During my last visit home, I recognized myself in my father’s tenderheartedness as his eyes brimmed with emotion while talking about his joy for Ben and my happiness.

(Of course, looking at this picture, I’m also reminded of how cool we both are.)

I saw myself in my mother’s gift of hospitality as she had the house perfect for Ben and my arrival and, like always, had the fridge stocked with our favorite foods and drinks.

Like my dad, I’m a crier.

Like my mom, I’m a gift-giver.

There’s no way I could be a product of my particular parents and also not end up a people-person.

People.  To God, they’re just a smidge lower than the heavenly beings.

People.  Of all His great handiwork, people are what He chose to save.

People. The unique creation formed in God’s very image.  And as I’ve grappled with, “K….what does it mean to be made in God’s image?” something weird has started happening.

I see God in people.

Now, it’s not very often I converse with myself in the mirror and say, “Man you’re lookin’ like God today.”  (Although I do seem to converse with myself a lot in mirrors….and then take pictures of it.  Anyways…..)  More commonly, I notice and dwell on the parts of me that still need so much work–and I scoff.

(Clearly this is how we all look scoffing, right?  Or perhaps this is just an already-taken picture I  thought might sort of work right here even though what I’m actually doing is lovin’ on my new dress and baby bump.  Can’t say for sure.)

So there’s two extremes, right?  On one end, we’ve got people acting like they are God incarnate and demanding they be treated like royalty.  On the other end, we’ve got Christians who are so focused on their shortcomings and constant sinfulness that they are completely blinded to the good attributes God has borrowed from His own image and gifted to them.

The beautiful, sobering truth applies to both parties.  It’s beautiful that God calls us loved, hand-crafted, and his very own children.  Sobering because we are not capable of obtaining any of those characteristics on our own.

Any good thing in us, and there are many in each of us, exists because the Lord shared part of His image with us.  Intelligence.  Compassion.  Perseverance.  Loyalty.  Any good attribute a person can have, does God not also fully encompass in his character?  A person’s gift or bend may not be perfectly honed, but the goodness exists because God shared part of himself in the human design.

Let me be clear:  my encouragement is not that I think humankind is mostly good, but that God helps individuals like you and I learn to radiate His good qualities.  He made us in His image.  We are capable of great acts of love.

In my friend Stephanie, I see how God has shared a heaping portion of his wisdom.  She is so good at listening to people’s stories and offering insightful, spot-on advice.  She reminds me God is a listener, a coach, and a counselor.

*

My friend Gloria recently shared that she is passionate about being an awesome mom.  She said, “I think about it all the time.”  Hearing her verbalize this and seeing it played out in her life makes my heart glow:  I see a trace of God in her passion for parenting.  That is an attribute that she shares with God, the ultimate Father and caregiver.

*

My sister is such a friend to me, through and through.  She reminds me that God is family, yet also extends friendship.  She reveals in my life how much I need and crave relationship–with God and with others.

*

Kenny is a laid-back, mostly quiet man who is a serious worker for the Lord.  I recently learned that he is the volunteer maintenance man for our church who performs most of the thankless, unseen tasks that keep our church functioning.  Kenny reminds me that Jesus was not flashy and the servant life of a Christian should stem from a desire to give back to the one who has given us so much.

*

My husband is intelligent, calculated, planned, and organized.  (Confirmation that opposites attract!)  While I experience as much emotion in a day as some do in a lifetime, Ben reminds me that the Lord is also decisive, He creates and follows plans, and He is a sturdy rock, unmoved by circumstances and wavering feelings.

And so I turn back to the mirror.

I even see a little bit of God in….(gulp)….myself.  It honestly kind of freaks me out.

He is after all a creator.  He’s kind.  He loves children.  He’s a storyteller.  And, I personally think that God is even a little emotional–has there ever been a parent more enraged by his children’s waywardness or who has gone to greater, more dramatic heights to bring them home?

