A Worthy Life

weekend worthy

         

Happy weekend all and a special shout out to all the babies' mamas and this mama's mama! Just a few links this weekend but plenty to inspire and get you thinking/creating/singing!

• I love the blog A Beautiful Mess but this? This is beautiful genius...a simple DIY DIM (done in minutes;). A trip to the thrift store is in order tomorrow and on the way I think I'll rock out to my favorite beats trying to decide which lyrics to use for this!

• Tomorrow we're celebrating mothers but Father's Day is right around the corner. This personalized scrapbook is perfect for letting your child document their special relationship with dad. Best part? It's free, glrorious free!

• I love virtual shopping via etsy and this week stumbled on a new favorite shop. Pen and Paint creates beautiful sketches of inspirational quotes and happy household items. Plus the artist's blog is a fun place to catch inspiration, a few DIYs, and the occasional freebie like this free spring printable.

• We first heard of Jayme Dee years ago through her support of 31 Bits but have been following her rising star ever since. Her song Rules was on the Hunger Games soundtrack (side note: this soundtrack is AMAZING!! The CIvil Wars, The Decemberists, Arcade Fire, Punch Brothers, Maroon 5, and Taylor Swift all on one album...perfection!), she's already performed twice at the iconic Roxy Theatre, and she just announced a Canadian tour date with Owl City on July 9. I have a vague suspicion I have something already booked that weekend but here's to hoping I'm Toronto bound instead!

• In other music news, Lecrae has a Church Clothes mixtape downloadable for free. I know, it's crazy...I love indie, mainstream pop, and yet still foster a deep love affair with rap. I own it: I'm messed up and so too will be my poor schizophonic children!

• Oh, and one more because it's on the list of things to do on my mother's day! (Ok, so I lied that this one would be short!) We've had way too much little people drama lately in our home so I made the executive decision to restrict all over-the-top hysterics to the stage! In real life, no drama or acting the victim in order to get others in trouble. In real life, I want real. But on the stage - act it out, girl! The kids liked this newly invented therapy so we will of course have to go big and pull out some very chic stage curtains for the doorway!

Looking forward to a special M-day brunch with some great moms tomorrow! So thankful for this calling...I've finally found a passion worth a lifelong pursuit!

weekend worthy

Happy Saturday, y'all! This weekend's edition is full of videos so pull up a chair and a cup of joe and get ready to laugh!

In Your Arms: An artistic project that took close to 2 years, 30 people, and 288,000 jelly beans. I'll admit the result is a visual treat, an epic masterpiece in stop motion videography, but if I knew people were so hard up on finding profitable things to do with their time I would have offered them the chance to do something truly life changing. Like say, alphabetize my can goods in color coordinating sequences.

12 Days of Christmas: It's a must see if you're Indian, married to one, or wish you were. I sent it out to most of our Indian friends and relatives (even my in-laws laughed!), living both in North America and India, and so far we haven't offended anyone. Lots of laughs, this one!

High Fashion in Real Life: Have you ever thumbed through the pages of a high fashion magazine and marveled at the beauty but scoffed at the ridiculous poses that the models are frozen in? This video takes poses right out of couture fantasy and plops them straight into reality. Gone are the willowy toothpicks and hello! ordinary woman! Funny, funny stuff, especially the one where the woman poses with two fingers in her mouth...ridiculously entertaining!

Gifts That Give Back: Last week I shared a list of great gift ideas that give back and this week I'm so excited to share with you another resource list! My favorite on this list is TOMS who now has new ways that you can buy one, give one through the purchase of shoes, boots, and eyewear. I'll take the Classic 201, please!

Advent devos: We're already well on our way in counting down until Christmas Day and our family is working on some pretty amazing ways to celebrate Jesus' birthday! One of those ways is using Focus on the Family's free advent devotion download that is chock full of insightful bible readings, powerful object lessons, craft ideas, and stories from Max Lucado. Even if you haven't started, it's never too late to start impressing on your kids the true meaning of Christmas!

weekend worthy

Offically it's Monday, the antithesis of weekend. But in my house, I'm still in pjs, hoping my getup keeps me on the down-low, a non-official prescription to buoy my strength in preparation for all that this week holds. So, because I am never on the computer on the weekends these days (thinking I should probably put these posts together on Friday), here are this week's links of must reads/sees/downloads in case you too are celebrating Munturday (a new hybrid of Monday, Saturday, and Sunday)...

