Sunday, February 14, 2016

Bride's Bingo~A Bridal Shower Game



Valentine's Day Bingo

Here is an idea I came up with for fun game at a bridal shower.  Use the link above for the children's game of Valentine's Day Bingo, except when you make the bingo cards, put the bride and grooms names in the center space that is traditionally the free square.  Then use conversation hearts as the bingo markers.

As a prize for the winner (s) give away boxes of conversation hearts.

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Giving a bridal shower talk? Here's the perfect resource!

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Super Cute Bride Gift Idea

  • Trendy Rhinestone Design
  • Great for Bridal Party Gifts
  • Great way to keep up with wedding day essentials
  • Unique way to ask your friends to be a party of your wedding
  • Bride - White, Bridesmaid and Maid of Honor - Black
This would be a really cute tote bag to give to the Bride after your devotional talk.  You could fill it with things she might need on her wedding day or on her honeymoon or first weeks of married life.
Maybe you could come up with a bridal shower talk that would use some useful items as visual aids that could be in the bag and then after the talk hand the bag to the bride as a gift!
Be creative!

Peter's Advice for Wives

“In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior. Your adornment must not be merely external-braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. For in this way in former times the holy women also, who hoped in God, used to adorn themselves, being submissive to their own husbands; just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, and you have become her children if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear.”‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭3:1-6‬ ‭NASB‬‬.  http://bible.com/100/1pe.3.1-6.nasb
This is a wonderful passage of scripture to use when writing up a bridal shower talk.  At first glance one might think this is really too old fashioned and besides it's not with the new thinking that women are equals with men and should assert themselves.
Not necessarily so.  First of all, we need to remember that this is not one man's opinion. It is the Word of God that tells us this.  So we should not be quick to dismiss it since God is speaking here through Peter.
The word submissive doesn't mean laying down and being a doormat.  Nor does it mean that you can never share your opinion for consideration.  Rather it has the idea of order, or rank.
Take a look at the local church.  There might be a plurality of pastors, but there is always a head pastor or main pastor who delegates and calls most of the shots.  However, he doesn't call the shots alone.  He has board meetings or deacon meetings where all get to lay their ideas out on the table and then they come to an agreement on what they will do together.  This is the idea of submission in the marriage. The husband is the head.
The wife is to respect her husband.  I take this to mean that you don't belittle him either to his face, in front of his peers, your friends or behind his back.
The wife is to behave with purity, gentleness and a quiet spirit.  She is not to dress in such a way as to draw attention to her body, but she is to work on her hidden person of the heart.   Many women are so concerned about the outward appearance that they do not work on the hidden person of their heart.
Becoming a woman of purity, respectful, gentle and quiet will go a long ways toward a happy marriage and home.  Notice the phrase without a word.  No nagging!  Women are notorious for nagging.
So here are just a few thoughts on this passage to get your ideas flowing toward a bridal shower talk on this passage.
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A Christian Wedding: Bridal Shower Devotional | Christian Wedding Planner

This is a wonderful example of a Christian bridal shower devotional.  Several things to note here:
  1. The speaker knew the bride well.
  2. The speaker knew her audience.
  3. The speaker was considerate of her audience & the bride and did not bore them with details they didn't need to hear nor did she embarrass the bride (her daughter).
  4. She kept it short and sweet and to the point.  Go take a look at the link above.
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Your Spouse Can't Be Everything To You

Some gals get married expecting that their husband will fulfill all their needs.  This is a mistake.  It's an impossible task to expect this from your husband.  You need to find ways to have a fulfilling married life that does not make you depend fully on him.
   
Exercise is an important venue for working off excess stress as well as staying in good shape. Exercise can lift your spirits and help you maintain a positive outlook.  Try to encourage your spouse to join you, but if he doesn't want to, don't push him.
 
   

Hobbies are a wonderful way to relax and find pleasure in your day.  Assuming you don't run into frustrating snags in your hobbies, this can be another venue for lifting your spirit.
 
