{What Do I Know of Holy}: Facebook Religion

{What Do I Know of Holy}: Facebook Religion

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

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I am glad to be back this week, so that we can finally continue our I HATE RELIGION discussion. Go here to catch up if you missed the 4 previous posts, including the incredible video that this series is based upon.

It was very difficult for me as a young mother, with a newborn and a 2 year old, to sometimes read blogs and other peoples' Facebook pages. While I was struggling to keep my head above water - getting no sleep, far from family, trying to take care of my two little guys while my husband was extremely busy with his very demanding ministry position at a church where family was definitely not a high priority on the list, barely able to pay the bills, not to mention I was in constant pain from some post-labor issues - other people were blogging and posting about their glorious lives filled with nothing but perfect children, lollipops and roses.

Can you relate?

And then it hit me. Their lives are not perfect. They have struggles too. They just never post about the bad things going on, only the good.

I realized this because I was doing the same thing. I did not post much about my struggles either. I wanted to post more, believe me, but the one time that I even hinted on my blog that it was a rough season for us, I got a call {at home} from the pastor's wife of our church at the time, telling me that I need to be careful what I put on my blog because "we don't want people to think poorly of the church."

Please, lady. This very conversation is one of the major flaws in today's churches. If we cannot be "real" at church, where can we be?

If you follow my blog, facebook or twitter account - you know that I am a HUGE Texas Rangers baseball fan! I grew up going to the games with my family, who still have season tickets to this day. I also grew up playing volleyball with some of the Ranger players' daughters. I could go on and on about how much I love this team and why I am a fan.

And as much as I would love to be apart of the team, would wearing the jersey make you think I one of the players?

Of course not.

In every other aspect of life, you know this logic is unworthy. It's like saying you play for the Lakers just because you bought the jersey.

So why in the world do we do it in the church?

Why do we put on the mask and pretend everything is okay? Why do we show up to church on Sunday and never pick up a Bible the rest of the week? Why do we post "Christian" things on our Facebook page but show no other evidence of it in our everyday life? Why do we want people to think that we have it all together when our hearts are far from God?

Quit putting on a fake look cause there's a problem if people only know that you're a Christian by your Facebook.

These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men. {Matthew 15:8-9}

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Legos

Legos

Monday, February 27, 2012

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To those of you that took a few moments to comment in my last post, THANK YOU! I appreciate you taking the time. So glad to hear your thoughts and opinions. It seem it does not bother you if I blog a little more about myself  or what I am doing. :) Hopefully this will reignite my blogging fire!

I recently had an opportunity to dabble in jewelry casting. Pretty fun stuff! You make a mold from this plaster like substance and shoot or should I say fling hot, melted, liquid metal into the mold to create a piece of jewelry. Have you ever seen jewelry designs done in wax? Well it's done that way to burn off and leave the design in a mold. Some items will burn off themselves and do not need to be done in wax first. Things like twigs or plastic....like legos.

 These were so fun to make. And VERY neat because they look exactly like a real lego. They can almost even snap together. If I worked on them longer I could actually get them to. I love the detail on these. The mold was so good to pick up the detail in the lego. You can actually read the word lego on one, mega blocks on the other. And this is kind of a horrible picture but check out detail on the back. I tell ya just like a real lego! You can even read the part numbers lol!

I made these sterling silver legos for my boys and gave them to them for Christmas. Needless to say they loved them. What boy doesn't love legos right? Hopefully we don't step on one of these during the night. Ouch!!!

Sorry these are not available in the shop.

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keep it real

keep it real

Thursday, February 23, 2012

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Hello there my good friends. Well, it's been a while hasn't it? I do believe this is the BIGGEST blog break I have ever taken. Truth be told I have been it a rut. Bloggers block as some may call it. Heck just an altogether creative block too! And I am afraid it has yet to pass. I wanted to check in, say hi and let you know that I am still here and have definitely not forgotten about you my lovely readers.

