Category Archives: fun stuff for grandparents

Great Faithfulness

15 Monday Oct 2012

Posted by in beauty, Christianity, faith, Fall leaves, favorite songs, fun stuff for grandparents, Fun stuff for kids, hope, joy, love, picnic by the creek, streams, wisdom and understanding

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Great Is Thy Faithfulness
words by Thomas O Chisholm, music by William M. Runyan

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father,
there is no shadow of turning with Thee;   Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not;

 As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be. 

Summer and winter, and spring-time and harvest,
Sun moon and stars in their courses above
join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love. 

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!   Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed,
Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness Lord, unto me!

“Because of the LORD’S great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”               Lamentations 3:22,23

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Fear And The Eyes Of Faith

08 Monday Oct 2012

Posted by in Christianity, faith, fear, fun stuff for grandparents, Fun stuff for kids, love, wisdom and understanding

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“I sought the LORD, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.  Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.”            Psalm 34:4,5

We took our three year old grandson to the mall this morning.  We had no intention of buying anything, we just wanted to take a leisurely walk indoors on a rainy day.  Every thing was going well with Shepherd holding his Daddo’s hand as we walked along.  But then suddenly something attracted his attention and he started pulling as hard as he could to go and see it.   I wonder if that’s the way we walk with Jesus.  We are content to walk along holding His hand until we see something we want that may not be His will for us.  We pull and strain to be free so we can go “our way”  instead of following His way.  Sometimes He lets us experience these detours from His way.  But usually it doesn’t take long before we realize the consequences of our disobedience and we wish we had never left His path.   Our grandson took off running and Daddo chased him.  It was all a great game to Shepherd.  Once I remember taking my son to go shopping and when I looked around he had disappeared.  For several moments I called and searched and began to feel panicky when I couldn’t find him.  It turned out that he had crawled under a circular rack of long coats and was happily sitting in the middle of them.  It was his idea of hide and seek.  But my son had no idea of the fear that I was feeling when he didn’t come when I called.

God knows exactly where we are when we take off on our own way.  But often times we can not see and have no idea of the danger we may be walking into.  Fear is sometimes the only thing that will make us come running back to Him.  What a wonderful feeling it is to be held in the loving arms of a grandfather who loves and forgives us just like our heavenly Father when we have strayed.   Sometimes we forget that this wonderful omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God is the only one who can guide, protect and provid for us.  His love is unfailing, yet we turn to the world hoping to find help and answers.  We become too busy for God.  How it must grieve His heart when we turn away from Him.  Over and over the “Heroes of Faith” in the bible illustrate God’s faithfulness. When they prayed to God, He saved them from their difficulties.  We must teach these stories to our children so that when they have a problem, they will first pray and turn to God rather then seeking the world’s advice.

Elisha the prophet had an intimate relationship with God and it enabled him to see with the eyes of faith.  The king of Aram sent horses and chariots and a strong force of men to capture Elisha.  But Elisha, looking with the eyes of faith, told his worried servant,  “Don’t be afraid.  Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”     II Kings 6:16 

The servant was only able to see with eyes of fear that focused on the opposing army .  But Elisha prayed,  “O LORD, open his eyes and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”   II Kings 6:17

Faith is a little like anything else in life.  As we exercise our faith it grows stronger.  In order to reach our goals and follow God’s plan for our lives, we will have to step out in faith over and over again.  Just like Peter, we may be willing to step out of the boat but most likely when we do, we will begin to look at the waves and storm and start to sink.  When we take our eyes off Jesus and begin thinking about how hopeless our situation appears instead of depending on the mighty power of God, our strength will fail.  We will crumble to our knees under the stress.   But being on our knees may well be the best place to be.  When we realize we are helpless, we  begin to realize how much we need God.  Trusting that God knows the best way for us and has planned every step of the way enables us to see with eyes of faith and rest confidently in His peace.   “Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.  He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.”      Psalm 91:14,15

Ingredients of Patience

24 Monday Sep 2012

Posted by in Christianity, faith, favorite songs, fishing, fun stuff for grandparents, health, hope, joy, love, patience, peace, wisdom and understanding

