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StuffFromTrees.Etsy.Com Reopens!

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In January 2010, Danny and I opened Stuff From Trees, an online shop on Etsy, to sell our handmade cards and gifts. It was a labor of love for many years, a place to share KJV Scripture, wood gifts, scrapbooks, ornaments, and many other fun stuff. (Hence the name.) A couple of years ago, I put the shop into vacation mode and stepped away for a while. I had just gotten a promotion at work and was going to have less free times. I had also had a terrible incident with a longtime customer that broke my heart, and the break was much-needed. Earlier this month, we made the decision to open the shop back up and start restocking. With the flip of a switch, we're back in business! Name name, same bat channel ... as they say. And our shop description remains the same, and it's truly where our heart is as we get back in the swing of things: Stuff From Trees - Handmade one-of-a-kind crafts using the entire tree. God is good all the time, and our paper and wood crafts will help you share th...
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Words For Wednesday

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The Special Part Of Taking A Senior Dog For A Walk

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Molly Jo Carrell-Dog is 11 1/2 years old, and she is the four-legged love of my life. She's getting up there in age for a Great Dane-mix, which means she's starting to have old lady issues, but her times outside are probably her second-favorite part of the day. (Meals come first.) We try to get her outside as frequently as possible so she can relieve herself. All of our older female dogs have had some potty issues late in life, and she's no different. She loves sniffing around while she's out there, so she doesn't have a problem going out a bunch. There's always something to sniff on the property. Acres of stuff to sniff. Her back end has gotten super stiff, to the point that she's not really bending her back legs on her own unless she has to. I decided several weeks ago that she gets to lead the way when we go walking. If it was up to me, she'd go do her thing and come right back. She has other ideas. We have a circle drive, but she rarely stays on it. ...
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Facing A Monday Morning Trusting God's Faithfulness

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If you read five psalms and one proverb every day, you'll have read both books in a month. Most days this is two to three pages of reading, which is completely doable and always a blessing. Plus, it starts a new habit of spending time with God every single day - you'll start craving the opportunity to sit with Him and see what He has to share with you today. Last week I connected with the psalmist Asaph during my psalm-reading time. As he started Psalm 77, he was clearly overwhelmed with whatever was happening in his life at the moment. Ever have that overwhelmed feeling? Me too. To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun, A Psalm of Asaph. I cried unto God with my voice,  even  unto God with my voice; and he gave ear unto me.  In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted.  I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah.  Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I...
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He Is Risen, He Is Risen Indeed!

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Have you ever studied the Resurrection Eggs with a group of kids? Each of the 12 eggs has a miniature inside that corresponds to part of the story of Holy Week, and you can read the Scriptures along with it.  Our youth group has done these eggs every other year for several years, but we now have a mixed group - some who've been around a while and four new kids. (Three of whom have never even heard the entire Easter story.) To mix it up a little and be interesting to everyone, we mixed all the eggs up and put them on a decorative egg plate that looks like a lady bug. Then I printed out  12 clues and a question to give them some hints about what's in the eggs. There was something in each clue that pointed them to a certain item - the donkey had no saddle, the whip was torture with leather, and the cup held drinks for all.  Before they could read the clues, they had to open all the eggs, memorize what was where, and put them all back together. Then each youth read and clue, ...
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Words For Wednesday

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Rooted And Grounded In The Faith

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We've had some pretty wild winds in Southeast Iowa in 2025, and this tree was one of the casualties. It was so cool to see the root system, still with a tap root, and what was happening under the soil all those years. There were a lot of small roots, but they didn't go out very far or very deep. It's no surprise that it keeled over. There are a couple of passages of Scripture that always come to mind when I see exposed roots like this.  As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:  Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Colossians 2:6-7 We can't be built up in Christ until we've firmly and completely rooted ourselves in Him. That means making a habit of studying His word, spending time in prayer communicating with Him, and placing His glory first and foremost in everything we do. Then comes the building up, the benefits and blessings that come when we have relat...
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