Sheaves for Christ - How You Can Help

To help support this worthwhile cause, I am making pin-back badges, fridge magnets and key chains. There are 5 designs for you to choose from when you make a donation to Sheaves for Christ (SFC).

With a donation of $3.00, you'll get a pin-backed button in the design of your choice. With a donation of $4.00, you'll get a fridge magnet in the design of your choice. And with a donation of $5.00, you'll get a key chain in the design of your choice.

*got god?

*Jesus loves you, but I'm his favorite

*GOD'S PROPERTY

*A blood donor saved my life

*Get the Mission in Motion, SFC 2009



You can email me (subject: SFC Donation) with your donation amount and design of choice and I will provide you with an invoice you can pay via Paypal or I can provide you a mailing address to send a cheque or money order. Badges, magnets and key chains will be mailed upon clearing of payment, so please provide your mailing address.

For more information on SFC, see below or visit http://www.pentecostalyouth.org/

Thank you for your support!

About SFC
Sheaves for Christ is a fundraising program of the General Youth Division of the United Pentecostal Church International that has raised over $100 million to fund missions and ministries around the world. In 1952, Sheaves For Christ was created to move the gospel around the world and now is the exclusive fundraiser that provides vehicles to foreign missionaries.

Monies for property grants for Home Missionaries and financial assistance to the Tupelo Children's Mansion and Lighthouse Ranch for Boys are a few worthy ministries supported by SFC. These funds help bring restoration to individuals that have been torn from families or riddled with a history of crime and despondency; and collegiate scholarships for students pursuing Christian Education are all made possible through Sheaves for Christ dollars.

This fundraising ministry also helps move the gospel over the airwaves and the internet in specialized programming and provides monies to help chemically dependent individuals and their families recover from drug and alcohol-related problems. When you give to Sheaves for Christ you are literally putting the mission in motion and intentionally moving the gospel around the world.

Who Needs Hobbies Anyway!

I swear this has been the busiest month of my life. Or the busiest 2 months. I'm not even sure anymore. What month is it anyway?

With both boys playing soccer twice a week on different teams and sometimes in different towns, work and devoting our lives to God, there really doesn't seem to be a whole lot of time for ourselves.

As a mother it is really important to me to be on the parent council. I am also on a planning committee for a community event in a nearby city. And I'm trying to potty my 3 year old daughter. Yes, I did say 3 year old. Both my boys were potty trained for day and night by 3. Someone once told me girls potty trained faster and easier than boys. Uh, ya right. I should send my daughter there for a few days and let them tell me that joke again after they've picked up poop 'presents' and washed her 'big girl undies' 5 times a day. Maybe that's why my hydro bill was so high this month. I'll bet with my luck they'd send her back home in 2 days fully potty trained and with an invoice for time and services!

You know, I used to have hobbies. Yeah, those things you like to do when you have free time. At this present time I do have things I like to do, but no free time.

Things I like to do + free time = hobby. Guess I don't have any hobbies.

Since I have decided to serve God full-time (instead of half-hearted or whenever I'm faced with trials, tribulations and a big hydro bill), I have found myself wanting to do more. What more can I do to please God? What more can I do to help the church? So now I'm part of the Outreach committee. Yep, it's a start.

Who needs hobbies anyway?!

9-Year Old Birthday Party Craft Project

My eldest child just turned the big 09. Why he's almost a man! Well close to a pre-teen anyway.

So what can you do for a 9 year old boy's birthday party in the beginning of April that won't get you covered in wet mud or bore the attendees to death?

My son wanted to play indoor games and watch a movie. The party was scheduled to last 1 1/2 hours. The average movie lasts about that long and we still had to feed the kids, have cake and open presents! I decided on a 90 minute party purposely because I know that's really all I wanted handle.

Anyway, my husband had no good ideas, I mean, had no ideas so I decided we could do a craft. We made grass buddies.

