Showing posts with label misc. Show all posts
Showing posts with label misc. Show all posts

new year = new look

>> January 14, 2010

Ready...

Set...

Makeover!

With the new year, new subjects, and new guest bloggers to be revealed - it was time for CLUTCH to get a facelift.

We hope the new look does a little better job of illustrating the three nuances of CLUTCH: clinging (grasping and holding on tightly), with class (you know, like those hot little clutch purses we like to carry around), us chicks (like a clutch of eggs in the same nest).

As always, we welcome your feedback and comments. We want CLUTCH to be your go-to place for interaction, inspiration and ideas - so please let us know how we can make that happen.

the CLUTCH chicks

© CLUTCH, 2010 unless otherwise sourced.
Use allowed by express written permission only.
Tweets, trackbacks, and link sharing encouraged.


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on the subject of spam...

>> January 13, 2010

Some of you may have noticed that we've been getting a lot of spam comments on CLUTCH lately.

We don't like spam any more than the next gal, so we've had to make a few changes in comment settings to try and make it go away.

We've added a captcha (that's the little set of letters you have to type in to prove you're a live human being) to the comment fields. For now, we're leaving the ability to post Anonymous comments, because we know that sometimes you want to share something personal without the whole world knowing it was you. And some of you don't have Google or Blogger accounts with which to sign in.

If the captcha filters out the spam, then we're good to go. Please don't let it discourage you from making great comments and leaving your thoughts with us!

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a legitimate reason...

>> October 30, 2009

... for Sarah to be offline for a little while.

Tristan Alexander Vasile Matthews-Asaftei
arrived on
Monday, October 26, 2009
at 10:49 AM

7 lbs, 12 oz
19 inches long

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CLUTCH on facebook

>> July 20, 2009

We've had a CLUTCH page on Facebook for a while, but haven't had a chance to do much with it. So you might have noticed that we've recently added two Facebook widgets to the blog here.

The widget on your left (scroll down a bit) is where you click to have CLUTCH fed straight to your facebook page.

The widget at the bottom center of this page is where you click to become a Fan of our CLUTCH site on Facebook.

We hope you'll click both of them: so you never miss a post, and all your Facebook friends will know that you're a CLUTCH reader!

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CLUTCH profile badge...

>> July 14, 2009

We're gradually making it into the 21st century by adding more accessories for you to enjoy!

At the bottom of this blog, you can now access the code to add a CLUTCH profile badge to your blog, website, or other page online. Just add a gadget/widget that allows HTML code, and copy and paste the code provided below, save it, and voila! You have a badge!

If you like reading CLUTCH, we hope you'll show your solidarity by grabbing our button!

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PW blogroll...

>> July 13, 2009

Today, CLUTCH got a little updating on its resources and accessories. (Check out the newest link for "The Preacher's Wife" under PW SITES to your right!)

We've added a number of PW bloggers to our blogroll as well. If you keep a blog and would like us to add you, please just send an email with your URL to: clutchtalk (at) gmail (dot) com. We'll be happy to add you!

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CLUTCH gets a makeover...

>> June 8, 2009

Well, at some point, we'd like to do a totally customized CLUTCH design. But while Delina and I both love blogging, we're not exactly fluent in design code. So until God provides a way for that to happen, we wanted to at least spruce it up and make it an even nicer place for you to hang out online.

And we wanted to give a big thanks to Chiquitta, a friend of Delina's who re-worked the CLUTCH header for us.

You can now find our favorite blogs, email/feedreader subscriptions and click to follow, as well as PW websites - all down at the bottom of the blog in addition to our blogger profiles across the top and lots of resources along the sidebars.

So we hope you enjoy it, keep coming back, and share the link with your PW friends!

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a note from susie

>> May 14, 2009

"I just wanted to let the PW's know that we have small group material to go w/ the challenge if a church wants to use it for a couples group. Also, we give churches a break on the price of the books when they buy in bulk etc..."

You can can contact Susie directly for more information.

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not to copycat Delina, but...

>> March 24, 2009

Hi girls, Sarah here...

So you may know from Delina's posts about the Beth Moore event in Nashville that I wasn't able to make it there. My PH and I had fell in bed about 4 AM on that Friday morning after flying in from Bucharest, Romania - after visiting his family for a week.

On the way back, he got the worst flu/ear infection/bronchitis combination, and I wasn't feeling so great either.

The Friday morning that I should have been driving to Nashville for a fabulous girl's weekend where I would have met many of you in person - we found out that we are expecting our first child! After our six years of marriage spent traveling/working/ministering, our families have breathed a collective sigh of relief that the next generation is no longer an endangered species.

Since then, it's been one long round of 24-hour nausea - which I hear from my many mother-friends does eventually subside. :) Needless to say, I'm very sorry to have missed the incredibly spiritual blessing and fellowship that Nashville would have brought, and I'm looking forward to another time.

I hope you all are surviving whatever this week is bringing you. For us, the last few weeks have brought a renewal of appreciation for our families and each other, and an incredible amount of prayer and heart-searching as we imagine ourselves becoming parents in only 6 1/2 months or so. It's a humbling and awe-inspiring thing to be growing a life!

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the hats we wear...

>> February 17, 2009

For years, my momma told me I should wear hats. I always nodded and smiled and never gave in to her crazy idea.

