Category: Our Exceptional God

Christmas Craft Idea For Parents And Kids

Unique Christmas Craft Idea – Decorating Glass Ornaments!

Christmas craft idea

I found a wonderful Christmas craft idea that I couldn’t wait to share with you. It looks like it’s a fun and relatively easy project to do and something you can get your kids involved in as well.

Is your Christmas tree up yet?

If you haven’t finished decorating your tree, this could be the project for you.

How about getting creative with some store-bought clear glass Christmas ornaments from our friends at Hobby Lobby?

I love colorful ornaments, and in about the two minutes it takes to watch this video, I bet you’ll get in a creative mood as well.

This is my favorite time of year. I couldn’t wait to decorate our home. I love the way it looks now. It’s a joy to walk around and take in the memories. There’s a story behind each little display.

The cherished manger pieces given to us by my husband’s parents are there to remind us of the real reason for the season.

Speaking of the real reason for Christmas…

Happy 50th Anniversary Charlie Brown!

Last night, my husband and I watched the annual Charlie Brown Christmas special. Did you see it too?

Every year, we make a point of staying home, lighting a fire in the fireplace, and cozying up to watch “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” For 50 years, this national treasure has captured the spirit of the season to the delight of young and old alike. Here’s a treasured scene. I hope you enjoy!

God bless you all!

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Happy Thanksgiving, Friends!

Happy Thanksgiving, Friends!

Happy Thanksgiving

I love Thanksgiving. Next to Christmas, it’s my favorite time of the year.

It’s fun to dig out all of my Mom’s old recipes. There’s a memory connected to each one.

Yesterday, I pulled out my trusty 3-ring binder and it’s chock full of pages listing ingredients that make my mouth water.

We kept our Thanksgiving meal pretty traditional when I was growing up. I have fond memories of delicious food, footballs games on television, and board games spread out to challenge everyone. The masterpiece finale was always my Dad’s pecan pie.

The secret ingredient? A big dose of love.

A Few Tweaks to the Thanksgiving Meal

My husband and I both love to cook. In fact, we watch most of the cooking competitions on Food Network so we’ve come up with a few successful tweaks to Thanksgiving recipes.

Uh oh, I said “tweaks.”

Now don’t hate.

I do like pumpkin pie, it’s just not my favorite.

pecan pie

Give me a pecan pie any day. A slice of that pecan deliciousness and I’m on a happy sugar high for hours.

On another note, when you’re around me, please pronounce it  “puh con,” and not “pee can,” or you’ll drive me crazy! We southerners take that kind of thing seriously  😉

I have to confess, I have tweaked my Mom’s green bean casserole recipe. I always thought that green bean casseroles were…uh…very bland.

There, I said it! Sorry, mom.

So, with the best intentions and a nod to the great state of Texas and Tex Mex, I add Mexican cheese to my green bean casserole. I have to say – it rocks!

I hope you have an enjoyable Thanksgiving and I wish you safe travels if you’re away from home.

May your week be filled with love and joy and, most importantly, gratitude to our heavenly Father.

God bless!

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Veterans Day November 11th 2015

November 11th, 2015 is Veterans Day

Veterans DayGod bless our veterans! On this day, and every day, I say “thank you” to all who have served and continue to serve our country.

Without them, there is no Land of the Free and Home of the Brave.

I looked up the word “Bravery” in an online dictionary and it returned results such as, heroism, fearlessness, and boldness. I think those terms pretty accurately describe the attributes of the brave men and women in our armed forces.

How Are You Celebrating Veterans Day This Year?

Veterans deserve our respect. Whether it’s a spoken “thank you” said to a veteran who crosses your path or better yet, buying their meal, I know they’ll appreciate the show of patriotism. My husband and I have bought meals for people before at restaurants (anonymously) and it’s hard to put into words the wonderful feeling you get when you offer grace without expecting anything in return. I highly recommend it!

