Happy November! We are getting our sewing needles and thread out this month for craft night. We are cutting and hand sewing these simple but so pretty heart ornaments. A similar tutorial can be found here for the general idea of construction.

Supplies:

Fabric: scraps are perfect

Needle + Thread / sewing machine

Cotton balls / stuffing

Embellishments: buttons, ribbon, bows, beads, etc.

Hearts are my favorite shape and can be found doodled on nearly any paper that comes in contact with my pen. Hearts are a symbol of love and a word used to say how much you like something. They can represent the center of an object or the soul and often tied to feelings depicting what we are all about.

Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Luke 6:45) and this month our prayer is to speak hope in to the hearts of those who are hurting. Hearts of hope.

 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Romans 12:12

Hope that only comes from believing in Jesus. That can be held on to during the most crucial points in our lives and in the most blissful. Hope that turns the mourning in to dancing and puts a new song in our mouth. It is the hope that does not make everything okay but that never gives up. That restores and renews. The hope that changes everything.

When we hope in Jesus, our lives change in ways only God can imagine, as idols fall and the cross is continually picked up, with new eyes to see the landscapes of a gifted life worth living despite circumstances.  Hope that reveals patience during trials and develops a conversational life of prayer.

Praying that your heart would be full of hope as you trust in Jesus and that it would be interrupted with hope if it has yet to be and that you would in turn bless someone else. Praying that you would find peace in the midst of life and comfort in the quiet to rest and refreshment in the beauty of things hoped for.

We are using these tags (1.5" x 1.5") to attach to the ornaments as we give them away. Click to print. 

For more info on Pocket Blessings, click here. If you are hosting a Pocket Blessings in your community, feel free to email with any questions or any way we can be of service.

Happy October! Another month and Another craft. We are excited to make these fun, little signs. A few popsicle sticks, glue and stamps and you have a cute way to encourage someone.

Signs are a perfect way to label something. They tell you exactly what the contents are and what is expected to be inside. For some, comments and descriptions of others easily roll off the tongue. Peace maker. Encourager. Holy roller. Some you expect and still others you could never fathom. Words attached to you by someone without your approval. And sometimes it sticks. Other times it bounces.

You know, the woman with the gap between her teeth, who always seems to get lip stick on it.

And the other one, who is just a little too friendly and loves wearing pink shoes.

No, it's the one who always talks about her dog, has really frizzy hair and kind of chunky.

And the opinions of the Proverbs 31 Woman is always an interested topic.

She is the epitome of what it looks like to be a follower of Jesus.

She is not a real person.

How does she do it all? She does too much.

Commentaries and bible studies go on about it. About her. Her character and wisdom and family and work life all simplified in to twenty two verses, overflowing with goodness and purpose and drive and fear of the Lord. And how we can be like her. How you can be like her in your everyday life, doing your everyday tasks because face it, she is pretty fabulous and those labels would look great on you, too.

But you are you and in true Dr. Seuss fashion, there is no one YOUER than YOU. And you are pretty awesome, my friend, no matter how awesome someone else is.

So our hope with this craft is to dissolve the labels that others have given us, whether good or bad and will hold up ones that God has given each of us. Ones that encourage and ring truth to our souls. That allows each inhale to be our breath alone and for that to be sufficient.

Praying that you would focus on who God says you are and not what others have labeled you. Praying you would see the beauty in yourself and the way you were so carefully made.

Here is a simple picture tutorial. Let me know if you have any questions. I have been in to a neutral pallet lately and loving the simplicity but the sky is the limit to the design. I am quite sure glitter will make it to craft night, along with some paint to liven them up.

More info on Pocket Blessings here. 

Happy crafting!

As we launch the 2015/ 2016 year for Pocket Blessings, I am super excited to introduce you to the newest crafting members coming alongside us with their inspiration and talents. They are super sweet and super crafty and it is a blessing to have on the team.

We have been busy meeting and planning and praying about what God has in store for this year and we are excited to be apart of his plan. And of course, to get our crafting on and meet new friends along the way. 

