The Sparrow's Home: Life is hard. God is good. We need each other.

Make a porch snack basket to brighten the day of your delivery drivers this holiday season (7 free printable signs to choose from!)

November 16, 2020 by Susan Leave a Comment

7 free printable signs for porch snack baskets for delivery drivers. Be a blessing this holiday season!

I was talking with one our regular UPS delivery drivers in August and he told me that they’d been as busy as Christmastime for months. Months!

My guess is, that level of busy-ness hasn’t slowed down a lot this fall.

I have seen this idea of leaving a basket of snacks on your porch for delivery drivers before, but for some reason, this year…well, I think we can all agree that 2020 is a year much in need of some extra acts of kindness.

So when I decided to put together a thank you basket for my porch for the numerous delivery drivers who frequent our home each week, I thought I’d share some of my ideas with all of you and perhaps we could all spread a bit more cheer together.

Raise your hand if you’re thankful to be governed by lots of flawed individuals.

November 2, 2020 by Susan Leave a Comment

Our hope is in Christ, do elections matter at all? Leaders are flawed, the system is imperfect…until our perfect King comes, what do we do?

Guest Post

I’m delighted to have my friend, Jeremy, doing another guest post for me with some thoughts on princesses, elections, and where our hope truly lies.

Bonus audio: My husband, Greg, is allowing me to share the short message he gave at our church on Wednesday night with some thoughts on whether or not Christians should vote (spoiler alert: he was wearing his ‘I voted’ sticker). You’ll find that audio at the end of Jeremy’s post.

From Jeremy:

I watch a lot of princess movies.

Now, before you pass judgement I’d like to point out that I have two young daughters at home, and when given the choice between watching a princess or a bunch of ponies I will gladly choose the princess.

Do you know how many princess movies there are? A lot.

In fact, it seems to be an endless supply as they keep churning them out year after year. While some movie genres come and go with popularity, I have a feeling the princess movie will always reign supreme.

What is it about children that draws them to stories of princes and princesses, kings and queens and faraway kingdoms? It’s so easily grasped, almost as if it’s part of their dna…

The new trend of simpler weddings is not only frugal, it’s so much more personal!

October 6, 2020 by Susan 8 Comments

Plan a wedding that is simple, beautiful, and personal. The trends of pared down ceremonies, guest lists and menus is allowing brides to showcase what really matters. Your wedding can be genuinely you without breaking the bank.

2020 may go down as the year of plague and pestilence, but my eldest got married in September… so in the album of my memory, 2020 will always be remembered as the year I got a daughter. (Insert all the hearts and flowers here).

My eye doctor was telling me last week that his daughter got married this summer as well. He was contrasting her wedding to her sister’s from a few years ago. ‘Of course they were both beautiful,’ he said. But he went on to describe this summer’s wedding with words like: personal, lovely, simple, intimate, and special.

Sigh. Who doesn’t want that wedding?!

Do you ever feel like you’re too broken for God to use?

September 7, 2020 by Susan 4 Comments

Whether you feel like you’re too broken for God because of something beyond your control, or a mistake you made that you can’t get away from, the truth is that He’s looking for you. He wants you. He loves you.

Guest Post

This message was delivered at a church service recently by a friend.

Jeremy Kirkpatrick is a friend of ours, he’s a gifted writer, speaker, woodworker, husband, and father of three.

From Jeremy…

I know there are some canners out there who could probably use some extra jars.

I have this Mason jar here, perfectly fine. Any takers?

I have another one…It was just like that one until about an hour ago. But it had an accident. Instead of being in one piece it’s in several.

Do you ever feel like you're too broken for God to use?

Anyone? Aside from that one mishap, I’ve taken good care of this jar. No takers?

It’s worthless now, isn’t it?

It’s funny how the value of something can change in an instant.

In the case of these two vessels there isn’t much difference. They’re the same size, same type, made of the same stuff.

But where one has value, one is now totally worthless because its value was in its ability to perform a function which it can no longer accomplish. When it comes to glass there is very little forgiveness.

Beef Brisket Recipe: Low, Slow, Simple and Perfect Every Time

July 27, 2020 by Susan 4 Comments

This recipe for braised beef brisket is surprisingly simple and turns out amazing every single time. Flavorful and tender, this one’s going to wow you!

I’ve been making Pioneer Woman’s brisket recipe with my own tweaks for years. When I made it recently for a family gathering, my sister (who had never made brisket before, nor tried mine) said, “Why isn’t this recipe on your blog?”

Good question, Amy. Here ya go!

Not Powerless: 14 Days of Praying Scriptures for your Country

July 2, 2020 by Susan 4 Comments

14 short prayers based in Scripture that you can pray for your country. With everything going on you might feel a bit powerless, but you are not! God’s word gives hope, strength, and purpose.

if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14

Prayer can give the pray-er a lot of comfort and peace. But so much more than that…God flat out tells us that he responds to prayer and he acts.

Want some proof?

Moses sought God’s favor and he relented. He prayed God’s own words about his promises to Abraham. And the LORD withheld his punishment.

So he said he would destroy them– had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him to keep his wrath from destroying them. Psalm 106:23

But in another case, God told Ezekiel he was looking for someone to stand in the gap and found no one, so judgement fell.

Both groups of people deserved God’s punishment, but in one instance God relented and in the other he did not. The difference seems to be the prayers of God’s people.

You may feel powerless in the face of events that are beyond your control, but God’s people are never powerless.

Before we ever speak or act, our first order of business is to pray. Whatever our differences may be, if you are a Bible-believing Christian, I invite you to pray God’s word for your country. It may make a real difference.

Join me, will you?