Homemade Advent

I have always wanted a Christmas Advent calendar. I wanted the really cool ones with boxes that pull out and all that. Once I saw the prices for them, I immediately went to Pinterest to find a homemade version of what I liked. I found several but I didn't want to spend any money. I wanted to use things I already had but wanted it to be super cute and fit our family. SOOO.....the kids and I got working today on making our very first Advent Calendar. I thought I'd share how it all turned out. Here's how cute it is:

It was exactly what I wanted and fits us just right: not perfect but perfect to us. I started out by finding an old chalkboard in the garage and painted the frame part brown and put a cream color all over the chalkboard part to help the colored cards stand out. These were paints I already had.

Then I moved on to making the string for cards to hang on with clothespins and also had the kids paint the clothespins the same brown as the frame. The string I used was string Katelyn had with some of her jewelry making things and I just tied them onto thumbtacks to make my "little clothesline".

The kids loved helping paint the clothespins. I had clothespins left over from a project we did awhile ago so I just pulled those out.

 Then we got our cards cut out and began decorating each one. I used to scrapbook a lot so I have a ton of paper, die cuts, stickers, etc. They ended up looking very cute and I also have cool cutting tools so it made them nice and even.

After the cards for each day were all decorated I made little activities we would do on that day to go under each one. This was the fun part because I got to think of cool things we could do and also got some ideas from the list off the blog that I was following for this. Here are some of the things we'll be doing:

THAT'S IT!!! Once I got those done, we hung each one with a clothespin and this very cute and fun Advent Calendar cost me NOTHING!!! I am so excited to start tomorrow and even more excited to start this as a family tradition each year!

Here's the Blog I pulled our ideas from:
http://www.thriftyandthriving.com/2012/11/christmas-countdown-advent-activity-calendar-homemade-holiday-2012/

Update!

Many people have asked for an update of Gospel Life and how the church plant is going so I thought I'd do one blog for all of you to read. GLC is going great! We actually are doing so well that we are waiting for something to happen...funny how we do that! When I say it is going well, I don't mean we have a lot of people coming(which we've been surprised by the amount) or that we are a perfect church. We are all imperfect people just following God's call and letting Him handle the rest. When I say it is going great I mean that we have seen God show up on Sunday's, during Lifegroups, in new friendships, having lunch with people, and even in phone calls and texts. He has reached down and blessed GLC and we are so excited. My husband almost jumped up on a chair one Sunday because he was excited about the word the Lord had given him. We have had people confess to past addictions and how they are now being healed and renewed by the Lord. We have had people tell their story of a past abortion and how it affects them now but how God is healing and restoring them. They are walking in truth instead of lies from Satan and God is using them like crazy because of their courage and humility! We have had people say they don't have to be "plastic" here and that they are forgiven and can be redeemed. We have been and are still walking through some dark times with people but that's what a family does. We were asked by the City of Newton to help with their Lighting of The Tree downtown this past weekend because of our willingness to embrace what they are already doing in the community. We could easily plan and do our own things but why not be a part of what is already happening and bless the community we live in? We have been able to share in Movies in The Park this past summer, Spooktacular, and now The Christmas Tree Lighting. We love that they want us there and what better way to invest into your community and get outside the walls of our building. We are already supporting our first missionary couple and a young man who is a missionary in the army. We have met some pretty great people and love that we are seeing the people that were once visitors, volunteering and being a part of what we are doing! GLC's core team is a group of amazing, selfless, strong, and godly people. They are willing to do anything to make GLC be everything God wants it to be. We are so excited about all the things God has in store for us and more than anything, WE WANT TO SEE PEOPLE CHANGED. We live in a very religious community. We want to see people have a relationship with Jesus that requires surrender and repentance not just a talk about Him. God has been so good to us and we are not worthy of any of it. He has shown us what church really looks like and what people in our community really seek. I have heard many people say that they feel that they are part of a family here at GLC and we love that! Even more, we want people to feel they are a part of family before they may even believe. The last 20 months have been uplifting, freeing, difficult, challenging, scary, eye opening, and unimaginable. I love this community and I love the people that God has allowed us to get to know and walk through life with. We are thankful for the support and love that has been all over us. We are thankful for Providence church in Denver that had a vision and is now seeing it come to pass. We are thankful that even when it gets rough, and it will, that our God never leaves us or forsakes us. We are thankful that even in our mess and imperfections, God is using us greatly! Thanks to the many people that have asked how things are going and have prayed for us earnestly. Keep it coming!!!

