Stepping Stones

My kids and I had a fun afternoon of making our own stepping stones. I have collected so many little doo dads throughout the years it was time to put them to some use. Each of our stepping stones are different from the others... I love that. I think each one reflected our personalities. The first one is mine.
 I added little trinkets that represented my collection of dolls, sewing notions, hearts, games, apples, cherries, soda pop, flowers and lady birds. Oh and lets not forget the reds.

My son's came out very neat... I mean he really placed them in an organized fashion. I think that is how his mind thinks. He added soda pop caps, a key, a stop watch, two pennies that represented the year of his birth to the present time, a cross, a couple paper clips, his dog, his name and LIFE spelled out. I love it. And thrilled that he joined in the fun...not that I had to pull his arm or anything. He was more than happy to make a fun mess and create.

My daughters stone is definitely her... its colorful and FULL of STUFF. She had chosen a lot of pretty things that were jewel like, shiny things, flowers, dogs, an elephant, watch faces, a unicorn...

You name it.. It was there... Very pretty, very feminine. I love it too! It was fun... I would surely do it again... Lord knows I have enough trinkets for them...

After making the stepping stones I set them outside our front door... Not to walk on, but to enjoy and to welcome whomever comes to our home with a cheery sight. Tee Hee. I got to thinking about stepping stones throughout the day and how metaphorically we use them while we go through this life. I really like to look at it as troubles being like stepping stones, not stumbling blocks. I guess you just have to have a positive outlook to see it that way. So here you go, some food for thought.....

The difference in stumbling blocks and stepping stones is how you use them.

Have you ever noticed that a huge obstacle stops one person, while another person climbs, goes around, or pushes through it and comes out the other side victoriously? Your mind set has everything to do with how you handle setbacks that come your way. You must force yourself to look past your present circumstances and toward a good ending even if the current situation looks bleak. This a great word picture of the Christian's walk with God. It is Satan's plan to trip you up as much as possible and put so many obstacles in the way that you feel it's not worth it to continue. He wants to make you tiptoe, climb, crawl, etc., through all kinds of muck and mire in order to make a small amount of progress.He knows if your progress is impeded enough, you will probably just give up by thinking it is too hard to keep going forward at all. You will settle for being right where you are at the moment and think that is the best you are ever capable of accomplishing.The reason you can't go further is because you are looking intently at all the barriers that seem to stretch endlessly before you. Eventually you will start to think that life is nothing but obstacles that must be overcome, and you will get very frustrated and want to give up.When Jesus died on the Cross, He made a way so that you wouldn't have to live under a huge burden sin. Yes, Satan will always try to find ways to bring you down, but Jesus became your stepping stone to a victorious life in Christ,You must train yourself to look at every obstacle as a stepping stone instead of a stumbling block. Jesus did all the work on the cross, but you have to claim what He did and live it each day. If you make it a point to follow Him, He will take you from stepping stone to stepping stone and you can walk skillfully and confidently in the direction He would have you take.
Excerpt from Cathy Deaton

Have a wonderful weekend..