Random Updates & Valentine's Day Favorites

All of the Starbucks e-cards have been sent. If you are one of the 20 winnners, please check your spam mail. I noticed there a couple still unopened. Happy Starbucking!

Hey Friends :)

Happy Weekend to you! I hope you've had a great week! I spent most of the week tending to my sick little guy Benj.

In case you're wondering, "Wasn't he sick last week?" Yes.

And two weeks ago? Yes.

Benj has missed 14 days of schools this year. Ugh. He had strep, an ear infection, and now has pneumonia-like symptoms. Will you please keep him in your prayers?

Thankfully my time with Benj has helped restore my weary soul.

Nothing like snuggling and reading Truth while he watches ESPN Sports Center...again. Maybe I needed an excuse to stay in my jammies for 3 days? God knows what He's doing ~ even in the midst of our detours.

Also, please know I'm grateful for your kind words and prayers while I was in my "funk". Thankfully I feel like "I'm back". Woo Hoo!

Now that I'm feeling good ~ it's time for me to get my party on! I'm glad Valentine's Day is right around the corner.


Here are some fun Valentine's Day ideas...

* A sneak peek into what our family will be doing here

* Simple, festive, fun chex mix recipe from Chellie

* Super creative, inexpensive, romantic and fun Date Night Ideas

* John 3:16 Valentine coloring page

* Free printable for John 3:16 Valentine (thanks, Emily)

* Awsome enouragement: Love Letters to the Unloved (if you have a second, please check this resource out. Job well done, Amy Sullivan and friends!)

What are you doing for Valentine's Day ? I'd love to hear from you!

Thanks for stopping by *She Sparkles*! Have a super, love-filled weeked!



P.S. Don't forget I'll have a new A to Z Memory Verse posted on Monday morning. I am SO EXCITED for another great giveaway (here's a clue). Hope you'll come back and join us!

P.P.S. The winner of the Ann Voskamp Journal is Angie Ohlman. Thank you to all who entered!

Calling All Speakers/Writers/Leaders

Pic above: back - Sue Cramer, Meribeth Schierbeek, Robyn Dykstra. front - Amelia Rhodes, Susie Finkbeiner, me, Kim de Blecourt.

Hey Friends!

Have you ever been to a life-changing Conference?

Although I used to be terrified to go to "those things", I must confess - some of the sweetest blessings I've experienced in ministry have taken place at Women's Conferences I've attended.

Amazing friendships. Deep connections. Wonderful Resources. Unbelievable wisdom, creativity, and teaching. Encouragement. (The picture above demonstrates some of the special friendships that have developed through women's conferences).

If you are a speaker/writer/ministry leader/Bible teacher/Christ-follower/woman needing encouragement...I would highly recommend prayerfully consider attending a Conference.

And guess what?!

There are 2 exciting, upcoming Conferences being held in my home town of Grand Rapids, Michigan!

*** Cornerstone Women's Leadership Conference NEXT WEEK Friday & Saturday (the 17th & 18th)

(I'll be sharing 2 workshops "Expanding Your Ministry through Social Online Media" & "The Captivity of Activity - Pursuing Balance in a Leader's Life". Details here)

I'm humbled and honored to have this opportunity...and to serve alongside amazing, gifted women/friends like Jennie Dimkoff, Lisa Troyer, Donna Fagerstrom, Heather Hammond , and more! As well as this years key note speaker, Elisa Morgan

Registration ends this Friday, February 10th. Register online at here.

*** Carol Kent's Speak Up Conference - June 21-23, 2012

Can I just tell you....Speak Up with Confidence changed my life. Literally.

Carol has an AMAZING schedule planned for this summer's Speak Up Conference (here).

This year she is combining the best of her Original and the Advanced Speak Up Seminars into a single speaking track....plus a writing track, and a leadership track.

Not to mention recording artist Babbie Mason will be the worship leader. Yippee!