Owl Calendar: Just in time for the New Year, this site has a FREE downloadable calendar that you can customize yourself from dozens of original artists' designs. Also, free downloadable gift wrap and stationery! Since coming across a gorgeous owl on a family bike ride this fall, we've been obsessed with the little guy and we're pretty sure you are one click away from an obsession yourself!

Thousand Gifts app: I love this new app from Ann Voskamp! A handy app to digitally journal gratitude, you can post a simple line plus a photo and, in so doing, awaken to all the gifts around you everyday.

Foster the People: Anyone else out there a Rebekah St. James fan? As a teen, I loved her funky departure from the same ol' quiet church music most females were producing in those days and, when on bed rest during my fourth pregnancy, I had her newest cd on repeat while soaking up God promises imbedded (no pun intended) in the lyrics. Well, I found out this week that she finally married earlier this year and to Jacob Fink, bassist in the well-known indie band Foster the People. Huh, who knew?

Studio Amber: It's as if Glamour Shots of the 90s got a may-jah facelift, reconstructive surgery, and no doubt a new stylist. This photog studio in the Netherlands is for the fashion forward and unabashed design junkies who would love a chance to be styled and made up for what will truly be the most creative and original portrait among their friends, guaranteed. Crazy concepts and sometimes hilario to boot!

Geronimo Stilton: Thanks to this courageous little mouse, my kids have fallen in love with reading! What used to be a chore and seen strictly as schoolwork is now enjoyed undercover (and under covers!) past the bedtime hour. Huge kudos to my husband who introduced them on their frequent library trips together. With full page color pictures and highlighted words in color and fancy fonts sprinkled throughout the stories, these books include valuable character lessons based on family, friendship, work, and more.

Gift Ideas: For gifts that keep on giving, please pass on buying a goat in my name this Christmas. Call me crazy, or just straight-up selfish, but I love unwrapping gifts and wouldn't mind if there was something for me hidden underneath. I planned on putting together a gift guide for those of us who want to bless others while supporting good causes but when I saw this by Rage Against the Minivan, I knew my task had already been accomplished. Including my favorites, 31Bits and Compassion Int'l, there is plenty there for everyone on your Christmas list this year!

weekend worthy

This weekend has already been a bit of a whirlwind for me so I'm laying low and kicking back today. My top priority? Sitting shoulder to shoulder with my husband and watching football in silence. Why...?!?

Love and Respect: Because of what I learned at this conference. Because men enjoy unwinding in silence with their women by their side. Because, while I may think it's a complete waste of time, it's important to him. Because what I value and what he values isn't wrong, just different. And because I value him, I'm willing to show it in a completely different way than I ever would have thought of on my own. I'd read the books but this one night/one morning workshop was a great refresher in a nutshell of the differences between men and women and how God created us together to mirror Himself to the world. If it's coming to your city, I would highly recommend.

Tim Tebow: I would consider being president of his fan club but as a married women and mother of four I think that might be a little creepy. :] Still, his unabashed faith and unwavering committment to honor His God in the face of adversity or accomplishments is an example worth holding up for our kids. With a winning streak gained through very unconventional ways and plays, the game is always worth watching with Tim at quarterback.

Sweet Paul: My US family is coming up this week for Thanksgiving so I'm holding back with the full unleashing of my Christmas spirit but this online magazine has tons of diy decor and gift ideas that has me chomping at the bit. With mustached paper charm and chic jewelry and scrumptious cookie recipes, it's a one stop resource chock full of personalizing and simplifying what has become a very commercial and expensive holiday.

Amazing Race: Also on my list of to-dos today. It's always been a Sunday night ritual, right after 60 Minutes, but this year I'm cozying up with the kids to cheer on Andy and Tommy. Pro snowboarders who had us at the first hello, we've followed them right up to tonight's Guten Tag! We were first impressed with their jolly good attitudes and cheered aloud when they vocalized their faith "in the one true God", a proclamation that many took to be offensive and rude but one that buoyed my own daughter's confidence in speaking up for what she too believed.

