Living as a Victorious Christian Woman

I love how today's sketch looks like a man's tie laying on his dress shirt. You could definitely use it like that, as it even has the tie clip on it, although I'm not sure what the string tied around would be for. I never claimed to be an artist with a pen. Instead, this sketch combines two patterned papers, the top cut into a decorative panel. A bow tied around the top and a banner phrase give you an amazingly detailed focal point. Depending on the size you make the panel, you can add other embellishment to fill in the empty space. For my card, I started with a pale blue background and matted a soft, striped patter on top. This combination will keep you from having two busy patterns competing for your attention. The panel is from a coordinating paper with the bottom corners cut at a diagonal. A satin ribbon at the top tied in a bow and a card stock sticker phrase complete the panel. Since I had a little room on the right side of the card, I added three blu

In order to get through my daily to-do list, I often give myself little rewards as I check things off. I might have a  Healthy Bite,  or maybe a cup of cappuccino - something small that will motivate me to keep going. And no, adding things I've already done to the list just to check them off doesn't count. On a much more serious note, I've been studying the Sermon on the Mount in the book of Matthew for the past couple of weeks, and it is quite convicting to see the differences in the rewards Jesus spoke of. And when thou praise, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.  Matthew 6:5 Three times in the first 18 verses alone, Jesus says these hypocrites, the scribes and Pharisees, have already received their rewards. They would pray and fast and give just to be seen, to receive some type of applause and noti

We've received our invitation for this year's Walk on Art Street, sponsored by Main Street Ottumwa. We had an amazing time at last year's show, which was the first one Danny had ever done. It was quite the experience. The show is Saturday, Sept. 19, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This year it will be in the 200 block of Main Street, and we're excited to actually have it outdoors this year. We're praying for perfect weather. Since receiving our invitation, we've been going through our inventory and deciding what we want to make more of this year. I kept last year's list so I know what sold well, and we have lots of new pieces to bring. For some examples of Danny's work, check out our Etsy shop.   As for me, I'm working on a variety of projects. There are paper bag albums ... ... memory verse cards ... ... CD albums ... ... notebooks and journals ... ... altered board books ... ... sticky note holders ..

Memorial Day, once known as Decoration Day, was originally a day to honor Civil War soldiers who died in battle. It has expanded and changed some over the years, but is still a special day to remember those who have died in combat. Many people will spend today visiting cemeteries, sharing stories of their loved ones and spending time with family and friends. These are precious moments that remind us of those who have gone on before us, giving their last full measure of devotion for our country. Memorials are very important to God, as there are more than 30 references to them in the Bible. Most of the 28 mentions in the Old Testament were about remembering what God had done for them. Piles of rocks, books of the law and Aaron's ephod were all called memorials, setting in plain sight the mighty acts of a great and powerful heavenly Father. Two of the New Testament mentions of memorials, however, were about a woman. Matthew and Mark both tell the story of Mary anointing Jesus in

Today's sketch is a simple card with an impactful focal point, or several focal points, down the middle of the card. The size and shape of your centerpiece will let you know what kinds of patterns and embellishments you can use. Double mat the card with two colors of card stock or a card stock and a decorator paper. If you have room, you can add even more - layers are lovely! You can stack three words, three parts of verses or three images in the middle, slightly overlapping each one. If you flip the sketch to make it a tall card, you'll have more room up and down, but less width. This will work best if you have more than three words or images. In honor of Memorial Day weekend, this is the card I made. I changed the sketch from a rectangle to a square, and double matted it with black textured card stock and a glossy BDU patterned paper. To keep with the stacked blocks down the center, I cut two words out of another piece of patterned paper and ink-distressed them. I

Every single door in our house is different. Some have windows, some are solid. Some are colored like our red front door while others are plain wood. Some are sliding glass and others fold up as you open them. Regardless of what it looks like, the job of a door is to allow you to go in and out while still keeping things out that you don't want in. And keeping things in that you don't want out. The hinges keep it moving freely, and the locks keep us protected from unwanted guests. And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. John 20:26 Jesus came to the disciples when the doors were shut, bringing a message of peace and love. The doors didn't matter to Him because He was coming in no matter what. He brought peace with Him, despite the doors. Make this a weekend of paying attention to those closed doors. Are they actually protecting you, or have

