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Verses to Dwell on for a New Year

Do you have Bible verses that you cling to and dwell on at the beginning of a new year? The first of the year is met with a fresh start and new intentions. Many people set resolutions, others choose a guiding life word for their year. My mind works well with themes and I have always fallen into the second category. My word for the year is “dwell” and I am committed to spending more time in God’s word than ever before. I have always been a book and paper reader, but I have chosen to follow the digital BibleProject | One Story that Leads to Jesus, One-Year plan that can be found in the YouVersion Bible app. I figure my phone is always with me, so there is no excuse for not following the plan with daily reminders. 🙂

Back to themes… I wanted a simple way to pull together verses that would help me focus to begin my year. This year, unlike any previous year, there is a stirring to turn down the noise of the world and turn up the words of comfort and hope as God’s children, we are given for our future within the pages of the Bible.

This list of 30 Bible verses would be a great exercise to read through, as you begin a new year or possibly a new season, for promises of renewal and strength that are scattered throughout the Bible.

I hope you will find refreshment for yourself as you read through and dwell on this set of 30 verses for your new year.

BibleVerses-NewYear Download

Click here to download the set of 30 verse cards.

You can take the files for the individual cards and print on a home printer or send to your local one-hour or home delivery photo lab. I sent the files to my local Walmart and printed 30 4×6 prints at $.09 each. A complete set cost about $3 and will be durable for toting around.

Ideas for using individual verse cards

Slip them into your daily planner or calendar
Hang on your bathroom mirror as daily reminders
Send to a friend in the mail
Flip through and read verses on the go as you are waiting in lines
Share the digital .jpg on your social media
Save the files to an album in your phone for easy flipping
Commit each verse to memory as you read each day

Let me know how this reading plan and printable cards work for you. Also let me know if you would be interested in having additional thematic verse cards and suggested reading plans! I have ideas for other sets that could be created.

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Categories: Faith, Family, Life, Printables

Back to School 2020

Back to School 2020 – Those few words have never been met with such controversy and unknowns about the year ahead. After 5 months of the longest Summer Vacation, my girls are excited to head back to a classroom today, even if it will currently be for 2 days a week.

They are ready for:

Social interactions
Routines and structure
Knowledge and growth
A chance to develop and practice their talents

As we embark on the beginning of middle school and high school, fears and anxieties have run through their minds. More than ever, those feelings are not alone. Every student and teacher will enter those halls with fears and anxieties more than usual this year.

We are all trying to learn and do the best we can, and grace and patience will be required from all parties to navigate this school year.

We can’t always see the big picture and why we are being asked to endure situations that don’t always make sense to us, but be assured you can shine in the space you have been given.

I was reminded of a common theme with Joseph, Esther, and Onesimus and Philemon in our Bible study last night. We never know when our situation has aligned to be a friend to someone who needs us most, to cheer on and support a teacher, or to be a positive example that stands up for the truth.

Genesis 50:20 – You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.

Esther 4:14 – Perhaps this is the moment for which you have been created.

Philemon 1:15 – For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while that you might have him back forever.

Join me in prayer today for a hedge of protection to be around each of our children, teachers, and administration for this school year.

Pray Over Your Kids

Whether your school year looks like in person classroom learning, remote elearning, or your own version of homeschooling, here is a graphic reminder of verses you can pray over your children today and any day.

I would love to hear what school looks like for you and your family this year! Comment below and let me know if you have any specific prayer requests moving into this school year.

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Categories: Family, Life, Photography, Printables

Game Night

Mothers I see you and know you have all been thrown expectations out of the norm over the past 2 months. From making decisions that are best for your family, juggling working from home while entertaining children and continuing school at home, to providing 3 meals a day and keeping a sense of order in your home.

As a fun diversion, I hosted this virtual game night on Facebook to bring my friends together for an evening of fun.

You can download each of the game boards and post to your personal social media accounts and pages to host your own virtual interactive event.

STAY HOME – BINGO

I know each of our “Stay Home” experiences have looked a little different depending on where we live, how we are working, and the needs of our children. I know for many this has been a much needed time to slow down and rest during a season of growth. As we share our own personal stories from this time, I am sure common themes and activities connect each of us.

Download the Bingo board and you can digitally cross off items you have completed with Staying Home.

STAY HOME – BINGO Download

STAY HOME – THIS OR THAT

If you watch Instagram Stories, you may be familiar with “This or That.” Simply download the graphic and mark it up by drawing a circle around your answer.

STAY HOME – THIS OR THAT Download

STAY HOME – SCATTERGORIES

Scattergories may have been one of my favorite games growing up! I love having to think quickly to come up with a list within given parameters. I have devised a “quarantine” edition of Scattergories, that will be fun to share with your friends.

STAY HOME SCATTERGORIES Download

I SPY – STAY HOME EDITION

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Did you ever read/look at the I Spy Books that were filled with thematic collaged photographs? You could spend hours looking at hidden objects within the carefully arranged pages.