Whether you sit in PTO meetings, share at your MOPS group, attend a Bible study, or simply want to be more comfortable talking in front of others ~ I think everyone can benefit from the prinicples Carol and her team share at this amazing conference.

You can learn more about the details of Speak Up Conference here. You will LOVE it! (And please don't allow expenses to hold you back ~ there are scholarship dollars available to help ~ contact Bonnie for more information.)

Just like last year, I'll be there as a facilitator and workshop leader. Woo Hoo! I would love to see you there! :)

Also, for any *She Sparkles* friend that signs up, please write *She Sparkles* in the memo line, and Carol will present you with a personally autographed copy of her book Speak Up with Confidence.



What about you, friend?

What Conferences have impacted you? What did you learn? Are you planning on attending any in 2012? I'd love to hear from you!

Thanks for stopping by *She Sparkles*. Have a wonderful, power-filled, day!!



Disclosure: I was not compensated in any way for this review (I just love these Conference) and, as always, all opinions expressed in this post are fully my own.

Celebrating Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day 2010 ~ me and my honey playing BINGO together :)

Hey Friends!

OK, I'll warn you ~ I LOVE Valentine's Day! Even as a little girl ~ Valentine's Day was my all-time favorite holiday!

It hasn't always been because I had a "Valentine". Some years it's been downright painful. In fact, Valentine's Day 1999 was extremely difficult for me. My fiance David had just been tragically killed 2 months prior (recap here). The thought of happy couples and roses and date nights nearly kept me in bed for the day. Instead, my aunt Debbie and I spent the day making Valentine's for all my single friends.

Thinking of others and focusing on blessing them helped make a hard day much less painful.

To this day, I love trying to think of creative ways to bless my friends and family ~ and remind them that they are dearly loved!! :)

Here are some things we do to celebrate Valentine's Day in an inexpensive, simple Family Friendly way:

Books ~ I have a special heart basket with Valentine's Day books I pull out on February 1st. My kids LOVE reading from the heart book basket, and I usually add a new book or two to our collection each year. One of our favorites, "Roses are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink". Too cute! :)

Decorations ~ Our city has a Dollar Tree store where you can purchase plastic table cloths for $1. (I always have an assortment of colors on hand). On Valentine's Day, the family will wake up to a red table cloth and heart paper products. (I stock up at Party City right after Valentine's Day each year). It's amazing how simple decorations can make it look festive already.
Oh, and don't forget the confetti and the tattoos! :)
Food ~ I'll make heart shaped pancakes for breakfast, pink milk, and have fresh strawberrries.

For dinner, we always have heart shaped pizzas. In my city, Papa Murphy's Take & Bake Pizza is a great resource. The kids love it ~ and I am grateful it is so easy (and not too expensive).


Sometimes we make desserts, or heart shaped finger jello. Last year I picked up cute cupcakes from our bakery. Do you think my daughter liked them???



Games & Activities ~ What would be a celebration without games and activities?? We like to have...

* Color sheets, word searches, etc... (Many to choose from here)

* BINGO. We use conversation hearts, red hots, or pink and red M & M's for markers. (Here is one happy BINGO winner. I think she liked her new prize)...


We've been having our Valentine's Day party ever since the kids were little. I found this fun picture from 2007. Aren't they cute? :)


* At our party, we'll make sure we reflect on the origin of Valentine's Day. Easy kid version here.

We'll probably end our Valentine's Day Celebration all snuggled up together watching Charlie Brown Valentine's Day. Simple, but fun :)


Our Valentine's Day Celebration will actually be on Sunday this year (the 12th). The date doesn't matter ~ I would just encourage you...whether you are single, married, a Grandma, an aunt, a mom, a student...take the time to share LOVE with others this week! :)

And please share with us what you are planning for Valentine's Day ~ I'd love to hear your ideas!!

