25 Oct 2016

Joy in Mothering (a review)

by | posted in: Books, creatives, mothering | 0

 

If I have a pen in my hand, or a marker, or a pencil – I’m usually happy!  I love lettering.  Lettering has been such a tool for me to meditate on Scripture and pray for others and bless others with affordable gifts and stationery.  Definitely love using this gift!

Motherhood has its moments.  And by moments I mean it has its amazing, tear-filled from joy moments.  It has its pull your hair out by the roots moments.  It has its hug your kids real tight and never let go moments.  It has its lock yourself in the closet and eat a pint of ice cream moments.  So many moments.

So why not take 10 minutes out of your day to doodle and think about the joy that God created motherhood for?  Sarah Humphrey has created a doodling book and devotional perfect for that creative mother that might need a short devotional (about her and how God has designed her) to start her day – or might need a good reminder of God’s grace at the end of the day.  The good thing about this book is you can doodle and be creative and learn about the grace of God and the work of the mother and the heart of the mother – all at the same time.

Thanks to Litfuse for sending me this book and all opinions are my own.

 

19 Oct 2016

Books for Going to Bed (a review)

by | posted in: Books | 1

Books for going to bed

I love books.  I love print books: old books, new books, cookbooks, coloring books.  I just really love books.  My husband and I are purging our book collection right now as we prepare to move again (and you know, books are heavy). It hurts to purge books.  But, we don’t need to hold on to stuff either.  So, we pick the really good ones.

As our sons get older, I’m hoping they gain a love for books and reading and learning and knowledge.  I’ve just started reading The Lion,the Witch,and the Wardrobe to my older son at night as he is falling asleep.  I love being near him, listening to him breath, see his little smile, read him such a great book, and watch him calmly drift off to dream land.

If you have young ones, especially toddlers, board books are a great way to introduce them to books, and hopefully begin to instill in them a love of books.  NIght Night Farm is a board by by Amy Parker and Tommy Nelson that is all about farm animals.  And, yes, my boys love going to farms, and seeing all the farm animals.  So, this book has definitely been a winner.  Whimsical illustrations and gentle rhymes, your kids will love reading this book as they are being tucked into bed.  The last page, as the story is drawing to a close, you get to remind them of the great farm animals that God has made and that God, the beautiful Creator, also made them too.

You can win this book for yourself and your little one (or to give as a gift).  Just tell me one of your favorite bedtime books – maybe it was one you read growing up, or had read to you, or maybe one you’ve enjoyed reading to your children.  Thank you Tommy Nelson for my copy of the book and the chance to give it away.  All opinions are my own.

13 Oct 2016

Life Creative (a review)

by | posted in: Books, creatives, mothering | 1

One of my favorite questions to ask moms is : what do you like to do, you know, besides being a mom?

That question can be controversial, but I really don’t mean for it to be.  What I want to know is what is inside this woman, other than being a mom.

We all know that with being a mom comes a ton of love, responsibility, and fun…but not lots of time for ourselves, or our former selves.  Motherhood has to be selfless – which is really hard, I’m learning.  And I’m not great at that – but God is teaching me in his generosity that that is what I need.

One of the ways God wired me is in creativity.  Actually, that is one of the reasons my husband said he married me – is because I’m fun – I love to be creative and think outside the box.  I also love to do that in my motherhood journey.  I love to try new recipes – all the time.  I go all the time, taking my littles with me to new parks, or library story times, or just to a new aisle in Target.  I love reading books with them and letting my boys be in the kitchen with me – or in the yard with me learning about new bugs (oooh, gross), or new flowers that seemed to have popped up over night.  It is never ending.  I don’t like boredom, whether in life or in motherhood.