Think through the activities and things you have been doing yourself or as a family during your extended period of staying at home. Gather as many items as you can to represent what you have been doing and set them up on a neutral background (floor, on a blanket, on a counter, on a table) Have fun arranging all your items within your given canvas. Stand above your items. Grab a step ladder or sturdy chair and shoot down to photograph all your items laid out flat.

Try to make sure your items are well lit or use photo editing afterward.

This photograph will be a special memory to hang on to for years to come to tell future generations about the months you learned to be still at home.

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Categories: Life, Photography, Printables, Recipes

Galentine’s Party

My girls love hosting parties for their friends, so this year we hosted our first Galentine’s Party! As I mentioned in my previous Share the Love post, I love all things decorating and crafting for Valentine’s Day. This time of year is usually pretty calm on most people’s calendars, so it makes for good timing to get a group together. For several weeks my girls and I have been scouting out Pinterest ideas and brainstorming the perfect food and crafts to have at their Galentine’s Party.

We were inspired with the beautiful Charcuterie Board food craze! It is amazing how simple food can look so pretty when laid out playfully on a board. We went with a variety of kid friendly foods like heart-shaped ham, turkey, cheese, crackers, carrots, strawberries, and heart shaped cookies.

I was walking through Trader Joe’s one day and saw a box of waffle cones and thought it would be cute to make a fruit arrangement. Of course I wasn’t the first to think of this idea as I found plenty of visual inspiration on Pinterest.

After lunch we passed around the tray of what I am calling Girls Affirming Paper Cookies. Each cookie had a life-giving bible verse that each of the girls read out loud to announce their personal affirmation for the day. We were inspired by these paper fortune cookies.

Choose coordinating printed pattern paper. Use a glass cup to trace a 3 inch circle on the back of the paper. Cut out circles. Print the page of affirming bible verses and cut into strips. Fold circle in half with the verse strip inside. Pinch in middle and attach a glue dot or adhesive. Fan the two edges out to look like a fortune cookie.

Download the page of bible verse strips to make your own cookies.
Girls-Affirming-Paper-Cookie-VersesDownload

After lunch the girls broke into their groups with their friends to bake cookies and complete a craft. We made heart-shaped shortbread sandwich cookies. They turned out, oh, so cute, and the girls had blast mixing up the ingredients and cutting out the shapes. Each girl took a baggie of decorated cookies home to their family to enjoy.

SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Ingredients:

1 cup cold butter, cubed
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp cold water
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients together in a mixer.
Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Roll out dough on a flour covered surface.
Cut with desired shape.
Bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes.

While one group was baking their batch of cookies, the other group was constructing soothing rice bags. My mother, Vanessa, taught us to make these in various forms over the years. Instead of hunting down fabric for this project, I had another idea that would be easier for my girls to do the sewing to help their friends put together a soothing rice bag. We pop these soothing rice bags in the microwave for 2 minutes and warm them up and lay them across our next back to soothe tired muscles and relax before bed.

We bought a giant bag of rice from the grocery store and added about 10 drops of Young Living Lavender Essential Oil to a bowl of rice and stirred it up well before scooping into the arm tube.

Moms, as you are cleaning out closets and drawers for consignment sales or donation drop-offs, save long sleeve cotton shirts. They make a great tube shape to fill with rice with an easy stitch on both ends.

Outgrown children’s size long sleeve shirts or toddler size pants are the perfect size for upcycling for this project.

Leave my girls a note in the comments and let them know which of their ideas you would like to try at your next gathering.

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Categories: Life, Photography, Printables

Share the Love

We want to share the love with each of you this Valentine’s Day with 8 free custom designed Valentine printable cards!

If you haven’t already downloaded the oh so cute, fun and fresh designs, make sure you go grab them HERE.

I have always loved crafting and designing things for Valentine’s Day. There is something about the simplicity of a heart that catches my eye and draws me in every time. It is fun to stage and create portraits for clients and my own children during the Valentine season. My girls have finally grown out of the stage where it is cute to bring in photographic cards of themselves that their Mom designed. We always had fun with them and I am thankful for the years they indulged me.

Wow, that was a trip down memory lane!

Whether it is Valentine’s Day or any day of the year, sometimes you just need a cute card to attach to a package or send in the mail. If you are a busy mom like me, you don’t have time to get lost reading every card in the Hallmark aisle, looking for the perfect sentiment.

I’ve got you covered with 8 different designs to show your friends and loved ones that you care any time of year. Make sure you grab the pull page .pdf printables at the link above. After your print the 2 pages of Valentine’s, you can trim along the guide lines to make 8 different 4×5 cards.

Connect with me in the comments and let me know how you were able to use the Valentine printables and please share the love by sharing this link with your friends so they can grab the printables also.

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