Book Review: Voices of the Faithful Book 2

I received my copy of Voices of the Faithful, Book 2, just in time for the new year.  My first impression of this devotional book is,"Wow!"  The cover is very beautifully done.  Turning the book over, I learn another nifty thing about this book,  all the royalties support the work of The International. Mission Board.


On opening the book, I learn that it is dedicated to "the faithful brothers and sister in Christ who lost their lives while serving Him internationally in 2008 and 2009."  I am momentarily humbled and remember there are so many who sacrifice everything.  In the acknowledgments section, we are given the charge:  "May these stories inspire you to pray for the nations like never before and perhaps challenge you to participate in missions by going on a mission trip or starting a career as a missionary."

Now I reach the Foreword.  (Of course, at this point, I want to jump ahead and get into the meat, but I must be a good, patient reader.)  Again, the reader is encouraged to let these stories strengthen their faith and desire to pray for God's work in this world.

The introduction is invitingly written by Beth Moore, to whom the idea for this and book 1 belong.  Mrs. Moore urges us to use this book to feel connected to brothers and sisters in Christ all over the world.  She reminds us that prayers matter.  Furthermore, she says, "If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you are tremendously gifted to do something that can make God famous in your sphere of influence, however big or small." 

Each month is introduced by Kim P. Davis, a missionary.  As well as each month's entries has a theme.  January is "Prayer, the Priority."  February is "God, Our Loving Father."  March is "Divine Appointments."  April is "Jesus, the Sacrificial Lamb." May is "Follow Me."  June is "The Power of the Story."  July is "Lost and Found."  August is "Making Him Known."  September is "Lessons from the Young."  October is "From Adversity to Triumph."  November is "Be Encouraged." December is "Hope for the World."

Each entry includes a verse from the Bible and a response from a missionary.  There is also a prayer at the end of each entry.  All go together with the month's theme.  

Personally, I am very excited to have the chance to read this book with my children this year.  In our studies, we are studying God's work in the unreached world .  It is my hope that this book will further encourage us to remember missionaries and the unsaved all around the globe. 

I received this book from Thomas Nelson free of charge in exchange for an honest review.   If you would like to receive awesome books to review, click here. 

New Year's Eve Day

It's a whopping 20 degrees warmer than the average high for this time of the year.  All the snow has melted.  It is overcast and cloudy, but still dry, as the predicted rains are holding off for now.  All this to say, it is a perfect day to target shoot in the back yard with Daddy!

Our Christmas Surprise!!!

The dream began three summers ago as we were driving home from our vacation visiting family in Arkansas.  We kept noticing RV's, so many that we started to count them all.  As the long drive home gave us plenty of time to talk, naturally, we discussed how nice it would be to have one of our own.

Not being willing to go into debt to get our own, we decided to buy a tent or two and all the trimmings for camping.  That was two summers ago.  That year we fell in love with camping.  We still wanted an RV.  We went on dreaming, sometimes getting a advertisement booklet or actually going to a RV dealer.

Last year we were tested.   We actually put money down and signed loan papers to get a new popup.  Thankfully, we came to our senses and canceled the deal in time.  What were we thinking?  We would have had a camper and been unable to go camping because we could not afford the campsites and gas!

Then, out of a pure selfless act of a dear family member, we were blessed with a gift of money for Christmas to buy the object of our heart's desire!  This family member said she had hoped to make sure we were able to do all the things we wanted to especially in the summertime.  She said that the kids are at the perfect age when we want to get that together time and experiences in.  She would rather see us doing things now while she can enjoy them with us instead of waiting until she is gone.  I am still amazed at her generosity!  Amazing!!!  


And as it happens, we found this ad in Craig's List:  

This pop up is in excellent condition. Camper opens up to be 25' 9". The canvas's are flawless. Used very few times and looks almost new. It has AC (new this year), 3 way fridge, 3 burner stove, sink, lots of storage, and electric heater. It will sleep 6-8 people. It has 2 king beds, a U-shaped couch that makes into a double bed and the dinette makes into a full size bed. It has the bump out galley for more floor room inside. It has the privacy bunk end curtains, and window curtains. The cushions and mattresses are in perfect shape. The tires are in great shape with a new spare. It also has electric trailer brakes. 12 foot box. Its a 1999 popup, but looks like it is a 2009.

