We want a beautiful relationship with God. And we want beautiful relationships with other people. Consider this. Have you ever wished that someone could become your guardian angel? Anytime you had a problem, he would be available when you needed a shoulder to cry on. He would always make time for you. He would be a safe haven from the world.
You may think it would be an ideal situation to have someone who is truly devoted to helping you. But you would soon discover that for someone to be that devoted to you, he would have to think that you were a total failure. For him to drop everything and come running every time you stubbed your toe, he would have to think that you were totally helpless. Not a very attractive picture, is it? And you would lose your respect for your guardian angel if he could be so easily swayed by your demands that he would neglect his other responsibilities. You would wonder how trustworthy he is if he could abandon his other duties.
Now consider this. Have you ever acted like a jerk? Have you ever done something stupid? Did you ever have a sick feeling in your stomach that you alienated someone with your behavior? Someone offered you a beautiful relationship, but you did not treat that relationship with respect. So you were filled with dread that your foolishness would ruin your beautiful relationship with him. And you had to wait to see if he would take you back. When he did take you back, your dread was replaced with relief, and then rejoicing.
We have a sick feeling in our stomach and are filled with dread that our sin, our foolishness, will ruin the beautiful relationship God has offered us. But we do not have to wait to see if God will take us back. When we go to God in prayer and ask for forgiveness, God forgets our foolishness. God restores His beautiful relationship with us. And our dread is replaced with relief, and then rejoicing. We do not deserve God's love, but He loves us anyway. That is grace.
Our relationships with other people sometime buckle under if we place too much pressure on them. Thank God that He can handle pressure better than people can. Thank God that He will not buckle under. Thank God for His grace.
As a Christian parent you have a special obligation to protect your children from the darker side of the Internet. While nothing is as effective as sitting right beside your child while he is using the World Wide Web, you can use a built in tool called Content Advisor in Internet Explorer to help keep your child safe. Here's how:
Internet Explorer can also help you protect your children by limiting (or approving) access to web sites that you kn ow you don't want them visiting. Here's how:
I found out that this week is Ebook Week, March 7th-13th!!! What a great time to explore the world of e-readers to see if there is one out there for you! I don't own one but would love to win The Nook through CurrClick.com.
They are having a Twitter tweetin' giveaway of a Nook eReader, worth $259! Simply use Twitter and tweet the following text with what you're reading: "It's #eBookWeek! I'm reading XXX. Win a Nook from CurrClick.com now-March 13." The winner will be randomly selected and notified on March 22nd.
You do not need to be a CurrClick member to participate. I strongly suggest that you check out CurrClick while you are there! They have free products this week. Click here at CurrClick Online Classes to see our review on a Guitar Online class my daughter took.
Do you have an iPod Touch/Phone?? Did you know that you can get apps to read books? Thanks to PicPocketBooks I have 2 codes to giveaway to one lucky reader!
TO ENTER- Go to PicPocketBooks and tell me at least one book you would pick and why you would pick it if you won. (Leave your email addy with this entry. This has to be done or all other entries will be void. Leave separate comments for each entry)
EXTRA BONUS- Read the article, How the brain handles screen reading, on the PicPocketBlog, leave a comment and come back here and tell me something about what you read. (10 entries)
EXTRA EXTRA BONUS: I did an Amazon search and here are a few links that I found to get you started on your e-reader search! If you own one already or will be buying one, feel free to leave your comment below and get ONE EXTRA ENTRY for the PicPocketBooks Giveaway.
Well, slowly but surely I'm starting to get my craft on again. I made 2 cards in 2 days, but behind the scenes, I'm also working on a mini album for Scrapper's Boutique using that awesome new paper line from Simple Stories...Fabulous. I think it has to be my favorite line that's come out in a long time, so I just had to have the whole 12 x 12 pack and the little 6 x 6 pad for myself! FYI...be prepared to see it a lot!
Because I love that paper so much, I couldn't wait to dig into the little pad and I made this card using some Verve, old and new! I grabbed the Miracles Blossom set (from 2008) and just used the sentiment (although I LOVE the flower stamps in this set, too!). I accented it with a Loopy Blooms Die flower and hot glued it to the bow with a button on top. I *may* have mentioned before that my favorite newer die from Verve is the Ribbon Banner. See it there cut out of the aqua polkadot? I can't put that thing down!
Anyway, it's the last day of school for us today and I picked up the girls at noon. I plan on working on that mini book the rest of today, plus another project for my YNS Fun Friday that's tomorrow (so I'll see ya'll then)! Therefore, I do not care if they want to watch TV the rest of the day, and I will allow them to have as much soda and sugar as they want this afternoon. Call me a bad mom, but that will buy me some time to dive into my craft cave and not come out until it's time for dinner! You know you've done it before, too. Just sayin'.
SUSIE Q-TIP: Even if no Copic coloring is involved in stamping your project, go ahead and heat set that black ink (or any color), especially if you are using the Brilliance brand from Tsukineko and especially if said inkpad is quite juicy. It WILL smear. You WILL have to re-stamp it. Don't ask me how I know this. I don't want to talk about it.
Accessories: Ribbon Banner and Loopy Blooms (a Cut Above Dies by Verve), Circus Border CutUps (TCP), Oval and Scallop Oval Nestabilities, Seeing Spots Embossing Folder, Ribbon/Button (PTI), Divine Twine (TCP), Pink Adhesive Rhinestones, Hot Glue, Jody Boosters