Lessons Released
My husband and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary yesterday, so marriage was definitely on my mind – looking back on our favorite memories from the year, having conversations about what we want for this next year… I reread an email last night that I received from FamilyLife with a Happy Anniversary message. The top suggestions for marriage that they shared from couples who have been married a long time were CELEBRATE, FORGIVE, and KEEP GROWING TOGETHER! It continued on with Dennis Rainey, the President, CEO and co-founder of FamilyLife, and his 40 years of marriage. When Dennis’s and, his wife, Barbara’s 40th anniversary occurred, he decided to create his list of “40 Lessons for 40 Years of Marriage.” These lessons are so important and vital to a strong, God-centered marriage. They include keeping God #1 in your marriage, praying together, forgiveness and more! Below are the Top 10 Lessons – the link for the full list of “40 Lessons From 40 Years of Marriage” is at the bottom of the article. These are life lessons I want in my marriage to create a strong foundation for our family, to edify one another, so we can continue celebrating for years to come!
—————————————————————————–
40 Lessons From 40 Years of Marriage
Four decades ago, I married Barbara Ann Peterson. Looking back now on the first 12 months of our marriage, I’d have to describe myself then as an idiot—repeatedly ignoring the dignity of the woman that God had brought me.
But after six children, 19 grandchildren, and decades of married life, I’ve learned some things. I think of them as 40 lessons from 40 years of marriage … and family … and life.
1. Marriage and family
A Tribute for Fathers
Father’s Day was on Sunday and it was the first Father’s Day that my precious husband spent the day without any of his daughters, son-in-laws and now 7 grandchildren around him. But we had a joy filled day because …….we hold them all in our hearts. My husband is faithful and devoted to his family. He is a hard worker and dedicated to his profession. He is well respected and a blessing to his patients and their families.”Grandchildren are the crowning glory of the aged, and the glory of children are their fathers.”
Proverbs 17:6
“The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him.” Proverbs 23:24
“I have written to you, fathers because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you…” 1 John 2:14
A friend wrote a beautiful tribute to her father and had the compassionate and insightful quote….”We are born into families with either a dad who heads his family with breathtaking responsibility or with dads who struggle their entire lives to ‘get it right’……..in spite of the confusing examples of some less-than-perfect Dads, we all have access to a Perfect Father. We really do! And this is what gets me so excited: We are invited into a relationship with this Father. We are warmly invited to be the son or daughter of the Father who loves us without restraint…….He loves us intimately and gently and well-as a Father should.”
Take a moment to think on this concept and share it with a friend who might struggle on or around Fathers Day.
…
Release Your Excuses
I am sharing this exercise from a leadership group that I am in. I mentioned last month about the value of being mentored, and I still highly recommend that you have someone in your life that can challenge you to reach out of your comfort zone.
1. START
Write down one thing that you feel you are struggling with in life.
Something you fell you can’t do or can’t master.
Begin your comment with “I can’t…”
(For example: “I can’t keep my office clean.” “I can’t wake up early.”)
2. RE-WRITE
Now, re-write your comment. Replace “I can’t” with “I won’t.”
3. REFLECT
How does that new statement make you feel?
4. RELEASE
Now do you see how what you thought was a result “I can’t keep my office organized,” is actually a CHOICE that you made not to do something. It’s time to release your excuses and take full responsibility for your results and actions.
Stop saying “I can’t.” Start saying “I won’t.” Then take action to release your excuses and fix it!
I would love for you to take on this challenge with me. Please write one of your “I won’t” statements in the comments and share how you are going to release the excuse and change that won’t into a will!
…
Release for Full Life
http://www.clearstreamcoaching.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/bigstock-autumn-yellow-grass-and-sunset-12748049.jpg
How do you live your life? Does what you believe make a difference in how you make decisions? Does it reflect who you are? What are you holding on to? What do you need to release? Are you living life to the fullest? Or are you missing out on something more fulfilling? This week I was reading the part in James that talks about faith and deeds.