Blessing Our Military

If you’re looking for ideas how to bless the military, Operation Gratitude is here to help. You can choose from writing letters to creating unique craft projects. What a great way to use one of your spiritual gifts. Who wouldn’t want to put a smile on the face of a soldier?

Lord Keep Us Safe

I pray that God will bless our land and keep our country safe. This grace period we’re in won’t happen much longer if our political leaders continue to defy God. All we can do is continue to pray for a revival, vote for faith-based political leaders, and urge a reversal of the anti-God laws that are devastating our country. Seems like it’s all snowballing right now.

If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under. – Ronald Reagan

 

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Don’t Forget to Jump in the Puddles

jump in the puddles

Don’t Forget to Jump in the Puddles

If it’s pouring down rain, would you sit inside and complain about the miserable weather or would you go outside and jump in the puddles?

I thought about this as I read a recent letter from one of our sponsor children, *NG.

I love those letters.

Sometimes she just sends a picture that she created for us and sometimes it’s even more. We’re learning so much about her.

Every piece of correspondence reveals a little bit more about her daily life, her favorite school subjects, and what she is learning about God.

One letter told us that she loves to lead her class in the opening prayer.  I wish I could hear her now because I know that, to see her in person, would touch me deeply.

NG also loves to sing. We have that in common.  🙂

She’s a sweetheart, indeed.

Jump in the puddles

NG also said that, when it rains, she likes to go outside and jump in the puddles. Not so different from children in America, huh? The joy and laughter of a child – doing what children like to do – transcends all economic boundaries.

NG lives in poverty, but despite the dire circumstances of her surroundings, she has the joy of God in her life. I think it’s a lesson we should all keep in mind the next time a messy downpour keeps us from doing something that we wanted to do.

A Silver Lining in the Clouds

We should have gratitude for the rain just as much as we do when the sun is out.

God created everything – from the rain to the rainbows.

This wonderful little girl, who I know I’ll meet in Heaven someday, will have me jumping in the puddles along with her throughout eternity.

That’s a thought I plan to keep in my heart for the next rainy day.

Gratitude

*Full name withheld for child’s privacy.

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The 33 Movie

Have you seen the promos yet for The 33 movie?

It looks like its going to be a good one so I wanted to give you the heads up.

(p.s. you’ll want to make sure to bring your Kleenex.)

Remember the national news story a few years ago about the 33 miners who were rescued from the San Jose Mine in Chile?

Chilean mine rescueThis story broke in 2010 and yet, the legacy of these brave men lives forever.

They were plunged into darkness during the mine collapse. There was very little water and food to sustain them. Even so, the men stuck together, kept their faith in God, and inspired the whole world with their stories of courage.

Directed by Patricia Riggen, this movie has a strong cast including Antonio Banderas, Lou Diamond Phillips, and Juliette Binoche.

Yes! Hollywood is making another worthwhile movie.

Unfortunately, this kind of entertainment is not the norm anymore.

Jimmy Sanchez miner quote

Call to Action

Let’s send a pro-family message from the American public. We want more inspiring, pro-family, and faith-based movies in the theaters.

I don’t know about you, but in our house, we avoid going to most movies at the theater. The invasion of vampire, paranormal, sophomoric humor, and political agenda movie topics are rampant and a complete turnoff to us.

“The 33” movie comes out November 13. You can check your local theater for times.

faith based film***Update: I saw the movie and it was really good. There is some language in it so parents need to be aware before taking their kids.

God bless!

*Quote from Chilean miner, Jimmy Sanchez: Crouse, Janice Shaw. “Faith and the Rescued Chilean Miners.” Townhall.com. Townhall Media Group, n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2015.;http://townhall.com/columnists/janiceshawcrouse/2010/10/18/faith_and_the_rescued_chilean_miners

Chilean mine photo courtesy of : Wikipedia contributors, “San José Mine,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=San_Jos%C3%A9_Mine&oldid=679182012 (accessed October 27, 2015).

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