I am pretty new to the blog world, so when I discovered this blog party I thought it would be fun to give it a whirl and meet some new people. 

This is me, I'm Tiffany.

I love Jesus, my family and pretty much everything DIY. This blog is a combination of the three, not necessarily in that order. For a little more about me, stop on by the THIS IS ME page. 

I have the cutest 10 month old daughter and most genuine husband. I love life and am thankful for all blessings God has given me. My little one loves her daddy, avocados, and exploring whatever she can get her teeny tiny fingers on. He loves her (and me), bike riding, cooking, and playing video games when he has a minute. 

Feel free to browse around. Hope you find something that inspires you. Thanks for visiting my little space and blessings to you! :)

On the fourth, I officially hit the quarter of a century mark. God has blessed me more than I can even fathom and I am thankful for each moment he has given me thus far. I must admit though, this birthday left me feeling extremely spoiled. I am not really one for gifts but this year it was really fun opening them. Maybe it was due to the fact Ricardo actually kept it a surprise (he is the worst at surprises). Or maybe it was the beautiful weather getting to my head. Who knows, anywho, I relished each moment of my day. It started with Ricardo surprising me by taking the day off from work for an impromptu beach day in Santa Cruz. Did I mention I LOVE the beach? I was unsure of how our little one would fair the 2.5 hour drive but she did amazing! We walked along the shore, browsed some thrift stores and enjoyed downtown. 

yes, he did the 90s jacket 

We had a blast, as you can tell and I am grateful for another year. I had to wait until the next day to open the rest of of my gifts from him and my mom but it was well worth the wait. 

To say thanks to all those who showered me with presents, (Ricardo also planned a birthday dinner with friends the Saturday prior) I designed this little post card. It measures 5.5" long by  4" high. Doesn't everyone like getting more than junk mail in their mailbox and more personal than a Facebook message? 

Show your gratitude to some one today. To download the thank you postcards, click here

Each year our church does a People Hunt, in lieu of an East Egg Hunt, which entails children going in search of church members, all of whom are armed with some sort of gift or candy. This is will be my first year, so I am not sure exactly what to expect but it sounds like fun and children are always entertaining. The trickiest part so far has been trying to figure out what to arm myself with, besides the usual chocolate bunny. While rummaging through Google in search of the perfect Easter treat that does not account for too much sugar, yet still meaningful, I stumbled on the family online website. If you are looking for a way to teach your children about Easter, I would definitely check out it out.

The site boasts a recipe for cookies that takes you through the resurrection of Christ, with the intentions of making them with children the night before Easter. How cool is that? Obviously, I cannot take random children to my house and bake with them but I still wanted to incorporate this idea of telling the resurrection through cookies, which lead me to designing this little printable. Like the site suggests, it states the ingredients of the cookies with its correlation to Easter, all in a pretty little to go package.

Here is my abridged version of the ingredient meanings:

Nuts, Beaten like Jesus by the Roman soldiers, John 19:1-3

Vinegar, Jesus’ final drink, John 19:28-30

Egg whites, Pure like Jesus without sin, 2 Corinthians 5:21

Salt: Tears shed by Jesus’ followers, Luke 23:27

Sugar: Sweetest part of the story: Jesus DIED because he LOVES us! John 3:16

Go ahead, take a bite. Missing something? (The cookie has a hollow center, so fun!) Surprise! Jesus’ followers were, too! The tomb was empty! Jesus is alive! Matthew 28:1-9

To find the recipe and complete instructions, click here. I have not yet made these cookies, as I do still have a FEW days before Easter, so hopefully they will turn out yummy.

To download packaging, click here. There is 1/4" on each side to cut and 1/2" from the top. They measure 4" X 2" once folded in half. To get an idea of using the packaging, click here. 

HAPPY EASTER!

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. - John 3:16

Relationships. Everyone has them, whether it be with your co-workers, brothers, sisters, spouse, parents, – I think you get the picture – there is no hiding from one. The beginning of last year I decided to be more intentional in my relationships. I am not one for New Year’s resolutions but I knew some change was to be in order and it just so happened to collide with the calendar. Relationships are not easy but they are oh-so-worth the effort it takes to keep them alive and well; not to mention how God will use them for His good.

