We Are Thankful For You!

DIY wedding favors

 

 bag of milk chocolate chips
bag of white chocolate chips

bag of  pretzel rods

pearl sprinkles

wax paper

baking pan

metal bowl

pot
jute twine
cardstock
tag paper punch
hole punch
printer

( the amount of bags of chocolate chips and pretzels will depend of how many you are making.
I made 100 pretzels so I used 4 bags of milk chocolate chips, 1bag of white chocolate chips and 4 bags of pretzels.)


Place a little bit of water in the pot. Probably 1/4 of the pot and boil it until it's gently boiling then reduce to low. Place your metal bowl on top of the pot and pour your chocolate chips into it.

With a spatula start mixing the chocolate chips as they melt. * You have to keep mixing and keep the heat on low or else your chocolate will burn and get dry (and will also taste horrible)

While the chocolate chips are slowly melting, cover a baking pan that can fit in your freezer with wax paper.

Then take one pretzel stick at a time and dip the end into the chocolate ( I used my spatula to help goop on the chocolate a little further down the stick) and then place on the wax paper.

OR

another easier way to dip the chocolate is to use Wilton's tall dipping containers. This is what I used this time and it went by so much faster!

Melt white chocolate the same way.
After it is melted in a bowl, place in a small Ziploc bag and cut the tip just a little.
Drizzle over pretzels.

Also, take your pearlized sprinkles and shake a small amount over other pretzels.

 

Once all of them have hardened in the freezer, place one of each kind of pretzel in wilton's clear pretzel rod bags.

Then, tie with jute and put your customized tag on it!

Click HERE for the monogram tag tutorial!



Wandering

The #SheReadsTruth community is amazing. Amazing on so many different levels. My favorite thing to do within that community, other than my own devotional, is to check my IG feed of #SheReadsTruth to see what others wrote & what God revealed to them. It is such a strong community of women & I love it. If you have not checked it out, I strongly suggest that you do. I have "met" great women through this. 

I am currently doing their Thanksgiving plan & yesterday, Sunday, the topic "In Wandering". 

I read through it & thought wow because of what the writer just went through, again, with losing a baby. My mind was so fixated on that & how grateful I am for 2 healthy children & my heart just aches for her. 

Then I go back through & journal the spots that God is speaking to me. And He took me to a whole new level. Typically the second time I read it is when God really talks to me to reveal to me what I need to hear that day. But this topic was stronger than ever. 

Wandering.

In times of wandering what do you do? Do you run to or from God? Are you seeking earthly answers or trusting God that He reveal His answers in His time?

I went through a time of wandering. A BIG time of wandering. I became a Christian in July 2005. I was an active Christian in the church as well as participating in Bible Studies. But I never grew as a Christian should. 

1 Corinthians 13:11 -- When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.

In July 2009 I began my stages of wandering. I was still in church for about 9 months. Then I stopped going after that. I was searching for answers that God wasn't giving me so I stopped seeking Him & started seeking answers of the now, or earthly answers. I randomly went to church, trying to find a church that reminded me of home (I moved from Indiana to California in this time). 

Last year, October 2012 I finally stopped searching for God & saw that, well He was right there in front of me. This. Whole. Time. I began my journey over with Him. I repented of my selfish ways, I stopped seeking earthly answers, & started walking with Him. 

In this past year my relationship with Christ has grown far more than my first 4 years as Christian. I look back & somewhat get frustrated with myself that I did not take advantage of these years getting to know my Lord and Savior. And then I get frustrated during the time I disappeared from God. See He never disappeared from me, but I ran the other way. 

But what is frustration going to get me? Yesterday God confirmed that those wandering times did in fact lead me right back into His arms. I have the best relationship with Christ that I could possibly have at this moment in my life. And I praise Him for that.

I praise Him that I sought an earthly answer & never found it, but I found Him & His Truth.

I praise Him that He forgives me for my wandering.

I praise Him because I have a God who is faithful & He will NEVER fail me.

I praise Him that at the end of my wandering He gave me the deepest desire to know Him.

**Looking for some encouragement from others? Sign up to be a pen pal! Click HERE**  

It's Tough Being A Woman... Recap Of Our Esther Study

Just this last week, Tiffany and I (Julie) along with Sybil from Peace It All Together, finished up our study by Beth Moore on the book of Esther.  It took us over 5 months to finish but it was such a rich time of learning and fellowship.  I feel truly blessed to have spent this time with these two Godly women and to have been taught by the amazing Beth Moore.  If you've never experienced a Beth Moore study may I suggest that you do so ASAP!  Her studies have been life changing for this life-long Christian girl!