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“I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.”          Psalm 40:1   I often see a fisherman standing at the edge of the surf when I go for a morning walk along the beach.  Not long ago I watched a great blue heron who was watching the fisherman patiently, hopeful that he would toss him a fish.  Perhaps you have watched two fishermen sitting in a tiny rowboat not saying anything, just fishing for hours.  Waiting and watching and some days not catching anything.  But they come  back again before dawn the following day.  It is hard for me to imagine having that much patience.  I wonder if fishermen fish just for the silence and peace of a quiet lake early in the morning.  Perhaps they fish because it is a time they can be alone with God.  Are they really fishing for fish or peace of mind and soul?   There is an old saying “patience is a virtue, acquire it if you can.  It’s seldom found in women and never found in men.  But I don’t think there is much truth in this saying….

Friends, I am guest posting at Nikki’s place, Simplystriving for her “Music Monday” post this week.  Nikki is a precious Christian blogger and homeschool mom and I love reading her posts.  I know they will bless your heart as they do mine.  Please clique on Simplystriving to continue reading about finding patience in this hurry up world of ours.

Backyard Fun illuminations

02 Monday Jul 2012

Posted by in Best Friend Dogs, crafts, fun stuff for grandparents, Fun stuff for kids, homemade ice cream, rafting, recipes, stay-vacation, therapy dogs, wisdom and understanding

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“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!”        Ephesians 3:20, 21

We decided to take a stay at home vacation this summer.  I usually prefer to go to the mountains where the nights are cool or spend time on the beach enjoying the ocean breeze on early morning walks.  But with the cost of everything skyrocketing, it seemed like a wise idea to stay home. I wasn’t sure how much fun this would be, but I was sure that God always does “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.”  Following is a list of some of the fun things we’ve done in our back yard during past summers with our children and grand kids.

Big Box Fun:  

My husband brought home a large refrigerator box and the grand kids had a ball rolling down the hill in our back yard inside the box.  It is possible to also use it for a clubhouse cutting out windows  and a door and letting the kids paint it with poster paints.  There are so many things you can make with a big box.  It can be turned into a lemonade stand, a rocket ship or used as a sliding board, the possibilities are unending.

Huckleberry Finn Fun Rafting:

It just takes a little imagination, a few inner tubes and a creek.  We are blessed to live in the woods on a creek and it has always provided fantastic  entertainment for our children and grand kids.  It is only about a foot deep and on hot summer days, it gives hours of fun rafting with just some peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches for a picnic along the way.  Add in a little imagination and oh the wonderful places you can go!

Croquet Games  

Our kids have always enjoyed a good game of poison croquet.  Regular croquet is   better for very young children who do not appreciate having their ball sent rolling away when they were just about to tap it through a wicket.  But the older ones understand the humor and advantage of playing a challenging game of poison croquet.  Our biggest problem is keeping our Golden Retriever from retrieving the balls.

Delicious Dinners

Evenings provide endless opportunities for delicious meals of grilling out  hamburgers and hotdogs which seems to be everybody’s favorite.  Another favorite of mine is shrimp brushed with a little garlic butter and grilled to perfection.  Frozen pineapple chunks make a great accompaniment and so do raw carrot sticks, celery, broccoli and cauliflower served with a sour cream, parsley and dill dip.  Fresh corn on the cob and a few chips finish out an easy summer meal that never requires heating up the oven.  My husband sometimes likes a grilled pineapple ring placed on top of his burger which gives it a taste of Hawaii.  Grilled chicken with pineapple is another favorite of ours.  While waiting for dinner a little down time in the hammock is always great.

Sour Cream, parsley and dill dip,                                                                                 (a favorite of mine)

  • 1 1/2 cups sour cream
  • 3/4 cup Miracle Whip
  • 1Tbsp. dried minced parsley
  • 1 Tbsp dried minced onion
  • 1 tsp. beau Monde seasoning
  • 1 tsp. dried minced dill weed

Stir together and let chill in refrigerator over night to blend the flavors.  Enjoy!

Strawberry Ice Cream Recipe:

Desserts have always been my favorite part of any meal and what could be better than homemade ice cream!  This is the recipe for strawberry ice cream we made when I was growing up and it is yummy!

