Fun Fact Friday: Labor Day… Tuesday?

fffoct1labordayparade1900The very first Labor Day was held on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City and was complete with a parade, picnic, concert, and several speeches. Labor Day was moved to a Monday shortly after this, and became a national holiday in 1894.

Visit americaslibrary.gov for more details.

Craft idea: Ask your children what they want to be when they grow up, then google for “(insert occupation name here) coloring sheet” and print it for them to color, or simply allow them to draw their desired occupation. Tell them what you wanted to be when you grew up, and talk about different jobs people do to provide for their families. Make sure to hang up their art when they’re finished!

How does your family celebrate Labor Day?

– Davonne Parks

Lime Ricki Bathing Suits 20% off!

ssmainNow through Monday, all of the Lime Ricki bathing suits are 20% off!  Go here for sale details, and read this article for our review.

– Davonne Parks

Fun Fact Friday, Coming Soon!

fff1Welcome to Fun Fact Friday! Lisa had the idea to post a random, fun fact every Friday, and I gladly took her idea and ran with it! We’d love for you to join us each Friday as we share a fun fact you can share with your friends and kids. Many weeks will also have a craft or activity idea to go with the fact, and almost every week will include a link to a full article about the fact so you can learn more if you’re interested.

We hope that you don’t just read the posts, though. We’re going to include a question at the end of each fact, and we’d love for you be involved in our Fun Fact Fridays by leaving a comment or linking to a post you’ve written that answers the question. Hopefully we’ll all learn several interesting facts, and gather many activity ideas to share with our families.

Check back soon for our first ever Fun Fact Friday!

– Davonne Parks

Pierce My Heart: New Direction

LogoExciting changes are being made to Pierce My Heart!  Go here for details.

– Davonne Parks

Congratulations! August Giveaway Winner

ssnecklaceThe random winner of the Love Never Fails necklace is Deb (ardenpostma@)! You should have an e-mail from Pierce My Heart in your inbox. If not, please contact us within seven days to claim your prize.

Thanks to everyone who participated in this contest by leaving a comment on our article . If you didn’t win this month, please try again in September, because we have another fun giveaway coming up.

Congratulations, Deb! We hope you enjoy your new necklace!

– Davonne Parks

Last Chance for Giveaway and Photos!

extra1Today is the last day to submit photos of your sand creations for use in our Gifted Girls article next month. You can send pictures to Info @ PierceMyHeart . com (remove spaces).

This is also the last day to enter to win our August giveaway. The winner, who will be announced on August 31, will receive a necklace.

If you have any questions, please let us know, and we will respond to you as quickly as possible.

– Davonne Parks

Ten Benefits of a Godly Marriage

Hebrews 13:4 “Marriage is to be held in honor among all…”

tt4Since I’m not married, I asked several older ladies who have been married to Christian husbands what some of the benefits are to being married to a sincere Christian husband, and I’m going to share some of their answers with you, along with advice they offered for how to have a happy marriage.

Advice

10) Marriage is a gift from God and is not to be taken for granted. It’s like cement; it’s for life. Selves may not intertwine, but lives do. Shared memories become as much of a bond as the bond of flesh.

9) Your mate is someone with a mutual understanding. Every marriage has problems, but every problem has a godly solution. Think before you say something, and don’t jump to conclusions. Respect your mate even if you disagree.

8 ) The best solution to disagreements is to pray together and talk through your problems. Listen to your spouse’s opinion with an open mind, and be willing to compromise until you reach a godly agreement.

Benefits

7) Marriage is a social, religious, spiritual, emotional, and legal union of individuals that creates kinship.

6) You have attached yourself for life with someone who desires to work with you in your walk with God and not with someone who will hinder that journey.

extra95) Your life goals are more likely to match up, both for marriage and raising children.

4) You have married a person who will hopefully place you above themselves.  They will love you as Christ loves His church.

3) Your marriage partner should have the same commitment as you do to life–long marriage–and you will have a common faith to keep you binded together during difficult times.

2) You want someone who will place you below God, but above themselves and above any children you may have.

1) You want someone who will help you grow in Christ. You want someone who hates sin, loves what is good, is relentless, persistent, gentle, and seeks wisdom. These are qualities that a husband/father should have. And should you find this man, hold on to him. You fall into lust, but you learn how to love.

By Megan Skinner

Formal Hair

bb11Whether you’re a bride, a bridesmaid, or someone who’d like to help the wedding party with your talents, knowing how to give someone (or yourself) a formal hairstyle can come in handy.

Helpful websites

Since I don’t consider myself to be a hair expert, I thought I’d share a few websites to help you out.

Latest-hairstyles.com offers instructions on several types of formal updos. Howcast.com has a how-to video specifically about wedding hair.  Ehow.com offers good tips on giving yourself an updo if you’re doing your own hair without help. If you are unsure about what type of updo will look nice with your face shape, visit updoprincess.com.