For this craft project I purchased;

from Dollarama

-small terracotta pots (3 for $1)

-saucers (4 for $1)

-small bag of potting soil ($2)

-wiggly eyes ($1)

from Wal-mart

-small bag of grass seed ($7) in the summer you can buy smaller bags for around $2

I already had white glue, foam Popsicle sticks and markers at home. Bingo dabbers would work great for pok-a-dots!

I took a medium container and filled with about 5 cups of potting soil and about 1 1/2 - 2 cups of grass seed, then watered the mixture.

Have the kids decorate their buddies as people, monsters or animals and then fill the pots about 2/3 full of plain soil. Add about 2 plastic disposable spoonfuls of the mixture and then cover with more plain soil. You should have about an inch of space from the top of the planter.

As the grass buddies dried, we had cake and presents. Rather than water the finished project at the party and risk having their parents' car covered in wet mud, I instructed the kids to water their buddies when they got home, put them in a sunny spot and watch them grow grass hair. I also told them to water their buddies every 2 or 3 days.

They are 8 and 9 year olds, hopefully their buddies got watered when they got home!

If I had had more time, I would have made little care sheets for the kids to take home. Perhaps next time...

Yums Yums

I was recently invited to attend an Epicure party.

It was nice to see old neighbors and meet new ones. We've all been kind of hibernating this winter. With all the snow, the gravel (more like mud) roads have been terrible. All part of living in the country I guess.

Anyway, got to try various dips. This was not my first party, so I knew what I wanted. In fact, I had just been saying I needed to refill some of my dip mixes, then I got the invitation.

Our gracious host made us a lovely lemon cake. Here's Ellie's recipe;

LEMON SHEET CAKE

540-g- pkg Lemon cake mix
4 eggs
1/4 cup water
540-ml can of lemon pie filling

In bowl mix cake mix, eggs and water until blended.
Fold in lemon pie filling.
Spread in a 11 by 17 inch cookie sheet....I used a 10 by 15 pan
Bake at 350F for 18 to 20 minutes. cool.....
Frost with icing.
This freezes very well and always gets great reviews.

Icing....
250 g cream cheese
1/2 cup margarine
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1- 1/2 cups icing sugar
2 tbsp Epicure Lemon Chiffon [optional]
or grated rind of a lemon.........

You may thin the icing with lemon juice if using

Ellie served this cake us. It was moist, light and absolutely delectable! I've also got an Epicure recipe for cheddar, garlic and herb biscuits. I will try making them and then let you know.

In the meantime, find yourself an Epicure rep, get what you need for the cake and enjoy a taste of sunshine. It may be the sunshine you get for a while :)

God is SO Good

I realize it has been a while since my last post, so here's the latest 411!

I mentioned I was getting baptized. Well my husband and I both got baptized on March 1st. Wow, what a day and what an experience!

We've become members of an United Pentecostal Church and UPC's baptize as per the good old King James Version of the bible. There's no sprinkling over here. We took the plunge and got buried in the water just as Jesus was buried when he died for us (not in water, but you understand). Fully submerged and baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remissions of our sins (Act 2:38).

I really didn't know what to expect, but when I came out of the water, I felt lighter. Almost like a weight had been lifted. Perhaps the weight of my sins. That's a lot of weight, but we won't go there!

When my husband was baptized, I could see the spirit of God working on him, but I can't really tell you how he felt. I imagine wet would be in there somewhere, but otherwise...

The following Sunday, my husband was filled with the spirit of the Holy Ghost and I the Sunday after that. We spoke in other tongues just as the bible says (Acts 2:4). Pretty intense I'll tell ya!

Since my husband and I decided to serve God, our lives have been forever changed. We attend our regular Sunday service, but also attend prayer meetings, church bible study and home bible study. It's like we just can't get enough.

Life and earth as we know it wasn't just a happy accident. It was God! Every morning you wake up, it is because God made it so. If you've a roof over your head, food on your table and shoes on your feet, you're not lucky... you are blessed. In everything give thanks.

