Congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex upon today's announcement that they are expecting their first child! Lots of excitement in the air and over the internet as people celebrate the happy news. This royal baby is unaware of all the privilege, prestige, and prominence that will come his or her way based on birthright. And this reminded me that many people today are still unaware that they are royal too, because of wonderful circumstances that took place before they where born, giving them access to a marvelous kingdom. 

I will use this beautiful fabric with crowned bird to explain.

After the couple's royal wedding on May 19th of this year, several articles about the newly designed crest for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were written, and there was some concern over the crown placed around the bird's neck instead of being on top of it's head, that represented the Duchess. Well, this article explains why the crown was around the neck. It is very interesting. In essence, one who marries royalty is grafted into the kingdom and is to support the crown. 

When I saw imprint of a crowned bird on this fabric, I thought about this article and how those who trust the Lord and abide in Him are His children. As children of the most high God, we are royal because of Who our father is and our identity in Him. I choose this fabric to use for a dear friend's nursery as a reminder of who we are in Christ.
​
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. - 1Peter 2:9-10 ESV

Marvelous to think how the Kingdom of God is made up of many different races and nationalities that have been called to become one!

Jaws dropped as we watched this video footage while transferring some home movies from VHS to DVD this year. Felt like we traveled back to a more innocent time in our history, while taking in all the scenes that my father had captured back in the spring of 1999.

​The first clip is short and a bit eerie as the towers seem to appear from nowhere in the skyline. Just after they come into view, a plane passes behind them and then the towers fade away as my father zooms back. 

The second video below serves as a back in time tour of the Twin Towers from the observation deck. I had visited the second floor of the lobby, inside one of the Twin Towers, back in 1998 to stand in line for Broadway tickets with a friend, but had never visited the observation deck or seen the towers from the outside, since my friend, Laura, and I had taken the subway, and traveled up inside to the lobby from the escalators. This video gave me a whole new perspective of the Twin Towers and what it might have been like for those up top the World Trade Center.

This video gives the viewer a back in time tour of the Twin Towers from the observation deck.

 September 11, 2001 was a horrific day for the victims, their loved ones and the survivors. All who remember where they were and the helpless feeling of watching your fellow countrymen suffer and die was devastating. Hoping this video will become a useful resource for teachers to use in the classroom, as a video field trip back in time, to help the next generation understand what life was like in New York City when the towers were still standing.

Read here to find out about the scripture reference that was found fused to 911 rubble and is now on display at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.

With Love,
​Christina

Stay humble & BOLD!

​"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."  Psalm 119:105

To check out my testimony click here
To like my facebook page click here 
Connect on Instagram at humbleandbold
Find me on twitter @humble_bold ​
​On Pinterest at humble&BOLD by Christina

When throwing a baby shower, you might have already have some items that can be transformed into décor for the party and the nursery too. 

Here are a few ideas to inspire you!

If you have any square boxes, try turning them into large decorative baby blocks. I took these boxes and covered them with craft paper and then used die cut letters to spell BABY, on one side, and GIRL on the other. Click on how to make handmade, paper flower bows if wanting instructions for bow on top of blocks.

Found this bulletin board at an estate sale and thought I could match it perfectly to the theme of the baby's room. For her nursery, my friend had picked out light gray for the walls, with white trim and pink accents. When I found this fabric with little gray butterflies and crowned birds on a light pink floral backdrop, I knew it was just right. I painted the trim around the corkboard with a coat of Kilz and then went back over it with a second coat of white paint, Tucked the fabric into the sides of frame for a tight fit, and it was all ready.

When I found this fabric with little gray butterflies and crowned birds on a light pink floral backdrop, I knew it was just right.

​Side Note - Do you remember a news story after the Royal Wedding about the newly designed crest for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex? There was some concern over the crown placed around the bird's neck instead of being on top of it's head, that was to represent the Duchess. Well, this article explains why the crown was around the neck. Now it may look liked I have digressed, but I promise to tie this in further down. Just keep that crown thing in the back of your mind or up in the cloud for now.

