Cheryl Barker's Blog, page 38

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...

Bridal Shower: Makeup Practice-Run and Demonstration

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Mother of the Bride, a bridal shower is one of the highlights of the wedding planning experience. It’s a time of fun, fellowship, and celebration with family and friends. It’s a girly-girl time that is well worth making memorable in a variety of ways.

If you’re contributing ideas to the shower or actually giving it yourself, MOB, one fantastic way to make it both special and helpful is to have a makeup practice-run and demonstration. Not only will it give the bride and her makeup artist a ch...

Wedding Expenses: Get the Most Bang for Your Buck

[image error]At the beginning of a new year, many of us are looking for ways to trim down, both physically and financially. Saving money always feels good and getting the most value for our money makes us smile as well. Sometimes we get downright giddy over a good deal!

Want to know how to get the most bang for your MOB buck, Mother of the Bride? Here’s my tip: Put your checkbook away and use your credit card when paying for wedding expenses.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not advocating racking up charges that...

Hear the Call to Worship

[image error]Chime! Chime! Chime! On weekdays, not more than a dozen blocks from our house, children arrive and begin their school day at the local Catholic church and school. When I’m lucky, I happen to open my door or step out on my back steps and hear the church bells ringing in a new school day, signaling the time to begin.

I don’t know their schedule, but I like to think they are starting with moments of worship and prayer. As they hear the chiming of the bells, I hope they are gathering to acknowled...

Groom’s Cake Idea: Favorite Professional Sports Team

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Mother of the Bride, are you and the happy couple talking cakes yet? And more specifically, the groom’s cake? If so, this suggestion might help you hit a wedding planning home run if the groom decides to run with it. Do you see a theme developing here?!

If your future son-in-law has a favorite professional sports team, he might love featuring it in some way with his groom’s cake. He could request that your cake baker design a team jersey and hat cake (as in the photo above), or he might rath...

Winter Trees and the Church: Beautiful Support

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This may sound odd to some people, but I see a unique beauty in the naked trees of winter. Many would describe them as stark, drab, or depressing. I, on the other hand, think they have a beauty all their own when winter strips them of their leafy glory.

Don’t get me wrong. I love the leafy glory of trees as much as the next person. Watching trees bud out and turn green in the spring holds a special excitement for all of us. Summer then brings lush, full trees to pleasantly fill our landscape...

Idea for Wedding Card Box: A Hatbox!

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Looking for another wedding card box idea, Mother of the Bride? If your daughter would like something other than a wedding theme for her card box (as in the wedding cake card box), why not suggest a pretty hatbox for collecting the cards?

When my daughter Kristin got married, I asked the groom’s mother if she would be in charge of providing the card box. My sister Debbie had provided one for her son’s wedding so I thought it would be a nice way to include our groom’s mom—plus relieve us of t...

Winter and Life Extremes: A Time to Hunker Down

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Do you get any of winter’s deep freeze days where you live? You know, those days that start in the single digits or below and if you’re lucky climb well into the teens? We shiver our way through days like that each winter here in southeast Kansas. And I am not a fan.

In fact, I’m not a fan of winter in general, but I must admit, like everything else, winter has its perks. One of those perks for writers like me unfolds as nature speaks something new to us, something we can share through the w...

Beautiful Bride + Fancy Sofa = Perfect Bridal Portrait

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Mother of the Bride, many photographers include a bridal portrait session in the price of their services. These sessions are often scheduled for a date before the wedding, but some perfect portraits of the bride alone can also be taken on the wedding day. Your photographer will certainly have some amazing ideas for some great shots, but you can also be thinking of ideas if you’re familiar with the wedding or bridal portrait venue.

If your daughter’s wedding or bridal portrait venue has a fan...