Archives for May 2017

A Prayer for Your Summer Plus My May Blogging Break

As I mentioned in my Spirit and Soul Refreshment for Busy Lives post a couple of weeks ago, May can be one of the busiest months of the year. And this year is no exception for me. Probably not for you either, huh?

To do my part in allowing a little breathing room, I’m taking a blogging break the last half of this month. So no worries if it appears I’ve abandoned my blog over the next couple of weeks. I’ll be back with regular weekly posts sometime when June is bustin’ out all over. Let’s say June 6th. June should be in full bustin’ mode by then, right?

Before I break away, though, I’d love to pray for us all as we prepare to head into summer and all that it holds. May this prayer be a blessing to you as we gear up for the upcoming summer season. Feel free to keep it handy to give needed encouragement and refreshment as the days and weeks unfolds.

Pray with me, won’t you?

Lord, you are the Maker of every season and we thank you for the gift of summer. It’s a time to break from many of our normal routines and enjoy more time outdoors in your glorious creation, more time with our families and friends, and more opportunities for travel adventures. Thanks so much for such a wonderful gift.

Guide us, Lord, as we make plans. Help us not to pack so much into the fleeting weeks of summer that we end up feeling stressed rather than refreshed. And please grant your blessing, Lord, that all logistics for special activities and travels will flow smoothly so we can have truly refreshing times instead of those marked by frustration or disappointment. We don’t take mercies like this for granted so we ask humbly and thank you in advance.

Please protect us, Lord, as we do things like hike and swim and play sports. Watch over us, please, in our travels so that we will arrive safely at every destination. Protect us as well from our enemy Satan as he continues to try to undermine our relationship with you and with others. He doesn’t take a season off. Please surround us with your protection.

And finally, Lord, please bless us with lots of sweet times with you and with loved ones this summer. Grant us memories that will make us smile for years to come and also grant us periods of rest that will refresh and re-energize us to get back to normal routines in the fall. And may we shine the light of your love everywhere we go and in all that we do. May you be glorified in our summer, O Lord! In your precious name we pray, Amen.

“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us” Psalm 67:1 NIV

*Do you have any special plans or activities that you’re looking forward to this summer? I’d love to hear about it!

The new issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter with a giveaway in every regularly scheduled issue, came out early this month. It’s not too late to receive it. Sign-up is free and to the right!

*My photo (taken in the Cleveland Botanical Garden)

Wedding Planning Help Plus a Blogging Break

Mother of the Bride, I’m not even planning a wedding and May is still so crazy busy for me that I’m going to take a blogging break the last half of this month. I’ll return with regular weekly posts on June 6th, but in the meantime I’ll leave with you some wedding planning help.

I hope you find these resources helpful over the next couple of weeks. Have fun looking through everything—and don’t forget to share the links (or all your favorite finds!) with your daughter!

Helpful Links for Wedding Planning

*If your daughter is in the beginning stages of gathering ideas and investigating her options, try Martha Stewart Weddings, Real Simple Weddings, and Brides.

*If your daughter wants a rustic wedding, check out Rustic Wedding Chic.

*If you want a unique and fun gift idea for the bride or bridesmaids, take a look at Along Came a Box

*If you’re ready to look for your MOB dress, check out my Mother of the Bride Dresses Pinterest board and also my post Where to Find Your Mother of the Bride Dress.

*Need wedding cake ideas or ideas for the groom’s cake? Try my Wedding Cakes Pinterest board and my Groom’s Cake board

*If you want to share a round-up of Bridal Registry options, see my Wedding Registry Roundup post

*If you’d like to see all nineteen of my wedding related Pinterest boards, check out my Pinterest profile page

This should keep you busy while I’m on blogging break, huh? Have fun!

The new issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter with a giveaway in every regularly scheduled issue, came out early this month. It’s not too late to receive it. Sign-up is free and to the right!

*Flickr photo by Silvia Sala, Creative Commons License

Mother of the Bride: Spruce Up Your Smile!

Mother of the Bride, your smile will be working overtime come Wedding Weekend. Between all the meeting and greeting and the continual photos being snapped and video being recorded, your pearly whites will come into play more than you can imagine.

