ACA Girls Honor Their Heritage

Apostolic Christian Academy girls honored their Apostolic heritage this Christmas season by visiting our Senior Saints, giving gifts, singing, and enjoying some great fellowship!

How to Personalize Your Dorm Room

   1.  Visualize. You must first decide how you would like your door room to appear. Trendy, classy, retro, fun or comfortable? For me, I wanted something that showed off my personality but also made me feel like I was at home.

   2.    Bedspread. Your bed takes up the majority of both physical and visual space in your room. Therefore making your bedspread a huge part of the décor… The focal point. Make sure and find a pattern or color you like that shows off your personality, and one that you’re most likely not going to get tired of it. Buy tons of throw pillows to give your room warmth. I have about five on each bed.

   3.   Rugs. Rugs have the ability to completely transform the look of a room. They can be used to hide unpleasant blemishes, highlight certain furniture and accent to the room. A soft rug will make your dorm room feel like home. You can pick up inexpensive rugs most anyplace. 

   4.    Furniture. I know furniture can be expensive so I’m going to let you in on a secret. All of the furniture in my room has been bought at a thrift store. If you can find a sturdy dresser and chest for a good price, get it! It can always be refurbished. We painted the drawers to match my color scheme and make it more “fun”.  I used and old bistro table (spray painted it) as a dining table in the middle of my room. I also found an armoire in great condition at Salvation Army and used it to store my small kitchen (microwave, small refrigerator, etc…). Everything fit perfectly and the piece definitely adds to the room. Being my mother’s child …I always have an eye out for bargain finds that can be used for future purposes.

   5.   Mirrors. Mirrors are your new best friend. They instantly make a room look larger, accent areas and reflect your good taste. You can put them on the back of your door or even on top of your chest. I’m constantly checking our local retail stores for mirror. They are easy to refurbish.

   6.   Lighting. . You can purchase nice lamps for little money. I recommend getting an old lamp from a thrift store and replacing the lamp shade. It will look brand new. If you’re like me and want your room to be more inviting, go out and buy a battery operated chandelier and hang it from your ceiling. It will dramatically change the tone of your room.

   7.    Storage Space. Suitcases, clothes, shoes, textbooks etc. can all be stored safely under the bed using plastic storage bins. If the height of your bed is too low, bed risers are available. I was able to lift my bed frame high enough to place my dresser underneath, and hiding all of my bins behind it. It has helped me feel very organized.

       I hope this has helped you. Get inspired, be creative and make sure your room identifies you. Here are a few pictures of my dorm room.

5 Ways to Give Back At Christmastime

I love Christmas! Itʼs one of my favorite holidays. From the beautiful lights, to the hustle and bustle of different seasonal events, it is truly the most wonderful time of the year. It

is also a time where we should reflect and think of all the blessings God has given us,and how we should be a blessing to others. Jesus says in Acts 20:35, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” There are so many ways we can give back to people in our church, and our community. The following are just a few suggestions you could try during this holiday season:

1) Volunteer at a soup kitchen or distribute toys in your community. This is a great project to start within your church. You can either start a toy drive or gather a group and go to an organized event in your community.

1) Bring coffee and doughnuts to your bus ministry riders and drivers on a Sunday morning. By doing this you will make them feel special, and you will also make connections with new people in your church you may not know yet.

3) Volunteer to help out with your childrenʼs ministry team. This time of year they are probably preparing Christmas programs at your church. This will take some stress off of the childrenʼs leaders, and will also be an opportunity for you to make a positive influence on children in your church.

4) Send Christmas cards to the elderly and shut- ins at your church. This lets them know they are not forgotten, and that someone in their church is remembering and thinking

of them.

5) Write your pastor's wife a letter of thanks. This is a wonderful way to tell your pastor's spouse how much you appreciate her leadership and example. You could also

volunteer your services to babysit, clean her office, or to do anything extra she might need. This is a way to serve someone who serves you everyday of the year.

                                                       

Spreading Handmade Cheer

Some of my favorite Christmas presents to give and receive are handmade ones.  There is just something so special about knowing that a lot of thought, time, energy, and love went into a present.  Some handmade gifts take a while to complete.  (I started making mine this year in July!)  But as we get closer to Christmas time, it’s always good to get a few ideas of DIY gifts that are fun and quick to make.