I have realized the past few years how much I actually like being alone. Do not get me wrong, I do like people but time by myself is extremely valuable. Yes, I am an introvert. What I have come to realize is how selfish I am can get with my time. I constantly have ideas oozing all over the place that are just waiting to come to life if I can just get a few moments. Taking care of our little one (practically a single mom during the week until May), helping an amazing family, keeping up with house work and just life makes my time a lot more valuable these days and relationships take time and work. Often times, more than I would like to invest.

This year I felt the need to keep the ball rolling with the intentional relationship focus but stepping it up a notch, only with God’s help and grace that is. I have been trying to figure out what that will look like in my day. Adding a coffee date with a friend. Sending a card. A phone call. I have been praying fervently that God will use my days to make a small difference and I know that he has been at work. After all, he instilled this in me.

Sunday our Pastor spoke of obedience and doing what God wants us to do in faith and action. Then, Ricardo and I went to see Gungor (if you have ever have the chance to see them I highly recommend doing so, amazing!) and he went on to say nearly the same thing. Coincidence, I know better. Yes, God I heard you. There is nothing like affirmation from God. Relationships require action and stepping out in faith. They call me to give up something from myself. To put the needs of others before my own. To serve. They call me to become like Jesus. This is what living is all about.



Our view at Gungor (my camera did not want to focus)

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. – James 2:14-19 (NIV)

I recently read Nicole Johnson’s book, Fresh – Brewed Life, which made me realize that I needed to get control of my schedule. How you spend your time becomes the essence of who you let yourself become. You may be missing out on blessings that God wants to give you when you allow yourselves to get too busy to call a friend or say hi to a neighbor. Johnson goes on to talk about what you would want to be remembered for after you pass. What would be your epitaph? She states:

An epitaph is very ‘big picture.’ It seeks to capture the most important aspects of you're life. Since these words are not etched until after your dead, they are usually written by someone else, someone who looks at your life from the outside, all they have to go by many times is what you ‘did’ and how you spent your time, this is why it is so critical to get control of your schedule - to let who you are come out in what you do. People may look at your calendar of activities and completely miss what you would want them to see.

This inspired me to design a planner. One that would be best suited for my life now. One that would be fun; not like any other planner that I have had in the past. I have had a planner since middle school. My middle school gave a planner to every student on the first day. Those were quite fun actually. They included random facts and fun quotes. My favorite was from hockey player, Wayne Gretzky, you miss 100% of the shot you never take. I still remember it. After that, planners became basic but functional, which is why I opted out of buying another one. I needed one that would keep me focused on more than just what needs to get done. I needed one that would help me “fight to focus on Jesus,” as guest speaker, Pastor Ryan Stevenson said during his sermon on Sunday. (If you are interested in hearing the amazing message, you can listen to it via Podcast here)

This led me to the overall theme. The root of our existence is love. I can see this more so as I have become a mother, wife, sister, and friend. We are only capable of truly loving when we fully entrust ourselves to Jesus. Therefore, I have entwined verses pertaining to love throughout the pages as a reminder to myself to LOVE others because He loved me first. I cannot love on my own. True love can only come through Him. 

Monthly Calendar, starting with March through December

I also opted to make it colorful for a change. I have a tendency to keep things black and white, literally. If you have ever stepped in to my living room or guest bathroom, you may have noticed. Black and white is a classic combination. Not to mention, it goes with anything, except brown. It is easy to change accent colors but  also gets boring and predictable. It does not scream “take a chance” or “live a little” but rather a sort of complacent hum dum “been there, done that.” So, with all this in mind, my “Change the World with Love Planner” was born.

Hope you enjoy it. Feel free to download all or some of it by clicking the links below, for personal use only. 

