Crafting Our Blessings Box

     In the previous post I wrote about our family deciding to make a box for blessings.  This box is used to place reminders of the times God intervened in situations.  Now don't get me wrong, we pray that He intervenes in all situations, big and small, in our lives.  What we want in this box are our "manna moments".  Moments when we knew without a doubt that God had placed his hand over a situation to alter or bring His will upon it.  In the last post you can read about the inspiration for this box.
     We began by finding a box that was small enough to bring to the dinner table or couch for family time, but big enough to fit all of the trinkets we intend to put in there and leave space for future trinkets.  After all, we're talking about the Creator of the universe here.  Why not expect a miracle or two?  (Not because of who we are, but because God is who He is!) 
     I purchased a box at a hobby store for under $5.  I also purchased two packs of tissue paper, some self-adhesive gems from the scrap booking area, and some polyurethane.  I already had several bottles of white glue.

     Next, I had the family tear 3 sheets of each kind of tissue paper, (although I learned that 2 of each sheet was plenty). 

Now I mixed 1 part white glue with one part water.  We painted the glue mixture on the surfaces of the box, then place a collage of overlapping tissue paper on the box.  Then we painted over the tissue paper with the glue mixture.  I chose to cover all surfaces of the box over a two day period.  This allowed me to let some of the tissue pieces fold over the sides of the edges of the box and lid.  You could also just trim the edges instead.

We allowed a full day for all surfaces of the box to dry.  The next day we added the polyurethane coat and allowed that a full day to dry as well.  Finally, we embellished the dry box with the self-adhesive jewels.

This is the box we decided to make.  I thought I'd post the instructions for those who want to make it a family craft like we did.  You can use any box that is appealing to you.  The contents are more important than the box itself, and even more important is the tradition of passing stories on from generation to generation about what God has done in your life and the lives of others.  I'm so excited to add the next few posts.  I cannot keep quiet about the amazing things I've watched God do.  I know I'm not alone in this.  God is constantly at work in this world.  I hope to hear the stories of how he has blessed others as well. 

Finally, in the words of Chris Tomlin:  "How can I keep from singing your praise?  How can I ever say enough?  How amazing is your love?  How can I keep from shouting your praise?  I know I am loved by the king, and it makes my heart want to sing!"