Welcome Sign

 My husband and I moved to a new state this summer and have been busy getting settled into a new area, new jobs, and a new (to us) house.  One of the exciting things about moving to a new place is getting to decorate!  I had fun decorating our old apartment and will use some of the things I made there at our new place.  I am also having fun trying out new decor to fit our house.

Our new house has a fun 3 seasons room/enclosed porch and I wanted to make a welcome sign to welcome our guests.  I am so happy with how it turned out.

Here is what I did in case you want to make your own. :)

I had a 1x4 lying around, but the wood wasn't weathered, it looked too new.  Since I was trying to keep the budget low I decided to make my own stain.  I went with a mix of steel wool and vinegar, coffee and tea.

 I put a piece of steel wool in a jar with vinegar and left it for a few days.  I made the tea/coffee right before I was ready to use it.  I used what I had on hand so I made a mug of Keurig cup sleepy time tea that we had gotten as a sample.  I added a spoonful of instant coffee to the tea.   I then brushed the vinegar/steel wool mixture on the board first with a foam brush.  When that dried I brushed on the coffee/tea mixture.  The wood came out a beautiful color.

I would recommend cutting the wood before staining, but I wasn't sure my stain would turn out so I cut after.  My husband actually did the work of cutting the wood with a hand saw for me.  After he cut it I attached 2 small pieces of wood on the back with screws to hold the boards together.

There are different ways to paint on wood.  I used my Silhouette SD to make a stencil out of vinyl and painted with a foam brush and acrylic craft paint.  (Font is Bickham Script Pro Regular)  Once the paint dried I peeled up the stencil.  Done!

One step closer to making our house a home. :)

A Review and Giveaway-Wherever the River Runs

I have a great new book to share with you today.  This book challenged me and encouraged me and I can't wait to share it with you!

The title and description of this book intrigued me, Wherever the River Runs--how a forgotten people renewed my hope in the gospel, by Kelly Minter.   I wasn't sure what to expect so I decided I would take a little time each day to read the book after eating breakfast.  I was less than half way though when a chapter or two a day just wasn't enough.  The author captured and kept my attention and I found myself trying to find extra time during the day to read more.

The author talks about her trips to the Amazon river and the villages along the river and how God captured her heart in a deeper way and broke her for living a "normal" life.  I enjoyed how the book wasn't just about her time in the Amazon meeting and ministering to the people (although those stories were very exciting and I greatly enjoyed them too), but about how God changed the way she lived when she was back at home in between her trips.  How God slowly changed the way she interacted with the people around her.

I was challenged by this book.  No, I don't think I will be visiting the Amazon anytime soon.   I was challenged in other ways to live a deeper life right where I am.  I was challenged to reevaluate my prayer life.  I was challenged to take on the ministry opportunities around me, the everyday ones that most people, myself included, walk right past.

I would definitely recommend this book to those that are ready to be challenged, ready to grow.  Even if you aren't ready, I dare you to read the book and try to walk away unchanged--bet you can't do it. ;)

Interested in reading this book?  The Amazon Kindle price is $3.99 as of the writing of this post (Amazon prices are subject to change).  Wherever the River Runs.

Other websites you might be interested in:
Trailer for the book
Author's website: www.KellyMinter.com

Want to win a copy of the book?
There are 2 ways to win a copy of Wherever the River Runs.  One is to answer a question and the other is to "like" my page on facebook.  You need to sign in below to enter, but once you do rafflecopter should recognize you for future giveaways.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

"Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

 Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.”

UNSTOPPABLE DVD review and giveaway

When I first heard about the film "Unstoppable" I was intrigued, but it was only shown in select theaters for a short amount of time so I didn't have a chance to see it.  I was really excited to get the chance to watch and review the DVD.

Inspired by the death of Kirk Cameron's close friend who succumbed to cancer at the age of 15, Kirk Cameron takes viewers on an inspiring and hope-filled visual journey to better understand the biggest doubt-raising question in faith: "Where is God in the midst of tragedy and suffering?"

I was so excited to watch this DVD, but I have to be honest and say I have mixed feelings about it.

Pros:  *It shares the gospel creation through the resurrection.
          *Kirk shares from his heart and out of his struggle with the question.

Cons:  *There are a few parts that seemed very weird to me.  I didn't like his reenactment of creation, the fall, and Cain killing Abel. I almost turned it off after these parts.
           *I also disagreed with a few of the things Kirk said in his interpretation of events in the Bible.  It may be just differences in opinion.

I have heard good things about this film so my dislikes could just be a matter of my own likes and dislikes.

Want to watch it and decide for yourself?  Check it out at:

The official website
Facebook

I also have a copy to give away.

There are 2 ways to win a DVD copy of Unstoppable.  One is to answer a question and the other is to "like" my page on facebook.  You need to sign in below to enter, but once you do rafflecopter should recognize you for future giveaways.


a Rafflecopter giveaway



Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LCC for providing this prize for the giveaway.  Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation.  I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.
Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway.  If you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again.  Winner is subject to eligibility verification.

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one of more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog.  Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trace Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Prayer board

This is one of those projects that I bought the supplies for quite a while ago and then the project just sat in storage until I found the time to do it.  It has now been up on our wall for a few months and I find it  helpful so I decided to share.

I don't know about anyone else, but throughout the day I  run into people or see situations and I think "I should pray for that person/situation."  I often stop and pray right away, but after that I forget about it.  My husband and I wanted to be more intentional about praying for the people in our lives--so I came up with the prayer board.  This board is hung on the wall in our bedroom--not for others to see, but something to remind us to pray for people.  When we come across a person or situation we want to pray for/about or something we are thankful to God for, we write out a card and slip it in one of the slats.

Here are the steps to make one if you want to make your own (these boards can be used other ways also, I have seen ideas for using them in the kitchen or living room.)

I found this shutter at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore.  Such a great place to find treasures.

1.  Take off the hinges or other hardware and apply wood filler where the wood has gouges out of it.

2.  After applying the wood filler, sand so that the areas that you filled in are smooth and even with the wood.

3.  These shutters were pretty beat up and chipped so it took some sanding to make the surface smooth.  If you look closely now, it still has some imperfections, but I think the imperfections give it character. :)

4.  I used Spray Paint to paint the shutters yellow.  I like how easy spraying an item is and I wasn't about to try to use a paint brush on all of the individual pieces!

5.  The last step was using my silhouette machine to cut out the vinyl.

I turned most of our cards around for privacy, but this is what it looks like on our wall.