I've been struggling with some things lately such as direction of the blog. If you blog you understand that blogging is actually something to enjoy. It's fun and a pleasure, but when blogging starts to feel like a job you begin to not enjoy it so much. Ya know what I mean? Yes you, I'm talking to you!

I'd like to hear your thoughts. Why do you read this blog? What do you like? What do you not like so much? Give it to me straight! One big thing I have been wondering is do you like to get personal? Meaning, how would you feel about more personal posts from me, the person behind Cap Creations? Until now I have not gotten very personal, I've kept it more professional. After all this is blog for a jewelry business. Right? Do you even know my name? Where do you draw the personal/business line? Yes this is a business blog but the business is part of me so can it be a personal blog too? Of course I will still have the other things you usually find here such as creations and printables cause y'all know I like to create stuff! Do you like to get to know the people behind the blogs you read?

So if you could help me out in the comments box I would truly appreciate you taking the time to chat. Hopefully I can unblock this bloggers/creative block and be inspired again. I personally do care to know more about my readers! Just FYI.

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{What Do I Know of Holy}: Lonely on Valentine's Day

{What Do I Know of Holy}: Lonely on Valentine's Day

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

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I hope that you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day surrounded by loved ones.

We gave the boys their valentines from us yesterday afternoon and then we put them to bed early so that we could  have a little time to ourselves.

We put in the movie Date Night, ordered in Chinese and made a chocolate lava cake in the crockpot - a recipe that I found on Pinterest. It turned out great, but would be even better with ice cream on top, which I meant to buy at the store but forgot.

It was a low-key but fabulous time celebrating our 11th Valentine's Day together!

I realize, however, that many of you may not have had such an enjoyable time.

Maybe your valentine was out of town. Maybe you were with your valentine but did not want to be. Maybe you do not have a valentine. Or worse - maybe you buried your valentine a few years ago.

Whatever the case may be, I want you to know that you do have a valentine. And access to a love like no other.

Real love looks like Jesus Christ and was defined by Him when He gave His life in exchange for those who crucified Him.

Have you accepted his love for you?

Go here to learn how you can begin a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Don't spend another day without him.

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Happy Birthday to ME!

Happy Birthday to ME!

Thursday, February 9, 2012

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Today is my BIRTHDAY so I thought I'd celebrate with a little sale! For the next 24 hrs only get 25% off all items in the shop!!! If you've had your eye on something now is the time! Shop HERE. And HAPPY BIRTHDAY to ME!



Do you have any birthday traditions that you do in your home? One that we do that I started when it was just my husband and I, is to wake the birthday person by blasting this song below.



So this my friends is what I woke to this morning. It is such a fun way to start your birthday morning!

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{What Do I Know of Holy}: An Everlasting Love

{What Do I Know of Holy}: An Everlasting Love

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

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With Valentine's Day quickly approaching, I would like to take a break from our I HATE RELIGION series and talk instead about that thing called love.

And speaking of love, I absolutely LOVE this free printable from my friend Valerie over at The Blogging Pastor's Wife.

 Go here to download.

Did you know that God loves you with an everlasting love?

I just love the sound of that - an everlasting love. How beautiful and refreshing.

Think about it. No matter who you are or what you have done, or will ever do, God loves you more than you could ever imagine - unconditionally.

Probably the closest earthly comparison would be the love between a parent and their child. I can speak from experience that no matter what my little guys do, I could never love them any more or any less. Even when they drive me crazy, I still love them with an overwhelming love. They are apart of me - like little pieces of my heart walking around in earthly bodies.

Can you relate?

And yet even this comparison falls short because God's love for us is SO much bigger than my love for my children. Plus, his love is perfect. He never makes a mistake that he has to apologize for later. His love is constant, unending, everlasting. Our one true love.

If you are single, be reminded that you have access to a love that is better than any you will find here on this earth. And if you are married, tap into this love and allow it to pour over into your marriage.

Artwork and Image by Barn Owl Primitives

I don't know if I want to go so far as to say that my life is a fairy tale - but I do know that there is a knight in shining armor on a white horse, who so desperately wants to win my love - so much so that he died on the cross for me. And he did the same for you.