This month we are decorating glass baby food jars with fall paraphernalia. They are cute and small and just the perfect size to add a tea light to. We layered: fabric cut to fit, pretty metallic fake leaves, twine, ribbon, buttons and lots of hot glue to jazz up the jars.

They are also a great reminder of the simple truth: to be the light + to shine.

Shine because our light has come. Because Jesus came in to the world to show us the way in to his. And now we are called to reflect him. To stand for what he stood for. To live and love as he did.

Reflecting Jesus is different for everyone but looks the same in essence. Everyone has a different skill set and different influence but are called to do the same thing: be like him. 

Whether it is caring for patients at a hospital or teaching children in school or taking care of your own littles, love looks the same. To come along side and listen and serve and teach the truth.

Praying you would reflect Jesus as you go about your days and that you would be a constant source of encouragement and love to others, pointing them to Jesus. Praying you would truly shine. 

For more info about Pocket Blessings and how you can start your own, click here.

You are not defined by your bookmark. You know, the place that changed you. A pivot point in your life. The mark that took a piece of your innocence and part of your heart and misconstrued memories. Or captivated you with so much beauty that you were never the same. That made you a better person and showed you truth and drew you closer to God than you had been before.

Bookmarks. We all have them in our story but we are not to be defined by them. Over and over scripture tells us who we are, whose we are and gives us promises of it. In Christ alone is our hope and identity found.

This month for Pocket Blessings we are designing fabric bookmarks. They are simply two pieces of fabric sewn together, about 2" by 7" (you could use paper or other medium), punched a hole with a crop-o-dile and added a tassel for some fun. There is a great tutorial here for how to make cute little tassels to attach, should you choose. There are lots of options for decor but I kept these pretty simple. 

On each bookmark we are writing one word that symbolizes what our marks should cause us to do. Letter stencils come in really handy here if you prefer something other than your own hand.

Rejoice.You need not hide it or be ashamed of what you have been through.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Philippians 4:4

Shine. God has carefully crafted a path for you via Jesus, now you need only shine and be an example to others.

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. Isaiah 60:1

Love. Because Jesus has shown you how,  you can.

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 1 John 3:16

And of course, some tags to attach with the verses. Click to print. I cut mine in to flag shapes but the options are limitless.

Praying that whatever bookmarks you have in your life would be seen as beauty. That they would show others the glory God has revealed to you through them. Praying that you would truly believe who God says you are and that you would lead the way for others to seem themselves in the same light. That you would rejoice and shine and love in what God has done in spite of the bad and the good.

Here's to transforming bookmarks to beauty.

For more info about Pocket Blessings, click here.  

The Pocket Blessings craft for March is paper bunting. We are filling teeny baskets with little bunting  with the word Hope to put inside because Easter is upon us and because of Jesus, we have hope.

There are various ways and supplies and sizes that can be used to make bunting. We are using paper and ribbon + twine to make them in triangles and flags about 3" x 1.5" and embellishing them with embossed + stamped / stickered / handwritten letters.

Here are few basic tutorials if you need some inspiration for making your own:

Paper Flag bunting

Fabric Bunting

Paper Pennant Bunting: 

Washi Tape Bunting 

Easter is about bringing hope to the hopeless. It is about celebrating the death and resurrection of Christ. We want to remind the recipients of the hope that is found in Jesus because of his death and resurrection. For surely, hope can change everything.

Hope weaves itself in to the bits of glitter in the hard times and points others to God's saving grace. Hope perseveres because of the promises and goodness to come. Hope rises past the hurts and hold ups and grudges and points to the bigger picture.

 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him. Romans 15:13a

God is a God of hope. He fills and gives and pours and mixes according to our needs of peace and joy and love. He is the ultimate giver.

Praying that you see God will fill you will hope as you go about Easter and that it would overflow through the power of the holy spirit. Praying that you would be a witness throughout your community of the hope of Jesus and if you have yet to put your hope in him, that you would see the beauty in the offer.

Here's to new found hope and overflowing of joy and peace.  

And of course, here's a little tag to attach to your baskets. Click to download. 

