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Tagged: traditions

Gingerbread Legacy Dec. 05, 2022 / 0 Comments
(RECIPE included!) The legacy began more than 30 years ago when my oldest daughter was about three years old. I baked her Gingerbread Men cookies…
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🌟✨ Get ready for the ultimate summer adventur

🌟✨ Get ready for the ultimate summer adventure at Shine Camp! ✨🌟

Join us for an EPIC journey where faith, friendship, and FUN collide! 🎉☀️

Shine Camp is THE place to be for teenage girls (rising 7th-12th grade) who are ready to grow in their relationship with Christ and forge lifelong connections with peers who share their beliefs. 🙏👭

Here’s what’s in store for you:

🎶 Worship & Devotionals: Start each day with uplifting worship sessions and engaging devotional times to deepen your understanding of God’s love and purpose for your life. 🙌📖

📚 Bible Studies: Dive into scripture with interactive studies tailored for teenage girls, exploring relevant topics and practical applications for everyday life. 🌈✝️

🌟 Exciting Free Time Options: Immerse yourself in the beauty of God’s creation with thrilling activities like hiking, ice cream & pool parties, skin-care & makeup tutorials, and discussions about life after high school. 🍦🎉

🎨 Crafts & Creativity: Unleash your inner artist with hands-on crafting sessions! Express your faith through art and create meaningful keepsakes like suncatchers, painted rocks, friendship bracelets, and photo frames. 🎨✨

🔥 Choice of Breakout Sessions: Engage in insightful sessions led by experienced speakers! Topics include social media safety, mother-daughter relationships, and navigating the teenage years with faith and grace. 💬🌟

Don’t miss out on the adventure of a lifetime with benefits that will last a lifetime! Secure your spot now and get ready to shine at Shine Camp! ✨💖

Tag a friend, share this event with anyone you know with teen daughters/granddaughters and spread the word! Let’s make this summer one to remember! ☀️🏕️

#ShineCamp #SummerAdventure #FaithFilledFun #CampLife 🌟👑

Sometimes life resembles a battlefield. Our enemy,

Sometimes life resembles a battlefield. Our enemy, the devil, throws fiery darts of doubt, stress, regret, shame, and worthlessness, attempting to sabotage our emotional and spiritual health. We need a shield!

A soldier’s shield had many uses. The various ways it could be used made it a crucial weapon in battle. A scene in the movie “Risen” shows one example.

Every soldier on the battlefield holds a shield in front of his body. In unison all the men lift their shields above their heads, transforming their shields into a protective covering for the entire army. Seconds later, the men at the back of the line climb onto the shields and run across them toward the front line. To make a shield more lethal, a spike protruded from the front of some shields.

Roman soldiers used their shields for breaching walls and for carrying wounded bodies off the battlefield. Shields were also used as protection from the sun and rain.
Greek soldiers used their shields to create a rectangular formation called a phalanx. This was considered to be the deadliest battle formation of the ancient world.
Some shields had a metal piece across the middle, which enabled the soldier to use the shield as a weapon to punch the enemy or to push forward. The shield was also used for protection against fiery enemy arrows.

In the New Testament, Paul wrote about a shield. In Ephesians 6:16, he wrote about the shield of faith: “Taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”

But God is our shield. He won’t allow the devil’s flaming arrows to pierce us. Today we can be assured that God will help us with our defensive strategy.

Which fiery dart is Satan hurling toward you today? In what ways do you need God to protect you with His shield?

Adapted and copyrighted from, “Shining Through the Psalms,” by Deborah Presnell. Available on Amazon.

What big or small thing is on your mind? You need

What big or small thing is on your mind? You need direction? Help with decisions? Let’s not delay to boldly go to the throne and ask God for help. :) SHINE ON!

Are you as smart as “this” 5th grader? Becaus

Are you as smart as “this” 5th grader?
Because sometimes adults forget the simplest, yet most profound truths.

While I was teaching a fifth-grade class, God used Austin to remind me that God would always help me. I was waiting for an important text — one that concerned an issue I’d been praying about for a year. My phone was visible, and I glanced at it when it vibrated. When I read the simple phrase of good news, tears welled up in my eyes. Thinking the incident had gone unnoticed I proceeded with my work. Austin, a handsome boy with dark hair and tons of freckles, got up from his seat and walked to me. Our eyes locked. Thinking something might be wrong, he said, “Jesus will always help you.”

Simple. Subtle. Truth.

We were made to need God’s help in all things, big and small. No other person or god can do what Almighty God can do. In fact, in Psalm 60:11 David prays, “Give us help from trouble, for the help of man is useless.”

Call out to God for help and remain confident that He will see you through your troubles (Psalm 54:8).

Then you’ll be as smart as a fifth-grader.

Copyrighted Deborah Presnell.com

Good Monday morning! Today is the perfect day to e

Good Monday morning! Today is the perfect day to establish firm roots that stretch to the river to receive her nourishment. Here’s what I mean:

A godly woman entwines her roots around the Word of God and ponders His precious words, for she knows they give her life. And she delights in them. His Word is a powerful source of spiritual energy, and she draws her strength from these living waters.

When the storms of life come, this woman won’t be whisked away, for her strong root system holds fast. When the season of drought descends on her, she will not wither. When it is time to prune her limbs, she may experience discomfort, but this trimming enables her to produce beautiful, sweet-smelling fruit in season (Galatians 5:22-23).

This woman is able to achieve that which has eternal value.

Jeremiah 17:7–8 tells us, “Blessed is the [person] who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit.”

The woman without God is also like a tree. But her roots do not go deep or stretch to the river for nourishment. When the winds rage, she is devastated and blown away. She withers in the heat, unable to bear fruit. She is unstable in her ways and lives aimlessly without direction.

Today is the perfect day to ask God to help us establish strong roots.

Copyrighted and adapted from, “Shining Through the Psalms,” by Deborah Presnell, 2018. Available on Amazon.

Six high school girls came to my front porch this

Six high school girls came to my front porch this afternoon for an ice cream social – – and to talk about getting registered for shine camp and inviting their friends. Only 43 days to go! We are so excited! And we would love for you to join us at Shine Camp!