WINTER BLUES PARTY...

 Here we are again in the dead of winter with more weeks of cold ahead of us than behind us!  I don't know about you, but this time of year is a bit of a struggle for me.  Too many gloomy or cold days and I find myself dragging.  Thankfully, I've been distracted because it was my turn to host a monthly event with my Heartfelt group!  It gave me the motivation to get all Christmas decorations put away and my home ready to entertain again!

 I decided on a WINTER BLUES theme, making it a positive thing with blue and snowflake decor!  I already had a lot of blue things so that helped. I requested that the guests wear blue to the party and be prepared to share a tip with everyone on what helps them avoid the winter blues.  We had comfort food (chicken pot pie, roasted sweet potatoes, salad and apple crisp with ice cream.  We had a craft as well, snowflake mason jar vases.  We had so much fun, even though the temperature was 20 degrees outside. 

 

A fun sign for winter!

Group photo

Making snowflake mason jar vases!

My dishes have a blue stripe and I already had the light denim placemats, in addition to the navy napkins.  I also have several pieces of blue glass from my mother.  

I gathered natural branches to put in my vases and they do look like winter!

I found the snowflake runner, confetti and decorations 

on clearance at Party City!

 

I found two snowman dishes at the local thrift store!  

They were perfect to hold molded snowflake candies!

I think next winter I will hold another WINTER BLUES party now that I have all the cute things!  

LEARNING TO LOVE THE BIBLE...

Before 2021,  I was a Christian that knew a good amount of Bible and biblical concepts, having been raised in church.  Our family went 3 times a week; basically whenever the doors were open.  I was baptized for the remission of sins at age 14 and I loved growing up in the youth group and the many other families and mentors that surrounded me.  I went to a Christian college and took required Bible courses.  I married a Christian, with the good encouragement from my parents in my formative years.  Thankfully we've been together 38 years.  Even though there have been ups and downs, church was a big part of our shared life and has been a way to be in community with other Christians and serve all these years.  BUT I still felt inadequate about how to study the Bible, and when questions were asked in Bible class, I felt intimidated by others' knowledge.  For many years I focused on reading the children's Bible, with all the basic stories, to my kids at bedtime.  My faith was on auto-pilot.  I did do a small group Bible study for about 10 years that met during the school year, that was an intensive look at one book of the Bible each year, and learned a lot.  But I wouldn't say that I loved it.  

Last year a friend mentioned The Bible Recap to me, and then I saw an invite on Facebook to join a private group doing the The Bible Recap, and I joined in with them. The daily reading + podcast was a game changer for me in a lot of ways.  I have learned to LOVE the Bible!  I couldn't wait to see what the reading would be and what I might learn about God each morning!  And, I completed reading the Bible through in a year, like I've always wanted to do. I loved that each morning the host asks, "What was your God shot today?" Meaning, what did you learn about God?  I realized that for many, many years, I have looked at scripture as a self-improvement book and was looking for what the words meant to my life, instead of desiring to learn more about the Creator of our world! New perspective, that's what was the game changer.  Along with a great help in the daily habit of reading, listening, and checking in on the Facebook group.  

If you feel stuck about Bible study or just want to try something new to add meaning to your life, try The Bible Recap! 

May God bless you in 2022!