April FAVORITE Things!

Time to share a few more of my favorite things!!

1. precious prints:

Printstagram AKA "Print Studio"

OH MY LANTA, these prints are adorable. I recently received a sweet little card from a friend with a portrait of her pup on the front and HAD to know where she had ordered them through.. this is how I found printstagram! I checked out a few other websites, including instaprints, but this is by FAR the best value and look!!

I ended up ordering a bunch of the small square cards using multiple photos from my instagram! I was able to pick exactly how many of each photo I wanted- SO easy to use. Oh, these little cards come with baby sized brown envelopes too.. yes, stinking CUTE!

The insides of these little guys are blank so they can be used for basically ANY occasion!

2. furball treats:

Bark Box

Treats to your door for your favorite furry friends! PLEASE go to the site and read up on this amazing subscription service.. What's the best part??? 10% of the proceeds go to rescue groups!!!!!!!!

Moose and Tannyn get SO excited when their box comes in each month.. gotta give the credit here to Nate for this find!

|| Okay, so skip the crazy pet store and get treats, toys and goodies straight to your door || All of the treats are 100% natural.. tasty for the pups and good for their tummies || every month is something different with  a new theme (february: mardi gras// march: movie night) || pay a couple extra bucks to get more "resilient" toys for those moderate chewers || Give back to shelters || 

We are anxiously awaiting box #3 as I type.. can't wait to see what the girls think this month :)

3. colorful blossoms:

 The Bouqs

Fresh-cut, long-lasting blooms from eco-friendly farms. Flat rate, LOVELY arrangements with shipping included!

The Bouqs offers a concierge service that allows you to set up an auto-ship of these lovely blossoms how ever often you'd like them. The more often you have a shipment delivered to your door, the better discount you get each time. Also, each time a friend or family member signs up using your referral code (every 2 referrals), they send you a free bouq! SO fun!!!

My conseriege service is set up to send me an automatic shipment every 3 weeks. The first time I received my bouq, I hand selected the arrangement. The second order, I actually set up my service so they would surprise me! In a couple weeks, I alternated again and picked my own. There's just something about bringing nature inside..

If you decide to give this a whirl and brighten your home with some colorful flowers, I'd love you to use my referral link here.

4. daily devotions:

#SheReadsTruth

((visit online OR download the free app!)

Need a daily devotional, but not sure where to start? Been meaning to download a bible app so you can read the whole thing in a year? Try out one of the free bible studies from #shereadstruth or purchase one for a few bucks that you can access from any of your devices! You can even follow the 365 plan and read the bible in a year by following the daily reading list!

This adorable apps also offers scripture based lock screens for your phone!

What makes these studies so special? WELL, they are hand-written devotionals by a few different ladies that love the Lord and wanted to provide a convenient and accessible option for women of all walks of life to read truth!  

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I have SO enjoyed sharing with you and can't wait to hear what you think about these goodies.

love && smooches,

LINDSEY

Broken Bread and Poured Out Wine: a life of sacrifice and stewardship

During my quite time of devotion and biblestudy, I have felt the Lord speaking to me overwhelmingly on my life being a reflection of "broken bread and poured out wine."

It seems that no matter what the subject of my study is lately, it all comes back to this concept. So what does broken bread and poured out wine even mean? ...

One of the most celebrated observances in the history of Christian faith is called "Passover." During the Passover, Christians were to partake a meal, not simply out of ceremonial obligation or religious recognition, but out of a desire to acknowledge the ultimate sacrifice of our Savior.

In Matthew 26 or Mark 14, you can read that Jesus actually partook in this meal with His disciples the night of His betrayal, leading ultimately to His death on the cross as documented in scripture. During New Testament times, the Passover commemorated the death of Jesus Christ as a sacrifice and atonement for our sins. The meal consisted of broken bread and poured out wine; these two elements represented Jesus' broken body and His life blood offering as a new covenant.

During Old Testament times, before the coming of Jesus, Christians had to regularly make living sacrifices with their finest live stock as an atonement for their sins [Exodus 12, along with other references]. These sacrificial animals, seen as something being without blemish, were put to death as a offering to the Lord because of sin-filled lives.

When God decided to send Jesus, he sent Him into the world as a perfect lamb.. a blemish-free sacrifice that would take on ALL of the disgusting, shameful sins of men- past, present and future. By Jesus being broken and poured out before the father, He essentially paid the ultimate price that would cleanse us from our sins so we could be reconciled into relationship with our perfect heavenly Father.  A free relationship providing an eternal life of forgiveness and love for ALL who chose to accept it. That was it.. His one-time sacrifice became a new covenant.

Wow, right?

His Body like broken bread for us.

His blood like poured out wine.

Out of no selfish motive. With no cost of repayment. With no strings attached. With no risk of loss. 

Eternal life. That simple. Because Jesus, sent to earth as a man and yet still fully God, was sacrificed on our behalf.. willingly.

This blows my mind. Do we sacrifice anything in our life without an expectation of return? Without strings attached or any selfish/ulterior motives? No. Because we are not perfect. We might be good people, but our hearts are flawed and tainted by sin.

Even though I have requested and accepted God's forgiveness of my short comings and have entered into the development of a personal relationship with my heavenly father, I do NOT always live in reflection of this on a daily basis.

Not our of choice, but imperfect human nature. If I lived a perfect life, what would my need for Jesus be? But boy do I need Jesus. Because of my relationship with Him, I know that my soul will spend eternity in the glorious presence of the Lord.

My job as a Christian though is the concept of "paying it forward" on earth. Using my life as a living sacrifice that bring honor to the one who saved me. To use my daily breath and actions as broken bread and poured out wine to serve God's purpose..

The life I am living is no longer my own.. Although it truly never was mine, it is now surrendered willingly to Him. God allows me to be a steward of the life He has given me to live.. a GOOD steward. Stewardship is the concept of caring for the property of another. Caring for my body, my mind, my spirit.

If God truly is the master and creator of all, then He "owns" so much more than our bodies and has ultimately given us ALL of our blessings. You may work hard for your successes, but you would have never been placed in your current circumstances (body, marriage, etc) if God didn't allow it. Therefore, delight in what He has given you stewardship over, but remember to honor Him through all aspects of your life.

Life your life as broken bread and poured out wine. Make a regular effort to reflect selflessness and submission. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good and His love for you will endure FOREVER.

More to come later, but let this simmer..

In love and humility,

Linz

[[for more on the passover symbols of bread and wine, check out this link. great read!]]