{Hope for the Home} Linky Party: Fruits of the Spirit Summer Series!

Last summer I posted a series every Monday entitled "Making the Fruit of the Spirit Come Alive in Your Home" as part of our {Hope for the Home} series and I thought it would be fun to do it again this summer!

Every Monday, I will post a lesson on one of the Fruits of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. I will also give you an activity to help you put that particular fruit into action in your home that week, using the Fruit of the Spirit Tree designed by Cap Creations specifically for this series.

I will be back next week with more details, but it will be a great way for us to keep Christ the center focus of our homes this summer and will give us something fun and meaningful to do with our children each week while they are home from school!

For now, I simply want to give you this free customized chevron iPhone wallpaper designed by 517 Creations. You can display it on your phone this summer, to help you memorize the Fruits of the Spirit and keep your focus on them! Click here for the complete tutorial on how to download it to your phone.

Which Fruit of the Spirit do you and your family need the most help with? Which one do you do well?

Go here for more ways to make God apart of your everyday life and home, and be sure to link up your own ideas below!

About the Author: Erin Vick Franklin is the founder and director of Worthy of the Prize. Erin has a BBA in Marketing and Management from TCU and a Masters of Christian Education in Church Recreation from Southwestern Seminary. She is a published, award-winning author and poet. Purchase her book Worthy of the Prize Sports Camps: A Church's Guide to Implementing an Effective, Community-Reaching Christian Sports Camp to be used as an outreach tool for your church or mission organization. Erin is the wife of A, a Worship Pastor, and a work-at-home-momma to 2 crazy little boys, a and e.

{Hope for the Home} Linky Party: Relish the Charms...

Do y'all read Kelly's Korner blog?  I was catching up on some blog-reading and came across this picture on her blog.   The quote is from Jen Hatmaker, a church planter's wife who lives in Austin, from her devotional book Out of the Spin Cycle.  Jen Hatmaker also has a fabulous blog!

As the momma of 2 sweet little kiddos (Grayson is 5 and Mollie Kate is 4 months), this TOTALLY spoke to me.  There are a lot of days that we make it to the very end of the day, when the house is totally quiet, and I think "Another day of their little lives has passed."  The days with preschoolers sometimes seem SO LONG, but the years go by so quickly.  My husband even reminded me at breakfast this morning that Grayson is 1/4 of the way to 20 years old.  Goodness gracious.

I love the photo above, but I wanted one that I could put in our house - maybe on the fridge?  Or above the kitchen sink?  So I created this little printable below.

I thank God for our sweet little kiddos every day and am going to be making the choice to relish the charms of the present!  Have a wonderful week!

Go here for more ways to make God apart of your everyday life and home, and be sure to link up your own ideas below!

About the Author: MJ Smith has her little corner of the internet to document her family, their home and their adventures - and any crafting that occurs along the way - over at 517 Creations. She has the greatest job in the world: being a stay-at-home momma of a wild and wonderful little boy and a sweet little girl, and is married to Scott, a pastor, which often makes for such a fun (and crazy) life!

{Hope for the Home} Linky Party: 10,000 Reasons

In the last few months we have had LOTS of major changes in our lives. Two major ones being that our sweet baby girl, Mollie Kate, arrived on November 25th and my husband started a new church just a few weeks later.  One of the worship songs that we started singing in our services, from the very first meeting in a barn (I know!!) is Matt Redman's "10,000 Reasons".



I have always liked Matt Redman as both a song writer and worship leader. He lead worship at a camp we attended a few years ago and was fantastic. Erin and I even had the chance to meet him in Nashville!

But having the chance to go to the Passion conference last year and hearing this song for the first time, and then singing in worship with a group of people who are following God's leading to start a new church, has been indescribable.

I was going to make my own printable of these words, but one of my very favorite bloggers, Julie of Joy's Hope, created this beautiful printable.

It is going up in my house and I have printed several for friends who are experiencing some pretty heavy trials.  It is truly my prayer that "Whatever may pass and whatevet lies before me...let me be singing when the evening comes."

