Blogging Through The Bible- Genesis 27

This book has been hard. I've really struggled with the daily readings, and had to fight to keep on track. Normally, I love Genesis. I love seeing the groundwork the God lays for the coming Messiah, the beginning threads of the plan of salvation. It's beautiful!

But almost as soon as we started this book, my church launched a church-wide series going through "The Story" by Max Lucado. For those of you who aren't familier with it, the series takes 31 weeks and covers Genesis to Revelation. Huge. So that series started in Genesis the same time our reading in Genesis began and suddenly I was reading double passages, teaching those passages several times a week...it really becames a struggle to get into it.

This week God kicked my rear back into gear and by His grace I've been able to stay on track. Today's chapter, Genesis 27, made me consider something. Blessing.

The whole chapter is oriented around receiving this blessing. It's important to Esau because he immiedatly obeys his father to received it, and is grieved when he finds Jacob has taken the blessing. It's important to Rebekah, in fact important enough that she is willing to deceived her dying husband. It's imporant to Jacob, so important that he doesn't correct his mother's sin, he hops onborad and lies to his father's face! This must be some blessing!

This is not something that Isaac can take back once given. This is something special. It has elements of the promise God made to Abraham to "bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you" It provides authority over family members, prosperity, and a power among nations. This is a passing down of the promise God has made to their family, a gift from God.

So why are blessings so superficial to us?

We think of blessing as the equivalant of happiness. What would happen if we looked at it like Jacob and Esau did? How would that change us and out world?

 

Check out the awesome studies going on at Good Morning Girls!

Adventures in Preschool

A few weeks ago we started my daughter on a preschool curriculum. We did great for a week, and then ended up traveling out of state for a wedding, visiting some family and by the time we returned home we were way out of sync! Then apple season hit us hard and with the pints of apple butter and applesauce that we canned...preschool just wasn't happening.

It really didn't bother me too much, because this is life. Things come up, and schedules change. So for the last few weeks we haven't stuck to the schedule. But we have made a point to teach as we go. Any movies we watched were focused on letters or numbers and we started looking for our letters. When we shop, walk through the house or church we watch for letters. My daughter is even starting to point them out on her own!

The other day she pointed out the letter "L". Which we haven't touched on our curriculum. And she did the same thing last night at dinner, pointed out letters that we haven't taught her yet. So this morning, I tested her on what she does know.

All of the arrows are things my little girl DOESN'T know! I was very proud of her, and not so frustrated that we have been off schedule. So we're back to it now, and rethinking our strategy a little bit based on what she showed us today!

The other thing this does is really reaffirm our decision to homeschool our kids. This is NO reflection on our school system, but I was raised with a Christian education and so was my husband. With no Christian school in our area (not that we could afford it if there were...), homeschooling is the best option to get that education to our kids. And seeing how my daughter does without being in a "classroom" all day, I'm really glad we made this call!

Sneak Peek Saturday!

The Baby Griffin line is slow going- last weeks onesies are still on the machine, but looking awesome! Blackbirdwake has been hard at work and this week we have a shield to add to the line!

The fabric hasn't been added to the shop yet, but once testing is complete, these little babies will make some awesome pillows for adventurous little boys! Thanks for checking in!

Sneak Peek Saturday

This week I finally finalized plans for my new shop line, the Baby Griffin Collection. Named after the son of a dear friend, all the pieces of this collection will be dedicated to little boys! This collection focuses more on the fantasy side of things- so expect dragons, castles and brave knights! I'll be using fabric from Blackbirdwake on Spoonflower.

Within the next week, you should see a chainmail baby outfit, using this fabric! She's also working on a panel for a baby quilt, so keep your eyes peeled!

Blogging Through The Bible- Psalm 1

This has been a hard week. You know the ones I'm talking about. Not a bad week where everything completely explodes in your face, but a hard week where you really have to fight to stay on track. You feel like you're almost back on track and then something else derails and it's back to square one. That was my week.

The first week of Blogging Through the Bible went fantastic! I was digging into the Word in a new way and it excited me. I'm still excited, but really bummed out over this week. Getting up before my kids to spend my time with God has been more of a struggle, and thus getting my kids into a decent routine hasn't happened.

Then I get to Psalm 1. I know this passage- I think I had to memorize it somewhere in college. But today it was rather convicting because of one word: delight.

Delight: a high degree of pleasure or enjoyment; joy; rapture

I haven't been doing this, not this week. I have been so focused on getting things back on my plan, that I forgot to simply enjoy The Presence of the One. I've done my devotions each day- but I haven't delighted in the Word of God, I haven't taken the time out to see the joy in what He is doing. 

So this week, I have a new goal- forget getting on track. Get into God, and delight in Him!

 

Sneak Peek Sunday!

So sorry that I'm running a little behind! Normally these posts will be on Saturday, but my family had a wedding to attended out of state this weekend. Between that, several birthday dinners/parties for my daughter (those included copious amounts of cake by the way), and a mad dash for home that ended somewhere around 2 am this morning...I missed Sneak Peek Saturday.

