Archives for 2016

Holiday Blogging Break Plus Wedding Planning Help

December 13, 2016 by Leave a Comment

5284717124_4b13475ce1_zMother of the Bride, I’m taking a blogging break until the first of the year so I can enjoy the holidays with my family, but first I have a little gift for you—a gift of help! Allow me to point you in the right direction to find some great ideas and tips. Maybe at some point over the holidays, you’ll have a little time to wear your MOB hat. The chances may not be good, but you never know!

I’ll resume regular posting on Jan. 3rd, but in the meantime, why not peruse the list of Favorite Posts on the sidebar or use the drop-down feature in the Archives to spot some posts that might be especially helpful to you at this stage in your Mother of the Bride journey. I hope you find just the help and encouragement you need and also enjoy some special moments with your daughter as you work together to plan the wedding of her dreams.

How’s that for some MOB help this holiday season, Mother of the Bride? And now just one last thing—Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

*You might also like to check out my Pinterest page. Among other things, it features nineteen wedding-related boards!

*Also find my annual Christmas poem over on my home page. Hope you enjoy—and see you in the new year!

*Flickr photo by mysza831, Creative Commons License

Filed Under: Gift, help, holidays, Mother of the Bride, preparation, provision Tagged With: , ,

Christmas Poem 2016: A Christmas Letter to God

December 13, 2016 by 4 Comments

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*Holiday blogging break details at end of post.

Believe it or not, friends, I’ve been writing an annual Christmas poem for thirty-four years now. That’s a long time by anybody’s standards, isn’t it?

Sometimes I wonder how I’ll be able to come up with an idea for yet another Christmas poem, but I really shouldn’t worry. God is always faithful to give me the seed of an idea and then guide me as I write, helping me to find just the right words or turns of phrase. Yes, it usually takes a lot of trial and error to get there, but God is faithful to help me birth the finished project.

All of our abilities come from him, don’t they? I’m so grateful he’s given me the privilege of touching people’s hearts and lives through the written word. May you be blessed by this year’s poem, my friends!

A Christmas Letter to God

Dear Lord, Christmas finds us sending greetings
To loved ones far and near,
Cards and letters filled with love
And wishes for the coming year.

This year I long to send this letter
Overflowing with thanks and love
To you, my God, my Lord, my Savior,
My King and Counselor from above.

My message this Christmas is simple, Lord,
As I think of you coming to earth,
Coming to live among us,
Bringing new life, giving new birth.

My heart and my pen cry out today,
“Thank you, Father, for sending,
Thank you, Jesus, for coming,
Thank you, Spirit, for staying!”

With love,
Cheryl, 2016

“‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ (which means ‘God with us’).” Matthew 1:23 NIV

*What’s one thing you’d want to tell God if you wrote him a Christmas letter?

*I’ll be taking a blogging break until after the first of the year while everyone is busy preparing for and celebrating Christmas. May you enjoy sweet times with loved ones and have a truly blessed celebration of our Savior’s birth, my friends. See you in 2017!

*Flickr photo by E V Peters, Creative Commons License

Filed Under: celebrate, Christmas story, Gift, holidays, joy, life, love, miracle, poem, salvation, thanks, tradition, writing Tagged With: , , ,

Season of Anticipation

December 6, 2016 by 5 Comments

5387409984_a2e741f923_z*Giveaway winner announced below!

Ah, the days leading up to Christmas… Such a season of anticipation. We find ourselves looking forward to many things with excitement — visits with family and friends, giving our loved ones special gifts, indulging in our favorite holiday treats, helping make Christmas a little merrier for a hurting soul, or carrying out our well-loved traditions. We each could add our own personally anticipated events to the list, couldn’t we?

I pray that reflecting on the coming of our Savior and time spent worshiping Him will be at the very center of our season of anticipation this year. Let’s take time each day to celebrate the fact that our Savior was indeed born so many years ago. Let’s not wait until Christmas Eve to begin our Christmas worship.

One good way to do this is with music. As you sing the carols of Christmas this holiday season, truly think about the message of each verse. With songs that have become so familiar, it’s easy to merrily sing along but fail to actually hear the messages of the carols with our hearts. Let’s not miss those messages this year. Let’s sing with our hearts.

