Xapa to the World

Category: Random

Stuff that doesn’t fit into a box…like me!

  • Freebie Printable: March Bible Verse Calendar

    ESV Mar 11

    To continue in the Bible Verse calendar, here are downloads for the month of March in three versions, ESV, KJV, and NIV.

    I had fun with the color scheme for this month. The cherry blossoms reminded me of Japan, lasting only a couple weeks at the most. And of course, there is the obligatory shamrocks throughout the month.

    ESV Mar 18

    Instructions:

    1. Download the .pdf file below.
    2. Print onto white 8.5 x 11 card-stock (other colors might be ok, but you’ll have to test that out yourself).
    3. Cut along the dotted lines then sort into numeric order.
    4. Prop up on a little stand, or keep in a drawer and swap out on the fridge. Or buy a recipe box with a ridge in the top for easy reading.
    5. Keep in a prominent place where the members of the household will easily see it. The kitchen table is good, if you have breakfast there.
    6. Discuss verse(s) with family and encourage reading the surrounding verses for context and meditation throughout the day.

    Download:

    March ESV (pdf)
    March KJV (pdf)
    March NIV (pdf)

    Bible In a Year Plan March  (doc)

    Enjoy! Oh, and subscribe to this blog to the right if you’d like notifications of new posts and the next of these printables. I promise not to overwhelm your inbox. 🙂

  • Freebie Printable: February Bible Verse Calendar

    Feb 03 ESV

    To continue in the Bible Verse calendar, here are downloads for the month of February in three versions, ESV, KJV, and NIV.

    As you can imagine, this month’s theme is love and the verses are full of great verses on the love of God and showing love to others. I hope they are an inspiration to you in the following weeks. FYI, the black and white headshots are of Presidents Lincoln and Washington on their respective birthdays.
    Feb 22 ESV

    Instructions:

    1. Download the .pdf file below.
    2. Print onto white 8.5 x 11 card-stock (other colors might be ok, but you’ll have to test that out yourself).
    3. Cut along the dotted lines then sort into numeric order.
    4. Prop up on a little stand, or keep in a drawer and swap out on the fridge. Or buy a recipe box with a ridge in the top for easy reading.
    5. Keep in a prominent place where the members of the household will easily see it. The kitchen table is good, if you have breakfast there.
    6. Discuss verse(s) with family and encourage reading the surrounding verses for context and meditation throughout the day.

    Download:

    February ESV (pdf)
    February KJV (pdf)
    February NIV (pdf)

    Bible in a Year Reading Plan February (doc)

    Enjoy! Oh, and subscribe to this blog to the right if you’d like notifications of new posts and the next of these printables. I promise not to overwhelm your inbox. 🙂

  • 7 Months Married- Things I’m Learning

    1. Married life is such a blessing. I’m glad I waited for it. I’m glad I went for it too!

    2. If you don’t do it, then it won’t get done. My hubby is tremendously helpful, but between the two of us, if we don’t do a chore, it doesn’t happen. Mom will not come to the house overnight and fill the sugar bowl for us. Those knives sitting in the sink will not clean themselves and go back in the holder.

    3. If I was prone to laziness before the wedding, it doesn’t change much after the wedding.

    4. Having someone else around shows you how many of your activities are exercises in futility.

    5. We are each other’s spiritual encourager – we’re still working out the whole “spiritual leader” bit, but right now, encouragement is what is called for.

    6.  Division of chores doesn’t have to be assigned by gender, but sometimes it’s for the best.

    7.  Status checks are great. It’s always a good idea to know where each other is standing in the relationship and make adjustments accordingly.

    8.  It’s ok not to tackle all projects at once. One, it costs too much money. Two, there aren’t enough hours in the day. Three, most projects can wait.