And I love to be creative in my personal life too.  I have loved photography since high school.  Loved to cook since college.  Loved to letter and write for what seems like forever.  These are things that still excite me.  So, they are also things that fuel me.  How do these things help or help me engage in motherhood?  Well, I love to take photographs of our every day – or of our special days.  I love to cook for my family and for other families.  I love to letter to help me meditate on the Word (to help my heart) or to give to others, or to help with our family finances.

Life Creative is a book written by two women who seek to encourage moms to not only be creative, engaging with their creative side (and we all have one because we are made in the image of a creative God) but to also encourage moms to encourage their kids to be creative.  We may not be talking about painting and cooking.  Creativity can take on many different forms and be used in many outlets.

Whether you are struggling to find your creative outlet, think your kids are getting bored, or are maybe struggling to decide how to use your creative gifts right now (especially in the throws of motherhood), this is a great book to encourage thinking and discussion.  I would read it, discuss some of it over coffee or tea or wine with a fellow mom, and also, discuss some of your thoughts with your husband – who I hope will encourage you to use your creative gifts.

Litfuse, the group that gave me this book to review, is also hosting a giveaway for you and a Facebook party!

6 Oct 2016

Total Family Makeover (a review)

by | posted in: Books, parenting | 0

As my kids get older, I think I start to notice all of my expectations of parenting get washed away.  When I was growing up, we lived in a neighborhood with mostly family, went to a small church where we really only interacted with 1-2 families, and I went to a Christian school and really don’t remember doing things as families with anyone.  Of course we had friends, but it wasn’t essential in our upbringing to surround ourselves with community and family.

When I get to college that all changed for me.  I surrounded myself with families and loved them and learned so much, but it wasn’t until 20 years later that I had a family of my own.

I now want to do a couple of things in family/parenting life:

  1.  Make sure my mister and I are always on the same page especially in our calendar and parenting.  This is so crucial to success.
  2. Surround ourselves with those who are ahead of us, but also with us in our stage of parenting – and who share similar grace and parenting styles.  Community is so important.
  3. Pour grace into my husband and my children.  I think the main way I do this right now is through asking forgiveness each time I do something wrong (which is often).

In Total Family Makeover, Melissa Spoelstra, tackles some important topics on how you can work toward a more discipleship centered home – because isn’t this our most important task as parents – to raise those who will Lord-willing seek after God because of HIs grace?

If you normally don’t read book introductions, read this one.  She hit the nail on the head.  Sundays are usually the day I feel the worst as a parent.  My kids disobey walking into church, or don’t obey me in childcare, or always need discipline.  While seemingly most around me have perfect children and I feel are always looking at my with disdain or disapproval.  I know this isn’t the case, but I always feel like a failure.  She tackles this and is so encouraging.

The areas of discipleship she highlights in this practical book: praying together, Bible time, mentoring, church community, serving, rest, giving, and evangelism.  All of these are personally important, and definitely are important for your family.

My one suggestion = read this book.  Maybe read it with your husband, or just give him your takeaways.  Pray together and see which area you can tackle first.  Its like if your house is a mess and you try to clean the whole things at once, you’ll get discouraged.  I would start with one thing and then go on to the next.  You’ll see God reward your obedience in these areas with success and grace.  He wants our families to be more Christ-like!  He is for you in this endeavor!

This post is sponsored by Litfuse who gave me the book.  All opinions are my own.  And you can win a great prize pack for a fun family night (think free pizza and books and games!)  Enter here

6 Oct 2016

The Last 5 Minutes (a book review and giveaway)

by | posted in: Books, Kids r Readers 2 | 4

Our days are filled with so much.  From the time the alarm goes off (before 6 for me) until I crawl into bed (usually between 10-11 at night), so much happens.

I get my older on the school bus while it is still dark.

I read all my social media, blogs, emails, etc – get everything cleaned out.

I spend time in the Word to fuel my mind and soul for everything that will come my way that day.

I sit with my husband for a little bit before he gets ready for work.

I run and errand and play at the park with my little.

We do lunch with the older gets home from preschool.