In the book of James in the New Testament of the Bible, James 2:18-24,26 says “‘You have faith; I have deeds’. Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.…
Read MoreModify Ink – Allowing a Creative Release For All Types REVIEW
A couple weeks ago, I wrote a post about an amazing company that we discovered at Build Your Blog Conference 2015 named Modify Ink! I just received my order yesterday – “US Map” – and the product is such great quality! The colors are bright and vibrant, which I love! The process is fun, too! Once I chose the design that I wanted, I was able to customize all of the colors with solids, patterns, bright and muted colors; there were so many options! I could also customize each individual section of a print. I decided to stay simple with a coral background and off-white text. I love how it turned out! I feel like, even though I wasn’t the one who created the design, I still had a part in creating the artwork! Here is a picture of my final print!
I am planning to frame my print and use it to mark the places my husband and I travel to in the United States! I am excited for my print and my new project, as well as, using Modify Ink for future decor! Great artwork, easy to use, and an amazing, innovative idea taking digital print images to a higher standard!
Stay tuned Growing Weisser Followers for an EXCLUSIVE COUPON CODE for Modify Ink COMING SOON!!
The original post about Modify Ink is below!
————————————————————————————-
It’s time to release the idea that YOU ARE NOT AN ARTIST! You may not be able to paint, your idea of a self-portrait may be a stick figure, or your clay lion may look like a worm. But it doesn’t matter because with Modify Ink EVERYONE can be an artist!
“We want everyone to
have the ability to customize art, to create
art, to collect art, and to love art.” -Modify Ink…
Peach Cobbler Sensation-Revealing a new trend in healthy desserts
U-Pick fruit stands are plentiful in the town of Brentwood which is about a 45 minute drive from my home. Almost every June for the past 20 years, I plan a berry, peach or apricot picking adventure with friends. Never in all the years I have been planning and participating in this event have I experienced what happened this year. Some girlfriends and i decided it was a perfect week for picking Olallieberries (similar to Blackberries but it is actually a cross between a loganberry and a youngberry and is cultivated in California and Oregon). The anticipated day arrived and it was sprinkling in my home town, but the forecast for Brentwood was morning sprinkles until about 9 am. We had all been praying for rain so we were glad to have a light shower in the wee hours of the morning but as we drove the 45 minutes towards Brentwood we realized the sprinkling was not letting up as forecasted. But on we went….nothing would deter us from our berry picking. We arrived at our destination only to find that the berry picking ranch was closed. We surmised that they were just waiting for the light shower to let up and then they would open up and we would pick for an hour or two and return home with our beautiful stash of berries. So we drove around looking for other U-Pick places that might be open already. We did find one place that seemed to be opening up but when we approached the farm entrance the owners told us it was too muddy and they were going to close for the day. We were so disappointed but on we drove. We finally decided to stop at the Farmer’s Daughter farm and although we knew they did not have …
Read MorePassion Perspective Giveaway Winner and Bethany’s Birthday Tribute
Thank you for participating in our Passion Perspective celebrating the launching of Bekah’s Etsy shop A Line & A Lighthouse. We hope you have all taken the time to visit her Etsy shop and are considering who you would love to bless with a gift of a Bani Banner.
We are happy to announce the winner of the Giveaway…………Kelly Hyder-Hanlon….and what a fantastic winner she is!!!! Congratulations…..Bekah will correspond with you to give you the details of how to redeem your coupon!
Today we have another important event to celebrate…..today is Bethany’s 29th birthday! We want to honor her this day. She is such a precious part of our family and we all owe so much to her for how she encourages each one of us to be the BEST we can be in our life as we celebrate each day.
Rachel’s birthday message: “Happy Birthday, Bethany. I am continually amazed, inspired, and challenged by you. Your posts are filled with love and a deep understanding of God’s word and his will for our lives. You are such a blessing to me!”
Jessica’s birthday message: “Happy birthday Bethany! Your joy and enthusiasm for life makes everyone around you want to live life to the fullest. Thank you for encouraging me and pointing us to Jesus. I hope you have a wonderful, much deserved birthday! I love you!”
Bekah’s birthday message: “Happy birthday Bethany! I hope this is the start to your best year yet! I’m so glad that we’ve been only a few hours away instead of countries between us for the last few months! I admire your faith and your courage and how much you care for others…and I love that we still match by accident all the time! Love you “twin”! Happy birthday!”…
Read MoreHow to Order Your Bani Banners! Passion Perspective Day 3
Welcome back to Day 3 of our Passion Perspective, sharing Bekah’s journey of developing Bani Banners for her new Etsy shop called A Line & A Lighthouse.
