Archives for October 2014

Wedding Day Checklist: Containers for Leftover Cake

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Mother of the Bride, here’s a short and sweet Wedding Day reminder: Don’t forget containers for the leftover cake!

Yes, it’s hard to imagine that your guests might leave some of that wedding cake yumminess uneaten, but they sure do. Chances are you planned for more than enough cake because cake is one thing you don’t want to have in short supply at the reception. Also, not everyone will eat cake. Hard to believe, but true!

Check with your wedding cake baker to see if he or she provides boxes for the leftovers, and if not, be sure to bring your own containers. Something like the inexpensive food storage containers above works perfectly. These are even better than boxes because they’re air tight.

So, MOB, add containers to your wedding day checklist. And if you’re lucky, you’ll get to indulge in extra bites as you pack the leftovers away! :)

*You might also like to read Comfy Shoes—Add This to Your Wedding Day List and Wedding Day Tip: A List for the Photographer.

*The Life Notes Subscriber Appreciation Giveaway is underway. Details are in my Oct. 16 post on my home page and sign-up is to the right under “Free For You.” Deadline is 6 p.m. Nov. 12. Don’t miss out on the chance to win a $25 gift card to Barnes & Noble!

*My photo

Midweek Morsel: The Great Exchange

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Consider this scripture passage from Zechariah with me today. It’s a small portion of his account of a vision he had. As you read, imagine the scene in your mind’s eye:

“Then he [the angel] showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD . . . Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. The angel said to those who were standing before him, ‘Take off his filthy clothes.’

Then he said to Joshua, ‘See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put rich garments on you.’” Zechariah 3:1a, 3-4

Even though this vision was about a high priest and how he represented the sinful nation of Israel, as I read it I immediately pictured what Jesus does for us his children.

As we call on Jesus, asking him to forgive our sins and be our Savior, he removes our filthy sin-stained clothes. He forgives us, cleanses us, and dresses us in the rich garments of his salvation and righteousness. He puts on us the royal robes worn by the family of God. He performs the great exchange.

What great love and forgiveness Jesus extends to all who come to him in faith! Praise and thank him with me today, won’t you?

“. . . ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow . . . ’” Isaiah 1:18

*Have you received the royal robes of the family of God yet? If not, why not ask for His forgiveness and cleansing today!

*The Life Notes Subscriber Appreciation Giveaway is underway. Details are in my Oct. 16 post and sign-up is to the right under “Free For You.” Deadline is 6 p.m. Nov. 12. Don’t miss out on the chance to win a $25 gift card to Barnes & Noble!

*Flickr photo by Douglas Brown, Creative Commons License

Cake Table Tip for Weddings: Display Engagement Photo

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Mother of the Bride, want to add another aww factor to the cake table besides the cake itself? Display one or more of the happy couple’s engagement photos! It will be elegant but simple at the same time. Can’t beat that!

Featuring an engagement photo on the cake table not only adds a sweet and romantic touch to the cake table décor, it gives you one more way to use and share those special photos that you’ve already spent money on. It’s always a plus when one expense can fulfill more than one purpose, isn’t it, MOB?!

If possible, match the frame to the cake or other décor on the table to help pull the whole look together. The silver frame in the photo above is the perfect complement to the white wedding cake, silver cake stand, and the silver champagne bucket and cake server set used at my daughter Kelli’s wedding. In the photo below, the brown wooden frame is a perfect match for the chocolate groom’s cake chosen by my daughter Kristin’s groom for their wedding.

If simple, elegant, and already paid for sounds like a good combination to you, MOB, see if your daughter and her beloved would like to display some of their engagement photos on their cake tables. Everyone will enjoy!

*You might also like to read Preparing to Decorate: Reception Venue Visit and Wedding Table Decor: Add Pizzazz with Confetti.

*The Life Notes Subscriber Appreciation Giveaway is underway. Details are in my Oct. 16 post on my home page and sign-up is to the right under “Free For You.” Deadline is 6 p.m. Nov. 12. Don’t miss out on the chance to win a $25 gift card to Barnes & Noble!

