Change Is Coming!

Photo by Twice is Nice books

I have an exciting announcement to make about Faith's Firm Foundation.  Remember a while back when I said, "I'm finally going to do it"?  I was referring to redesigning my blog.  Well, due to circumstances, I was not able to completely redesign it at that time, but I did make a few changes, my header being one of them.  I've had to wait on the Lord's timing in the changes I've made.  Well, there are more exciting happenings coming!


I think of my blog in much the same way that I think of my home.  As a Homemaker and a Stay-at-Home Mom, I love to rearrange things from time to time.  Furniture, pictures, everything.  I am one of "those people."  I want my home to look nice, but also for the Lord to use it as He sees fit.


There are two kinds of people: those who like to decide exactly where they want their furniture, and they put it there, and never look back.  They are perfectly content!  And then there are people like me.  I rearrange furniture often.  I purposely buy furniture that will look good in either the family room or the living room (or maybe a bedroom or two!).


That is how I look at my blog, too.  The changes I make here, though, are always with the goal to make it not only more appealing to the eye, but also to make it really worthwhile for you to take the time to read.  Really Biblical and really practical.


The next big step I'm going to take is actually several steps.  Still not going to do the major redesign right now, but I've been working for some time towards the goal of moving from Blogger to WordPress.  It didn't work out as easily as I'd planned.


But, I'm finally making the move to WordPress, Lord willing, next week!  Hurray!  The move, for me, is a big change.  For you, I hope, it will be no big deal and that there will be no unpleasant changes.


However, if you do not continue to receive my posts in your inbox or reader after Thursday, June 16, 2011, please come over and re-sign up!!  Resubscribe!!  I want to continue to be a part of your life, and I don't want you to miss out on a single post.


Over the last 2-1/2 years that I've been blogging, I've continually looked for ways to improve, to learn new things.  I've thought of this blog as the Lord's blog, and I've asked Him to grow it, to expand its territory, even as I deepen the message by spending time with Him in His Word, among other things.  A little over a year ago, I switched to my own domain name:  www.wendygunn.net.  I've "redecorated" now and then.  Now, I'm migrating to WordPress.  There will also be some minor changes in appearance, and the placement of blog elements:  so keep coming back next week to see what will be happening!


I want to give you a heads up, though, that on Thursday, June 16, my blog will be "down for the day" due to work related to this exciting move!  But, please come back Friday!


Also, on this coming Monday, June 13, I will not be having my usual linkup associated with "Mondays Are Great!"  Please check in all week.  You never know what you may find.  I may be posting some special things in light of the exciting changes being made!

I'm Finally Going To Do It!

After thinking about it for a long, long time, I'm finally going to do it.  No, I'm not jumping off a bridge, or anything like that.


I'm redesigning my blog.


You saw some changes today.  You're going to see many more changes coming.  I'm not sure how long it will take to get the final layout up and running, so please be patient with me, ok?  I am just an ordinary person, with no special training or special skills in web design, just a great desire to blog within a budget and a willingness to learn!


I'm excited and I hope you'll like the new "look"!
Stay tuned!!

As part of my

"new" blog objectives,

I'm reviving the Love and Marriage Series on Wednesdays.

What on earth does redesigning my blog have to do with Love and Marriage, you ask?  Staring at the individual elements of my blog all day has made me think of an analogy which blogging has to marriage.

You can look at your spouse day after day, and then one day you may realize you haven't really "LOOKED" at them for a long time!

Would you be able to describe for an artist what your spouse looks like?

How many details would you be able to give?

Years ago I heard about a simple act that takes only 30 seconds that was transforming marriages!  Tonight when your hubby comes home from work,

take 30 seconds and just look at each other--gaze into each others' eyes.

It may just change your marriage and your life!!

I Redesigned My Blog Button

Hi Everyone!
I just wanted to let you know that I finally redesigned my blog button! Do you like it?
Please come and get the new one and change it out for the old one you've got on your blog. Thank you so much!

Learning New Things and The Fear of Failure

Learning Blog designing on my own has certainly been an adventure!  I am sure that there have been some interesting sights to behold while elements at times were flying out of control.  I've learned a lot, though, and I really love to stretch myself to learn new things, and not be afraid to fail once in awhile.  I have tried to instill this quality in my children, of not being fearful to look foolish or to perform less than perfectly, or to be humbled, when you're sincerely trying to do something that's new to you. It's a hard one, because we all want to appear at our best to others, to be thought well of, especially by those we admire.

Sometimes we parents analyze too much.  I'm not big on psychology.  I prefer to look in the Bible for my answers. But when I found these tips in an online article in Parent Map, I thought they were very helpful, aside from the label placed on the behavior. (Side note: Personally, I don't want to be put into a box, preferring to believe that God is changing me day by day into a faithful and not a fearful person.) So, may I suggest a new title for these suggestions:  from "Tips for helping the risk-averse child" to "Tips to help your Child be Courageous, Confident and Faithful".)

Tips for helping the risk-averse child

What can parents (and teachers) do to help risk-averse children meet new challenges? Chris Ladish, M.D., offers these tips:

• Emphasize effort as much as outcome. Praise the fact that the child tries. Help lay a foundation for the child to develop a self-appraisal that is defined in terms of effort and willingness as much as in the end result.
• Take breaks. None of us are at our best when pushed beyond our limits. Taking a break and then coming back to a task can help a child regroup and feel more energized to return to that task.
• Try to end on positive notes. Divide complex tasks into smaller, more doable segments, and celebrate the completion of each.
• Create a healthy balance between challenging projects and tasks, and easy ones.
• Review the day with your child. Spend time talking about success.
• Catch the child doing "right." The more a child hears and receives praise for positive efforts, the more that child will come to internalize that message. The expectation is that this will contribute to an increased willingness to keep trying.
• Embrace failure and assist the child not to fear it. Failure or lack of success is an essential element of learning that helps us shape our future strategies to challenges. All of us had to fall many times before we learned to walk.

The Bible is replete with examples of how God used "failure" in a person's life to teach them spiritual lessons and to bring them to where He could use them in a mighty way.  Help your child see that there are lessons to learn from failing.  Turn him to the Word of God, and encourage him to try again.

Do you have a story of success in this area? How have you taught your children, or yourself, not to be afraid of failure--and to try, and learn, new things?

My Blog Woke Up Feeling "A Little Off" This Morning

When I went to sleep last night, everything was fine. You know how it happens:  sometime in the night "your baby" becomes sick--you're not sure what happened, but they're definitely not "well"!

That's what happened to "my baby"!  Overnight my blog took a turn for the worse! We're consulting with "experts" and trying "prescriptions"--please pray that "my baby" will recover very soon, and forgive her "appearance"--she's "a little off" today!!

*Update* My "baby" seems to be alright now, but we'll keep her under "observation" for 24 hours!

Changed my blog design, but not finished yet

I, um, made some......changes......to my blog last night. Some of them I like, and some of them are in......process......yet.  In other words:
Please be patient with me...I'm not finished yet.
......Please be patient while this unprofessional "blog designer" goes at it--
............Thanks a million!  Oh, and if you're new here, please read my recent posts, and I'll be back soon to post a Food Friday Recipe!
Blessings,
Wendy