Second hand shopping: Not to be confused with second hand smoking where you reap none of the highs but every bit of the negatives, this rewards the shopper with all the benefits of hardly used products without the negative full retail prices. Value Village has 50% off all items in store tomorrow which seems hardly legal to me; practically giving other people's things away seems so wrong yet feels so good! Kijiji is another favorite online resource; this week I scored an almost brand new Pier One wardrobe for $50 that retailed for over $700! It's also chock full of vintage goodness at better prices than antique stores. Check out this lovely that I'm hoping someone, anyone might buy for my birthday (btw, the owner is willing to go lower, just not as low as I was trying to get him! :)

weekend worthy

It's late on Sunday but I had a few links to share for this weekend that I don't want to pass up!

Wreath Making Workshop: It's taught by a sweet friend of mine out in her little wood cabin she built all by herself (with maybe a little help from her family)! This is my second year going and I have to say I love it a little more every year. There's a few spots left so grab a group of eight friends and head out to North Gower to see for yourself! (Email me if you want contact details and no, not everyone's wreath is as radical as mine!)

Khan Academy: What started as an uncle's homework tutorials for a distant niece has evolved into a virtual academy with over 2,700 video tutorials accessible via their website or youtube channel. The organization's mission is to provide free world-class education to anyone, anywhere. With offerings as varied as algebra to American civics, physics to the Paulson bailout, and chemistry to cosmology, it's an invaluable resource for parents needing a little help tutoring or teaching their own kids as well as those of us who need Ponzi scheme explained to us in layman's terms. I'll be browsing through the dozens of videos on art history this week as prep for some art education for my own students...

LEMELEME: A new-to-me photo sharing app for the iPhone. Being the grateful recipient of my husband's old (read: non-4S) phone, I'm catching up for all these years I haven't been texting and capturing sudden moments throughout the day with my camera phone. Instagram has been my favorite go-to but I'm willing to try this one to see what it has to offer in regards to filters.

Kisses from Katie: You can meet her through her blog the Journey or through her book, Kisses from Katie, but either way, you've got to meet her! I first heard of her through an old friend's facebook mention of her and grew more and more amazed the more I researched and read about her. As a recent high school graduate from an upper-middle class family, she decided to spend one year in Uganda, against everyone else's more worldy wise counsel. She's been there now over three years and is adoptive mother to 13 girls and surrogate mother to many more at through the food program and orphans her ministry supports. Leaving all the comforts and promise of a first world life, she dedicated hers to those without. A book I hope to read with my eldest, a necessary role model in a culture obsessed with reality stars and fake weddings.

 

weekend worthy

Hello, virtual world! Remember me?! I've been so neglectful of my writing here for many reasons, both good and...just plain lazy. I'm missing it dreadfully as of late so I hope to be more disciplined, especially in the journaling of life and how God speaks in the midst of it. For now, let's get on to the fun stuff...!

Music Inspired by The Story: I'm so not saving the best for last this week. This album is by far my favorite from among my more recent purchases! If you buy only one album this year, make sure it's this one. With 18 songs sung by different artists, each song soars with the raw humanity that compiles God's great love story to the world. Written as if from the heart of biblical heroes and heroines, you get a sense of what it must have been for each to discover God's great purpose for their lives as they walked in obedience to Him and how He would eventually use each to compose a history of faithfulness, grace, and all consuming love that would be extended to all people. It's an album whose songs each demand full attention, buying singles off iTunes in this case would be like buying a novel random chapters at a time: you would miss the full message of the story. Still, I have my favorites, from Good with lyrics like, If I could, I would Be who You adored Why did I need more? When beauty was not trained To hide behind my shame, you sense within yourself the same regret at trading in sunset walks with God for temporary sweets that only leave you with hollow emptiness. Yet the song ends with Can't imagine how You could see all of me and say It's good, a powerful reminder that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Bring Us Home features maybe the most up tempo beat on the record, certainly the only one that includes Lecrae's fabulous rapping! As big hip hop fans, the soaring and ethereal vocals of Group1Crew's Blanca plus Lecrae makes it the most repeated among the kids. Still I will hold you in the beginning You will hold me in the end Every moment in the middle, make my heart your Bethlehem from Be Born in Me already has me preparing for Christmas, especially for the daily remembering of how He came to earth as a baby, for me, for you. If only the tour was coming to Canada! **Bonus fun: listen to each song without taking a peek at the title and see if you can guess the Bible character behind each song! Donut holes as a reward provides additional incentive for those under 10 years of age!!