    9.  If you do something the other likes more then there’s a good chance they’ll reciprocate when it’s something you like more. Car shows for a pro tennis match is an even trade. 🙂

    10. Generosity is something that is not optional. It isn’t just about money; it is the unnamed fruit of the Spirit.

    11. Cooking can actually be fun! I’ve always been a baker, but I’m really enjoying the cooking-side of the kitchen. I’m very grateful for a husband who is willing to try anything I make…even if just once.

    12. Some TV shows are best shared. But be careful of introducing LOST to your husband’s repertoire…it will cause serial runs of the show for days. How my friends and I managed to wait for a week between episodes is beyond me!

    13. Remembering is important. Remembering successes, fun times, bad times, mistakes, etc…that’s a good thing. Dwelling on them and not moving forward is not.

    and 14. (because it’s 2014!) Cleanliness may not be next to godliness, but it sure is a good idea!

    Time to clean up all this Christmas stuff!!

    What all did you learn this last year? I know there is more to this list than just 14, but it’s all I could think of right now.

  • Freebie Printable: January Bible Verse Calendar

    Jan 07 ESV

    To continue in the Bible Verse calendar, here are downloads for the month of January in three versions, ESV, KJV, and NIV.

    I really enjoyed putting these together. The verses are such an encouragement (and a chastisement where necessary) for strong Christian living – in mercy, kindness, and love. I hope it blesses you as well.

    Jan 25 ESV

    Instructions:

    1. Download the .pdf file below.
    2. Print onto white 8.5 x 11 card-stock (other colors might be ok, but you’ll have to test that out yourself).
    3. Cut along the dotted lines then sort into numeric order.
    4. Prop up on a little stand, or keep in a drawer and swap out on the fridge. Or buy a recipe box with a ridge in the top for easy reading.
    5. Keep in a prominent place where the members of the household will easily see it. The kitchen table is good, if you have breakfast there.
    6. Discuss verse(s) with family and encourage reading the surrounding verses for context and meditation throughout the day.

    Download:

    January ESV (pdf)
    January KJV (pdf)
    January NIV (pdf)

    Bible in a Year Reading Plan January (doc)

    Enjoy! Oh, and subscribe to this blog to the right if you’d like notifications of new posts and the next of these printables. I promise not to overwhelm your inbox. 🙂

  • Merry Christmas!

    Christmas

    We had a very full day of this Christmas and a very full weekend of Christmas-y events with family. I wonder if I’ll know what to do with myself now that it’s over. I’m sure I’ll think of something. I pray that you and yours had a very blessed Christmas this year!

    Anyone else thinking about a New Year’s resolution yet?

    I really want to discipline myself to read through the Bible this year. I think I can do it first thing in the morning, but I’ll have to rearrange my morning routine. That will be hard, but I think that as long as I have my coffee, I’ll be able to make it. I got the wonderful ESV Global Study Bible from my mother-in-law and I’m so looking forward to reading through it as I go through my calendar.

    I also want to change my diet, slowly, but get rid of certain processed foods in exchange for healthier options. This might include making our own bread…so, that will be fun. If anyone has some good bread recipes to share, I would be open to testing them out! I have a loaf pan and a round stone pan, so the options are pretty varied. I’m excited. I love my bread!

    Merry Christmas to you! I am off to spend the evening with my husband and maybe put a puzzle together. So much fun!

  • Insta-Post: Pre-Thanksgiving and More Recap

    131208 instapost 01131208 instapost 02131208 instapost 03131208 instapost 04131208 instapost 05Great gift-wrapping/decorating post

    131208 instapost 06

  • Freebie Printable: December Bible Verse Calendar

    Dec 11 ESV

    If you remember, from last month, I posted some freebie downloads for a Bible verse calendar for November. To continue, here are downloads for the month of December in three versions, ESV, KJV, and NIV.

    Some of these verses are truly golden ones for the beautiful time of year we celebrate Jesus’ birth. I hope you enjoy these as much as the November ones.

