Joy in Simplicity - #14

Today I thought I would give you a break from my daily writings and recruit an expert to tell you how to get the deals and save money. A dear friend of mine Christiana Maurer is the queen of saving in fact last year alone she saved $1600 on grocery shopping. Now you might think, that is crazy I can never do that - it may be crazy but if you can take just one of her tips and save $100 isn't it worth it. So I asked her if she would share some tips with you. And this is what she had to say.....

1. See the Big Picture

One of the easiest ways to save is to be aware of how much you are spending. A gallon of milk here and a loaf of bread there can really add up. Keep track of your purchases for a month to see how much of your money is actually being spent at the store. Then you can set a realistic goal for saving.

2. Planning

If you don’t purchase the Sunday newspaper, you will want to start. While it may seem that you are spending money to save money, it is a valuable tool to help you be an informed shopper.

Spend some quality time each week with the store circulars, coupon inserts, and your recipe collection. Plan your eating and shopping around what is on sale. If there is a coupon available to match with the sale – even better!

3. Tracking

If you are just getting started with your savings journey, keep track of the date and sale price for items you use often. If you do this long enough you will begin to see patterns develop for how often items are put on sale. You will also be able to differentiate between mediocre and rock-bottom sale prices.

What am I talking about? Maybe this will help! A current mediocre sale on cereal is 2 for $5 (or $2.50 a box). However, every few months, cereal goes on sale 3 for $5 (or $1.67 a box). Combine that with a coupon and you are on your way to some super savings.

When an item (that you know you will use AND that has a long shelf life) goes to its rock-bottom price – STOCK UP!!!

4. Highway Robbery

Just kidding – but that is what my husband calls playing the drugstore game.

I could explain how this works in detail, but that would make this tip r-e-a-l-l-y long! If you want to know how it works, check out moneysavingmom.com. She breaks it down for each of the major drug stores under her Store Deals section.

Just to illustrate how effective this can be, I haven’t paid more than $1 each for toothpaste, razors, shaving gel, or most hair care products in a very long time.

5. Bravery

Bent-n-dent stores – You can find some great deals here. (If you are in the central PA area think Surplus Outlet, Wengers, Whispering Pines, L&L) But… be careful! Watch those dates, and don’t assume that just because the product is in a store like this that it is cheaper that anywhere else. If you have been keeping track of those sale prices, you’ll be in great shape.

Store-Brands – If your family is brand-loyal then use those coupons and sale price combinations. But if you are willing to branch out, the store brand is often cheaper than the brand name, even with the sale and coupon. My husband and I have been very presently surprised by Aldi products. Most times their things are just as good, if not better, than the name brand grocery store products but at a fraction of the cost. (Let me give a shout out to their 5-Cheese Texas Toast – best I’ve ever had.) Also, they have some great prices on fruits and veggies!

Joy in Simplicity - #13

Do you ever feel like there is not enough time to make homemade meals every night of the week. Many of you are juggling a full time job, being a mom, a wife and also a taxi service. It can be overwhelming when you think - what should I make for dinner.... will I have enough time to get it all done.

One of the things that I have realized is that if I plan ahead - even if it doesn't work out as planned I feel much calmer. So here are a few tips that have helped me.

1. I cook some staples ahead of time. Since Joel is on a special diet he is eating a lot of hard boiled eggs, tuna salad, chicken salad and bacon. So sometimes I take one of my slow nights and just do a mass cooking - I make my bacon on a stone in the oven - 1/2 hour and woallla - crispy bacon without the major mess. Then I have lunch supplies for the whole week.

2. Plan a menu - even if you don't stick to it exactly at least you have a starting point - it will also help for those indecisive people (you know who you are) and it can save lots of money while shopping.

3. Get rid of your stash - look in your cupboards while planning your menu and check out out what staples you have tons of - try to incorporate them into your meals.

4. There are tons of great recipes on line or in your cookbook cabinet that you have never tried - take an evening that you are watching TV and look through a cookbook to come up with some ideas for new meals that your family will love - put a sticky note on the page or copy it onto a note card.

5. Sign up for my monthly newsletter at www.tarajaministries.com to get a new recipe each month. There is a lot of variety from cookies, to marinades, to meats - all favorites at the Snyder house!

I hope this gives you some good ideas of ways to simplify the stresses of meal planning! Happy Cooking everyone.

Joy in Simplicity - #12

Today will be short and sweet - including just a few ideas to help save a little fun money for you and your family.

1. Collect your change - it is amazing how quickly your change can add up - in about 18 months Joel and I were able to collect over $600 in change (we did throw some pills in the change jar as well when they were just laying around, but it was a great vacation fund.

2. When you go out to eat - order water instead of a drink and put $1.00 in a canister for each water you drink when you are out - you are saving money as you eat out but you are also saving money in a jar or other location that can be used for one of your home improvement projects.

3. Simply save - have designated accounts for different things you are saving for - such as a car, furniture, or a computer. Just putting a few dollars away each month will make a world of difference.

There you have it - three simple financial tips to help you simplify your life!

