Over at THIS blog, a lady is giving away two Kitchen Aid Mixers! The trick is that when you enter the giveaway, you must mention that “Miss Antoinette sent me” to the giveaway!  If you win and my name is on the comment selected, we both win one of the mixers!  How neat is that!?  I would love to have this in my hope chest!  How about you!?

So join in on the fun!

Blessings in Christ,

Over at “Life In A Shoe” they are having a giveaway for a $50 gift certificate to Marie Madeline Studio!  It goes till this coming Friday, or Saturday,  so head on over and enter before it is too late!

Blessings in Christ,

I always look forward to spring, especially after the winter we had this year (yes, California did have a winter this year! YAY)!  These changing in the seasons always remind me of the verse Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:   A time to be born, and a time to die;

a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;  a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to morn, and a time to dance;  a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;  a time to seek, and a time to loose;  a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

a time to tear, and a time to sew;  a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;  a time of love, and a time of hate;

a time of war, and a time for peace.”

It was also refreshing to hear Mrs. Botkin reading it aloud as well, while my mother and I where listening to the “Evenings with Victoria Botkin” as it started this Monday!  My mother and I cannot wait till next Monday to hear her speak, it has been so encouraging to both of us!

Also with the changing of the seasons, I will be slowly adding a few things to my web-site/etsy shop!  I have already added one new item:

The crocheted All-Puropse Wash Cloth!

These hand-made crocheted cloths (made by my myself, or my mother)are the perfect cloth for many uses from washing dishes, to cleaning your face and body! Now that I use them, I cannot live without them! I sell them in color-coordinated sets of two and each have a beautiful scalloped edge to give it a pretty look!

Here are a couple photos of them below!

Feel free to stop by my shop HERE or on the side of our blog!

If you do not wish to buy through my shop, or would like to be added to my mailing list, feel free to e-mail me at : mail(at)practicalsimplicity(dot)com!

Blessings in Christ,

Yesterday was an out of the ordinary church day for us! We have about 2 family’s that come regularly, and one of them is out of town while the other was driving back from their trip to the mountains yesterday and so since my dad had no congregation to preach to (other than us and my grandfather) he decided to put in a DVD of a sermon from Mr Paul Washer on “The 10 Indictments Against the Modern Church in America”.  It was so good (as all of his talks are!) I knew I must share this talk with my fellow blogging friends, and sister’s in Christ, and spread this amazing and very powerful message!
May it encourage us to continually become more Christ-like and share our passion for the gospel with others who are lost, and by God’s grace bring them into God’s loving arms and to follow the one true God! The Church is so broken these days with watered-down “neutral” sermons and evangelizing we have lost God’s purpose and understanding of the Church! Mr. Washer speaks so clearly, it is like having a “duh, I should have known that” moment!   Again, may you be blessed!  Now grab your family, take a seat, have a nice cup of your favorite drink, and enjoy!  *This sermon is about 2 hours long, but worth every minute.*

Part 1

http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sid=102308839520

Part 2

http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sid=1030081039409

For more information, please visit his wonderful ministry below!

http://www.heartcrymissionary.com

God Bless!

I hope you enjoy it!

Love in Christ,

Miss Antoinette

Set Apart by God

As I contemplated about what to write I realized that as men we do not really spend much time on this subject.  But as men and fathers we should be more aquatinted with this area of family life.  As fathers we are to raise sons to be godly husbands and if we have daughters to raise them to be the helper (Gen 2:18) God has created them to be. To do this we need to lean on the word of God and not the wisdom of man.  There is plenty of information out there that is simply a repackaging of cultural ideals with Christian labels but we need to be seeking to raise sons and daughters that align with God’s all sufficient word.

My encouragement to daughters is to seek to be women that are not conforming to the standards of the world but to the eternal standards of the word of God.  It is not enough to simply avoid the ways of the world but you must seek to follow the ways of God.  This standard will often be labeled by the world with any number of derogatory terms but that should not dissuade you from seeking to be the woman God has called you to be.

In Romans 12:1-2 we are told that our lives are to be set apart for God and as daughters of God that set apart life is worship to God.  This passage also lets us see that we are not to seek the worlds standards but are to be transformed by God’s renewing of our minds.  What is so important is to see is that this is not a one-time transformation but one that is continual as we live our lives for God.  I would also encourage you to see that conforming to Gods word is not a momentary endeavor so as daughters you should be seeking to continually be conforming to God’s word and see it as worship of our almighty God.

What is also amazing about this passage is that we are told that this is not only a command of God but one that comes with a promise.  Verse 2 ends by letting us see that this is not simply a standard we may or may not be able to reach but is one we can succeed at.  Seeking to be a godly woman that glorifies God is not some lofty standard for a “super spiritual few” but a standard that God has empowered for all of His children.  So as a daughter of God you are not asked to do that which God has not also enabled you to be as one of His children.

I pray this is encouraging as often there is much information about what you are to be but Romans 12:1-2 lets us see that you can be all God has called you to be by His power.  The call to be a godly woman is not some unreachable goal but by diligent time in His all-sufficient word will show you the path and by the power of God that path can be followed.  What greater joy than to live the life God has called you to live for His glory and His purposes.