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For more info about Pocket Blessings, click here.

For craft night this month we are making note cards for a local senior home. A simple text or email may be sent, which is great and can mean a lot but there is something about getting a tangible thing to hold with someone's own handwriting that makes it all the more special. So much can burst out of a word or two. Or more.

In college, I wrote a small thank you to a professor telling her thanks for all of the work she had put in one of the classes I had taken from her. It was so much work and so much to learn and so much for her to teach and  to grade. When I transferred schools I had to retake the class. Same book. Same amount to learn but hardly any teaching occurred that came close the my previous professor's. I felt sorry for the other students in the class who were trying to figure it all out and had no idea what to do. This was where my note was born and sent it out to my teacher in full thankfulness for her efforts.

Later, a friend mentioned that my professor was really encouraged by it and placed it on her desktop as a reminder while she was going through the daily grind. I had no idea the impact that it would make for her and did not think she would remember me.

Pleasant words are a honeycomb,

   sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

    Proverbs 16:24

Writing is like the essence of life in word form. God spoke the whole word in to motion and then wrote it down for us. Words are powerful and I do not think I will ever understand the power of them. They hold gifts of encouragement and wisdom and thanksgiving. They bring out smiles and tears and comfort. They bring up memories of past days spent and let us to peer in to lives of fictional people who will never walk in ours. 

Praying that you would not look at words the same but would be transformed by their context and arrangement. Praying that you would hear the truth and build each other up with them, as they are meant to do. Praying that you would find time this week to send a note to someone the Lord has placed on your heart. 

Here is a little packaging tag if you would like to give them away. They fit perfectly around an A2 invitation envelope. Click image to download. 

And of course, if you are in the area and would like to join us, we would love to have you!

Here's to notes and words and encouragement. 

Read more about what Pocket Blessings is all about here. 

You are loved. You. Are. Loved. YOU ARE LOVED. Do you believe it? God loves you so much that he sent his son to pay for your sins. Anything that you have ever done has been covered by the blood of Jesus. He has made you perfectly in his image and beautiful. You are loved. No matter how ugly you think whatever you have done is. No matter what you did in the past. No matter what you have going on in the present time. You are loved.

You are more than what the world says that you are. You are more than the car you drive. More than the address on your bank statement. More than the words described by those around you. You are beautiful. You are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).

One of my favorite verses about God's love is Jeremiah 31:3:

“I have loved you with an everlasting love;

    I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.

God loves you with an everlasting love. Everlasting. My bible dictionary defines everlasting as perpetual or enduring through all time and to also reference eternal. This is a forever and ever kind of deal. Not the romance love until-death-do-us-part-if-we-make-it-past-the-first-few-years-of-marriage kind of thing. This is an all time thing. This is the message that we want to convey to the recipients of these handmade valentines. And to you.

There is something so freeing and comforting knowing you are loved. So please, make sure you know it and can feel it and can breathe it in and take it with you wherever you go and share it with others.

Praying you embrace the truth in love and not just in a feeling because feelings fade but truth never changes.

We are attaching this printable to the backs of the Valentines and embellishing the actual cards to our little hearts desires. There is four to a page. Click to download.

If you are in the area, we would love to have you! If not, pray about setting up a Pocket Blessings craft night wherever you reside. Someone needs to know how much she is loved and perhaps you are just the person to tell her.

Here's to all the pretty things that are popping out in the stores and the everlasting kind of love. 

For more info on what Pocket Blessings is all about here.

Hope you will be crafting along with Pocket Blessings this month, as we make these sweet tree ornaments. The message behind them can be found here. We are doing both fabric ornaments and ones made out of sticks. There is a tutorial on how to make the stick one here. Since I could not find one on how to make the fabric ones, here is a quick step by step.

For the month of November, Pocket Blessings will be making tree ornaments. In the bible, trees are often used to symbolize a person being rooted in God. Truly growing in relation and faith with him. Growing in trust and reliance.

