Grace Notes

Hey y’all!  Well, it’s officially New Year’s Eve, and tomorrow is the conclusion of Near Year’s Blog Week.  This week has been such fun!  I had a great time writing posts each day this week, and I’d love to hear which post was your favorite or inspired you the most.

Ah, I love to make New Year goals!  It’s one of my favorite lists ever to make.  I love examining my priorities, brainstorming, and looking forward to 365 days in which I can accomplish many new things.  How about you?  Do you enjoy making New Year goals? I’m sure I’m not done with making all of my 2018 goals yet, but here are the ones I have decided on so far:

Hey y’all!  Happy Friday!  Today is day 4 of New Year Blog Week 2017.  I’d love to hear if you’re enjoying this week of posts so far.  I know I am!  It feels so good to put up new content each day.  Today I’m going to be reviewing the goals I made for 2017.  Make sure to comment and let me know what goals you made this past year and what all you accomplished!

Hey y’all!  It is day 3 of New Year Blog Week, and today I wanted to share with you some of my favorites from this past year, in the areas of music, books, memories, blog posts, and a couple random things to conclude.  Photos will also be scattered throughout, because what is a recap post without pictures?! :)

Ah, how do I even write this post?  I learned so many lessons in 2017; lessons I did not expect to learn, but lessons that God knew I needed.  Isaiah 55:8-9 says, “ For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts .”  Isn’t that so true?  I am thankful that we can trust the Lord with the assurance that His plans are the best.

Merry Christmas, y’all!  I hope you all had a wonderful day, filled with lots of laughter, family, cheer, love, and joy in knowing that our Savior is born!  But again we are reminded, Jesus Christ did not come to earth just to stay in a manger.  He conquered the grave and gave us Hope for eternal life.  And THAT is a reason to celebrate today, and always!

Hey y’all!  It’s three days till Christmas and honestly, it feels like the Christmas season is practically already over.  The parties, special music programs, the church meals… they all have been executed, enjoyed, and concluded.  Christmas gift shopping is wrapping up (pun intended).  And now, there are just three days remaining till the largest holiday of the year.  Three days without parties, special music programs, and church meals.  Three days of… nothing.

Hey y’all!  My apologies for the gap in blog posts these past few weeks.  Is this seriously my first December post?  Yikes!  Anyway… I hope you are enjoying the Christmas season thus far.  I am just loving it!  Today I’d like to share some of that Christmas joy with you by giving you a few Christmas song suggestions to check out and perhaps include on your Christmas playlist this season.  These are all songs I personally love, enjoy, and would recommend.

Hey y’all!  First off, I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Our Thanksgiving was very non-traditional, but we had a great time making memories (and remembering some hilarious old ones) with family and friends.  And now, Thanksgiving is over and the glorious Christmas season is beginning!  Special church Christmas programs and Christmas parties are happening, decorations are going up, and Christmas music is resounding from every house.  I love this time of year!

Hey y’all!  Considering that its Thanksgiving week and I’m overdue for a blog post, I figured that today I’d share with you some of the things I’m thankful for right now!  Truly, I have so much to be thankful for.  God is SO, so good!

Hey y’all!  It’s November; red, orange, and yellow leaves rain down on breezy days, and cute boots and scarves are donned.  Even Pizza Inn has a pumpkin spice pizza (which I will NOT be trying any time soon, for your information).  But perhaps the most famous thing about November is that it is home to the beloved holiday, Thanksgiving.

Hey y’all!  I hope you’re having a great day so far.  Lately I’ve been learning a lot about productivity and prioritizing, and I feel like I’ve definitely come along way on those two topics.  They go hand-in-hand because you are most productive when you prioritize well.  Today, however, I’m just going to talk about productivity, and I’ll save the topic of prioritizing for another day.

Hey y’all!  So, since I didn’t get a “currently” post out for September, and it’s already pretty much 2/3rds the way through October (HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?!), I figured that I’d just go ahead and combine the two months into one post :)  So here’s what I’m currently up to…

Lately I’ve felt the Lord impressing the truths from Philippians 3:13-14 on my heart.  These familiar verses read: “…but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

How was your summer, girls?  I cannot believe it is nearly October!  Autumn is here and I’m impatiently enthusiastically waiting for the cooler temperatures to arrive and STAY all day every day :)  Isn’t this season filled with so much loveliness?  I think so!

“Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life?  It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” ~ James 4:14, KJV

Hey y’all!  Today I’d like to just keep it simple and tell you of a couple sweet little blessings in my days these past few weeks.  After all, we’re supposed to count our blessings!  But while I’m at it, why don’t I share a few photos, too? :)  Thankful for these little blessings God has given!

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about making every moment in our lives count for Christ.  After identifying some of those “worth-it” things, I realized that every day I waste so much time on things that are rather pointless.  We all do, really.  Honestly, do we have to spend as much time as we do on certain things?  While it seems like the world “simplicity” is virtually unknown in our culture, we need to embrace and pursue it and use the extra time we gain through that to serve the Lord.