            Pencil pouches!  Or craft pouches or money pouches or chapstick pouches or bobby pin pouches ... you get the idea.  This idea came from Sweet Verbena.  I made these for some of my younger cousins for Christmas last year and included a pack of colored pencils and a coloring book.  This project does require sewing, but it’s surprisingly simple.  Even the zipper is easy to put in.  Just click the link to the blog above to get the how-to.

            This felt garland is a really fast and really cute project.  I made it to decorate our house for Christmas last year, but I think it would make a great gift.  You’re just out the cost of the felt and maybe an hour or so of your time.  Customize it with different color combos for anyone on your list!  You can check out my blog Becoming for more info about this project.

I just love these popsicle stick magnets.  They are so colorful and modern!  Pure and Noble tells you how to make them.  They were originally designed to be used as a toy for kids, but I think anyone with a refrigerator would like them.  And wouldn’t it be fun eating all the popsicles to collect the sticks?  Sure, you could just buy a package of popsicle sticks at the store, but where’s the deliciousness in that?

If you’ve ever been on Pinterest, I’m sure you’ve seen the melted crayon canvas idea floating around.  This is a fresh take on the project and it looks AMAZING.  I haven’t tried it yet, but I definitely want to.  All you need is a canvas (buy them when they’re on sale at JoAnn’s or paint over a canvas you already have!), a pack of crayons, and a hair dryer.  Art is a great gift that can be customized to fit the recipient’s taste.  Check out Jenna Brown Photography for how they made these lovely pieces.

Aren’t these mugs adorable?  A Beautiful Mess tells you how to customize your own dishes.  If you’re trying to keep the cost down, the Dollar Store always has a lot of white plates and mugs to choose from.  The options are endless for this project - draw monograms, patterns in different colors, or a favorite saying.

These little pots are a super fun project.  I made these for my mom for her birthday.  You can find small clay pots like these in the garden section of Wal-Mart for just under a dollar.  Then paint them in any design you would like!  I added a stripe of chalkboard paint at the top so my mom could label what herbs were growing in each pot.  You can also use these pots as storage for markers, scissors, knitting needles, and multitudes of other craft items.  For more ideas on this project, just check out Becoming.

There’s just a few ideas for handmade gifts that you can complete before Christmas.  What about you guys?  Are any of you making handmade gifts this year?  Have you already started?  I’d love to hear what you’re working on!

                                  

Meet the Blog Team

                       

Ashley Whitley was born and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee. Her grandparents, Bishop Billy and Betty McCool, are the founders of First Apostolic Church in Knoxville where Ashley has attended her entire life. Under the direction of her parents, Pastor Mark and Jamie McCool, she was given a love for music and a love for education. Because of this, she is now the Music Minister at FAC Knoxville and a teacher at Apostolic Christian School. Ashley received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee in Business Studies in May of 2007. In November of 2009, she met the love of her life, Nate Whitley, while attending an ALJC National Youth Convention. After a whirlwind romance, the two were married in June of 2010. After much prayer, Nate and Ashley felt the Lord leading them to stay in Knoxville, and work full time for FAC, where Nate is now associate pastor. When she is not working for the church Ashley is usually shopping, playing volleyball, or cheering on her Tennessee Vols. She is also madly in love with her Yorkie, Hoosier Neyland Whitley.

Whitney Gothra, age 24, resides in Medora, Indiana. She has been married to the man of her dreams, Timothy, for three wonderful years. Her husband is the Associate Pastor at the greatest church in the world, Medora Pentecostal Church, and Whitney is the Administrative Assistant and Minister of Music. Whitney attended IUPUI where she studied sociology. She has traveled extensively, making several trips to the mission field that includes Ireland, Jamaica, Russia, and Taiwan. Whitney loves to sing, play piano, sew, read, and attempt any and all “DIYs.” Shortly after getting married in 2009, Whitney started a blog - www.becomingwhitney.com - about becoming a wife and living life joyfully.

Lauren Hammond was born on September 12, 1991 to Pastor Kenny and Penny Carpenter, just six years after her sister Fallon and six years before her brother Nolan. Her creative mind drove her as a child all the way through high school as she graduated as salutatorian in 2009 from Apostolic Christian Academy. Lauren begin a small photography business while furthering her education at Pellissippi State College and The Photography Institute. Now at the age of twenty-one she is happily married to Zach Hammond, and they both work full time at Apostolic Christian Academy and First Apostolic Church in Maryville, TN. Lauren teaches art and uses her creative mind and skills to benefit not only the church and school, but her small business known as Shabby-Tiques.