Joy in Simplicity - #11

As a woman - I get plagued by worries....and it seems like these last two weeks I have become the queen of worrying. I know that it isn't good, but it just seems to take over my life in different stages.

I can't experience joy or simplicity when my mind is constantly thinking about the "what ifs" - It is like I am trapped and can't break free from those worries.

I want to break free from worrying about things, from fearing that things aren't going to turn out like I want them, I fear the worst in situations (which makes me a nervous passenger) - I have become captive to fear and worry.

Here are some words of encouragement to help you overcome the fears and worries, and live free from those emotional bonds that keep us from living the life of freedom that God created for us to live.

"For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline." - 2 Tim. 1:7

Reminding myself of this scripture helps me to focus on the power that come from Christ and not the fear or worry that I have.

I also use the stop technique - I actually say the word stop out loud to redirect my focus when my mind continues to be plagued by my negative, worry, or fear filled thoughts.

I have also shared my fears with several friends - though it is hard to admit that this is a struggle for me - it is great to know that I have some dear friends in my life that will help to encourage me and pray for me as I become victorious in my mental war with fear.

If you have strategies that help you deal with worry and fear - please share them. Today I am chosing to live a life that is filled with Trust and Freedom and not one of fear! That simply brings me great joy!

Joy in Simplicity - #10

I just realized that this is my 300th post! I am so proud of myself - doing these series has definitely helped me become a better blogger, now I just hope that someone is actually reading them.

One of the cool things that our church is doing this year, is a Verse a month memorizing. I am excited about it because I feel like it is a simple task - only having to do one a month is realistic for me, and we are doing it together as a church.

So today I want to invite you to memorize along with RMC and the Snyder family. This month we are memorizing Galatians 5:13

¹³ You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.

Some tips for memorizing:

1. Write it out five times.

2. Post it on several locations - door, fridge, mirror

3. Memorize it along with others to help you be accountable.

4. Write out the first letter of each word to help you remember the order

5. Say your verse daily before going to bed at night, & when you get up in the AM

Joy in Simplicity - #9

"By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing, so on that seventh day he rested from all his work" - Gen. 2:2

Why do we feel guilty when we sit down to rest - even God the creator of the Universe rested! Our world has programmed us to feel as though we are falling short if we aren't running around 24/7. That is just not how God created this whole thing to work.

I would suggest that if we would take more time to rest and relax on the "seventh day" we would be much happier employees, more relaxed parents, and more healthier for that matter. Our society tells us that if we want to be good at something we need to be constantly working to get better.

God tells us that if we want to be good at something - more importantly our relationship with him, we must "Be still and know" (Psalm 46:10) Now I know that I may be stepping on people's toes here - but it seems as though there is no day that is sacred anymore. There are games on Sundays now that kids are playing in - what ever happened to having a day off! The kids need it, we as adults need it - God needed it - or at least showed us by his example.

I know some of you must work on a Sunday - I totally understand that - when you work for a Church Sunday is your busy day - then you must be faithful to take another day as your off day! Mark an X on your calendar meaning you are going to rest that day, so something relaxing and enjoying.

If you are a parent, you may be saying well that is impossible with our schedule - then you must be strong enough as a parent to say no to somethings - show your children by example what it means to have a day of rest.

Please understand that we have not perfected this day of rest thing - but we have improved dramatically and it has changed our lives, and all aspects of our health (mental, physical, social, emotional, and spiritual)

Are you resting today? If not what day will you take to rest????

Joy in Simplicity - #8

I love the movie - Pay It Forward - the concept is just so enlightening in a world filled with "If I do something for you, I expect something in return!" The movie is about a little boy that comes up with the idea as a school project - there are some adult themes in the movie so please preview it before you let your children watch it.

The reason I am talking about that movie is that yesterday I was on facebook and I was reading a post by my friend Janel - it said Pay It Forward in 2011 - and basically the premise was that the first 5 people that left a comment would get a homemade gift from Janel, with the understanding that you would then make the same post and do that for 5 others yourself. In less than an hour I was seeing several people posting this message.

Not only is this fun - is is simple - and it brings me joy to make to things and I love giving gifts away, so last night as I was laying on the couch feeling a little unmotivated I got out my croqueting and started on my projects for my commenters. The really cool thing is that two people that commented were students of mine from about 13 years ago (wow that seems like yesterday but sounds like a lot of years)

Anyway - today I challenge you to Pay if Forward - do something for someone else expecting nothing in return. This also goes along perfectly with our sermon series at church this month on serving!

Joy in Simplicity - #7

Can you believe we are already one week into the new year! Did I mention I love the new year, and I love the first real snow of the year - some of you may be thinking really the first - yup - the first snow that stayed on the ground while I have been in Richfield. It makes the dead of winter look so much nicer. Simple Beauty!

What is beautiful to you? To me nothing screams beauty more than nature itself, but for you it make be art, it may be a building, it may even be a person on the outside or on the inside.

