DIY Pom Pom Garland

Today I'm going to share with you a very simple DIY! A Pom Pom garland! It's easy, adorable, affordable and just adds a little pop to the home!

When I made mine it was around Christmas time. I had it above the fire place and I just fell in love with it!

I HAD to put it up asap!

It made the fire place so cheerful and bright!

This was Christmas morning, right before things got crazy! Just look at that garland *ahhh* perfect! 

Now that we've moved, we don't have a fire place, but I still wanted to hang up the garland. So the kitchen it is! Alright alright, now let me explain how to make this adorable thing!

What you'll need:

*Pom poms 

*Thick string

*Upholstery needles 

(That's it!!! Ok and some scissors) 

Somehow I misplaced my upholstery needles in the move. Basically you just want to needle to be strong enough to be able to get that thick string through the Pom Pom without breaking. My needles were shorter than the ones above.

Cut the string to your desired length. Get your needle and put the string through it just like normal, then grab a Pom Pom and go straight through the center. Continue doing this, while scooting each Pom Pom down and rotating colors as you desire. When you're finished you can tie a knot at each end to secure the Pom poms, but they stay on the string pretty well because it's so thick. 

This is incredibly easy to do, but I will warn you it can get tedious. Just remember that the finished product is completely worth it!!! 

Side note: this can be a tiny bit painful so if you need to wear a glove to protect your hand from the needle then do it! I didn't, however my fingers were sore when I was finished! You live and you learn right?! 

If you're looking for a pop of color, and you're not wanting to break the wallet, this may be the DIY craft you're looking for!!! 

Wha-la!!! There you have it! Have a cheerful Friday everyone!!!

REJOICE!

"Sing, oh barren, you who have not borne! Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, you who have not labored with child! For more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married woman," says the Lord.

"Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; do not spare; lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes. For you shall expand to the right and to the left, and your defendants will inherit the nations, and make the desolate cities inhabited. Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore. For your Maker is your husband, The Lord of Hosts is His name; and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth." Isaiah 54:1-5

Last month my husband and I went to a Pioneer Rally in San Jose. If you're not familiar, it's something our fellowship does; it's a small series of Holy Ghost packed sermons. In this case it was a Thursday night, Friday night and Saturday morning. Five powerful sermons, in three days! Talk about awesome!!! 

All of the sermons were incredible, the Spirit of God was there and He spoke to me. I want to share with you a little bit about the sermon that was preached on Friday night. The pastor who preached is Kevin Foley, a phenomenal preacher in our fellowship! 

He opened with the text I typed above in Isaiah. He entitled the sermon "Your Past is not Prophecy but your Future is"

Sometimes in life we can go through hard seasons, seasons of discouragement, and of barrenness. We can have this idea in our minds that, "it's always gonna be this way." You see, the way we think and speak really does affect our lives.

We can get into ruts. We stop expecting good things. We gauge our future by our past, by past failures. Why is that? 

We think, "I will never see the blessings of fruitfulness in my life." We can start to view life through the pain, through past disappointments. This becomes a lense in which we view the future. This is unhealthy.

God has greater things for you and I than the mistakes of our past, greater things than our short comings. Gods promise is prophecy, His promise is that the future will be very different than the past.

You are going to see something greater than you ever had, in the future! You're not bound and chained by your past! Gods precious word, sets us free! Look at Sarah, she was barren for 90 years, and God promised that she would have a son, and she did!

God doesn't look down on you because of your frustration. He does glorious things for those who have dealt with barrenness. God can make barren people fruitful. The past isn't prophecy but your attitude is. 

Your attitude speaks about your future, choose to have a good attitude, choose to speak hope and faith! In this scripture God tells us to SING before anything else, shout for JOY! (Let me remind you He's speaking to the barren) You can rejoice in your struggle. You can choose to praise God no matter what situation or hardship you're going through. Your attitude will prepare you for your future.

We have the victory in Christ, act like it! 

Rejoice in the goodness of God! Rejoice knowing that fruit is coming! An atmosphere of joy allows fruit to grow. No matter what happens in life, we can choose to rejoice! Jesus told His disciples, "Rejoice that your names are written in heaven!" (Luke 10:20)

If your joy is only based on when you're successful, then your joy will come and go. If you rejoice in salvation, you can rejoice forever! Let joy be your posture. 

