Where I started reading the bible

 When I started reading the bible, I wanted to read the whole bible, and my, read the bible in a year bible plan was not working. I Didn't look up where to start, so I never heard the advice to start by reading the book of Mathew. It only made sense to me to start at the beginning, I started reading Genesis, I had read the story of creation a bunch of times and I felt horrible, but I was board!

     I skipped the stories I knew well enough to recite from memory, which put me in the story of Abraham. What I learned was reading the bible isn't about comparing what you know or what you read. It is about learning, these are not just empty words, they are your life. These are the words of God! 

     You don't have to feel guilty because you think the genealogy in the bible is boring, almost everyone does. The bible is a book of love, it means something different to everyone, it is living and active. Don't put a time frame on yourself, just read what you can each day, grab the bible instead of your phone. It can become addictive if you turn it into a habit.

      Have you ever heard someone say God speaks to me? Each person hears god differently, some may hear him in their dreams, some may hear him in God winks, God winks are moments went your holy spirit tells you God is there. Each person hears him differently, but you won't hear him at all if you aren't listening. The best way to listen to him is to read his word.

     God, thank you for providing your word for instruction. I am sorry for my neglect of study, I know the only for me to know your ways, is to know you. I ask you to create in me a thirst for your word, and never forget to speak to me when I forget to speak to you. I give you my life, and my heart. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

From bell bottoms, to skinny jeans

 

I had a pair of bell bottom jeans that was handed down from my sister, bell bottoms are not my style. My sister is tall, and I and short, so these jeans are two long for me, today I am going to hem them, and take them in at the bottom. 

I then cut the end of the current seem off, so the new hem won't be as thick. My machine does well with denim, but I brake far to many needles as it is, anything I can do to prolong the life of my needles is worth the effort.

 Next I fold the end over and over again to prevent the denim from fraying.

With the jeans turned wrong side out, I put them on, and pin the jeans where I want them. If you can't take them off comfortably than you need to give more room for the pant leg.

At the bottom of my jeans I sewed 4 1/2 in. 

I then sewed a zig zag stitch, on both sides of the new seem to prevent fraying. Finally, I reinforced the seems at the bottom, sewing the new seem open, so it doesn't rub. The jeans look and fit great, no one can tell they aren't store bought skinny jeans. They are better than store bought skinny jeans, because they were tailored to fit me, with; a medium waist, larger than medium hips, smaller thighs, and small ankles. You will not believe how great it feels to wear clothes tailored to fit you till you try it. Good luck on your projects, and God bless!

What is god's plan

 Finding who you are, is something that you should be doing when you're in your teens right? Your God given purpose is very elusive, and knowing how to start looking is a big help. The bible! The bible has all the answers to every question you will ever ask. As that is the case, starting your search, with the bible makes a lot of sense. I was one of those kids that was so confident in what I wanted to be when I grew up, and I had my parent's full support. I wanted to be a seamstress, and I was going to start my own business and be wildly successful. Well, I am still working on it.

Some people don't know what they want to do

Some people argue with their parents over what they want to do

Some people agree with their parents about what to do, but they have different plans on how to get there

     Knowing what you want to do is a big deal! It will determine, how you get there. Not just what you want to do as in a job, but also what kind of lifestyle you want to have. Most people know a little about what they want.

     My sister told me that nine tenths if not more, of her co-workers have no idea what they want, and have no plan. So, take advice from someone who knew what she wanted to do when she was twelve, Pick something! It doesn't have to be exactly what you do for the rest of your life, you can always change direction. I wanted to be an artist, drawing, and painting. I learned you can't make a living drawing and painting, quickly. Sewing is an art form, now I am more passionate about sewing than I ever was about drawing. 