Fallon Erickson graduated from Bethel University in 2012 with her Bachelor of Science in Organizational Management and is a certified Kindermusik educator. She has been involved in ministry at First Apostolic Church (FAC) of Maryville, Tennessee since 1997.  She currently serves as music minister, co-director of ACA preschool, marketing director and administrator of Apostolic Christian Academy (Grades K5-12) under the direction of Rev. Kenneth and Penny Carpenter, Lead Pastor.  Fallon is married to Chad Erickson, the Apostolic Crusader’s Youth President and Associate Pastor of First Apostolic Church of Maryville, TN.  Together they have two beautiful girls, Paris and Windsor-Kate.  Chad and Fallon share the passion of leading worship at FAC of Maryville with FAC’s 120-voice adult sanctuary choir.  FAC is currently in a building project that includes constructing an 80,000 square foot facility on 22 beautiful acres on William Blount Drive. When completed it will be one of the largest places of worship in Blount County.  All of FAC’s services are Live Webcast and archived on the church’s website at www.factv.org. 

Dress Extender

Have you ever found a cute dress or skirt that's just a few inches too short? Or shrunk your favorite skirt in the wash? I have found a fabulous solution to that problem, a dress extender! This can be easily be made for under 5.00!!

What you will need:
1.) Half or Full Slip (can be found at Goodwill or local thrift store for 1.99)
2.) Wide lace or eyelet(Hobby Lobby sells a roll of lace precut in the ribbon section for just 1.99)
3.) Sewing machine, needle and thread or adhesive bond
4.) Straight pins
5.) Measuring tape

First, measure from your waist to the bottom of your knee to find the desired length for your slip. Lay your lace down on the slip, pin the lace to hang at whatever length works best for you. Now, depending on what you have to work with either sew, hand stitch, or take your adhesive bond and attach your lace to the bottom of the slip. Make sure you leave enough at the ends of the lace to over lap just a few inches. Now go try on your favorite dress with your new dress extender! 

                               

In Love With a Foodie

I never really had any reason to start cooking until I got married. One of the perks of being single is you don’t mind eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches every night or bumming off your parents for dinner. I mean really why buy food when you could buy something way better like shoes. Unfortunately, my husband does not agree with this concept. You see, he is what I would like to call a “foodie.” I define a “foodie” as someone who what they eat actually means a lot to them. For example, where I am good with Taco Bell, he would drive an hour for that perfect taco from this little place he read about on the internet. This is a lot of pressure for someone who never really cooked. So after many failed dinner attempts, I found the perfect solution. It is an amazing, magnificent, oh so life saving appliance called a slow cooker. The “foodie” LOVES everything I have made with it so far. Slow cookers are also great for days when you are really busy and you do not have time to make dinner. Below are listed a couple of my favorite recipes (disclaimer, I swiped them all from Pinterest):

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

Ingredients

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1 (17.5 fluid ounce) bottle buffalo wing sauce, divided

1/2 (1 ounce) package dry ranch salad dressing mix

2 tablespoons butter

6 hoagie rolls, split lengthwise

DirectionsPlace the chicken breasts into a slow cooker, and pour in 3/4 of the wing sauce and the ranch dressing mix. Cover, and cook on Low for 6 to 7 hours.

Once the chicken has cooked, add the butter, and shred the meat finely with two forks. Pile the meat onto the hoagie rolls, and splash with the remaining buffalo wing sauce to serve.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

Ingredients

1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes

1 10-ounce package frozen whole kernel corn

½ cup chopped onion

½ cup chopped yellow, green, or red bell pepper

1 10-ounce can enchilada sauce

1 10.75-ounce can condensed cream of chicken soup

1½ cups milk

1 cup shredded Pepper jack cheese (4 ounces)

2 chicken breasts

Directions

In a 3½ to 5 quart slow cooker, combine drained beans, tomatoes, corn, onion, and bell pepper. Place 2 chicken breasts on top of mixture. In a large bowl, whisk together enchilada sauce and soup. Gradually whisk in milk until smooth. Pour sauce mixture over ingredients in cooker. Cover; cook on low heat for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours.

Remove chicken and cut or shred into bite sized pieces. Add chicken back into soup.

Top with pepper jack cheese and serve. Can also be topped with avocado, sour cream, or crushed tortilla chips. Note: if the soup is too thick for you, just add a little more milk after it’s all cooked.