Living as a Victorious Christian Woman

If you’re going to choose a theme, go big! Don’t play around with a little green and a shamrock here or there. It’s March! Prove it! This was basically my head cannon while I made this green monthly layout for this month’s planner. I use these pages for my blog post list along with plans I would like to do in the future. Having it all in one place is the best way for me to keep my ideas in line! I started this spread by printing out my two-page monthly template on white paper. Then I outlined each page with a transparent green washi tape so you can still see the lines through it. That amazing green shamrock washi tape splits up the weeks and just makes it fun! I don’t need huge boxes just to write a blog title, so thick tape is very good. I have a sticker book of monthly stickers, which is where the accent stickers came from. They range from holidays and special occasions to great phrases in coordinating colors. Any time I can coordinate things without thinking (which means someone els...

The snow is finally melting out here on the property, and even with the cold temperatures there is green grass coming up! That beautiful green inspired me to put together some adorable succulent planters using coffee cups we don’t use anymore. Pretty arrangements plus decluttering? Bonus! I absolutely adore our local Earl May garden center. The plants they have are in amazing condition every time, and there is such a variety to choose from. I found a few containers of mini succulents that actually had more than one plant in them, and that saves time and money for sure. I already had three succulents that were in dire need of replanting, so all together I had 12 plants to play with. I never use plain soil for my succulents. They can only get what they need to thrive from a special mix just for them. Most garden stores have it all year round, but you’ll be able to find it just about everywhere this spring as other stores get their garden supplies stocked. A few rocks in the bottom will h...

One of my goals this year has been to “go shopping” in my own craft room. While I still have to buy the practical supplies like tape and card stock, I’ve challenged myself to use everything I have on hand before I go shopping anywhere else. That’s where the inspiration for my new butterflies line of cards came from. For these cards, I raided the paper scraps bag to get coordinating decorator paper in spring colors. I also had some spring stickers and acrylic dots from the dollar store, my favorite acrylic dots from the craft store and an envelope full of Scripture I printed out earlier in the year. My favorite craft room find was a package of bulletin board butterflies from the teacher store. They are slightly different sizes and shapes, but they’re all fairly large. This jumpstarted my brain to thinking about how I could use them on my cards. My normal - and favorite - card size is 6.25x4.5 inches, which is designed for a very specific box of envelopes I always have on hand. Almost al...

It was a refrigerator raid night, which are some of my favorites, and it was time to put something together for supper. So I pulled out the one pie crust left in the box, some chicken breast, a frozen broccoli steamer bag and some shredded cheese. The result was two warm, flaky pocket pies perfect for a winter’s night. If you’re having a planned-overs night (they’re not leftover if they’re planned), this is a great way to empty a few containers and dishes from your fridge. Mix and match ingredients for the filling, and you’ll never have the same one twice! Ingredients: 1 large chicken breast, cooked and shredded 1 bag steamers broccoli 1/2 cup shredded cheese 1 refrigerator pie crust, room temperature 1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. 2. Unroll the pie crust and cut into four pieces.  3. Prepare broccoli steamer bag according to directions. 4. On two of the pie quarters, pile chicken, broccoli and cheese in the center. Place the other crust ...

Have you ever tried to justify not reading parts of the Old Testament? There are too many lists of names. We’re not under the law anymore, we’re under grace. Who wants to learn the measurements and colors of a tabernacle that doesn’t even exist today? The problem with this line of thinking is that you’ll miss out on some pretty amazing stories. Think the parting of the Red Sea, great battle scenes, people risking their lives for their God. That sounds like something I’d like to know more about. As we read through the Old Testament, we also find some pretty straightforward instructions for how to live our lives, regardless of what century we’re living in. If you find yourself saying, I just want to know what God expects from me, He doesn’t hide His desires. With just a little digging, you’ll find a treasure trove of God’s heart put into words. In our youth Sunday School class, we’re reading through the Bible in a year. It’s a little daunting, but we’re breaking it down into manageable p...