We went to see it tonight. It is even better in person.  And it is ours!!!  We go pick it up tomorrow evening.  Now, to wait for camping season again.  Someone pinch me!!!

Brace Yourself

There is just something about the coming of a new year that makes you want to try again at the things your failed at the year before.  I can't help myself from thinking about it all.  Maybe it comes as the result of the dull ache in my tummy from too many cookies this weekend.  My brain is saying,"Enough is enough!"

A couple weeks ago, for our family after dinner read aloud, we started reading Sean Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. My husband has read a couple of the other "highly effective" books and found them to be very helpful.  While we appreciate Mr. Covey's wisdom, we began this book with a discussion about how the Bible is the ultimate "effective living" book. We find lots of opportunities to interject biblical principals.

All this to say, I am getting a lot out of this book.  It has made me take a long at myself .  It has encouraged me to be brave and face some short comings.  I am beginning with the end in mind and doing first things first!  Here is a great quote I re-read just this morning.

"The real tragedy is the tragedy of the man who never in his life braces himself for his one supreme effort - he never stretches to his full capacity, never stands up to his full stature."  
Arnold Bennett

By the grace of God, I pray that I can brace myself for the supreme effort it will be to overcome my unproductive habits.  With His help, the Bible says I can do all things.  I am praying for the strength of character I will need in order to live a more God honoring, God pleasing life.

Are you making any plans for the new year?
~Jenn

A Very Merry Christmas, Indeed!

James 1:16-18 (NKJV)

 "Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.  Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of His creatures."

I certainly feel blessed by the Father on this side of Christmas.  So  many indulgences were sent our way via our family.  A big thank you to all of you!

Greetings to You

"And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."
Luke 2:10-11

Merry Christmas!!!
~Jenn

Visiting Grandma

We quickly stop at a fast food restaurant before we arrive, knowing she loves the big chicken strips.  Our arms are bringing in loads of goodies.  The receptionist opens the door for us.  "Is this all for Lucille?"she says.  "It's a party," I reply. When I was little, she did it for me.  She was always kind and loving.  She did not have a lot in material possessions to share.  She shared her heart.

Now she is old, alone and her memory is failing her.  She did not know who the kids were until I came into the room.  She kept saying she was sorry for not knowing who they were.  "It's OK, Grandma.  It's OK."


We share our simple lunch, watch a couple episodes of Little House on the Prairie. I bring out the Christmas cookies.  "Oh, they are too pretty to eat," she says.  But she does eat them eventually.  She tosses aside her chicken for the cookies. She always does this.  My sweet grandma is amazing.  How has she made it this long on her sweet tooth?

It's a  wonderful visit.  She starts out a little confused, but as the afternoon comes, she is mentally sharper. She remembers things my mom told her during her last visit.   We've laughed.  We've eaten too many cookies.  We've taken pictures.  We've looked at old greeting cards she keeps in a big basket.  And it is time to go, again. But, next week we are coming again and my cousin will be there with her two kids.  We will surround grandma with love and hope she knows how much we love her. It is a privilege to do so.

Cookies, Everywhere Cookies!

Each year, for as long as I can remember, Mom and I have worked together to make a bunch of cookies for Christmas.  We pared down the list a bit this year and we started with dough already made up and chilled.  I can't say enough about how this saved us time and energy.

Grace and I rolled and cut while Mom worked the oven.

Then we decorated them.  And Mom made batches of Seven Layer Bars and Mexican Wedding Cookies. She is going to make some peanut butter fudge before Christmas Eve and that is the end of it all, I think!   

And what were the boys doing today?  They were off to see Tron in 3-D with their Granddad!

Can you find the one bunny Grace made?

Making Merry!

We awoke to some fresh snow this morning.  Not just any kind of snow, but good packing snow!  And thanks to my sweet snow-less friend Sally in AZ who posted about building a snow fort, yesterday, the kids were inspired to get busy on their own fort.  The temperature is warmer too, so being outside is not undesirable.  There is a bit of a freezing mist coming down, but it doesn't seem to bother them with all their layers.  I am so thankful for this the diversion as they were facing another  long day at home, as the days leading up to Christmas are long if you are under the age of 12.  I am off to make cookie dough for tomorrow's cooking marathon with Mom.  Ta, ta for now!