There is a personal faith action, to enlarge ourselves; then revival comes! Ready ourselves for the fruit, prepare for the harvest. What do we need to do to stretch ourselves, to grow personally? The scripture says, "Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; do not spare; lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes." (Vs 2) 

What is the enlarging that we need to do to stretch ourselves? People skills, not being intimidated. Pastor Foley said, "They smell, it's ok!" (Insert loud laugh)

How can I enlarge myself to be used by God? How can God use me to bear Him fruit? Do something by faith, that you have not been able to do! 

Prepare now for what God holds for us in the future, don't wait to prepare. We need to be ready for what is ahead, we need to be hopeful.

We think that we are limited by our power and abilities. His power is prophecy. By yourself you are barren, but God has the ability to give children and to give fruit. "For you shall expand to the right and to the left, and your descendants will inherit the nations, and make the desolate cities inhabited." (Vs 3)  This is His promise to us! It is by His promise that things are fulfilled in our lives. The Father promised, the Son purchased, and the Spirit produces in our lives. 

God can heal the emotional scars of the barren times, you don't have to hurt any longer! "Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame; for you will forget the shame of your youth." (Vs 4)

The future that God has for you will be so joyful, that you will forget the pain and shame of the past! "And will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore." (Vs 4)

Rejoice today, because the future that Christ has promised is far greater than the past has ever been! Ready yourself, He who promised is faithful! (Hebrews 10:23)

Psalm 103

I read this scripture this morning. I really took some time and went over every word. Our God is so good! Take a minute and read this over. It will remind you of the very character of God, it will make you praise Him!

Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The LORD executes righteousness And justice for all who are oppressed. He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel. The LORD is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, So the LORD pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, And its place remembers it no more. But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting On those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children’s children, To such as keep His covenant, And to those who remember His commandments to do them. The LORD has established His throne in heaven, And His kingdom rules over all. Bless the LORD, you His angels, Who excel in strength, who do His word, Heeding the voice of His word. Bless the LORD, all you His hosts, You ministers of His, who do His pleasure. Bless the LORD, all His works, In all places of His dominion. Bless the LORD, O my soul! 

(Psalms 103:1-22 NKJV)

Paint your knife block

My husband and I just celebrated two years of marriage! We have had this plain-Jane wood knife block that we have been saying, "let's paint that" since we got it at our wedding. It's not that I don't like wood, it's just that I really, really, really  LOVE color. Color is my jam. As well as coffee and anything with sugar. (Yes I have a massive sweet tooth) our house is filled with color. Yellow, aqua, coral, orange, mustard, red. You can never have too much color! If we could paint the walls, trust me they would be painted, but we're renting and I want to get out deposit back whenever we move (fingers crossed) 

Yesterday while Justin was napping, I decided to just paint that stinking thing once and for all. Besides I didn't really like how it looked, if it didn't turn out perfect at least I would have the memory and a lot of grins and laughs in the future right? It's a risk you have to be willing to take. I was willing, and not tired enough for a nap. So why not?!

Here is the before picture...nothing special. Thanks Grands for the gift, but I'm about to make this WAY better!

I decided on aqua and coral paint. I wasn't sure if I was going to end up using both or just the aqua. You know it would be easier and safer to only do one color.

Here's another angle of the plain-Jane 

I decided to use both colors! And I'm so stinking glad!

Here she is! It may not be perfect but I can always touch it up later. Besides I adore the color combo! It's gonna add a little more pop to the kitchen!

SO much better! Isn't it amazing what a few coats of paint can do?

I love to use the sponge brushes, they paint so smoothly. Also I used tooth picks to get paint out of the knife slots. Works like a charm! 

Don't be afraid to grab some paint and try something new!

The before and after! 

Happy painting and happy Friday!!!

Free Indeed

Today I want to talk about freedom. Living as Christians we are FREE INDEED! This is a gift from God! Jesus died, so we could be free from the bondage of sin and the law.

