Sunday, February 18, 2018

Special Moments

Planning special moments or occasions does not have to take lots of time, energy, or money. I planned this special breakfast the day before Valentine's Day with things I had on hand at home.

It's easy to get wrapped up in the Pinterest/Instagram culture and to let all the beautiful images of table presentations and decorations leave you feeling that you cannot measure up. But the only one putting that pressure on you, is yourself. Kids find the most simple things fun and exciting. Keep the who and the why in mind. Who are you trying to impress and why are you trying to make this a special occasion? For me, I wanted to make a special breakfast that was out of the ordinary to show my little loves how much I love and adore them.
As my boys came downstairs Valentine's Day morning, the delight on their faces was so rewarding for me. It didn't take much to make a special day even more magical with a fun breakfast. I prepared our favorite pancake recipe, this one which is a copycat of the delicious IHOP pancakes. A little tip for you, you don't even have to buy the buttermilk. You can use 1 tablespoon of lemon juice combined with 1 cup milk as a substitute for 1 cup of buttermilk. To make the pancakes a little extra special, I cut up some strawberries and had whip cream available as toppings. Strawberry milk rounded out our special Valentine's Day breakfast and was a huge hit with my milk loving boys, and fit in perfectly in the red/pink theme I was going for.
I cut a long sheet of butcher paper off a big roll and taped it down under the table as a table runner. I wrote each of my loves a special note, and spread some heart sequins I had on hand from a project last year (this is where being a saver comes in handy)! I was excited to use cloth napkins in hues of red to dress up the table. My four year old, Jack, exclaimed, "This is the best dinner ever!" So while it would never earn many hearts on Instagram or pins on Pinterest, the accolades of my four year old son is all the praise I need.
Making things special and fun for our kids doesn't have to take much time, money, or planning! I am thankful for that. Kids love when we do anything fun and different to make things special. See how creative you can be with things you already have on hand at home and get out there and make some memories.

How about you? Do you have any quick and easy tips for creating special moments?

Wednesday, February 7, 2018

She Reads Truth. See the Lord's Salvation. A Lenten Study of Exodus

 I wanted to pop in and share with you guys a new study that I will be starting on Monday, February 12. It's put out by She Reads Truth, called See the Lord's Salvation. A Lenten Study of Exodus. This will be my first She Reads Truth study, I'm excited to dive in. The cool thing I discovered is there is an entire She Reads Truth community. You can do the entire study on your own, or jump in the conversation online or in the app. You do not have to purchase the beautiful book to join in, you can find each day's reading published online and in the app.

There is also a He Reads Truth and Kids Read Truth line so the entire family can study God's Word and go through the same book of the Bible together. I purchased all three resources, and I am excited to try a new way of studying God's Word, together as a family. I think the fact we are all studying the same passages each day will enrich our family and bring a special time of growing together in God's Word. I'm excited to see how this unfolds over the next seven weeks.

Here is a little peek into the She Reads Truth book. I love how beautiful this book is! The main focus of the book is scripture. It contains all the scripture reading for the entire study, and a place to journal and reflect at the end of each day. There is bonus material that includes recipes, Easter hymns, a DIY project tutorial, charts, maps, diagrams, and beautiful scripture cards to remove from the back of the book.


I love that this study will take me all the way up to Easter morning (April 1). This will be a great way to prepare my heart, the seven weeks leading up to Easter. This study is broken down into three parts. The first following the Israelites' road out of captivity. In the second section, we will study the second half of Exodus and discover what it means to worship a holy God. The third part of this study traces Holy Week from Palm Sunday through Jesus' resurrection.



The Kids Read Truth comes in the form of beautiful story cards, that when put together tell the entire story of Exodus and make a beautiful mural. The back of each card contains a title, a scripture, suggested extended Scripture reading, and a set of three questions to go along with that days content. I love how this engages kids of all ages to get involved learning God's Word.
I love that the mission of She Reads/He Reads Truth is to be Men and Women in the Word of God everyday. I will be popping back in to let you know what I think as we jump in and study God's Word as a family. There are a wide variety of studies available, check them out here.

Who will join me? You will find the daily reading posted here, or you can purchase the resources in The She Reads Truth online shop. I found a 15% off promo code (SRTFIRST) that was good on a first order from She Reads Truth.

Have you ever done a She Reads Truth study? If so which one, and what did you think?