Sunday Sermon - let your light shine

This lesson is courtesy of Sermons for Kids.

Scripture: Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16


"One of my favorite comic strips is Peanuts and one of my favorite characters in that strip is Snoopy. If you have read very many Peanuts cartoons, you have probably seen one which shows Snoopy sitting on top of his dog house with a typewriter. He is trying to write a great story, but he seldom gets past the opening sentence which is, "It was a dark and stormy night."

Do you remember any "dark and stormy nights" in your life? I remember a lot of them! Nights when the electricity went off and the lights went out. That is not a very good feeling, is it? You can't see anything in the house and it is hard to find your way around without bumping into the furniture. That is why I always have some other form of light handy in case of an emergency. Perhaps it is a candle or an oil lamp, but those can be dangerous and could cause a fire. You can also use a flashlight, but they don't put out quite enough light. What you really need is a battery-powered camping lantern. They produce a bright light that makes it easy to see well enough to move safely around the house.

A dark and stormy night can be very scary and it is good to be prepared for such times, but there are some people who live every day of their life in darkness. They are lost and alone with no light to show the way. Can you imagine how scary that must be? We know what they need. They need Jesus, but they don't know him, so how can they find the way?

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, "Let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." We can show others the way to Jesus by letting our light shine. If they see that we have the light, they will want it too. It is just like it says in the song we all know, "This Little Light of Mine"

1. "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine!"
2. "Hide it under a bushel? No, I'm gonna let it shine."

We know the song, now what we need to do is do what Jesus said. We need to let our light shine to show others the way.

Heavenly Father, thank you for sending Jesus to be the Light of the World. Help us to let his light shine through us so that others will put their faith and trust in him. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen."

here for you...promise

Sometimes you need to send a card just to let your friend know you're thinking of them. I hate having to send "cheering up" cards because that means someone is sad. I never want to think of anyone being sad.

So, this is for a dear friend. I do hope that she doesn't read this until she gets it in the mail. That can be a problem with blogging your creations...often, they make the web before they reach their final destination.

Anyways...for this card I wanted the perfect vintage image, so I started looking through my stack of old books. This one jumped out at me as being just right! I envisioned the little speech bubble above the girl's head as being the perfect place to add the sentiment. It reminded me of the days we used to sit and talk to each other about stuff! Now, my friend is a little far away and we can't talk like that anymore. But, hopefully she knows I'm here anytime!

pretty blue purse

A good friend asked if I could make her a purse using blues. So, this is what I came up with...

I really love the blues and greens in this fabric. Of course I had to make it different, so here's the other side...

I really like a two-sided purse. It is different (you definitely won't find another one like it) and gives you different options for different outfits. You just carry the side you want people to see facing outwards.

I was very pleased with how this purse turned out. It is the Frenchy Bag from Amy Butler. I absolutely LOVE her patterns. They are so user friendly and Rachel proof!

I sometimes alter the patterns just slightly to fit my taste, but overall it is the same purse. After you use the pattern a few times, you learn what works for you and what doesn't.

I do hope my friend likes it! But, if not...that's ok...I'll make another one!

Have a great Thursday!

Mountain Bike Monday - Boys will be boys

Well, the boys had their training ride on Saturday at Pocohontas State Park. The single track was a little muddy, so they hit Fendley Station Loop. Apparently the water was quite high and somewhat strong. Not like the day when MBM, Dynamo, and I crossed. Here's the link to that post.

Here are the boys waiting at the creek contemplating who would go first, what route to take, etc. Apparently, even a little game something like rock, paper, scissors was involved in deciding who the first victim would be.

Thanks to our friend, Mario, for the photo.
I was attempting to upload some video to share, but there was a little issue converting it. Once I figure it out I'll post it.

But...let's just say they all crossed and they all got a little wet on their ride!

No riding for me, this weekend unfortunately. On Sunday, we picked up a new piece of furniture instead of riding, which I'm so excited about. But, I'll be back riding next weekend!!

some sweet stitches

I absolutely love the sweet stitches line in the new Spring Occasions Mini from Stampin' Up! It's so vintage and retro, which I love. The paper is so adorable and the colors are fantastic! Don't you agree?

Here's a closer look...

This paper is so cute. It's hard to decide which side of the two sides I like the best. Be sure to check out the mini catalog by clicking on the image in the side bar to the right of the blog!

It just inspires me to sew! Happy Friday!

a couple of valentine's day cards

Never throw away the punched out centers...you may use them like I have here with the heart. They make great frames!

And, another one...

more valentine's day tags

So, I promised that I would show you the Valentine's Day goodie bag tags that I made using my new techniques learned. Well, here they are...

Of course I wanted to add more glitter and shimmer, so I used that fabulous red glitter paper from Stampin' Up!

All my goodie bags are ready for distribution...and, EARLY!!!!! I feel so ahead! Now, if only I can get all my cards done before the week of!