Magnetic Attendance / Chores Chart Tutorial

I have a very easy craft to share with you today.

          It is a simple tutorial for making a

 Magnetic Attendance Board 

for your Sunday School class or a small Children's Church. 

Of course it could be made for several other things for your own kids at home eg.

Chores Chart
Reading Practice Chart
Homework Chart

It is quite easy to make and is designed to be reused 

or adapted later for other uses.

Today is definitely a FUNWORK Post for me but did help me clear an item out of my kitchen so I think I can claim that a tiny bit of decluttering was involved too.



The Materials Required:

• Ruler
• Scissors
• Coloured string or ribbon
• Small round sticky backed magnets
• Sticky backed magnetic strip (which I already had cut into pieces from an previous time)
• Liquid Chalk Pen (or you can use ordinary chalk)
• Blackboard paint (I had only about a fifth of this small tin left from a previous time and didn't even use all of that)
• Paint brush

And 

      An old baking tray or cookie sheet.

As you can see my baking tray was scratched and stained and I had 3 newer ones and was about to throw this one out so it was just good timing.

Why not upcycle instead of throwing it out!

I had seen various ideas around reusing cookie sheets recently & thought I could try something easy and I needed a new idea for attendance for the Sunday School Class from New Year to Easter so this was my idea.

First I made sure the baking tray was clean and then enlisted the help of my husband and his drill.

Now this part was easy and I could have done it myself if he would let me but he does practically all that kind of work in the house so I was happy to let him do this for me.

Using quite a narrow drill piece he bored two holes in the tray in what was to be the top two corners so that the tray would hang horizontally (so the two corners along a long side)

He then informed me that something else had to be done before he would give me back my tray.

He explained that drilling the holes would leave rough edges on the back of the tray and I could clearly see what he meant.

But he had a very simple solution for making them smooth again.

You simply get a wider drill bit and use that on the back of the tray.

So as well as taking a picture of this part I also took this short video while he was doing it.

It definitely made a good difference to the edge of the holes and will not scratch anything it touches.

Next step was to get the old newspaper down on the table and start painting the tray with the blackboard paint.

Easy job.  I'm not that great at making a smooth finish but it was fine except that it seemed to be drying quickly while I painted.

I painted the main section and the trim around the front but I did not bother to paint the back as it was not going to be seen.

I let it dry for a while and then put on 13 of the round magnets to see about spacing as there will be 13 weeks between New Year and Easter.

Plenty of room across the tray for the weeks.

Then I tried the rectangular magnets and I would need around 10 of these so wanted to check that spacing as well down the left hand side.

However when I removed the magnets it was obvious that I hadn't waited long enough to let it dry completely and small marks were left from the paint coming off.

This meant a second coat of paint and waiting long enough for this one to be completely dry before the next step.

I used the ruler and the liquid chalk pen to draw a line down leaving enough space for the length of the rectangular magnets at the left and wrote the heading of "NAME" 

Next I wrote the heading of "ATTENDANCE"

Then I threaded the end of my coloured string through the hole at the left hand side from back through to the front and tied a double knot which would be thick enough not to pull back through the hole.

I measured & cut off enough of the string to be able to hang the board up and tie a knot at the other end and my board was completed.

Now for the names.

I got out my labeller that I have had for so many years that I have forgotten how long and chose black lettering on a blue background for the boys and black lettering on a red background for the girls.

Then I stripped off the paper from the sticky side of the magnet and stuck the name on in its place on each magnet.

The names can also simple be written on thin card and stuck to the sticky part of the magnets.

I trimmed off the edges of the magnets so that the names looked nicer and then they were ready to be placed on the board.

The names were spaced out nicely on the board and it was ready to go to church with a small container of the small round magnets.

This is the finished product 

It has been used for 2 weeks now in the Sunday School Class 

and I am rather pleased with it.

What colour is your Bible? - A Dose of Encouragement

The other day I saw a kindle ebook titled "In Pursuit" advertised for Free.

Now I will always give an ebook a second glance if it is free but sometimes on my iPad the picture of the book is quite small so as this was the case I enlarged the picture and then ended up laughing out loud (no one heard me as Fred was resting in front of the TV in the lounge after having a tooth extracted and I was in my study).

Why did I laugh?

Because I could not believe the tagline of the ebook

     "Devotions for the Hunter & Fisherman"

Now I come from Northern Ireland and we have few hunters here.


Even when we lived in the US for 3 years we did not live in an area known for a lot of hunting.


Northern Ireland does have a lot of Fishermen though but of the ones I know I could not imagine any of them looking for a devotional book specifically for them.


Anyway after I laughed the next thing out of my mouth were the words

"Next we will have Bibles produced specifically for people of all different interests" 

and yes I was still on my own and no-one could hear me but have you never talked to yourself?