Sybil has dedicated a blog post to a recap of our study and asked Tiffany and I to contribute!  Check it out at Sybil's blog here.

Love you all!

I Thessalonians 5:16-18 - PRAY CONTINUALLY (Part 2)

"Be joyful ALWAYS.; 

pray CONTINUALLY; 

give THANKS in ALL circumstances, 

for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Last week I wrote about the first three words of this verse - "be joyful always." How did that go for you? What did you choose to find joy in? I hope you continue to find joy in the best and worst and most normal of time. It's God's will for you that you are joyful!

Today we're talking about praying continually. To some people, prayer is a foreign thing; to some it's scary. I've known people that think their prayers aren't heard, that they just talk to a wall or ceiling. I've know Christians that are afraid to pray because it won't be "good enough." Prayers can be short or long; on your knees, aloud, or in your heart; it can be a shout to God, it can be a cry for help. Prayer is about talking and about listening.

The simple fact is - prayer is a conversation.

For me, prayer is an ongoing conversation throughout my day with my King, Protector, Comforter, Creator, and Shepard. I need God in so many different ways, depending on the day and sometimes my prayers start by calling Him by the name I need him. "Jesus, my King, I am in awe of your blessing...", "My Comforter and Protector, I need your now as I am afraid", "Savior, like a Shepard, lead me!" I ask God for what I need in my prayers, I tell him why I am afraid and how I don't want to be, I share with God my hopes and dreams, I ask Him for strength on the tough days, and I seek His will and plan for my life when I may be lost. I thank God for blessings, big and small, I pray for those in need of healing or grace, I pray for my marriage that it would grow and flourish into what God intended it to be, I pray for my son that he would grow big and strong and come to know Jesus. My prayers are asking, telling, listening, begging, seeking, thanking, praising. 

Prayers are active, ongoing, conversations with God.

In her book, The Power of a Praying Woman, Stormie Omartian writes, 

“The battle for our lives, and the lives and souls of our children, our husbands, our friends, our families, our neighbors, and our nation is waged on our knees. When we don't pray, it's like sitting on the sidelines watching those we love and care about scrambling through a war zone, getting shot at from every angle. When we do pray, however, we're in the battle alongside them, approaching God's power on their behalf. If we also declare the Wordog God in our prayers, then we wield a powerful weapon against which no enemy can prevail.” 

If we're not praying for the loved ones in our lives, who is? If we're not praying for the salvation of our friends and neighbors, who is? Who is covering them in prayer and protection? There is an enemy among us who will do anything to devour our souls, to ruin our lives, and to stop anything and anyone from praising the name of Jesus or growing in Him. If we are not praying against Him, who is? There is POWER in the prayer. Never doubt what God can do and how much he loves to have a conversation with you.

Pray continually... this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

God Thing

You know those times when something happens and you know it is a God thing. It could be an event you needed at a particular moment to boost your spirit or an old friend coming to visit you at a down time in your life. I absolutely love those moments. For me those moments are even more proof that God is living with us and helping us.

For example, I was at church today and the youth pastor asked me if I would like to sponsor an event with the youth. It is a three day trip they always go on and I went on while I was in the youth ministry. I have always dreamed of being a sponsor for this event and have been thinking a lot about it recently. So today when the pastor asked if I wanted to help out I knew it was a God Thing and I was/am super excited to be His disciple in this way!

Have you ever had these moments when you knew that God was speaking to you or helping you on your path? I call these moments "God Things" because it is something that happens that I don't fully understand but I know that He does:]

DIY monogram wedding favor tags

 

First design you monogram on any program that you have. I used photoshop.

The font I used was Janda Celebration Script. The P is size 110 and the J&K is size 50.

The date is font Vijaya in size 30.

 

After you design your monogram and date then print them out on cardstock in the color of you choice. I chose ivory for these.

 

 

 I then cut out each monogram in a rectangle around them so that the tag punch would fit.

This tag punch is from Michaels. It is the Recollections 2 3/16in.

It was $9.99 and I used a 40% off coupon.

 

 

 

  Take your tag punch and turn it upside down in your right hand and then take you monogram already cut into a rectangle and place the rectangle with monogram facing you so you are able to see where the punch will cut. Then squeeze your right hand and punch it out.

Then take a regular hole punch and put a little hole for hanging/tying to the favor of your choice.
 

 

And.... this is how they turn out!

 

Next Tuesday I'll be sharing what I used them on!