     

     God, you formed me in my mother's womb you knew me before I knew myself. I still don't know myself the way you know me. I do not search for myself, I know me because I know what you say about me. I am the daughter of the king. The Lord of heaven's armies. I ask that you help those who look for themselves, not to find themselves, but to find you. I ask that you put your words in my mouth, so I can speak only what you permit me to. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Godly waiting

 Glorify God in the waiting

     As a teen I am always waiting for something, I am sure it is the same for you no matter where you are in life. "Waiting is a part of life" I've heard it a million times! How do you learn to Worship in the waiting? 

      When you were a child and you were with your mom waiting in line, at the grocery store, or the tag office, did you make a scene, did you throw yourself on the floor kicking and screaming that is how I feel sometimes. Waiting is not easy. What keeps you from throwing a fit now? 

     Is it fear of being judged? Or do you look forward to what you are waiting for. Even when you were younger you never minded waiting in line for a circus ride, you were impatient, maybe, but that anticipation that is what God wants from you. After all, we may wait for many different things, but we are still waiting for heaven.

      I heard somewhere, I can't remember where, a story of a dog in the other room. When the dog's owner opened the door the dog jumped it the room tail wagging. The owner explained that the dog had never been in the room before, but jumped in the room without hesitation because he knew his master was there, and in the same way we, even though we may not know what is in the other room should not be afraid of death, but should look forward to being with our master.

     Waiting gives us a chance to learn, it gives us a chance to pray, and worship. We are asked to show others to do the same. The best way to teach someone to do something, is to let them watch us doing it. Just as Jesus showed us to do.

     The god who heard me, hears me and always will, is the God to whom I pledge my allegiance. I confess my sins to you God, your son is the door through which I find forgiveness. I ask that you be with those who are waiting, and give them the desire of their hearts. I will serve you while I'm waiting, I will worship while I'm waiting, I will not fade, I'll be running free, even while I wait. I will wait or you and your timing. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

What I learned in my first month blogging

 What I learned in my first month blogging/the baby basics of blogging

  

     The first thing I learned was It is free! You don't have to spend any money at all when you get started. Despite how easy it is to spend money, and how much easier it would be if you did, and what everyone else tells you, there is a way to start a blog that has the potential to make money completely free. I used Google's platform, I tried another platform, but I hated it. Rather than quitting, I tried something else and make it work. 

     That is the second thing I learned if at first you don't succeed, try try again. Never give up, most potential bloggers give up within the first three months.

     The next thing I learned is what plugins are, everyone kept talking about them and I was lost! Plugins are a fundamental part of blogging. Essentially, they are software additions, that allows for the customization of wed browsers. Now these are not elaborate code, they are as simple as having a search bar, or allowing people to access the buttons to follow your posts.

      Next I learned that you have to have a privacy policy, it is illegal not to have one, the good news is, google did that part for me, so I was legal from the start. I used a website to create my own after doing more research, you can access my privacy policy through the sidebar, listed below, pages. 

     After that I learned about marketing, I was on Pintrest from the start, but I only had 32 followers, well now I have 33. My point is I am slowing joining group boards, I don't expect to have 100k followers over night, but I have to start somewhere. Oh, and I learned that when people search for people on Pintrest they are not searching their name, but their username. I had to go and change my username after I found this out.

      Now I haven't learned how to create an avatar, yet. I learned I want to. An avatar allows you to remain anonymous, yet still be personal with your readers. If you read this after I have an avatar as my profile picture, celebrate for me, I learned something else new!

    The most important thing I learned is, keep learning! Never assume you know everything.

     Now I know about SEO and I use it, but I don't put a ton of emphasis on it, after all I am still learning. 

     Next I learned tone, when you are writing a blog, it is best to keep it casual. As if you are having a conversation with your readers. Just as you would talk to someone in person. There is no reason to use strange vocab words, no one understands. The point is that your readers understand you. And a picture is worth a thousand words. 

     Don't use stock photos! I saw lots of blogs telling me to use stock photos, bad idea. Using stock photos, not only, tells any search engine that yours is not new, and not worth showing. You run the chance that people, have seen the photos before.

Perspective

 Your perspective greatly influences your voice. 

