Table Talk: Good Friday

Not only is today Earth day and we can celebrate God's creation but it is Good Friday. 
May we remember what Christ did for us...

Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of the dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was depised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; and as one from whom others hid their faces, he was despised, and we held him of no account.  Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.
Isaiah 53:1-5


See, my servant shall prosper, he shall be raised high and greatly exalted."

Isaiah 52:13


"Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.

In you, O LORD, I take refuge;

let me never be put to shame.

In your justice rescue me.

Into your hands I commend my spirit;

you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God."

Luke 23:46


"Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed."

I Peter, 11:24


"Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.'"

John 11:25-26


 ...and on the Third day He victoriously conquered death. He is Risen! 

Pause my music player below and check out this song by Matt Maher.
Lyrics:
Let no one caught in sin remain

Inside the lie of inward shame
We fix our eyes upon the cross
And run to Him who showed great love

And bled for us
Freely You've bled for us

Christ is risen from the dead
Trampling over death by death
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave

Christ is risen from the dead
We are one with Him again
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave

Beneath the weight of all our sin
You bowed to none but Heaven's will
No scheme of Hell, no scoffer's crown
No burden great can hold You down

In strength You reign
Forever let Your church proclaim

Christ is risen from the dead
Trampling over death by death
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave

Christ is risen from the dead
We are one with Him again
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave

O death, where is your sting?
O hell, where is your victory?
O church, come stand in the light
The glory of God has defeated the night

Sing it, o death, where is your sting?
O hell, where is your victory?
O church, come stand in the light
Our God is not dead, He's alive, He's alive





Tidbits & Table Talk: Earth Day


Earth Day Freebies
Guest Blogger: Cheryl
Who doesn't like to get stuff for free...I love it!  In honor of Earth Day this Friday, April 22nd, here are some freebies to take advantage of!
  • Free re-usable shopping bag at The Disney Store - bring 5 plastic shopping bags to any Disney Store on Friday, April 22nd and receive a free Mickey bag (one per customer...hint - bring your husband and 5 more bags and get two!).     http://blog.disneystore.com/





Earth Day Celebrating God's Creation
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth... God saw all that he had made, and it was very good." 
(Genesis 1:1, 31)











Table Talk: Imagination




In our house Dress-up and making up fairytale stories are a regular occurrence. LT loves to dress up like all the different Disney Princesses. She insists on having shoes to match the dress, a tiara, and her wand. Some days she adds bracelets and necklaces. She will walk around the house and use her wand to turn Daddy into Prince Daddy and Mommy into Princess Mommy. Our Kitchen is the ballroom. She likes to pretend to open the doors and let everyone in, close them and say everyone dances (She loves to dance and listen to music). Any friend that comes and plays at some point will be asked if they want to play dress up. LT enjoys wearing the dress and pretending she is in a fairytale. I love her imagination. 


Disney Store Tea Party









I found this great Felt Story board at Michaels and it was such a great purchase. It is by Creatolgy and worth every penny, they have several different backgrounds for boys and girls.


She makes up stories with this felt board and her stories even have beginnings: One day in a far away land a princess… and endings: and they live happily ever after, the end. There is even dialogue between the characters in these stories. I love listening to see how her mind works and creates. The teacher in me loves that she can develop a story and have correct story elements with characters that feel sad and happy.  These stories are very short but fun to listen too.  After all, she is only two and a half years old so how long could they really be?  I love her creative ability to take thoughts in her head and create a wonderful story.  











So I love to look up words and glean from their defintions:
Webster’s definition of Imagination
1: the act or power of forming a mental image of something not present to the senses or never before wholly perceived in reality
2a : creative ability
b : ability to confront and deal with a problem : resourcefulness <use your imagination and get us out of here>
c : the thinking or active mind : interest <stories that fired the imagination>
3a : a creation of the mind; especially : an idealized or poetic creation
b : fanciful or empty assumption

In your imagination you can travel anywhere at the speed of light without any obstacles.  Finding tools to help your kids create and use their imagination is awesome and I love Michaels for that very reason. I also enjoy all the other crafts I get there to spend time making things together. They have a great dollar section that has all sorts of cute smaller activities for rainy days. However, I find that you don’t always have to buy crafts. Things like paper, crayons, scissors and glue are just as good and can make exciting things too!