I think too often we get caught up in the craziness of life, and the rush to get from one place to another and we miss out on the simple beauty around us. One of my favorite things to do with my husband while we were dating was to just drive around on the back road and enjoy God's creation (really we kept it PG - I promise) Joel knows how much I just love creation and nature, the simple beauty of a leaf as the vains crawl in all different directions and each one is intrinsically made differently can be breathtaking.

Today - slow down and notice the beauty - blog about it, facebook about it, journal about it, but please tell someone about it - it is in the sharing of the beauty that we find that we encourage others to also slow down to see the beauty! What captured your eye today?

Joy in Simplicity - #6

How are you doing with reducing being stuffified (which is now my new favorite word)? I am going to admit it is a little hard to decludder while your house is under construction - but I promise when we have a kitchen again - it is going to be un-stuffified!!!

One areas of our life that we often do not think about being cluttered is our emotions, but since working in the counseling field for the last two years I am realizing daily how much our emotions play a huge role in what we think, what we feel, and also the decisions we make.

Today I would like to look at the emotion of Love. So much of what I do is counseling for married couples or getting married couples. Our counselor said one of the most profound things to me when we were preparing to get married. She said - if you base your marriage on the feeling of love - you will fail..... I was shocked when I heard her say that - love is to be the foundation of your marriage, your friendships, your family....but then she went on to explain it. The feeling of Love is a roller coaster - sometimes you feel like you love that other person and other days you may not "feel" it - Love instead is a commitment to remain loyal, faithful, despite your feelings. Love is caring for the person even when you don't particularly like them!

So my challenge to you today - is basing your love not on a feeling but on a commitment - it is amazing how just changing your mindset, your understanding of the word, can change your marriage, your friendships, and your relationships.

You can take it even to another level and look at it in relationship to the church. People change churches almost as much as people change marriages these days. Joining a church is a commitment - you will not always like it, but it is committing to working through things to make the body of believers better, more honoring, more faithful to God. Please don't get me wrong I think there are extenuating circumstances, but in general I think we are too quick to leave most relationships when they get hard, but remember love is a commitment not just a feeling!

Joy in Simplicity - #5

571 - that's a big number... it is the number of emails in my inbox! AHHHHH!!! Okay now that I have gotten over that! My inbox seems to always be full, my mail box always seems to be filled, my floor seems to be filled with piles of papers. Mail everywhere!!! To me that is overwhelming and it simply sucks my joy every time I look at the pile! So today I am starting my Inbox/Mailbox empty adventure! (If you look at it as an adventure you are more likely to do it!)

Let's look at the mailbox first - junk mail - yuck! We get tons of it, catalogs, flyers, once they get out of the post office door then it goes to pile in my car or the house - no more! In the last month I have been sorting all my mail and only leaving the post office with mail that a bill or a personal letter. It helps in three ways - no temptation to buy something I don't need in a catalog, I can use that extra time to do something meaningful, and I have less of a pile at home!

Another idea is a system I learned from a YL friend - one touch mail! You get it, open it and take care of it immediately, whether that would be filing it, or paying it, or sending an RSVP (which by the way people have gotten horrible at in this culture) So - what change will you make in this area.

Now to the email - I think I made a mistake when I got all my facebook updates sent to my email - have of my inbox is filled with updates....so I am thinking - undo that! Then I am going to take an hour (okay maybe two) to go through my inbox and if I need to save it - it goes in a folder, if I need to delete it - off to the trash can it goes - my goal today - INBOX ZERO!!! But it can't just be today - it has to be a pattern change - so maybe I am going to plan a day each week to be my inbox zero day!

Joy in Simplicity - #4

Have you ever seen the veggie tale movie - Madame Blueberry...it is about stuff and she goes to this place called Stuff Mart (can you think of a few stores that may fit this category, not mentioning any names) and she keeps buying stuff until her tree house gets so full that it is catapulted out of the tree - okay honestly it has been a long time since I have seen the movie so I am sure if this is just how I remember it or if it is fact - but the point is - we are stuffified! Yup I just made that word up - but don't it apply?

Stuff weighs us down, whether it is emotional stuff, physical stuff, maybe it is even spiritual stuff, but stuff none the less. The next couple of days in our series are going to be devoted to stuff reducing! Because -let's be honest I think we all have been stuffified and need to some cleaning out.

To me throwing things out is therapeutic, I think it is even biblical when you think about what Jesus asked the Rich Young Ruler to give up - his stuff! Is your stuff preventing you from being fully devoted to God, is it causing undo stress because you don't know where to put it, it is piling up and causing strife in your relationship - it has done all those things in my life and I am committing today to find Joy in Simplifying my stuff.

Today - Physical Tangible Stuff - We are going to focus on all those little things at your house - the knick knacks, the kitchen appliances that you never use, the clothes in your closet.

My mom has been doing a daily Ten - and loving it! She picks a place in the house, a room or a cabinet and she gets rid of ten things - right now her car is full of her tens that she will be donating to the Good Will.

I challenge you today to find a place that you can get rid of ten things at home and in your office. And to my youth ministry friends - I know what your offices can look like so don't be afraid to get rid of ten in several different piles on your floor!

