Tip of the Day 8/15/12

99 Days of Summer: We are on Day 3 of our closet makeover. I hope you have followed through on steps one and two in at least one closet in your home. Today we will look at what is left in the closet and determine if it is practical and useful. A great way to get the most use out of all those clothes you have spent your hard earned money on is to pre-plan "outfits". Instead of spending time each day trying go figure out what to wear, you can plan out seasonal outfits in advance. It is easy to get stuck in a rut of always wearing the same top with the same pair of paints. Start with something easy, like your go to pair of black pants, pretty much any top you own can be worn with them and that can get old. We get bored with what we have and go buy another top. Try stepping out of your comfort zone and do some mixing it up. Look through the pictures of all those outfits you have pinned on Pinterest and come up with similar things from what is already in your closet. You will probably discover a lot of pieces you can put together. The goal is to do this with what you already own. This should be done with adult and childrens clothing. This is a big project, but is as much fun as going shopping. Anything that you cannot put into an outfit, or define a specific use for, should be removed from the closet. We have a few more steps to complete, and you will have a "new" wardrobe in your closets to start Fall.

Word for Today, Growth: As the lone Sunday School Teacher at Calvary Chapel Sunset Coast (there are a couple of awesome young ladies that fill in when needed) I have the privilege and responsibility of planning all of the lessons for the children. Years of home schooling prepared me for designing lessons for multi-aged classes. And without kids at home any longer, teaching each week fills a desire I have. It is a blessing and honor to be trusted by parents to help lead their children in their understanding of who our loving Savior is. As a teacher I believe that all we need to know is intertwined. There isn't a distinction between science and scripture or grammar and God's Word, all knowledge is imparted from our Creator. Because of this belief, I have never been one to just teach stories from the Bible. I want the children to learn how to apply the lesson behind the story. The theme I chose for 2012 was Wisdom. We have been learning a n

ew word each week and discovering the people in the Bible that lived out that word and how the kids can do the same. A few weeks ago I measured the kids and we talked about growing in wisdom. They learned that they will grow by reading God's Word. Each week I measure them and a few of them have grown in height. As they see what they have eaten during the week is making them grow physically, they are learning that consuming God's Word each day is helping them grow spiritually. It is so exciting to hear them share the wisdom they are gaining. As adults it is easy to feel like we have learned pretty much everything and we no longer need to be taught or study. It is easy to fall into that trap as a Christian. We stop attending church and our personal study time begins to suffer. We become anemic and start filling ourselves up with the junk food the world has to offer. We need the meat of God's Word and we need a good chef to prepare it and serve it to us. Find a church where you will be feed food that makes you grow. Not just rich food, or sweets, that make you feel full and later leave you wanting and needing real nourishment. Just as my kids in Sunday School are learning, knowledge of the Living God is the beginning of wisdom. "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God."