For those of you who did not have the privilege of reading about Bekah’s new Etsy shop in the first 2 days of our Passion Perspective week, you can access both post by clicking these links.
Day 1
Day 2
Bekah’s BANI BANNERS are handmade decor pieces to accent a baby or child’s room! Bani Banners are completely customized – You choose the fabric and felt colors for the letters of the name or word(s)!
This unique gift originated as a name banner but can also be hand-crafted for room or home decor or a party decoration (Baby Shower, Bridal Shower, Wedding, Holiday, or Special Event with words like …“Home”, “Love”, “Play”, “Sisters”…)
Today we will walk you step by step through the ordering process for your Bani Banner!
Go to Bekah’s Etsy shop, www.etsy.com/shop/ALineAndALighthouse
TO ORDER YOUR BANI BANNER:
1. Choose the Quantity of Banners
Choose the Quantity of Banners needed from the drop down menu on the Right.
Need new decor for your child’s room?
Gammie Kerry thinks this is the BEST gift idea for Grandmothers to buy for their grandchildren or to celebrate the birth of your friend’s grandchild.
Have some baby showers coming up?
This is a perfect gift that is unique for Mommies and fun for children to have as they grow up!
Need that crafty touch for your party?
Have a theme for your party?
Order a Bani Banner!
2. Choose the Number of Hearts needed (1 HEART PER LETTER IN NAME)
Choose the Number of Hearts needed from the drop down menu on the Right located under the Quantity of Banners drop down menu.
If …
Read MoreBekah’s Journey of Developing “Bani Banners”
Join us today as we follow Bekah’s journey of creating her first product, Bani Banners in her Etsy shop, A Line and a Lighthouse…….
Bekah’s story begins…
“My original passion that inspired Bani Banners, aside from loving to create anything and everything, was becoming an Auntie! I wanted to combine my oldest passion of creative crafting with my newest passion of being an Auntie to make something special for my nieces and nephews – Bani Banners emerged! The name, Bani Banners, came later (actually inspired by my husband) once I got my new last name, BANIhashemi! 🙂 The name, A Line & A Lighthouse, was recently inspired by the two symbols that represent the two most important things in my life – God and my husband.”
She continued her story of how she came up with her idea and what steps she took to make it a reality…
“I thought of the idea and created the idea for Bani Banners on the second round of babies in our family- when two new nieces and a new nephew arrived all within 2 ½ months! I really just had the idea and used my nieces and nephews as guinea pigs 🙂 I loved how the baby name banners turned out so when my friends started having babies, I began making Bani Banners for them too! I made so many Christmas gift Bani Banners that I decided it was time to open my own Etsy shop, something that I have considered for years now with various ideas, but finally decided that Bani Banners would be my product.
What sets A Line and a Lighthouse apart from other DIY craft ideas?
Kerry says, “I am an avid crafter and have been sewing for almost 50 years….and although I always love anything my girls create, …
A Line and A Lighthouse-Passion Perspective
Our Passion Perspective for this month is featuring our very own Bekah Banihashemi and her journey of developing her ETSY shop, A Line and A Lighthouse and creating her first product, BANI BANNERS.
Today we will be getting to know a little bit more about Bekah…..
Bekah has always loved doing all types of crafts. She became an expert scrapbooker (her reason-“my mom jokes that I got tired of waiting for her to do my photo album scrapbooks. Since she was so busy by the time she had me- the 4th child- I just decided to make my own”) but with the expensive cost of supplies and the increase in technology, she now loves making photo books! Since becoming a wife, she has really begun to enjoy cooking and finding healthy recipes! Bekah’s love for gift giving combined with her passion for creating, designing and her creative flair inspired her first product, Bani Banners.
Bekah’s 3 sisters are the charter members of her fan club, here are their words of encouragement:
Rachel: “Bekah’s creativity comes straight from her heart and is evident in all she does. I love the way she can make an idea come to life and puts her own unique style into a finished project.”
Jess: “I am inspired by Bekahs thoughtfulness and genuine care for others. Her sweet spirit is evident to everyone around her. I admire her gifts and talents and how she is using them to bless others.”
Bethany: “Bekah is an all around rock star. Not only is she creative and crafty, but she is loving, compassionate, and giving. Mix those things and you get someone who is always thinking of others, making people feel loved, and really cherishing who people are on the inside. She pays attention to the details and …