A word of encouragement - I know sometimes it is hard to get rid of things that someone gave to you, but in all honesty you don't need (or want for that matter) I have found myself with several collections of dust collectors over the years. If you don't want it - don't keep it just because you feel badly that someone gave it to you - give it to some one who will appreciate it - Take a picture of it and put it in your scrapbook so you can remember the gesture.

Happy TEN day!!!! Get rid of those groups of ten!!!

Joy in Simplicity - #3

There is a verse in the bible that talks about praying continually 1 Thes. 5:17 - it's a great verse - because it is a simple truth - however in my honest I must admit that I have simply failed in that fashion - I have prayer ADD I think - I sit down to pray and then my to do list comes to mind, and oh I forgot to change over the laundry - you get my point - I have even talked about writing a book called Popcorn prayers - Prayer Strategies for on the go people - I still may one day - but until then I am going to continue to collect ideas to help me be better at praying continually.

In church on Sunday we were challenged to serve one another! I have thought about what that means to mean - serving means sacrifice - to me focusing and praying can be sacrifice - so this is what I have come up with as my act of service to our church, to our students, and to my friends and family.

I got this idea from a dear friend named Margie that I used to work with - after Christmas she saves all her cards and each day she and her husband pick a card and pray for that family. Wow - what a simple profound idea! I didn't count but we may have gotten 365 cards which would work out perfect!

There is another passage in scripture that says this:

Colossians 1:9
For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,

That is what we are to be doing for each other!!! So simple yet so profound. Here are a couple other ideas to help you make this part of your daily life for the next year.

First - if you aren't a Christmas card saver, pull out your church directory and start with the A's pick a family each day. If you are in youth ministry - write down the names of all your students and put them in a bowl - each day pick out a new one to pray for them and their family.

You can even take it a step further - when you pray for a family or a student - drop them a note (a real one or a text, or an email) and let them know that you prayed for them today.

Maybe you even want to have a facebook family of the day - put that families name in your away message to let them know you are lifting them up that day.

Be creative - but God simply calls you to pray - so as Nike says - Just do it!

Our family for today is...... (hold on while I pull it out of the basket).... wait for it, wait for it..... Bill (Big Dog) and Char McCartney - dear friends from Clearfield! You are loved, missed, and prayed for today!!

Joy In Simplicity - #2

The simple fact is that in order to be walking in a close relationship with our creator - we must be meeting with Him daily! In order to find our identity in Him - we need to know what it means to be His child. In order to walk in the way of the righteous - we need to know what that looks like for our lives.....there is no better way to do that than through reading his word.

I will be the first to admit - I am a failure when it comes to reading consistantly! I need to do better - so today I commit to once again get up - dust myself off - and dive back into my daily scripture reading. How about you - what is your plan for reading your Bible? Here are a couple resources to help you be successful in your bible reading.

For me - I am working through the Chronological Bible - it is helpful to understand what is going on at what time in history - it is broken up in daily readings....I have been doing this for years - and soon I will make it to the New Testiment - I am so excited - I am not starting over until I finish it! Even if it takes me all year - I am going to do it! Check out your local Christian bookstore to find a copy!

If you aren't a reader like my husband - you can get an audio Bible - it comes by Chapter and it is done in a not boring version that has different people talking in a theatrical fashion - Joel is really enjoying this! There is one called Faith Comes By Hearing.

There are several other bible reading schedules available - just google it and I am sure you will find one that works for you. You can even get reading plans through bible apps for your Iphone - at YouVersion.

My best piece of advice is - don't give up - if you miss a day - don't feel like you have failed and start over - just move on to the next day - you may be a week behind at that end - but at least you will be farther along than when you started!

God bless as you seek to find joy in knowing God better through his word in 2011

Joy in Simplicity Series #1

My heart longs for a new start... a love new beginnings...and today is one of those - "the old is gone and the new has come!" (2Cor. 5:17) Today I encourage you to find joy in simply knowing that in Christ you are new creation - the old is gone and the new has come!

Check out this amazing video that will inspire you as we begin something new - this first day of 2011!

In the days and the weeks to come I will be devoting my blog to simplifying your life - first by focusing on what is truly important and that is our relationship with Christ, then on simplifying our space - whether it would be at home or work - then simplifying our stuff whether is would be possessions, our emotions, or our social life.

Today we are focusing solely on who we are in Christ - WE are a NEW CREATION!!! WE are a CHILD OF THE KING! WE are the BELOVED!

Today as you start the new year - start by claiming who you are in Christ and the joy of knowing that God has something amazing in store for all of us this new year - our year may be filled with trials, but as we sing in the song - the Lord gives and the Lord takes away - Blessed be the name of the Lord.

Let this year be a year that you are sold out for Christ and your faith! That this year you live forgiven! And this year you celebrate the joy in unexpected situations!

Blessings to you and your family and this first day of 2011 - I am anticipating that God is going to do big things!!! Are you???

A New Series!

It is nice to sit back and relax as the Christmas season comes to a conclusion! It is so nice to just enjoy some relaxing down time before the new year begins.