Romans 8:1&2

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us FREE, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

Galatians 5:1

I love looking up words. It's one of those things for me. Liberty, meaning: freedom, freedom, freedom and freedom! 

Romans 6:18 

And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 

2 Corinthians 3:17

Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty. 

There is this song we sing in our church, I just love it so much. I'm gonna share the lyrics with you. Jesus is so wonderful!

Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom

Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom

There is peace. There is love. There is joy.

It is for freedom You've set us free

It is for freedom You've set us free

I'm free. I'm free. I'm free. I'm free.

We will walk in Your freedom

Walk in Your liberty

We will walk in Your freedom

Walk in Your liberty 

Stand fast in your freedom! 

Christ has made us free. We are free indeed. Don't go back to carrying the burdens of this world, Jesus took those from us, when He died on the cross. He freely gives us forgiveness and freedom! All we have to do is repent and turn away! Freedom is yours.

16 Days of Cleaning

I may be the only one but often times I only do what is an absolute must, I find myself neglecting things. Other times I expect far too much of myself. I want to deep clean the entire house in one day and I end up wearing myself out. I created this list to try and be more consistent. To try and do one thing a day. Instead of doing it all at once or brushing it off because it's too much. One thing a day is do-able and I can make it fit in to my schedule. Hopefully you can too! 

1. Clean Vacuum filter (if yours is a throw away one then simply replace it and maybe wipe down the vacuum. Mine's reuseable so I use hot water and dish soap to clean it. Then I let it air dry over night.)

2. Clean  Dishwasher (place a glass measuring cup of white vinegar in the empty dishwasher, run a full cycle. When that's done pour a cup of baking soda in the bottom of the dishwasher and run another cycle.)

3. Coffee Cleaning Cycle (If you threw the instruction manual away like we did, you can always YouTube it. Or look it up online, that's what we did and we finally got that flashing "clean" light to go away. Yay! Basically we ran some vinegar though then a few pots of water. But it probably has a clean cycle that will clean it thoroughly.

4. Dust hard to reach/ Forgotten things (Walk into your house and really take a look at things as if you were a visitor for the first time. What do you see?)

5. Clean out the Fridge (old food, completely empty and wipe everything out. Rotate things that will expire soon to the front.) 

6. Clean Kitchen Windows (This definitely doesn't happen enough) 

7. Go through Piles of Paperwork/ Mail (we bought a filing cabinet and it has helped so much with bills and important documents for insurance etc. I love to be organized it just makes me happy!) 

8. Freezer (Empty it all out and scrub it clean, throw out old things and now you can see what you have available!)

9. Utensil holders (Eventhough you're putting clean utensils in there somehow it gets dirty.)

10. Declutter all areas (donate, toss, or store)

11. Pantry (get rid of old food)

12. Front and back Porch/ Patio/ Deck (sweep, organize, clean up spider webs)

13. Clean Carpet Stains (hydrogen peroxide works well if you don't have carpet cleaner. Try it on a small area first to make sure it doesn't discolor the carpet. We have light colored carpet so it works wonderfully to lighten up those stains. I pour some on there and let it sit a good 20-25 minutes then get a white towel and put pressure on it, try and get as much of the liquid up as possible. Then I place a fan by it to help it dry fast. Don't walk in it for a day, that way if it is still wet it won't darken again.)

14. Clean off top of Fridge (Somehow this always gets dusty and cluttered)

15. Clean up Piles  (Justin is a pretty tidy guy, but he does leave piles and they can start to get crazy if neglected!) 

16. Vacuum Behind all Furniture 

I hope this inspired you to keep clean and not be overwhelmed! Happy Friday all!!! Xoxo

Throwing Stones

Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him (Jesus) a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?"

This they said testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first." And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus has raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more." John 8:2-11

This is such a good picture of Jesus. This woman was caught in the very ACT of sin! And Jesus did not condemn her, instead He told her to go and sin no more. Just like that she was forgiven. What a gracious King we serve! What Jesus is concerned about is us turning from sin. To no longer live the way we lived in the past  but to live for Him instead! When we have an encounter with Christ it changes us! Can you imagine being that woman?