Starting… a “smash book.”   I’ve seen inspiration for these types of journals all over Pinterest, so I finally decided to begin my own.   Basically the idea is to take a journal and put random little things in it such as letters, Bible verse cards, short notes, stickers, and things like that.   Since I’ve started completely hand-lettering my cards, I have this collection of washi-tape that’s just been sitting in a basket unused.   Washi-tape is perfect for securing things in a smash book!   Not to mention that it adds color and cuteness all around.

I’ve been wanting for some time to write a post or two on hand-lettering, but as you can tell, that hasn’t happened.  I didn’t want to go much longer without writing about lettering since I already took photos and all for a few lettering posts.  So seeing it’s about time I get another blog post out for y’all anyway, I figured that today I’d pull something together that I could include some of those photos in. So here is a super quick, 4-point overview in hand lettering!

“Gracie, please play ‘Go Fish’ with me!”    It was the umpteenth time I had heard the request, except this time I couldn’t resist.  My adorable little brother, clasping the cards in his hands, glanced up at me with his pretty, innocent blue eyes.  Reluctantly, I said “Yes.” 

Singing… O Sifuni Mungu.  This song, people… so fun! Trusting… that God’s will is best, 100% of the time; even when trials come or things happen that I don’t understand.  Last week I found out that I have to have oral surgery… again.  This was definitely NOT my plan!  I’m not sure why God placed this mini-trial in my life, but He has a reason and I have to trust Him with it.

I’ve been collecting and penning through journals ever since I can remember.  At eight or nine years old, you could find me taking notes at church, journaling about everyday life, filling a huge pink binder with handwritten stories, and more.  As I’ve gotten older I’ve discarded a few of those old journal themes, but my love for journaling has not diminished.  Now I keep spiritual growth journals, prayer journals, a blogging journal, and others similar to those.

Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. -- Hebrews 13:5, KJV

Reading… Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman.  I just started reading it so I can’t say yet if I would recommend it.  However, it is very good so far! Smelling… Pumpkin bread and waffles.  For some reason, there’s been this trend of our house smelling like either pumpkin bread or waffles at all times.  Today it was pumpkin bread.  But I’ve also lost track of how many waffles I’ve eaten in the past two weeks...

Wow.  It’s been quite a while since I’ve done one of these posts, hasn’t it?!  My goal-making motivation just hasn’t been there these past few months.  I was enjoying the break, actually, until I realized how bored I’ve been getting lately.  This past weekend I had two specific times where I just did not know what to do with myself (which is funny because this weekend was also quite hectic).  That being said, I figured it’s time I return to goal-setting ;)

Hey y’all!  I’ve been tagged! :)  This is the first time I’ve ever been tagged by a blogger, so I’m super excited!  Thank you, Mykaela , for tagging me! :)  Mykaela created this fun tag to give bloggers something fun to do this summer on their blogs.  Ready to jump in?

Hey y’all!  Today I have compiled for you 10 ideas for things you can do during your Bible time.  Bible reading and prayer should be the basis of our time with the Lord, but there’s no reason we have to stop there.  There are many more ways you can spend time with the Lord – singing, memorization, and even personalizing the Bible through artwork!

Hey y’all!  Today I’d like to just share with you 30 ideas for random acts of kindness.  It’s pretty much summertime now, and summer is a great time to go the extra mile and make the most of every day!  Some people like to just lay around during the summer, but I challenge you to be the odd one out.  Go make a difference!  You can start by seeing how many of these random acts of kindness you can do this summer!

Hey y’all!  These last few months have been so exciting in the creativity part of my life!  Why?  I think I found my card-making crafty niche!  I’ve always admired calligraphy and lettering, and ever since I began typing I have loved experimenting with different fonts on Microsoft Word.  Quite a while ago, I began to letter the words/sayings on my cards, instead of stamping or printing them.  I really enjoyed this, and began doing it more and more.  More recently, I have started creating cards that are completely hand-drawn.  And I absolutely love it!

Hey y’all!  My friend Beth has agreed to join me today for a fun Q+A!  This has been in the works for a few weeks now, and I’m excited to be able to share it with you all today.  The Q+A consists mostly of random, fun questions that I asked Beth, but there are a few questions at the end that are more serious.  We hope you enjoy! :)

“…and will sing praise to the name of the LORD most high.” ~ Psalm 7:17b

Tomorrow is Mother’s Day: the day when we celebrate all of the awesome moms out there, and show our appreciation for all that they have done.  We give gifts and we give hugs.  We may even bring our mom breakfast in bed.  But really, we cannot even begin to show our appreciation for all that she has done for us!  She gave birth to us, comforted us when we had nightmares, made us all of our meals, and so much more.   I don’t think any of us will ever really understand how much our mothers’ have done until we are in her shoes.

Hey y’all!  So, I said a little while ago that I was looking forward to returning to my “card inspiration” posts.  And here, about 6 months later, I’m finally keeping my word :)  These cards have been waiting for about a year in my pictures folder, waiting for graduation season to finally arrive.  And now that it has, I figured that I’d better put them to use!  So, here’s some inspiration for you crafty girls who want to make some cards for your graduating friends.