Speaking of the New Year - starting Saturday I will begin a new blog series for the month of January called Joy in Simplicity! It will feature a myriad of ideas for your personal life, your home, and your ministry. Check out my blog daily for ideas of how you can make life a little easier, a little more enjoyable, to make your home a little bit easier to live in, your job a little bit more organized, and your ministry (ps if you are Christian, your life is your ministry) a little less chaotic, and your life a little bit more relaxing!

I hope you will be refreshed and encouraged as we begin this 30 day series. Please tell your friends, share it on facebook I would love for others to experience the joy of simplifying their life. I will try to give multiple applications for each idea so it can be used in multiple settings.

I will also be giving you ideas to encourage you spiritually, physically, socially and emotionally, because if our personal life isn't in tact it makes the rest of world hectic as well!

I hope you will join me for this 30 day journey of finding Joy in Simplicity!

Have a Happy New Year! Check back on January 1st for our first addition of the series!

Advent Awesomeness Conclusion

The holiday has come and gone by the world's standards, but the celebration can continue to live on as we live our daily lives with the joy of knowing Jesus Christ and the gift of life that we recieve from Him. Today - rest! Find sanctuary in knowing that God is God!! He created us to bring glory to Himself. Today and throughout the rest of the year - Worship Him and give Him the glory due to Him!

I close with one of my favorite passages of scripture that Paul shared with the church in Ephesis - "I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his spirit in your inner being, so that Christ power may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide, and long, and high, and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever, Amen"

Advent Awesomeness #25

Merry Christmas!!!! Blessings to you and your families!!

Day 25 - Celebrate the Joy - it can be a challenge during the holidays to find family time to be a joy, especially for those hard to love relatives, today I want to encourage you to find the positive in each person as you gather aroudn the table, because God created each one of you in his image and as I say to the kids all the time - you are his favorite!!! We are loved by the Creator of the Universe! Sp just as God loved us by sending his Son to that cold stable - let us sacrifice and share that same love with those that we spend the holidays with.

Advent Awesomeness #24

Twas the day before Christmas..... it's hard to believe it will be upon us in one short day!!! Oh how the time flies!.

Day #24 - Read the Christmas Story - Matthew 1 &2 and Luke 2 - I challenge to look beyond the story - see the people - imagine what it would be like to be them or be in Bethlehem that day. Let the words come to life as you read it together as a family, with friends or just you and your Bible. Let this be a time that God speaks to you through his word - pray first that God will open your eyes and ears to something new!

Advent Awesomeness #23

Sorry this wasn't posted yesterday...we were traveling and had no internet connection. So you may have to do a double one for today.

Day 23 - Nice to your neighbor - Do something nice for your neighbor today. It may be showing up with a plate of cookies or a jar of homemade applesauce (that is what I love to give). If time allows stay for a few minutes and visit. If your neighbor isn't home, leave a note on their doorstep. Maybe for some of you going to your neighbor means a level of anxiety because there is tension - let this be a season of forgiveness and restored relationships!

Advent Awesomeness - #22 – Wednesday

Day 22 – Picked a prayer/praise - One of my favorite parts about the Christmas season is the plethora of cards that we receive!!! Real mail – I love it! Well today as part of our last week of advent celebrations I want you to pick 5 cards randomly and pray for those people, for their families, and praise God for the relationship that you have with them.

If you want drop them a message to let them know that they were prayed for – you may never know how much they need those words of encouragement!

Advent Awesomeness - #21 – Tuesday

Day # 21 – Read a book Day – There are so many great books out there that have Christmas themes to them. One such book that I absolutely love is God Came Near. If you get my newsletter – this book and recommendation will sound familiar. The book is broken up into short chapters, many of which help you to think about the Christmas story from the shoes of someone who was there. It brings the event to life. I also love Christmas Children’s books. There message is directed at kids, however more often than not – they are filled with timely reminders for us big kids (aka adults) So today grab a cup of hot chocolate your favorite blanket and snuggle up by the Christmas tree and read a book together!

One of my favorites is the book called The Crippled Lamb - it makes me cry every time I read it! If it's not in your library - add it today!

Advent Awesomeness #20 – Monday

Day #19 – Share your Story – What is your favorite Christmas memory? I love to hear the stories of different people as they share their holiday traditions and memories. Send me a message or post a note about your favorite holiday tradition or memory – who knows maybe next year it will be our family’s new tradition.

I am not sure why I always remember those Christmases that are crazy – one year all five of us had chicken poxs at the same time! I am sure that wasn’t a happy memory for my parents. I do remember one year it was getting late into December and we had yet to get a tree – Dad and I would always go and pick out a tree. Well I was getting tired of waiting so I decided to grab a saw out of the shed and headed up on the hill. I walked for a while until I found a nicely shaped tree, cut it down and dragged it down to the house. Once it was up in the house I realized how far apart the branches were – let’s just say once it was decorated it officially looked like a Charlie Brown tree – I took a lot of flack for that – but the next year – my family didn’t wait so long and we went and got a real Christmas tree. Lesson learned the hard way! Yet a great memory was made!

