Tag: encourage ♥

diy

sidewalk chalk neighbor gift idea & free printable

Raising up Rubies1 Comment


I’m hoping that this little project might lift your spirits 
during this really weird/sad/crazy time like it did mine today ♥

it started a few days ago with a box of sidewalk chalk …


i saw everyone on social media talking about how they were using chalk to decorate their sidewalks with uplifting messages or just pretty pictures since families and neighbors are out in huge numbers everyday walking and enjoying any spring-like weather just to pass the time and get out of the house… and anyone who lives in our neighborhood knows that people are ALWAYS outside – quarantine or not – we have so many little kids, dog owners and runners/walkers in our one mile huge loop of a neighborhood – so our neighborhood is usually pretty active even during normal circumstances… 

so i picked up a box at target (while i was getting essentials … everyone just please relax … please – slight eyeroll here) because i knew that it would put a smile on at least a few faces who walked over our sidewalk over the next few days (and then it rained of course – hello, upstate NY + April) so i recruited my girls to go chalk up the sidewalk & make it pretty ♥
we got out there and the sun was shining, within a few minutes it was like my spirits were automatically renewed just by being outside, for an hour, breathing in God’s fresh air and soaking up His sunshine …

 it got me to thinking about how we can watch the news, talk to neighbors and overhear things in the grocery store check out line that the enemy then uses to ever so quietly & slooooowly crack the door open, allowing fear to creep into our minds & hearts … right?  we start to let ourselves be dominated by the what if’s and the maybe’s 
that give life to fear & self-reliance … 

but then all of a sudden being outside in the wide open of God’s creation … you realize that there is nothing to fear. He made all of this. the sun will rise in the morning and set again tomorrow night, virus or not, quarantine or not, constant barrage of fear-mongering news broadcasts or not … because He is in control – He’s got this – this didn’t catch Him by surprise – it didn’t sneak up on Him like whoa where’d you come from kinda thing – this was all sifted through His hands.

He’s behind & before us – His thoughts are higher – our names are graven on His hands – He knew what we looked like even before we were thought into existence … 
so i’m thinkin’ He’s got this too.

as we were chalking up a storm the idea came to get a few more boxes of chalk for some of the houses with little kids on our street – in hopes that they would decorate their sidewalks too and then what a fun walk around the neighborhood that would be for everyone 🙂


surprisingly but kinda not (insert another small eyeroll here)
 like flour toilet paper and chicken breast (that’s what’s hard to get here at our grocery store what about you all?) sidewalk chalk is really hard to find online – and again not surprisingly, sellers on amazon are trying to sell this 48ct. box of chalk for $40!


so i scoured the interwebs and found that my local staples & walgreens stores had quite a few boxes left in stock and they were offering curb-side pickup! bonus. so check your local office supply stores, drug stores, targets or walmart’s – buy online and pick up – i’m sure you’ll be able to find some!




and of course i had to make a cute tag for these neighbor gifts (that in all honesty me & my daughter ding dong ditched ((or just ditched without the ding or the dong)) at each of the houses and then made quick getaways afterwards:P) there’s just something about giving gifts in secret – am i right?

i love leaving something, catching someone off guard and letting it be found in the quiet of their own thoughts & emotions – i know in times past i’ve found something that has brought me to tears and i thought how did someone know this was just what i needed?

so! dive into those ribbon stashes, tie some bows onto those cardboard box handles and 
click here or on the image below to print out these tags and share with your neighbors 🙂

super cute graphics were from these two etsy shops
https://www.etsy.com/shop/LisaMarkleSparkles
https://www.etsy.com/shop/JaxandJake
and so at the end of today, we had successfully delivered 6 boxes of chalk up and down our street and when my daughter went out to ride her bike in the afternoon she came back so excited to tell me that all the little kids that we had delivered chalk to, had decorated or were out decorating their sidewalks with the cutest pictures and notes ♥ and some of them had even come to the front of our house and written a note in chalk thanking us for the gift 🙂


and just like that a small thing like a box of chalk brought so much joy to our house and now neighborhood 
AND had lifted my spirit more than any other thing had done this past week.
(even more than when i found a six pack of TP at the grocery store 🙂
find some chalk, print out these tags & let this do the same for you this week friends!
as always – much love

