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..

Teaching Our Young Children How To Pray....

Here is a great way to help teach your young child how to pray.
A prayer glove.
Each colored finger represents something meaningful and beneficial for a healthy prayer life and will surely provide a wonderful foundation for their personal prayer life in later years.

A. The thumb represents ( red ) "Praise" because the thumb is the part of the hand that is closest to your heart. The thumb is the most important and strongest finger on your hand.
What do you pray for?
Praise is how we tell God how awesome, mighty & wonderful He is. Praise should be the strongest and most important part of your prayers.

B. The index finger represents ( orange ) "Thankfulness to God" because that is the finger you point with.
What do you pray for?
We should thank God for all that He provides.

C. The middle finger represents ( yellow ) " Forgiveness" because the middle finger is the most prominent.
What do you pray for?
Forgiveness is needed everyday. Even as Christians we commit sin. We should ask God for forgiveness and tell Him we are sorry for disobeying Him.

D. The ring finger represents ( green ) "Others" because this finger is generally considered to be the weakest finger.
Who do you pray for?
Praying for others and bringing their needs before God is a very important part of prayer. The ring finger can usually do nothing alone. It needs help from all other parts of the hand in order to work. we know people who need help , one way is to pray for them.

E. The pinkie finger represents ( Blue) " ME " or "Self ", because it is the last and smallest finger.
We should put others before ourselves and humble ourselves before God.
Pray for yourself last.
Our prayer life is weak when we focus on ourselves.
Hold your Bible with just your pinkie finger & palm and you will see how weak it is.
Add one finger at a time starting with the ring finger all the way up to the thumb.
Our prayer life is strong when we include all of them.

F. Your Fist represents protection from the evil one and power to advance against him.
" Because God holds us tightly in His hands".
With His protection & His strength we can successfully "fight" back and advance against the evil one.
Remember to close your fist...
Always close in prayer in the name of Jesus.

Memorize :

Philippians 4:6

Don't worry about anything.
Instead tell God about everything.
Ask and pray.
Give thanks to Him.

The Last Sin Eater ....

We watched this power film directed by Michael Landon Jr. and really enjoyed it !!! I am just sharing to those who are tired of Hollywood junk.. there are good films out there that have meaning to them. this one was really good and I am not afraid to recommend it.. but please do take a moment to view the link below.. see what it is about.. what other viewers have to say about it. Enjoy !!!

click here for the synopsis, some thoughts and praises for this movie Christian Entertainment.

The Spirit of Giving........

This Christmas we want to teach our children to be givers. We also want to teach them to be receivers. We want them to receive the grace of God given to them in the gospel. We want them to receive this King who was willing to come down to them so that they would not have to reach up to Him. We want them to receive Jesus more than anything. We want this for them and for you because of the promise in John 1:12-13:

"But to all who received Him (Jesus), to all who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God."

When we receive from God we learn what it means to give to God and others. In short, we give by receiving. We give out of a thankful heart for the grace we’ve received, and that brings glory to God and good to others.

We made cookies and sent it along with cocoa and homemade flap jack mix to our elderly neighbors. They were so greatful and our hearts were too !!!