{Hope for the Home} Linky Party: Making LOVE Come Alive

She had nothing. Nothing but a life filled with sin. Nothing but an alabaster jar filled with perfume.

 

Jesus was having dinner in the home of Simon, the Pharisee. Surrounded by the religious leaders of the day when she showed up. Uninvited. And obviously unwanted.

Right there at the dinner table, she washed Jesus' feet with her tears and poured out her expensive perfume onto his feet. A repentant sinner, anointing him with the only valuable thing she owned.

Seeing what she had done, Simon said, "if this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is -- that she is a sinner."

To which Jesus replied, "Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he cancelled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?"

"I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled."

"You have judged correctly...Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven-- for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little."

What is it that you value? What have you been holding onto, keeping for yourself, putting above your relationship with God?

This woman loved Jesus so much, she gave everything she had. What a beautiful testimony of faith.

Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. {1 John 4:7-10}

Family Activity for the Week...

Gather together and have each family member tell one thing that they are going to do this week to show love to Jesus and others. One of the best ways to show love is to put another person before yourself. Sacrifice something for them in the same way that Christ made the ultimate sacrifice for us on the cross. Give up something for them.

Leave me some comments to let me know what you did and how it went. I will be praying for you!

Don't forget to hang your Love fruit on your Fruit of the Spirit tree and display it in your home as a visual reminder for your family this week, as you focus on love in your home. Go here to download the printables that go with our Making the Fruit of the Spirit Come Alive in Your Home series if you missed our introductory post last week. And go here  for Cat's tutorial on how to make your fruit printables into glass pebble magnets, so that you can hang your tree on the refrigerator.

Happy Monday, friends! Invite your friends to join us next week as we talk about JOY! :)

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.

Free June Scripture Printable: When I Am Afraid

As you know, I have decided that as part of my goal to reach the nations for Christ this year (reach being my 2013 word), I will provide a free scripture printable for you every month this year...because it all starts in the home, reaching our families for Christ.

A few weeks ago, Little A completed his first Bible drill! My shy, reserved, cautious first-born had to get up on stage in front of the entire church and state the books of the law as well as Psalm 56:3. He did a great job and I was SO proud of him...the only Kindergartener to do it!

He knew the information like the back of his hand but he admitted he was a little scared to have to get up and say it in front of all those people. I thought his verse was so fitting for the situation at hand and I used the opportunity to talk to him about the fact that God is always with us and anytime we are afraid we can turn to Him, talk to Him, trust Him...even when we have to get up on stage and do things that make us scared.

Ever since, I have had this verse displayed on the dry erase board in our kitchen, a reminder to all of us that God is with us and a reminder to me of the precious talk I had with my precious son. I hope it blesses you as much as it has blessed us!

Go here to download my January print, which is entitled "Hope for a New Year." Here to download my February print, "Love Never Fails." Here to download my March print, "A New Creation." Here to download my April print, "Rest for the Weary." And here to download my May print, "The One My Soul Loves."

Happy June, 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.

{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: The Wide Spectrum of Mothering

Happy Monday!  My husband, Scott, spoke about the legacy we leave as parents (and grandparents, aunts and uncles, teachers, etc.) yesterday and included a special prayer for Mother's Day.  One of the things that he pointed out was that Mother's Day doesn't always bring happy memories for everyone.  For some people it is the most painful day of the year.  For some, it's the first Mother's Day without their mom.  For others, it's the first Mother's Day without their child.  For others still, it's a reminder of the longing they have every day for a child of their own.  This really spoke to me, as I was in the middle of celebrating my first Mother's Day as a mother of two, with a sweet daughter added to our family this year.

After we got home from lunch, I saw this picture below. "The Wide Spectrum of Mothering" by Amy Young was read at a local church during their services yesterday and I thought it was so fitting...it was exactly what Scott had spoken about.  I thought that it was worth sharing today, as a reminder that everyone is going through something and needs prayer for their certain situation!  Will you join with me in praying for each of "those"listed below? 

Have a wonderful week as you bring hope into your home though the One who brings us all hope!

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 baby girl, and is married to Scott, a pastor, which often makes for such a fun (and crazy) life!

{Hope for the Home} Linky Party: Parent/Child Dates

This past Friday when I picked Little A up from school, I took him on a "date" to get ice cream...just the two of us!

I was frustrated because I feel like I don't get enough quality time with my oldest baby anymore...it is never just me and him. I get Little E to myself alot because he is still at home and then Little A joins us after school. Anytime the kids are split up, it is usually Little E with me and Little A with Big A, that's just how it works out most of the time.

As a result, we have decided that every Friday morning Big A will take Little E to get donuts, just the two of them and every Friday after school, I will take Little A to get ice cream...or really whatever they want, but so far it has been donuts and ice cream!

It is such a blessing to be able to spend some quality time with each one of my babies, doing things they enjoy, bonding and talking without the distraction of the other one. It is precious time together and I highly suggest you try it with your children as well!

Fridays work best for us because it is Big A's day off, but you find whatever time works for you and find out what your child would like to do. Once a week works for us at this point, but that may not work for you...maybe start with once a month. Children grow up way too fast and I know I will always cherish these memories together and will never regret the time spent with each of them!

Do you have any ideas for parent/child dates? What has worked for you?

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: 7 Creative Ways to Display Scripture in Your Home

As you know, I think it is so important for families to display scripture in their homes. I believe these displays help us to keep our focus on the truth and are a shining light in this dark world. They also serve as a reminder for us to hide God's word in our hearts, a protection against the devil's schemes and the lies of this world.