    Dec 25 ESV

    Instructions:

    1. Download the .pdf file below.
    2. Print onto white 8.5 x 11 card-stock (other colors might be ok, but you’ll have to test that out yourself).
    3. Cut along the dotted lines then sort into numeric order.
    4. Prop up on a little stand, or keep in a drawer and swap out on the fridge. Or buy a recipe box with a ridge in the top for easy reading.
    5. Keep in a prominent place where the members of the household will easily see it. The kitchen table is good, if you have breakfast there.
    6. Discuss verse(s) with family and encourage reading the surrounding verses for context and meditation throughout the day.

    Download:

    December ESV (pdf)
    December KJV (pdf)
    December NIV (pdf)

    Bible In a Year Plan December

    Enjoy! Oh, and subscribe to this blog to the right if you’d like notifications of new posts and the next of these printables. I promise not to overwhelm your inbox. 🙂

  • Freebie Printable: November Bible Verse Calendar

    Nov 07 ESV

    Ok, the clip-art is kind of cheesy, but I did all of that chevron by myself! (Go old school Microsoft Paint!)

    This all stems from wanting to have a daily verse calendar like the one my grandparents have had for years. Theirs flips over and has verses on the front and back. I couldn’t really come up with a way to do that without a stand, so I grabbed a bunch of index cards and got writing. I found a great daily verse list here. It’s very cool how they arranged them to align with certain holidays and themes. I was impressed.

    You should be too. I put my hand into very, very painful writer’s cramp putting this out. I found a recipe card box with a ridge on the top, that would fit all of the cards. 365 cards. Quite a feat.

    IMG_20131016_073913

    Then, I got to thinking that this would be a fun thing to share with others. I love coming into my kitchen in the morning, while I’m letting my Keurig heat up (who has time for a real tea pot anymore!?) and pulling out the day’s Bible verse. My handwriting isn’t the best, so you can get yourself a prettyfied pdf color version.

    The plan is to do the whole year…and probably include two other versions: King James Version (KJV) and New International Version (NIV). So, here is November’s list. They look like the above and below, but four to a page (all but February will have 8 pages)

    Nov 28 ESV

    Instructions:

    1. Download the .pdf file below.
    2. Print onto white 8.5 x 11 card-stock (other colors might be ok, but you’ll have to test that out yourself).
    3. Cut along the dotted lines then sort into numeric order.
    4. Prop up on a little stand, or keep in a drawer and swap out on the fridge. Or buy a recipe box with a ridge in the top for easy reading.
    5. Keep in a prominent place where the members of the household will easily see it. The kitchen table is good, if you have breakfast there.
    6. Discuss verse(s) with family and encourage reading the surrounding verses for context and meditation throughout the day.

    Download:

    November ESV (pdf)
    November KJV (pdf)
    November NIV (pdf)

    Bible In a Year Plan November

    Enjoy! Oh, and subscribe to this blog to the right if you’d like notifications of new posts and the next of these printables. I promise not to overwhelm your inbox. 🙂

  • Snap Shop Phoneography

    IMG_20130921_110825_755_1

    I am finishing up my second week of a three-week online course for phoneography. I had never heard of phoneography before signing up, but it’s simply taking pictures with your phone. I have a fairly nice camera, but I never seem to have it in easy reach anymore. Even when I’ve got it in my purse, it’s too cumbersome to pull it out, turn it on, and set the features for the pic I want. My phone, however, is sadly always within reach. I love taking pictures, as you can see by my blog, but I feel like they’ve been missing just something.

    That’s what I’ve loved about this class! I’m learning tips and guidelines for great photo-taking, not just with my phone, but especially with my phone. I’ve been learning to recognize and define what it is that I’ve always liked about certain pictures and how to prepare myself for the shot that I want.