Don't forget to develop friendships with other GALS.  Make sure they are godly ladies who will encourage you in your marriage and in your walk with God.  Notice I said GALS.  It is dangerous to maintain or develop close friendships with guys...even through social media or email.  It is all to easy to fall into the trap of being attracted to that person and jeopardize your marriage in the process.
These are just a few things that might be appropriate to touch on in a bridal shower talk.
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Electronic Devices

  Here is a bit of advice that would be good to squeeze into a bridal shower talk.  
Resist the urge to allow electronic devices such as smart phones, iPods, tablets and computers to take time away from you that you could be using to
1. Spend quality time with your spouse
2. Keep your home environment neat, uncluttered and stress free
These devices have an insidious way of taking over your life so that you almost forget what it is to carry on an uninterrupted conversation with family members. They also distract us from our homemaking duties, stealing our time and making us unproductive.  
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Marriage Advice

advice2
Spend time doing things together (outings, vacations, dinner out, shopping) Limit the time you do things with friends. Friends are good, but should not be your constant companions.....your spouse is your companion! Have fun and enjoy being together; don't depend on friends to bring fun into your lives! ~ B. Counts
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Advice for the Bride

advice
Give your husband the gift of prayer: Protect him physically and mentally as he goes into the world each day. Make him a man of integrity. Infuse him with wisdom. Shower him with success. Put a generous spirit within him. Fill him with joy. Surround him with godly men. Shape him into the strong, godly leader of your home.~B. Arnold

Advice for the Couple


advice
It is so important to really put in effort--make it a priority to STAY married! Seek wise counsel when going through rough times. Don't get on the complaining train--it has no stops and pick up speed and a marriage can quickly go downhill fast! Learn to keep things private! Don't choose your/his family above each other. ~E. Madsen
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Biblical Diva Game

keep-calm-and-be-a-bible-diva
Ice Breaker: "Biblical Diva" Allow each person 30 seconds to answer the question, "If you were a biblical diva, who would you be and why?. Let them write the name of their chosen diva on a name tag and wear it during the party.
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A Few Misc. Quotes on Marriage

marriage-quotes
These can be used as introductions to catch attention at the beginning of a talk or they can be woven into the talk itself later if they fit.
  • Success in marriage is more than finding the right person: it is a matter of being the right person.
  • We can't be blind to other people's faults, but we can be infinitely tender, comparing their worst with our worst and not their worst with our best.
  • When our security is based on someone or something other than God, we are ripe for a fall.  Prov. 16:18
  • Don't be satisfied to let your husband work overtime to earn money for frocks for you.  Manage with fewer frocks.~Don'ts for Wives 1913
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Undeveloped Talk Outline

checklist-20zisrk
Thesis statement: Like Ruth, we need to be women of excellence.
Preposition statement: From the romance story of Ruth and Boaz, I'd like to share three things that helped make Ruth a woman of excellence.
A. Her loyalty to Naomi Ruth 1:16-17
B. Her willingness to help Naomi by working
Ruth 2:2
C. Her hard work--she wasn't afraid of hard
work.
It all resulted in a reputation for being a woman of excellence and Boaz was attracted to her and they were married. Ruth 4:13
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This Rule Works Well for Bridal Shower Talks!

 The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending, then having the two as close together as possible.- George Burns
When giving a bridal shower talk aim for 15 minutes. Anything more and you will start to lose your audience.  They came to honor the bride and have fun, so keep it short and to the point or have visuals and some way the guests can participate that holds their attention if you plan to be long winded.
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Table of Contents to My Bridal Shower Devotional Talk eBook

Just in case you were wondering what you get if you purchase my Bridal Shower Devotional eBook, here is a look at the table of contents!
Table of Contents
Introduction
Bridal Shower Talk Examples
1. A Happy Home Recipe
2. 11 Practical Suggestions for Being a Good Wife
3. The Fruit of the Spirit for Wives
Bridal Shower Talk Resources
Scripture Verses
Marriage Quotes
Undeveloped Talk Outline
Public Speaking Tips
 
 
There is a price difference between Lulu.com and Kindle versions.  I wanted to price them both at .99, but Lulu takes a bigger cut than Amazon which made me have to price the books from Lulu a bit higher than the ones from Amazon.  If you don’t own a Kindle, you can down load a free Kindle app for your computer or smartphone, then you can purchase the less expensive version of the book.