Then I realised that we had already reached this ridiculous point in life.

Yes already we had reached the point where the publishers of Bibles as well as devotionals were specifically targeting all the different sections of the community to sell more books and Bibles.


I had to wonder why?

Was the bible written with different verses for a man than for a woman?

Was the bible written with different verses for a single person than a married one?

Was the bible written with different verses for a Pentecostal than an Anglican?

Was the bible written with different verses for a teenager than for an adult?

Was the bible written with different verses for a hunter than for a doctor?

Did we need to have a different Bible for an engineer
 than for a teacher or a housewife?

Because if so then my husband the Mechanical Engineer and I a Mathematics Teacher turned Housewife, could not read the same Bible together because of our occupations and of course also because we are not of the same sex.


Just think-

We could not have read the Bible as a family together when the kids were teenagers.

We could not read the Bible together as a family now because some are Pentecostal and some are Anglican.

We could not read the Bible together as a family now because some are single and some are married.

What would be next?

Would we have to have different Bibles for people of all different race or nationality?

Let's put some pink or purple covers on them because that will appeal to the females 
they had decided at one stage.

Well I certainly didn't get hooked in then because I much prefer black or brown or blue books so no pretty feminine looking Bible for me.

But of course this was nothing to do with it at all - they simply wanted to sell more Bibles.

Now I know I'm sounding a bit extreme but my main problem is not with all the different speciality bibles or devotionals so much as with the purpose of our bibles.

When the Bible was written I am so thankful that it was written for all of us regardless of gender, age, race, intelligence etc.


When Jesus came to this earth He came for one specific reason

 to do His Father's will
 and be the ransom for each one of us, 

the one who would take all our sins on himself and die in our place 

I am so thankful that He did not differentiate between us.

So this inspired Word of God which was written for all of us to know the Truth of the Lord Jesus Christ and be set free from our old self and renewed by God's Spirit; was written for each and every one of us.

And it doesn't matter

          how many bibles we have,

                    what size they are,

                              how expensive they are,

                                        how many notes are included in them,

                                                  how used or how new they are,

                                                            or what colour they are.

The important thing is that we read our Bible and we grow in the Grace of our Lord and Saviour as we do so.

So the question is - Are You in Pursuit

Are you reading your bible?

Are you praying for understanding of what you are reading in your Bible?

Are you praying for direction and guidance by the Holy Spirit as you read your Bible?

Are you actively, regularly, hungrily, reading your Bible?

Are you looking to gain insight and truth as you read your Bible?

Are you praying that you will rightly apply what you read in your Bible to your everyday life?

Are you depending on God for your nurture from your Bible (His Word) and not just listening to what other people say about it.

Are you looking to preachers and teachers of sound doctrine when you need more help to fully understand some passages from your Bible?

Are you in PURSUIT of the truth and edification in God's Word?

I know I'm not in pursuit of God's Word as much

 as I should be.

Are you?

Let's be encouraged today to go read that passage we have been meaning to read.

Let's be encouraged today to relax & drink in from God's Word no matter what colour our bible might be.

Songs for Worship #2 God is Worthy

Welcome to the new Sunday Series

Last year from January to June I wrote a series on
Why We Worship  where I considered an attribute of God each Sunday.

At different times people mentioned to me about a song that a post reminded them of so I thought that I would now go through those attributes again with a song for each one.


So I'm following the weeks of Why We Worship from last year and I hope you will follow along with me.

There is none more worthy of our worship

WORTHY IS THE LAMB

Thank you for the cross Lord

Thank you for the price You paid

Bearing all my sin and shame

In love You came and gave amazing grace

Thank you for this love Lord

Thank you for the nail pierced hands

Washed me in Your cleansing flow

Now all I know Your forgiveness and embrace

Worthy is the Lamb

Seated on the throne

Crown You now with many crowns

You reign victorious

High and lifted up

Jesus, Son of God

The Darling of Heaven crucified

Worthy is the Lamb

Worthy is the Lamb

If you would like to see the post from last year that this is based on please click on the graphic below

Tears Over a Little Letter - A Dose of Encouragement

She placed her hand on my shoulder after the prayer meeting in church and simply smiled when I looked up.
I stood up to give her a hug as I normally do and ask how she was.
Then I noticed the tears in her eyes as she quietly said
"I got a letter from your daughter today".

I was surprised that it had arrived so soon as our daughter Linda is living in South Korea, but I was pleased that it had.  I knew that she had written but I hadn't mentioned it to Irene.

So I reminded her that Linda had told her she would write but Irene said she had not really expected her to take the time to do it for someone like her.

Whether she meant this because she is an older lady in our church, or because she is someone Linda only got to know while staying with us for 6 months between doing her masters and going to South Korea, or because she felt that she was an insignificant member of the church, I'm not sure.


