More Giveaways!

This giveaway is for a purse/tote that Livvy made for her 100th post. Isn't it pretty?

The pretty rustic Autumn colors are perfect for the season! It has a zippered pocket and a little snap at the top to hold it closed.

This bag is perfect to use as a purse or as a tote to hold your crafts. The red paisley-like fabric is recycled from a dress that she used to wear. The tan material has a slight burlap feel to it, giving the bag a bit of a rustic look.

To enter:

1. Leave a comment on her blog.

2. Post about it on your blog and leave another comment.

~Anyone from the US or Canada can enter.

The giveaway ends on Saturday, November 7th, 12:00 PM Eastern time.
 
Head on over there and check it out! :)

Also, here is another wonderful giveaway hosted by Jessica and Rachel. They are celebrating their Blogiversary with a giveaway! :D  This is what they are giving away...

This giveaway will be held from October 30 @ 1:00 AM (EST) - November 6th @ 12:00 PM (EST).

To Enter:

1. Leave a comment on their blog telling them what you have enjoyed about their blog so far this past year or something that has touched or helped you in their posts.

2. Put their blog button on your blog sidebar.

3. Share about their giveaway on your own blog!

4. Share with your friends through email, facebook, or twitter. (Each of these separately counts as one entry.)

Go check out the details HERE!

Halloween

Halloween is just a normal day for my family because we don't celebrate it. While many families are going to trick-or-treat tomorrow night, we will be staying home. (Last year we enjoyed watching all of the people trick-or-treating in our neighborhood, with the lights turned off of course. We even saw a hamburger and some french fries walk down the street. Hehe!) Anyway, we don't dress up, trick-or-treat, or carve a jack-o-lantern. We don't believe in things like ghosts, demons, and other "scary" things either. Some people think it's just harmless fun to celebrate Halloween, but actually Satan is working in their lives to spread his lies through this well loved holiday. People are getting "sucked" into the darker side of the world and they don't realize it. Halloween is really just a holiday for Satan.

Evil is evil...even when it's just pretend. Satan loves what we think is good innocent fun is actually promotion of him and his. Movies, TV, books and Halloween. He uses things like these for his glory.

Here are some verses for you to ponder on...

"The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons."-I Timothy 4:1

"The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God."-Galatians 5:19-21

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." -Philippians 4:8

True Peace

True peace only comes from the Prince of Peace.

Peace does not mean that everything around you is calm and tranquil; true peace means that you are able to remain peaceful during the storms of life.

But this peace, which the Bible promises is available to believers, can only come from God. Jesus said, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace" (John 16:33). In other words, Jesus came so that you could have peace.

Paul tells us, in Philippians 4:6-7, that we can have peace if we don't become anxious about life but instead give our worries to God: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Hand over all of your problems to the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ, and He will give you a peace that passes understanding -- a peace that is beyond comprehension.

Much Love,

Recipe of the Week - Pumpkin Bread

Pumpkin Bread

From the Kitchen of Mrs. Lori

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar

1 c. oil or applesauce

3 c. AP flour

1 and 1/2 t. salt

2t. baking soda

1 can pumpkin

4 eggs

2 t. pumpkin pie spice

1 t. cinnamon

1 t. nutmeg

2/3c. water

2 t. vanilla

1 c. pecans, chopped

Directions:

Blend sugar and oil together. Stir in other ingredients.

Bake Times:

Bundt pan: Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes -1 hour.

2 loaf pans: Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes.

24 muffins: Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

*Cook until toothpick comes out clean.

I hope you enjoy! :)

A Giveaway at Marie Madeline Studio

The Long ladies over at Marie Madeline Studio are having a giveaway this week. I thought I would pass this lovely news along to my lovely followers...just in case you haven't heard about it.

The winner will receive one gracie ruffle skirt sewing pattern + the fabric to make their gracie ruffle skirt!


Here are the ways that you can enter…

-leave them a comment with your email address right HERE!

-let them know your favorite marie-madeline sewing pattern.

-blog about the giveaway for 10 extra entries, and leave them a link to your post.

God Bless,

Don't Run Away from Your Trials

Don't run from your trials.

Everyone faces many trials; however, these trials are not in vain. God uses them to do a work in us, developing us into mature Christians.

In James 1:2-4, we are told, Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. In other words, God uses the tough times in life to sharpen us, making us mature and complete Christians.

Furthermore, God will not permit you to remain in the same trials all of your life; in His proper timing He will deliver you. Psalm 34:17 says, The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.

So don't run from your trials, because the testing of your faith develops you into a mature and complete Christian.

Much Love,

From: www.christnotes.com

What I Like About Fall...

I like: Pumpkin bread, mums in the yard, scarecrows, pumpkins, drinking hot mulled cider, sitting by warm fireplaces, riding on hayrides, pumpkin pie candles, apples, cold weather, going to the mountains, colorful fall leaves, and being wrapped up in a blanket while doing school.