Hey y’all!  It’s finally time to release my answers for my blog-versary Q+A!   I want to thank each of you girls that sent in questions; you gave me some great ones and I had tons of fun answering them!  I was also nervous about not getting very many questions, but y’all took care of that nicely :)  Thank you so, so much!  And without further ado, here are my answers! :) Have you decided on a new blog name? :) Do you like to listen to classical music at all? I like listening to classical music when I have some sort of connection to it (like I’ve heard it before, played it myself, etc.).  That’s when I really appreciate and understand the music.  But honestly, even though I like the idea of listening to classical music, I don’t do much of it.  That is something I hope to fix in the future though! Do you all have any pets? We have 2 dogs, 4 cats, and a bunny.  We also have lots of chickens, but we don’t exactly consider them pets ;) Do you like tea, coffee, or

Once upon a time … a baby boy was born.  But he was no ordinary infant.  This baby boy was a prince!  It was true that he had no official title as a prince; he did not possess riches or a crown.  His birth was that of a pauper.  He was not born in a palace, surrounded by doting and attentive maid servants; rather, he was born in a stable, surrounded by animals.  It was hardly an adequate birth for a prince, but yet it was as it had been planned from the very beginning.  How many nights to come a humble pillow of hay must have seemed a great comfort to his weary head!

Hey y’all!  Are you familiar with the wordless book?  It’s a tool to use to present the gospel, particularly to young children.  It has five pages, each with a different color, and each color represents a different aspect of salvation.  Last year I was asked to make a bunch of wordless book bracelets for a VBS, and recently I was asked to make more for a children’s ministry.  They are extremely simple and easy to make, so today I would like to show you how!

Hey everyone!  In case you haven’t noticed… the blog has changed a little bit! :)  I’ve officially renamed the blog Grace Notes and designed it around that theme.  I have not yet been able to make a new web address, so keep using the old one for now, please.  I will keep you all posted on when the web address change actually occurs (aka, “part two” of this post).   Also, the blog is still undergoing construction, so bear with me on that ;)   You may notice a few changes here and there for the next little while.   The about page is the next on my list to update.   The photo page, however, just got a bit longer, so go check that out!

Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body. -- Hebrews 13:3, KJV

Hey y’all!  In the comment section of the My Goals // March 2017 + Possible Blog Changes post I did recently, a few of you suggested that I do a Q+A post sometime!  I’ve seen several other bloggers do this, but I’ve not really thought about it much.  Well, I’ve decided that I am finally going to do one to celebrate my 2nd blog-versary in a month!  I think it’s going to be a lot of fun, and I’m excited about it :)  But I can’t do it without YOUR help!

Hey y’all!  It’s the beginning of a new month, so you guys know what that means! ;)  This time, however, I’m going to do something slightly different.  Instead of only reviewing last month’s goals and sharing my new goals for March, I’m going to also talk about some changes and things that might take place on this blog sometime in the near future.  Please remember to give your thoughts and suggestions in the comments below!

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: -- 1 Peter 3:15, KJV

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. -- Ephesians 4:32, KJV

Hey y’all!  So, most of you already know that my favorite book is Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis ;)  This was the book that I believe God used to burden my heart for Africa; so naturally, it is very special to me.  It changed my life!  And not only has Katie changed lives through her book, but she has also changed the lives of countless others through Amazima Ministries, a non-profit organization she began.

Hey y’all!  Today I wanted to hop on and share with you about a story contest that’s going on over at my friend Isabella’s blog, Worth it All!  You may remember the 2-part interview I had with Bella (see my “interview” page), and how she shared about her published books.  Isabella has been writing for many years now.  And this month she is hosting a story writing contest!  I would like to share some of the details with you, so you can find out how you can enter, too!

Hey y’all!  Here I am again with another monthly goals post :)  With January being the start of a New Year, that meant that a lot of goal-making naturally came with it, so I decided to break from monthly goals for the first month.  However, I’m ready to jump back in with February 2017 goals!

Hey y’all!  When I decided to begin another blog post this week, I had no clue what I was going to write about.  Lately I’ve been attempting to write an actual whole book, so I’ve chosen to do that instead of blogging.  But at this point, I’m desperate to write another blog post.  I want to give my readers something to chew on.

Hey y’all!  Lately I’ve been seeing a certain blog post topic going around on the blogs I follow: the year’s review with a short summary of each month in 2016.  Bloggers call this type of post different things, but the title I have come up with is simply, “My Year in a Nutshell.”  So without further ado, here is my 2016 in a nutshell!

Hey y’all!  As I promised, here is my December Photo Challenge recap from this past month!  It was really fun finally challenging myself to take a picture once a day throughout the month, and even though I missed a lot of days and never made up from them, I did take some at least! :)  And for y’all with the iPhones: most of these are terrible quality from my iPhone 4 ;)  You’re not alone!

Happy New Year, y’all!!  It’s officially 2017 now! :)  I want to take a moment to thank you all for the many comments I received on the blog this past week for New Year Blog Week.  I really enjoyed posting each day this week, and I plan on making New Year Blog Week a tradition now!  So if I forget at the end of this year, please remind me ;)  And if you have any ideas at all for my next blog week, I would love to hear them in the comments below!!