    The course is taught by Ashley at Under the Sycamore. She is fabulous and a beautiful person inside and out. I’ve been following her blog for a while now and love pretty much everything she puts out there. Not only is it great content, but the photos that accompany her entries are gorgeous! She has a whole slew of ready-models too, with their five kids and yard full of chickens. Talk about blog-envy. 🙂

    So, if you are interested in an easy-peasy intro guide to good phoneography, you can sign up on her website. She also offers an online DSLR course for those with fancy shmancy cameras.

    I think my favorite part of the course is the photo-sharing. This is done through Instagram. We use the hashtag #snapshopstudent and share the photos we are testing out and wanting some critique on. Not only does Ashley offer valuable advice, but the other students in the course do as well. Here are some of my photos for you (you can click on any of the images for a better look):

    yard 3 stacked
    Shots around our backyard and neighbor’s yard.
    suns 02 3st
    impatiens after the rain and a late blooming sunflower
    suns 01 3 st
    I love my sunflowers! These are growing from the seeds we gave out at our wedding. I was very late in planting them.
    outside 01 4sq
    beautiful sky shots, caterpillar and our shed
    out and in 01 4 sq
    vintage sugar bowl, painted to fit in with our kitchen; windmill at a local park; niece’s soccer match.
    life 2 st
    berries in the backyard and a blissful afternoon of 1 Peter and white chocolate pumpkin mocha from Cavu Cafe in West Chester.
    Huz 01 2 st
    The Huz working on our rain barrel set-up and the wedding quilt his grandmother hand-stitched us.
    house 02 2st
    Yes, sunflowers again. 🙂
    house 01 4 sq
    around The House; rain barrel, porch rocker and pavers.

    You can find me on Instagram at xapatotheworld. I look forward to seeing you there!

     

  • Dreamscapes

    I frequently have bizarre dreams. I think they’re fun. They may or may not mean anything (I don’t put much stock in interpreting dreams), but regardless, I like a good story and mine are usually well-developed in dreams. Here you go.
     
    Last night, I began my dream looking down at my hands and in the mirror. Yes, I was a 7 yr old black boy, living in the inner city of a non-descript metropolis.  My parents, just trying to make ends meet, we were poor. Somehow, my dad got the bright idea to start an urban garden in the back patio.
     
    I can’t remember what I did, but it was the typical 7 yr old boy naughtiness and rather than face my momma, her wagging finger and disappointing look, I ran for it. The city street at night was vivid with lights and long shadows – active, as a city is around 8:30 pm – too late for a kid to be out alone. I passed a window kiosk for some kind of concert tickets. While the man paying looked to the right, I snatched away the money with no one seeing me. I mean, I’m a dark little kid; I blend in, and I’m stealthy.
     
    I took off and boarded a city bus, no one the wiser of my crime. I sat by the window watching the building pass by. They moved quicker and quicker, blurring until they changed completely to something like football risers. My attention was caught as I saw angels sitting down, watching my speed by the stands like I was in a race. And then mixed in with the angels were all these people in my own real life – friends and loved ones who have supported me over the years, cheering me on as I go on my way.
     
    My little black 7 yr old self became ashamed of what I had done. The money crumpled up in the palm of my hand as I watched people spring up on the stands shouting out my name. The buildings phased back into the picture and I let out a sigh. Standing up I called to be let off and sprinted back to the ticket window.
     
    I handed the money back to the lady standing there – it was her concert and she was so happy. I stayed and listened. Her dream was to earn a living playing the violin while dressed in a tight tiger suit and face paint. It didn’t suit myself, but the image of her so happy with whiskers sprouting from her cheeks were enough to spur me to go back home.
     
    I made it home to my parents, who were so happy to see me. I confessed everything and then told my dad that he should sell the seeds we get from the garden for $24,000 each. I don’t know where that came from, but it seemed to be part of that vision from God while I was on the bus.
     
    And then I woke up, expecting something a little more glorious, especially with seeds being sold for $24,000 a pop. But no, just a half hour later than my alarm clock and rushing through the shower.