What do YOU like about fall?

Have a blessed week!

From Other Authors- A Mother's Instruction

A Mother's Instruction

My dear, (my mother said to me), beware how you spend your days,

By idling the time away, a fool you're apt to be.

Guard your heart from sinfulness and keep a watchful eye,

For the world is full of sin and will tell you a lie.

Cooking and cleaning, washing and baking: these are good skills to learn,

But all of these are half as good as a difficult turn.

A turn away from sin and death, a turn to joy and life;

A turn of heart, a turn of mind, a turn away from strife.

Mold your character and be a woman fit for praise,

And may our God, the Lord of all, bless you all your days.

Author-Miss Tara Y.

Snow in October? What?

This is one of my favorite crops to see growing in the fall. Right now, there is a lot of it growing in fields around my town. It's so pretty! I have wanted to get a picture of it for awhile and last Saturday I got to take a few shots. The whole family and I were on the way home from Andrew's soccer game and my wonderful Daddy pulled off the road for me. *grin* It really does looks like snow. I better get off this computer and  help finish some laundry before it's time to get supper ready.

In Christ,

A Beautiful Fall Day in North Carolina...

I am so happy with my camera! The pictures are so clear! :)

Look at what God has made! The details on each leaf are beautiful...

I love the way the light was shining through the leaves. :)

"Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one." -Ephesians 6:14-16 (NIV)

Practically Pink's Re-designing is Finished...I Think...

I think I like the new background, banner, and three column look but, what do you think? Your thoughts and comments would be much appreciated. I love comments and feedback from "ALL"of my readers so please don't be shy.

Ever since I have started school this year I have been kind of lazy about working on blog posts for you all but, over the last few days I have finished a few upcoming posts for this week. I'll try to have at least two to three posts a week from now on. Well, I better get working on my Beautiful You column for this week or I might not be one of the Feminas for Feelin' Feminine. *grin* I'll be looking forward to your lovely comments! :)

Have a wonderful week!

What I'm doing at 11:00 today...

Supporting my little brother beside the soccer field. Go Andrew!!!

Much Love,

Practically Pink- Under Constrution...YIKES!

I am working on Practically Pink right now just in case it doesn't look right on your computer. I'm trying to get a 3 column blog and it's not working right now. It's really confusing! Any help would be much appreciated. (hint, hint anyone!) I'm just kidding, but I am trying my best to get it to look straight. Please bear with me and I'll have it fixed or back to a normal blog as soon as I can. :P Thanks for being patient with me!

Many Blessings,

From Other Authors-Wait

Picture from Old English Costumes, c. 1908, p.21.

Wait

Desperatly, helplessly, longingly, I cried:
Quietly, patiently, lovingly God replied.
I plead and wept for a clue to my fate,
And the Master so gently said, "Child, you must wait."

"Wait? You say, wait!" my indignant reply.
"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
Is your hand shortened? Or have You not heard?
By faith, I have asked, and am claiming Your Word."

My future and all to which I can relate,
Hangs in the balance and YOU tell me to WAIT?
I'm needing a "Yes", go ahead sign,
Or even a "No" to which I can resign.

And Lord, You promised that if we believe, we need but to ask, and we shall recieve.
And Lord, I've been asking, and this is my cry: "I'm weary of asking! I need a reply!"

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate, as my Master replied once again, "You must wait"
So, I slumped in my chair, defeated and taught, and grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting...for what?"

He seemed, then, to kneel, and His eyes wept with mine, and He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.

I could shake the heavens, and darken the sun. I could raise the dead, and cause mountains to run. All you seek, I could give, and pleased you would be. You would have what you want- But, you wouldn't know Me.

You'd not know the depth of My love for each saint; you'd not know that power I give to the faint; You'd not learn to see through the clouds of despair; you'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there;

You'd not know the joy of resting in Me; when darkness and silence were all you could see.
You'd never experience that fullness of love, as the peace of My Spirit descends like a dove;

You'd know that I give and save, for a start, but you'd not know the depth of the beat of my heart. The glow of My comfort late into the night, the faith that I give when you walk without sight,

The depth that's beyond getting just what you asked,
Of an infinite God, who makes what you have last.
You'd never know, should your pain quickly flee,
What it means that, "My grace is sufficient for thee."

Yes, your dreams for your loved one, overnight would come true,
But, Oh, the Loss! If I lost what I'm doing in you!

So, be silent, My child, and in time you will see, that the greatest of gifts is to get to know Me.
And though oft' may My answers seem terribly late, My most precious answer of all is still, "Wait."

- Author Unknown

Andrew's 12th Birthday-September 10th

I finally got these pictures uploaded, edited, and posted on here. Almost a month later...It's been crazy around my house the last few weeks. We will be very glad when life gets a little slower. :)
Anyway, Andrew had a wonderful 12th birthday filled with fun, family, cake, ice cream, and lots of memories! Enjoy the pictures!