     Your voice is not just what you say, but also how other people perceive you. Think of it like a function, now hear me out. The input is other people's actions, The function is your perspective, and the output is your reactions. Most the time this formula doesn't work, but, the good news is the bible is like an instruction manual for changing your perspective.

 If you put the work in you can vastly improve your relationships with any, and all of your family.

     Perspective is a concept I had an ah-ha moment about recently. The longer you live the more perspective, you have. I am the middle child, so I have the perspective of the older, and the younger sister. I have the perspective of someone who grew up in a homeschooling family, and of the child of parents who started their own business. Feel free to share what perspectives you have in the comments. 

     Take this scenario, for example. 

You wake up in the morning ready to seize the day. You get dressed, then head into the kitchen to start breakfast, and your mom asks you to do something. You try to explain what you are doing and your mom gets mad, sound familiar? 

      Let's look at it from her perspective. She has been up for two hours already, she cleaned the kitchen, from the mess you didn't clean up after supper last night. When you finally get out of bed, you head right to the kitchen, thinking only of only yourself and your stomach. Her hands are full and she asks you to do one small thing. All she got from you is back talk.

     Now you may not think you back talked, but, did you change your tone, did you sigh, or did your body language give away how you really felt? I know it is hard to accept that you may have been in the wrong, but you could have handled that much better than you did. You know how frustrated you feel when you are trying to explain yourself to your mom, she feels the same way. The thing is, you aren't evaluating your own behavior.

     Have you ever read some of the writings on parenting teens?

 I read one that talked a mother who invited her family to sit outside for breakfast. Her daughter was upset about some teen drama and was making the meal increasingly unpleasant. Her mother lost her cool and threw her coffee past her daughter's head and into the pool. Then she told her daughter, she wanted to hit her head, and her daughter should be grateful she loved her enough to miss. I bet after hearing that story you are liking the sound of your mother. Yeah, so am I.

     If all our moms had the self control of this mother, how different would our lives be? Even if our moms had our patience, or our self control, we wouldn't like it very much would we. This is why we should strive to learn self control, and patience now, so when we are setting the tone of our households' we are following the example of Jesus himself.

     When you are in a bad mood, or upset about something, that is when you should put in the most effort to wash your families' feet.

      When you aren't  watching your attitude, It is far, too easy to blame the other person. I know how many times I have blamed my sisters or my mom for something that was my fault. How do you monitor your behavior? Think about it, how many times did you clean the kitchen in the last week, how much laundry did you do? Now stop comparing yourself to your sister, mother, or anyone else. How often would you be doing these things if she wasn't doing them for you?

    If you did do your laundry, or your dishes, if you cooked for yourself did you do anything for anyone else? Or did you do one load of their laundry, and mention it to them a million times? Remember, you live in your parent's house, do you pay rent? You eat your parent's food, do you pay for it?

Join me in this prayer

Our savior, lord of heaven's armies, we will never reach your glory, or the glory of your son. We have fallen short a million times, but your unmatched grace saves us again. I ask of you protect us from arrogance, And pride that keep us from seeing when we are in the wrong. I relinquish my hold on my life and allow you do your work, for no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what you have prepared for those who love you. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Agape love

Do you LOVE material things? Something my mom pointed out to me recently is how often I say I love things, I love smoothies, I love my bed, I love my hair (when it behaves).  This is wrong, this is changing our understanding of love. God's love is something called 

 Agape, [ä gä pā]  not (of the mouth) wide open, especially with surprise or wonder. I advise you research the biblical definition. 

     Christianity.com says "Agape love is a sacrificial love that unites and heals. It is the love of God that we see through the cross of Jesus Christ. This love saves and restores humanity in the face of sin and death.

"Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13)

Agape is a Greek word pronounced ah-gah-pay

Agape love is a love of choice, not out of attraction or obligation 

Agape love is what Jesus Christ displayed on the cross for us as he took our place for the sin

     The word "agape" is used 106 times throughout the New Testament, with the most use in the book of 1 John. Read those verses here. " 

I used the concept of agape love to help my find peace read my story.