I encourage you to close your eyes or turn off your monitor for a minute and just praise God that you are what you are.  Go ahead.  :)  Think about it….where are His fingerprints in you?

Are you creative?

Do you have a heart for justice?

Are you naturally nurturing?

Are you slow to give up?

Are you physically strong?

Do you have compassion for those around you?

Can you easily see the big picture?

Are you detail oriented?

Jesus was the only person capable of encompassing all of God’s attributes in human form, but we each bear the DNA, the likeness, some traceable similarity to our creative, justice-loving, lamb-tending, persevering, mighty, compassionate, working to tell a big-picture story while intricately involved in every detail God.

We are a divine mishmash of both of our parents’ natures, the nurture we’ve received, and the brush strokes of God.

I think we bring glory to God when we recognize that we are a good part of creation because God says we are, and it’s not US that makes us good, it’s God’s saying so that makes it true.

Beautiful.

Sobering.

Rejoice, my friend.  You are a child of God.  Adopted because of His great love and loved just like you are.

Email all your friends a ridiculously silly picture of you discovering one of the unintended perks of your new hard-core vitamins.

Awkward announcement #2:  

Use Facebook to lead everyone to believe you’re MUCH further along than you really are.

Awkward announcement #3:  

Ask a sincere question and then get sassy out of nowhere.

Awkward announcement #4:  

Simply link to this hilarious YouTube video entitled “Pregnant and I Know It.”  The best parady of “Sexy and I Know It” ever?  Yes.

Awkward announcement #5:  

Send your friends and family practice family photo collages with captions like “Our dream is about to come true” and “Counting down the days until our baby will be playing with this stuffed penguin and we won’t be.”

Awkward announcement #6:

Use your blog to explore awkward online birth announcements in which you close by saying…..

I’m pregnant!  :)

Ben and I are expecting a cherub, stuffed penguin, or whatever pops out around September 1st.  There probably couldn’t be two more excited people ever.

But, today I’ve got the pajama, no make up, just talking about what’s on my mind vibe going on.  Wrapped up in a blanket, this is me right now:

And in my pajama state of mind, I kind of want to talk about good deals as we get ready for Good Friday.  Welcome to my ramble session about some of my favorite places for free and discounted stuff!

With my heart gearing up for Easter, I simply must direct you crafty, artsy folk to this lovely free Easter printable from Jones Design Company.

Each year I struggle with the way Easter seems under-celebrated compared to all the hoorahs we give to Christmas.  These fun printables just might be a step in the right direction for remembering Jesus’ resurrection with beauty and excitement.

 Alright, have you heard of Noisetrade?  

If you enjoy music and have a special place in your heart for new, not-mainstream musicians, you really have to check out this site.  You can download an amazing amount of free tunes, and tip the artists based on your budget and enjoyment factor.  You’ll find lesser-known tracks from bands you may already know, too, like fun and NeedToBreathe.  Full-length demos of each track?  Yes, please.

Are you following me on Pinterest?

 { follow Stacy; click here! }

If so, you may have already seen my recent pin:  this amazing compilation of businesses that will give you free or seriously discounted goodies near your birthday.  Signing up for birthday deals is my new favorite rainy day activity.  (This deal comes from The Frugal Girls.  Thanks, girls!)

If you’re not already checking RetailMeNot or dealcatcher.com before you head out shopping or do some online ordering, you’re probably missing deals.

RetailMeNot  can also send you emails when deals are posted for specific stores if you specify which stores are of interest to you.  Thanks to my thrifty friend Carol for giving me the low down on Deal Catcher!

I’m also pretty fascinated with Gift Card Granny.

This is a website where you can buy other people’s unwanted gift cards for less than the gift card is worth.  For example:  today I spotted an iTunes giftcard worth $15 on sale for $13.  You can really save cash when you know you’re going to make a big purchase:  for example, today you can snag a gift card worth $300 for only $285 to be used at Best Buy.

