Why we LOVE our church family

*tonight, we are handing out treat bags to the local kids.

* we have TONS of activities with our youth

* the entire church family (youth, too) is going to watch Fireproof this weekend& we will work on "The Love Dare" at Bible Study.

*we are serious about loving others.

*our Sunday dress code is "come as you are". we often wear jeans.

*my husband and other men give lessons (we don't call them sermons) every week. This gives them something to discuss with each other and to learn from.

*we eat dinner together at least twice a month. we are always trying to find ways to do more things together.

*at my husband's job, our church is referred to as, "that church Charlie goes to, they are good people. they don't look down on you."

*I don't know about you, but to me, that means we are doing something right. =)

*our kids love each other. their friends from church are very important to them.

*we do SO many things as a group. we are trying to live life together. To BE the church.

anyway, I just wanted to say all of this. I have been meaning to for awhile. Sometimes I feel like I focus on the problems in life to much and I don't proclaim all of the good things, all of my blessings. Our church family has been a MAJOR blessing in our life. And continues to be.

Please be in prayer for my Uncle Edwin Crowell. He is very ill and doesn't have a good prognosis. we love him so much.

*There are just SO many things I could say about our church family, but here's the one best thing to me:

WE LOVE IT!!!!!

All I can say is, AMEN.....

Read HERE and see why!

Julie

You've been Boo'd...

INGREDIENTS

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 cup shortening (I use the butter crisco and it is soooooooo good in these!)

2 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups candy-coated milk chocolate pieces(M&M's)

DIRECTIONS

In a large bowl, mix sugar, eggs, shortening, and vanilla thoroughly. Add flour, salt, and baking soda to creamed mixture. Blend well. Add 3/4 cup of M&M candies. Drop dough by teaspoonful onto cookie sheet. Slightly push a few candies on top of each dough ball with remaining candies. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 9 to 11 minutes, to your liking.

A friendly ghost has come your way

To wish for you a wonderful day

.He left a small gift and something sweet

Never heard him come cause he's light on his feet.

You must be light on your feet too,

Cause this is what you have to do:

Choose two friends, and choose them well.

Now this is a secret, you musn't tell.

Copy this poem, and the sign twice,

If you do it by hand, make sure it looks nice.

Take a couple of gift bags down from the shelf

,Or a plain paper bag, you can design yourself.

Fill them with sweets, and a gift of your choice.

Leave em' on your friends porch,without any noise.

Hang this sign on your door, for all ghosts to see.

They'll know you've been "BOO-D", and will leave you be.

This is only a game, to have a little fun

,Let's see how far it goes, before the month's done.

Now you have 24 hrs. to visit your friends.Please don't be the cause of our games early end.
Happy Haunting!

I don't know how many of you know about this but it is a fun little activity that we participated in when I worked at our local elementary school back way before I had my kids. It is fun for me because I like any excuse to do some baking! =) This year, I am going to try and do this for some church friends and some family on both sides. But I can't tell you exactly who because that will ruin the surprise! =) These cookies are a GREAT way sweet treat to put in your BOO bags or baskets! So, feel free to try this idea! Pass it along, HAVE FUN & start a new tradition in your neighborhood or family or church (we in NO WAY celebrate or promote evil and I would have nothing to do with anything that did; just want to clarify that point!) This is just a FUN way to reach out to people!! =) Have fun & Happy Fall!!!! (You can use the poem above or the one printed on the link I gave you at the beginning of this post!)

HAPPY FALL!!!!!!!!!!!

*I will probably do a part 2 of this post because I will find more cute crafts & yummy treats that would be awesome for this; I always do! =)

Love,

Julie

ugh! this is SERIOUSLY DISTURBING!

Click here and read Virtue Alert's post about the show that many teens watch, "Gossip Girl". This is disturbing and it really sickens me. I thought that 90210 was bad when I was a teen. This is SAD. What really is sad is that so many kids watch this show and look up to these characters. Please discuss with your children why these actions portrayed in their ads are so inappropriate and extremely dangerous.

*I don't mean to offend anyone but I have young nieces and nephews as well as my own children. I believe with everything within me that we MUST speak out about these kinds of things and talk to our youth about them. We must take action and not just talk. One of the reasons I blog. A lot of young kids that I know read this blog and listen to what I say. This is very important, trust me. Just something that I have been convicted about for many years. I truly feel that what we watch and read and associate with can taint our souls. And I don't want those kind of horrible consequences for any of the youth that I know and love. =)

Light some candles...

"My point is this: Uncontrolled anger won’t better our world, but sympathetic understanding will. Once we see the world and ourselves for what we are, we can help. Once we understand ourselves we begin to operate not from a posture of anger but of compassion and concern. We look at the world not with bitter frowns but with extended hands. We realize that the lights are out and a lot of people are stumbling in the darkness. So we light candles." Max Lucado