     This concept is one that fascinated my mom and she researched intently, she looked up the other Greek words for love. If we started to say I like, I like smoothies, I like my bed, I like my hair, we might put more emphasis on love. In a romantic relationship we put great emphasis on 'the L-word', yet we say love your neighbor. If we began to make a distinction between love, We would better understand the way God loves us. It is almost entirely impossible to love the way God does, has, and will. 

     Can you love someone so intently that you give not just your life, as in death, but give your life as your goals, dreams, motivations, be entirely for them, intentionally? God planned to have his son die on the cross from the moment Atom ate the forbidden fruit. God has been completely faithful to his plan to save us, even when we acted like stupid disobedient children. He has been working on a gift for us ever since he knew we needed it, grace is the gift he offers for free. There can be no greater love than to give up one's life for a friend.

PRRAY- praise, repent, remember, ask, yield

Father, what can I say that has not already been said, your greatness has been resounded for generations. I am just another voice praising you in a crowd of many, still I will sing your praise with every breath you gave me. With all my strength, heart, and soul and most of all my passion, I will proclaim the name of the Lord my God. I am not worthy to tie your sandals, I have defiled everything you gave me. You wash me clean, I am now clean like my ancestors before me, your Agape has not failed. Be with me and my readers, allow me to inspire someone, to be a light to all who see me. I surrender. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

    

My biblical morning routine

   

Good morning

  When I wake up I pray first, and thank god for waking me up in my bed, I sleep up on the top bunk, so often I don't even climb off the top bunk, but pray while still in bed, I am not too consistent, still I try. I hang a prayer on the wall or ceiling to remind me. I encourage my sister to follow my lead, she tends to remind me more than I remind her. 

Same with praying before meals, it is hard to be humbled by your younger sister, I was the child who read my bible without prompting, I found my faith when I was twelve, I grew up with a very biblical mother, who taught me everything I knew. When I was twelve  I accepted the faith myself. It was no longer my parent's faith It was mine. I researched what my mom had taught me, I read past the children's stories. I read the Song of Songs, I read about Ug, I read Pauls letters, I read about how the enemies of Israel, tried to curse Israel, and how God only allowed the prophet, to spill blessing of his people. I still questioned, but God used my doubt to strengthen my faith. In my weakness you are made strong.

Then of course I run to the bathroom, who doesn't?

Get your blood pumping

      I stretch, rarely I do some yoga, downward dog, cat and cow, neck stretches, and some strength exercises. God puts bible verses on my heart, most often I see them written on 3×5 cards. My mom writes verses she thinks we need to hear on the cards and puts them on the picture frames, some displayed now are, Proverbs 15:10, Matthew 6:24, Colossians 3:23-24, Philippians 2:14, and Proverbs 19:20. There are more, but these are my favorites.

Time for some vanity

     Then I check my hair. Most the time I have put VO5 in my hair and rolled it up in curlers, or socks, or a bun, or a braid, or something I saw on Pintrest. I will pick my hair through and put conditioner in it (I have some real friz problems). 

We are crazy

     In my house we don't fight over the bathroom, unless we all left to go somewhere as a family, in that case we all race to the bathroom when we get home. Us kids know, mom gets the bathroom first, but we all race anyway as a family tease. Dad blocks the hallway, my younger sister tries to crawl under him, and me and my older sister fake pushes him, but he never budges. Is this just my family?😜

Back to my routine

    After fixing my hair, I will then go and see what my family is doing, most the time my mom is letting out the puppies. My dad is eating or getting ready to go to start Jobsites, my older sister is either leaving for school, or on the weekend she is still in bed. My younger sister is getting breakfast.

What inspired me to start a routine read about it here.

I love smoothies

     I help my sister get breakfast which is much easier if we have a meal prepped, today, we had a ginger peach, apple smoothie, it was fantastic, and some turkey sausage. We used the peach jam we made ourselves, it was great!