  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 Tbsp flour
  • 1 1/4 cup sugar
  • few grains salt
  • 1 egg
  • 1 pt. half and half cream
  • 1/2 pt. whipping cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 qt. strawberries

Scald 3/4 cup of milk, then add flour which has been thoroughly mixed with 1/2 cup of the sugar and the salt.  Beat the egg with remaining 1/4 cup milk, then add to the hot milk mixture, stirring constantly.  Cook while stirring about 3 min. or until mixture coats the spoon.  Thoroughly cool; and add vanilla extract.  Place mixture in refrigerator to chill.  Put strawberries thru food mill to puree.  A blender can also be used but the food mill gets out most of the tiny seeds.  Add the remaining 3/4 cup sugar to the strawberry puree (sometimes I add a little more sugar and sweeten to taste).  Chill in the refrigerator until ready to use.  After dinner pour the puree, custard mixture, cream and half and half into your ice cream freezer can adding a little extra cream or milk until mixture reaches fill line.  Be sure to have plenty of ice and a box of rock salt on hand and mix together according to manufacturer’s directions.  I usually buy an extra bag of ice and extra rock salt just in case we don’t have enough.  Enjoy!  

Basketball In The Driveway

After dinner the kids all like to play basketball in the driveway.  But as for me, I’m usually ready to sit down and relax for the rest of the evening with a good book.  This summer I plan to read “Stillmeadow” by Gladys Taber again.  It is a charming book with some delightfully funny moments .

The grand kids never get tired and after running and romping all day long they only sit quiet for a moment before asking, “what can we do now?”   Lightning Bug Lanterns  

I try to keep on hand a supply of clear plastic jars with lids for these lanterns.  Empty plastic peanut butter jars are great for this.  Cut a few breathing holes in the lid and turn the kids loose to run in the back yard. Thankfully this always gives  the adults some much needed quiet time to relax and enjoy a little dog therapy.

4th of July Fun and Fireworks

25 Monday Jun 2012

Posted by in beach sunsets, beauty, faith, fireworks shows, fun stuff for grandparents, Fun stuff for kids, Hearts Filled With Joy, parade floats, sandcastles, thunder storms and lighning, wisdom and understanding

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The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.  Psalm 19:1

The fireworks displays on the 4th of July have always been for me the most beautiful and exciting part of each celebration.  A few years ago I was very disappointed that the sky was cloudy and rainy and we were not planing to go see the fireworks.  As the sky grew darker and darker, a great thunderstorm rolled in and we could see flashes of light and hear rumbles of thunder in the distance.  As I watched out my window I saw one of the  best fireworks shows I had ever seen with  bolts of lightning zigzagging across the sky and huge crashes of thunder. I shall always remember it as the year that God provided the fireworks and it was awesomely magnificent!

Fun Stuff For Kids  

In our small town when I was growing up, the 4th of July  celebration began with a parade.  When I was very small I was allowed to ride on the vintage firetruck   at the front of the parade.  It was a little scary when they blew the siren but I was reassured when I saw my father walking along beside the firetruck  and my mother waving in the crowd.  When I was a little older we decorated my doll carriage and I felt very grown up walking my baby doll in the parade.  I always wanted to be a part of the parade and often decorated my bike spending hours using colored crepe paper and winding it in between  the spokes on the tires.

Following the parade the town put on a small carnival in the park and I remember riding a little train and playing carnival games in hopes of winning a stuffed animal.  I don’t think I ever won but it was fun trying.

We always had a wonderful picnic dinner that Mother prepared when I arrived home.  Roast beef on homemade rolls with chips and icy cold deviled eggs and marshmallow fruit salad.  Dessert was strawberry shortcake on made from scratch muffin cakes, divided in half and covered with big scoops of vanilla ice cream, fresh strawberries and a dab of whip cream.    Yum, it was delicious!  This was always followed by the town putting on a fantastic fireworks show about dusk.  We would take a large blanket to the park and lie down snuggling up to each other and ooh and ah after each one went off.  Those sure were fun times

Float Building for the Parade  

After I was married, we moved to a small town that also had a wonderful 4th of July  parade and fireworks. Each year we had so much fun dreaming up and putting together a float that consisted of a wagon and some big boxes.  It was usually pulled by our oldest son on his  tricycle or bike.  One year we did, “You’ve Come A Long Way Baby” with a covered wagon and a rocket ship.