Jesus knows everything about us, and still loves us, He knows every sin we've committed, every evil thought we've had and He still chooses to forgive us. Without Christ we are slaves to sin. John 8:34 Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits a sin is a slave to sin." But by the power of Christ in us, we can rise from sin and live a new life in Him! 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

There is a difference between condemnation and conviction. Jesus and the Holy Spirit are faithful to convict of sin. We are all sinners, we all fall short of perfection. Jesus knew that and that's the purpose of His sacrifice, He died because when there is sin it must be atoned for. Just like the days of the Old Testament, people sacrificed sheep and pigeons. Sin must be atoned for. Jesus is the atonement for our sins. Something has to die to cover the cost of sin. He paid that price on the cross. I'm so glad we are under grace and aren't bound by the law. We do not have to have a blood sacrifice, because Jesus is the blood sacrifice. 

Condemnation on the other hand is from the enemy. The devil wants us to feel condemned and feel like there is no hope. "You're not good enough", "You will never change", "How can God love you", "There is no hope" these are lies from hell. There is hope in Jesus. You see Jesus meets us as we are! He's not asking us to get our lives together before we come to Him. He sees us in our broken state and has compassion on us.

God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were still sinners Christ died. Romans 5:8

A lot of times we feel the condemnation of others. A dear friend of mine was going through an intense trial. My heart broke for her. People that she cared for we're being hard on her. Not being as gracious as they should have been. I remember talking with her on the phone, just hearing the hurt in her voice. That's when I thought of this scripture. I spoke it to her. Jesus isn't condemning you. He wants to help. Others may condemn, but are they with out sin? No! We are all guilty. We are all sinners. Before you condemn someone else think about yourself. God was gracious to us, it is our duty to be gracious to others.

On the other hand sometimes the one who is condemning us is ourselves. Remember that if Jesus is able to forgive us of our sins without a question, then we should also. If He isn't condemning us, then why do we? He paid the price, He forgave us! Don't carry around a burden that Jesus already took. It doesn't make sense. But so often we do it. 

Hebrews 8:12 "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more."

We are precious in His eyes

The world we live in has such high expectations for women, as far as what the eye can see that is. We are expected to look a certain way, to wear these clothes, to eat this food to be this weight. It's really disgusting to me. I have caught myself not feeling good enough because of this, and I don't think that I am the only one. Many women that I have talked to have had this issue of feeling inadequate. This world is so consumed with the material and the physical, but what about the spiritual and what about our hearts?

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is passing but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised. Proverbs 31:30

Don't get me wrong there is a difference between not caring at all about your body, what you put into it and how you treat it; and on the other hand being consumed by it. I try to eat healthy and take care of my hair, skin etc. I also don't like feeling like a total frump, I'm not against make up and dressing up. I am for it! But if we are getting our value from our outward appearance then we won't be happy with life and we are seriously missing the point. Our value must come from Christ!

Lets not forget that we were made in the very image of God Himself...Genesis 1:26  Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness..." Verse 27 says, So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

As women we can be incredibly insecure, it's in our nature, let your security come from Christ. He is your creator, He knows everything about you, He looks on you with love, and He is well pleased with His creation. You are the apple of His eye. He loves you more than you can imagine and He made you unique and perfect in His eyes. Gods opinion of us should be the most important one. So don't be bothered by fleshly things and ideas, remember your creators thoughts toward you are good.

Psalm 139:13+14

For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mothers womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works. 

Human life is an incredible thing, we weren't made to feel inadequate or to feel lack. He made us to have relationship with Him and to worship Him! Our lives should be filled with Him and focused on Him.

More than our outward appearance we should be focused on the inside; the condition of our hearts, our character, and our spirits. 

Proverbs 10:20

The tongue of the righteous is choice silver; the heart of the wicked is worth little. 

That means the heart and tongue are two very important things to God. Are the words we speak kind, gentle and loving? Are our hearts full of love and compassion for others? Are they obedient to God? When He pokes at our hearts, do we let it change us?