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almost 20 ♥

Raising up Rubies3 Comments

Marriage is hard work guys. Some people say marriage is easy… it’s just a walk in the park.  And I don’t understand that. because what planet are you from? which two people anywhere in this galaxy are perfect? There has to be conflict and lack of communication and unfair expectations in any relationship with two people. Because it’s natural. Because we’re human. Because we’re instinctively selfish and because if there wasn’t, what would be the point of marriage? It’s supposed to be the ultimate picture of how Christ loves us – and without growing and pulling and pressure and heat and heartache how would we grow? How would we learn? How would we be more like Christ? We can’t get there without growth.

Some people say marriage is impossible. And I don’t understand that. because anything is possible *with God*.  I know there are exceptions – abuse, infidelity, addiction – but *sometimes* even with & through all those things God will work. He can change. He can make you new. Make your marriage new. He’s applying the heat and molding the clay and stretching you beyond anything you thought you would ever be able to endure. Pain beyond recognition sometimes. All to make your marriage or in some cases maybe just YOU into the ultimate testimony of His dying love for us. 

But the enemy hates it. 

He’ll tear it down tiny piece by tiny piece if he has to. And if you’ll let him, he’ll slither ever so quietly into the tiniest hair line fracture and take your marriage down from the inside out one thought at a time. 

But choice. 

Choose not to let him. Choose to fill those gaps ladies. Choose to let Jesus pour out of you and cement those gaps shut with unselfishness. With an open heart. With Mercy. With forgiveness. With time. With priority. With sometimes I don’t want to do this but I’m just going to do it anyways. With a little Victoria’s secret & a few chocolate chip cookies. (cause I’m old fashioned like that) And because deep down ladies, our men just want to be respected. They want to know we’re proud of who they are. They want to know they’re enough for us.  Enough at 20 and still enough at 40 50 & 60. 

You can’t do it on your own.

God wants us to need Him in our marriages.  And sometimes you might have to wait.
 Months, years maybe even until heaven, i don’t know…
now i know, not everyone will agree with me and that’s ok.  I also understand every relationship is unique and complicated and sometimes for safety or other reasons the end of a marriage is necessary … but as a general rule and because like everything else in life – stuff takes work. It takes time. It takes discipline and it takes choice. And because I’ve never seen a perfect long lasting no effort marriage just fall into anyone’s lap.  And I get it… it’ll never be perfect like in the movies we all watch or in the books we read but it will be worth it. Pinky promise.♥️




much love ♥
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little box of sunshine gift idea

Raising up Rubies4 Comments
we sent this happy little box to my mother in law for mothers day
and i thought i’d share here with you all in case you’re looking for a fun gift idea that’s easy to put together and is such a surprise to the recipient!


i saw the idea on pinterest and decided to put a box together to send off to North Carolina
and after a trip to target i had a bunch fun stuff … 


that happiness book is really cute – there’s some funny things in it
i know this because i was chuckling in the isle at target while i flipped through it 🙂
i put all the little odds and ends in the clear catch all bag 


i lined the inside of the box with some bright yellow paper & double sided tape
the brighter the paper the better! you want that box to shine when all the flaps are opened 🙂


the flat rate box from the post office is free! and you can pack it full no matter what the weight 
and send it off for a flat rate fee priority mail (2-3 days) for around $15 i think, i can’t remember the exact rate but it’s around there 🙂



the paper i had was 8.5 x 11 and fit perfectly in this small flat rate box leaving only a little gap at the bottom on one side but you won’t be able to see it once you fill it up


a little trimming might be necessary near the top flaps
and i just placed a full sheet on the bottom with no tape

the best part is this clipart that i got here
from my best girl’s etsy shop – simply purchase, download, print and cut!
a little more of the double sided tape to place it where your heart desires and that’s it!

i also printed out the text from microsoft publisher on my PC – cut & taped that to the long flaps


fill you box and send it off!
i know whoever receives it won’t be able to help but be so happy 🙂
the only thing i was missing was yellow basket straw – you know that crinkled paperish stuff that comes in all different colors? filling the space at the top with that would’ve kept the yellow theme going, but i only had white tissue paper on hand, but yellow tissue paper would work too right?


