Simple Joyful Living
On Tuesday night my daughter Julia and I stopped by our friends’ house. As we pulled into the driveway it was hard to find a place to park because there were so many cars. Julia said, “It feels like we are crashing a party.” As we walked into the house filled with family and friends it did…
Baking mixes are convenient, easy to use, and save time when baking. However, when you purchase prepackaged baking mixes you have no control over the ingredients used. Making your own baking mixes not only gives you the convenience of a baking mix but the ability to use your own recipe and ingredients as well. Not…
Books are great for reading, but what can you do with books that have been so well-loved they are falling apart? How about making your own book page canvas wall art? I love books, reading books, quotes about books…you get the picture. 🙂 One day this past spring when I was at our local Goodwill, I saw a canvas…
I have always loved books. When I was a girl I always found a way to make time to read. With few responsibilities, I could while away the hours reading book after book. Really, what’s not to love about books? Visiting far off places, gaining knowledge, experiencing new things, and getting to know new people…
This morning I had a moment of clarity that allowed me to understand why my plans weren’t God’s plans for me this year. I realized that the proverbial “closed doors” I had faced recently were actually blessings in disguise. Before I get too far, I guess I should back up just a bit. For those of you who may not know,…
“You need to be around people.” This is the thought that I believe God put on my heart late last fall while I was working on a web design project. I had been feeling frustrated with sitting at my computer all day trying to do a job I no longer enjoyed. A couple of clients had…
Last Sunday I was in charge of the children’s story during worship. I enlisted the help of my long-suffering loving husband to get my point across. I began by telling the kids that I had been having trouble deciding what I wanted to talk with them about, and I asked my husband to come up…
Having too many coats and shoes to fit into a closet is definitely a first world problem, but it is one that my large family has. I have tried several different ways to organize our outerwear and shoes in the coat closet in our dining room over the years, but I always end up with…
Over the years I have made quite a few skirts, and I have even created tutorials for some of them. Today I want to share a tutorial with you for making a simple elastic waist skirt for girls or women of any size. My niece turned five last month and, like for all of her previous…
Have you ever dealt with a situation that was hard, and you didn’t know what to say? Sometimes it isn’t so much about what we say but what we do that can make all the difference. In the spring of 2004 we found out I was pregnant with my son Joshua, our third child. The pregnancy…
Last June, our local high school softball team won the state championship. To say that this was a big deal for our community would be an understatement. Even those of us who don’t regularly watch softball jumped on the bandwagon, my family included. We found out when the team would be coming back home that…