The results are in...

...Meredith! Since my husband was the only other person who commented and he very well can’t fit into a baby kimono, Meredith is the recipient of the adorable onesie AND matching shoes. Thank you for commenting and continue to pray for the people of Japan! They need our prayers!!

Magnalia Christi

In the early 1700's, a pastor by the name of Cotton Mather wrote a book called 'Magnalia Christi Americana' which roughly means, 'the glorious works of Christ in America' about the works of Christ in the New England area. Talk about amazing! 600+ pages and I am in the first chapter still. It's definitely one of those books where I need to read and then re-read paragraphs to understand what's going on. Good exercise for the brain for sure (and also free on google books)!

Last year my pastor suggested we write our own books, like 'Magnalia Christi Nicole; the glorious works of Christ in Nicole' to show His awesome glory and the transforming power He's had in our lives. So that's just what I did!


The way I made our magnalia christi faith books: 1.) take a 3-ring binder, 2.) cover with pretty linen quality paper and 3.) hot glue the two together. It's that easy! I think they turned out real nice. And inside the books I made some forms to get us started telling our story of faith and how He "always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him."

Faith Book Title Page
Magnalia Christi Introduction
Faith Timeline
Constructing Faith Timeline

The beauty of this type of faith scrapbook is that you can add empty 3-ring sleeves and add to this as you move along in life. It is truly amazing when you think about just what He has done in your life.

"We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and His strength and His wonderful works that He has done." -Psalm 78:4

Oh Baby! {a onesie kimono giveaway}

Ever since I found out that my sister-in-law was expecting, my creative juices have been flowing. Who am I kidding, I've always got babies and other pretties on the brain but now I have someone and something to plan for!

"Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward." -Psalm 127:3

It breaks my heart to see the people of Japan suffering so much, especially the children. In honor of my love of anything baby and in light of the current crisis in Japan, I will be giving away one of these adorable onesie/baby kimonos from Koolmono - Japanese Inspired Fashions. Not only will one lucky winner get a baby kimono, but 50% of the proceeds of Koolmono's sales are going to Japanese tsunami relief. And a 2nd person will get a pair of the baby kimono shoes.

To enter, please leave a comment here letting me know about the precious little one you would love to give this to. Please also let me know which of the kimonos that you'd like if you won. I will announce the winner next week.

Eyes on the Prize

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize." - 1 Corinthians 9:24

It's that time of year again. In just a few short weeks I will be heading to the AWANA games with my girls and we'll be playing for these beauties. And also the bragging rights of being the best game players ever. :)

What are the AWANA games, you may be asking. You basically throw a bunch of little ones into a huge gym and throw in some parents and leaders cheering them on while they compete with a whole bunch of other little ones. It makes for a fun AND exhausting day!

As we gear up for the big day, our girls have been doing lots of practicing. There is the three-legged race, marathon run, some funny balloon game and of course the bean bag bonanza. Some of our little girls need practice at throwing the bean bag and hitting the cones. I decided it was time to make some more bean bags. And it's as simple as 1,2,3 (I love those kind of crafts, don't you!?)

What is man?

All around

Just found out that my sister and brother-in law are expecting their first child and my other sister-in-law is engaged to be married this fall. Our family is surrounded in love and it feels great. He is so good to us! His love keeps pouring down. Here's to love!

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. -1 Corinthians 13:13

Kindred Spirits

There is nothing like a good friend and a good book. How about both of them in one? That's exactly what I found when I read 'Living Simply' by Joanne Heim. I stumbled upon her while reading Beth Moore's blog. Joanne suffered a stroke in January and has been in the hospital ever since. Praise God she has been making progress and will hopefully be moving onto rehab soon.

I found out she was an author so I checked it out. As I read her story, it occurred to me that I could have very well written some of those same things. The things she enjoys, I enjoy, the things she struggles with, I struggle with, and the list went on and on. I made a new friend while reading her book and I am so blessed to have "met" her. If you are so inclined, read her story and pray for her and her family during this time in their lives.

"A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." -Proverbs 17:17

It is truly a blessing to have strong sisters in Christ who will stand beside you to encourage, to have fun with, to teach, to learn from and to bear one another's burdens. Although I have not actually met Joanne, she has blessed me in ways she may never know (this side of heaven, that is). But I am also blessed to have friends near me who I know I can count on, who hold me accountable and who lift me up when I am down. God has given me so many things to be thankful for, not only my Salvation, my family, etc.. but He has given me good friends to share the ups and downs with. Isn't that amazing?! I am floored by just how much He gives to me, including the wonderful friendships I've been able to have throughout the years, even the ones I get to read in a book!

"As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." Proverbs 27:17