I work, play, cook, clean during naptime for the younger while the older gets to hang out with me.

The gym comes later in the day as we sing songs while sitting in ATL traffic, play and workout, and have more fun in ATL traffic on the return trip.

I cook dinner (or buy fast food).

I head upstairs to put the kids to bead.

Right now, our bedtime routine, which is usually me because my mister works retail, is still hard, but getting better.  Everything in parenting is for a season and I see that more and more.  In parenting, things always change – like the weather in Carolina.  We brush teeth, change diapers, and sit down to ask some catechism questions, say our Bible verses, and read a story out of whatever book we are reading.  Some times this process goes better than others, but you never know.

5 Minute NIghttime Bible Stories from Tommy Nelson has been a really good resource for us.  Our boys are 3 and 4.  They don’t have long attention spans at that night, but we expect them to sit still and listen.  These have been a dose of truth with teaching them Bible stories and encouraging them to pray at the end.  We did enjoy the colors and pictures.  The stories were more than one page, so the boys could turn the pages.  But, it wasn’t too long that they lost interest  The authors asked questions to involved the kids in each story (to appeal to different learning styles).

I think it is always a good idea to end the day with learning about Jesus, praying, instilling a restful peaceful truth of the gospel into your children.  Sometimes our nights aren’t so peaceful, but we work toward that with much grace!

This post is sponsored by Tommy Nelson and they are giving you a copy!  Answer the question – what is one tip you could give to other parents on bedtime routines!

 

4 Oct 2016

Good Good Father (a book review)

by | posted in: Books, Kids r Readers 2, parenting | 8

Good Good Father

In the back of our car there is a kite.  My mister has had the kite since he went to the OBX in Carolina.  I wonder if he bought that kite thinking he might one day have boys that love to spend time with their daddy and fly kites together.

Chris Tomlin, worship songwriter and dad, has writtten a great book for littles that starts out with a kite.  But, more importantly this story is about many of the ways (God is inexhaustible) that God loves us.  It is beautifully illustrated.  It is so true

One of the best things about my husband is that he is a good Father.  We had such a short courtship before we got married that I rarely got to see him around children.  I knew from his character that he’d be a great Father.  And, now I witness it.  My men love to fly a kite during the week at a local park, always scouting out the new parks to hopefully catch the wind.  He is more patient with those boys than I will ever be – which they desperately need.  He is loving and plays with them on the floor or with toys.  He is so caring toward them.  They resemble him.  He teaches them the truth about Jesus.

These are all good ways in which hopefully the boys will see God the Father in my husband, their earthly dad, so that one day they might come to know God.

This book by Tomlin is available to you.  Tommy Nelson is giving one away to a reader!  Get excited because this will make a great addition to your at-home library, wonderfully teaching your children about God.

One question: what is one activity your children love doing with their dad?

4 Oct 2016

Teaching Your Children the Power of Snail Mail (a review)

by | posted in: Books, parenting | 0

Those who know me know I love snail mail.  I think I always have, pen pals when I was younger, getting mail from my Mom when I was in college, and now writing letters and surprising people with a note or letter or fun little gift.  It just makes my day to give!

I want to instill gratitude and snail mail love in my boys.  What better way to do that?  Here are some tips:

  1.  Find cute stationery themed for boys or girls.  Blogging for Books sponsored this post by sending me Wee Alphas – a book of cute and original animal post cards.  I love them.  They not only help my boys learn the alphabet, but it will be fun to use to write postcards to people as well.  But, for us, it is going to be room decoration in the next house we live in come January.  (Another good thing about Wee Alphas is that all the postcards are attached in an accordion book and you can rip each out as you go – so you don’t lose them.)
  2. Help them know what to write.  Whether your children know how to write or not, you may need to help them know what to write.  When writing thank you notes, or even letters (especially to grandparents), you may have to coach them.  This is also a great way to teach them gratitude.
  3. Make it a habit.  Maybe write one letter a week, especially older children, write letters to older men or women in your church, have them ask questions that will help them seek after God.  Older men and women in the faith will be a great encouragement to you and your children.  (I digress).  Seriously though, making letter writing a habit might instill this in them when they get older.  And, you can have fun field trips to the post office to meet the postmaster, talk about where mail goes, and look at the cool mail trucks (my younger loves them).