Thanks for being such a great brother, Andrew! I wouldn't trade you for anything. I love you bunches!

Recipe of the Week-Chickpea Salad

I just made this salad for supper. It was so good that I had to post it up here for all of my readers right away! It's so colorful and tasty! Here is the recipe:

CHICKPEA SALAD

2 cups coarsely chopped tomatoes

2 cans garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed/drained

1/2 large cucumber; peeled, quartered, sliced (approx 1 cup)

1 cup chopped sweet pepper

1 cup snipped fresh cilantro

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

3-4 Tbsp. Kens's Lite Caesar Dressing

1 tsp. salt and pepper

1 T. minced garlic

1 or 2 T. sweet basil

Lemon wedges (optional)

In large bowl combine chopped tomatoes, garbanzo beans, cucumber, sweet pepper, cilantro and onion. Set aside.  Prepare dressing in shaker jar combining oil, vinegar, salt, garlic and sweetener. Shake well. Pour over vegetable mixture. Chill for 4-24 hours.  Allow mixture to stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving. Serve alone or with mixed greens. Garnish with lemon wedges.

Makes 8-10 side dish servings

I hope you enjoy!

A Biblical Woman?

What is a Biblical woman? Many women often question what she is and how to be her. I have pondered this many times and I have finally decided to write down what I believe on this subject.

You don’t have a boyfriend? You don’t go to a college? What do you do with your life then? Many people in today’s society have no clue what a Biblical woman should do after she has finished high school.

This is who she is in my opinion: She is the one who gets up before everyone else and makes breakfast for her family. She helps her three year old sister make her bed. She is the kind of woman who helps her other younger siblings brush their teeth, fixes their hair, and gets them all on track with the morning schedule. She has an hour quiet time with her heavenly Father. Then she helps her sister learn her spelling words, does paperwork for her mom, washes windows, makes lunch, cleans the kitchen, loads up her three little brothers and sisters in the mini van and heads to a local farm for a field trip. This enables her mom to have some quiet time to teach the older kids. When she comes home, she grabs a meal for a friend who just had a surgery and heads out the door once more to take her fourteen year old sister to piano practice and to drop off the meal. When she gets home, she starts supper for her family of eight and while the potatoes are boiling, she and her 14 year old sister fold the last of the laundry. She finally sits down with her family for supper, then cleans the kitchen with the rest of the family and they have family Bible time together. After that she helps get the younger kids in the bed, reads a little of “When God Writes Your Love Story” and longs for her Prince Charming, but she does not grumble or complain because she knows that God will bring her the right man at the right time in her life. At the moment she needs to submit to her earthly father until the right man comes for her. After reading, she sews a new skirt and edits some of her pictures for her home photography business. Finally, she goes to bed at midnight and gets up to do the very same thing in the morning.

She is admired and dearly loved by her family because she is a wonderful source of joy and encouragement, strength of character and makes everyone feel special. She is fun to be with, cheerful, modest, loyal, passionate, gentle, patient, loving, kind, serving, intelligent, polite, wrapped in God’s love and His Word, prayerful and hospitable to everyone she comes in contact with. If she had to she would give up her life for her family and or friends.

She works with all of her heart to be a Godly woman like the following.

“A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.” -Proverb’s 31:10
“The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.” -Proverbs 14:1

“A kindhearted woman gains respect, but ruthless men gain only wealth.” - Proverbs 11:16

These are not usually the kinds of girls you see in our society today, but girls should have a desire to be like the woman 200 years ago. We are all trying to be the perfect little homemaker, but we can’t be perfect. The best thing you can do is be yourself, submit to your father until your Prince Charming does come, and be content with your circumstances whatever they may be. God has a plan for your life and He is going to let what He wants happen in your life although it might not be your plan. Go ahead and be a Biblical woman. It is okay to be different and stand out in the crowd, just don’t make the wrong impression.

Challenging Femininity- Please check it out!

Over the past few months I have started writing for the Feelin' Feminine site and it has kept me pretty busy. I 'm sorry Practically Pink has been quiet for so long but, I have had school, writing for Feelin' Feminine, editing pictures, sewing, Biology co-op, Esther Bible study, and all of my normal chores and spending time with my family. I have been so blessed to be able to write for Feelin’ Feminine and I'll always remember this time of my life because it so neat.

Anyway the first Feelin' Feminine issue of Challenging Femininity just came out yesterday. Jocelyn, the one behind it all wanted the Feminas to post about this exciting news on their own blogs. Please join the rest of us each month for a new issue of articles from various writers, including the official Feminas, on all topics relating to femininity. This will be posted at the end of the month, and we hope you will join us by reading through the articles, announcing it on your sites, and perhaps even contributing for some issues. Please check it out and share the news with others! Thank you! :)