Thanks for stopping by *She Sparkles*! Have a love-filled day! :)


P.S. The greatest Valentine anyone could ever receive came in the form of a tiny baby - His name was Jesus, and his LOVE for us - went to the cross, died and rose again, so we might have life ~ full, abundant, and eternal life! Make this Valentines Day the best of all - and give your HEART to JESUS! :)


P.S.S. For more Works for Me Wednesday ideas, head over and visit Kristen at We Are That Family. What fun! :)

Kokomo Update (ie When will my testimony be aired on Day of Discovery?)

Hey Friends!

Hope y'all had a great weekend!

Thanks for your kind notes. I'm still in a bit of a "funk" ~ so I've been immersing myself in Truth, and listening to great songs like this and this over and over again!

I'm choosing victory and joy today (and I hope you are too!!)

A common question I've been receiving is "When will your testimony be aired?"

You may remember this past fall I went to Kokomo with the Day of Discovery film crew to document my story. (Kokomo, Indiana is my childhood home town).

The good news is that they hope to have my testimony air this spring. They've given me a date (that I'm really excited about) HOWEVER, we still need one more scene before it's final....and this scene involves snow.

Now who would have thought it would be so hard to shoot a snow scene in the winter when I live in Michigan?!

However, we've had such a mild winter, and on the few days we did get some snow, the DOD crew was out of the country or it was the weekend. Ugh.

So we (the kids and I) are praying over here that NEXT WEEK we get a snow fall in Grand Rapids, Michigan so they can film the last scene needed. (This week the DOD film crew is in Colorado). My son Benj will play "little Jake" again. I've told the story in the studio when I did the voice-overs, they just need footage of me, little Jake, lots of snow and a shovel.

Once that scene is filmed, I'll let you know about the date so you can mark your calendars. You can look here to see when the Day of Discovery TV show is aired in your community.

If you're curious to hear what the film producer thought after the first day of working with me, you can read his thoughts here. :)

Lastly, in case you want a "sneak peek" into the snow scene...I'll share the story below. Enjoy!

Have you ever wondered, “God, where are You?”

I mean, we learn as a small child in Sunday School that God is everywhere – but have you ever tilted your head back and asked the God of the Universe, “Where are You?”

I know I have...specifically after my fiance David was killed.

You may be familiar with that part of my journey ~ on December 10, 1998 (5 months before our wedding date and 2 weeks before Christmas), David Timmer, my fiance and best friend, was tragically killed in a freak workplace accident.

Two weeks later, on a cloudy, dark Thursday morning, there I was, outside trying to shovel my driveway. The snow was up to my waist or higher, or so it seemed, and my little blue car wasn't going anywhere until I shoveled out a path.

Jake, who was in preschool at the time, was bitter cold. (You know how it is with kids, it’s fun for like three minutes and then they’re just frozen to the core and ready to be done).

As I was shoveling, I found myself asking the question- “God, where are you?”

Actually, it went more like this- “OK God, where are you?! You say You’ll never leave me, but where are You now?! This is a lot of snow, God. How in the world am I supposed to shovel this all by myself? I thought I wasn't going to have to be a single mom anymore. Why did you have to take David home??!! This isn’t fair, God! This just isn’t fair! I mean, look at Jake. He's freezing ~ he has icicles hanging off of his eyelashes for crying out loud. I’m all alone, I can’t even get my car out of the driveway - God, where are You??”

I even lifted my shovel in anger and shook it at the Lord that day...

Just then, a car stopped in front of my house, and a young college kid hopped out.

“Hey lady,” he called, “this looks like a pretty big driveway for you and your son. Go on in the house and let me take care of it for you.”

Tears just poured down my face as I tried to speak the words, “Thank you, thank you, thank you”.

In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses reminds the Israelites (and us) of God’s promise to never leave us nor forsake us. The next time life circumstances cause YOU to wonder “God, where are you?..., ” ~ Go ahead and ask Him, He might be closer than you think. :)


Thanks for stopping by *She Sparkles*! Have an amazing, Truth-filled, life-giving week!!

P.S. I'm linking up with Finding Heaven and the Soli Deo Gloria Sisterhood today. Be sure to check out these amazing women. You'll be blessed indeed! :)