How do you encourage your children to write letters and/or reach out to others who are older than them?

All opinions are my own.

3 Oct 2016

Experiencing God Through His Names (a review)

by | posted in: Books | 0

Experiencing God Names

I will never know God as fully as I can.

I definitely won’t know him perfectly this side of heaven, because of sin.  Even in Heaven, God is eternal and so big – that every day in heaven (which will never end) will bring me new wonder of God – so I will always be in new wonder of him. I can’t wait.

This year, as I’ve been reading through the Bible (I’m in Joshua), I’m writing down in the margins of my ESV journaling Bible all the ways that I see God as He has revealed Himself to me.  It is beautiful to see and know that God is the same God today as He was in the days of Moses, Joseph, and Job.

Sheryl Giesbrecht has written a really good study on the names of God.  She takes God’s character and let’s us know how we can experience it in our lives.  I found it helpful as I’ve been walking through the Bible to find out what the meaning of some of these names are.  And they are short – so you could do a month study on the names of God, and add this to a little journal, a quiet time, and knowing God more in his perfection.

I hope you pick this book up and find out more of God’s beauty.

Thanks Litfuse for this book and all opinions are my own.

3 Oct 2016

Jesus and the Beanstalk (a review)

by | posted in: Bible, Books | 0

I’m one of those people who find it hard to stick to one thing.

Maybe blame it on a lack of patience, or always wanting to see results, etc.  I really find it hard to believe I’ve been blogging for 11 years almost – that I’ve stuck to something that long.

For me, I like to jump around in my Bible study  I don’t mean that I just pick out a verse and think about that.  No, I like to do different things any given year.  Maybe I’ll read through the Psalms while doing a Bible study.  Right now I’m going page by page through the Bible to find out what God says about Himself.

Jesus and the Beanstalk would be helpful for folks like me, who may want to change up their quiet times or Bible study time near the end of the year.  Lori Roeleveld has written a humorous but good study through the book of Second Peter.  This will give you a lighthearted look at life while walking you the little book of 2 Peter.

She helps you look at the characteristics that you need as you walk the life of faith in Christ to battle any (and many) of the giants that you will inevitably face in this life.

Thank you to Litfuse for this book.  All opinions are my own.

24 Sep 2016

Love, Henri

by | posted in: Books | 0

Each of us is on a spiritual journey.  Whether you consider yourself a Christian or another religion, all of us are on a journey that takes us outside of ourselves.  Journeys are important.  I believe that Jesus is the only true way to God – who created each of us and has a perfect wonderful overwhelming plan for our lives.

Part of my journey was in college where I was introduced to the writings and ministry of Henri Nouwen.  My youth ministries professor and friend had us read many of his books and they were very insightful and spiritual.

Now, 20+ years later, I’m still enjoying Nouwen’s writings. I’m sure all of us would have different opinions on his writings, his life, and his beliefs…but I do know that he ministered to people out of his own brokenness and the healing that he found in his relationship with God.

Love, Henri is a collection of his correspondence over many decades of his life.  I love the biographical nature of each heading – knowing where he lived his life and people’s lives that he helped…but mostly I loved how he intersected life and his beliefs in God into every breath.  He hurt. He loved.  He ministered.  He traveled.  He needed people.  He needed God.

I hope you will pick up this book, read the letters, as if Henri was writing to you.  And be encouraged.

And that is one reason I love snail mail – the opportunity to encourage others.  And have the ministry that you do live beyond yourself.

Thanks Blogging for Books for this book.  All opinions are my own.