All I knew was that she was so delighted by a little letter from my daughter.


She had brought it with her and took it out of her handbag to share it with me.

Written on little sheets of paper shaped like Panda's heads, Linda had just shared some random little incidents and feelings with our older friend.

I had to laugh because it was so typical of Linda - the cute comic paper to make anyone smile and laugh and then the little random stories.


Then Irene shared something else with me; she told me how she had woken up that morning feeling very down but that all changed when she read Linda's letter.

It was not a very long letter, but it was just an act of kindness that certainly made a difference that morning.  In fact later our Pastor told me how this letter was the first thing she spoke of when he had arrived at her home to take her to the prayer meeting that evening.

So today I want to write about a very basic thing that more and more is getting overlooked by all of us these days.


A little thing like a handwritten letter can mean so much more to someone than we can imagine,

     it can bring tears of joy to someone,

          it can show love to someone,

               it can say "I still think of you and care about you even when I don't see you"

                    it can just keep that connection fresh between two people.

A little bit of effort on our part can mean a whole lot of joy and encouragement to someone else.

Who can you encourage this week?

So who are you going to write to this week?

Will it be a letter or will you buy a sweet card and add a greeting?

Will you make a card and give it the really personal touch?

Or will you think of other similar ways to connect with someone?

Let's see who God wants us to bless with our thoughtfulness this week.

Songs for Worship #1 God is Great

Welcome to the Sunday Series

Last year from January to June I wrote a series on
Why We Worship  where I considered an attribute of God each Sunday.


At different times people mentioned to me about a song that a post reminded them of so I thought that I would now go through those attributes again with a song for each one.

So I'm following the weeks of Why We Worship from last year and I hope you will follow along with me.

(Just head over to the side bar and join up if you would like to receive a reminder of my posts)

One of my favourite worship songs centred around the greatness of God is

"How Great is our God" 

written by Chris Tomlin and I hope you enjoy this video - the words of the song are written below.

                                                            

"How Great Is Our God"

The splendor of a king

Clothed in majesty

Let all the earth rejoice

All the earth rejoice

He wraps Himself in light,

And darkness tries to hide

And trembles at His voice

Trembles at His voice

How great is our God – sing with me

How great is our God – and all will see

How great, how great is our God

Age to age He stands

And time is in His hands

Beginning and the end

Beginning and the end

The Godhead Three in One

Father, Spirit and Son

Lion and the Lamb

Lion and the Lamb

How great is our God – sing with me

How great is our God – and all will see

How great, how great is our God

Name above all names

Worthy of all praise

My heart will sing

How great is our God

Name above all names

You're worthy of all praise

And my heart will sing

How great is our God

[3x]

How great is our God – sing with me

How great is our God – and all will see

How great, how great is our God

If you would like to see the post from last year that this is based on please click on the graphic below

No New Year Resolutions? - A Dose of Encouragement

Are we thinking about the end of a year?
Are we thinking about the preparation for a new year?

Yes because let's face it, all of us will have something in our minds about the new year.
It may not be resolutions as such and with me it definitely isn't but I still have some kind of plans and hopes and thoughts going through my mind as to how I want to do certain things during the year but then on the other hand I also have loads of things that I should have thought about more in advance for this coming Year.

However regardless of how organised or unorganised I may be throughout the year to come will that make any significant difference to God's plan for me for this year?

No

because His plan does not depend on my organised life or even my organised thoughts but I believe He is waiting to see whether or not I will be obedient to His Word and His Spirit prompting me day by day.

Let's see 

Where am I writing this post?   

When am I writing this post?

I am writing this today, New Years Eve in the late afternoon while I wait in Currys Electrical Store in Sprucefield, NI for my husband to pay for a item we have just picked out in the sale.

I will not be able to post this until sometime this evening after I get home, get internet connection and get this finished and edited.

Other things will be more important and need to be done before I get back to this.

I may even have to wait until after we have our dinner although my plan would be to do this earlier.

But will it make a lot of difference whether it is posted before dinner or after?

No

because again God's plan does not depend on my great organised efforts or plans but solely on whether or not I am obedient to Him even today.

So I do wish everyone a

but I do not have any New Year Resolutions

nor have I made any of those lists that I love to make.

This year I do want to be more organised, I do want to be more prepared in advance for events but I really want to be more open to listening and obeying.

I am writing something I feel is important for me and for others to be encouraged knowing that each year, month, week, day are not governed by how well we organise them or plan for them but by God's Love and Grace and Mercy extended in each one of them.

I am writing so that we can be encouraged that God's plan for the year ahead is not going to succeed or fail because of us but rather that we will be enriched by our participation in His Plan when we are simply obedient to Him.

So this year 

no New Year Resolutions for me!

no Lists and Plans in advance for me!

just a prayer

Maybe you want the same thing in this New Year.