I recently won two small giveaways from blogs I follow.  Crazy, right?  Winning kind of made me step back and go, “Oh, that’s why I like to  give things away on my blog.  Free is really rather fun.”  Congrats again to Kadee who recently won the Foolish for Light book giveaway and stay tuned around these parts for another exciting giveaway I have in the works.  :)

Happy Easter!

Love,

Stacy

P.S.  What’s your favorite place or way to find deals?

My grandmother is the reining queen of all things baked and delicious.  This tip comes from her wealth of knowledge–thanks, Grandma!

To preserve the softness and freshness of either homemade or store-bought cookies, simply toss a piece of bread into the cookie jar, baggie, or storage container where you’re keeping the yummies.  Even cookies (or other baked goods) that have already started to get a little stale will benefit from the moisture of the bread.

I realize this concept is very difficult to understand, so I invited my sister to demonstrate how this exactly works:

First you acquire your bread slice.

Then you drop it into your container of cookies.

Then you just double check that the bread made it.

I know it seems tough, but you can do it!  ;)

The trick really does work like a charm.  Your cookies will thank you for giving them a long, soft life.

I was lying in bed the other morning as my husband Ben was beginning to get ready for work.

From the hallway he said something really nice.  It was as simple as, “How are you doing?  You know I just love you so much.”

Saying something warm is not unlike my husband, but my response was a little unlike me.

The next thought in my head as I lay there smiling was–I wonder if there are any errands I can run for him today.

This is not a huge shocker of a story, ladies and gentleman, but let me finish.  When I had this thought enter my head about offering to do errands, I was extremely aware that the thought happened because he had acted lovingly to me first.

We tend to fall into cycles in relationships, and this is especially so in marriages.  We are reactive in nature, and one person’s kindness naturally fuels something positive from the other.  One person’s respect tends to fuel something positive from the other.

Trouble comes when we show love or respect hoping to get a nice gesture in return.  That isn’t really love…that’s something selfish.  We also run into problems when the cycle we’re on isn’t one of treating each other well, but instead we feel we were treated poorly so we respond by treating the other poorly.

In our reactive nature, it’s counterintuitive to respond to what we perceive as unkindness….with kindness.  Yet, it is this choice to love and respect someone when we feel wronged than can change…well…everything.

Ugly cycles of mean behavior fueling mean behavior can suddenly morph into beautiful cycles of redemption and forgiveness when one person recognizes what’s happening and chooses kindness although kindness may not be deserved.  Of course we tend to hope our partner will be the first to break the nasty cycle, when Christ actually asks kindness of us, no matter what our circumstance, for one short, sweet, simple reason:

What a lovely verse!

 Making the choice to love is powerful because it is Christ-like.  It can turn cycles of bitterness upside down.  It can be the light in someone’s dark patch.  It can change someone’s day or world–maybe your own.

These ideas are much better explained in the book Love and Respect by Emerson Eggerichs; I am thrilled to be giving away a copy. 

This blog post only scratches the surface at the type of insight you’ll gain from Love and Respect which does a pretty brilliant job of outlining what men and women want and need in marriage.  Win it for yourself or gift it to your engaged or married friends.

 

The winner will be notified March 23rd.  Good luck!

{1) Minute Snippet

and I’m excited to bring it back!

Caution:  you might judge me for this post.

You’ll either think me terribly savvy or terribly lacking in hygiene.  I’ll leave that judgement call up to you–

all I’m going to say is I have the thrifty cure for slightly greasy hair that needs a little love when time or circumstances don’t allow for a wash.

Isn’t the suspense killer?

It’s baby powder!

How to de-grease yo-self

Pat a little baby powder into your hands and remove any excess if you poured too much.  You want to start with just  a little bit until you begin to get the feel for how much is needed.

Pat your hand on your head near your hair’s roots.  On dark hair, you will see the powder at first, but don’t worry.  As long as you didn’t go hog wild, it’ll be invisible in no time as you continue to work it in with your fingers.