Meal Planner with Shopping List

Weekly Pages, six colors total

Notes & Inspiration

Important Dates

Contacts 



Oh, Valentine’s day. Such a silly day really. The decorations get me though. I am a sucker for heart prints and the word love in general. The pretty pink hues are perfectly fitting, too.  In elementary school it really was all about the candy attached to the silly cards that mattered. Junior high left me questioning what those silly cards meant. Was he really bananas for me? In high school no one even bothered with the cards. My friends and I tended to be boyfriendless and did our own awesome Valentine exchange. Although, reading through countless teen magazines and watching chick flicks always left me wanting my own Valentine.

As with all holidays, it is overly commercialized with red heart shaped boxes of chocolates on every shelf for that special someone and roses to boot. Do not get to wrong, I love a yummy box of dark chocolate goodness but I would much rather it come on any other day than this. It is too man dated for me.

So, this Valentine’s day I wanted to do something different and send a message to the girls in my Awana group about true love. I wanted to let them know that they are beautiful and are loved by the One who is greater than any boy who may ever attract their precious attention. I wanted to let them to know that Jesus loves them. My wish for them is to be able to set their hopes and security in Him and not the boy in gym class. This is the part where I have to say if I only knew then what I know now, ah. Love and feeling valued comes from no one else but God but you have to accept and know that in order to live it out. Thankfully, these girls get the privilege to learn about his love each week.

I made up some Valentine-ish packaging and baked some yumminess for them to remember this little lesson. I made an extra set for each girl to let someone else know that Jesus loves them, too.



Whole wheat sugar cookies and chocolate cookies topped with ganache, ready for packaging







A small mountain of love <3





If you would like to share the love, download the template here.

Each design is 4” wide by 3” tall. I do not like marking the cutting edges on templates (they get in the way!), so cutting ½” off the left margin and then 4” across will give you the correct cut. Cut down 3", fold in half and you have the perfect package measurements :)

Thank you Jesus for loving me so much!

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. – John 3:16 (NIV)

I am really not one to forward emails (if you knew me back in high school that was a different story, ha) but I found this particular one to be quirky and fun with an obviously great message. Special thanks to my aunt for the forward. So this is me passing it on without it being sent to your inbox. To make that clear, I did not write this although I would like to be clever enough to be the one who did.  I love the bible acronym.

RECALL NOTICE:

The Maker of all human beings (GOD) is recalling all units manufactured, regardless of make or year, due to a serious defect in the primary and central component of the heart. This is due to a malfunction in the original prototype units code named Adam and Eve, resulting in the reproduction of the same defect in all subsequent units. This defect has been identified as "Subsequential Internal Non-morality," more commonly known as S.I.N., as it is primarily expressed.

Some of the symptoms include:
1. Loss of direction
2. Foul vocal emissions
3. Amnesia of origin
4. Lack of peace and joy
5. Selfish or violent behavior
6. Depression or confusion
7. Fearfulness
8. Idolatry
9. Rebellion

The Manufacturer, who is neither liable nor at fault for this defect, is providing factory-authorized repair and service free of charge to correct this defect. The Repair Technician, JESUS, has most generously offered to bear the entire burden of the staggering cost of these repairs. There is no additional fee required. The number to call for repair in all areas is: P-R-A-Y-E-R.

Once connected, please upload your burden of SIN through the REPENTANCE procedure.

Next, download ATONEMENT from the Repair Technician, Jesus, into the heart component.

No matter how big or small the SIN defect is, Jesus will replace it with:

1. Love
2. Joy
3. Peace
4. Patience
5. Kindness
6. Goodness
7. Faithfulness
8. Gentleness
9. Self control

Please see the operating manual, the B.I.B.L.E. (BEST Instructions Before Leaving Earth) for further details on the use of these fixes.

WARNING: Continuing to operate the human being unit without correction voids any manufacturer warranties, exposing the unit to dangers and problems too numerous to list, and will result in the human unit being permanently impounded. For free emergency service, call on Jesus.

DANGER: The human being units not responding to this recall action will have to be scrapped in the furnace. The SIN defect will not be permitted to enter Heaven so as to prevent contamination of that facility. Thank you for your attention!

- GOD

P.S. Please assist where possible by notifying others of this important recall notice, and you may contact the Father any time by 'Knee mail'!

Because HE Lives!