Practice Hospitality.

Link for the Little Guys...

Do you have a future Lenardo DaVinci in your midst?  Running out of art projects to satisfy his creative mind?  Check out www.kidscraftweekly.com. Sign up for their weekly newsletter chock-full of ideas, or browse their site through issues past.  Happy crafting!

 

Recipe of the Day!

 

Heavenly Housekeeping.

Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.  They are new every morning, great is Your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22-23

We are on a mini-vacation, and my favorite thing about vacation is hotel housekeeping!  What a treat it is to wake up late, leave with your bed unmade and your towels on the floor, and return in the afternoon to a room that has been returned to its previous glory.  This beautiful thing happens every day!

As I was thanking the Lord for the hard working ladies that have been blessing me with a freshly-made bed (something I've not seen in the weeks since little Eliana was born!), I was reminded of His mercies--and although walking into a clean hotel room is a wonderful thing, how much more wonderful is walking into a new day that is clean by the mercies of God and the blood of Jesus Christ.  The dirty towels and wrinkled sheets of my sinful flesh are continuously cleaned--and this beautiful thing happens every day!  Praise God!

If you have not experienced the mercies of God...today is the day of Salvation!

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

sja

Clean Your House in 19 Minutes

Cleaning Tips from Real Simple Magazine...

With a plan of attack, you can maintain a sparkling house in just 19 minutes a day

Kitchen, 4 1/2 minutes daily
Always start with the sink. A sparkling sink becomes your kitchen's benchmark for hygiene and tidiness, inspiring you to load the dishwasher immediately and keep counters, refrigerator doors, and the stove top spick-and-span, too.

• Wipe down the sink after doing the dishes or loading the dishwasher (30 seconds).
• Wipe down the stove top (one minute).
• Wipe down the counters (one minute).
• Sweep, Swiffer, or vacuum the floor (two minutes).

Bathroom, 2 minutes daily
Make cleaning the basin as routine as washing your hands. But don't stop there. Get the most out of your premoistened wipe by using it to clean around the edges of the tub and then the toilet before tossing it.

• Wipe out the sink (30 seconds). Wipe the toilet seat and rim (15 seconds).
• Swoosh the toilet bowl with a brush (15 seconds).
• Wipe the mirror and faucet (15 seconds).
• Squeegee the shower door (30 seconds).
• Spray the entire shower and the curtain liner with shower mist after every use (15 seconds).

Bedroom, 6 1/2 minutes daily
Make your bed right before or after your morning shower. A neat bed will inspire you to deal with other messes immediately. Although smoothing sheets and plumping pillows might not seen like a high priority as you're rushing to work, the payoff comes at the end of the day, when you slip back under the unruffled covers.

• Make the bed (two minutes).
• Fold or hang clothing and put away jewelry (four minutes).
• Straighten out the night-table surface (30 seconds).

Family Room, Living Room, Foyer, 6 minutes daily
Start with the sofa -- as long as it's in disarray, your living room will never look tidy. Once you've fluffed the pillows and folded the throws, you're halfway home. If you pop in a CD while you dust, you should be able cover the whole room by the end of the third track.

• Pick up crumbs and dust bunnies with a handheld vacuum (one minute).
• Fluff the cushions and fold throws after use (two minutes).
• Wipe tabletops and spot-clean cabinets when you see fingerprints (one minute).
• Straighten coffee-table books and magazines. Throw out newspapers. Put away CDs and videos. (Two minutes.)

Spring Fever.

It's begun!  Spring fever!!  Warmer temps...pollen in the air!  Time to head to the beach...river...lake...pool...whatever's cool on the tootsies and in the sunshine!!

So...what will you wear?  I think I'm going to the beach today in my underwear.  'What?!?' You say?  Yet most bikinis cover less than Hanes Her Way.

Let's honor God this year and make plans to purchase a modest swimsuit.  Before you groan, thanks to religions other than Christianity, cute modest swimwear is getting easier and easier to find.  Believers in Christ should be the ones blazing--not strolling--this path!

 

Here are some links:

www.limericki.com

(Bought my suit here last year...LOVE it...although it's fit for my pregnancy figure!  Need a new one now!  I have the brown cinch skirt--AWESOMEly cute.)

www.christa-taylor.com

(Newer online site...very classy)

www.modbeclothing.com

(Fun, funky modest choices)

www.hydrochic.com

(Very cute ruffle swim skirts)

...And...if you'd like links for modest swimwear for little ones...give me a yell!!