Star Wars: Speaking of Christmas, I'm already keeping an eye out for original gifts for the friends and family on my list. We keep it simple around here, three gifts each for the kids: one want, one need, and one that will help fuel them in their own personal relationship with God. Honestly, most of our friends will be getting the cd mentioned above but for the little people in our lives I have my eye on this set of Star Wars cookie cutters or their companion pancake molds. My little man is in love with the series, which reminds me, I did promise to one day tell the story of how Darth Vadar led my son to Jesus. Hmm, now would that make this gift a want or something to continue his journey on the Light Side? :)

Guitar Paraphenalia: A Canadian company makes the list maybe for the first time! But no worries, US friends, they ship to the states! These guitar ice cube trays from Bergo would bring a smile to my fledgling rockstars! As would these guitar pick punchs that turn any plastic material into personalized guitar picks. Might be a good first etsy shop product for the aspiring entrepenuers in my house, too!

Spineless Classics: This one I discovered through Pinterest (I'm morningstarr19 if you're on; let me know how I can follow you!), a recent pin of my friend Ali. Brilliant, an original combination of classic literature and art! The words from an entire book on a single sheet of paper arranged often in familiar shapes of characters or subjects from their stories, I'd take Peter Pan for a whimsical addition to a kid's room but am still waiting until the do one for one of my favorites, Sense and Sensibility.

My growing list of intriguing and inspiring links necessitates my weekly sharing of them here, if only for my own safe keeping for reference. If you have a product, blog, book, person, or other link you are loving lately, feel free to share it by emailing me and I'll be sure to pass it on!

weekend worthy

Pancake Art: This weekend, why not bring fun to food by bringing your kids' favorite artwork to life! I found this AMAZING blog of an artist/mama who uses pancakes to delight her children, animate bible stories, and celebrate holidays. We tried the non-artist/mama version this morning with the kids and even without serious skill, we had a blast making fairies, storm troopers, and Micheal Jordan (the kids: "who? oh, yeah the Nike shoe!") going up for a slam-dunk! The kids even got in on the fun by sketching quick outlines of their favorite animal or toy and then tried their hand at 'sketching' with pancake batter. The idea is simple: pour batter (that has all lumps whipped out of it) into squeeze bottles (I got mine at the dollar store), add food coloring and, voila! you're on your way!

Free Holiday Cards: I'm scurrying this week to whip up a family photo decent enough to send off to friends and family for Christmas. Once I have said masterpiece in hand, I'm sending it off to Paper Coterie for my 12 free holiday cards. The beautiful cut-out version in Chevy Stripe-gray or mustard or teal is the one I'm going for!

Cycle-In Cinema: Too far for me to bike to but for those of who are in or planning to travel to the UK, this idea for an audience pedal-powered movie showing is brilliant! Great way to burn calories while indulging in your favorite flicks. Just don't walk or run to see this, arriving on two wheels is a must!

Miss Canada: I stumbled across news of Tara Teng a few months ago and was awe struck at her bold courage to use her platform as beauty queen and voice as daughter of the King to bring freedom to women enslaved to prostitution. On a whim she entered a competition for Miss B.C. when in university and went on to win the provincial and national award. Weeks later I attended a fundraiser hosted by a dear friend for Ratanak House, a place of refuge for girls rescued from sex trafficking, where she was a guest speaker. Her blog is a great resource for learning how to engage with other organizations in bringing healing to others, the story of Timea E. Nagy and the inception of Walk With Me being one inspiring example. This is one beauty queen that is an inspiring example for young girls everywhere.

