the light in their eyes

This Sunday I got a special treat -- at church I got to hang out with the Young Women (ages 12-18) for part of the meeting. Their spirits are so refreshing and beautiful. There is so much light in their eyes.

We shared in the total joy of one of my favorite very messages to women, and now it's time to pass it on. 

Print it up, pass it out, hang it up!

{They're the perfect size to stick in your scriptures. Just sayin.}

{click on either image for a bigger, better, more printable version.}

Happy Monday + happy new week -- it's gonna be a good one, I can feel it.

my word for 2012: praise

Part of me wants to hold back on this post --

wait, can I really do this?

what if I mess it up? and everyone knows it?

So let me take a deep breath and tell you that my word for 2012 is praise.

Other contenders? present. grateful. joy.

But really -- what good thing is there that is not encompassed in the act of praise?

If I can find reason to praise God in every moment of every day,

will that not increase my gratitude and joy? will that not keep me in the present moment?

Anticipating a year of praise gives me a wonderful feeling, like 

toes at the edge of the ocean, like bike-ride hair flying on a warm summer day,

like the sun on my face and joy in my heart.

{download the printable}

I hope you will join me in choosing your own word, if you feel like it.

Don't worry about reinventing the wheel. 

{Danielle, who is already such a beautiful woman of praise, chose praise for her word last year...} 

Just choose the word that tastes good. 

So without any particular plan, I hope you will let me share with you what I learn this year along my bumbling, meandering way on the path of praise. My faith throughout my life has mostly been a quiet sort of conviction. internal. While praise is something I've always equated with voice. exuberance. outwardness. And I think that praise can be those things -- but I also think that praise can be very much a combination of the two -- inward exuberance and delicious, soul-filling zeal, sometimes spoken, sometimes sung, but perhaps most often felt. 

I'm excited to find out.

best snazzy pattern source + printable knot-tying cheat sheet

Just a short post today -- in case you're in the mood to venture beyond chevrons, friendship-bracelets.net is totally rad. There's tons of free patterns, but figuring out how to read them can be tricky. Here's a really useful tutorial on how to do just that.

You'll need to know a few basic knots before you can tackle most of the patterns. 

I've bumbled my way through a few of them so far, but I still need a little cheat sheet! 

Here's a little one just for you; you can scale it down to make it whatever size you prefer.

{download the cheat sheet}

Now go get snazzy -- and don't forget to visit Jenn to see what she's got for today! 

guest blogger: jenn from ruffled sunshine + friendship bracelet packaging printable

Happy Tuesday! Today Jenn is visiting from Ruffled Sunshine, aka the brains behind this operation! 

Jenn and I are pretty new friends, but we clicked right away + I was totally thrilled when she brought up the idea of doing a friendship bracelet swap together. If you haven't already subscribed to her darling + totally inspiring blog, you need to! Anyway, enough from me. Here's Jenn with a great post on packaging your friendship bracelets (and a free printable, to boot)!

Hello Friends!  I'm so excited to be here!  Amanda and I have been on pins and needles waiting to share the friendship bracelet swap with you guys and I'm so happy that you all are so excited about it too! My name is Jenn and I blog over at Ruffled Sunshine.  I share a little bit of what I've been up to from time to time.  I have a spunky little girl, Ivy that keeps me on my toes, but she is my biggest source of inspiration. 

 

Somehow our summer seems to be getting busier and busier.  It is our favorite time of year so we try to spend as many hours of the day outside as possible!  So I know when it comes time to mail my bracelets I'll be scrambling to have some cute packaging.  I took a few minutes this weekend to come up with a simple way to package up your friendship bracelets to your new friends.  Then you won't be scrambling if your summer is anything like ours!

{click here to download}

I got to practice my photoshop skills {cuz they definitely need practicing} and used this letterpress tutorial from Pugly Pixel to make a sheet of cards.  

All you have to do is cut them up.  Easy peasy.

This one is for one of my good friends from college.  I wrote a little note too, to let my friend know I've been thinking of her.  

Then I used some of my Modern Marigold fabric tape to stick my bracelet right to the card.  It fit perfectly  in a card envelope so I sealed it up with a little more fabric tape and mailed it right away.  I got a little excited to send it so I forgot to take pictures.  Oh well!  

Sooo...

Don't forget to sign up for the bracelet swap!  And be sure to stop by some time.  I'd love to have you!

{and thanks Amanda for having me! xoxo}

Thanks for coming over, Jenn! Don't forget to email us to sign up for the swap!

uplifting download: scripture power

Lizzy started going to Sunbeams (Sunday School) this year, and since then it seems like she's been singing non-stop. I LOVE it. She makes up her own songs, too. Most recently I heard her singing in the bathtub:

There was a little rag

She lived at the bottom of the sea

Swim round, swim round, swim round...

*Melt my mommy heart!* Anyway -- Scripture Power is a big favorite around here. Even Maren sings along sometimes. I found an uber cute + clever music video of the song if you haven't heard it before (or even if you have). The chorus goes:

Scripture power(!) keeps me safe from sin

Scripture power is the power to win

Scripture power; every day I need

The power that I get each time I read.

My day always goes so much better when I read my scriptures first thing. Tempers stay down. Voices speak sweeter. Everything is a little bit brighter, a little more saturated, a little more focused.

Feel free to download any (or all!) of the designs below, or you can print a 4-in-1 that's the perfect size for bookmarks. And let's stick to non-commercial use, k? And (ee!) guess what - I whipped up a button for these little freebies (see last week's here). I have so many more ideas that I hope to share with you. Grab the button and link up if you want!

Now get out there with your scripture power!