love = give

John 3:16
"For God so loved the world that He GAVE his one and only son..."



love = give

He loved us, so He gave that which was most precious to Him and was a part of Him and was Him. Reflecting on this beautiful truth this Christmas season. Wishing you a Merry Christmas full of His joy!

Royal work

Ladies, what we do is royal work. Whether we are wives, mothers, or both, what we do is a calling...a calling to love, serve, and give. It's easy to grumble about toys strewn about or football field grass tracked into the house or having to clean the countertops a hundred times a day. But when we realize that we serve God when we serve our family, suddenly our mundane tasks become royal work! The excerpt below is from Spurgeon's "Morning and Evening". I especially love the line about a "halo around the most humble occupations".

Ye serve the Lord Christ. Col 3:24

"Among the toiling multitudes, the journeymen, the day labourers, the domestic servants, the drudges of the kitchen, the apostle found, as we find still, some of the Lord's chosen, and to them he says, "Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ." This saying ennobles the weary routine of earthly employments, and sheds a halo around the most humble occupations. To wash feet may be servile, but to wash His feet is royal work. To unloose the shoe-latchet is poor employ, but to unloose the great Master's shoe is a princely privilege. The shop, the barn, the scullery, and the smithy become temples when men and women do all to the glory of God! Then "divine service" is not a thing of a few hours and a few places, but all life becomes holiness unto the Lord, and every place and thing, as consecrated as the tabernacle and its golden candlestick."

Lord, thank You for the privilege of a family to love and serve. Help me to remember that when I commit whatever I do unto You, I am doing royal work.

And the winner is...

HOLLIE C!!!!

(Ladies, I assure you my assistant was impartial. I could have used a random number generator online, but opted to go old school and draw a name out of a hat...er...bowl.) Thanks to you ladies for participating!

A little giveaway

To celebrate the launch of this site, I'm hosting a teeny little giveaway. These Christmas packaging goodies are up for grabs, and they include some of my faves: labels, writing utensils, embellishments, thank you cards, and a notepad (perfect for all the lists I like to make...ha).



::THE FINE PRINT:: All you have to do to be entered is:

1. Leave a comment on any of the posts below.
2. Enter your email in the SUBSCRIBE box on the right sidebar.
3. Share the link to this site on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, or Twitter.

You must complete all three steps! The deadline to enter is midnight CST on Sunday, December 8th.

Advent Ideas for the Bambinos

I grew up in Germany because my family was stationed there multiple times during my childhood. It is a beautiful country steeped in hospitality and tradition. One of these traditions is the use of advent calendars for kids to count down the days to Christmas. Marie #2 cannot have chocolate due to her reflux, and rather than give her a bunch of trinkets and doodads like I did last year, I opted to do an advent calendar based on activities. Some of the activities are fun, while others are based on charity and giving. They are in no particular order:

1. Set up a kid-friendly nativity
2. Watch "The Polar Express"
3. Read a Christmas story
4. Make a Christmas paper garland
5. Ride around and look at Christmas lights
6. Visit Santa
7. Go to a parade
8. Go to a tree lighting
9. Make ornaments
10. Write a letter to Santa
11. Bake cookies for Santa
12. Donate food to the local food pantry
13. Make a card for a soldier
14. Make gifts for your teachers and sitters
15. Donate 3 toys
16. Read the Christmas story
17. Watch "The Grinch"
18. Open new Christmas pjs
19. Game night
20. Make a card for the mail lady
21. Have a dance party to Christmas music
22. Have a birthday party for Jesus
23. Visit daddy at work with goodies
24. Visit a Christmas tree farm


I made 24 envelopes out of scrapbook paper. Inside of each envelope is an activity for each day. What I really love about this is that it is easy to switch out the activities based on how much time have you have to allot to your advent activity on a particular day.


If you keep the envelopes safe from destructive kiddie hands, you can use them again next year!

UPDATE 12/19/13: I have somehow managed to keep up with our advent activities, although I must admit there have been days where we had to play catch-up and do two. I will say...the advent using activities, although a great way to create sweet memories and spend quality time together daily, is HARD! I may revisit this again when Marie #2 is a little bit older. Next year I think I'm going to revert back to a traditional advent calendar with goodies and treats or we may do Truth in the Tinsel.