At another estate sale, I found a black and white stripped canvas for sale and it caught my eye. Since the baby's last name is Ogi, we used O Baby as part of our baby shower theme. I painted the black stripes gray and then traced the O out and painted it pink with silver trim. 

Try using copies of ultrasound pics to display for the party. We found perfect little places to nest three images of the baby in a family collage of pictures in the living room for guests to discover. I trimmed small pics of baby and placed those on foam board, wrapped with ribbon. (Not perfectly done, but they made for a sweet conversation piece.)

My friend, Tabitha, brought a large, pink letter L for everyone to sign and hang in the baby's room. The L had been part of her daughter's room and little Lia wanted to give her L as a gift of sentiment for the new baby, whose name will also start with an L. So many sweet words of blessing were written on this letter at the party for the new baby girl. 

After our friends finished getting the nursery ready, they sent me these pics. The corkboard is to the top right hand side.

Baby blocks sit on the dresser and O Baby canvas and pink letter L, filled with up with messages of love, hang out ready to welcome the precious new arrival.

Beautiful words to wake up to!

So about the crown on the bird's head that got my attention, you see, after reading the article about the meaning of the crown on the head verses the neck, when I saw this imprint of crowned bird, I thought of how those who trust the Lord and abide in Him are His children. As children of the most high God, we are royal because of Who our father is and our identity in Him. My prayer for this little one is that she will know her true identity in Christ as she grows in physical and spiritual ways.
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But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. - 1Peter 2:9-10 ESV

It is a "God thing" when I tell my friend about why I choose this fabric and the meaning of the crown and she shows me the first picture that she bought for the nursery at Hobby Lobby which reads, I am the daughter of a King, who is not moved by the world, for my God is with me and goes before me. I do not fear because I am His!

See more pics of the baby shower click here.

​May the Lord bless you and reveal your true identity in Him!

​​With Love,
​Christina

Stay humble & BOLD!

​"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."  Psalm 119:105

To check out my testimony click here
To like my facebook page click here 
Connect on Instagram at humbleandbold
Find me on twitter @humble_bold ​
​On Pinterest at humble&BOLD by Christina

Looking for a simple way to make beautifully unique, handmaid, paper bows for hardly any expense?
​Well, take a look at these!

I was reading one of my favorites, Little House On The Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder to my children, and one of the things she wrote about was how their mother never wasted scraps of paper (or anything else), since it wasn't readily available. After reading that book, I had more of a Ma Ingalls' mindset on how to creatively turn simple paper scraps into something special. While looking to see how I could reuse some strips of paper, I came up with these flower bows and absolutely love the way they look! And you can't beat the price.

I use scraps of wrapping paper, maps, cards, newspapers and magazines! 

Get creative and have fun with it! You can make one big bow and attach a smaller one in front as seen below.

You can also mix and match designs for a unique look.

Here is a supply list.

And an easy set of instructions.

As a side note, I used a Premier paper trimmer with slide blade, that I purchased years ago. I definitely recommend a slide blade instead of one where the blade comes down because it is much safer to use.  I can no longer find the Premier with slide blade on Amazon, but did find this Fiskars SureCut Craft Paper Trimmer Deluxe that is highly rated and at an affordable price. 

Hope you enjoy making these and thanks for stopping by humble & BOLD.​​
With Love,
​
​Christina

​"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."  Psalm 119:105

To check out my testimony click here
To like my facebook page click here 
Find me on twitter @humble_bold ​
​On Pinterest at humble&BOLD by Christina

Summer is quickly coming to and end, but we made some great memories!  Here are just a few pics to share from our family reunion.

Scrabble tiles are a great way to decorate and bring back memories of family nights playing games.