Until last year. When I discovered the joyous versatility of hats.

Newsboy caps with jeans and boots. Wool berets pulled down over my ears or tugged jauntily to the side like a sassy French chick. Cloche hats with little shift dresses. Wide-brimmed straw with sundresses. Short-brimmed felt with a prim church suit. The possibilities are endless!

I travel in Europe often for my work, and over there - women wear hats all the time. It got me brave enough to try it and bring it back home. And to church!

At my church, nobody wears hats. So I'm starting a new trend. I know some cultures in the States wear hats to church all the time, but in my church I'm currently alone.

Oh well.

Sometimes being the PW makes me feel like I should just stay invisible. Other times I feel empowered to be transparently, unashamedly myself. When I'm brave enough to follow through, it feels really good!

So maybe hats aren't your thing. But surely there's something you wish you were brave enough to do or say... Have you started a trend that you love, but weren't sure about doing alone? If you haven't, what trend do you WISH you could start?

Be brave, girls!

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if I told y'all...

>> January 28, 2009

If I announced that I just found out that I'm pregnant with twins, would you forgive me for not posting anything on the blog since Monday?

We have lots of great posts coming up. Stay tuned. We're getting back on track....

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growing pains...

>> January 22, 2009

Life is busy. Crazy busy.

At least my life is. (This is Sarah blogging here.) And in the past few months I've been slowly and reluctantly realizing something about myself.

I've plateaued. I've kinda quit learning new stuff. Aaaargh!

You have to understand - I'm a nerd. My whole life, I always LOVED school. Every term, I got this weird thrill from cracking open brand new textbooks and wondering what amazing things I was going to learn THIS time around. (In elementary school, I would flip immediately to the very back of the book, stare in awe at how advanced the assignments were, and run to my mother in tearful panic about how I'd never be able to learn it all. I did this every single semester. But I digress.)

So when I finished grad school a few years ago, my brain took a self-imposed and well-deserved break from learning. I didn't read books. I didn't listen to language tapes. I didn't practice musical instruments. I literally went into this mental hibernation zone.

And last autumn, I realized that I've been avoiding learning ever since. Of course, I've had to process at my job and figure out how to drive around new towns. But does that really count?

I feel the results, too. My memory ain't what it used to be. I forget where I put things, and can't recall phone numbers. Last November I went back to Russia (where I lived as a missionary kid in my teens), and this language that I used to speak sounded so familiar - but I couldn't remember what the words meant.

I'm thinking I need a new plan. Life has this way of running away with me, and I'm beginning to miss the joy of learning. Of self-expansion. Of challenging my brain to be sharper and more attentive. Of pushing past the status quo.

My solution:
- replaced the magazines by the toilet with a brain teaser book
- switched out some of my funkier music for the classical I used to listen to when studying violin a couple of decades ago (it really does stimulate the brain!)
- we designated one night a week as TV night, and now the rest are for reading/games/relaxation or other pursuits
- pulled out my needlework basket
- bought a set of colored pencils (i used to love coloring detailed pictures), but haven't found any great coloring books yet, so maybe that doesn't count...

I'm still thinking about what else I can do... maybe take a painting class? (I totally stink at painting and drawing, but maybe I could learn.) Maybe I'll attend that rag quilt workshop at the church. Maybe I'll get some Italian language CDs and play them while cooking - I've always wanted to learn a little Italian. (Prooowwww!)

What do you do to keep growing? Do you read? Do you take crafts classes? Are you in a book club or something similar? Do you practice an instrument? Teach a course?

How are you expanding the noggin God gave you?

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first lady

>> January 20, 2009

Do people call you the first lady of the church? (Some jokingly say I'm the second lady, my husband is an associate in a 2-pastor church.) With all the glitz, glamour, pomp & circumstance of the last few days, it's probably hard for most of us to identify with the label "first lady" in general, and our new first lady, in particular.

For starters:

  • the Secret Service doesn't give us a ride everywhere
  • designers don't make us gowns and suits and cross their fingers that we'll wear their clothes
  • what we wear is not on ET and Extra every night
  • her husband's "congregation" is larger than even the biggest multi-site mega-church
  • people complain if her husband says he was led by God to do something.
But in some ways, it is natural for a PW to be able to identify with a woman who very publicly is her husband's biggest supporter, who makes her own career ambitions 2nd to her husband's and who is willing to use her gifts and interests within the parameters of her role.

You, PW, have other things in common with the First Lady.
  • People who don't know you, and maybe who've never even met you, have strong opinions about you.
  • Good or bad, people notice what you wear.
  • You have the power to be a great asset or a crippling liability to your husband's ministry/position.
  • Your life is oftentimes at the mercy of the demands of your husband's job/responsibilities.
  • You have the privilege of partnering with your husband and investing your life in something huge and important that you feel passionate about.
  • At times your life will be lived in a fishbowl.
  • You can influence and motivate the women around you.
In what ways can you identify with the role of First Lady?

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in your shoes

>> December 19, 2008



Got a picture of your favorite "church shoes?" If not, take one this weekend and email it to us! We're going to feature everyone's shoe submission in an upcoming post. We can't wait to see what's on your feet. Email clutchtalk@gmail.com.

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