Cheryl Barker's Blog, page 9

The Hope of Abundance After Testing

“For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver . . . we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance.” Psalm 66:10; 12 NIV

I imagine some of you reading these words today are going through fire and water right now. God is testing and refining you. And it hurts.

Maybe I don’t hang out with the right people, but I don’t know anyone who enjoys taking tests. Nor do I know anyone who lines up early to be first for the refining process.

And going through fire? Well tha...

Mother of the Bride’s Wedding Day Advice for the Bride

Mother of the Bride, would you like to give your daughter some invaluable advice for her wedding day? No, not advice about marriage but advice for the big day itself. Advice that can change a jam-packed day from a blur to a beautiful experience and memory. Yes, somehow I knew you would.

Here’s what to do: Find a few moments during the wedding weekend to pull your bride-to-be aside and give her some final motherly instructions before she becomes a married woman.

Tell her to enjoy her wedding day,...

Wedding Weekend Tip for Your Amateur Photo-Taking

The last thing the Mother of the Bride wants to do during wedding weekend is take photos. Of course, MOB, you’ll have a professional photographer for the day of the wedding, but precious photo opportunities will abound all weekend long. Like any sentimental mother, you won’t want to miss a single shot, but it’s hard to be in the moment and enjoy everything fully if you’re busy capturing it all on your camera.

Here’s a tip that will free you up not only to live the moments as they unfold but will...

Bird Calls, God, and Paying Attention

Over ten years ago now, I started hearing voices I hadn’t really paid attention to before.

The voices belonged to birds. Yes, the songs and calls of our feathered friends. Previously I heard them as the background and soundtrack to the great outdoors of my life, but then they became something more.

It dawned on me that those voices—those songs—belonged to certain species of birds, and if I paid attention, I could learn to identify their calls. And further, if I became alert to their voices and c...

A Time for Everything—Even A Time to Hide

“When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.” John 12:36 NIV

Ever have times when you feel like hiding?  I bet we all do—and we’re in good company. The apostle John tells us that Jesus hid too.

The instance in the scripture above took place in Jerusalem during the week before Jesus’s crucifixion. While speaking to a crowd, he predicted his death and encouraged the people to “‘Believe in the light . . . so that you may become sons of light,’” (first half of v.36). Then he...

Wedding Keepsake Photo Including the Invitation

Mother of the Bride, here’s a keepsake photo that’s easy to forget on wedding day: one that features the invitation. The photographer will take shots of the programs, the tent cards for the reception tables, and place cards for the bride and groom, but if a copy of the wedding invitation is not on hand on the big day, chances are you’ll miss getting a professional photo of it.

In the photo above, I love how the wedding invitation is featured along with the bride’s rings and shoes. What a beautif...

What To Do When We Feel Like a Mess

Cranky days. Stressed out days. Confused or anxious days. Days that we end up thinking, saying, or doing wrong things. Please tell me that some of you, in fact, also have days when you finally look up at the heavens and say, “Lord, I’m a mess. Please help me.”

Yes, I imagine most of us can be a mess mood-wise every now and then. Hormones might play havoc with our moods at times, but other times we may not be handling stress very well or we might have fallen prey to the tactics of our spiritual a...

Wedding Planning Advice: Give Yourself the Gift of Easy

Mother of the Bride, if you’re like I was while in wedding planning mode, you’re all about saving a dollar or two (or ten!) every chance you get, right? Your mental calculator runs non-stop, causing you to continually feel the pressure of mounting expenses. You begin to look for every way you can to save a little money. But you know what? Sometimes it’s not worth it.

My first time around the MOB block, I decided we should forgo the pre-cut tulle circles we wanted to use for making the favors—lit...

Wedding Cake-Stand Idea: A Glass Stand

Mother of the Bride, once your daughter chooses the design for her wedding cake, she’ll still need to decide what kind of cake stand she’d like to use. And believe it or not, there are several varieties to choose from—everything from silver-plated to acrylic to wood and lots of options in between.

One simple but still beautiful option is a glass stand. Not only does it look classy, but it gives you the opportunity to further add to the presentation of the cake by placing décor of some sort under...

Rain and Refreshment: For the Earth and For Us

Summer rain is almost always welcome, isn’t it? So refreshing and life-giving.

I wrote the poem below a few years ago during a time of drought in our region. We and so many others desperately needed rain. Today areas of our nation and world cry out for rain again.

In our personal lives, many of us also cry out for refreshment. Some sort of drought has been our portion for too long and we are in need of relief.

Won’t you praise God with me today for the refreshment he gives our earth—and also for...