The Fruit of the Spirit for Wives (another sampling from my book)

The Fruit of the Spirit for Wives
As I was trying to come up with something to talk about tonight, I realized that the first bridal shower I spoke at was Beth's, Mimi's daughter. And so it is an honor to be asked to speak at Mimi's bridal shower too.
I was wracking my brains trying to come up with something to say tonight, so I got out some quote books and started reading quotes on love and marriage. Here are a few I came up with that I thought were good.
Love doesn't make the world go 'round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile.---Franklin P. Jones
Love is the thing that enables a woman to sing while she mops up the floor after her husband has walked across it in his barn boots. -Hoosier Farmer
Love is the only service that power cannot command and money cannot buy.
This next quote, I couldn't resist because Mimi, like myself, is small in stature.
A little house well fill'd,
a little field well till'd,
and a little wife well will'd,
are great riches.
"a little wife well will'd". I thought about that. I think that "a little wife well will'd" might be one who displays the fruit of the Spirit as listed in Galatians 5:22-23.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
I'd like to spend some time looking at some of these fruits of the Spirit. These are so important to success in our relationships. I think there will be something here for all of us, married or not.
I'd like to use another quote that I found as my spring board for this.
THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT---LOVE
JOY is love exulting.
PEACE is love in repose.
LONGSUFFERING is love on trial.
GENTLENESS is love in society
GOODNESS is love in action.
FAITH is love in endurance.
MEEKNESS is love at school.
TEMPERANCE is love in discipline.
JOY is love exulting.
That's celebrating others happiness's....tonight is a good example. We are showing our love for Mimi by celebrating her special day. In marriage and the family, it's celebrating your spouse's or children's victories and happy moments.
Romans 12:15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
PEACE is love in repose.
It is trying to maintain that spirit of quiet calmness, instead of getting upset and causing others to be upset too. Being still instead of anxious....I think of
Psalm 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
This is an area I need to work on. How often has the day been frustrating in one way or another and instead of greeting Rick when he comes home with a smile on my face, I have immediately complained about what an awful day I have had. It doesn't start the evening off very peacefully. I need to be still and know that He is God.
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This is a sampling of a devotional talk from my book.  You get the whole talk plus two more and other resources at the following links:

11 Practical Suggestions for Being a Good Wife

image
11 Practical Suggestions for Being a Good Wife
I remember before I got married, hearing stories of couples ending up in the marriage counselor's office because the husband left his socks and underwear on the bedroom or bathroom floor and the wife was upset because she always was having to pick them up! Or she was upset because he left the news paper in a heap by the couch or God forbid....he squeezed the toothpaste in the middle!
I used to snicker about these stories until I got married and realized Rick didn't always do things as I thought he should. So I set about to change him. I told him what I thought about the way he did things. I nagged. I fussed. You know what? It didn't help matters at all. Instead it only caused tension between us.
1 Peter 3:1-4 says, "In the same manner, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the behavior of the wives, while they behold your chaste conduct coupled with fear, whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of braiding the hair and of wearing of gold or of putting on of apparel, but let it be that hidden man of the heart in that which is not corruptible even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price."
God showed me that while trying to change my husband only made matters worse, allowing God to change me made a whole lot of difference!
One of the most important things you can do to help your relationship with your husband is to develop a meek and quiet spirit.
Webster says meek means patient, mild, gentle, kind, not inclined to anger or resentment.
Quiet means unobtrusive, quiet manner, calmness, stillness, freedom from turmoil or agitation, not easily excited or disturbed, not forward. A quiet spirit would be that character quality that remains calm in the face of overwhelming odds.
After 24 years of marriage, God still has me in boot camp to learn these character qualities. I believe it is something that takes much practice and believe me, if you ask God to help you develop these in your life, He will arrange the circumstances for you to learn them!
I'd like to share eleven practical suggestions that God has shown me over the years to help develop a meek and quiet spirit.
1. Spend regular, daily quiet time reading God's Word.
Psalm 119:15 I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways. I have found that when I do this first thing in the morning, I am better able to handle the frustrations that come my way that day.
2. Develop a constant attitude of prayer and communion with God.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing. Of course, we need to set aside time specifically for prayer, and that might be best done at the same time you spend reading His Word. But a constant awareness of God's presence in your life and constantly talking to God through out your day is so important. When things are going great, just thank Him as you go about your daily routines. When things are getting tough, talk to Him where you are.
3. Develop friendships with godly women with whom you feel free to share your innermost struggles and be that kind of friend to someone else. Make sure it’s a friend who won’t just fuel fires of resentment in you toward your husband.
Proverbs 27:9 Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart; so doth the sweetness of a man¹s friend, by hearty counsel.
Proverbs 27:17 ³Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
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You will want to check out my Bridal Shower Talk Resource book to read the rest of the devotional.....