Advent Awesomeness #19 – Sunday

Day #18 – Outdoor Adventure

At our small group a couple weeks ago a dear friend Christianna Maurer was telling me about something that her and her husband Elias did that day as part of their advent celebration – it was an awesome idea – so with her permission I borrowed the idea to share with you.

Grab a camera and your friends or your family and head outside this afternoon. Take a walk around and look in God’s creation to find the letters to the Words Merry Christmas. Take a picture of each letter that you find and then print out a collage as a reminder of God’s perfect design in creation. You may Find sticks in the shape of an M – a rippling brook that makes the pattern of an S – be creative, after- God was pretty creative when he made you!

Hope you enjoy your outdoor adventure today. Finish off your afternoon adventure with a nice hot cup of hot chocolate in front of your Christmas Tree.

If you need to modify the activity because of the weather or schedule - do a scavenger hunt in magazines or around the house. You could make a colorful collage of letters that you cut out of magazines. Just an idea - be creative and enjoy your adventures - ps - post some pictures I would love to see you craftyness!

Advent Awesomeness #18 – Saturday

Can you believe that it is one week until Christmas - the day we celebrate Christ birth and His blessings on our life. I hope you have been able to take time this season to reflect on the meaning of Christmas as we walk through Advent together. Today is a crafting project for you to do with your friends, family, or just for some quiet time by yourself.

Day #18 – Make a Jesse Tree – if you have never heard of Jesse tree, you aren’t alone. I had never heard of one until several years ago when I was working for the Presbyterian Church in Lewisburg. One year for Christmas the ladies of the church gave one to each staff member. It is a great way to celebrate the Advent season as each ornament for the tree has a scripture and a lesson. Obviously you wouldn’t be able to use it this year, but it would be all ready to be used next year, or make several and use them as a gifts!

Here is a link about what a Jesse Tree is, what each of the ornaments stand for and how to make your own tree. The Jesse Tree: Celebration of Advent

Advent Awesomeness #17 – Friday

This past week I have had the joy (okay I am lying) of having the winter sinus monster visit my house. With that has come some quality time to lay on the couch and watch some classic Christmas favorites and check out some new classics - one of which was It's a Wonderful Life. I even twittered that I was watching it for the first time and definately recieved some backlash for waiting until age 35 to watch it for the first time - give me some slack folks I grew up in Potter County and got two channels! Anyway - it was great and I am glad I finally got to see it now it is your turn!

Day # 17 – Christmas Classics – what is your favorite Christmas movie classic? Is it something old school like White Christmas or is it a children’s classic such as Frosty the Snowman or Rudolph. Maybe you are into the new Christmas comedies – Elf, or Home Alone 10 (okay so there aren’t ten but there are several). There are tons of great movies out there. A favorite of mine is How the Grinch stole Christmas – not because of the mean Grinch, but because of his transformation. I just love that part – it shows that there is hope for even the grumpiest of people during the holidays all they need is a little love. Have a family night and gather round with a bowl of popcorn and enjoy a night in, who knows maybe it will even snow tonight!

If you aren't able to find a Classic on TV tonight - head out to a local church or school that is having a Christmas program - I am sure you will find one and if you are in the Richfield area - head over to Richfield Mennonite and see our production of the Not So Perfect Nativity at 7pm tonight or 3pm or 7pm tomorrow.

Advent Awesomeness #16 – Thursday

Did you get a chance to Christmas Carol last night - well I did, at least by doing the phone caroling with a few girls from my youth group. We took our students to see the New Narnia movie and it was awesome, so I am planning to carol at our Christmas play this week as well as do some more phone caroling - my girls loved the phone caroling so much that they now want to start a facebook page for it. Also I was honored by having my idea shared on www.smallchurchyouthministry.com site by my dear friend Stephanie!!!! Now onto today's advent adventure.....

Day #16 – send a Christmas care package to a long distance friend. Even as an adult I love to get real mail – you know the kind that doesn’t expect a check in return. Well if we love to just get real mail how much more would we love to get a real package. Include their favorite snack or a note about a special memory that you have shared. How about an old photo of the two of your together. I just got a letter like that the other day and it was a great memory to see that photo again. Just get a flat rate box from the post office and fill it up and send it out! You will be sure to get a call in return!!! Enjoy creating your care package!!!!

Advent Awesomeness #15 – Wednesday

So how are you doing with your Advent activities? So far - mostly so good I missed a day or two when we were sick, but I am working my way to catch up. The only one I have yet to do is the day of giving to a charity - but I will be taking care of that by Friday (I promise). Yesterday - was celebrate your spouse - that was super fun! Especially since we had a nice night away in Harrisburg with dinner and a light tour! One of the things that I am being reminded of this holiday Advent season is how blessed I am - I hope that shows in how I live my life!

Day #15 – A-Caroling we will go! Many churches still go caroling on a Wednesday evening as part of their midweek service, if yours does – go out and join them. I imagine it will brighten the night of a shut in who may feel lonely this holiday season. If your church no longer carols or never has – then call a couple friends and go as a group. This would be a great small group activity! Make a joyful noise to the Lord! If you aren't able to go caroling tomorrow - maybe you could do a caroling call - make a call to a couple people who may be alone this season and give them a carol on the phone or a schedule a visit for the weekend, if you aren't able to go today.