Where will you hang it in your home? Will you give it to a friend who is having some difficulties in life? You don't even have to print it - how about posting it to someone's Facebook wall for a little encouragement?

Go here for more ways to make God apart of your everyday life and home, and be sure to link up your own ideas below!

About the Author: MJ Smith has her little corner of the internet to document her family, their home and their adventures - and any crafting that occurs along the way - over at 517 Creations. She has the greatest job in the world: being a stay-at-home momma of a wild and wonderful little boy and a sweet little girl, and is married to Scott, a pastor, which often makes for such a fun (and crazy) life!

{Hope for the Home} Linky Party: Love Hand and Footprints

For this week’s Hope for the Home linky party, I have a cute, simple, and inexpensive craft for you!  It would be the perfect Valentine’s Day present for your children’s’ grandparents.

I started with a 1”x8” board that was about 24 inches long. Be sure to sand the rough edges so your littles won't end up with splinters!

I gave it two quick coats of paint in Cherry Cobbler.

In order to figure out the spacing for the hand and footprints, I traced the “L” (Pharmacy font size 515) and the “e” (Pharmacy font size 492) onto my board with a ball-point pen.  I simply traced over the letters that I had printed out on my computer, which made a little indention on the board.

Next, using white paint, I painted my little guy’s hand and pressed it on the board to form the “o” and my little baby girl’s feet to form the “v”.  After their hand and footprints were complete, I simply filled in the “L” and “e” with the same white acrylic paint using a small paint brush.

I love having this on my mantel of the great and wonderful blessings that the Lord has given our little family!

Go here for more ways to make God apart of your everyday life and home, and be sure to link up your own ideas below!

About the Author: MJ Smith has her little corner of the internet to document her family, their home and their adventures - and any crafting that occurs along the way - over at 517 Creations. She has the greatest job in the world: being a stay-at-home momma of a wild and wonderful little boy and a sweet little girl, and is married to Scott, a pastor, which often makes for such a fun (and crazy) life!

{Hope for the Home} Linky Party: Customized iPhone Wallpaper

I am excited about my first {Hope for the Home} post of 2013!  For past {Hope for the Home} posts, I have designed a Scripture printable to display in your home.  But, most of us have very busy lives and tend to be "on the go" a lot more than we are at home.

If you're like me, you always have your iPhone handy, though.  So, for this installment of {Hope for the Home}, I designed a customized Lock Screen and Home Screen for my iPhone...and I'm sharing it with you!  This pink chevron "Fruit of the Spirit" lock screen and home screen images are perfect for the upcoming Valentine's Day holiday!

* "Fruit of the Spirit" Lock Screen *

* Coordinating Home Screen *

To customize your Lock Screen image, follow these steps:

- Download image from this post and email it to yourself.
- Open the email on your iPhone.
- Save the images to your Camera Roll.
- Now open the image and tap "Use as Wallpaper".

- Move and scale the image to your liking, tap "Set".

- Tap "Set Lock Screen" to save the image as your Lock Screen.

- Your Lock Screen is customized!

To customize your Home Screen image, follow these steps:

- Download image from this post and email it to yourself.
- Open the email on your iPhone.
- Save the images to your Camera Roll.
- Now open the image and tap "Use as Wallpaper".
- Move and scale the image to your liking, tap "Set".
- Tap "Set Home Screen" to save the image as your Home Screen.


- Your Home Screen is customized!

Go here for more ways to make God apart of your everyday life and home, and be sure to link up your own ideas below!

About the Author: MJ Smith has her little corner of the internet to document her family, their home and their adventures - and any crafting that occurs along the way - over at 517 Creations. She has the greatest job in the world: being a stay-at-home momma of a wild and wonderful little boy and a sweet little girl, and is married to Scott, a pastor, which often makes for such a fun (and crazy) life!