A Happy Home Recipe

 
A Happy Home Recipe
Pass around recipe cards and pencils for the guests to write down the Happy Home Reecipe.
Introduction: (At this point you can give a short introduction of what you are about to do.)
We start with the ingredients.
The first ingredient is:
4 Cups of LOVE
1 Corinthians 13:4 tells us how love behaves. “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;”
Suffers long speaks to me of patience. When your husband does things that irritate and upset you, love holds back its temper and is kind.
When your husband proudly tells his co-workers how he remembers when your anniversary is and he then tells them the wrong date, love nods her head and smiles like he got it right and then later in private kindly tells him what the right date is.
When you are tired and having to fix the meal while your husband sits on the couch, love doesn't seethe with envy because he is doing what you'd rather be doing. When you have disagreed with your husband about something and it turned out you were right, love doesn't say, "See! I told you so!"
The second ingredient is:
2 Cups of LOYALTY
2 Chronicles 16:9 “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.”
1 Kings 8:61 “Let your heart therefore be loyal to the LORD our God, to walk in His statutes and keep His commandments, as at this day."
A wife needs to be loyal to the Lord. If she is loyal to the Lord, then it will naturally follow that she will be loyal or faithful to her husband.
The third ingredient is:
3 Cups of FORGIVENESS
Matthew 18:21-22 “Then Peter came to Him and said, 'Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?' Jesus said to him, 'I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.'”
When you live under the same roof with someone, there are bound to be times when someone gets offended. He may not squeeze the toothpaste the same way you do. He might invite someone home to dinner without checking with you first. He might steal the covers at night. He might complain about what you cooked for dinner. He might leave his socks on the floor for you to pick up. How many times are you supposed to forgive him? Up to seventy times seven. Sometimes that is no easy task. You need God's grace to do it!
There are five more ingredients in this recipe and they can be found in my eBooks.

Seasons of Love

This link has a bridal shower idea that are based around the Seasons of Love using the seasons of the year.
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The Quest for Meekness and Quietness of Spirit

The Quest for Meekness and Quietness of Spirit:
 The linked title is to a book that our ladies at church have been studying together. It is based on the following passage from 1 Peter, especially the verse 4.
Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; -1 Peter 3:1
While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear. -1 Peter 3:2
Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; -1 Peter 3:3
But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. -1 Peter 3:4
This would make a great devotional text for a bridal shower and there are numerous quotes in this book that can be used within the context of a bridal shower devotional.  It would be a thoughtful gift to buy a copy of the book for the bride to give to her along with your  devotional at the end of your talk.  It is a valuable book.
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100 Bridal Shower Ideas for Even the Pickiest Brides

100 Bridal Shower Ideas for Even the Pickiest Brides is an article from the Huffington Post.  It is mostly pictures gleaned from Pinterest, but has some interesting ideas.  I would have never thought of having a "dress code" for a bridal shower.  It seems fun, but the practical side of me takes over when I see the idea of all the guests wearing cowgirl boots.  How many guests realistically will have a pair of cowgirl boots on hand?  Perhaps if only the bride's maids adhered to a shower dress code that included dresses or foot wear that might be used in the ceremon itself, this would be a doeable idea.
Other "dress code" ideas were a bit simpler and all the guests could probably participate.  Have everyone wear a certain color or offer a palate of colors to choose from, such as pastels, or bold bright solids etc.  Then you could get photos of all your guests together and the colors would compliment each other.
There are a lot of intresting ideas to get you started on thinking about a theme for the shower you are planning.
You might be able to spring board from some of these themes to having someone plan a devotional talk around the theme.  It would take some real creative thinking but it would be possible.
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You Won't Want to Wait Until the Night Before to Read This One!