some pictures of us girls on Mother’s Day ♥


that’s my mom – doesn’t she look good?!
hoping i get her slow aging genes 🙂





whatever Mother’s Day means for you i hope it was filled with joy and happines … even if it’s sort of a sad day for you whatever the reason, know that God works all things together for your good! even in the sadness (especially in the sadness) He’s molding & shaping you into who He wants you to be ♥ remember that every heartache and trial you face was first sifted through His hands before it got to you so take comfort in that girls.
much love to you
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free print – journaling cards

Raising up Rubies3 Comments
happy sunday
♥
just a quick pop in here to share these journaling cards i made last week 
with some super cute clip art my bloggy bestie sent me
the cards were inspired by the new First5 app
from Lysa Terkeurst and proverbs31 ministries



 it’s an app designed for us busy ladies who have a desire to start their morning in the right direction by devoting the first 5 minutes of the day to Jesus with a short devo. the app is going through the book of John with an optional workbook that you can purchase on the website if you want to spend additional time and go more in depth. just starting it within this past week I’m already learning so much and i really wanted to share it with you. if you’re following along with the app or going through the workbook tell me what you’re learning too i want to know! and if you haven’t downloaded the app yet go do it now! you’ll be so encouraged!


you can put them in your bible, journal or maybe even tape them to the mirror in the ladies room while you’re out & about 🙂 i hope they encourage you and the people around you this week!
much love
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sickness snow and rejoicing.

Raising up Rubies9 Comments

being a grown up and being really sick is no joke
i’ve been in bed since wednesday 
one of the days i felt like i was dying
and i’m no sissie.
i’d like to say i’m a rough & tough girl
i’m independant. ambitious.
i like to get stuff done. a lot of stuff.
so maybe getting sick is just what i needed 
(even though i really didn’t see it that way the day i felt like i was dying)
and then three days this week it snowed. 
yeeeeeah. it snowed.
april twenty something. 
and then i got some really disappointing news. i was really bummed. something i had worked really super hard on. and was really super excited about it. and then it fell through.
so basically the week sucked.
#firstworldprobs


i know He’s putting something on my heart today to share here. my family is at church and i’m still in bed. and i sometimes feel a rush. like a surge to write things down that all of sudden seem like were spoken into my heart. little revelations maybe? i’m not sure.
the other day i thought what the heck is the purpose of being ‘under the weather’ God?
i mean really. i went to the dr. got the meds and now i’m on the mend. but really whats the point?
just that we live in a fallen world, that comes with death, disease, and other horrible things? so if i get this little virus i should probably just be thankful it wasn’t death or one of said horrible other things?
i guess. that’s probably what i should take away from this week.
one whole week wasted. orders from my etsy shop are backed up. my house was a wreck. laundry was piling up and my girls watched 27.3 hours of mindless tv while my husband struggled to take on a ridiculously busy week at work, a renovation project at church, homework, taking care of me and a head cold…
all because sometimes we just have to take the good with the bad??
 i guess.
what i waste i kept thinking.

until this morning.
when i read this.



it hit me. like a ton of bricks.
(cause i need a ton of them to get my attention when my focus is distored)
the initial blow was like an “uh helllooo” moment
and then my heart instatly softened to take in what God wanted to show me.
i was certain He was showing me this. right then.

we can rejoice. 
rejoice?
that was the farthest thing from my mind this past week laying in bed feeling like i wanted to stick a needle in my eye. ok, so i’m not saying i should have been laying in bed strumming a harp and singing the psalms in between fevers & rounds of ibuprofen. but rejoicing? in my heart maybe in the quiet of the day when i was just laying there? not even close. snapping at my kids, complaining to my friends and crying like a baby when my husband had to leave again was more like it.
why? why don’t i know this already. i should have rejoiced
a quiet heart rejoice.
not like enjoy being sick.
but rejoice.

i hate it when there’s one bad thing in life.
that wipes out fourteen thousand other good things i got goin on. and that’s all i can focus on.
well that’s how the enemy likes to set us up right? now i have to take some of the responsibility here. the enemy can only sneak into places where i’ve already cracked the door open a little bit. and all he needs is a hairline fracture. so if i’m already stewing on the things i don’t like in life and my heart is not tapping into the source of Joy that is Jesus. well then i’ve already opened the door. so that’s that.