These are the ingredients I used for my great smoothie, except the Apple 

I put the smoothies in Masson jars to store as meal prep

Good bye

Then I eat, and let my dog Jake out. What I do next really depends on the day it really isn't part of my routine, it changes almost everyday. Enjoy you days, I am praying for you!

How I named my business and blog

 

     I brain stormed business names for almost two weeks, I got advice from my family, I looked up suggestions, I took my personality and passions into consideration, and I used words easily searched when looking for services my business provides, Then I rethought my name because I forgot to make it memorable. When I finally settled on Marie's Sewing Emporium I was completely satisfied.

      Marie is my middle name, it is a family name. My great grandma Marie died before I met her, but I grew up listening to stories of how she influenced my mother's life. My favorite story is how she would scold my grandpa for using foul language in her house, and how she would joke about whiping him and his brothers with a switch. She would sneak my mother and my aunt, vanilla Oreo cookies. Allowing my grandpa to have some occasionally. My grandpa was the youngest, and he was still her baby. She grew the best garden in town, and won the competition every year. 

      When it came time to name my blog I didn't spend quite as much time, my business would inspire many projects to post, but I wanted a lifestyle blog not to be confined just to sewing post, I wanted to post about what is on my heart and mind, including prayers. I had realized by this time that my blog name didn't matter near as much as content, and I wanted to get started right away. Spending loads of time  picking a name wasn't on the agenda. 

     So, to those of you yet to pick a name, I would advise picking a name that has a story behind it, one that has a meaning to you. Even if you tell no one why you picked the name you did, it will still mean something to you, and that will show in your business, Also you should pick three names and try them out in real life, try talking about your business using your business name, if it is to long shorten it, or abbreviate like I did, MSE has a certain charm. Be sure you are not going to change your name over and over, you will have enough of a time keeping track of advertising. Once you put your name on a shirt or business card you will lose time and money changing it.

This is my logo on a hoodie I chose the colors orange and blue
because blue stands for trust, and orange stands for youthfulness.

     Now that you have picked a name you like look up that name, it never hurts to check if anyone is already using that name, and save you heart ache later. As a general rule try to make it short and memorable, no longer than three words. Look at some of the most popular businesses; Sonic, McDonald's, Hobby Lobby, Hibbit Sports, Walgreens, Wal-Mart, you get the picture. Remember that these businesses built there brand name, you will have to do the same.

Carving pumpkins!

   The finished pumpkin is at the bottom of the page

     I got to carve pumpkins today! After two years of missing out on my favorite Halloween tradition, due to allergies, today I got to carve again. My  parents wanted to carve pumpkins again, so my little sister wouldn't miss out on childhood memories, and even though I understood why we skipped carving the last two years, I was giddy at the chance to be young while I can. 

How this is possible 

    My allergies, have been being monitored closely by my mom, they have gotten much better with small exposure to allergens at times when I haven't eaten any histamine liberators. She watches closely to ensure I am not swelling. I ate a small bite of tomato the other day and I didn't swell. I hope this means I can grow out of my allergies completely like my mom has talked about. We will roast pumpkin seeds tomorrow, but here is how the trip to the pumpkin patch went.

I developed my allergies after a unfortunate run in with a pumpkin during a seasonal craft.

Another stroke of luck

      We went to the pumpkin patch which is a fundraiser for a local church, the pumpkins are already picked off the vine, and brought into town, it is just called the pumpkin patch.  The patch had been open for the last time yesterday, Oct. 31. There were sill many pumpkins left. We had already been in stores, and they were all out of pumpkins. My dad called the number on the window and asked if someone could "come down to open the patch up long enough for us to get some pumpkins." The person on the phone asked how many pumpkins we wanted "about five" told my dad that all the pumpkins left, go to a farmer to feed his pigs, we could have our pumpkins for free. We got our pumpkins and set to carving.

     I carved a rendition of the starry night.

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What do you all think? Any good?