The world wants us to be consumed with outward beauty and carnal things. God is calling us to examine our hearts. Does our worth come from the opinion of others or what God says about us? Do we spend more time worrying about what we're going to wear than asking God to make us more like Him? We need to remember that our worth comes from Jesus, after all He is the only one that loves us enough to die for us. It wasn't because of our incredible beauty or perfect weight either; it's because of something far greater than that. He loves our soul. Our soul is the only thing that is eternal. Our beauty will fade as we grow older, our hair will gray and thin. But we can know that Gods love for us is not dependent upon our looks. He loves us the same no matter how we look. 

He wants our focus to be on more important things. Most importantly are our hearts right with Him? Are we living for Him daily? Is He our focus? Do we only care about ourselves and not for others?

For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that are desired cannot be compared to it. Proverbs 8:11

 

Let us be women who have wisdom from God. Let us be filled with His Spirit and be full of love and compassion for others. Let us speak life and hope into broken situations and broken lives. 

 

Proverbs 24:3-4

Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.

Isaiah 52:7

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation.

I love this scripture so much because it sheds some light on what God thinks is beautiful. He doesn't want us to be self-centered and consumed by the flesh. What He wants is for us to be a light for Him. He thinks it is beautiful when we tell others about Him. How refreshing is that? That is what we were made to do, and He loves it! 

Serving Others

Yesterday morning I woke up, I made the bed just like I normally do, I headed for the kitchen to pour myself a cup of coffee. The coffee was already brewed, Justin was awake and he starts the coffee first thing in the morning, its a priority! 

My instinct was to serve myself. It's natural for me to think of myself before anyone else. I grabbed my adorable owl coffee cup that my mom gifted me before moving from Arizona, and I went to pour some delicious cream. Right then I heard God, He challenged me to do something for my husband before I did something for myself. Of course I want to obey God and I love my husband with all of my heart. I would do anything for my man. 

I immediately stopped thinking about myself and thought about Justin. Before I poured my cup of coffee, I decided to make him breakfast. I was going to make him breakfast that is, after I had at least a few sips of coffee. You see I do think of others, but there's something inside of us that wants us to be consumed with self. 

God challenged me to help my husband, to serve him, before I served myself. Justin wouldn't have minded if I would have had a sip of coffee; but God was working on changing me and I'm so glad!

This generation is consumed with self, as if it's not bad enough that we are selfish creatures by nature.
We think of ourselves first, we want to know how it will benefit us, we don't want others to inconvenience us, we don't want to take the time...the list goes on.

On the contrary, Jesus our perfect king, came down to earth and what He did still leaves me in wonder. Matthew 20:28 says it all, "Just as the Son of Man (Jesus) did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." 
Luke 22:27 "For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves" Our king was a servant.

Galatians 5:13 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

Jesus said, "If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor".
John 12:26

Jesus is the perfect example of what we should strive to be. I want to be more like Him daily, I want to serve others and be a blessing just as He was. No, I'm never going to be perfect on this earth. Our flesh is going to tempt us, but Christ has called us to something greater. First we have to be aware of what we are called to be.  Ultimately we are called to serve Christ and to serve others!

Romans 12:9-11
Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. 

DIY coffee scrub

Hello there! It's Monday, Monday again!  Monday's are always hard, especially coming back from a vacation. Here's a little something that may help this Monday to not be so bad, or any day that is. I love trying new things so when I thought of this and loved it, I just HAD to share! 

This is so simple, and there's only two ingredients! 

• Ground coffee (preferably used, this way there is moisture and there is zero waste(: ) 

• Coconut oil

I used a plastic container and mixed a handful of the grounds with a few teaspoons of coconut oil. You want the mixture to be thick that way it can stay on your face/body and not slide off!

The mixture will be slightly rough but it will leave your skin feeling silky smooth! 

I put this stuff ALL over my body! I have dry skin but I noticed a difference on my legs after doing this only once. 

* If your face is dry like mine you should have no problem applying the oil to your face. If you have oily skin you might want to skip the face and use it on your arms and legs instead! 

* If you have some of the mixture left, you can cover it and place it in the fridge. I wouldn't keep it longer than a few days though. 

Like I said I used it all over and I loved it! 

I have done this a few times and I'm not going to stop any time soon! Also I love the smell of the coconut oil, it's just a little touch of deliciousness! I hope you enjoyed this! Have a wonderful week!