FREE Catholic Valentine Printable and What's All This Hype About Valentine's Day?

Shortly after Christmas this year I noticed Valentine's Day paraphernalia in the grocery store! My first thought was are you kidding me already, and then I remembered how early I saw Christmas things on display. It's a commercial world, but lets back up here a minute and ponder what love really means.

In my humble opinion the greatest love is Agape the love of The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit , the Love God has for humanity and this is the love I want to share with my family and the world.

"  13 No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man. 14And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15  so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. "  John 3:13-17

Jesus laid down his life for us and paid the greatest price to open the gates of heaven that we may live with him in paradise.  I made some valentines so my kids could share the love of Jesus with those around them. We are all called to love as Jesus loves and for me it's important to tress this for the little ones, it's not all about feeling but a choice to love even when it's difficult.

I have a set of valentines that are for sale in my shop, but I wanted to share for free here one of the pages so you can share this real message of love too.

Here is what I am making available for you in a girl & boy version. These can be printed out on a full page cut and folded over for a quick card or you can cut out the individual pictures and paste them to colorful cardstock if  you want to get a little creative. Free Valentine Printable

 

If you would like to purchase the whole set it's available for only $3 in over at www.etsy.com

 

 

The Holy Name of Jesus Coloring Page

This month of January is dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus, so it is fitting to offer this month's FREE coloring page on that subject.

Get this FREE coloring page download here

For the Holy Family

Well December was very busy and so I didn't get this up in time, but it's never too late to celebrate the Holy Family. So here is the free December coloring page in honor of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

                                              I pray you all have a blessed New Year!




Download this FREE coloring page here

St. Nicholas Day is Coming!

I am so excited about celebrating St. Nicholas with the kiddos in a day. This year I have added something a little special to our tradition of small treats and holy items in their stockings. Personalized St. Nicholas Mugs! I am overly excited about these cute little mugs I painted for them. I think it will be something special we can get out every year to have their cocoa or cider in on St. Nicholas Day.  Hoping the image of this Saint who was selfless and giving, a true example of Christ's love to others will help us focus on his life and how he lived it. I'll take this teachable moment with them to point out the importance of giving rather than receiving at this special time of year.

On to the more interesting part of this post. Where can you get one of these spiffy mugs? Well I would start at the Dollar Store which is where I got the mugs and then head on over to Michaels where I bought the glass paint to paint them with. As you can see, it doesn't really need to be a masterpiece, if you need to, you could print out a simple picture of St Nicholas (I've drawn you a little template) and tape to the inside of the glass and trace over it. I would suggest getting 4 colors of paint: black, gold, red, and another primary color. The paints just squeeze out of the bottle, so there is not even a need for paint brushes or other tools.

If you get the Martha brand of glass paint after 30 minutes drying time you can pop the glasses in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes and they will be resistant to washing with soap and water I would not recommend the dishwasher for these even after firing!

 

 

 

 

And here is our little surprise all nicely laid out waiting for excited smiles and happy faces on such a fun day to celebrate. I have some gold coins in the stockings and a couple small statues of Jesus and Mary, some caramels, and lastly these cute little teddy bear heat packs.

 

 

 

 

It Was Giving Tuesday Yesterday

Sometimes the biggest impact you can have from a perspective of charity is giving to the little people around you. That mom who is having a hard day with tears in her eyes, the young adult lost who can't find their way, the children cold and hungry in your community, old people forgotten in the nursing homes. A smile, a dollar, $10 it doesn't have to be much! Give, because to quote our priest from last Sunday's homily, "your state of happiness, your good fortune, is incomplete if you do not give to those in need"! How powerful is that? I took me back a minute. I have much to be thankful for but I never thought of my happiness and contentment being incomplete without giving to others. I know the importance of giving, helping, sharing, but I never tied them directly to my own situation.

It was Giving Tuesday yesterday, but it's not too late to do something about it! I am helping my sister and inviting others to help her too. It is my duty to help her, I don't have to enlist anybody's help, but I am just putting this out there because she needs help and I love her. She is a precious soul that willingly suffers for others and offers her pain for those in need. She is a kind and true friend who will always listen and mighty prayer warrior who is unceasingly praying for others. She suffers immense physical ailment and because of it financial hardship from endless surgeries, medical treatments, and doctor visits. A kind friend of hers put together this fundraiser for her and I am giving and sharing it today! This is Courtney:

 

And here is the fundraiser for her: Rally For Courtney

 

Here is a picture of Courtney giving...making her
 famous pies for others like the
firefighters at the fire house and veterans at the VA!

 

Thanks for reading and maybe passing this along, if nothing else please say a prayer for her that she has the grace to carry on when she feels alone, hopeless, and is in pain.

 

 

3 Sundays of Giveaways

 

So we were thinking it would be something exciting and add to the anticipation of Advent by having a series of giveaways. You can enter on the facebook page: SaongJai

There is a tab there that says giveaway, just click on it and you can see

there are a few ways to enter including liking the facebook page and leaving a blog comment here.

 

 

Happy Advent!

You can also just enter the giveaway form here

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Advent Linkup

Cyber Monday Sale

 

We are offering a Cyber Monday Special! $10 Off at our Etsy shop https://www.etsy.com/shop/SaongJai with any purchase of $20 or more. Use code: CYBER and all printables are on sale today only for just $2