With that in mind, I thought today would be as good a day as any to show you some creative ways to display scripture in your homes!

A wooden sign...

Source: mydesignhearth.com via Worthy of the Prize on Pinterest

A stack of books...

Source: lessthanperfectlifeofbliss.blogspot.com via Worthy of the Prize on Pinterest

A canvas...

Source: charlotte-march.tumblr.com via Worthy of the Prize on Pinterest

A pillow...

Source: etsy.com via Mariela on Pinterest

A wall decal...

Source: etsy.com via Kathy on Pinterest

A banner...

Source: sparksinthekiln.blogspot.com via Tracy: The Crafty PolkaDot on Pinterest

A printable...

Source: shanty-2-chic.com via April on Pinterest

What about you? How do you display scripture in your own home?

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.

Happy Birthday Big A!

Today is the birthday of my husband (of almost ten years) and I am SO very thankful that I get to spend my life with such a loving man of God, a supportive husband and wonderful father to our 2 beautiful boys! What a blessing!!

It has been a fantastic week, full of celebrations...

The boys and I gave him a trip to see the Royals play @ the Braves earlier this week as a gift! He is a huge Royals fan and baseball fanatic, plus we are trying to see a game at every MLB stadium and we had never been to Turner Field before.

We enjoyed eating hot dogs, peanuts, cotton candy and snow cones! And watching our money quickly disappear while doing it! ;)

We always take home a mini bat from the ball parks that we visit, which we display in the boys' rooms!

We had a blast and have now seen a game at 11 different MLB parks...19 to go! The boys have been to 4 stadiums with us so far and they are loving this little family tradition!

Upon returning, his choir surprised him with cake, gifts and a birthday song at our weekly practice! For those of you who do not know, he is the Worship Pastor at our church and we are so blessed to be apart of such a loving church family!

The celebrations will continue this weekend, including dinner and a movie tonight, just the 2 of us! Oh how I love date nights and the fact that my hubby thinks his birthday should be (at least) a week long celebration!

Happy Friday, 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.

{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!

A Glimpse Into Our Easter Celebration

I just wanted to pop in and show you a few pictures from our Easter weekend!

This is the Easter Lily that I sent to my parents down in Texas. So gorgeous!

It all started with a baseball game in our front yard on Good Friday. Little A vs. Little E. So funny and such a beautiful morning!

That afternoon we went out to lunch with some friends and took the boys to one of those warehouses filled with bounce houses. They had a blast!

That night we came home and made some Easter treats, including my first attempt at making cake pops. I thought they turned out pretty good for my first try!

I already showed you the Resurrection Rolls that we made here.

Saturday morning we had an egg hunt at the park with our church. It was cold!

Don't worry, Little E is not mad. Everytime he says "cheese" he gets this intense look on his face. It is hilarious!

That evening The Band Perry held a free concert downtown (their hometown) right in front of our church (big building on left). It was awesome!

And of course on Easter morning, we got all dressed up and went to church to celebrate a RISEN SAVIOR!!!

That night we celebrated with friends. Dinner and another egg hunt!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures of our little family from the weekend...

Hope y'all had a wonderful Easter surrounded by loved ones! HE LIVES!!!

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.

{Resurrection Rolls}: Did the Resurrection Really Happen?

Yesterday morning, the boys and I read the Easter story together and then proceeded to make Resurrection Rolls for the first time.

I wanted them to know that the tomb was empty.

Go here for Resurrection Rolls recipe.

After the rolls had finished baking and the marshmallow on the inside had disappeared representing the empty tomb, Little E was so impressed he ran to tell Little A, who simply replied "the marshmallow just melted from the heat in the oven." Ha! It's hard living with a such a smarty pants in the house!

Thankfully while reading the Easter story, Little A said he "was glad we had it to read or else people might think that Easter was just about candy and eggs, but really it is because Jesus had to die for our sins." I guess it works both ways! :)

Seriously though, I am so thankful that my boys, even at the young ages of 6 and 4, are beginning to form their own thoughts and opinions about Jesus, his birth, death and resurrection.

Which leads me to the question, "what about you?"

Do you believe in the resurrection?

You see, the question is not "did Jesus die on the cross?" It is pretty much historical fact that Jesus Christ was crucified under Pontious Pilate.

The question is not "was the tomb empty?" The Roman soldiers themselves (the ones guarding his tomb) admitted that the tomb was empty. 

The question IS "what happened to Jesus' body?"

The Roman soldiers tried to point the blame to Jesus' disciples, saying they stole the body.

If that was true, why would the disciples go on to proclaim his resurrection, being ridiculed and tortured, eventually dying horrible deaths, all  for a cause they knew to be a lie?

You can read here why I absolutely believe the resurrection really did happen.

But it doesn't matter what I think. You must decide for yourself.

If you are one who struggles to believe that God actually exists, or that the resurrection really did happen, I highly suggest reading the works of Lee Strobel, a former atheist journalist from Yale who set out to prove that God did not exist and that the resurrection could not have happened, and in the process ended up becoming a believer himself. Some of his books include, "The Case for Faith" and "The Case for Christ." I have read both of these and they are fabulous.

Will you allow him to give you new life here on this earth and eternal life in Heaven when you die?

Go here for more information on how to do this.

I hope y'all had a wonderful Easter with loved ones, celebrating a Risen Savior! He Lives!!

I will post more pictures from our Easter celebration soon! :)

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.