When I went looking for a new planner last year, I simply couldn’t find one that had everything I wanted in it. I needed monthly pages for my blog posts, weekly pages for meal planning and exercise plans, and daily pages that included sections for work, my Bible study, health and journaling. So when in need, make it yourself. I designed left hand and right hand pages to alternate with preprinted days of the week. In my word processing program, I made a box the size of the planner page and made smaller boxes inside it. I wanted very specific headers: word of the day, today’s goal, Bible reading and Bible study; distance walked and cups for my water intake; a thankfulness journaling block and a place to record the best part of my day; that day’s prayer requests and a spot for my priority of the day. On the preprinted pages, I continue whatever theme and design I used on the opposite page. For today’s page, I used a washi tape for the accents and included a few banners for embellishments....

All four of our dogs are cuddlers. As long as they’re touching one of us, they’re perfectly content. That also means we have to have enough space for two humans, three black-and-white-tuxedo dogs and a Great Dane. And there are only a couple of places in the house where that’s possible. Diesel is a heavy sleeper, to say the least. He’s the first to fall asleep, and he’s snoring within the first minute. And I mean S-N-O-R-I-N-G! He resembles the rumbling of an Amtrak train as it roars past.  Even when his sister gets comfortable with her feet in his face, he keeps on sleeping. I’m pretty sure this is what the two of them looked like in the womb. And if they wrestled in there like they do now, I feel sorry for that Mama dog. At the end of the day, despite hours of wrestling, chasing, growling and a little bit of barking at each other, there’s nowhere they’d rather be than curled up together. Curled up under, and on top, and beside, and around. As long as they’re all touching and toge...

If you have children, you know about stains. If you have pets, you know about stains. If you spend any time at all within the four walls of your house, you know about stains. But there’s actually a combination of everyday household products that can help you stay on top of your cleaning. In a large measuring cup, mix 1 cup hydro green peroxide, 1/2 cup vinegar, 1/4 cup Dawn soap and a 4-5 drops of essential oils. You can pick your favorite or try peppermint or eucalyptus. Pour the mixture into a spray bottle and you’re all set. Now find the ickiest, nastiest stain you can find. If you can adjust the nozzle on the spray bottle, make it pretty intense so the solution will get down into the carpet fibers. Spray it liberally, let it sit for a minute, then use a microfiber cloth to scrub from the edges inward. You’ll be surprised by how much work the solution itself does, so you probably won’t have to use too much elbow grease. Look at the results. This is maybe 10 minutes after spraying on...

With the new year comes new resolutions to exercise, eat better and get into shape. While these goals may be difficult some days, this recipe definitely isn’t. A few super-healthy ingredients come together for flavors that are out of this world. Plus, you can’t go wrong with a sweet potato bowl. You can eat all of it and not have to do any clean up. Double win! Ingredients:  4 medium sweet potatoes 1 lb ground beef Taco seasoning 2 Tbsp minced garlic 1 Tbsp onion powder 1/2 cup tomato sauce 1/2 cup water Pineapple Mango Salsa 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 2. Poke each sweet potato several times with a fork. Place in a small baking dish and roast at 400 degrees for 50-55 minutes, until they are tender when tested with a fork. 3. Brown ground beef in a cast iron skillet with taco seasoning. Add the garlic and onion powder, stirring to combine and heat through. 4. Stir in tomato sauce and water. Cover skillet and cook about 20 minutes, stirring frequently. 5. When potatoes come out ...

One of my goals for 2021 has been to improve my piano skills. I’ve been playing since I was 4 years old, but there is always room for growth. In particular, I want to work on playing and sight reading hymns. One of my grandmother’s rules was that at the end of my practice time, I was to play a couple of hymns. Using that memory as my motivation, I’ve included hymns into my planner, reminding me do play from the hymnal every day. Some of them are familiar and easy for me to play right now, but others seem like they were stuck in the book last week because they are very unfamiliar. Isn’t it funny how that works? I began on January 1 with hymn 1, matted it on card stock and added it to a decorator paper page in my planner. Then I added a paper tag, perfect for making notes and adding a few thoughts. It’s been fascinating to look up the stories of who wrote these hymns, what the circumstances were and how they’ve been received by Christians all over the world. In just a few sentences on th...

