Creativity flows

Tonight was Jewelry making and boy, do we have creative women in this group. First, they had to look at all the beads. And look and look and look. Then, they got some ideas, put them together...Shared ideas with the other ladies...shared beads...took a break to smile!And here are some of the results of the night...look at how creative these ladies are...

Tessy was so quick she was able to make a necklace, earrings AND a bracelet! And they all turned out beautiful! Great job, Tessy!!!

Michelle made some beautiful earrings!!

Wow, you ladies are amazing! See you next week for another bible study!!

Tending to your Marriage

Just like a garden needs attention, love, watering and weeding, our marriages need attention, love, nourishment and weeding. Pastor Rich talked to us tonight about strengthening our marriages.

He told us we first needed to be aware of the enemy, the devil, who is always seeking to destroy what we hold dear. He also told us to know the devil's strategy which is using today's society to make us unsatisfied in our marriage. He encouraged us to fight back and enlist help when needed.

He then gave us 20 ways to strengthen our marriage:
1) Start each day with a hug and kiss-decide to start each day with love
2) Wear your wedding ring at all times as a visible reminder of your commitment
3) Go on a date with your spouse every week-dedicate time to be together
4) Accept each other's differences
5)Be Polite-practice good manners
6) Be gentle-harsh words and actions are no place in a home
7) Smile often
8) Touch each other-a hug, a pat on the back, a stroke on the arm
9) Talk about your dreams-talk about things beyond schedules and routines
10) Laugh together-find something to share that will make each other laugh every day
11) Do what your spouse wants before he asks
12) Listen to each other-you don't have to solve each other's problem's-just listen
13) Encourage each other-help them be the best they can be
14) Pray for your spouse daily
15) Hold Hands
16) Apologize-equal in power to "I love you" is "I'm sorry, please forgive me"
17) Ask-What can I do for you
18) Reminisce about your favorite times together
19) Play to Win-Invest everything you can to make it the best marriage it can be
20) End each day with a hug and a kiss

We read through Proverbs 31 which describes a servant hearted wife, as well as Ephesians 5 on how we should respect our husbands.

What a wonderful reminder for us to make our marriage a priority with some great ways on how to do that. Enjoy your spouse today! Give him an extra kiss!

Laugh your way...to a better marriage

For the past two weeks, we have watched Mark Gungor talk to us about "Laughing your way to a better marriage". We watched part one and part two of his talk on "The tale of two brains". It is so amazing to me that God made man and women so different. How we think, how we process things, how we feel.

Mark gave us some great suggestions on how to understand our husbands and, by asking them more than once, we can get them to help us.

We are excited to have Pastor Rich do our bible study topic next week on "Marriage"!

Thrift Store Bargains

Making money shopping?? Can such a thing be true?? Our own Michelle Chahine taught us all about shopping at Thrift Stores and how sometimes, shopping at Thrift Stores can actually make you money!

We learned that thrift store shopping can provide incredible savings on new and used designer, name brand and seasonal clothing for the entire family. It offers vast selections of fashion styles and sizes. The proceeds help support humanitarian community programs and efforts.

Consignment shops can provide an opportunity for an individual or family to earn money on items consigned.

We had the opportunity to share the stories of our own treasures we had found and then Michelle shared how her bargain hunting began and how she was able to turn her hobbie of treasure hunting into buying bargains and selling them on either e-bay or bringing them to a consignment shop.

Thank you Michelle for some incredible ideas and tips on how we can save money for our families while having fun "hunting" for treasures!!

Teaching Nature to your Children

Tonight we were blessed to have Jenny Vandlen as our speaker. She talked to us about teaching our children about nature. She told us it's important to bring our children outside to get them away from tv, internet and video games and into God's beautiful nature. While we are out with them, it's an incredible time to talk to your children about Creation and dissolve some myths about creation vs. evolution.

She encouraged us to get excited about spending time outdoors with our children, learning together about the trees, animals and wildflowers. She gave us some fun ideas for hikes we can do with our children like an ABC Hike where we find objects that start with the letters of the alphabet, or an Onion Hike where you rub an onion along a trail and the child has to find the way using their nose!

She gave us several ideas for fun outdoor activities to do with our children like making a plaster mold of an animal track or playing a game of symphony where everyone is quiet and they need to count how many sounds they hear.

She even gave us activities to do on COLD days!! My favorite being "Freeze a Bubble"--when the weather is below 32 degrees, blow a bubble and catch it with your wand. Wait and watch as it freezes. It will turn into a crystal ball and then shatter like glass.

What a great reminder for us to take time with our children outdoors and explore the glorious world God gave us.


O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,How great Thou art, How great Thou art.Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeurAnd see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,How great Thou art, How great Thou art.Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,How great Thou art, How great Thou art

Cooking Mama's

We got a new Wii game at our house called Cooking Mama and that's exactly what we did last night at Club Mom and Girlfriends! Except we used real food and we made them to freeze and give them to the families that are going through the Quality Living budgeting class at our church.

Even though it was a light crowd-most likely due to the extreme cold and horrible road conditions-we were able to put together 38 Pizza Burgers, 48 Chicken Chimichangas, and 4 pans of Peanut Butter Chocolate bars.

Our 7 families that are involved with Quality Living will be enjoying these meals over the next few weeks. They receive a few boxes of food each week from our Food Bank and these will be an addition to those boxes. A little love of a meal ready to go from our Club Mom and Girlfriends group.

Thank you ladies for all your work!

Tending to your Children

We started the year off with a reminder to play...with our children.

Pastor Rich started our Bible Study tonight talking about Tending to our children. He reminded us that we are not the only "gardener" in our children's life. They are influenced by other adults, peers, media and more.

He encouraged us provide a solid community to surround our children. In that community, we should put marriage first and continue to build up the relationship between husband and wife so our children have a sense of stablity in the home. He also reminded us that our children watch our every move so only do things we want them to copy!

He encouraged us to spend time with each child individually, laugh and play with them, encourage proper interactions with other siblings and be an example of hospitality to others.

He told us that healthy parenting requires healthy parents so we should take time for yourself, let yourself de-stress, give yourself permission to ask for help and to be aware of what our stressers are and get strength from kindness to others.

He gave us three ways to set an example for your children:
1) Tkae time to play with them
2) Be kind to others
3) Keep a positive outlook

We spent time together reading what advice the bible gives parents, and then got through a few questions in a brainstorming session on how to handle parenting issues.

Thank you, Pastor Rich, for some great things to think about as we become more intentional about being better parents.

Join us next week as we make freezer meals for our Quality Living families. Bring an apron and a smile!