I need to update a post from a couple of weeks ago. I showed you pictures of Molly and a bunny checking each other out over breakfast.  The first clarification I need to make is that this is not a he bunny, but a she bunny. Yes, she was eating breakfast, but she was doing so over her brand-new nest.  Right outside the sun room window was a tiny, warm, dry nest. She had four babies, and they are the sweetest things ever. The eventually grew too big for the nest and hopped around the corner of the house to the fawn pen. It has tall grass i it, so they felt safe there. It's empty now, so we're hoping they've found new homes elsewhere on the property. We also have another nest over the security light on the big garage. Part of it fell down during the storms last fall, so we pulled the rest down. She rebuilt it very quickly, and these are her first babies of the year. She'll have another set later in the summer. It wouldn't surprise me if they fl

For a healthy change to your normal snacking, try making your own protein bars. Not only are they fun and easy, but you'll exactly what's going into your food. Plus, they taste amazing. Note - the first batch I made was very dry and powdery, as this recipe calls for quite a bit more dry ingredients than wet. Adjust your wet ingredients accordingly, and add some almond milk if you need to add some more moisture. Ingredients: 2 cups quick oats 3/4 cup honey 1 cup peanut butter 1 cup ground flaxseed 1 cup protein powder 1 cup dark chocolate chips 1 cup dried cranberries 1. Spray an 8x8 inch baking dish with nonstick spray. 2. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. 3. Press mixture into the baking dish evenly. Refrigerate to help them set and firm up.

 We had an amazing day Saturday at our church's Mother/Daughter luncheon. We had an enormous salad bar and lemonade bar set up for lunch, and several of our ladies spoke about what they had learned from their mothers and grandmothers that they're passing down to their girls. Then all of the young girls sang You Are My Sunshine for their moms. It was the cutest thing ever, and they held up big yellow sunshines to complete the picture. And our speaker, Sandi Nihart, was such a blessing to our hearts. She spoke about how God is our sunshine, but we're also a sunshine to Him. It fit in so perfectly with our ladies Sunday School lesson the next morning and Pastor's message in the morning service that we wondered if they'd all been talking together and planning it. Our You Are My Sunshine theme was perfect for decorating in pink and yellow and lemonade. These were the center pieces we used on the tables, which were covered in pink and yellow tablecloths.

Has anything happened lately that got your heart racing? Something that caused your heart to skip a beat or feel like it was going to pound out of your chest? Whether it's anxiety, surprise, fear, over-exertion, worry or just plain old uneasiness, our heart gets put through its paces every day. We don't treat them very kindly as we hurry and worry and fill our thoughts and days with more. Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts, and establish you in every good word and work. 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 Paul is praying here that as God has promised them eternal consolation, He will now give them comfort and comfort abundantly. He prayed that they would find themselves grounded and established in their current situation and all that was to come. They had been promised comforted hearts, and now Paul was reminding them to find the pleasures and jo

The one project I wanted to complete last week was getting the corner flower garden by the big garage dug up and replanted. I found two packages of Iowa wildflowers that I very much wanted to use, and the weather was going to be perfect. But when I went outside to get started, a corner of the retaining wall fell down. I felt very much like an inhabitant of Jericho as stone after stone let gravity have its way.  So before I could do anything else, Danny had to take down the entire section of wall and start over. It wasn't the project we had intended for the day, but it greatly needed it. Over time, the dirt had settled and pushed some of the blocks out of place. All we had to do was dig them out, level the ground and put them back in. It took close to three hours, but the wall looks wonderful once again and I was able to get my garden dug out at the same time. I got my seeds in place and even have a few little sprouts. I was so proud of that, and I went runn

Are you tired of yogurt and granola? Do you want something different but still want the protein of Greek yogurt? With just four ingredients that you already have in your pantry, you can dress up your yogurt and make it something to look forward to. This will be very sweet, so adjust the amounts to fit your taste. Ingredients: 1/2 cup or small pre-packaged container vanilla Greek yogurt 1 Tbsp peanut or other nut butter 1 tsp honey 1/4 tsp vanilla 1 Tbsp mini chocolate chips Directions: Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Garnish top with a few more chips.