So here it is, a little late but here's a sneak peek at what's coming for Red Barn Crafting!

This is the start of a printable card line that will be available later this week. It will have several different flowers in the printable and be available in multiple sizes. I'm also working on adding some Scripture to a few to make some posters! What do you think?

Alphabet & Number Flashcards

After a day of photographing, editing, and MORE editing my new flashcards are up in my Etsy Shop!
Here's how a few of them turned out.

On top of that, while I was working I let my kids play outside. My daughter found a stack of old pool balls (the pool table died a horrible death earlier this year) and one thing lead to another until...

New flashcard ideas! These are still in the works, but I''m hoping to have them available later this week.

Sneak Peek Saturday!

Here's a sneak peek at what's coming up this in my shop! Each Saturday will be a post giving you a peek at what I'm working on for my Etsy shop Red Barn Crafting. There isn't anything currently listed, but these little flashcards should be up by the end of the day!

With my daughter starting some serious work on learning her letters, I wanted something that she can flip through while I'm working. But if I gave her a stack from the store, I'd just end up buying 2-3 packs for when she lost one, ripped one, wrote on one...so I threw together this printable! Now I just print out the letter or number I need, as opposed to buying a new set.

Thus far we have Upper and lowercase letters, plus numbers 1-10. Buyers will be able to purchase each set individually or as a super pack with everything! I also offer full customization, so if you want to tweak the colors or size- just let me know! These should be up later today!

Blogging Through the Bible- 1 Peter 3

Submission. It seems like a dirty word to most women, especially in an age where equality is all the rage. But something jumped out at me here, something I haven't caught before. Verse 1 says "Wives, in the same way". I've read this a thousand times and never really caught it. What "same way". If you look back at the last verses of chapter 2, it talks about how Jesus didn't retaliate with insults when people mock and abused Him. Instead he entrusted Himself to God. He submitted to the Father's plan to save us all. I've never caught that before! Again, Jesus is our example. 

Then I read on to verse 6 where we're called to be like Sarah and not give in to fear. Does that mean that not submitting is not trusting our husbands and ultimately not trusting in God's plan? Is taking control when we feel things are out of hand really just a reaction to fear? I know it's hard, and I know not all women agree. But if we trust that God is in control of all- doesn't that include our spouses? 

GoodMorningGirls.org

Blogging Through the Bible- 1 Peter 1

So I am SO EXCITED about reading 1 Peter! Seriously. Peter has always been one of my favorite apostles...mainly because I really connect with someone who also suffers from Foot-In-Mouth Disease. I've also been drooling over the idea of art journaling IN MY BIBLE. Totally new concept to me. I've taken notes in the margins, but I've never really considered making it pretty. I've discovered that I look deeper at the chapter to find something creative I can do with it.

During the first few days of the Esther study, I would read the chapter and sketch something that stuck out to me in my sketchbook. Then I saw a few posts from ladies with Journaling Bibles. With extra space in the margins. Suddenly my lame sketchpad was even lamer, and sadly a new Bible isn't really in the budget right now. Then my DIY side took over!

I put together a booklet with each chapter centered on the page. I made sure to leave PLENTY of space in the margins for any notes, sketching or doodling I want to do. I also chose a font that I can read but looks nice too. I included 1 & 2 Peter in this booklet since that's what we'll be studying according the the Blogging Through The Bible schedule.

Today we started with chapter 1, and the big thing that stuck out to me was the idea of perishable vs imperishable. Verses 14-15 says, "As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who has called you is holy, so be holy in all you do.". So many times holy living is simply making a choice between the perishable and imperishable.

How many times do we choose the perishable things? Sleeping in instead of going to church, a shopping trip that causes us to miss Bible study, checking out the newest movies instead of taking time to visit a hurting friend.

Being holy means choosing the imperishable things. Choosing the things that will impact the Kingdom of God, that will show people Jesus living inside of us. I struggle with this all the time! I'm impatient, easily frustrated, and I don't always think about how my words will sound to others.

For me, I need to choose to be holy. To take the time to wait on the Lord, be willing to work with whatever situation that arises with grace- not frustration, and being aware of what I say.

Where are you at?

Adventures in Preschool

So today we starting covering preschool material for my daughter. This week we are covering the letter A, the color yellow, and the rectangle shape (currently called a "tangle"). We're starting with God's Little Explorers by Motherhood on a Dime. I did tweak a few things to fit my little girl- some of the shapes the lesson called for we already know, same with colors!

My son also had fun with fingerpaint...

Upcoming Projects

After several months of work and planning, the Baby Griffin line will be launching soon! Baby Griffin is designed with little boys in mind. Check out some of the fabric we'll be using, designed by  blackbirdwake on Spoonflower.com!

Read Barn Crafting

Hello, my name is Karen, and welcome to Red Barn Crafting. I'm a wife, mother, crafter and youth minister all rolled into one odd little package! I've started this blog to begin sharing my explorations into world of crafting. Over the next few weeks, I will be launching a new line on my Etsy shop with previews shown here each week!

Thanks for coming along!

Karen