Cheryl Barker's Blog, page 37

Summer or Fall Wedding Favor Idea: Jars of Honey!

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Mother of the Bride, are your darling daughter and her sweetheart planning a summer or fall wedding? If so, it’s time to start gathering ideas and making decisions about some of the more minor aspects of the big day. And one of those minor issues is what to provide as wedding favors.

One super sweet idea for summer or fall wedding favors is a gift of honey. Since honey harvest usually takes place in July, August, and September, you might even be able to acquire some newly harvested honey fro...

Getting Ready for a New Challenge or Adventure

[image error]“‘Go through the camp and tell the people, “Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan River and take the land the Lord your God is giving you.”” Joshua 1:11 NCV

The Bible is filled with accounts of ordinary people faced with new challenges or adventures. Men, women, teens, children, senior citizens, rich, poor, educated, uneducated, married, single—you name it and we can find an example of such a person who had to move into unchartered territory, step out of their...

Budget Agreement with the Father of the Bride

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Mother of the Bride, are you on the same financial wedding-planning page as the Father of the Bride? Budget talk is never fun—in daily life or in wedding planning—but you’ll save yourself and your husband (or ex-husband as the case may be) countless unpleasant exchanges if the two of you are in budget agreement from the earliest stages of your planning.

FOBs may joke that their job in wedding planning is to hand over the checkbook or credit card, but they really do want to have a say in what...

Wedding Photo: Bride and Groom Make Hands-Heart

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Mother of the Bride, have you started keeping your eyes peeled for wedding day photo ideas? As soon as you heard your little girl was going to become a bride, I bet you started noticing anything and everything wedding-related, photo ideas included. Might as well start a list to share with the bride, right?

The photo above—the bride and groom making a heart out of their hands—is a super sweet shot your darling daughter might want to suggest to their photographer.

This shot not only exudes rom...

7 March Stress Busters

[image error]We’ve made it to March, y’all! Not only does that mean the worst of winter is surely behind us (fingers crossed!), but here on my blog, a new month means it’s time for another installment in my Stress Buster blog series. I hope you’re finding it helpful and also fun as we think of different month-appropriate ways to lighten life’s stresses.

March always promises to be filled with activity, doesn’t it? The coming attractions include March Madness, the coming of spring, Spring Break, and even E...

Prayer Transforms—Prayer Changes Me

[image error]You’ve heard it said that prayer changes things. Well, sometimes.

Sometimes we see God answer our prayers through changed circumstances or hearts, but other times things don’t change. The house goes into foreclosure. The divorce is finalized. The cancer rages on and finally wins the battle. For whatever reason, God, in his infinite—and loving—wisdom has not seen fit to change the thing we’ve brought to him in prayer time and again.

But one thing I’ve found to be true about prayer is that even...

Spring Wedding Cake: Cherry Blossoms

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Mother of the Bride, is a spring wedding in the works at your house? If so, the wedding may be coming up within the next couple of months or perhaps you’re in the very beginning stages of wedding planning with the date set sometime for next spring. Whatever the case, I’m sure spring colors and spring ideas are springing to mind right and left. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist the pun!)

If one of your daughter’s colors is pink, today’s spring wedding cake idea—cherry blossoms—might be something she’...

Wedding Centerpiece With a Rustic Flair

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Mother of the Bride, is your sweet girl wanting to add a hint of rustic-yet-elegant to her wedding? It’s certainly possible to feature some rustic touches without going full-on rustic in every aspect of the wedding. It helps that many rustic wedding décor ideas lean closer to the feminine and elegant side than to the down-home country vibe that many couples really love.

One way to add a beautiful rustic touch is with a centerpiece that says rustic and romantic all at once. The centerpiece pi...

Resist Temptation and Make a Good Choice

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Some of our best lessons in life play out in the lives of the little ones around us, don’t they? And with four grandsons age three and under, I have a feeling I will be witness to lots of lessons over the next few years. Just last fall, one such lesson unfolded while I was visiting our daughter Kristin, her husband Shawn, and our sweet grandsons Isaiah and James.

While I was doing my makeup one morning, Isaiah—who was not yet three at the time—ran into the bathroom to see me and was promptly...

7 February Stress Busters

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With the flip of the calendar to February, it’s time for another installment in our Stress Busters blog series. I started it in September and I pray it’s been a blessing to you. Hopefully you’ve discovered some new ideas for reducing stress as we think of strategies especially appropriate for each month of the year.

Since February is the month of love, some might think stress should disappear, but alas, the expectations of Valentine’s Day can actually add stress to some of our lives. Combine...