Book Review: The Bridge of Peace by Cindy Woodsmall

The Bridge of Peace by Cindy Woodsmall is the sequel to the Hope of Refuge.  I have not read the first in the series, so I was afraid that I would have a difficult time figuring out the people and following along.  I was pleased to find that was not the case and that I followed along quite easily.  Of course, I definitely plan to go back and read the first one now!

This book covered some tough issues, such as marital issues and judgments passed on by others because of looks or disabilities.  To be honest, I was a little suprised by the fact that these were covered because I don't usually tend  to think of the Amish having the same kind of problems that we have.  Not really because they are immune to it, but because so many books dealing with the Amish tend to omit these issues.

I definitely recommend this book to absolutely anyone!

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I received this book free from Waterbrook Multnomah through their Blogging for Books program for their book review. I was in no way required to write a positive review for this book.

Book Review: Little Star by Anthony DeStefano

Little Star by Anthony DeStefano is a wonderful Christmas book that I look forward to reading many times to my children in the coming years.  My 2-year-old has requested this book 5 times in the past 30 minutes since we have first read it!  He loves it and so do I.

This book is a cute perspective from the little star that shone so bright in the sky on the night Jesus was born.  This star was lonely and ignored by all the others.  The star that shone the brightest on the night Jesus was born would get a prize.  However, all of the other stars were fooled when Jesus was born as a baby in a stable because they thought he would be born a real king in a palace.  However, the little star knew that this WAS Jesus and he shown as brightly as he could to keep Jesus warm in the stable.  He burned so bright he burned himself out.  He was so full of love and joy for Jesus.  But don't worry!  The star isn't gone...he's on top of our Christmas tree every year. 

I definitely recommend this book for any child!

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I received this book free from Waterbrook Multnomah through their Blogging for Books program for their book review. I was in no way required to write a positive review for this book.

Do the Potty Dance

We have reached a brand new stage with B...POTTY TRAINING!  He is doing so well with it.  He tells us when he has to go potty, but I usually do make sure that I ask him often to keep it on his mind.  He loves his big boy underwear, which just happen to be Wonderpets and Cars, his favorites. 

I have been pretty lax about this whole process, to be honest.  I figured if I wasn't stressed and didn't push it, then he wouldn't stress and he'd be glad to do it.  I just don't have a schedule that will allow me to stay home for a week solid to work solely on potty training.  So far, it has worked.  He knows he gets 1 pair of underwear (or 1 pull-up before) a day and if he messed up in it, then it was back to a diaper.  He wants to wear his underwear so bad, so he does a really good job telling me when he needs to go.

This is the first week of us trying out his underwear in public.  I know it's going to be more troublesome for me simply because I have Baby M in tow.  However, we are so ready for him to learn to potty if he's ready.  Pop is, too, because he wants to take him to a tractor pull this spring if he learns in time.  B will absolutely love it.  I've promised him that if he makes it through this week with no accidents, he can go pick out a combine...his new favorite addition to his tractor collection.  Wish us luck!

Moving and Consuming

Happy Valentine's Day!  Not that I really care about this holiday since I think you should show people the same amount of love everyday, but it was kinda fun giving my kiddos a small present this morning. 

I've been thinking a lot about love lately, but not because of Valentine's Day.  I have this CD by the Sidewalk Prophets and absolutely love it.  It is one of my favorites because the lyrics are so full of truth.  You see, God has really convicted me about my love for Him.  When I accepted Christ on September 21, 1990 (I'm thankful my mom made me remember my day of salvation because it's fun to celebrate my spiritual birthday), I was only 7 years old.  I know without a shadow of a doubt that I was a Christian because I believed and my heart and actions were different.  Not that they could have been horrid at that age (although now I see that it could have been), but I had a heart-change.  Over my life, I have professed that I love my Lord with all my heart, soul, and mind.  But do I really?

The honest answer is that I try to love the Lord and I truly want to love the Lord that much and some days I do and other days I fail to show God's love to those closest to me.  But it's not always easy to abandon things that we love for the purpose of Christ, such as those material items that seem to creep in as idols, or that extra money that can be used for shopping instead of ministering to someone else.  Those are all just examples, but we all have something in our lives that we struggle with that has the tendency to be put #1 if we don't stay constantly aware of it's power to climb the scale to first.