                 Our daughter rode in the rocket ship and her baby brother in the covered wagon and they were quite content with lollypops to stay put.  Our oldest son pulled it on his bicycle and he deserves the award because it was quite a load!

Another year we built a train which we named “The Liberty Belle.”  Our son the engineer pulled his baby sister who rode quite happily in the caboose. 

One of the most fun floats we ever built was when my sister, her husband and son came down to visit and we designed the Pollution Plucker.  It had multiple arms and legs made out of bathroom and  kitchen utensils.  It was a very funny looking contraption and had all the parade viewers laughing as the kids rode by pulling it on their trikes.  It was designed to be a litter picker upper and the two boys were dressed like litter bugs with bits of paper glued to their outfits.  The idea was to harness your litterbugs.  Our daughter dressed in her best white dress was happy to ride inside it.  Needless to say it won first prize which thrilled the kids.  I think every town needs a Pollution Plucker!

Sand Castle Fireworks  

Now that we have grand kids, we have discovered that one of the best fireworks shows is on the beach.  The excitement begins early in the day.            We set up our lounge chairs and watch a beautiful sunset going down over               the ocean.  The children wade in the reflected light along the beach searching   for shells.

Then the Uncles and Dads provide an early display of Roman Candles shot from a large sand castle that they have worked on with the kids throughout the day.  As it grows darker we can see beautiful fireworks being shot off all all along the beach.  Seeing all these beautiful star-bursts in so many colors and listening to the laughter of the grand kids with their faces lit up with light from their sparklers fills my heart with joy. And so I look up and whisper a prayer of thankfulness to my Savior that we live in freedom and I pray that God will continue to bless America and enable all the people of the world to live in freedom. 

Father’s Day Tribute

11 Monday Jun 2012

Posted by in Christianity, crafts, Father's Day Love, fun stuff for grandparents, Fun stuff for kids, wisdom and understanding

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“Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not turn from it.”   Proverbs 22:6

Children love to walk in their Father’s shoes if given the opportunity.  This is a  picture of Shepherd our 8th grandchild walking in his grandfather’s shoes.  We constantly set an example for our children and they will be much more likely to follow what we do than what we say.

I believe that a family that prays and plays together has a much better chance of staying together.  I am thankful that both of my daughter’s husbands provide great examples for their children by the lives they lead.  Honesty and loyalty, love and respect and a strong trusting faith in Jesus Christ is continually taught not just by their words but by their actions as well.

I am also so blessed that my husband is a man who cares deeply about his family and shows it.  Our children and grandchildren know that they can count on him to find time to be there when they need him, to listen to them, understand them and play with them because he loves them with all his heart. 

If one of our children was in a ball game, a recital or school program, he always managed to leave work early to come to it.  Weekends were spent at home playing with the kids and our vacations were some of the best family times of all.  Following you will find a list of wonderful memories with Dad that one of our daughters made a few years ago.  This list was written before she had children of her own and I know that it would be much longer now.

  • roses every Valentines Day  
  • Teaching me to drive
  • Basketball in the driveway
  • building a clubhouse
  • leaving work early to come to my basketball games
  • me and Dad verses Jim in basketball
  • teaching me to play golf
  • buying 5 notebooks even if I needed only 1 (always doing above and beyond no matter what)
  • wedding day – walking down the aisle with him  
  • watching Celtics games together on T.V,
  • watching U.K. games together
  • staying up until I came in at night
  • always glad to hear my voice on the phone
  • Chauffeur when needed
  • going to piano lessons in old car
  • restoring old 39 Ford together and winning prize  
  • letting me play in Cub Scouts car race/camp out and cookout
  • wonderful vacations
  • building all those fences for the dogs
  • building a doghouse for Snoopy with me
  • all his jokes
  • all his laughter
  • always so patient and loving with Mother and us
  • wonderful example and my #1 cheerleader

Two dozen reasons that mean so much and I know that if our other children and now the grandchildren made lists, they too would be able to think of countless reasons why their Dad (Daddo) always makes them feel loved.  And we want you to know that we love you more than you can ever imagine!  Thanks and Happy Father’s Day!

