Can you do a devotional in 5 minutes?

Did you know about Personalized Crayola Crayons?

This article does have affiliate links!

Did you know that you can personalize crayon boxes? Not only the box, but you can even chose what set of colors to go in the box!

April 24- May 8 - 15% off Personalized Gifts for Mom with code MOMSAVES

This could be a perfect Mother's Day gift for a homeschool mom who continually gets her crayons stolen even when she had given directions not to use her personal crayons and then she gets them back they are broken and not pointy any more...and don't forget the torn paper....

I digress.

Anyway, this would make a cool gift for mom or any one! There are special boxes for Mother's Day, Father's Day, Teachers, Birthdays, Weddings, and more!

And you can choose various sets of crayons...you could even fill the whole box with one color if you want!! You then can have a personal message printed on the bottom of the box. 

You can get them in 8ct, 64ct or ginormous art box.

Go check them out!
And remember, April 24- May 8 - 15% off Personalized Gifts for Mom with code MOMSAVES

Happy Friday!

Reusable Dryer Sheets using Essential Oils

This "recipe" is not original to me. In fact, you can find it all over the internet!  I just wanted to share it with you in case you've been hiding under a rock. 😉

I hate throwing away things that could possibly have some further use. I also hate using dryer sheets that have so many chemicals that attach to clothes and then soak into you body as you wear the clothes.

So, I  making my own reusable dryer sheets!

First,you need an old t-shirt or such. I use my old kitchen towels. Cut them into squares.

Obviously these were my holey kitchen towels!

You also need a mason jar or some other jar that closes to keep in the moisture.

To the jar, you add:

• 3/4 cup of white vinegar
• 1/4 cup of water
• 6-10 drops of essential oil

It is up to you which essential oil you would like to use. Many use Lemon or Lavender. I chose Purification for two reasons. First, it smells heavenly. The blend includes Citronella, Lavandin, Lemongrass, Rosemary, Myrtle, and Tea Tree which leads me to my second reason. This blend can also help you have an annoyance-free outdoor experience.  Those pests just don't like the beautiful smell!

Once you've added the three ingredients to the jar, just add the "rags" and you're done. The liquid ingredients wick up through all the "dyer sheets."

So when I am done, I have these two jars on my dryer: 

The jar on the right has my damp, ready-to-use dryer sheets. Personally, I keep the other jar on the left to put my dryer sheets in after they come out o the dryer. It keeps them all together. You could use a basket or whatever works for you.

When the right one gets empty, I just start the process again! 

Quick, easy, and they work!

My Essential Oil Sinus and Allergy Help

The last few weeks I've been dealing with severe sinus gunk which led to sore throats. 

One of my go-to's for any sinus/allergy/cold stuff is tea, raw honey, and essential oils.

I used green tea, raw honey, about 3 drops of Thieves Vitality and 4 drops of Lemon Vitality both from Young Living. The Vitality essential oils are labeled specifically safe for ingestion.

I wouldn't put too much Thieves in your tea unless you want to tingle your lips off!  Thieves is the famous blend of Lemon, Clove, Eucalyptus Radiata, Cinnamon Bark, and Rosemary essential oils used for wellness and immunity.

Lemon is a go to for almost anything! Did you know it takes 75 lemons to make one 15 ml bottle of Young Living Essential oils? The oil comes from the peel not from the pulp.

I've also used the Thieves Mouthwash to gargle with when I have a sore throat but this time I was out. 

How do you use Essential Oils to help with allergies and sinuses?

He's just a created being.

Went to blessed class last night where the enemy of our soul was discussed. 

We do have a real enemy. He really does work against us. He really does hate us. He goal is to discourage and demolish us not just because of his hate for us but especially for hate of our Master, Father, and Maker.

I was able to add one thought to the conversation and thought I'd share it with you today. 

Sometimes we think that Satan is the equal opposite of God. For all the good and loving God is, the enemy is His exact opposite. Kind of like a balanced scale. 

UNTRUE!!

The enemy is a CREATED BEING just like all the other angels, the earth, humans, our pets, etc. 

There is nothing equal between the enemy and our God. It's not even an unbalanced scale...it's off the scale!  It's comparing the the Creator of the scale to some item being measured on the scale...and being found wanting.

So, keep in mind, Satan is powerful; all angels are. That's the way God created them. But there is nothing OMNI- about him.

He's not omni-present like my God is.
He's not omni-powerful like my Lord is.
He's not omniscient like my Savior is. 

Remember to put your armor on today but praise God the battle is already won!

85% savings and $1 off coupon for Irish Spring

Had to run to the "big city" today, so I made sure I did a quick CVS and Walgreen run.  I mean quick and small. I picked out the few items that were the very best deals and what we needed. 

Paid less than $4 for these items for a 85% savings. 

What really surprised me was there were no rebates on my apps for any of these things! But here's a coupon for the Irish Spring Body Wash.


Tomorrow I'm heading to Dollar General with my $5 off $25 coupon. I'm going to be getting some Rachel Ray Cat food for only $2 a bag!

Millennials Postponing Adulthood

First, a generational lesson for the sake of this article.
Baby boomers were born from after WWII to about 1964...my husband is barely a baby boomer.
Generation X is from mid-1960s to early 1980s which is where I fall.
The Millennials are born from early to mid 1980s to around 2000 (hence millennial). They've also been called the "Peter Pan" generation due to them delaying a lot of adult-type behavior.

That is what Martin Cothran,the editor of Classical Teacher magazine, published by Memoria Press, is addressing in his article, 

You Are Here

Millennials Postponing Adulthood, Study Shows.

He addresses three main facts to show this.