Deer are camouflaged for a reason - protection - and their disguise works incredibly well in winter. If you look closely, you can just make out the doe in the left third of this photograph. Her dark colors blend perfectly into the brush between our house and the tree line. When we first noticed her, she was the opposite of camouflaged. A dark brown deer walking in the white, freshly fallen snow stands out like she was standing under a neon arrow. But she nibbled her way down the ridge, sampling every single bush and tree she could reach. Apparently she’s not finicky. But once she was close enough to hear the dogs barking, which I suspect astronauts on the moon could hear, she followed her instincts and headed for the brush. I still think Molly looks enough like a deer that she wonders why there are all these other Great Danes who get to walk around outside all the time. And then she gets cranky and leads the other three in the song of their people. Once in the brush, she quickly blende...

You’ve heard it said, “When it rains, it pours.” And “Hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk.” And probably “It’s raining cats and dogs.” But how about “It’s snowing glitter!” Over the past few weeks we’ve had several inches of snow over and over again, but earlier this week I opened the front door and everything sparkled! It was cold enough that water droplets in the snow were turning into ice before they hit the ground. I’m sure there are some scientific, meteorological terms for it, but in reality, it’s snowing glitter! I can’t imagine anyone not loving to watch glitter fall out of the sky. No one needs that kind of negativity in their life. Smiles seem more natural a response to shiny, pretty things, especially ones that come unexpectedly from nature. Thank you, Lord, for glitter snow!   Now imagine the smiles that would be spread around if we were that glitter snow. How could we ever be like glitter snow? I’m so glad you asked. We shine like glitter when we’re kind in a wor...

Who wouldn’t love a dessert that combines brownie, frosting and sugar cookie in one beautifully stacked creation? No one I know. And it doesn’t hurt that it’s super simple to make and requires just a handful of ingredients. You’ll need a box of brownie mix and the ingredients it calls for, a package of sugar cookie mix and its ingredients (or a roll of refrigerated dough), two cans of frosting and your favorite sprinkles. Spray a 13x9-inch baking dish generously with nonstick spray, and bake the brownies according to the package directions. Allow it to cool a little, then loosen it from the dish. You’ll need to be able to remove it from the dish completely, all in one piece. Allow it to finish cooling. Repeat this with the sugar cookie dough, spraying it generously and baking according to the package directions, which is generally about 20 minutes, until firm and golden brown. You’ll need to loosen it when it’s cooled slightly, but you won’t need to remove it from the pan. Allow to coo...

There are two places you’ll find washi tape in my house: on the dining room table with my Bible study materials and on the desk where I decorate my planner. There are so many amazingly wonderful things washi tape can be used for in any kind of calendar or planner, and here are just a few. 1. Outline anything and everything. It’s so much cooler than a plain black line. 2. Layer chunks of thick and thin washi for embellishments. 3. Cover the cut edge of a sticker or other image for a finished edge. 4. Solid colors can be written on with markers for an instant label. 5. Create a frame to mark important sections. 6. Border the entire outside of a two-page spread to tie them together. 7. Cover up words or designs you don’t really want to see or use. 8. Tear off pieces and use to attach pictures or notes. 9. Stamp on them to make your own coordinating pattern. 10. Cut with decorative scissors for fun borders. 11. Tape side by side to a piece of card stock. Draw a shape with a template over t...

Temperatures are dropping drastically here in southern Iowa. Everything is frozen and pretty, but its also frigid and slick underfoot. That means it’s time to pull out our camouflage coats before we go out on walks.  There’s always a kerfuffle when the coats come out, partially because they smell like outdoors and partially because they don’t wear them every day. Molly actually protects them like they’re the most precious thing in the entire world, with a little growl to make her point. This look says it all. Callie is not a fan. She’ll stand for it, but she’ll let you know that she’s displeased. I felt so bad when I put Parker’s on, though, because it didn’t even begin to fit this year. I guess I’ve spoiled him a bit too much, so he’s chunkier than he’s been in the past. There’s a shopping trip in our future. I love this picture of my pouty baby. Diesel doesn’t usually argue about things like his sister, except having his claws clipped, but he will often stare at you if there’s so...