Add as much as you need wherever greasy hair is visible.  You can’t go wrong as long as you don’t use too much powder.

I promise, I really do take showers!  

Just think:  baby powder will last longer and cost less than dry shampoo while achieving the same affect in the same way.  Both utilize a starch to soak up or dry moisture and grease.

Ideas to try:

-  I most often use this trick before I go to the gym.  I’m a little bit vein and don’t like to look like I had a sweaty work-out before I even had a sweaty work out.  {But let’s be honest….it’s been awhile since my workouts have been all that sweaty}
-  Yes, your head will smell a little like baby powder.  If this bothers you, try Johnson’s Lavender and Chamomile for an alternative {and lovely} scent.
-  Throw a travel size bottle in your car or cosmetic bag.
-  You can find baby powder, especially off-brand varieties, at almost any dollar store.
-  Never buy dry shampoo again!

Have you done it?  Would you be willing to try it?

It’s a good thing I don’t have a say in nominating Nobel prize winners because I would make sure whoever thought of making cute mittens from an old sweater was in the running.

I saw this craft several different places on Pinterest and couldn’t help but think, “Can someone who isn’t really that good at sewing make these or will I cut up a completely donate-able sweater just to find out this craft requires skill?”

I am happy to report, these really don’t require much skill!

AND they turn out really cute!  Not perfect mind you, but rather charming and dare I say, they even seem quite durable.  Keep in mind the mittens will only be as thick as the sweater is thick; after making these from a J.Crew sweater, my husband and I agreed they are a better Midwest fall mitten than a winter one.

1.

The trickiest part:  getting a good mitten pattern.  Martha Stewart says to hold your thumb at a 30 degree angle and trace your hand on a piece of paper, adding a half inch.  I was nervous about how that pattern looked, so since I was making these for my husband, I grabbed a pair of mittens he owns and pinned them to the old sweater.  Then I cut around the mittens leaving a little less than a half inch border.

2.

Once you’ve cut your mitten shape, line up each side of the mitten so the “right sides” or the nice sides are facing inward and touching each other.  Pin as shown.

Note:  I wanted to make the wrist part of my glove kind of long so it could be folded to display the cute ribbing of the sweater(seen in the final picture in this post.)  You can play around with and decide how high up your arm you want your mitten to go.

3.

Sew around the perimeter of your mitten using a sewing machine or by hand if neccessary.  I chose a stitch that seemed like it would be more durable than just your standard stitch.  Lift up the presser foot (with your needle in the fabric) and pivot your fabric to help with turns.

If you’re worried about the gloves coming apart, you can sew around the perimeter a second time.

4.

Flip your mitten inside out.  Now the nice sides are facing out and you have made yourself an adorable mitten in about 30 minutes!  Repeat for hand number 2 and enjoy.  :)

It is undeniable–we were made by someone creative who allows us, even encourages us, to create.

I want to share with you a simple, lovely gift idea I came up with awhile back.  It allows you, the gift-maker, to create, and the young lass you gift it to will surely enjoy hours of creating, too.

What young artist wouldn’t love colored pencils with coordinating paper flowers?

{Supply List}

1 box colored pencils (I got mine from the dollar store)

3-5 inch scraps of paper that coordinate with the colored pencils

a pencil cup (again, I got mine from the dollar store)

hot glue and hot glue gun

scissors

about 5 inches of twine or ribbon for each colored pencil

First you want to choose paper for each of your flowers.  Blue pencil needs blue paper, yellow needs yellow, ect.  The paper only needs to be a few inches inches wide, so this is a nice project for using scraps.

Let Emily teach you how to make the super easy paper flowers.  You can do this!

Cut pieces of twine to be about five inches long and grab your first pencil.

Add a dab of hot glue and stick one end of twine in it.

Wrap the twine around and round, then secure the other end down with another dab of glue.  You may need to use the end of a pencil to smoosh the end into the glue.  It is, after all, hot glue.