Advent Awesomeness - Day #14

Since I am posting this the day before so people have a little time to prepare for the Advent adventure of the day, it seems perfect that today we are celebrating spouses or significant loved ones in our lives. Today Joel and I celebrate our 2 year wedding anniversary (December 13th).

Day #14 – Celebrate Spouses – I know not everyone reading this has a spouse or a significant loved one in their life, and if not – that is okay maybe today you can make a special commitment to praying about that area of your life. For me it was a long wait, but not nearly as long as my husband waited!

Today as a way to honor the union of marriage, which is a covenant picture of Christ and the church, I want to encourage you to affirm your spouse in their love language – for me it is words of affirmation, for Joel it is acts of service. Do something nice for them, let them know you love them, and also spend some time today sharing some special memories together.

Today I want to celebrate Joel – he is one of the most caring and compassionate men that I have ever met. His goal in life is to please other people and he exemplifies that daily in our marriage. He makes it a point to try to do special things for me….the other day we left 45 minutes early for a dinner just so he could drive me around to see Christmas lights – he knows how much I love them.

I can honestly say – these have been the best two years of my life! He is a great example of Christ in how he lives his day to day life and I am so blessed that He chose me to be his wife! I am one blessed woman and I am honored to be his wife!

It's hard to believe it was December! It was cold outside, but this is a favorite picture

Wedding Day December 13, 2008

This was so fun! My dad didn't like it, but Joel knew it was coming long before we were even engaged....I said - just an FYI if you marry me, I will put cake in your face! We just love to have fun together! Great memories!

Advent Awesomeness #13 – Monday

A new week has begun and Christmas is just around the corner. How are you doing with your daily reading? It is hard to make it a priority but so far so good. I am reading the Chronological bible so I am still in Ezekiel. I may just have to break away and read the Christmas story just for some encouragement.

Day #13 – Lent Revisited – I like to joke around with my students when they offer me chocolate or something fattening by saying I gave it up for Lent and Advent and every day in between. Lent is a season that we focus on Christ sacrifice and Advent is the time that we celebrate his birth. What if in honor of his birth we gave up something to be reminded that we are thankful for his gift through His Son. Fasting is one of those spiritual gifts that are hard to do – to be honest I just don’t like it – but it is affective for sure. Today I want to encourage you to fast – it could be a TV fast, a food fast, a shopping fast – whatever it is that you can fast for a day to help you to remember what this season is all about.

Today I am going to fast from Facebook and my computer! If this appears on facebook – no worries I have it automatically linked. Today I am also going to fast from drinking anything but water. Sugar seems to be a nagging desire lately especially in the drinks I choose, so for today water it is!!!

Advent Awesomeness # 12 – Sunday

Before we get onto our Advent activity for today I wanted to highlight a story that I got from a friend yesterday... he was sharing his giving to a stranger. When he was at the bank the teller returned his money to him in an envelope, so he wrote her a note said Merry Christmas and gave her some of the money he just withdrew - Loved that story - never would have thought to do that. I would love to hear other ideas of what you have done to give to a stranger. As I have said before Christmas is about Giving – advent is the same, it is about giving – the giving of God’s Son to be born as a baby and given to this sinful world to save it! Thanks for giving yesterday!!!

Day #12 – Sanctuary Servant – Do you consider your church a gift? Your church can’t be perfect, because you are in it (by that I mean we are all sinners and you put one sinner in a church and messes up everything) – nothing on earth can, but despite the imperfections of the church, it is something we need to be thankful for. Within the church there are many people that labor to make the church function….the pastor, the youth pastor, the secretary, the custodians, etc. Find a staff member of the church to thank today. It could be a verbal thanks, a gift, or just a note in their mailbox. Ministry can be a draining thankless job (I know from experience). Do your part today to show your appreciation.

Advent Awesomeness #11 – Saturday

What did you do for your random act of kindness? I wish you could catch on film the looks on people's faces when you surprise them with kindness. It is actually kind of sad that kindness is a surprise and not expected. Today you will have another opportunity to surprise a stranger through giving!

Day #11 – Season of Giving – Sticking with the same theme of yesterday and knowing that many of you will be shopping today, buy a gift for Angel Tree Ministries, or Toys for Tots or some organization that collects needed items for Children in need. In Luke – it says that those who are given much, much is expected… if we are honest – we have all been given much! So we are expected to do the same for others. Who will you give to today?

Advent Awesomeness #10 – Friday

So what did you do for your Crazy Thursday? Well, my thursday was not quite as crazy as I would have hoped as I was stuck on the couch most of the day with the sinus yuck.... I did get to pull out the crazy socks for my appearance at play practice! Now onto todays Advent Awesomeness!

