12 Days of Christmas Day 3 Christmas Countdown Calendar

I love a good Christmas countdown calendar (because if you have kids, you know a countdown calendar so helps!), and this one is easy AND can be used year after year. 

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Sunday Verses

Happy Sunday! We are at the end of the Thanksgiving weekend and frankly, many people are feeling let down, frustrated, and exhausted. We have spent time with family and friends and for many, with people who are hard to love (if you aren't sure who the challenging one is, it might be you 😉). People are messy. Like snowflakes, each person in our lives is unique and sometimes that makes loving them hard. We struggle to understand how each one of us is wired differently. The only perfect love is God and the rest of us have to strive to love and accept others for the individuals that they are. If you are feeling let down, that is okay. Breathe, rest, and soak in Jesus' unconditional love. Continue to work (and it is work) to see the best in others and to actively love and appreciate their distinctive qualities.

Sunday Verses

Happy Sunday! One of my favorite things about where we live are the mountains that surround us. It is a rare day that I don't appreciate them and thank God for their beauty. But, those same amazing mountains become problems in inclement weather. They are often at best extremely dangerous to drive over, and at worst, impassable. Mountains are mentioned 500 times in the Bible, many times as barriers. God sees mountains as opportunities. He sees our stumbling blocks as chances to work in our lives, as events where his unfailing love removes obstacles and Jesus moves on our behalf. Whatever mountain you are facing-- broken relationships, poor health, debt, addiction, depression--give them to our loving Father and trust him to level them.

12 Days of Christmas Day 2 Custom Ribbon and a Wreath

Today's project is super simple and easy and quick--perfect, right? 

I wanted to create custom ribbon for Christmas projects.

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Sunday Verses

Happy Sunday! We have had a lot of winter this fall and we only had a few days, as opposed to the typical two weeks, of brilliant colored cotoneaster leaves before they lost their foliage. The hedge suffered from the early, tough conditions, but the berries that are left on the bushes attract turkeys, chickadees, and other birds that enjoy feeding on them. As I watched turkeys enjoying the fruit, it reminded me that sometimes we go through hard things so that we can bear fruit for others. People are watching us, watching how we handle adversity and trials. And often, before we can even see the life things we are learning in the tough times, others are growing and taking hold of the "fruit" or lessons. God does not waste our pain and difficulties. When we love others, keep the faith and continue to trust God through the challenges, we will bear good fruit.

12 Days of Christmas Day 1 Christmas Card Box

Hello, and welcome to my annual 12 Days of Christmas ideas posts. I look forward to sharing with you 12 different, easy DIY ideas for the holidays. 

Sunday Verses

Happy Sunday! When was the last time you let something glorious startle you? We get so accustomed to our everyday lives, to the things we see and experience day in and day out that we often forget to notice and appreciate the beauty in the ordinary. I have learned that the one thing that can turn around a ho-hum day or my bad attitude is when I stop to enjoy and thank God for the routine things that I take for granted. Sunrises and sunsets, hugs and smiles, the sound of laughter, trees changing with the seasons, simple and kind gestures, a good meal--all small things that are extraordinary if we let them be. Let God's everyday wonders startle you and remember to thank him when they do.

Rustic Repurposed Christmas Tobacco Tin

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...really, it is around here. We have already had lots of snow and record breaking cold temperatures. And while I typically start my 12 Days of Christmas Ideas posts on November 1st, I am a tad late due to LIFE.

BUT, even though I am not starting my OFFICIAL 12 Days posts, I do have a quick and easy DIY Christmas project for you. 

Sunday Verses

Happy Sunday! We just celebrated senior night for volleyball for my daughter and this is one of my favorite photos from the night. Competitively, it was a tough season--we moved up a class, graduated seven seniors the previous year, and lost two outstanding senior players to knee injuries. Despite the setbacks, the season has been a positive one as the truly important lessons of playing a sport have been practiced. This team has inspired one another, they have lifted each other up, and spurred each other on to be better. They have cried together, laughed together, loved each other, and wrapped their arms tightly around their teammates. They have embodied what this verse is about and what unselfishly loving one another looks like. This week look for someone that you can encourage, that you can wrap your arms around and lift up.

Sunday Verses

Happy Sunday! A few months my husband, daughter and I picked more than a gallon of huckleberries and froze them so that on cold mornings like today we can enjoy huckleberry pancakes. Huckleberry picking takes some patience. First, you have to know where to find the berries and that tends to be highly classified information in Montana. They grow close to the ground so you have to squat or stoop for long periods of time to pick huckleberries one at a time. Bears also enjoy huckleberries so you must remain vigilant with at-hand bear spray while gathering. But, oh, warm huckleberry pancakes on a snowy morning are a small slice of heaven and worth every bit of work and time. There is a saying that we don't eat the fruit the same day we plant the seed. Doing good, taking care of others, praying for something is often a delayed harvest. Like huckleberry picking, we need to be patient when doing good and trust that being kind and compassionate, selfless and altruistic will reap future fruit.