{Hope for the Home}: Favorite Ideas for Thanksgiving

The month of October has FLOWN by for us!  I have started gathering some of my favorite ideas for Thanksgiving for the month of November. I thought I would share a few for today's Hope for the Home!

I am BIG on decorating for Christmas so the Thanksgiving "season" was always lost in the shuffle in our home.  But, as Grayson gets older I am realizing the importance of being intentional with teaching him about being thankful.  It's a great lesson for me, too!

Last year (and the year before) we made a Thankful tree for our home.  The first year we used leaves that I cut out and last year we used these awesome printables from Jones Design Company.  It makes a sweet centerpiece that you can add to as a family each night.

Source: jonesdesigncompany.com via Mary Jo on Pinterest

Here is another option if you want to make a paper chain instead of a tree...

Source: silverboxcreative.com via Mary Jo on Pinterest

You know how much I love to display scripture in our home...and these FREE printables make that a piece of cake!  You could always leave them in the frames when you add the next season's printable to keep them all in one spot.  Then simply rotate the printables as the seasons change. :)

Source: adventuresofabettycrockerwannabe.blogspot.com via Mary Jo on Pinterest

Source: dearlillieblog.blogspot.com via Mary Jo on Pinterest

Source: cheepideas.com via Mary Jo on Pinterest

One final idea is to pack a shoebox for Operation Christmas Child!  We LOVE to make this a family activity by letting Grayson pick out toys, games, and other necessities for a boy his age.  It leads to awesome discussion about how God calls us to provide for those in need. To learn more about this awesome opportunity through Samaritan's Purse, click on the picture below.

What do you do to intentionally teach your family about thankfulness??  I'd love to hear your ideas!

Linking up with:

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About the Author: MJ Smith has her little corner of the internet to document her family, their home and their adventures - and any crafting that occurs along the way - over at 517 Creations. She has the greatest job in the world: being a stay-at-home momma of a wild and wonderful little boy (and a baby girl due in November!) and is married to Scott, a youth pastor, which often makes for such a fun (and crazy) life!

Raising Biblical Superheroes (Ephesians 6}: The Belt of Truth and The Breastplate of Righteousness...and a winner!

It has been a little bit of a rough weekend around here. Little A has not been feeling well. The weather has been yucky. And I have been consumed with finishing our upcoming "find joy in the journey" ebook.

All that to say, we did not get to have "Superhero Saturday" yesterday. Instead, we had "Superhero Sunday" today! :)

We started off with a game of Superhero Memory. Do your kids love to play memory as much as my boys do? When I saw it, I knew they would love it! Go here to download your own copy of the game. 

When the game was over, I used the pictures of the superhero characters on the cards to initiate our discussion of The Belt of Truth and The Breastplate of Righteousness, the remaining two pieces in The Armor of God.

"Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist." (Ephesians 6:14)

First, I pointed out the belt that Batman wears and we discussed the fact that God tells us we need to have The Belt of Truth buckled around our waist. Basically, we need to be secure in the truth of His word and not the lies that this world has to offer.

And then, I did the only thing I could think of to help them understand The Breastplate of Righteousness. I had Little A go get his chest protector (a piece of his catcher's gear) and put it on!

It really brought home the fact that the righteousness of Christ that covers us when we put our faith and trust in him will be what "protects" us from a life without God and an eternity spent separated from Him! Thank you Jesus for taking our place on that cross!

Go here to find out how you can have a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ and eternal life in Heaven with Him when you die.

When we were finished, we of course put on our superhero costumes and went to "war!"

And that's it my friends, we have officially finished our Raising Biblical Superheroes series here on the blog. Not that we won't continue to have Biblical Superhero days around our house every now and then!

I hope you enjoyed playing superheroes with your little ones, all the while teaching them what it means to be a "warrior" for God, fully clothed in His armor!

If you missed it, go here to see how we taught The Sword of the Spirit, here to see how we taught The Helmet of Salvation and The Shield of Faith and here to see how we taught the Gospel of Peace.