 

"Therefore I urge you, (Sisters), in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship.  Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, (which includes their fashions!), but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--His good, pleasing and perfect will."  Romans 12:1-2, (emphasis mine)

Kid Friendly Recipe!

Taco Mac Casserole

1 Package Deluxe Mac and Cheese (Kraft or Velveeta--the ones with the squishy cheese pouch)

1 Pound Ground Beef

1 Package Taco Seasoning Mix

3/4 Cup Sour Cream

1 1/2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese, Divided

1 Cup Chunky Salsa

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Prepare mac and cheese as directed on package.  While mac is cooking, cook meat with taco seasoning as directed on package.

Stir sour cream into prepared mac and cheese; spoon 1/2 into 8-inch square baking dish.  Top with layers of seasoned meat, 1 cup cheese, and remaining mac and cheese; cover with foil.

Bake 15 minutes; top with salsa and remaining cheese.  Bake, uncovered, 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. 

The Best Mom Song.

This bit of humor is the best I've seen in quite some time!  Praise the Lord for moms!

Text Message Ministry.

Somtimes God blesses us with a forever friend.  The summer I graduated from high school, God gave me a forever friend--Raquel.  All of us that dearly love her know her simply as 'Quel, and we are blessed by her several times a week by the beep of a received text message on our cell phones.

I've seen many people make many things an instrument of God's working, but Quel amazes me with hers.  She ministers through her cell phone, and does so often.

"Good morning.  His word tells us to be on guard and to put on the armor of God and to stand against the enemy's scheme.  Dear Lord, help us 2 be on the alert and 2 stand our ground.  Help us to walk victorious through life and not cower at the enemy's toothless growl.  Amen.  Have a great day.  Be blessed and be a blessing."

This is just one of the many texts I've received from her, always being reminded of God's promises, and always being prayed for by my forever friend, my friend for eternity.

Let's be challenged today to use the resources around us to bless others as Quel continually blesses me.  She has the gift of encouragement, and uses everything around her to be a steward of that gift.  Praise God for her faith in Christ Jesus, and the joy of her salvation.  (Love you, Quelly!)

sja

Beautiful artwork from our friend, Kay Burklin...

Many of you were blessed by the beautiful artwork and encouraging message brought to us during our recent Spring Fashion Show by Kay Burklin.  Lucky us--she has begun a website for selling her lovely goods on the craft site, Etsy!  Here is a direct link to her blog and shop...www.prettywithribbons.com.  Visit, enjoy, and encourage her with a purchase!

xo,

sja

I Love Peter Perfect!

Okay...confession time.  One of the joys of being home with morning sickness is finding a new TV program to obsess about.  Enter Peter Perfect, a makeover show that airs on the Style Network.

The host of the show is Peter Ishkans, a designer of all trades, who, among revamping the style of celebrities and working in his Beverly Hills salon, gives home-grown businesses the most amazing of new starts.

Besides the very obvious creative aspects of the show that enthrall me, the show reminds me of deep spiritual truths every time I watch it.

Struggling business owners contact Peter for a new start.  A new beginning.  A new identity.  They need vision.

Where there is no vision, the people perish... Proverbs 29:18

If anyone one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17

I don't know if Peter is a follower of Jesus Christ, but what he does with people and their family businesses is a modern-day parable of what Christ does with us.  Peter gives these businesses a new identity--Christ does likewise with us as He robes us in His holiness.  Peter gives these business owners a new vision for running their shops--Christ does likewise with us as He sanctifies us and shows us how to live by His word.  The changes are hard for these owners; many tears are shed as the changes are made.  But Peter is compassionate and patient, and gently leads them to the glorious finished product--the best part that's revealed at the end of each show.  How much more amazing is a God who is even more patient...even more compassionate because He can sympathize with our every weakness?  He bears with us until His greatest 'end of the show'...the reveal that will be our lives--truly perfect--Jesus Perfect--within the glorious gates of heaven.

The spiritual parallels in this show are many--and beyond the Christ-transformation parable that it brings, it challenges us in how we encourage other believers and non-believers.  Peter is immensely encouraging...he's energizing...he gives people vision.  We should be doing the same for our brothers and sisters in Christ, and for our neighbor who has yet to meet Him.

So...set your TiVo's and your DVR's...and let the Holy Spirit speak to you through even the most commonplace of sources...God once spoke through a donkey...He can use the TV, too.

In Him...

sja