your food with the hungry
    and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
    and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? 

 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
    and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
    and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. 

 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
    you will cry for help, and He will say: Here am I. "

                                               Isaiah 58:6-9 (NIV) 

    Jesus knew all about hunger. He fed the thousands more than once. He came to show us that satisfying physical hunger is often the first step to healing spiritual hunger. We break down walls when we break bread together. Those men my husband works with- do they *need* my food? No, probably not. But I know they are hungry, in more ways than one. And if I want my "light to break forth like the dawn" then I am commanded to share my food with the hungry.

    Christmas is about satisfying needs. We see "wants" run a muck this time of year, but we fail to recognize that Christmas is for the hungry. He came to feed the hungry- and not one of us is excepted from that title. And if I have already been filled, if my deepest desire has been met- then I am commanded to pour out, to give much, to follow Him in feeding the hungry. And so maybe, that is where all of this craziness came from. This need to make a meal, is really about meeting a need. Maybe by satisfying one small physical want, I can show them Who can satisfy every want. He came so that we would never hunger again.

"Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty." John 6:35 (NIV)

   So this Christmas, may you be full. May the Bread of Life, the only One who can satisfy all your desires dwell among you. And may you be able to share the fullness of His love. Merry Christmas!

Great Grinch Party

            I have wanted to have a Grinch party for a while now. It has long been one of my most favorite Christmas movies. My friend Sarah and I talked about it, and we agreed that it was a holiday necessity. However, we all know how crazy this time of year is, so we didn't want anything over the top that required too much time or money.

     I decided that I would not make any decorations before the party day-I put everything together this morning, the only thing I did beforehand was shop and make the cookies. I used a great recipe I got from my sister for "Gooey Butter Cookies" and simply added green food coloring.  Oh, and I had already made these "Cake Batter Truffles" a few days ago, so I just put them in a pretty white dish!

   One of my favorite decorations was this paper garland. I literally put it together in about 15 minutes! I had some paper strips left over from my wreath (yes, I am a scrapbook paper hoarder!)  and then I cut a few more on my paper cutter. I didn't worry about the widths or lengths, I wanted them to be varied. Then I hot glued them onto a ribbon, randomly choosing strips. It turned out so cute!

   I made the tulle pom-poms for Josie's birthday (I plan on sharing that next month!) and they were just perfect for this party. I printed off this Grinch printable and used some ribbon to make the frame longer for hanging. Then put green striped candy canes in a vase with this printable on the front, and a little green tissue paper in the bottom. I put my truffles in an olive dish and a few floating candles in a glass bowl and put everything on cake stands. My peppermint tree worked with the color scheme so I put it on there, too. My friend Sarah put together these cute "Grinch" fruit kebabs. The kids loved them!

    I taped my "Paper Straw Snowflakes" over the pictures on my wall. They were the right color, too. I love this kind of decorating- simple, easy and cute. I put everything up in about an hour, and that included printing the printable, and making the garland!

     The best decoration isn't one I made. Sarah's talented husband drew this amazing Grinch free-hand so the kids could play "Pin the Heart on the Grinch". He looked so great on the wall!

           The kids had a great time trying to get the felt heart onto the right spot. And doesn't the Grinch look like he needs a heart (or 6)?!

    I put together this "Melt the Grinch's Heart" game. I used cherry Runt candies (not only do they look like hearts, but they are the right color). I made put them in ice cube trays filled with water dyed green. The water did mostly remove the color from the candies, though!

   I told the kids they could use any part of their bodies to get the candy free from the ice. They were kind of hilarious! They really enjoyed it, and I provided several towels to warm and dry their hands with. Their reward for getting the candy out was another heart candy.

The favors were the last part. So easy and cheap, too! I had a coupon so I got the Market Pantry reindeer grahams from Target for $1. Just like Max the "reindeer"! The tree shaped bubbles were $0.75 for two at Target-just like the trees the Grinch stole. And then I tied two green striped candy canes with a little curling ribbon.

 I used more of the Grinch candy cane printables to top cellophane bags with! I love having favors and these were so simple and inexpensive, less than $1 each!

    I forgot to take photos of the "green" hot chocolate I made. I used this "White Peppermint Hot Chocolate" and it was delicious! We topped it with whipped cream, snowman marshmallows and sprinkles. The kids had a "teeny" sugar high, but it was worth it. We munched all the goodies while watching the classic "Grinch" movie and it was just delightful.

      We decided that this little party definitely needs to be an annual event. It was just perfect for the holidays-easy, fun, and low-key. I think Sarah and I liked it almost as much as the kids!

Linked up at:
"Whatever Goes Wednesday" at Someday Crafts