we run into problems and trials. we know that they help us develop endurance.
so being sick for me wasn’t just this ok take it and be happy it isn’t something worse kind of experience. it was a problem. a problem to help me develop endurance.
maybe it was just the flat on my back kind of week i needed to expose some of those ugly things about myself that God wants to change. that He wants to gently work on with me.
maybe He was trying to get my attention all along… i just wasn’t listening.
He wants to build my endurance.

endurance: the ability to do something difficult for a long time

relationships are hard. 
He wants me to love people and use the gifts He’s given me to bless them
marriage is hard sometimes. 
He wants me to love & love fierce. 
like He loved me on that cross when He took my place, died and set me free.
parenting is hard sometimes (ok all the time). 
He wants me to guide my children towards a life with Him
not yell & scold and criticize them constantly



and endurance develops strength of character. and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. and THIS HOPE will not lead to disappointment.

i dunno about you. but i’ll take any strengthening of character that i can get. i need it alot.
in fact i do notice in my quiet times. i’m always asking God for that specifically. please Father help me be a better mother to my girls. the wife my husband needs. a better daughter to my parents. a better daughter in law to my husbands parents. a better friend… help me to choose friends carefully. a better sister.  and then i love that last line. its the best part. because after all that.
after all that refining
after all that character strengthening
all that laying sick in bed for a week doing NOTHING
it will lead us to a stronger confident hope.
not just any hope. the best hope. hope of salvation.
and if all else in life does not go as we thought it would.
we can have salvation through Christ.
and that hope.
THAT HOPE
-even if everything else does-

will not disappoint.



so i guess this is a lot of info.
it was on my heart so i knew i had to share in case it’s on any of yours ♥
i often overwhelm myself with things i want to change. i make the to-do list of where to start too long and too big that i look at it and give up. because i know i’ll never be able to do all of it. so i do none of it.
i’m a go big or go home kinda girl and sometimes that’s good. sometimes it’s drives me to do good things. but sometimes i think i just need to go small and go Jesus. because i really believe He wants me to make progress, not attain perfection, towards having a heart like His.

so i chose a few things i want to start with this week. not too much. just two or three things i want to make sure i remember to do … in areas where i feel really need some attention. and i hope this spurs you on to do the same. maybe it’s a card you don’t forget to send for mothers day. maybe it’s that batch of cookies you keep thinking you’ll make for the neighbors but never do. maybe it’s just taking time to listen to your child and hear their heart. i don’t know. but whatever it is i’m right there with ya.



and guess what?!?!
(read the next few lines)
🙂
we can make our plans.
but the Lord determines our steps
proverbs sixteen. nine

my plans sound great most of the time.
but His plans have never failed me. any of the time
and that’s coming from this hot mess.
much love


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not mainstream ♥

Raising up Rubies17 Comments

shared in my instagram feed about something that was hard on my heart yesterday … in church our pastor talked about being brokenhearted
over our sin. about going into mourning mode when we do something that grieves
our loving merciful perfect Holy God. 
as believers we are set apart. 
chosen for a specific
purpose. 
we aren’t supposed to look mainstream.
late talks with my hubby the night before led me to tell him i often
feel like an outsider. 
like i don’t fit in. don’t belong. 
even sometimes in
circles of other believers. 
but i think when we feel that way it’s to serve the
purpose of reminding us that we are strangers here. for only our short lives
and that everything we do everyday, every minute, even every second counts. and
i don’t want to waste it. i want to look different. i want to speak different.
act different. do others see Jesus in me even in brief encounters? i
desperately want them to… Father help us to stand out. help us to not fall in
with the rest of the crowd. help us to use the precious time You’ve so
graciously given us as if we only had that moment to spend it. and when the
line starts to blur help us to remember Your Words… 

Do not love this world
nor the things it offers you, 
for when you love the world, you do not have the
love of the Father in you. 
{first john two fifteen}

then i saw this post from here this morning
had to screenshot it 

i’m determined to be devoted. no matter the cost.
no matter what. 
and that’s scary to say… but i think i need to say it.
i think we need to say it. maybe you need to say it?
i hope you are encouraged today 
♥ much love to you 


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quiet …♥

Raising up RubiesLeave a comment


For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future,<sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(A)”> nor any powers … neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God<sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(C)”> that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.