Grace and Peace,

Tony Konvalin

www.tonykonvalin.blogspot.com

I just LOVE the colors, and (believe it or not) this used to be a plain man’s hankie, I just hand sewed lace around the edge and this lovely monogram in one of the corners! The embroidery was very simple and easy! You can find the whole alphabet in this lovely pattern HERE and it is FREE!!!!  YAY!

I think the back looks quite well too!

I hope you enjoyed the photos of my project!  Let me know how you liked it, I LOVE hearing what ya’ll have to say! Hope ya’ll have a blessed Lord’s day tomorrow!

Blessings in Christ,

First off There is a lovely giveaway over at Miss Jasmine’s blog “Joyfully at Home” !!!   She is giving away three paper doll books by “Noble Rose Press” That are so lovely!  I have wanted to purchase these for some time to put into my hope chest, so this is a wonderful opportunity to try and win them and you can too, the winner will be announced next Friday!      You can also visit the ladies who put these paper dolls to greather at their blogs:

Miss Emily Rose at: “Simply Vintage Girl” And her dear sister Miss Breezy at: “A Bowl of Moss and Pebbles”

I have been so encouraged by these ladies blogs, and I hope you will be blessed, and encouraged by them as well!

The second thing is I am going to be doing a special “365 Day Snap Shot Challenge” that I am hosting, and you can read more about, and join me at my photography blog:

“Practical Simplicity Photography”

The challenge should be a fun one, so won’t you join me?

Blessings in Christ,

Miss Antoinette

I have been keeping updated through Mr. Doug Philips blog on the people of Haiti and its millions of orphaned children who desperately need good, christian homes and much needed love, and care!  The most recent video updates on Mr. Philips blog (which you can watch HERE it is worth your time!), it is so disturbing to me, not just because of the catastrophic devastation there, but other organizations trying to stop adoptions and keeping these poor children from having good christian homes and the proper care needed for them! My heart goes out to the Haitian children and the struggling families,  and I pray for them constantly, which is what you can do for them right now as well!  Pray that the obstacles that are causing so many problems and frustrations would dissipate, and that the help and care needed for the Haitian people and their children would come in abundance!  Pray that many would turn to the God who saves and can bring comfort in such hard times.  Pray also for those who are there helping to spread the gospel to the Haitians in this time of harvest, the love and care to the orphaned children that they need, and for the protection of their families back at home!

To help support Mr. Philips and others from Vision Forum in their endeavors to help the Haitian children you can donate at this site if you feel led to do so  HERE.

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, Casting all your anxieties on Him, because he cares for you.”                                                                                                                                                                                                              1 Peter 5:6-7

“Fear not for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Isaiah 41:10

Blessings in Christ,

Miss Antoinette

I hope you enjoy this weeks hope chest article! 

Heirloom Stain Remover Recipe

Don’t you just hate it when you get a stain on one of your garments, or maybe you have an old heirloom turning yellow in your hope chest, or something of the sort and it seems that nothing will get that stain out no matter how many times you wash it, or treat it with something!?  I have had (and still do) this problem, So thought I would share with you the best stain remover recipe I have ever used that my mother found by a lady who restores antique items and uses this recipe to make antique fabric items look like new!!!  It is safe to use even on the most delicate of fabrics such as satins and laces!   I am going to continue to use this recipe for many years to come (Lord willing) and create my own special heirloom recipe out of it!  I hope you enjoy this recipe and will give it a try yourself and see how wonderful it is!    From my family to yours :

For items that need a good deep soaking use: 1 TBSP. Clorox 2, and 1 TBSP. Mild dish soap (such as Ivory, Seventh Generation, mainly any mild soap with no dye in it)

Mix together in a large container (the container you will soak your items in) and slowly add warm water till you can fully submerge your items in the soapy water.  Let sit overnight, then rinse in washing machine then the dryer or let hang to dry depending on the item.

*Tip* If the items stain has not been removed enough after the first soaking, start process again BEFORE putting in dryer.

For items that have a small stain, but do not need to be fully submerged: use small equal parts of Clorox 2 and Mild dish soap mix together and rub onto stain with a pinch of water. Let sit over night, then rinse off mixture and put in the washer. Again if the stain has not come out all the way, try the process again.

*Tip*To make sure your soap will not harm your items, simply put a small amount of the mixture in a small area of your item and let sit over night, if all is well use as directed, if not, then try a different soap.

I hope this becomes a recipe you will use for a long time as our family has, and that you would let us know how it works for you!  If you have any questions, feel free to ask,  my mother and I are more than willing to answer any of your questions!

Blessings in Christ,

Miss Antoinette

As you probably have noticed, I have taken off the award post I had recently had on my blog!  My mother and I talked about it and have decided not to accept awards or tags from now on.  We thank each and every one of you who awarded us in the past and are very grateful for them!  I hope you all understand and I pray there are no hard feelings!

Blessings in Christ,

Mrs. Donna & Miss Antoinette

PS. Here is a link to the lady who put this button together!