So to recap...

I've got the three keys to inherit the kingdom of God (Repentance, Baptism and Holy Ghost). What more could a gal want?

**please note: The three keys are only the start. You still need to live a good christian life, pray, give God praise & worship...and read the bible!

I Need a Me Day...

I am so tired. I haven't been sleeping well. I don't really care to eat much of anything. I certainly don't want to do anything (clean house, cook dinner, wash dishes included).

No I'm not depressed or hormonal, I just need a me day. With three kids, 1 full day, 1 half day and the attached to my hip, it ain't gonna happen. I guess a mom or wife, make that woman can dream right!?

I don't even want to go shopping, which at first really does sound like the confession of depressed and rather whacked woman, but that's not it.

If I could just take off for a day, I would. Maybe even a couple days, but no more than that. That's about as long as I can stay gone and still have the house standing when I get back. I would go to a bed & breakfast. Maybe even in the middle of week. Now how rebellious is that!

Yep, a bed & breakfast sounds just fine. One where the bedrooms don't have clocks in them and whenever I decide to wake up, I am welcomed to breakfast while still in my pajamas. I don't care what they feed me so long as there are some strawberries and whipped cream.

After breakfast, I would go for a horse back ride (that is after I changed my clothes of course), take a break read a book under the shade of a big tree then pick some fresh flowers for my room. Upon arrival to the b & b, lunch would await me in the gazebo through the garden.

After lunch I would enjoy a spa session. Perhaps a seaweed wrap, massage, manicure and pedicure and a facial. That would probably take a few hours, but without a clock in my presence, who's counting?

As evening sets in, I will sit as I am served dinner on the terrace of my room. I will take my time and savour every bite, not worrying about getting the dishes done, shooing the cat off the table pleading with the kids to eat more take less or my husband to eat less and help more! And I will enjoy the sunset knowing that I will retire to a room filled with the scent of fresh flowers and my bed all made (by somebody else) after the jacuzzi.

Well, I did say I could dream!

Everybody Ought to Go to Sunday School

I've been going to Sunday School for as long as I can remember. When I wanted to and even when I didn't! My parents had me dedicated to the Lord in an united pentecostal church before I was even a year old.

Two decades later, okay three decades later, I am finally making good on that promise. I am a mother of three and I too have dedicated my children to the Lord, but only now do I really understand what that truly means.

I've had it drilled in my head for years that if I want to enter the kingdom of God, I need to repent of my sins, be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ and receive the Holy Ghost. Yes, as shocking as it might be, even I have sin. Come on, aren't we all born into the world sinners? That means you too!

If you pull out your bibles and dust them off you'll see in Acts 2:38 it says;

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. (KJV)

Sounds pretty straight forward right? As much as I enjoy my BlackBerry, high-speed Internet and my Tim Horton's coffee, heaven sounds pretty good!

My family and I started attending a new church and as it would seem, bells went off. A light came and it was like duh! So like I said, I've decided to make good on that promise years ago and I have chosen to God in my life. I'm not perfect and I will never claim to be. There are 3 keys that will open those pearly gates.

1. Repentance
2. Baptism
3. the Holy Ghost

I've got the first key although I'm not sure you ever really stop 'repenting'. No man is perfect (or wo-man) so I'm sure we'll need to ask forgiveness from time to time. Just don't make a habit of it.

This Sunday, I will have the second key. Yep, I'm getting baptized. It's almost as nerve racking as having a baby, but hopefully no where near as painful! (that's a joke, poor taste or not, a joke!)

Some people get the gift of the Holy Ghost before there are baptized. Others get it when they are baptized and others get it a little later. That's the third key. the bible teaches us the evidence of receiving the Holy Ghost is speaking in tongues.

I'm really excited about Sunday and even more excited to know that I am that much closer to being ready when Jesus comes.