Eucharisteo | Author Archives

Inspired to Thankfulness

November 6, 2011

I saw this post over at Simply Vintage Girl and absolutely fell in love with the idea of visibly counting our blessings for a month. And what a beautiful way to include the entire family. So I set out to create a Thankful Tree. Gathered branches from our yard. Removed all leaves and placed the bare branches into a ceramic pitcher to hold our many Thanks as we count down to Thanksgiving. Next I had to prepare scraps of paper for each member of the family {sans baby} to hang on our Thankful Tree.

When Thanksgiving Day arrives and we each place our last thankful notes upon the tree the branches will be weighed down with at least one hundred forty four scraps of gratitude. Only a taste of how full our hearts will are with thankfulness for all He has blessed us with.

There is one lone branch that is set aside within our pitcher as the ‘hard eucharisteo’ branch. That branch will hold our thanks for the blessings that are difficult for us to be thankful for but because we follow Him we know to give thanks in all things because He works them all to His good.

Each day we all take a new circle and write our thanks. The children are absolutely giddy to write a new eucharisteo each day. We ask the ones who don’t know yet how to write what they are thankful for. My toddler has sweetly replied ‘apples’ for one day and ‘bananas’ for another. So innocent and makes my heart joyful to hear her. She truly knows how to be thankful for everything.

It’s never too late to be thankful. Count your blessings and encourage your family members to join in. Even those who join you around the Thanksgiving table this year. When a friend stops by ask them if they would like to participate in this new tradition. Be thankful in ALL things.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing,
give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
{1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV}

Blessings!

In Encouragement, Tutorials

You Are Set Apart

October 30, 2011

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
(Genesis 1:3-5 ESV)

Blessings!

In Scripture

When Your Dreams are Snuffed Out

October 27, 2011

You were made for more.

You were made to serve the most Holy Lord.

And to serve Him joyfully.

Have you ever had times when others snuffed out your dreams to serve?

“It’s too dangerous,” they say.

“You don’t have the money or resources,” they object.

“I really don’t think that’s a good idea,” they dampen.

“It’s just not going to happen,” they proclaim defeated.

Trust Him. Trust that He is in control and can work all things for His good. His ways are beyond understanding. What some think is impossible becomes a missed opportunity. God loves to use the impossible. He excels in using the weak.

Don’t be the discourager. Don’t be the cynicist. Let go and walk the narrow road. Encourage the young. But realize you are never too old either. Let go and let God do what He does best. Become a part of His story.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
{1 John 4:7-12 ESV}

Blessings!

In Encouragement

Different Paths

October 26, 2011

A dear group of friends and I are going to start getting together and sharing our God Stories. You know, the story of how you came to Christ. Your life story, up until now, of how you’ve been drawn to Him and walked with Him. And it’s reminded me of something.

Don’t ever belittle somebodies past.

We all walk different paths. Some of us have known God from the very beginning. Having never missed a Sunday church service. Some of us were Christmas and Easter church goers. And there are some of us who never even heard the story of God until recently.

You are no better because you’ve been a Christian your entire life.

You are no better because you had a life changing moment in your teenage years.

You are no better because you are so fresh to salvation.

We all struggle. We all have a past that was hard and has drawn us closer to our Savior. Or maybe your past/current situation has pulled you away from Christ. Don’t listen to others when they begin to dissect what you’ve gone through. God chose you for this moment. To live this life. He knows that we’re going to struggle in our faith. Every step of faith just adds to our story. The joyful steps and the painful steps.

On the other hand, don’t let your past be all that defines you. Your God Story is special, but it’s not over. Continue to grow and to stretch. Allowing your story to encourage others. Who doesn’t want to read a story full of risk and adventure and love? Step out on faith and allow Him to add a chapter to your life that you didn’t think possible. And share your story.

As of yesterday I began reading a book that has been a huge blessing! Kisses from Katie

Her past seems very normal. Typical American growing up in the church. But then she gave the pen over to the Lord and had Him finish writing her story. And He still is!

I imagine writing my God Story is going to take a bit of time. But I want to encourage you to write yours out as well. And share it with others. Encouragement is strongly lacking in our society. I can never stress enough how important it is to help lift others up. Maybe hearing your God Story will make others see His grace. His amazing, amazing grace.

Blessings!

In Books, Encouragement

Chalkboard Wall Art

October 25, 2011

Have you ever been to Pinterest? It is a crafters dream site! So many ideas to ignite any desire you may have to create. From baby showers to weddings to home decor and everything in between! Recipes, words of encouragement, hairstyles, etc. It’s so easy to waste hours on there.

I’m currently in the process of redecorating my home office. I have very little funds to do this so the intent is to create everything. No buying anything that doesn’t require an artistic touch. And thus was born the Chalkboard Wall Art. I saw this link on Pinterest and knew this would be the perfect project! The total cost? Around $30. And the total measurement is 60″ x 48″.

I used nine 16 x 20 canvases. They were sold in a two pack and were 40% off at Michael’s. Very cost effective.

When I got home I grabbed an old can of chalkboard paint from the garage. Each canvas then received two coats of paint. We did this outside so it dried rather quickly.

After all the canvases had dried we flipped them over and laid them out how they would be hung. Remember how cheap I am? Rather than install nine hangers in the wall and risk them being off just a little bit I taped all the canvases together. They are ridiculously lightweight. A bit of masking tape and they were stuck together!