Untouchable Dalits of India: I first heard of this oppressed caste that is at the bottom of the social system within India through Tara Teng. To know that there are children growing up with the public moniker of "Unborn: it would be better if they had never been born", broke my heart. The good news is that Tara has launched a letter writing campaign that connects the outpouring of our love to these chilren. Simply have your kids (or you) write a letter and/or draw a picture to a child of Dalit and mail to: P.O. Box 45645, RPO Sunnyside  Surrey BC V4A 9N3 Canada.

 

weekend worthy

iPad facebook app: iPad users, rejoice! A Canadian(!) discovered the code for an iPad facebook app written inside the current iPhone facebook app and released his findings on his twitter account. While not yet officially released, you can now enjoy an fb app that some claim is superior to the current iPhone app. Go on now, you can thank me later!

Sevenly: A new online presence that features: one tee. one week. one cause. $7 from each tee bought goes to the charity in the spotlight so it's a wonderful way to spiff up your tee wardrobe while supporting great causes. This week the charity is one close to my heart, Mercy Ships, and their t-shirt would look great framed, too!

I AM SECOND: A series of shorts featuring testimonies of various well-known people. I love that God's children have their own unique story of redemption: different faces, different moments, different ages, different stages (both in time and as a platform to continue to bring God glory). Recently Joshua Hamilton was in the news following the death of a father at a Texas baseball stadium and my heart went out to him for the load he must carry because of his involvement in it. There is comfort in knowing Who can and will be his solace.

Postal Pix: If you're a fan of instagram, the wildy popular iPhone app for instantly sharing photos accessorized with fun and funky filters, there is now a cheap and easy way to print off those irregular square photos. You can shoot, order, and pay all from your phone. This weekend I'll be oot and aboot shooting for this upcoming project for the house. (A special note of thanks to my husband who allows me to hold hostage his iPhone on weekends. A bigger thanks to his employer for supplying it!)

All the Single Ladies: I love your perfectly buoyant curls while envying your glossy and sleek, straight blow outs. But all the time it takes you to get them? Don't have it and don't want to waste it. Good thing my new bff just taught me a simple way to fall asleep and wake up with beautifully styled curls. Who said there was no such thing as beauty sleep?!

weekend worthy

A round-up of favorite reads, cerebral seeds, and wow indeed!s from this week:

Revelation App: In graphic novel format, each chapter of Revelation comes to life verse by verse. The artistry in each illustration is exquisite, attention to detail is obvious. When the six hours spent in church each Sunday as a child grew too long, I would head right to the back of my bible where mysteries and intrigue abounded. Wish I had this version on my ipad in those days!

Anthropology window displays: A visual buffet! I took my dad into Antro for the first time earlier this year just to introduce him to the crazy creative art here, there, and everywhere. I get just as much inspiration from the way they decorate as from the products themselves.

EmersonMade: I started making my own caftans this winter from silk saris but this designer is way out in front with her original designs. She had me at Beautiful Blue Wild Rose but continues to woo me with each new addition to her burgeoning design line. Maybe one of these days a little treasure from her will work it's way into my wardrobe, sooner than later if I win her $1,000 giveaway. :)

Romans 8:12-14: Found this nugget of gold while reading with my daughter on the long way home from holidays. As a exuberant diy-er, my enthusiasm often overflows into my own personal relationship with Christ. "I think I can, I think I can" becomes my daily chant. I'm over that old way. Onward to the new life where God's Spirit beckons!

Fudge Banana Swirl: A new favorite resource for me, mostly in the way of easy, nutritious meal ideas. This lemon cake is a must try and take special note of the plate wall in the background - my current home decor project. Anyone have a spare beautiful plate they'd like to donate to my cause? :}

e-mealz: A chef I am not. But just because I lack the gift doesn't mean I should forsake the discipline (especially with hungry mouths to feed!). I think I'm going to give this program endorsed by Dave Ramsey a shot. They offer weekly meal plans complete with shopping lists that can be specialized according to your family's needs/desires. At only $5 a month, surely this is better than buying prepackaged specialty dinners at Costco, right? Let me know if you're already a member and can give any feedback!