Hearts in Service Blog

We all need encouragement from time to time. I find that usually it's my children who will do the thing that provides me the most encouragement. I think every parent questions whether they are doing the right thing; whether their children will develop a Godly character. Sometimes, I want to give up and then other times, like yesterday, they bless my socks off! School was over for the day and I had to make a phone call which was going to take a while. When I got off the phone this is what I found... Nathan & Stephen working on unassigned vocabulary words. I went to look for Emily because she was quiet and found her in my room, cleaning! Of course, when I told her how pleased and proud I was that she was cleaning for me, she said, "I couldn't take the mess anymore!" LOL I love my kids!

I feel like I need to clarify what I was trying to say in my post yesterday. I was not talking about submission or following any random man. In fact, the scripture is clear that I'm supposed to submit to God and my husband and the rulers and authorities. That's it. What I was referring to is the man-bashing that goes on among many Christian women. The scripture is clear that we are to show respect. How? Well, I think one way is not gossiping, backbiting, and slandering our fellow Christian brothers and sisters. It doesn't matter if they deserve it or not. I don't have to think they are deserving of my respect, but I am required to not say unkind things. In fact, the scripture doesn't say give them respect if they deserve it. It just says do it. There is no qualifier. Our attitudes toward men stink to be honest. Why? I'm not sure. Sometimes it has to do with our upbringing, our lack of a positive male role model in our lives, our own marriages which...

Today, I am hosting a ladies luncheon at the church. I wanted to add a few touches to make it special since it is Valentine's Day. I made a few centerpieces. Each lady will take home some chocolate roses. I made white, milk chocolate and dark chocolate roses. There will be a place card at each spot. Each card has a different verse on God's love for us. Originally I was going to have each one share about what they love most about their husbands but then I decided to change it because there are going to be a few ladies there who are not married or have been divorced (and not through a choice of their own). I decided that I did not want to make those women who are struggling feel worse about their situation but wanted to focus on God's love for them. So I'm going to have each one read the verse in their card and then tell one way they have seen God's love demonstrated in the past month. It's nice to host these things when there is a definite theme!

"In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." Luke 15:10 This morning my heart is full. One of my girls from 3D Girls prayed last night to follow Jesus! I had prepared a devotional laying out the salvation message and I spent the week praying specifically that the Lord would speak to the girls hearts. It is difficult sometimes to get very deep because there is such an age gap and there are so many of them each week. At the upper ages, peer pressure is really starting to kick in so if one of them is being silly, the rest follow along. I had prayed that the Lord would allow those girls who needed to hear this message to be there. To be honest, I wasn't expecting much because all of them are ALWAYS there. Well, last night only 8 out of the 16 showed up and the ones who atteneded were girls who are on the periphery. They were not the real popular girls and they are exactly the girls who I would of thoug...

One of my goals this year was to get back in the habit of making a menu for two weeks at a time. I find it helps me with my grocery shopping as well as just being better organized. Instead of staring into the refrigerator at 3:00, wondering what I'm going to do for dinner, I know ahead of time. This way I can make sure I pull out any meat the night before to thaw and prep. anything that needs to happen in advance. My food bill has jumped about $75 the past couple of months and I think that just has to do with the fact that everything is more expensive. I'm buying the same amount of food but the cost is more. Here is my menu for this week: Monday B - cereal, juice L - Leftovers D - Parmesan chicken, whole wheat pasta with fresh tomato & basil sauce, homemade Italian bread, tossed salad Tuesday B - Egg & sausage sandwiches, juice L - Leftovers D - Minestra soup, homemade Italian bread Wednesday (It's Stephen's Birthday so he got to pick the me...

We had a great turnout yesterday for the craft day so I was very pleased. It was a lot of fun and everyone seemed to have a great time. The neat thing was that not only did the children pick one of the crafts to do, but they were able to create one of their own. That was impromptu but it made it that much more enjoyable for them. Here are some pictures from the morning. I love this one. The oldest and the youngest working together. This little guy wouldn't sit still for anyone and his mother was getting worn out trying to chase him around and focus on the other two. However, Mary stepped in, picked him up, and he just settled right down. She put stickers all over him and that kept him occupied. You can tell she's a grandma of many! LOL Rebecca brought her cousin. I was wiped out by yesterday afternoon and today is going to be busy as well. We are having Friend's Sunday with a potluck afterward. The girls and children are all singing so I have a feeling I'm goi...

My house normally looks fairly neat. I mean there are those little pockets of clutter here or there which I try to tackle when they get too bad. However, when I am in charge of an outreach event, chaos normally ensues. Dan is used to seeing this type of thing before Vacation Bible School, craft days, fall festivals and a host of other events. This morning is our church's Valentine's Craft Day. This is what part of my house looks like today. Goody bags ready to go. Piles of craft supplies. More craft supplies and things for Friend's Sunday tomorrow. The girls from 3D Girls and children's church are singing so I still have a pile of things to do for that. I'm looking forward to the month of March when there is nothing major on the calendar!

I was rethinking the crafts I have planned for the children for Saturday's Valentine Craft Day. I decided to get rid of the wind sock and go with this little guy. Isn't he cute? So now the children attending will have a choice of the butterfly, valentine person, or love bug card holder. That should cover the range of ages that may be there.

I am hosting a Valentine's Craft Day at church this Saturday for children of all ages. The children will be able to do a craft, have some refreshments and take home a goody bag. I wanted to have 3 different crafts for the children to choose some and also crafts that would be good for preschoolers all the way up through elementary school. Here are the three I came up with. I made a sample of each to show the kids. A wind sock. This one I'm going to redo. I need to get a different kind of sticker for the cups because they started to come off as the day went on. Also, I want to buy pink and white streamers as well to give it some more color. Close-up. A Valentine's person. Finally, a love bug card holder. I thought it was so cute! Now all I have to do is prep all the crafts and pray that my box of trinkets hurries up and gets here before Saturday so I can stuff the goody bags!

Our church had our annual sleigh riding party today and I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. It was great fun! Of course, I didn't actually do any sledding but it was fun to watch everyone else try and break their neck. :-) The children all had a great time. As did the adults! After sledding we all went back to the church for hot cocoa and cookies. It's definitely something we look forward to every year.