When I heard this song, it made me cry because of the chorus.  "When did love become unmoving?  When did love become unconsuming?  Forgetting what the world has told me, Father of love, You can have me, You can have me."  That's all God wants from me.  Just me.  Simple old me.  Me that messes up and makes mistakes.  Me and all my weaknesses.  Me.  That's not what the world teaches us about loving Christ, though.  The world says that if we love Christ, He will give us more, that bad things "won't happen to good people," etc.  Why are we unmoved when we proclaim our love for Christ?  It seems to roll off people's tongues in the same sentences as cursing or taking God's name in vain.  Please don't take this as I mean I'm too good and judgmental.  Believe me, I have my failures.  This is just where God is speaking to me.  I can yell at my kids and say I love Jesus but do my words and actions line up at home with my little ones who are forming their own opinion about Jesus?  How do I want them to love Jesus?  Do I want it to just be a proclaimation or do I want it to be a heartfelt soul-stirring kind of love?  Love without abandon. 

God wants us to love Him with all that we have and all that we are.  When we love Him that much and spend time with Him, we won't be able to help being moved or consumed by Him and His ways.  I love when God speaks to me and shows me my failures and not just the warm fuzzy feelings and the "atta boys."  I know I'm not perfect, but there's nothing like knowing God's revealing something to you for a reason, whether we know the reason or not.

So, with that said, does God have you?

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You Can Have Me

I saw You on the street

And You said come and follow me

But I had to give up everything

All I once held dear and all of my dreams

Would I love You enough to let go

Or would my love run dry

When You asked for my life

When did love become unmoving?

When did love become unconsuming?

Forgetting what the world has told me

Father of love, You can have me

You can have me

If You’re all You claim to be

Then I’m not losing anything

So I will crawl upon my knees

Just to know the joy of suffering

I will love You enough to let go

Lord, I give you my life

I give you my life

When did love become unmoving?

When did love become unconsuming?

Forgetting what the world has told me

Father of love, You can have me

You can have me

I want to be where You are

I’m running into Your arms

And I will never look back

So Jesus, here is my heart

When did love become unmoving?

When did love become unconsuming?

Forgetting what the world has told me

Father of love, You can have me

You can have me

Book Review: Sisterchicks In Wooden Shoes by Robin Jones Gunn

I really enjoy reading the Sisterchicks books by Robin Jones Gunn.  I always feel like I'm taking an adventure with her and truly feel like I am traveling the world with her.  She does such a good job with describing the sights, sounds, and smells that she experiences when she is researching and visiting different places so that she can write these books.

Sisterchicks in Wooden Shoes is no exception.  I feel like I hopped the pond and went to Holland.  While I was there, I got to see the tulips and the windmills.  I got to know the mannerisms of the Dutch and the purpose behind the wooden shoes.  Who knew they actually had a purpose! 

This book is a fun, easy, and light read.  It's a great escape from those everyday tasks of life when you just can't get on a plane and fly somewhere!

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I received this book free from Waterbrook Multnomah through their Blogging for Books program for their book review.  I was in no way required to write a positive review for this book.

Book Review: Who is My Shelter? by Neta Jackson

I was so excited to recieve this book for free!  I have all of her books and absolutely love her writing.  The Yada Yada Prayer Group books are one of my favorite series, and these are right after it.  Neta Jackson is a great writer in my opinion.

Gabby needs a place to stay since her husband kicked her out because she no longer lived up to his expectations.  She heads to the shelter thinking she will be there for a bit.  However, God uses her to take charge of the House of Hope and help homeless women and children.

In the meantime, her husband realizes what he's done and what he's lost and comes seeking forgiveness.  Will Gabby forgive and move one or will she continue on the path she has set for herself?

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Boot Camp-Month 2

I am absolutely loving Boot Camp.  So much so that I enrolled for my second month.  I love how strong I feel and of course, the looseness in my clothes helps, too.  My core is getting stronger and I'm now able to do a lot of the main core work that I couldn't do in the beginning, such as the roll up.  You may find this as suprising as I did: apparently having 2 children in 2 years isn't the best recipe for a strong core.  Who knew?!  After the first 2 weeks or so of having to do adapted roll-ups, I can now do them unassisted.  I have yet to have a day where I wasn't sore.  It's all about muscle confusion, and I will definitely attest to the fact that my muscles apparently stay confused.  I love it! 

I'm getting used to my early morning, COLD runs.  I'm looking forward to the warmer weather, though, because that will make the early morning runs not so bad.  I love how I am pushed to my limits daily.  I'm pretty sure that I would never push myself as hard as I have to at that time in the morning.  It has been the perfect fit for me.  It makes me feel better, though, when other army guys come in to do the class and struggle with the same things I do since they never focus on their core, either! 