And now, the winner of the Custom "Little Superhero Cape" from 517 Creations IS...{drumroll please}...

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:17Powered by RANDOM.ORG
Congratulations, The Lewis Family! Contact me at worthyoftheprize@yahoo.com to claim your prize.
A BIG THANKS to all who entered and to Mary Jo at 517 Creations for her gracious donation!
Happy Sunday, friends! :)

About the Author: Erin Vick Franklin is the founder and director of Worthy of the Prize. Erin has a BBA in Marketing and Management from TCU and a Masters of Christian Education in Church Recreation from Southwestern Seminary. She is a published, award-winning author and poet. Purchase her book Worthy of the Prize Sports Camps: A Church's Guide to Implementing an Effective, Community-Reaching Christian Sports Camp to be used as an outreach tool for your church or mission organization. Erin is the wife of A, a Worship Pastor, and a work-at-home-momma to 2 crazy little boys, a and e.

Raising Biblical Superheroes {Ephesians 6}: The Gospel of Peace...with giveaway! CLOSED!!

Today was "Superhero Saturday" again at our house and I thought it would be fun to have "superhero races," because our boys love to race!

So they put on their capes and set out to see who was the fastest superhero in town!!! 

Afterwards, we talked about the fact that our "fast superhero feet" need to be fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace! 

In other words, we need to be filled with the peace that comes from knowing that Jesus is our Savior! Once all burdens are (lifted) turned over to Him and we are filled with the peace that only He can give (despite our circumstances), we will be light on our feet, able to soar! ;) Go here for information on how to make Jesus your Savior. 

I saw this picture floating around Facebook and thought it was perfect for this series. I wish I knew where it came from, so I could give credit where credit is due. Let me know if you find out!

You could print it onto photo paper (or have your local photo shop do it for you) and display it in your child's room or playroom as a reminder that Jesus died on the cross, to SAVE us from our sins and from an eternity seperated from God! He is the Ultimate Superhero!

And since every superhero needs a cape, my friend Mary Jo of 517 Creations is giving away 1 custom "little superhero cape" (see below) to 1 lucky winner! Winner gets to choose colors, fabrics (subject to availability) and letter! Keep in mind that Mary Jo is due with a baby in the next few weeks, so there might be a delay in the making of the cape, depending on how quickly the little one arrives! :)

My boys' absolutely love theirs! In fact, this Christmas they will be receiving matching superhero swords from 517 Creations! Shhhh... ;)

To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment letting us know who your child's favorite superhero is OR what letter you would have put on your cape (should you win)!

For extra entries (leave extra comments for each one that you do):

1. Tweet this giveaway (leave 1 extra comment)
2. Share this giveaway on FB (leave 2 extra comments)
3. Pin this giveaway (leave 3 extra comments)
4. Blog about this giveaway (leave 4 extra comments)

You can enter through Friday, October 26th. Winner will be announced Saturday, October 27th. Goodluck!

Giveaway is CLOSED!!

Check back next Saturday as we wrap up our "Raising Biblical Superheroes" series! And be sure to post your Biblical Superhero pictures and ideas onto our Facebook page or simply leave a comment here, with the link to your blog post, or on Twitter using the hash tag #biblicalsuperheroes. I will feature them here next Saturday.

Go here to find out what we did to teach the boys about the Sword of the Spirit and here to see how we taught them about the Helmet of Salvation and the Shield of Faith!

Happy Saturday, friends!

About the Author: Erin Vick Franklin is the founder and director of Worthy of the Prize. Erin has a BBA in Marketing and Management from TCU and a Masters of Christian Education in Church Recreation from Southwestern Seminary. She is a published, award-winning author and poet. Purchase her book Worthy of the Prize Sports Camps: A Church's Guide to Implementing an Effective, Community-Reaching Christian Sports Camp to be used as an outreach tool for your church or mission organization. Erin is the wife of A, a Worship Pastor, and a work-at-home-momma to 2 crazy little boys, a and e.