Father’s Day present craft

Remembrance rock paperweight

  • rock for paperweight ( if your child goes fishing with Dad or plays at a nearby  stream let him choose a rock about 4″ by 4″ with a smooth top for this project) or a small tile for a “surprise project” bought at Home Depot on a trip with Dad would also work
  • Elmer’s glue
  • hot glue gun
  • Mod Podge clear drying sealer and clean brush
  • small photograph of child or child and Dad. VERY IMPORTANT TO USE A STORE MADE PHOTOGRAPH, I tried printing photos on photo paper with my inkjet printer 3 times and even allowed it to dry overnight.  The photo looked great, but the Mod Podge lifted ink off paper.
  • thin piece of cardboard large enough to mount picture on
  • felt large enough to cover bottom of rock

If using a creek stone be sure to wash and dry the rock thoroughly before beginning  this project.  Check to be sure that picture will fit top of rock or cut to fit.  Mount picture on the thin piece of cardboard with Elmer’s glue and let dry.  Use hot glue gun to secure picture to top of rock. Lightly brush several thin coats of Mod Podge over picture and top of rock allowing each to dry thoroughly before adding another.  When finished glue a piece of felt to bottom of rock so it will not scratch your furniture.

Let your child wrap up his remembrance rock in pretty paper and delight Dad with the gift he made him.

Any Father’s Day tribute would not be complete without mentioning my own   wonderful Dad.  He loved God, worked hard, took us to Sunday school and church every Sunday and inspired me to always try to do my best.  I have  many wonderful memories of evenings together with him.  Summertime was such a special time and  I use to love to sit and talk with him while he grilled burgers in the backyard.  Occasionally for a real treat, we made homemade strawberry or peach ice cream with a hand crank freezer.  

Daddy had an on going battle with the squirrels that would raid our bird feeder.   He was always trying to come up with some hilarious invention to stop them and of course the inventions never worked, but provided many laughs when we would watch the squirrels succeed in getting up, over or around the latest contraption.  I wish I could show him the bird-feeder we have now that takes squirrels for a little merry-go-round ride when they try to raid the feeder.  So  far the squirrels have not outsmarted this new design as long as we remember to keep it charged up.  Daddy would have loved it!

When I was little he made a wonderful log cabin playhouse for my sister and me in the woods behind our house.  I usually imagined that it was my bakery and spent hours and hours of fun fixing delicious treats and decorating them with honeysuckle berries.

Be sure to take lots of pictures with your children having fun times with your  parents.  I wish I had more pictures of my Dad, but he was always the one behind the camera.  He loved making things for my children  and once made a car and a boat for them to play in when we were coming to visit.  He also made wooden boats for them to sail down our creek and planted wildflowers in our woods for me to enjoy.  It is such a blessing to have a caring,  thoughtful, loving father, and I just wish my Dad  was still around so I could hug him and tell him just how much I love him.

Mustard Seed Faith part II

28 Monday May 2012

Posted by in crafts, faith, fun stuff for grandparents, Fun stuff for kids, Hearts Filled With Joy, mustard seed faith, wisdom and understanding, worry

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“Because  you have so little faith.  I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move.  Nothing will be impossible for you.”    Matthew 17:20  

The Power of Prayer

Over a year ago we were informed that if we didn’t sign papers allowing Marathon Oil to cross our land taking a 100 foot right away for a pipeline, they would seize the land any way.  I began receiving certified letters from Marathon’s attorneys  saying that if we didn’t sign the papers, they were going to take us to court. So I began to pray.  What bothered me most was that the spot they had chosen to take was our favorite spot for picnics and cookouts at the creek.  The contract basically said that they could bulldoze down the beautiful trees there and we would no longer be allowed to use that area without their permission!  I posted in Mustard Seed Faith illuminations last week some pictures of the fun times we have had there.  I had been praying for days and the deadline for signing the papers was in less than a week.  My husband sent an email to these attorneys explaining that the direction Marathon intended to go was unacceptable to us and so was the contract.  He requested a meeting down at the sight with Marathon’s right away acquisitions manager.  The meeting was set and three men showed up including their engineer.  I decided not to attend the meeting so that I could pray while they met.  I prayed that the Holy Spirit would speak to and soften the hearts of these men and give my husband wise words to say.  “For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.”  Luke 21:15  