I'm looking forward to the rest of month 2 and continuing on with even more months of classes.  You should definitely check out a boot camp.  I know not all of them are like this one, but if you like a challenge and being pushed to your limit, you'll love it!  Plus, our teacher is a softy deep down and isn't one that stays on us or anything.  He's not anything like I imagined.  He's very encouraging and makes sure that you succeed if you try.  Anyway, try it!

No, No, NO!

This word seems to have made it into my vocabulary A LOT lately.  I've written before about Baby M's and B's tedious relationship.  Much of my day is already consisting of "B, leave your sister alone.  She doesn't want to lie down, nor does she want to hold your hand or eat your foot, for that matter." 

Don't get me wrong.  B loves his sissy.  Loves her so much that the first thing he says when he wakes up is: "Baby?  Me wake up baby.  WAKE UP BABY!"  That last part is said with a very loud yell to which he gets into trouble for. 

B is very athletic and loves to climb.  Anything climbable is fair game for him.  Chairs, couches, beds, cribs, counters, tables, ladders, you get the idea. He just loves to climb.  This is becoming a problem for Baby M because she doesn't like it when B is on the move.  In fact, she is terrified and those big eyes just stare at me, as if begging me to save her. 

It's actually quite funny when no harm or pain is being inflicted on her.  At the moment, he has her by the arm trying to drag her across the room (while still sitting up) so he can "DANCE BABY!"  Don't worry....I've put a stop to it.

All of this to say that I'm getting really good at saying the word "no."  So good that I might just be able to finally apply it to other areas of my life.  Daddy T has his doubts!

Another "no" that popped into my vocabulary yesterday was "My baby is pulling up?  No!"  Where has my little baby gone.  She is now 7 months old and is so much fun.  She will definitely be one tough little girl.  She is so content and can sit in one spot for 30 minutes or longer without complaining.  Amazing!  She is content just staring at me.  She's still my cuddle bug, though.  She is always smiling.  Her and Daddy T don't have the best of relationships just yet, which is fine because B is Daddy's little boy at the moment.  She is trying her hardest to crawl.  If she could just figure out what to do with her legs, then I'd be in trouble.  I think she'll skip crawling and commence to walking so she can get away from B faster!   She started pulling up in the bathtub yesterday.  I was so sad!  I told Daddy T that a part of me wanted to push her down because I didn't want her to learn that yet!  (I'm totally just joking, so please no mean emails about being mean to my children!)  I'm just saying that she's growing up too fast and I'm not ready for her to start walking and well, growing more independent just yet.

Well...gotta go.  B just "hugged" Baby M and now she's sprawled in the floor crying.  A mother's job is never done.  Never.

Book Review: Lioness Arising by Lisa Bevere

Lioness Arising was a book that I was a little intrigued by with the title itself.  Lisa did a great job describing a lioness and the characteristics and paralleling it to women.  This book was meant to be motivational and challenging.  There were parts that were thought-provoking, but I don't think it was a lot different from many other books I have read about being a woman.

The topics were interesting, such as Awaken a Lioness, Walking with a Lion, A Force Unseen, Lionesses are Strategic, From a Whisper to a Roar, Lionesses Live in the Light and Hunt in the Dark, and Strength is for Services.  There are obviously quite a few more chapters than these, but this gives you some highlights as to what the book includes.

Lisa writes with motivational and with passion.  She not only wants us to come back to God, but she points out that we need to follow Him whole-heartily and with all of our hearts.  We are to be intentional and passionate about our relationship with Christ.

All in all, this book is one that I would probably recommend to a woman who was very discouraged about her relationship with Christ or who was new to the Christian faith.  It was a good reminder for me of God's purpose for my life, though.

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I received this book free from Waterbrook Publishers as part of their Blogging for Books program.  I was not required to write a positive review.

Book Review: Coming Back Stronger by Drew Brees

I'll open this post up by saying that I am NOT a Saints fan!  Nothing against them or anything...it's just that I like the Titans.  With that said, I DO like Drew Brees.  I am impressed by his testimony and how he lives for the Lord in the midst of his football team.  He is outspoken about it and isn't afraid to share his faith with others.

This book is very interesting.  I learned a lot about Drew and enjoyed the football stories.  You don't even have to be a football fan to enjoy this book.  He talks a lot about his faith and how God helped him come back even stronger and how God carried him through all of the adversity that was thrown his way...almost all at once.

I would definitely recommend this book to others.  It still hasn't swayed me to be a Saints fan, but I think I will be excited for Drew when he does carry out a win because I know what all he's gone through to get to where he is now.


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I received this book free from Tyndale Publishers.  I was not required to write a positive review.