Since your smile is probably the most important part of your wedding day attire and since it will be getting near constant use, why not splurge on yourself and spruce it up a bit before the big weekend arrives? Not only will you feel more confident as you interact with everyone, but your sweet smile will shine even brighter in some of the most important and treasured photos of your life.

You can choose from several alternatives to teeth whitening. You can go with anything from the inexpensive (but not as effective) whitening toothpastes all the way through to costly professional whitening or bleaching done by your dentist.

When I’ve wanted to brighten my smile, I’ve settled for a method between the two—whitening strips. Of course, they don’t give the dramatic results that professional whitening/bleaching can give, but I’ve been pleased with the improvement they do offer while still being affordable. And affordable is always a word a mother of the bride is happy to hear, right?

So, MOB, check out your options and decide which is best for you and your situation. You may not need this particular spruce-up at all. But if you do, don’t hesitate to splurge on yourself. You’re the Mother of the Bride. You’re worth it!

*Flickr photo by dandeluca, Creative Commons License

*Since the readership of this blog is ever-changing, I hope this encore post from August 2013 helps you today!

*The new issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter with a giveaway in every regularly scheduled issue, came out last week. It’s not too late to receive it. Sign-up is free and to the right!

What Will I Do When a Storm Descends

*I pray this encore post from April 2011 blesses you today!

A potential health crisis threatened our family a few weeks ago. A cancer scare. Like storm clouds hovering overhead, thoughts of “what if” cast their shadow for days. We deliberately tried to shove them aside, but they were still there, hiding just beyond the surface.

I won’t go into specifics of who and what, but the scare did not involve an extended family member, but one within our immediate family. Yes, that’s right. It hit close. Too close. And too unthinkable — though I had to remind myself, like so many others have had to do, not to ask “Why us?” but “Why not us?”

Thank God, benign test results relieved our fears, but those days of waiting gave rise to countless thoughts, feelings, and ultimately a few overarching questions: If it proves to be cancer, what will we do with our faith in God? Will we stay faithful and continue to trust him even if the news is devastating? Or will we pull away — and stay away — from him, losing faith that he is good and that he loves us? In other words, will we run to him or away from him?

Mercifully, God spared us from having to live out the answers to those questions in full, but we tried to prepare ourselves for the worst. We remembered the truths of God’s love for us and of how he can bring something good out of a heartbreaking situation. We reminded ourselves that he would be with us every step of the way. You might say we were preparing ourselves to be faithful, preparing ourselves to trust him, no matter the outcome.

One day a similar life test will go differently. One day we’ll have to live out the answers to these faith questions in full. Some of us reading this today have, in fact, already faced such a crisis, but even so, will we be ready for the next one? Join me today in considering, “What will I do with my faith when the unthinkable happens? What will I do when the storm descends?”

“But my eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign LORD; in you I take refuge…” Psalm 141:8a

*What helps you stay faithful to your faith in God when times of heartbreak come?

*The new issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter with a giveaway in every regularly scheduled issue, came out last week. It’s not too late to receive it. Sign-up is free and to the right!

*My photo

Spirit and Soul Refreshment for Busy Lives

Is your schedule full to overflowing? Your to-do list never caught up? I’m willing to bet most of us will have to answer one or both of those questions with a resounding yes.

Some of us even find ourselves in busier-than-normal busy seasons—busy on top of busy—due to current life situations. And I bet the month of May will increase our busy levels even more. For many of us, May ranks second only to December as the busiest month of the year.

If you are feeling pressed today, allow me to serve you up some spirit and soul refreshment straight from the Word of God. Most of us have our go-to methods of stress relief, but if drinking from God’s Word isn’t on our lists, we need to add it pronto. Nothing can give the deep spirit and soul refreshment quite like the Word of God.

So my friends, come apart to a peaceful oasis and allow me to share some passages with you today that I pray will be just the balm your weary souls may need. From God and me with love—may you be encouraged and refreshed!

“‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.’” Matthew 11:28-30

“The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake . . . You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” Psalm 23:1-3, 5b-6

“‘Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders.’” Deuteronomy 33:12

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:28-31

*Which of these passages encourages you most today? Do you have another passage you’d like to share?

*The new issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter with a giveaway in every regularly scheduled issue, comes out today. It’s not too late to receive it. Sign-up is free and to the right!

*My photo (taken in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park)