Trials and crosses have a tendency to make us ‘me’ focused and our circumstances become magnified.  That is the exact moment when we must CONSIDER ( denoting repetition, again and again) Christ who endured more for our sakes than we can ever, ever imagine.

When I consider my crosses, tribulations, and temptations, I shame myself almost to death thinking of what they are in comparison to the sufferings of my blessed Saviour, Jesus Christ.  ~ Martin Luther

“For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.”     Hebrews 12:3 

Jewel and I have been sharing ideas about inexpensive gift giving. (Be sure to read her last couple of posts). So, I told her I would post some ideas I’ve shared with my Xanga friends.

I’ve really slowed down on making crafts the past few years. I used to make a lot of crafts for my home but I’ve just lost the desire to do so. There are so many commands in scripture that I struggle to fulfill so I decided ‘crafting’ for pleasure is one thing I can give up to make room for the more important things. I do still make gifts occasionally to keep the cost down in our budget but I try to keep them simple.

Christmas is right around the corner and I’d like to start preparing ahead of time so I’m not under pressure at the last minute. Also, it saves money if I can make things ahead of time. I’m trying to take 30 minutes to an hour each afternoon to work on some kind of project. That way it doesn’t get overwhelming.

Here are a few ideas that I’ve made either recently or in times past:

This is a picture of a liquid dish soap dispenser bottle thing-a-ma-jig! (I just realized I don’t have a name for it! *S*)  I use these soap bottles (oh, that’s a good name) on my kitchen counter and also in my bathrooms. Just make sure you don’t buy a heavy concentrated dish soap or it pours too slowly. I watch for these bottles or something similar at the dollar stores. You can’t tell by the picture but it has a strand of ivy leaves inside the bottle along with the dish soap. It’s pretty if you can find ivy that has the little grapes on it, too.  (The dish soap isn’t that bright in real life). Sometimes I tie some raffia around the top edge. Once I found some of these bottles at the dollar store that had the Fruits of the Spirit decals on the outside. That was way too kewl! These type of bottles are normally sold for olive oil. Sometimes I have to purchase a different pouring spout but the olive oil spouts work great, too.

These coasters are a family favorite. My sister is the one that got us started on them. You cut a narrow piece of fabric that you can fold in half equalling the width of about an inch, not including the seam. Sew down one side (the other side is the fold) and sew the bottom end. Leave the top end open. You’ll need to buy some scented oil (I buy mine from Walmart) and pour it over the birdseed (the kind without the nuts). Let it sit overnight and make sure it’s dry before you funnel it into the tube of fabric. Hand stitch the open end closed. Start to coil the fabric… loosely.. not too tight… in a circle with a hot glue gun to hold it together. That’s all there is to it. It’s nice to make 3 coasters for a set and use raffia or ribbon to tie them together. These are my favorite coasters in the world. They don’t allow even a very wet glass to leak through on your table and you can choose different fabric to match the persons colors you are giving them to.

Next, I have a picture of a little Scripture book. I bought the stand at the dollar store but I’ve also purchased nice thin gold stands at Walmart in their craft section. I like to buy the index cards that are spiraled together and have a nice colored background. I’ll fill the entire book with handwritten scriptures on different themes. They can be placed over the kitchen sink, in the bathroom or next to a bed to practice memorization. I just finished one for my son for his 30th birthday and wrote scriptures to remind him that we are only saved by grace. Another time I typed scriptures and great quotes into a computer program and printed them out on index cards for my daughters. The theme was child training. I had an office supply store bind them. The whole book cost under $5.00.

Lastly, these are pictures of a family generation cookbook I made for Christmas last year. I collected favorite recipes from family members (along with special memories), typed it into my Microsoft program, printed it out onto an ivory colored paper and then had it bound. I used clip art from a Dover Publication book for the front and back cover. The cost of the book was $6.00 (not including the clip art books). I’m thinking you could print pictures of different family members to put on the front cover instead of the clip art. I wrote a tribute the grandmother of the family on the back along with a Proverbs 31 scripture.