Little Shiloh, below, looked at her up at her Great Aunt Sherry (in the red dress behind to her right) and said in the cutest voice, "Oh, I love your ladybug dress!"  - so funny, sincere and sweet!

I love seeing people reconnect face to face and laugh. Yes, that would be my son on his cell phone in the back, One really can't completely appreciate reunions as a teenager. If you have any suggestions for future gatherings, on how to help them connect, I would love your advice.

Many cousins brought some of their favorite dishes, and my Aunt B brought her decorations along with delicious desserts. I made these marshmallow pops and some cupcakes.

Below, I always like to do my tea gifts as party favors, but had to get creative with these.

​My father's cousin, Kaye, also gave complimentary CD recordings of her musical concert, which we have enjoyed listening to as a reminder of our time together.

Thanks for stopping by!

​Christina

Stay humble & BOLD!

​"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."  Psalm 119:105

To check out my testimony click here
To like my facebook page click here 
Find me on twitter @humble_bold ​
​On Pinterest at humble&BOLD by Christina

Here are some pics from a baby shower that my friend, Tabitha, and I gave for a amazing couple that we hold close to our hearts.

The couple's last name starts with the letter, O, so we went with an O Baby shower theme.

Have fun getting creative! Once a train table lid that I found at a yard sale and painted with chalk paint, to becoming one of my favorite party pieces. This chalkboard is a staple of mine and has welcomed many guests over the years. 

Guests greeted with sight of sugar, spice and everything nice when they walked through the front door. Used upside down bowls to create the right height for certain food items, that doubled as centerpiece fixtures. Handmade pennant banner and flower bows were used to bring the eyes up while continuing the color theme.

These large marshmallow pops are delicious and attractive as décor too. Just take campfire marshmallows (got mine at ALDI's) and insert paper straws (check The Dollar Tree first) then freeze. Day before party, you can take frozen marshmallow with attached straw and dip into melted chocolate of choice and then decorate with sprinkles and place in tall heavy jar to hold while drying. Once dry, they can be placed in a storage container and placed in fridge until ready to arrange. They hold up really well, and for this party I used floral foam to insert the straws in and then covered with moss. Also, if using tin can like in pic above, use rocks in bottom to counter the top weight.

I found inspiration for marshmallows pops, the photo backdrop, water bottles and how to ice cupcakes from Caroline's Swaddles n' Bottles blog.

Decorated foyer bannister with balloons, scripture coloring sheets for baby's room and painted canvas gift. On the backside of bannister, facing away from entrance, was where we made our photo station.

I prayed to the Lord, and He answered me. - Psalm 34:4
Coloring sheet from The Psalms in Color Coloring Book from choicebooks.org.

My friend, Tabitha, made this beautiful watermelon stroller that served as a vibrant fruit bowl.

Tabitha also put together these colorful veggie cups with ranch dressing. This made it easier on guests to enjoy.

Found this floral Duck Tape at Hobby Lobby (used 40% off coupon) and cut to match removed water bottle label and then rewrapped bottles with design.

While I enjoy the planning process, decorating and seeing it all come together, I can also get stressed and focused on the wrong things. Then I am gently reminded to take off my Martha hat (Luke 10:38-42), and get my focus back on the reason for the celebration. This baby girl is an answer to prayer, as well as her parents getting together. After the shower, the ladies from this group photo gathered together in a private room to praise God, and to thank Him for this child. We got to pray over our friend, Dawn, for her pregnancy, her safe delivery, and her child's future. It was in that special moment that I was reminded what is most important when we gather. 

Remember to enjoy the planning and decorating process with a heart of praise and thanksgiving!

Thanks for stopping by and blessings to you!

​Christina

Stay humble & BOLD!

​"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."  Psalm 119:105

To check out my testimony click here
To like my facebook page click here 
Find me on twitter @humble_bold ​
​On Pinterest at humble&BOLD by Christina

​After seeing Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, I came across this post written back in 2015 and wanted to share again,  with some new food for thought added in.

