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Showing posts from October, 2018

My annual tradition of hiding in my house and turning out the lights

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I dislike Halloween. This is my annual rant.  I confess: I stayed home from church--the dinner, class, Truck or Treat, the whole bit--because I didn't want to get out and almost run anyone down. It's so bad here in my town. If you don't almost run over people being less than wise, it's getting behind people who are less than wise with kids too old to be beginning for candy hanging off the back of a car or a trailer to get to neighborhoods outside their own.  Dad needed to bring something over, and it's really dark over here. I had to turn on the light for him which was just inviting someone to knock on my door. I got after him for taking his sweet time getting over here and in. I think he almost ran over someone on his way home.  At any rate, because I feel the need to share craft photos, these are are two-sided pumpkins. One side says, "Happy Halloween" or "rick or Treat" and the other has "Give Thanks" so that you can

Darla Weaver shares a year in the life of her Old Order Mennonite Family

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Part 1 of an interview with Darla Weaver, Author of Gathering of Sisters Once a week Darla Weaver hitches up her spirited mare, bundles her children into the buggy, and drives six miles to the farm where she grew up. There she gathers with her four sisters and their children for a day with their mother. In Gathering of Sisters: A Year with My Old Order Mennonite Family (Herald Press), Weaver writes about her horse-and-buggy Mennonite family and the weekly women’s gatherings that keep them connected. On warm days, the children play and fish and build houses of hay in the barn. In the winter, everyone stays close to the woodstove, with puzzles and games and crocheting. No matter the weather, the Tuesday get-togethers of this Old Order Mennonite family keep them grounded and centered in their love for God and for each other, even when raising an occasional loving but knowing eyebrow at each other. Over the twelve chapters of the book, Weaver shares the activities and t

It began with a lost goat

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With Christianity under attack in contemporary Western culture and the validity of the Bible repeatedly challenged,  The Word: The History of the Bible and How it Came to Us  offers a fresh and fascinating history of the Book of Books – which billions of believers through the ages have embraced as the Word of God. With the same compelling narrative writing and in-depth research that has earned him acclaim for his works on the Holocaust, the Civil War, the faith of America’s founders, the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the American Revolution, and other historical topics, award-winning author and historian Rod Gragg now focuses on the history of the Bible. And he does so with the practiced craft of a historian and the respect of a believer who adheres to the complete and absolute inspiration of Scripture. The Word provides a sweeping panorama of biblical revelation, preservation and transmission—and the background story of those who devoted their lives – and sometimes suffered dea

The Lord's Army

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This is the song you make kids sing to get their wiggle energy out. They need to march around the building, not just the table. The Lord’s Army I may never march in the infantry, Ride in the cavalry, Shoot the artillery. I may never fly o’er the enemy, But I’m in the Lord’s Army! Yes, sir! I’m in the Lord’s Army! Yes, sir! I’m in the Lord’s Army! Yes, sir! I may never march in the infantry, Ride in the cavalry, Shoot the artillery. I may never fly o’er the enemy, But I’m in the Lord’s Army! Yes, sir!

I added a new Seuss quote in this week

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As predicted, I'm having a really hard time keeping caught up with Dr. Seuss canvases. I sold out last weekend, and sold 3/5 today at a show that was very small.  I did add in a new quote for my latest batch. 

How often would you use this button?

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A Stress Test for Moms

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Part 2 of an interview with Debora M. Coty, Author of Too Blessed to be Stressed for Moms No one is immune to stress, least of all moms. That’s why Debora M. Coty , author of the best-selling Too Blessed to be Stressed series decided it was time to write an edition specifically addressing the stresses and needs in the daily life of moms. In Too Blessed to be Stressed for Moms (Shiloh Run Press, an imprint of Barbour Publishing) , Coty offers empathy, laughs, real-life stories, practical parenting survival tips, and fresh biblical insights to help frazzled moms of all ages hear God’s still, small voice through life’s chaos. Q: When your kids were young, what were some of the biggest stressors for you as a mom? One of my most niggling pet peeves is depicted in this little song I wrote one night while staring at the minefield that was my kitchen floor. It’s sung to the tune of “Three Blind Mice.” Go ahead — sing along. Then just try to stop. “Chunks” by Debo

Special orders from this week

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Last weekend, we received a couple of special orders. First up: theater masks. Here's my take on comedy and drama. They looked better in better light and dusted off. I think Dad has a better picture. We didn't have enough college options to cover everyone, so we made up a couple of Angelo State University signs for an order. 

Real Change: Becoming More Like Jesus in Everyday Life

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Equipping Churches to Understand the Process of Biblical Change and How to Engage in It By encouraging Christians to adopt a biblical, accessible, and practical approach to change, Christian communities can experience real, spiritual fruit. Every Christian wrestles with the need for change, and all have hearts that go astray. However, it can be challenging to understand and apply a biblical view of change to our everyday thoughts, feelings, actions, and relationships. God promises to change us to become more like Jesus, but what does that look like? How does this transformation make life and relationships truly beautiful, and how do we have honest discussions about our own struggles in light of how Christ brings comfort, help, and change? Real Change: Becoming More Like Jesus in Everyday Life (New Growth Press/October 22, 2018), edited by Andrew Nicholls and Helen Throne through the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation (CCEF), is a six-week, Bibl

Boxing and Golf

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Because if we get more than one request, and we find shapes in Canton when we go digging for new stuff at Build-a-Cross, we do new things. We've added boxing and golf quotes to our sports wall this fall.

The B-I-B-L-E

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B-I-B-L-E The B-I-B-L-E Yes, that’s the book for me I stand alone on the Word of God The B-I-B-L-E

New options on the sports wall

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Because I get tired of doing the same quotes all the time ("Be the one everyone wants to watch, but no one wants to play against" for example), I decided to mix it up a little bit. Actually, the hockey quotes are the same I've been doing, but had a hockey player to add this time. And yes, we sell hockey signs.  

Living out a hope that is greater than our dreams

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Part 1 of an interview with Lindsey R. Dennis, Author of Buried Dreams Lindsey R. Dennis and her husband, Kevin, had only been married a few months when they found out they were pregnant. Excited and hopeful about the new life she was carrying and the future of their family, they were devastated to learn at their 20-week ultrasound that the baby would not live due to a fatal diagnosis. They would relive their grief again as they buried their second daughter fourteen months after their first. In Buried Dreams: From Devastating Lost to Unimaginable Hope (Abingdon Press), Dennis shares not only her story of grief and loss, but how to live out a hope that is greater than our dreams. Q: In Buried Dreams, you share about the loss of your two daughters who each only lived a few hours after their births. Why did you decide to write a book about such personal and difficult losses? I talk to many people who are struggling to know how to walk through the disappointment that h