*Photo above by Flowers Photography. Photo below by Chris Humphrey Photography.

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A Taste of Life Notes: A Surprise from God

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*Since the Life Notes Subscriber Appreciation Giveaway is currently underway, I thought I’d give you a taste of a past issue of Life Notes, my free quarterly inspirational newsletter. I include new-to-you pieces, like the one below, as well as some blog posts from past years. If you haven’t yet subscribed to Life Notes, I hope you will do so today. Sign up to the right under “Free For You.” You just might win the $25 gift card to Barnes & Noble!

A Surprise from God

It came unexpectedly. Right in the middle of my regular time with the Lord. A fresh experience in prayer and worship. A surprise from God.

That day unfolded like most others. After seeing to my early morning essentials, I headed to my usual spot to start the day with a few minutes worshiping the Lord.

I’d already said “good morning” and committed my day to him before getting out of bed. I’d even sung a few praise choruses while tending to some routine tasks. But now I was at my place of worship, ready to focus on him alone. Or at least try. A distracted mind was also the norm for me.

I’ve found I move most easily into a spirit of worship as I sing my praises to the Lord. And so I sang. Nothing new, nothing out of the ordinary. Just favorite lyrics and melodies that were second nature to me after years of singing them. They sprang, however, from a heart desiring to commune with the Father, a heart hoping to offer a sacrifice of praise from a pure place. From an overflow of love for him.

As I sang those familiar songs, God did an amazing thing. Without fanfare, he surprised me with something new, something wondrous and beautiful. In my mind’s eye, I began to see scenes from the life of Jesus. While singing my worship, certain words or phrases triggered snapshot images of him to flash across the screen of my mind, much like a slide show of his life.

My spirit soared as I delighted in one image after another, each one inspired by Bible stories. As phrases like Prince of Peace, almighty God, and my Savior cascaded from my lips, I saw my Jesus touching lives and forever changing the world.

With each passing second, my joy deepened as I beheld these divine cameos. I witnessed things like Jesus laughing with little children and wrapping them in his arms of love; adoring worshipers—human and animal alike—surrounding an infant Savior lying in a manger bed; the Master of the wind calming the storm as well as fear; and people crowding around the Great Physician as he reached out to them with healing hands or fed them by blessing and multiplying a boy’s lunch.

Finally, I saw my Savior carrying his cross. I saw the depth of his love as he paid for the sins of mankind in his ultimate act of love. And then, as if to remind me that these scenes from the Bible are not the only things I know of Jesus, one last image flashed before me. A little girl coming to faith in him—me, at the tender age of seven.

Yes, God surprised me that morning. He showed me another way to pray and worship, and you can be certain I will adore him in such wondrous times again as I let words of worship bring to mind sacred images—divine cameos—of our Lord.

“Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness . . .” Psalm 96:9

*How do you most easily move into a spirit of worship?

*Flickr photo by Indy Kethdy, Creative Commons License

Midweek Morsel: A Prayer for Couples You Know

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One of the greatest gifts we can give the couples we know and love is the gift of prayer. Our “enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8), and if he can destroy our marriages, he gets to devour two for the price of one. Prayer is a great offensive tool against his schemes and attacks.

Here is a short but powerful prayer we can pray for the special couples in our lives. And we can pray it for our own marriages as well.

Father, I lift before you this dear couple who mean so much to me. I pray that you would protect them from the evil one and all of his schemes. Please help them, O Lord, to love you above all and to love each other the way you intend. Help them to keep their eyes on you and their arms around one another. Be their strong support through each day and every stage of their lives. Help them, O Lord, to shine for you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

“‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’” Ephesians 5:31

Flickr photo by jordandouglas, Creative Commons License

*Who has been faithful to pray for you and/or your marriage?

*The Life Notes Subscriber Appreciation Giveaway is underway. Details are in my Oct. 16 post and sign-up is to the right under “Free For You.” Deadline is 6 p.m. Nov. 12. Don’t miss out on the chance to win a $25 gift card to Barnes & Noble!