A little more progress....  next to fill in the gaps and pour some water over it.  

The Christmas Classic

Our kids are blessed to participate each week in a Christian martial arts program that meets at our church.  Twice a year, we all go down to the main dojo and enjoy a little competition with the other academies from around our area.

The Christmas Classic Tournament is a big draw with free food, competitions and general  mayhem.  Two of my three darlings qualified to participate this time, with this being Ryan's first time to qualify.  His age group of boys is very competitive and it is not an easy thing to qualify.  Grace is only one of three girls in her Judo class, so not so hard to qualify.  But winning is another thing.  She had to put up some effort.  She won the gold medal for the second time in the past two tournaments.  Although Ryan did not win, we are proud of him for making it there and perhaps he will advance next time.  His next goal is to be a Jr. Leader.  Trevor did not mind not qualifying.  He was into his friends, the hotdogs, cookies, and soda.  *sigh*

What I love most about the Gospel Martial Arts Ministry is that we all come together for a time of prayer and Bible teaching, the respect they instill in the competitions for others, and the servant leaders who take the time to teach the kids every week, year after year.  Like I said, we are blessed to have this opportunity.

All three, ready to go!

 Our first time competitor!

 Grace's gold medal.  

A little sympathy hug makes it all better!  

Weekly Wrap Up

On the Heart and Mind:

Woo hoo, we are now on Christmas vacation!  Can't help but be excited about that.  It seems like the time between Thanksgiving and now was a blur, even though I made a conscience decision to be home more.  I am so glad we have not been running around a lot, especially this week.


On the Home Front:  

If I were to give my home a title this week, it would be "The Lived in Home."  Clutter is everywhere!  (And not mine!)  This is going to change today or else a little elf is going to come and take it all away to Good Will.  They better not test me on this.  I am ready to make good on my promise!

Learning and Life: 

The Mongols still have had our attention this week.  My, what a savage people!  We are still reading the biography on Genghis Khan.  I almost gave up on it, but much to my surprise, kids were into it, so we will continue.  There is just so much warfare I can take!  

We are also continuing on with Homesick by Jean Fritz.  We really like this book so far.  In fact,I did go ahead and read to the end.  I just could not wait!  Mrs. Fritz actually wrote some other books, mostly biographies for children.  I plan to check some out of the library soon. I really like her writing style.

This week's essay was to write a response to a Bible verse.  Both essays were very good.  I especially liked Grace's.  She blended fiction and fact in a creative way.

At first, she was having a very hard time with this assignment, almost to the point of blowing up.  Thankfully, I remembered not to get mad, but suggested she pray for help.  In the end she came up with a beautiful essay. 

In The Kitchen:

Nothing unusual or special this week.  I avoided temptation to make more cookies.  I am going to bake cookies with my mom and Grace next week.  I figured we could be good this week.

On The Night Stand / What I am Listening To: 
???   I went to the library last week and found some promising books, but I have not had time to read them.              

Weekly Planner Highlights:

                               Tonight: Christmas party with church flock group. 

                               Saturday: Bake cookies with Grace for her Sunday school class.

                               Sunday:  Church and Sunday school

                               Monday: Drywall men coming!  (long story)

                               Tuesday: Make merry with some friends.

                               Wednesday:  Cookie Marathon with Mom.  

                               Thursday: Vist my sweet Grandma

                                Friday:  Jeff is off. Make chocolate pies.  

                     
In The Back Yard: 


The birds are enjoying our winter habitat.  We so love watching them from the vantage of a warm ,cozy home!  It is amazing how many different birds we see.  




That's a wrap!  Not sure I will be writing a wrap up next week, so I am wishing you a very merry Christmas now in case.  
~Jenn


If you would like to join us in this meme, just write up your weekly summary , using Mary’s or your own categories. Then hop over to Mary’s blog to link with the Mr. Linky . We'd love to read your Weekly Wrap Up summaries too. This meme is a great way to be encouraged and encourage others in our journey of homeschooling.  

That's a Hoot!