He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers. Psalm 1:3

They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. Jeremiah 17:8

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. Psalm 92:12-13

This is the sort of life that God wants to instill in each of us. He wants us to be thriving and growing in him. Constantly learning more about who he is and revealing those characteristics in ourselves. It is the abundant life of following Christ and in that there is nothing better.

This is the message that we want to portray to the recipients of these ornaments. The relationship and growth that is offered because Christ was born. Christmas is a fun holiday but the fact Jesus was born in to the world, God with us, is simply amazing. 

Praying that if you do not have roots in Christ, that you would seek him and find him and bask in his grace. Praying that you would learn and find the truth. Praying that if have never experienced Christmas in the light of Jesus, that this year you would have new eyes to see the beauty of the God of the universe coming to earth to die for your sins. All because of love. Because he loves you.

Here's to roots and growth and Christmas.

A simple tutorial on how to make the trees and printable tags will be posted next week. Here's God's will leading to you in some way to participate in little crafts of kindness,

For more info on what Pocket Blessings is all about, read it here. 

Over  year and a half ago, as I was reading through 1 Peter 4:10 and God really challenged me with it: 

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.

Craftiness runs in my blood. I thoroughly enjoy making almost anything that involves fabric or glue. It is something that has always been easy for me and something God has gifted me with to use for his purposes. I felt him nudging me to do a craft ministry that makes items to give to others in the community. I had no idea what this would look like or what it would entail and leading it seemed daunting. I have hardly any expertise in leading. I prayed about it for a few months before I mentioned it to anyone. This is where Pocket Blessings was born.

It just so happened that God had moved Juli and her husband, Scott, to our area a few years before and we had met in Sunday school. She is the craftiest person I know. Naturally, God directed me to ask her what she thought.  It never ceases to amaze me how God gifts us in certain areas and calls  us to use them for his glory. And how he brings people beside you to help you and show you the ropes.

The neighborhood we live in is referred to as the pocket and our focus is on small things because it is the small things that make up the moments, that turn into years, which form memories - hence the name was born of Juli and her husband, Scott.  

The goal for Pocket Blessings is to make an impact in our community for Christ one handmade blessing at a time. Each item comes with a verse attached and is covered in prayers, both for the person who made it and the one receiving it.

It such a rewarding time for both the people involved and the people crafting. The community comes together and God brings the people he wants to be there and the people he wants to receive them. It is a win - win.  

Praying God will give you guidance and direction if you feel him leading you to participate or put in to action something he has placed in your heart.Praying that you would embrace your gifts and that God would show you how he wants you to use them in your current season of life, whether in big or small ways. Praying that if you find yourself wondering what your gifts are that the Lord would you reveal them to you and you would accept them as the present that they are,

Interested in starting a Pocket Blessings craft night in your community / church / area?

Here are some tips to get you started:

Choose how often: we do once a month on the 3rd Saturday at our church but you can do it whenever works for you.

Who: we like to open it up to not only our church but community, too, so we leave fliers throughout town (i.e. coffee shops, library) but the choice is yours. You can do it by yourself or with a few close friends. Do not let numbers stop you from making a difference or crafting abilities. We do a demonstration for each craft before we start and help through the night.

Craft: varies, we like to incorporate upcoming holidays (we make it the month before, so delivery can be arranged by the month of the holiday). Each month I will post what we will doing, along with any resources (i,e, printable tags) that we are using. 

Who to give to: we pray about which organization / place (i.e. local nursing home, hospital units, rehabilitation homes) God wants us to give to leading up to craft night - he has not let us down yet. So pray and do not be intimated to ask around. Perhaps a friend is the perfect recipient or knows someone who is.

Supplies:  use what you have and/or ask for donations - people love to give and most have some supplies they need to get rid of, especially for a good cause. Freecycle is an awesome resource for free crafting supplies.  

Message: we start out with a prayer and teeny message explaining what we are making and a pull it together with a verse

Share: If you are  interested crafting along, be sure to tag on instagram @ingracealways or #pocketblessings

I will share more about the craft we are doing for November in the coming weeks and how you can prep for it. And of course, if you are in the Sacramento area, we would love to have you attend.