A second meeting was set and this one was for the actual signing of the papers.  At the first meeting the engineer had told my husband that it would be possible for them to drill under the road and then take a turn to the left avoiding most of our trees and going down our field almost to the end before they crossed the creek.  We were also told that they would change the parts of the contract we were unhappy with and bring a map to this meeting showing the revised direction they would be taking.  For the next few days I praised God for His unfailing love and waited in joyful expectation to see how my awesome God would answer my prayers.We sat around my kitchen table and I was relieved to see that their map appeared  to follow the path we had hoped they would take.  I had printed out a large picture of our grandchildren playing down at the creek and showed it to them thanking them for not taking the part of the land we most enjoyed.The papers were signed and I praised God again for being so good. 

But this April, a year later when the bulldozers were getting ready to cross over to our land, the surveyor stakes had not been changed and it appeared that they were still going to bulldoze our trees down and cross the creek at our favorite spot.  Worry reared his ugly head again, but this time I quickly began to pray and covered him with a mountain of prayer and promises each time he appeared.  My husband made a phone call regarding this matter and we were met once again by the acquisitions manager and together we walked down by the creek.  I pointed out the favorite places our grandchildren play and all the trees I did not want the bulldozers to destroy.  His heart had already been touched by the Lord and he couldn’t have been nicer, promising to come back and tape off those trees.  In the above two pictures you can see the beautiful red tape he used to protect our trees and creek.  The next picture was taken May 24,2012, and they still have a lot more work to do.  But they have been very careful and not damaged our trees.

“Not to us, O LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.”   Psalm 115:1

The amazing thing is that I thought I would be really bothered by the noise.  But it has been going on now for about three weeks with drilling through rocks, dynamite blasts that vibrate our house and the constant beeping, clanging, banging noises of huge machinery and I have been completely at peace.

“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you”   Isaiah 26:3  

Shepherd our grandson loves all the noise and construction and never gets tired of watching from his director’s chair.  Perhaps I have learned to look at it from the eyes of a little child.  But mostly I believe that I am just so thankful knowing that God changed the hearts of these men and their plans.  The acquisition manager had seen us watching the construction with Shepherd and called us from his cell phone one day saying he envied us as grandparents.  He let us know that there would be a big dynamite blast in less than an hour if we would like to bring our grandson down to watch.  I am looking forward to the time when they are completely finished and I know the sweet sound of birds singing and crickets chirping and the quiet of peace will be so welcomed.  But best of all will be the sound of laughing, splashing children as they play down by the creek.  Thank you Father, thank you, thank you, thank you.

“Ah Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm.  Nothing is too hard for you.”   Jeremiah 32:17

 

Mustard Seed Gift

In my kitchen window I have a little bottle filled with mustard seeds and tied with the verse from Matthew 17:20 that my daughter made for me years ago.  If you feel you could use a little faith boost or perhaps you have a friend who is having a difficult time, this would make a lovely gift to give yourself or your friend.

Craft for Kids:  Mustard Seed Jewelry or Key Chain  

  • silver beading wire (24 gauge) or thinner
  • crystal or silver beads
  • hot glue gun

Cut about a yard length of wire and bend in half.  Place  the center of the wire at the bend on a cutting board and drop a bit of hot glue on it.  Place a tiny mustard seed on the cutting board next to it and drop some glue over the mustard seed making a pearl like pendant that contains the mustard seed and includes the wire.  Let cool and then carefully peel it off the cutting board (do not pull it off by the wire).  You may need to lift the edges of the pendant with a knife.  Finish necklace  by adding crystal beads to the wire and twisting the ends together.  Measure the necklace to be sure that it is large enough to place over the head of your child before you twist the ends together.  Place the necklace on your cutting board and seal the twisted part of the wire especially the ends with a bead of hot glue so it will not come undone or prick clothing or skin.  Boys might enjoy making a key chain.