There’s no better time to start than now. Join me in hearing afresh the message of “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” as we sing our worship today! (This is one of several versions of the Latin hymn, author unknown.)

“O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

Oh, come, our Wisdom from on high,
Who ordered all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Oh, bid our sad divisions cease,
And be yourself our King of Peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!”

“Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” Matthew 1:23 KJV

*What special things are you anticipating this Christmas season?

*The winner of the Kick Off the Holiday Giveaway is . . .  Joanna! Congrats and Merry Christmas, Joanna! I’ll put your copy of Mother of the Bride along with the Starbucks gift card in the mail today!

*Hope you enjoyed this encore presentation of one of my December 2010 blog posts!

*Flickr photo by johanneschnelldorfer, Creative Commons License

Filed Under: celebrate, holidays, music, preparation, worship Tagged With: , , ,

Sweet Engagement Photo with Your Favorite Pooch

December 6, 2016 by Leave a Comment

11875968776_9ddc4d8a5d_z*Giveaway winner announced below!

Mother of the Bride, does your daughter or her beloved have a dog they love to pieces? If so, they might want to think of ways to include their favorite pooch in part of the upcoming festivities.

One way they can include—and remember for posterity—their own “man’s best friend” is to ask their photographer to include the dog in one or two of the engagement shots.

I love the way the shot above is done with the freshly groomed furry friend in the foreground of the shot and the couple kissing in the background. Especially love the bokeh effect. A shot set up and taken like this ends up being both cute and romantic at the same time, doesn’t it?

So MOB, if your sweet couple are dog lovers, be sure to share this idea with them. Even if the doggy doesn’t cooperate, they’ll still end up with some sure-to-be funny shots—plus new memories made in the process!

*You might also like to read Man’s Best Friend as Ring Bearer and Cute Engagement Photo Idea: Include the Dog!

*The winner of the Kick Off the Holiday Giveaway is Joanna! Merry Christmas, Joanna! I’ll put your copy of Mother of the Bride along with the Starbucks gift card in the mail today!

*Flickr photo by Ryan Smith Photography, Creative Commons License

Filed Under: bride, Friend, fun, groom, love, memories, Mother of the Bride Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Kick Off the Holiday Giveaway!

November 29, 2016 by 53 Comments

11377205686_d2fd287fe8_zNow that Thanksgiving has come and gone, let’s kick off the holiday season with a little giveaway. You may remember that I’m doing most of my giveaways through my Life Notes newsletter now (sign-up is free on the right sidebar), but I can’t let the Christmas season go by without playing Santa here on my blog. It’s just part of who I am! :)

This Christmas I’m giving away a $15 gift card to Starbucks as well as a signed copy of my book Mother of the Bride: Refreshment and Wisdom for the Mother of the Bride. Most everyone enjoys getting a gift card to Starbucks, and if you’re not a mother of the bride, you can give the book as a gift or donate it to your public or church library. I would love to see the book make its way into more libraries!

To be entered in the giveaway, leave a comment on this post by noon (CST) next Monday December 5th. I’ll announce the winner the next day in my regular Tuesday blog post. (Because of high shipping costs, you must have a U.S. mailing address to be eligible to win.)

Any comment will do, but maybe you could tell me what you will do with the book if you win. Are you a mother of the bride who will hang on to it for dear life? Will you give it as a gift? Will you donate it to a library? Maybe you will keep it for future use. Or maybe you just want a copy of my book and don’t have one yet. Believe it or not, you don’t have to be a mother of the bride to enjoy reading it! Lots of personal stories included and wisdom that can be applied to a variety of situations.

You may earn an additional entry if you’re a current or new Life Notes subscriber (sign-up is free on the right sidebar), and you can earn another entry if you Like (or have already Liked) my Cheryl Barker, Writer Facebook page. Just mention if you’ve done these things in your comment to get your extra entries!

Now here’s to a blessed holiday season to one and all. May you each feel our Savior’s presence in a wonderful way this Christmas season!

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14 NIV

*Flickr photo by Daniel Y. Go, Creative Commons License

Filed Under: books, bride, fun, Gift, giveaway, holidays, Mother of the Bride book Tagged With: , , , , ,
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