A few other ideas:

* I have a DVD movie maker program on my computer. I made a DVD of my son’s life for his 30th birthday from childhood through his growing years, marriage, children, career,  and the last part was BLOOPERS of funny pictures of different family members. I choose appropriate songs for each category. It turned out great and only took a LOT of time and the cost of the DVD disk.

* Scented olive oil with herbs in bottles similar to the ‘dish soap’ bottles I posted above.

* Small heart shaped sachets stuffed with lavender. I sewed in lace around the edges and small little pearls and then tied it with ribbon into a set of 3.

* Summer blankets for baby gifts. These are a family tradition for the past few decades. Purchase a yard of seersucker in a baby print  and hem it on all sides. The blankets you buy in the stores are too hot for the summer days. These blankets are like a light sheet and perfect for keeping a draft off of a baby. My girls and I loved these blankets and used them to death with our children.

* Mounds Balls or Peanut Butter Balls for Christmas gifts. I save those green plastic baskets you get strawberries in and put colored saran wrap on the inside, put in the candy, and then use red or green cellophane to wrap them along with ribbon and a bow.

* I like to write poems for special occasions and print them out on pretty paper and frame them.

Well, that’s all for now. I’ll keep thinking. I need to go make my husband his favorite German Chocolate Cake for his birthday! He’s 51 years old today!

Let Jewel or I know if you post any pictures or ideas for gifts. Okay?

I’m currently reading Jerry Bridges book called, The Discipline of Grace. It’s an EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT book and I highly recommend it. I loved what he wrote about the difference between ‘cruise control’ obedience and race-car obedience.

“My observation is that most of us who are believers practice what is called a ‘cruise-control’ approach to obedience. …we press the accelerator pedal of obedience until we have brought our behavior up to a certain level or ‘speed.’ The level of obedience is most often determined by the behavior standard of other Christians around us. We don’t want to lag behind them because we want to be as spiritual as they are. At the same time, we’re not eager to forge ahead of them because we wouldn’t want to be different. “

“By contrast consider race-car drivers. They wouldn’t think of using a cruise control. They are not interested in blending in with the speed of those around them. They are not out for a Sunday afternoon drive. They want to win the race.

Race-car drivers are totally focused on their driving. Their foot is always on the accelerator as they try to push their car to the outer limits of its mechanical ability and endurance. Their eye is always on the track as they press to its limit their own skill in negotiating the turns of the track and the hazards of other cars around them. They are driving with all their heart, soul, and mind.

This is what it means to love God with all our heart and soul and mind. It means to obey Him with all our heart and soul and mind. It means, in the words of Hebrews 12:14, to ‘make every effort … to be holy,” and in the words of the Apostle Peter, to ‘make every effort’ to add to our faith the various facets of Christian character (2 Peter 1:5-7).”

The Apostle Paul used the metaphor of a foot race in 1 Cor. 9:24-27….

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air, No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

I’ve been working daily on the Bible Memory verses and really enjoy their program.  (www.biblememory.us) If my children still lived at home I would copy off each days scripture and let them fill in the blanks. They can customize the verses to fit your needs. Each day they also offer one of Jonathan Edwards Resolutions. There hasn’t been one resolve so far that I haven’t benefitted by. The fun part is trying to match up scripture to go with the resolution. Only the Word of God can be trusted to be 100% accurate.

8. Resolved, to act, in all respects, both speaking and doing, as if nobody had been so vile as I, and as if I had committed the same sins, or had the same infirmities or failings as others; and that I will let the knowledge of their failings promote nothing but shame in myself, and prove only an occasion of my confessing my own sins and misery to God.

Well, I can honestly say that I do not make this a regular practice. How blind I can be to my own sin and magnify the sin of my brother or sister in Christ. Paul considered himself the CHIEF of all sinners. Do I? Nope, not most days! My vision is blurred oftentimes from the reality of my own sin. Not until I face the mirror of God’s Word do I see myself for what I really am.