I recently discovered Pinterest. I know, I’m late to the game. But I don’t consider myself an arts and crafts type person, although I do admire the outcomes. There is just no way I can spend that much attention to detail decorating a cake, or beading a dress, or arranging flowers. I tried calligraphy and made this as a labor of love for my husband’s fiftieth birthday. But my hands shook, as you can see.
Now, I’m a Momma Bear who’s about to have an empty den. My Baby Bear will be 1,200 miles away in September. That’s the farthest away of all my Cubs so far! Happily, I discovered that decorating and fashion is not all Pinterest is about. You can Pin all kinds of things on your Boards. And I like to collect things. I collect shoes (too many my husband says) and swingy dresses and books. On Pinterest I collect Bible verses and theological quotes, and quotes of encouragement that I’ve found a great use for, besides my own enjoyment.
In January I asked my kids to take the seven question Dayspring.com Your Word of the Year Quiz. Their words were Courage, Hope and Delight. I made Boards for their words, plus other good and helpful ideas like Faith, Gratitude, Wisdom, Motivation, Change, Parenting, Learn and Grow, Jesus said, On Thought (for serious contemplation), Truth, and of course Books.
I send each child a daily or almost daily personal Bible verse text from Pinterest. After their personal verses are texted, I send a group text with a verse based on the theme of the month. Because Easter was in April, our group verses were from my Faith Board. They were all about the reason we celebrate Easter. For May I’ve chosen Truth and Wisdom, things I have tried to always give to my children.
If you’ve never thought of a Pinterest text as a way to stay in touch, or encourage a child who’s no longer at home, you might want to give it a try. I won’t do this forever. But it’s fun for now, and it lets them know I’m thinking of them. And that God loves them more than I do!