Romans eight. thirty eight. thirty nine.

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make the most of the mist … ♥

Raising up Rubies10 Comments

i’ve spent the last few days getting Christmas stock made for the shop
and i still can’t believe how fast the holidays came upon us…
why is it when you’re young everything takes forever to get here
when you’re older everything comes too quickly?
i wanna know where that line is …
where things start to fade … from slow to fast
is 30 the magic number? when you start to realize life is short?
is it when you have kids? maybe it’s when you lose a loved one…
maybe it’s just in the everyday …
You don’t know what will happen tomorrow. 
What is life? 
You are a mist that is seen for a moment and then disappears … 
James four. fourteen.
i feel the urgency to live out this instruction … don’t’ you?
it makes me want to hurry up and slow down



the other day my daughter said to me …
” i just can’t wait ’till Christmas, i wish it was tomorrow”
🙂



i can wait … cause tomorow will be here in blink of an eye
♥

James 4:14


Happy Thanksgiving & much love to you and your families … 

i’ll peek in tomorrow for Wrappin’ up Wednesday 
with some finally new Christmas things for the shop … 
and be sure to check in this weekend ~ for a giveaway & black Friday discounts 🙂
gladness in my ♥ for you

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magic to-do list fairy: wanted … ♥

Raising up Rubies12 Comments
i’ve been trying to get to this little blog of mine 🙂
i have so many things i want to make…
and share with you guys

but y’all …
(in a Paula Deen voice)
(’cause i’m not southern, even in the least bit)
it’s summer, and my girls are still little
i want to enjoy them
and i had so many things i wanted to do with them this summer
and July is coming to an end, meaning summer’s half over 😦

so this is when i start to panic
when i start to pray that God would just, for the next month, give me 32 hours in a day
so between trying to get everything ready to open shop
and regular everyday wife/mama/garage sale summer life
i find myself with only (can you believe) 24 hours in my day (shocking i know)
(not many of which i’m spending sleeping)

i’ve always been ambitious, always been a go-getter
i get that from my dad…
what i also get from my dad is my serious lack of time management
i mean SERIOUS, as in not there, non-existent
my to-do list yesterday was ridiculous
i think it had 16 things on it
which i knew i couldn’t possibly accomplish in one normal human day
but i wrote it down anyway 
the problem is when i get to the end of the day
(and i can maybe cross one or two things off the list)
i beat myself up … like i’m mentally participating as a contestant on Wipeout 
i knew i was setting myself up for failure when i wrote the list in the morning but i did it anyway, hoping, just hoping that somehow the magic to-do list fairy would come and make that to-do list, not only all crossed off, but then scrap-booked, doodled and matted on some burlap and lace in a pretty frame right near my kitchen sink
on display for me and all to see

no … 
just me and my faulty time management to-do list problem
just me being human, wife, mommy, friend, sister…and over acheiver
so here i am down on myself 
then the Voice
like a million waterfalls
says I Am Enough
be still and know
tears streaming down my face 
is when my Sweet Savior quietly scoops me up into everlasting arms
and since it’s hour 23 and a half and i still have 14 things left on my list
 i surrender
but why do i wait until i get to this point of exasperation?
why don’t i just give up the rights to my list first thing in the morning?
that’s what God wants from me … i know it
it’s just so hard to let go of control
so that’s what i’m trying to work on right now … that’s where i’m at
so thanks y’all (Paula voice) for the listening ear 🙂

came across this last night on Pinterest
i’ve read most of Lysa’s books, and i’m sure this one won’t disappoint
if you have a minute check it out … she cracks me up

Click to read Proverbs 31 Ministries devotion about this!

that’s totally me in the picture
 i mean really 
who doesn’t want to just put their head in an over sized purse 
and scream at the top of their lungs every once and a while??
(i don’t officially know if she’s screaming at the top of her lungs, but that’s what i think she should be doing with her head in an over sized purse … and this is my blog … m’kay?)

:):)

i’m working on a few projects that i think you’ll like
and a grand opening date & giveaway for Sugar ‘n Spice
… so come back soon!
(pretty please with a cherry on top?)