Other tips

Depending on your location and salon choice, a formal updo can cost anywhere from $20 to over $100 per person, so if there’s a family member or friend who can help with hair for free as a wedding gift to the bride, make sure the bride knows about her!

Also, make sure to have a trial run, at least for the bride’s hair, so she can make sure her and the stylist are on the same page. This will also allow for a chance to discover any time-consuming hair issues—something you don’t want to encounter on the wedding day! The trial run should be as far in advance as possible so if the beautician isn’t going to work out, there’s time to find somebody new.

One idea is to schedule the trial run for the day of a wedding party or bridal shower, so the bride can have fun showing off her new style!

– Davonne Parks

Growing closer as a couple

Hebrews 13:4 “Marriage is to be held in honor among all…”

extra13Many couples come to the point where they feel unappreciated and even rejected by their partners. After a certain point in a relationship couples tend to stop doing what they did when they first started dating, such as surprising each other with presents; it could even be a simple thing like not saying as often how much they care about each other. Keeping a relationship strong is very important to us. Hoping isn’t going to help unless both people are willing to put forth effort. It’s important to put God first, and each-other second. It means you have to sacrifice some things, but in the end you’ll find that it’s worth everything you put into it. The love and companionship of a godly spouse could be all the reward you need.

Gotta have faith

Faith is your first step in a stronger relationship. Couples who worship, pray, and participate in church regularly become closer together as well as to God. Their faith in God is a tie that binds them together. A relationship needs different things to bind it together, such as love, laughter, respect, and the belief in God and obedience to Him. Belief in God is the strongest there is. The earlier you start participating in church and praying with each other, the more likely it is that it will remain that way. Here’s a question for you: When you go out to eat do you often see couples praying together before eating? Never be ashamed to pray in front of random people. You could be encouraging them to do the same.

Talk it out

Communicating is a very important trait to have in a relationship. Couples who aren’t willing to listen to each other and talk openly about any issue they’re having are most likely to drift apart and fight a lot. “He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly with come to ruin” (Proverbs 13:3). I believe that what contributes to a relationship’s success is talking out minor problems or differences before they become an even bigger problem. Even though some conversations you have will result in getting your feelings hurt, do not avoid the issues that are going on. Knowing and acknowledging what’s wrong is a major key in fixing the problem.

Forgive

Forgiveness is bearing with each other through the rough times. Colossians 3:13 says, “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievance you may have against one another.” Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Sometimes you will cause each other pain, and the path that leads to healing is forgiveness. Choosing to forgive one another means looking to the positive and shooting for another chance. When you forgive, it means you’re letting go of the hurt that held you back and that you’re moving on with your relationship. After you forgive, you learn from your mistakes and use the information to make you a stronger couple.

Remember when

extra8As a couple, you need to take time to look back together and talk about your shared memories. The sharing of memories will create the feeling of warmth, affection, and love between each other. The sharing of memories can be done verbally, such as saying, “Remember that one time when we were playing football together and I blind-sided you and took you out.” Shared memories can also be visual, like looking through old picture albums at the treasured memories that are captured in the pictures or watching recorded videos you’ve made together—these can bring you closer together.

Togetherness

A couple cannot grow in love without spending time together. If you have really busy schedules and work all the time, it may become harder to hang out. Try comparing your calendars and looking for times you are able to see one another and plan something special like a movie night or even a game night with just the two of you. Take time out of your schedules to love and cherish each other. Your relationship is at stake if you’re not willing to put in everything you can to make it work.

Grow closer now

You can start growing closer to your spouse right now if you are willing to share your faith, learn to communicate in order to fix problems, forgive each other when you mess up, and take time to be together.

With Christian Love,
Michelle Jane

No Excuses

jft3We are all sinners (Romans 3:23). But how often do we try to excuse our sin? As a mom, I expect my sons to obey me. Immediately, completely, without argument or complaint. I’m their parent, and it saddens me when they are disobedient.

But how often do we complain or argue about being obedient to our Parent? Sometimes, we just look the other way and completely ignore the command put in front of us. Sometimes, we tell our Father that we’ll get to it in a minute. Later, we say. Or we give it a half-hearted effort, only partly doing what He requests in His word. Imagine how that saddens Him.

I don’t give my children rules and commands in order to punish them or control their lives. I do it to train them and help them grow, in the hopes that they will ultimately desire to live obediently for God. In this same way, God desires for us to grow up in Him, and He gives us His Holy Spirit to strengthen and help us (Philippians 1:19).

Too often, even with my children and husband, I’m tempted to rationalize my sin if I react impatiently or selfishly to a situation. But does anything really excuse my sin? No. God doesn’t include “exclusions” in His Word. Just as with my children, disobedience is disobedience, regardless of how I might try to excuse it. We will never learn anything about obedience if we think we have the right to excuse ourselves from it. Let’s pray that we’re reminded of that the next time we’re tempted to tell God, “Later.”

By Lisa Grimenstein