When was the last time you let your imagination run wild?



Recipe: Tidbit



I just got this great recipe for and Egg and Cheese casserole from my mother-in-law who got it from her good friend. It was a big hit and thought I would share it. It is so easy (and I love easy!) but especially when easy tastes this good. Give it a try and enjoy!


Egg and Cheese Casserole
PREHEAT OVEN AT 375      
PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES
COOKING TIME: 45 MINUTES        
SERVES 12-14

USE: 9X13 GLASS BAKING DISH

INGREDIENTS

14 SLICES WHITE BREAD, CRUSTS REMOVED AND CUBED
½ LB. SAUSAGE (cooked) OR HAM CUBED
2 CUPS SHARP CHEDDAR CHEESE, GRATED
1 ½ CUP GRATED SWISS CHEESE
7 LARGE EGGS
3 CUPS MILK
½ TSP ONION POWDER OR SCALLIONS (chopped finely- approx. ¼ cup)
½ TSP DRY MUSTARD
3 CUPS CRUSHED CORNFLAKES
1/8 – ¼ CUP MELTED BUTTER


GREASE BAKING DISH WITH BUTTER (or use PAM)
SPREAD BOTTOM WITH HALF THE BREAD CUBES, SPREAD SAUSAGE AND BOTH CHEESES EVENLY OVER THE BREAD.  
ADD REMAINDER OF THE BREAD CUBES.
MIX EGGS, MILK, ONION POWDER and MUSTARD TOGETHER. 
POUR OVER BREAD, SAUSAGE AND CHEESE. 
PAT DOWN TO SOAK BREAD WITH EGG MIXTURE, REFRIGERATE OVERNIGHT.
SPREAD CRUSHED CORNFLAKES EVENLY. 
BAKE AT 375 FOR 45 MINUTES (about could be longer). 
LET STAND AT LEAST 10 MINUTES BEFORE SERVING.







GOOP!


Did you ever spill Red wine on your carpet? Unfortunately I did and was panicked. I started looking underneath my cabinet as fast as I could. I found carpet cleaner but that was not doing the trick so then I grabbed a container of Multi-purpose GOOP Hand Cleaner: The ultimate stain lifter. I followed the directions and I was in awe, my red wine stain was gone. Seriously. Absolutely no sign of it whatsoever.  
Whether it is a little drop or an entire glass that spills GOOP is your answer.

Let me know if you have used GOOP for something unexpected and it worked.
Here is the official website with other great products.


Smile

There are days that seem like they last forever and then there are days that fly by and you are getting the kids ready for bed. Today was one of those days that felt like it was not going to end and my kids gave me a few moments of pure joy to make it through. Their smiles today made for a worthwhile day.
As I began to write this post I was thinking "what is a smile?" So I looked up the definition of a smile and Webster says: a facial expression in which the eyes brighten and the corners of the mouth curve slightly upward and which expresses especially amusement, pleasure, approval, or sometimes scorn a pleasant or encouraging appearance.

Then as I searched the web I stumbled upon a few other things. There is a World Smile Day and you can check it out at this website. http://www.worldsmileday.com.

However, the one thing I stumbled on that made me stop for a moment was finding Operation Smile. It made me pause and consider how the impact of a smile can influence a child and change their life. Below is about Operation Smile and their website if you haven’t heard of them and would like to be apart of there work check them out.

About Operation Smile (www.operationsmile.org) Our Mission: Operation Smile mobilizes a world of generous hearts to heal children’s smiles and transform lives across the globe. Founded in 1982, Operation Smile, headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, is a worldwide children’s medical charity whose network of global volunteers are dedicated to helping improve the health and lives of children and young adults. Since its founding, Operation Smile volunteers have treated more than 150,000 children born with cleft lips, cleft palates and other facial deformities and the organization currently has a presence in more than 50 countries. In addition to contributing free medical treatment, Operation Smile trains local medical professionals in its partner countries and leaves behind crucial equipment to lay the groundwork for long-term self-sufficiency.  
Here is a great song to listen to by Uncle Kracker,SMILE

I compiled a few pictures of the smiles that make me get up each day and thank the Lord for my blessed life and beautiful children.
Pictures:






What have you smiled about today?