To get a glimpse of this love, read one of my all-time favorite books:

Seriously. Every woman should read this. It is based off of the book of Hosea in the bible and you will be absolutely amazed at the everlasting love that God has for you.

May you know the fullness of God's love this Valentine's Day, and always.

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. {John 15:13}

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Prayer Rock Valentine

Prayer Rock Valentine

Monday, February 6, 2012

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Shared this over at Worthy of the Prize for their Hope for the Home series but thought I'd share it here too!

Have you ever heard of a prayer rock? The idea is simple. You place this little rock on your pillow each morning so that when you go to bed that night you are reminded to say your prayers. Then when going to bed you place it on the floor so you are reminded to say your morning prayers when you wake. This is also great for training your children to remember their morning and nighttime prayers.

These are so simple and fun to make. Here's how. Oh and be sure to get the kiddos help they love making these!

Gather some rocks. I had these on hand that I got at the Dollar Tree. 

 

Cut out small heart shapes using some of your favorite fabrics. This is a fantastic use for even the tiniest of scraps. 

On a smooth clean side of your rock, brush on a coat of mod podge.

Add a fabric heart.

Brush on another coat of mod podge, right over the fabric heart. You'll want to get good coverage over the fabric to ensure a good attachment. Now do several and let them dry and you are done!

Now my kid is a rock fanatic so these are going to be his Valentines to his classmates this year. I made a tag with the prayer rock poem and we will package it up like one of the options below. You can snag the tags below too!

Use letter stamps to stamp "You Rock" on a muslin bag and tie on the tag. You can also stamp the to and from on the back of the tag. The complete letter stamp sets can be found in the dollar bins at Michaels.

Add the tag, basket filler paper, and the rock to a cello bag and close. Again you can stamp the to and from on the back of the tag.

Simply drop the rock into a red bag, fold the top over and attach the tag with a heart paper clip.

If not using for a Valentine, how great would these be in an entryway, you can let your guests grab one as they go.

Download the Prayer Rock tags HERE. As pictured above.

Here is another fun kid friendly printable poem for ya! Click HERE to get it.

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{What Do I Know of Holy}: Church is NOT a Building

{What Do I Know of Holy}: Church is NOT a Building

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

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I'm so glad that you are joining us today, as we continue our I HATE RELIGION series. Go here to watch the incredible video that this series is based upon and to catch up on the previous posts if you missed out.

In case you are new around here, my name is Erin and you can usually find me blogging over at Worthy of the Prize. As always, I'm so honored that Cat invites me to guest blog here every Wednesday. I have truly enjoyed our time together each week.

Today I would like to discuss one of the problems that I have with the modern-day church.

But before we get started, I just want to clarify again that I do love church. It is good to be involved in a church. God wants us to be in constant fellowship with other believers, as we seek him together. And by the way, my hubby is a pastor, so we are definitely heavily involved in a church and always have been.

But as stated in the video, there is a huge problem running rampant in today's churches...

If religion is so great, why does it build huge churches but fails to feed the poor?

And there you have it, my friends. It really bothers me that today's churches put so much time, money and effort into their building, their image, their look - yet they are not reaching people.

Here me when I say that church is not a building. It is not a show. It is not a place to come be entertained. 

Do we really need to waste thousands and thousands, millions even, of dollars, to build beautiful buildings stocked full of expensive equipment, even to the point of making our worship services a broadway spectacle complete with smoke, lights and costumes?

Since when did you have to be a professional entertainer and have a radio voice to be a worship leader?

 Are we really fulfilling our purpose by sitting in our pretty pews being entertained one morning a week, when there are hurting people, poverty and orphans dying, without Jesus, all around us?

Now don't get me wrong. God does ask for our best. It is good to strive for excellence, so that worship is not hindered. And you definitely have to be relevant, in order to reach people.

But we need to remember that church is about meeting people where they are and introducing them to Christ. Period. And worship services are about encountering God. Period.

What are your thoughts?

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. {Acts 2:42-47}

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