Apron Strings & Blessings Weekly Newsletter Vol. 7

Thanks for joining me for this week’s, “Apron Strings & Blessings.”

I am back from our beach trip with a more relaxed feel. It was a needed trip!

Let’s take a look at faith, family, and home!

Click the down arrow in the table of contents to click on a topic. It will automatically scroll down to that section.

Faith

Where are all of my zinnia people? I love watching these beauties bloom each year. They are so hardy and beautiful!

Saturday’s Post – How the Christian Life is Like Harvesting Zinnia Seeds

This Month’s Scripture

“I will provide rain for your land in the proper time, the autumn and spring rains, and you will harvest your grain, new wine, and fresh oil.”
Deuteronomy 11:14

A Message from My Quiet Time

I love the way the Lord speaks through His Word!

This week I finished reading the book of Daniel and prayed about what to read next. I only had Revelation left in the New Testament, and I felt the Lord leading me to go ahead and read it.

Wednesday morning, I read the following verses and made these notes in my Bible:

¹⁰ “Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. Look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will experience affliction for ten days. Be faithful to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. ¹¹ Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will never be harmed by the second death.” Revelation 2:10-11

Notes:

• The first death is physical.
• The second death is spiritual. This death will have no effect on the conquerors!

Later that afternoon we all saw this played out in real life. Please continue to pray for Charlie Kirk’s family. He experienced the first death, but the second death will have no effect on him – he was a conqueror to the end!

May we all stand firm to the end!

Family – Tips

Tip #1

Don’t let the title fool you!!! Between Shades of Gray

While we were at the beach, I finished the book my granddaughter wanted me to read – so good! This was a WW2 book from the perspective of a group of people I had never heard before.

Here is the tip – Instead of running to a big name bookstore when you need a new book on vacation, see if they have a Goodwill or other thrift store.

This store was amazing! I found a book I had never heard of, The Secret Book of Flora Lea. So far it is really good.

Tip #2

Do you watch or follow Brenda Gantt? She is on Facebook as, “Cooking with Brenda Gantt.” She is the sweetest Christian lady who cooks Southern meals while she chats with you.

This is not about her cooking but an experiment she tried this week. She had blackberry stains on her white kitchen sink and tried 3 different whitening toothpastes. This one was the winner.

I ordered this Crest 3D White Toothpaste to try it out on my teeth. I will let you know how it turns out.

What tips do you have for whitening teeth?

Home

Wednesday’s Post – Menu and Meal Planning Tips

A September Plan

Now that I am back home, I am getting back on track with the challenge. I have one night out with friends planned, and a church potluck, but I will cook for that one.

I hope you are joining me for the “Eat at Home Challenge” for September.

What meals have you tried? Do you have quick & easy meals you would like to share?

Monthly Menu

Quick and Easy Meal Ideas for September

Having a plan for meals is the first step in staying on track. You can use whatever works best for you, but here is a guide if you want some additional ideas.

This Week’s Menu

• Monday – BBQ Chicken
• Tuesday – Steaks on the Grill
• Wednesday – BBQ Chicken Quesadillas
• Thursday – Grilled Chicken
• Friday – Cauliflower Pizza

A New Meal Planning Tool

I have been working on a few things to make meal planning easier. Here are a few simple meal planning charts. I added a variety, because I know not everyone likes the same format.

If you already receive my emails, you can still receive the charts. Just go ahead and request them.

I am also working on a list of 120 meal ideas to make deciding on meals a little easier also. That should be coming soon.

Favorite Deals of the Week

Click the highlighted links below to see the deals.

• I had to get another phone case, and I love the feel of this one.
• I bought this casual outfit for traveling, and it was perfect! I liked it so much that I ordered another one in black – VERY SOFT!
• These shoes from Walmart went great with the outfit. They are comfortable too.

Candy Recipe for the Month

This is the easiest fudge ever! 

Upcoming Posts and Events

Posts

• A variety of soup recipes
• Nuggets of Grace
• A new lesson from the beach
• A devotional from Jay’s message entitled, “Roosters.”
• Easy Artisan Bread Recipe

Happenings & Events

Special Limited Deal!

I am not sure who might need this, but I felt like I had to share it. If you have the need for an email service (or will in the near future), the one I use is about to change their pricing!

Many years ago, I had a different website and a different email service. As the subscribers grew (which is wonderful), so did the price (not so wonderful). When I went back to school to get my Masters, I had to let the email go because of the monthly expenses.

Flodesk is an excellent choice for an email service, and it is the only one I know of that doesn’t go up in price as your subscribers grow. That will be changing at the end of November, unless you are grandfathered in.

If you are interested at all, check out this affiliate link.

You will get 50% off for the first year if you use the code, plus you would be grandfathered in so the price would not increase with the amount of subscribers you had. It is a big deal!

I am still looking for opinions/help!!!

12/6/2025 – We will be at the Christmas Vendors’ Fair again this year.

Opinions please!

1. Peanut Butter Fudge or a variety of candy?
2. What are your ideas to add to the Bible gift basket?

Let’s Connect

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Related Posts

Apron Strings & Blessings – Volume 4
Apron Strings & Blessings – Volume 3
Apron Strings & Blessings – Volume 5

I have enjoyed sharing this week. Stay connected and have a blessed week!

disclosure: Amazon affiliate advertising program and other affiliate links may be used on this page. Thank you for supporting Home with Grace and Joy. When you purchase an item, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. See my full disclosure and privacy policy on the website. 

“How sweet Your Word is to my taste – sweeter than honey in my mouth.”
Psalm 119:103