Dab a good amount of hot glue on the very end of the pencil and secure your paper flower.

Toss each pencil in a pencil cup to make a bouquet.

Gift to someone who loves to draw or color–I would recommend age 4 and older since the pencil flowers are not super-duper durable.

Start working on Christmas gifts for next year??

Perhaps pin it for that time you need a simple, thoughtful gift. :)

{enjoy!}

I do not enjoy doing things like most people do them.

I value unique more than the average person;  I’d rather not do a thing than do it like everyone else.

For these reasons, I have struggled with writing a “Happy New Year post.”  The holiday comes each year–has it all been said before?  Resolutions….getting organized….starting fresh….

Does anyone honestly want to know what my New Years resolution is?  Does anyone really keep New Years resolutions?

I don’t really care to add to the noise with a rant on new beginnings that 2013 promises to bring.

So I’m sounding kind of cynical and negative, right?  Actually, I’m feeling the opposite.

I think people get geeked for the New Year because it’s a fresh start.  It’s exciting to think we’ll make changes to our lifestyles.  It feels comforting to put the past behind us and open ourselves up to something new.

It seems to me that what’s offered to us every New Year is actually available to us every day.

Whether resolutions stick or are abandoned, Jesus Christ lived and died to provide a fresh start for the sinners He loves.  Any moment of the year can be a moment we choose to make changes–you could also call it repenting, turning away from wrong, seeking right.  All year long, there is an open invitation to put the past behind us when we accept God’s forgiveness and let His gift of grace change us.   Something new emerges when we experience sins of scarlet turn white as snow.

We’re a week into January, and maybe your new year is off to a perfect start.  Even if it is, at some point this year, we are bound to fall short–yes?

I don’t think there is anything wrong with embracing the newness and freshness of these first days of a new year.  But knowing our human track record of shortcomings, forgetfulness, and deviation, this January I’m a bit more excited about the future grace in 2013.

The God of the beginning and God of the end is somehow already all over this New Year.  For the first time in a long time, I am making a resolution this year that I have every intention of keeping.

But at the end of the day, my efforts to perform hardly compare with the gift of forgiveness, given by Jesus, which even my greatest efforts could never achieve for me.

  There’s no special magic reserved for the 1st of the year, and I find it rather amazing that despite our obvious inability to conquer and tame our sin, (though we can improve, of course) our sin has been conquered once, by One, and for all.

Through the triumphs and trials, may God be praised in 2013!  With a special heart for redeeming the broken, He is making old things new.  And to that I say…

Happy New Year!

]]> http://foolishforlight.com/the-anti-new-year-new-year-post/feed 4 http://foolishforlight.com/man-cannot-live-on-eggnog-alone http://foolishforlight.com/man-cannot-live-on-eggnog-alone#comments Tue, 18 Dec 2012 04:35:46 +0000 Stacy http://foolishforlight.com/?p=2239 ….or can he?  Can she?

As much as I might like to try an all eggnog diet, I think my holiday entertaining and consumption will probably involve a little bit of variety.

If you’re still looking for some holiday snack and meal ideas, take a peek at a few of my favorites.   These recipes are EASY, inexpensive, and they’re crowd pleasers.  I wouldn’t lead you astray–anyone can whip these into shape quickly, leaving plenty of time to let your husband do the dishes relax with the fam and drink egg nog celebrate stress-free.

These recipes may not neccesarily scream holiday, but sometimes you just need a super-yummy, super-easy addition to round out a holiday meal.

{Scroll down for these A+ recipes with pictures and practical tips for perfect results}

•  Spinach and artichoke dip

• Twice baked potatoes

• Egg drop soup

• Quesadillas

Spinach and artichoke dip

Why you should make it:  There won’t be any left.  I’ve never met anyone who didn’t love this easy-to-serve appetizer.  It’s a recipe from my mom.  Thanks, Mom!