We're in the last few days before our church's mother/daughter luncheon, so we're down to the last-minute details. Our theme is You Are My Sunshine, and everything is covered in yellow and pink and lemonade. It's absolutely adorable! At each lady's place will be several goodies to take home, including this "sweet" little candy bag. Filled with Lemonhead candies, it's quick and easy to put together and is perfect for our theme. The average treat bag (the one slightly smaller than a normal baggie) is 6.5 inches wide. I cut my decorator paper into 6.75x4.5 inch rectangles, then folded them in half. The decorator paper is 6.5x2 inches, just smaller than the front panel so it will mat neatly and show a little bit of color. Then I stamped and cut out happy little lemons. The final touch is the thank-you phrase, which I printed off on the computer and double-matted on yellow and pink. I alternated pink and yellow card stock and d

Thursday was National Day of Prayer, and I spent some time on social media Friday to see some of the comments. I was only on for a few minutes when I had to turn it off. Prayer is such an important part of my daily life that it's very shocking to read negative comments and non-believers' comments. It's also discouraging to read Christian's posts that say "I know I should pray every day," "My goal is to pray," and "I pray whenever I need to." Scripture tells us exactly how we are to pray, so it's difficult to understand why where, when and how to pray are even questioned. Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice. Psalm 55:17 David prayed at three specific times every day, and probably more that weren't exactly scheduled. This is how Daniel prayed, too, and it was obvious from the Bible's description that this was his habit. Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed

The name of this game (today's sketch) is layers and panels. Two tall pieces of decorator paper are layered on top of backgrounds of solid colors. Think curtain panels and window dressing. This would also be a wonderful sketch for a scrapbook page - just choose two coordinating papers and place your focal point photo in the center. You'll have lots of space for embellishments and other photos in the corners. For my card, I chose two background colors - black and red - knowing that I wanted to use a red and black decorator paper on top. The focal point is the bouquet of roses, which is tied up with satin ribbon. If you're going to place just one image on this sketch, make sure it has some dimension to it, not just a sticker on a piece of paper. Instead, think chipboard, ribbon, gems and 3D adhesive. I added red gems to each corner and the center of the roses, giving the eyes a direction to travel. This card, along with many other cards, paper crafts and wood

On a recent walk down by the creek, we couldn't help but notice all of the fallen trees. They were obstacles to crawl over, under and around from one end to the other. And I've learned that I'm not the most graceful climber in the world. Along the banks, there are more trees that look like they could topple over at any moment. Their roots are showing above the ground, the result of the waters flowing by over the years. While they might not fall over this week, this much loss of ground around them makes their tumbling inevitable. For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is names, That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to

Hi Molly! Ready to go outside? It's so much fun to exercise with a 17-month-old Great Dane puppy. She explores absolutely everything, giving me time to catch up with her. She's much lighter on her feet than I am. Walks mean checking out her favorite spots, like where the beaver is trying to barricade the water flowing from the big pond to the stream. When she pauses, I hurry to catch up. And then comes the hill. This spot is amazingly photogenic, but it's also a bear to climb. I trade my walking shoes for waders when we're down by the pond, so that makes for a little extra effort. But the top of the hill is totally worth it. Molly's not even winded yet, which means we either loop around one of the trails or head back down and go up the other side of the big pond. Mommy? Are you still back there? Come on! There's lots for a puppy to learn about when we're out on our walks. Here she's exploring a

I love recipes that combine the things that I love - chocolate and peanut butter, cheese and pasta, sushi and more sushi. This cookie recipe combines cream cheese and muffin mix to create an amazing cookie that's so much better than store-bought. Try them. And then see if you don't end up making more before the week is over. Yes, I speak from experience. Ingredients: 4 oz cream cheese (half a box, so you can actually make two batches) 1/2 cup Crisco, butter flavored 1/2 cup dark brown sugar 2 eggs 1 Tbsp vanilla 2 packages muffin mix (7 oz of your favorite flavor, I used wild berry) 3/4 cup all-purpose flour half a package of white chocolate chips (or more, depending on your taste) 1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Trim parchment paper to fit your cookie sheet. (This is super important. Don't skip this.) 2. Cream the cream cheese, Crisco and brown sugar together until well incorporated. Add the eggs and the vanilla, combining thoroughly. 3. Stir in the

 I get very tired of reading instructions for craft and DIY projects that require you to buy 27 things, take hours of work and force you to take out a second mortgage to put together. I'd much rather put something together with bits and pieces I already have and wouldn't use otherwise. That's why I made this altered basket wall hanging, complete with one of my favorite Scriptures. I have used the basket for many different things over the years, but it's been in the top of a cabinet for several months. I bought the burlap for my tree slice wreath, and the flowers are from my Easter bulletin board at the church. I printed out the verse on paper I already had, and I pulled out my glue gun, which was fully loaded. Three easy steps ... ... and four pieces later, I have a beautiful hanging for the dining room. I wove the burlap through the bottom, and I was completely surprised that exactly four widths fit through. Couldn't have done that