This cracks me up!  My son has a laser pen and tortures our poor old kitty.  I can only imagine what he could do with an iPad. Not that he will soon learn.  We have no plans to buy one.  He enters contests all the time to win one, so who knows!

Smiling,
Jenn

Some Good Reads

I know you are all like me, finished with shopping, the house is in good order, the cookies are baked in the freezer, all your cards and gifts are mailed.  And like me, you are wondering what to do with all the free time this week?  Well, I am here to help you out.  Here is how I will be spending my leisure time.  (yeah, right.)

I am going to have company for Christmas, so it might be good to spend some time planning.  That's why I was so excited to discover  The Reluctant Entertainer by Sandy Coughlin.  Just the title of this book describes me to a 't'.    I have not actually read the book myself, just put it on hold at the library though.  Until then, her blog will have to do.  So, I thought I'd pass this on to you as well, cause I know I am not the only one out there who gets all nervous when people are coming over!  Right?

Another good way to spend some time this week is to make some chicken stock.  I just put away my second mostly eaten bird into the freezer and am going to try this recipe from Small Notebook, maybe tomorrow while we are getting another winter storm.  Some people make cookies, I will make stock.

Another way to spend some time is over at Kerri's.  Have you seen her beautiful pictures?  I could just spend hours at her blog getting lost in them.  The colors!  My words are too lame to describe her photography skills.  She is really good!

I need to spend some time thinking about next semester as well this week.  Jimmie has some good materials on analogies to look at.  I want to check out some of the resources she listed.  I am really excited about these.
The kids will be too.  They love more work.

Brenda from The Family Revised wrote a great post on Neglect today.  I was very encouraged and perhaps you will be too.

That's all I have for now.  Enjoy!  I know I will.
~Jenn

Christmas Traditions

What to do with all the Christmas cards that come each year?  In years past, we would display them in some way during the festive season.  Then we would cut up the non-picture ones and use them for making more cards or gift tags.  This year we are doing things a little different by using them as reminders to pray for our dear friends and family.  As cards come in, we open them and place them in our prayer basket on the table.  Then before  meals we pray for the new arrivals.  If there were no new arrivals, we pick a card and pray for that family.  We intended to keep this up well past the season of sending cards.  It would be awesome to pray for them through the year as well.


Do you have a special tradition you'd like to share?
~Jenn

Pretty Over the Kitchen Sink

It's a Linky Party hosted by Leila at Like Mother, Like Daughter!  Leila has been teaching us how to have a reasonably clean house for awhile now.  Her recent focus has been on the kitchen.  The assignment at hand is to make your kitchen sink area pretty.

The above photo is my after picture.  Here is the before.  Not too much has changed, just put away some of the clutter.

But, what a difference it makes!  My only concern is that I really do need those items.  And I don't have a lot of cabinet space, as this is a 1960's tiny kitchen.  I like my dish drainer for drying those plastic things that won't get dry in the dish washer.  Maybe it is laziness?  I could hand dry them.  Or better yet, assign that job to a child.  It does become an unsightly mess...  *sigh*

The basket of dish clothes in the corner is going to move out this weekend.  This assignment inspired me to once again ask my darling to caulk around the sink so that we could use the two drawers.  I have not used them as water leaks in and it is a mess.  I really need those drawers, so the caulking has been done.  I now just need to wait for it to dry.  *smile*

My window decor is pretty simple, but pretty to me.  The lovely crochet bird that hangs in my window is a gift from a bloggy friend.

The Bluebird of Happiness is a gift from my grandmother and makes me smile.  The little plastic square is from my daughter.  She said it is my sunshine, as this window faces north.  The cross is another gift from Him.

I really liked Leila's idea about not having the soap container out in the open, so I hunted in my stash and found this one. It is not a match for the colors in the kitchen, but it is better than that soap container!  Maybe I will find a red one at a thrift store one of these days.

My kitchen is old and outdated and not so big, but I don't let that worry me.  It would be useless to fret about such things.  I like being debt free more than having a fancy kitchen.  I would like to make some curtains this coming summer when I will have more time.  Until then, I will enjoy the less cluttered look and look forward to what Leila writes about next.  Thank you, Leila!