Ingredients:

1 pkg cream cheese

1 can (14oz) artichoke hearts, chopped

1/2 Cup Mayo

1/2 Cup Parmesan cheese (or whatever cheese you have handy)

garlic to taste (I use about a teaspoon)

1 package of frozen spinach, thawed and drained (optional)

1.  Mix all ingredients by hand or with an electric mixer.  It doesn’t have to be mixed super well, so I mix by hand.  If you opt to use spinach, you should add about 2 extra Tablespoons of mayo.

2.  Put in a 9 inch baking pan

3.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until very lightly browned.  Serve warm.  It’s not nearly as good cool.  Yummy served with pretzels, crackers, pita chips, and the like…

***

Twice baked potatoes

What my dad said about them during his visit last weekend:  ”Those are so good.  Those are SO GOOD!”  And they are.

Ingredients

4 large baking potatoes

1/2 Cup ranch dressing

1/2 Cup shredded Cheddar cheese (or whatever you have handy), divided

2 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 Cup chives (or diced onion works just fine)

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Prick potatoes with a fork and place on a baking sheet.  Bake 1 hour or until tender.  Remove from oven and let cool enough to handle.

2.  Place potatoes on a cutting board.  Cut a one-inch strip horizontally off the top of each, like this:

Then scoop out most of the pulp from each tater and toss it all into a mixing bowl and set shells aside, like this:

3.  Add dressing, all but 1 Tablespoon of the Cheddar, plus cream cheese and chives to pulp in bowl.  Beat with electric mixer or by hand.  I personally don’t mind having the mixture be a little chunky.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

4.  Fill potatoe shells with potatoe mixture;  sprinkle with remaing Tablespoon Cheddar.

Place on baking sheet and bake 15 to 20 minutes or until tops begin to brown.

Sprinkle with additional chives if desired and enjoy!

***

Eggdrop soup

Why you should make it:  The recipe is so easy yet seems so fancy.  This one comes from my grandma–thank you Grams!  This recipe is gluten free.

Ingredients

4 Cups chicken broth

2 eggs, well beaten

2/3 teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoon green onion (or any kind of onion)

1/8 teaspoon white pepper (I substitute black)

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil (I substitute olive oil)

1.  Bring the chicken broth to a boil in a saucepan and add salt.

2.  Mix cornstarch with 2 Tablespoon cold water and add to the soup.  Stir steadily until thickened, then turn off the heat.

3.  Add the egg slowly to the hot soup and stir constantly in a circular motion so the egg forms thin shreds.  I make a whisking motion with a fork in one hand while I pour in the egg with the other hand.

4.  Add minced onion and oil.  Serve hot and SLURP it up!

***

Quesadillas

Why you should make them:  They are SO simple and who doesn’t love CHEESE?!  You can use a griddle to cook multiple quesadillas at once.  I like to go around to my guests and “take order” of what they’d like on a notepad, then I custom make each ‘dilla just as they like.  Corn tortillas make for gluten free, others can have flour tortillas.

Ingredients

Corn and/or flour tortillas

Cheese, primarily shredded, but sliced cheese can work, too

Optional onion, cooked chicken, ham, or turkey…get creative :)

1.  Set your oven range to medium low heat.  Lightly butter one side of your tortilla and place butter-side down.

2.  Load it up with cheese, onion, meat, or whatever you like.  Try not to get cheese on the hot surface as it’ll burn and smell bad.

Sometimes when I’m running low on shredded cheese, I start with a slice of cheese.  You can really use whatever you have handy.  Experiment with onion and meats!

3.  When you’re done adding the middle goodies, butter another tortilla and place it on top, butter side up so when you flip the quesadilla, it’ll be butter side down.  Flip the ‘dilla using a spatula after cheese has begun to melt and the bottom tortilla is getting a little crispy, about three minutes.

4.  Let the beautiful quesadilla fry another three minutes or so and remove from heat when the bottom tortilla is crispy good.

Serve with salsa, sour cream, and guacamole.  ’Ole!