Day #10 - Give to a stranger – I love that God tells us to give in secret – I think he does that so we don’t get swellen heads thinking how great we are. I think sometimes we give because we want recognition or we want to be thanked by someone. Today I am going to challenge you to give – expecting nothing in return. How can you guarantee not being thanked – well if you don’t know the person you are giving to, they surely will have trouble finding you to thank! Pay for the person behind you in line at the drive through. If you are in a city with Tolls – pay the next person’s toll. If you are big spender pay someone else’s bill at the restaurant. Be creative! The sky is the limit! You may never know how much of a difference that will make for that person.

Advent Awesomeness #9 - Thursday

Some of the favorites that made my list yesterday – Raspberry Iced Tea, Tucker’s soft floppy ears, the first snow of the winter season, rainy day early dismissals…. The list could go on – how did you do on your list?

Day #9 – Crazy Thursdays – Many years ago when I lived in Clearfield, I had a good friend named Aaron Garber. From his years in college he introduced me to the concept of Crazy Thursday. I mean really if you think about it – Thursday in and of itself is not an exciting day – it is not the weekend – it’s not the middle of the week – it is just Thursday. So by making it Crazy Thursday – we can bring to life a day that is typically boring or hard to get through.

When I was a teacher – we would celebrate Crazy Thursday by wearing crazy socks, hats, playing crazy childhood games (like Killer Red Light Green Light) yes I taught teenagers and yes they loved it! It was a chance for them to let loose and do something fun and crazy. I have to admit one Thursday we even went crazy mud diving out on the athletic field! No worries – the janitors knew ahead of time and all the girls had extra clothes, but that is a memory I will remember for a lifetime. Another fun activity you could try on Crazy Thursday is Ice blocking - we have the perfect weather here in Central PA to give it a try - all you need is a hill and a big block of ice from an Ice House - sit on top of the block and ride down the hill - you don't even need snow for this one! We love it so much - we started doing it at our church picnics in the summer.

Today is your turn to do something crazy in honor of advent – (make sure it is legal! Of course) Maybe it is just something out of the ordinary – but being spontanius can bring joy and laughter. I think God loves when we laugh and enough life - what better way to celebrate the season. So today get out of your stiff routine and so something crazy, exciting, backwards, whatever! After all – it’s crazy Thursday! Drop me a note and let me know what you do - I would love to hear all about it.

Advent Awesomeness #8 - Wednesday

Did you know that 8 is my favorite number – that really has nothing to do with Advent but it does have something to do with my advent blog for today! But before we get to the topic of today - I want to say what a blessing the past two days have been. I so enjoyed loving on my friends and "my kids" I have gotten many notes in return which has made my advent adventure all the more exciting and meaningful! God created us for relationships and in that area I am so blessed!

Day #8 – Favorite things – “Raindrops on roses, and whiskers on kittens, snowflakes and sleighbells and warm woolen mittens, brown paper packages tied up with string, these are a few of my favorite things!” I love that song because it is all about favorites. What are your favorite things? Have you ever thought about making a list, if not today is your lucky day.

Start with ten, then keep going, maybe you can get to 25, or if you are really ambitious or bored you can come up with a list of 100 of your favorite things. Why is this important – I think we sometimes loose sight of the positive little things in our lives. God has blessed each of us with so much. Put the list on your nightstand or on your refridgerator as a reminder of the things that you are thankful for. And also make sure you take time today to thank God for each and everyone of those "little" things that make a big difference in our lifes....

Here are a few of my favorite things......

Tiger Lilies

Raspberry Ice Tea

Being a Red Shirt at Group Workcamps

Operation Christmas Child

Boo and Tucker

Sunrises in Nova Scotia (or anywhere for that matter)

The Fall Season

Advent Awesomeness #7 Tuesday

Yesterday's activity brought back such great memories to look back at how God has used different friends in my life to mold and shape me into the person that I am today. My hope is that I can be that kind of friend to others.

Day #7 – Celebrating Kids/Students– If you have children today is the day to celebrate them! Take time today to do something special for your children. Maybe a note in their lunchbox. Maybe a special dinner. Or a night out with your kids. Let them know today how important they are in your life! One of the things that we have done in years past over our thanksgiving mission trip is to have the parents write a letter of thanksgiving to their children – letting them know why they are thankful for them.

Since I do not have kids of my own – today I am going to write a note to several students of mine from the past that I am so ever grateful for. And the funny part is – some of the students that were the hardest to love have become some of my favorites to this day. Tough love is hard at times, but the end result is so rewarding!

If you don't have any children, find a young person in your church or community that has stood out to you, and drop them a note of encouragement - who knows what a difference your words will make in the life of a young person.

"Remember that the youth are not the church of tomorrow, they are the church of today!"

Below you will see just a few of the many kids that I have been blessed to work with that I believe will make a mark on our world! There are so many more than these pictured but these are just a few of the girls that I have been blessed to work with! Love you girls! And of course I love my guys too! The list of students would be too great to number, and I am sure I would forget a name, but if I have had the joy of working with you - please know that you are loved, prayed for - and remember - "to those who have been given much, much is expected!" To my my kids - be leaders! Let your life point to Christ! I know you will accomplish great things as I know you already have! Love you and miss you all!!!