Why I Am So Thankful!

I love the thankfulness that is spread during this year. I really want to be more thankful each day not just around Thanksgiving and Christmas. My thankfulness started back in May with one diagnosis. Many people know my story of miscarriage after miscarriage before Samuel and we never got an answer for why those were happening. God BLESSED us with Samuel and we were so thankful to have two amazing kids. I loved that I had a super smart and talented tomboy in my sweet Katelyn Faith and a VERY loud and CRAZY little boy in my snugly Samuel. I was at peace with how things had turned out and I knew that as Romans says, " All things work together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purposes." Even though hard days were behind us, we knew God had a plan and we were thankful for it even without having any answers. May 2012 came and I was having some physical problems. After many tests, biopsies, ultrasounds, and blood work, doctors found that I had a condition which would require a hysterectomy. I was scared, sad, and confused. My first question was, "Could this have been what caused all those miscarriages?" My doctor said, " I think so." So my second question was, " Then how did I have Samuel?" Her response will forever stay in my head. She said," I have no idea how you carried him?" A doctor who is intelligent and knows everything there is to know about these issues says to me, " I DON'T KNOW!" I immediately knew the answer and it was that my Savior has intervened and caused my body to carry a SON and allowed him and I to be healthy. I was in awe for days that after 5 years, we had received our answer. I could not believe that my God, in his timing, made all things good. So today, this year, I am thankful for my two incredible children. I am thankful that I get to train and disciple them everyday. I am thankful that even when we walk with no answers, God is still at work. I am thankful that my dad got to meet and love on both my kids before he passed. I am thankful that I am a mommy and that my kids, even though make me very tired, are the lights of my life. Thank you Jesus that I am such a blessed woman.

" Uninsured"

I know this will freak a lot of people out but we have been "uninsured" for 18 months. Oh.My.Word!!!! When I tell people that their normal question is, " What if something happens?" or " What if you have to have surgery or there's something serious going on?" When Josh told me 18 months ago that we were going to drop our health insurance because it was too expensive and it was just getting worse, I was not on board. I think the woman in me likes the security of knowing there is something in place in case something really awful happened. I didn't really worry about Josh and I, but the kids. I wanted to make sure that they would always be safe and have any medical attention they would need. Josh had prayed about this and I knew that in order to let my man lead like the way he is called to, I needed to trust that God was directing him in the best way to lead our family. So, we joined a Christian Co-op called Samaritan's Ministries. It is a Biblical, non-insurance approach to health care needs. What that means is that every student, single, or family pays in to it monthly and our money goes straight to a family or person that has medical bills. It is an awesome feeling to send a check every month to a person and not a mutil-billion dollar company with high paid CEO's and money going who knows where. We have loved having this ministry and I thought I would share how great it is and even some pictures.

I just had surgery....YES, surgery while "uninsured". It went smoothly and now I am beginning to get my gifts from people all over the world to help carry the burden of my bills. My total cost of appointments, surgery, hospital stay, and post-op was $28,000. If I had insurance, I would be paying a deductible and 20%. With Samaritan's, the most I will pay for the whole thing is $250.00 and I may even come out paying $0. Having my needs met by other Christians that are all striving to carry each others burdens as the Bible talks about is great but the best part of it all is this:

 I get cards, letters, poems, and scripture that come with every gift. This is a picture of a sweet note that was sent to me from another family in Christ from WI.

This lady wrote a poem while she was going through some tough physical issues and she shared it with me. When you have been through a surgery and then for a month straight you get things like this in the mail EVERYDAY, you are uplifted!!! 

I wanted to share Samaritan's Ministries with all my friends because I have been amazed at what happens when the family of God comes together to meet the needs of each other. I have been blessed immensely by people I don't even know. I have seen Jesus in many of these notes, letters, and cards and even read personal testimonies. I also have been able to encourage as I send my gift each month and even been able to share victories in my life that someone from across the world needed to hear. I love this ministry and wanted to tell how great they are! 

If you are interested and would like to know more here is a link to their website. 

http://www.samaritanministries.org/