Cheeseball from Heaven...for your next tailgate!

College football season has started which means it's time for tail gating! I recently had this dip at a birthday party and could have eaten the entire bowl...seriously, it's that good!  It is perfect for your next tailgate. My friend Lisa that made it and gave me the recipe simply called it "Cheese Ball"....but I didn't think that name did this dip justice.  It really is a cheese ball from heaven!

**to print a copy for your recipe box, simply save this on your computer and print it as you would a picture!**

Cheese Ball from Heaven

1 8oz package of cream cheese
3/4 stick of butter
Garlic powder (to taste)
1 package of Buddig dried ham (chopped)
Green onion, chopped
2 cups of finely shredded cheddar cheese

Cream together the cream cheese, butter, and garlic powder.  Then add the ham, onion, and cheddar cheese. Chill the dip before serving.

Lisa added that she normally doubles the recipe (double everything but the cheddar cheese) and I can see why, you never want to run out of this Cheese Ball!  Also, if I remember correctly, Lisa served this with Wheat Thin crackers.  So delicious!  I'll be running to Walmart now to make up a batch of my own. Enjoy a batch at your next tail gate...I won't blame you if you don't share. :)

What about you? Do you have any fun ideas for "dressing up a tailgate" or any other fabulous fall ideas that you would like to share? Leave a comment!

Go here for more ways to make your game day parties a hit!

About the Author: MJ Smith has her little corner of the internet to document her family, their home and their adventures - and any crafting that occurs along the way - over at 517 Creations. She has the greatest job in the world: being a stay-at-home momma of a wild and wonderful little boy (and a baby girl due in November!) and is married to Scott, a youth pastor, which often makes for such a fun (and crazy) life!

{Hope for the Home}: Pumpkins Galore...a pumpkin patch parable and pumpkin bread recipe!

As of this weekend, it's officially fall and I couldn't be happier!  We are planning a visit to the pumpkin patch to pick out a sweet pumpkin to grace our front porch...one of my favorite fall traditions.  After we pick out our pumpkin, I plan to read this book to Grayson:

The Pumpkin Patch Parable by Liz Curtis Higgs is a fabulous book about a farmer who grows all sorts of things on his farm...but especially pumpkins! It continues with the pumpkin-growing process and reflects on the patience and care that the farmer shows his pumpkins.  The book makes a parallel between the farmer planting and growing pumpkin seeds with how God plants seeds and grows us.  There is scripture on each page, scattered throughout the book.  Your kiddos will love it!

After we read the book, I plan to bake one of my favorite fall treats...pumpkin bread!  Grayson loves to bake and help with the mixer, so it'll be a great activity for us.

This is a recipe I got from a friend and it is fabulous!  It makes a lot, so you'll have plenty to share with your friends and neighbors.

Pumpkin Bread

3 cups sugar

1 cup cooking oil

4 eggs

3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2/3 cup water

1 15-ounce can pumpkin

1. Grease the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of two 9x5x3-inch, three 8x4x2-inch, or four 7 1/2 x 3 1/2 x 2-inch loaf pans; set aside. In a very large mixing bowl (I use my KitchenAide mixer) beat sugar and oil.  Add eggs and beat well; set aside.

2. In a large bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Alternately add flour mixture and water to sugar mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined. Beat in pumpkin. Spoon batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 55 to 65 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes.  Remove from pans. Cool completely on wire racks. Wrap and store!

What a great way to spend a day with family...thanking God for fall weather, reading a sweet parable, and eating delicious pumpkin bread!  Do you have any special fall traditions in your home?

Go here for more ways to make God apart of your everyday life and home!

About the Author: MJ Smith has her little corner of the internet to document her family, their home and their adventures - and any crafting that occurs along the way - over at 517 Creations. She has the greatest job in the world: being a stay-at-home momma of a wild and wonderful little boy (and a baby girl due in November!) and is married to Scott, a youth pastor, which often makes for such a fun (and crazy) life!