daniel fast

I don't know your take on fasting but my personal belief is that if you're needing God to do something, fasting is one way to make that happen. Sometimes fasting brings breakthroughs that nothing else can. So, since I'm needing certain things to happen in my life, I'm beginning another Daniel Fast from February 7 through the 28. With this being a leap year, I thought it would be really cool to end my fast on the 29th. I feel like it's this extra day and what better way to celebrate than eating the things I've not had for the last 21 days? I did this fast last summer for the first time and feel a little bit more prepared. I'm working on actually planning out menus instead of searching the cabinets for anything I'm allowed to eat (not a good idea :).

I purchased The Daniel Fast by Susan Gregory - it's a devotional but also full of recipes. She also has a blog which is how I first heard about her. If you've never done something like this before, it will definitely test you. I like breads and dairy and meat and chocolate and caffeine and giving all of that up is not easy. But there are times when you realize what you need to happen in your life is more than eating yummy foods. If you've done this fast before, what are some recipes you would recommend? I'll be sharing ones I've found to be successful over the next few weeks (fyi, tofu is icky - I learned that lesson last year). I'm really excited about being able to tell what God did during this process!

If you're looking for more resources, here are some sites:

- food guidelines

- Jentezen Franklin

- ultimate Daniel fast

saturday spotlight: desiree with "the 36th avenue"

I found out about The 36th Avenue through a recent post from Today's Creative Blog. She has some AMAZING stuff on her site! She is super talented and has just tons of ideas! Look at this yarn lampshade she made:

Or these chore charts. How cool is that?

What I really love is her slogan: "be extraordinary." She has tons of tutorials on how to make about a million things (maybe not a million but a whole lot). Head over to her site and see all the great stuff she has going on!

diy: felt flower hair clips

I think flowers as accessories for your hair are just super cute. They're fun and the possibilities are endless. While walking through the my local Hobby Lobby, I became inspired to make my own hair clips. The scrapbooking section has an AMAZING selection of flowers for such a project. They had some I might buy later on that were probably six inches wide. They were in a jar and I think had about ten different colors - plus they were polka dotted. This took me less than ten minutes to make and I spent under five dollars (using my weekly 40% off coupon).

I bought a pack of six flowers and a bag of assorted size clips. The clips were $2 for eight and the flowers were $4 (without a coupon).

I needed to mount the flowers onto a base since making a cluster. I had some felt that I cut out and then arranged the flowers on it. I put hot glue in the center of each flower and then attached to the felt.

I then flipped it over and glued the clip. Once it dried, I placed a smaller piece of felt inside the clip and glued it down - just for reinforcement.

And here you go, I was able to make two clips. You could even just use one or two - whatever you want.

*This post is part of "Get Your Craft On! Tuesday" hosted by Today's Creative Blog!

input

I'm debating on whether or not I want to increase the amount of posting I do. Normally, I post on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Sometimes it's more if I have to post a book review on a specific day. So, faithful readers, what would you like to see? Do you prefer me to leave things as is (that whole, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" theory) or do you like when blogs post every day? I'm open to suggestions because I want to keep those who happen by my blog in mind. So let me know how I can help you by you helping me :)

book review: "mornings with Jesus" & giveaway

'"Be still and know that I am God” is one of the most beautiful verses from the Bible, but it’s not easy to practice in this busy world. Mornings with Jesus will help you do just that —“be still” in Jesus’ beautiful and powerful presence. For those who are seeking a deeper experience in their relationship with Christ, Mornings with Jesus offers a fresh perspective of who Jesus is (the Healer, the Son of God, the Comforter, the Good Shepherd) and what that means for day-to-day life. With a warm and friendly voice, 365 short devotional writings on the character and teachings of Jesus encourage readers to greet each day by drawing near to Him and inviting His presence into their day. Spend time with Jesus at the beginning of each day and experience His nearness and peace in a new way throughout the year. Each day’s selection includes: • a Bible verse • an entry based on Jesus: His words, miracles, and parables; His wisdom, compassion, and comfort; His mystery, power, divinity, and humanity • a “faith step” that will inspire and challenge readers to apply the day’s message to their lives."

I was excited to be able to review this book! I’ve read works by several of the authors so it was very cool to be able to peek into their hearts as they shared. With it only being January, I’ve not read very much of the book but I have no doubt the rest is full of great stuff! The devotionals are only a page – great for reading on your way out the door in the morning and then “munching on” for the rest of the day. The one that has stood out to me the most is by Camy Tang. It was for January 29 and she talked about making the choice to be faithful in the things you put your hands to. Those things will be different for each of us but her point was to prove yourself faithful to God and He’ll bless you for it. The verse was Matthew 25:21 (parable about the three stewards) and she made this comment: “None of these things [the things God has given her – job, family, working with her youth ministry, etc.] requires gold so I never equated them with the things the master talks about in the parable. But then I realized that he didn’t specify gold. He praised the servant for being faithful with a few things.” That’s something I’m going to work on – being faithful with what God has given me and giving all of my focus and energy into those things. These are great women to learn from and I look forward to the rest of the year!

You can read other reviews in this blog tour or buy the book.

I received a free copy of this book from Litfuse Publicity Group for my honest review.

Plus, Litfuse sent me an extra copy to give away! This is my February giveaway. To enter, just leave me a comment along with an email address so I can contact you. For extra entries, become a follower of my blog (+1 entry), tell me how you heard about this giveaway (+1 entry) and leave a comment on any of my other posts (+1 entry). Contest ends Wednesday, February 29, 2012 at 8:00 p.m.

finish year update - january

So this about wraps up month one of me working on my finish year goals. I'm excited to say I've made progress on some of my goals and here's what I've been up to:

2. Submit 2 posts to (in)courage. I've submitted one and already have the idea for the second but haven't had a chance to put it all together. I'm still waiting on a response for when they'll use my submission but am excited about it!

4. Read all of my review books. I've read four books so far and am almost finished with a fifth one. I'm putting some things on hold until I can get through my stack so I'm hoping that's motivation.

- The Girl in the Gatehouse by Julie Klassen

- The Accidental Bride by Denise Hunter

- Love Blooms in Winter by Lori Copeland

- The Chocolate Diaries by Karen Scalf Linamen

5. Do a random act of kindness twice a month. I slacked off a little on this by only putting down one ARK (has anybody seen "Evan Almighty" to get that reference?). I made chocolate chip cookie dough truffles for my coworkers - though I ended up eating the majority :)

6. Listen to one podcast/sermon a month. I've been able to listen to eight messages in a series my pastor did a while back.

7. Complete 5 DIY projects. I finished my first one yesterday! I've been wanting a new journal to use to take notes for church but couldn't find one that I really liked so I made one!

8. Comment on one blog a week. I've done pretty good with this one. I'm keeping track by pasting the links in a draft email just so I can see where all I've been.

10. Go to 5 events to meet new people. I think I met this one by attending training to become an election official. It's something that I was presented with the opportunity to be a part of so I went. I didn't know anyone so I think that counts :)

What about you? How are your Finish Year goals coming? It's not too late to start now!

saturday spotlight: elisabeth with "poppy and pinecone"

I accidentally gave ya'll a sneak peek at the spotlight for today on Thursday when this posted. Just act surprised for me, k?

I heard about the Poppy and Pinecone's etsy shop from Nest of Posies. She has some super creative stuff - and reasonably priced. She has quotes as well as states and country pictures as well. Take a look at her "World Love:"

Go check out her shop! I'm sure you'll find something that you'll like :)