 This particular blog post  is especially good because the author talks about her mistakes in preparation.  You will want to read this one, if you have been asked to give a bridal shower devotion, well ahead of time and preferably not the night before!  Just click the link above to go to the post.
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Don'ts for Weddings

Here is another miniature book full of advice and wisdom and covering everything from before courtship to after the wedding. I don't personally own this one as I do the two in the previous post, but this one promises from the reviews I read to be just as good.  There is sure to be a lot of material here that one can choose from to spice up a bridal shower devotional.
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Don'ts for Wives and Husbands

This is a quaint little book (it is a miniature)  that is full of short pithy quotes on the wife's place in marriage. You will be sure to find some good quotes to add to your talk or build your talk around in this little book!
These little books are inexpensive and it would be a fun gift to give to the bride at the end of your devotional talk.
There is a corresponding book called "Don'ts for Husbands" :
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The Power of a Promise | Christian Wedding Planner

This is a devotional written by the mother of a bride.  It is beautiful and you can glean a lot of ideas from this to write your own devotional for a bridal shower.
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Bridal Shower Devotional Ideas | eHow

This link gives a few ideas on how to give a bridal shower devotional, possible themes, scriptures and the importance of including a devotional in the bridal shower.  Good basic information for one planning a bridal shower.
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Home Rule

From an old book called "Each Day" by C. B. Eavey published by Moody Press 1956
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Picnic/Outdoor Themed Bridal Shower

This is a darling theme for a warm spring or summer bridal shower in the park.
Song of Solomon 2:3-13 might work well for a bridal shower of this theme.  It has images of the out of doors and nature which go with an outdoor, park, picinic themed shower.  It speaks of a bride's love for her husband and her excitement at seeing him.  The devotional talk could spring board from this passage to talking about how a bride can keep love alive in her marriage.

Song of Solomon 2

Like an apple[c] tree among the trees of the forest
    is my beloved among the young men.
I delight to sit in his shade,
    and his fruit is sweet to my taste.
Let him lead me to the banquet hall,
    and let his banner over me be love.
Strengthen me with raisins,
    refresh me with apples,
    for I am faint with love.
His left arm is under my head,
    and his right arm embraces me.
Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you
    by the gazelles and by the does of the field:
Do not arouse or awaken love
    until it so desires.
Listen! My beloved!
    Look! Here he comes,
leaping across the mountains,
    bounding over the hills.
My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.
    Look! There he stands behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
    peering through the lattice.
10 My beloved spoke and said to me,
    “Arise, my darling,
    my beautiful one, come with me.
11 See! The winter is past;
    the rains are over and gone.
12 Flowers appear on the earth;
    the season of singing has come,
the cooing of doves
    is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree forms its early fruit;
    the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.
Arise, come, my darling;
    my beautiful one, come with me.”

Bridal Shower Talk Resources eBook


This is a page from a very old book C. B. Eavey, published by Moody Press 1956.
You can take the ideas here and build a bridal shower talk around them, or you can simply use it as support material for a talk you want to give.
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Daisy Themed Bridal Shower

Daisy Bridal Shower | The Sweetest Occasion
Here is a bridal shower theme based around daisies.  You can find more photos to help you with this theme as well as printables at The Sweetest Occasion.  This theme works great with a bridal shower talk based around the idea that "He Loves Me".
You can ask the bride ahead of time how her intended shows that he loves her and share these things with your guests as an introduction to a devotional talk that launches into the theme that God love us and we are His bride.
Scripture verses that would go well with this theme are below:

Marriage—Christ and the Church

Ephesians 5
22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. 24 Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. 28 So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. 30 For we are members of His body,[d] of His flesh and of His bones. 31 “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”[e] 32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
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