black friday craziness walmart

Make a Difference this Season by Giving the Gift of Clean Water

My friends at Water Missions International came up with a great idea for this holiday--giving the gift of clean water. It is simple and easy enough and anyone can do it. So let's turn black Friday blue and give the gift to someone in need. What a great way to refresh someones soul by meeting the need they have physically.

Did you know that for only $10.00 you can give the gift of clean water to one person? That is amazing! Only $10.00. So this is my goal this season, From now until Christmas, the next 30 days, I am going to save all the money I would normally spend on soft drinks, juices, and yes STARBUCKS and give it for the gift of clean water. For the cost of my two mocha's a person could have clean water. Now that is a sacrifice worth making. (Now if you see me at SB it is only because I have a gift card no spending my own because it goes for clean water.)

I am pulling the kids into this by the sacrifice of soft drinks. I know that will make them feel excited to be a part and learn to sacrifice as well.  I am excited.

Will you join me? Please check out my friends at Water Missions HERE.

Book Review - Son of Hamas by Mosab Hassan Yousef

I received a copy of this book free of charge from the publisher for the sake of review.

This book was a very interesting story of a young man's life as a son of one of the founder's of the Hamas group. It is an interesting story of the middle east conflict. It helped me understand some of the reasons for the fighting in the area. It is a really hard thing to resolve with all the hate and suspicion that goes on there. I was in fact really surprised about much of it. The media airs things sometimes that are off base. I don't need to just believe what I hear, there is much more to it.

It gives gripping information about the inside of Hamas organization, Israel's Army, and other factions. Formerly, a devout Muslim, Mosab, converts to Christianity because he was compelled by the love of Jesus Christ. It is the love of Christ that the author believes is the only thing that will solve the problems. However, tensions and pain run really deep and only God has to power to open the eyes of the people to see this. So there is hope in HIM but only in HIM alone.

I did think this book was a good read. I am so interested in the middle east so it was a book I did not want to put down. Especially hearing this man's personal account. It was informative and opened my eyes to some things. I am so encouraged that He was drawn to Christ even within his strict culture. It shows you that God can call anyone to Himself so don't give up keep praying.

To get a copy of the book click on the link above.

Book Review - Topical Memory System by The Navigators

I received this product free of charge for the sake of review by the publisher.

I was very excited to receive this product in the mail. I had very good intentions to keep up to date with the process in memorizing my verses but did not follow through. It is a really good system. It is something that I probably needed to use with a group for accountability. Also, being a home school mom, I see it could be beneficial for using in the classroom for memory work. I think the timing was not great for it to be a success with me at the moment. I do however look forward to getting back into it at a later date.

This product was a good one. It includes card stock memory verse cards and even a little case to keep them in. It would be easy to carry in your pocket, wallet, or purse. I kept mine in my purse. They are smaller than a credit card so they are very easy to carry with you. Anyone could benefit from that.

The product also included a book that explained good tools for memorization and how to get the most out of the verses by understanding the context of those Scriptures. I really loved that part of it. It helped you study the passages the verses came from. It is a really good product.

Book Review - On This Day in Christian History by Robert J. Morgan

I received a copy of this book at no charge from the publisher for the purpose of review.

The book description for this title is listed as: Amazing stories of faith from twenty centuries of church history.
From the Roman Empire to the Reformation, St. Valentine to St. Francis, Martin Luther to Billy Graham, On this Day introduces readers to a parade of preachers, popes, martyrs, heroes, and saints from 2,000 years of Christianity.

This introduction to 365 of the most interesting men and women of faith brings a year's worth of inspiration and spiritual challenge and offers an enjoyable glimpse into church history. Each day includes a related Scripture reading and a simple, colorful story about history-making events in the lives of people who loved God wholeheartedly.

I really enjoyed this book. It is set up in a 365 day format so that each day you can review something that has happened in Christian history. I found it very interesting that there were enough things to list for each day of the year. The stories are interesting and inspiring. It is a good read if  you are interested in history and in taking it all in in small pieces at a time.  I also found it helpful for use with my children for history purposes.

To purchase a copy of this title from the publisher go here.
To purchase a copy from Amazon go here.On This Day in Christian History: 365 Amazing and Inspiring Stories about Saints, Martyrs and Heroes

Estatic That I Got This Today - Best Purchase of the Year

This is an amazing book that will allow you to pray for the entire world. This is probably the best thing I have bought this year!! Does that make me a nerd? Oh well. LOVE it and love praying through it.

Book Review - Voices of the True Woman Movement

This book ends with a call to living counter culturally based on God's word alone. This book was a good read. It is what we as women should look like today in this society. Also, there is a true woman manifesto you can sign if you agree with all that is written there. I added it to this blog under our ministry section as what we believe.

http://www.truewoman.com/?id=980 This is the link you can go to to sign the petition yourself. Also you can sign up to do the 30 day true woman makeover which I am almost finished with. It has also blessed me immensely. If you do decide to do it let me know. I would love to talk with you about it.

October T.V. Challenge - A Good Ending

So this month's challenge has been really freeing and refreshing. I am so thankful that as a family we all agreed to do this (with a little reluctance from the children). After 30 days we saw that T.V. is something we can live without. We learned how to just enjoy one another better. How to have fun together playing and in activities. We did watch family movies together some over the month but it was a family activity all agreed upon.

The television often distracts us from some of those things because it just draws us in. Something about it draws you to it and you just cannot stop looking at it. Fasting is such a good way to break a stronghold in your life. Whether it is food, T.V., Computer games, etc. Making a break helps you gain a better perspective and breaks the hold that thing once had on you.

So where do we go from here? We have direct T.V. currently and our contract is up in January. We will not renew this contract. We have Netflix and that will be our main source for programming. I like this option better because you can pick and chose what you watch and there are no commercials. Commercials were a big issue for us because it feeds into materialism. We do not need that coming into our house at all.

Plus I added earlier that garbage going into our minds and hearts only brings garbage out through our mouths. We need to guard our hearts fiercely. Avoiding all the worldliness of television programming will help us in this.