1. Fewer Millennials are married.

2. More are living at home or own their own home.

3. Fewer are living with their own children.

This is compared to Baby Boomers in the 

1980 Census. 

I don't disagree with Mr. Cothran's findings. I just wished he would have gone into reasons. I have a few reasons that do not necessarily mean immaturity.

1. They are not married because they have been raised in a more liberal environment. Marriage is not necessary. If that is your belief system, it does not mean immaturity just philosophy.

2. Besides immaturity, there's a big reason to live at home or not purchase a home. The economy is terrible. There are many of us who can no longer afford their own home. It is not because we are immature (stop snickering) it is because we do not have the funds make it happen.

3. I find that more of them not living with their own children are a good thing. If fewer of them are married, well, there should be fewer children, right? Fewer single parents having a hard to make ends meet financially and emotionally is not immature but a good thing in my book.

Obviously, we should be concerned about Millennials. Only 4% have a Biblical worldview. That explains A LOT.  I think we need to consider that when we consider their apparent immaturity. It is a major part of the cause. 

I have a Generation Z, and I try not face her future with fear and I see what's going on with the generation before.

Give me so hope! What do you think? How are your Millenial children doing?

Why am I blogging again?

Some of my new friends may not know that I've been a blogger before while some of my old friends may not have even missed the fact that I haven't been blogging! 

So, what is bringing me back?

1. I need more practice writing. I am working on a book. Yup, a book. Thanks to the TTD conference and a class with Tricia Goyer. In the class, I was convicted about honing my craft, blogging and hopefully more magazine articles here I come.

B. Because I'm writing a book that maybe God will publish some day, I need to rebuild my audience...assuming I had any. According to Tricia, publishers look at author's reach in social media to help them determine if the person is worth publishing. As a result, you will be seeing more of me on my Facebook Page and here. Hopefully, you will like what you see and want to share!

ChooChoo.  Lastly, if I can help my family out making a little cash, it's an added benefit. Some of my links will contain affiliate links which give me a little cash for clicking or purchasing. It's not a new thing, but I wanted to make you aware.
Therefore, because the book I'm working on is about the Proverbs 31 Lady (intimidating I know), I thought I would point out these items I have for sale at Currclick.com.

I have it available in ESV, KJV, and NIV.

It's regulary $3, but wait! Since you apparently have read this whole article, I will give you a copy of "I Can Illustrate Proverbs 31" for free if you leave you email address and Bible version as a blog comment before April 30, 2017. Comments on FB don't count. It's needs to be on the blog. 

BTW, my numbering system on this article came from The Skit Guys' "Adam and Eve" skit. 
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Mrs. Price on the Pence's Marriage

Photo from New York Post

First of all, I know that the whole "the Pences have boundaries in their marriage" episode is so last week...literally, but my family and I have been pondering it all weekend, so it's time for me to say just a few things.

If you happen to be out of the loop because you were vacationing in the Australian Outback or lost in the Bermuda Triangle, Karen Pence shared that VP doesn't dine alone with women other than his wife.

Shock! Gasp! Witchcraft!

So, people started bashing the VP because of his archaic and obviously anti-female ways.

I say, "Way to go!" Boundaries. Principles. Intact marriage of over 30 years.

She was quoted as referring to "The Billy Graham Rule" which was started by the evangelist to avoid the appearance of impropriety. I would call it "The Biblical Guideline for a Healthy Christian Marriage Rule." Okay, it's not as catchy, but it is descriptive.

To me, it just goes back to I Thessalonians 5:22 which states, "Abstain from all appearance of evil" (italics mine). The Greek work can mean appearance (duh) or form. In other words, keep from just looking like something could be wrong and actually doing the wrong.

It's called boundaries.

My husband and I realized it could be an issue early in our marriage. There was a newly saved guy at church that needed help getting places. Since I was at home with a vehicle and hubby was in charge of the bus ministry, it was determined that I could take him.  

Nothing happened during our drive besides errands and maybe a little discipleship. 

But there still was talk like, "Oh, I saw you driving around with so-and-so." "So, what was going on with you and so-and-so?"

Was it any one's business? No. Was it wrong for them to assume a possible bad intent? Yes.

On the other hand, if I would have allowed someone else to drive him or ask someone else to join us, it wouldn't have become fodder for sour minds.

And that was 28 years ago!

Today, it's considered barbaric to set boundaries or to be concerned about reputation. It's crazy! People are dogging on the Pences presuming that such boundaries means he's sexist or lustful or some other cockamamie label....that's right! Cockamamie I tell you!

I really appreciated finding this article by Mary Vought who worked for Mike Pence. I suggest you read it. 

Here is my favorite part, 
"My work product determined my success — not private dinners with the congressman. When looking back on my time in the office of the man who is now vice president, I don’t consider it to be a period of missed opportunities.

The fact of the matter is, it’s not as though then-Congressman Pence was out having private dinners with male staffers and I was excluded. He wasn’t having private dinners much at all.

He had children at home, so as often as possible, after voting and his daily duties, he’d race home to share a meal with the people who mattered to him most: his family. Frankly, he modeled for male and female staffers alike that it was possible to serve in a public role with excellence while being wholly dedicated to his family."

Obviously, we live in world where:

1. Freedom to choose how to live your life only applies to those on the left.

2. 

Free Baby Leg Warmers

I saw these and thought they were adorable! (And no, they're not an April Fool's joke.)

You select five pairs in the shopping cart, enter the promo code ENBABY and only have to pay for shipping. Shipping to me ran from $15 up to $28 depending on how quickly you want them. 

Figure they could be cute baby shower gifts if nothing else!They are supposed to fit 9-35 pounds. 

Look at some of these cuties!


 

If you order any, let me know what kind! So many to choose from including sports teams!