So here it goes . . . 

Felt like a dinosaur, while taking my son to see Jurassic World and explaining I saw the original, Jurassic Park, as an adult over twenty years ago.

Though I went into the theater feeling like I already knew the basic script: people brought to a remote island to witness the latest DNA research, ohs and ahs, then someone speaks up and says aloud, "this might not be a good idea!" with a dramatic close up, then dinosaurs start chasing, secondary actors are eaten, BURP, then a spectacular ending before the lawsuits start flying AND all this with romance thrown in. It fully delivered on action with new elements of surprise and a cast that worked well together.

​During the movie, I found some concepts very intriguing. These are just some of the thoughts and questions that ran through my mind. 

1) The age of the earth was stated at 65 and then 75 million, so which exactly is it? I always thought an answer of 63.5 (not that I agree) would at the very least seem more scientific. Did you know that time, space and matter are mentioned in the first verse of the first chapter of Genesis?  In the beginning (time) God created the heavens (space) and the earth (matter). - Genesis 1:1 NIV 

2) Which came first, the dinosaur or the dinosaur egg? Okay, it doesn't have to be a dinosaur egg, but really think about this question. Which came first, the egg or the creature? Whether you hold to an evolutionist or creationist view, one had to come first.

3) With all the work that goes into getting an egg to hatch (teams of scientists, perfectly stabilized conditions, most of the DNA code already provided) is it really logical to think that all the male and female animal kinds of the earth all appeared via evolution and were able to procreate successfully all these years without an intelligent designer behind it all?
 
4) Not really a spoiler, but look away if you must. In the movie, people in leadership roles have to make moral decisions (which is always awkward when you put all your dinosaur eggs in the basket of evolution) to destroy the out of control, dangerous members of their creation. This is done to protect other members that were created, in addition to protecting their own species, which evolved, again awkward. So my thought on this is why do some people question whether God exists and His right to do with His creation as He sees fit? 

5) In the movie there is dinosaur trainer,  this would indicate that the audience understands, at least on a subconscious level, that man was given dominion over the animals. This was written in Genesis 1:27-28 (NIV),  "so God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” 

6) What agenda benefits when mass groups of people don't know that they are special and were created? Also, if not with the Ten Commandments and other instructions given in the Bible, where does the moral code originate?

7) Another interesting thought is that man lived among dinosaurs long before they became extinct (that is, unless dinosaurs could be brought back through DNA research, just like in the movies). There have been historical accounts of dragons and other strange creatures being seen by mankind from all over the world. The word, dinosaur, meaning terrible lizard, was not even in existence until used by Sir. Richard Owen in 1841; so maybe our history is a lot more fascinating than we previously believed.

8) Now this one is newly added for 2018, but what about the meaning of the second part of the new movie title . . .  Fallen Kingdom? It is a phrase, that deep down all of mankind can relate too, even if they've been brought up to believe in evolution. We all feel it. We know we were meant to live forever in a better, less broken world. Thankfully God did not leave us in this fallen state, but rather made a way for mankind; "For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." - Colossians 1:13-14 (NIV) Click here to read Colossians, chapter one.

9) Lastly I will share my thoughts on Dr. Ian Malcom's interesting statement in response to a question in the congressional hearing scene of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom where he says, (if I recall correctly from memory) "With all due respect, God has nothing to do with this." There are two statements that are often brought up by agnostics and/or atheists and that is 1) God doesn't exist and/or 2) If God exists, let us focus blame on him for all the wrongdoing in the world. I would like to counter those views and state in fact that 1) God does exist and 2) When looking at all of  the marvelous creation around us, how could He not? AND 3) It is the fallen nature of mankind that has brought wrongdoing into our world. 

Anyway, some Jurassic food for thought in a fallen world by a gratefully, redeemed daughter. For more resources on this topic, and a review of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, check out Answers in Genesis.