Weekly Wrap Up

Good day to you, my treasured friends!  Today is a Teacher's Inservice Day here at my patch.  (Hooray for the teacher!)  This means that the teacher will be in service to her family doing things like catching up the laundry, addressing Christmas cards, perhaps making a batch of cookies to survive a "monster of a storm" on its way.  Oh and she must take time to rest, too.  Perhaps a movie this afternoon before making dinner? 

On the Heart and Mind:


It's been a harder week for this mom.  Another cold has made the nights long.  However, I am on the mend and am hoping this bug is going to flee.  The one thing I am going to do is take some time to work on adding back my walking program or even Wii Fit.  I think exercising is just the boost my immunity needs this winter. 


On the Home Front:

Have I said before how wonderful my children are?  They helped so much this week.  Chores were done with happy hearts, mostly.  The only area that got backed up a little is laundry.  It will be caught up today.  We had friends stop by yesterday, so the whole house was tidy and bathrooms cleaned before they arrived.  Have to love the "rush" one gets when company is coming!   

Learning and Life:

This has been a shorter week with taking time off Monday to see Casting Crowns and taking today off so that the teacher can rest a little.  It's all good because this is the beauty of home education!  We shall make up these days this winter when Daddy is working long, long hours at the tax office. 

We finished up a great book this week, Mission to Cathay.  If you are looking for an interesting book to read aloud about how the real Father Ricci was able to establish his mission work in China, this is the book for you!  Perhaps you did not know that missionaries were sent to China in the 1500's?  I didn't.  This book is historical fiction in that it tells the story of a little orphan boy befriended by the priest and the adventures and struggles they have setting up the first church in China. 

We started a book on Genghis Khan and another book about a little girl growing up in China as an ex-pat in the 1920's, Homesick.  We have only read the first chapters of both, but already, I find myself thinking about the books and wishing we were having school today to find out what happens next.  Sometimes I will read ahead.  I think I just might do that today!  (Shh!  Don't tell Grace.  This makes her mad.)

We are still reading daily selections from 100 Gateway Cities, Our 24 Family Ways (devotions), and All Small Poems. 

For our weekly writing assignment, we polished up our last week's assignment and sent a copy off to family for them to read.  (At least Ryan did.  I still want to send Grace's.) 

From Doll School held this past week.   

As suggested by our curriculum, we watched an intense movie this week called Seven Years in Tibet.   I always liked watching movies in school myself.  This movie was a good opportunity to discuss the culture of Tibet.  We also discussed how the main character making bad choices can have serious consequences.  It was rated PG-13 for tense moments, no romance or bad language. Thankfully we have a remote control and zipped through some of those parts (falling off mountains, World II fighting).  Usually I avoid movies that are very dramatic, in favor of 19th century romances, so giving Seven Years in Tibet  3.5 out of 5 stars is high praise for me.  If you choose to watch, be sure to keep the remote handy!

In The Kitchen: 

Grace made some wonderful cookies this week. They were from a mix we found at Aldi.  I am OK with mixes.  She was able to follow the directions and needed very little help from me.  I made my super easy icing and she put sprinkles on top.  Wish I had remembered to take a photo. 

Super Easy Glaze Icing
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla  ( peppermint or almond extract may be substituted.)
2 T milk

Whisk together in a small bowl .  Add coloring if desired.  We use this icing on cut outs. It sets up well when dry and then the cookies can be stacked.  I like to make 3 batches, leaving one white and the other two red and green. 


In My CD Player:

Is the CD from Vision Forum, "What to Expect from a Twelve-Year-Old."  The world would have you think that the teen years are to be dreaded.  And if that is what you buy into, get ready for some hard years to come!  But here in this house, we didn't buy into things like the Terrible Twos, nor will our children be wild teens.  This CD is an excellent sermon from Dr. S.M. Davis on this topic.  I hope to get more Cd's from VF soon. 

I am continuing to read through the Old Testament.  I am still in Exodus, plus I read a selected Psalm and Proverb each day. 

So there you have it, our week! 
~Jenn

If you would like to join us in this meme, just write up your weekly summery, using Mary’s or your own categories. Then hop over to Mary’s blog to link with the Mr. Linky . We'd love to read your Weekly Wrap Up summaries too. This meme is a great way to be encouraged and encourage others in our journey of homeschooling.