Top Five Post from 2020

#5--2020 Read Aloud List 

#4--Forever Hidden Review

#3--The Englisch Daughter Review 

#2--32 Indoor Toddler Activities 

#1--50+ Titles for Family Movie Night

Did you have a favorite?

52 Weeks of Gratitude Journal {Review}

  The Bible tells us, "In everything, give thanks."  What amazing wisdom that is!  Practicing gratitude trains us to focus on the blessings in our lives, and in turn, focus on the Lord.  With the start of a new year, what better time to develop the discipline of gratitude?  This journal is designed for just that... cultivating the habit of thankfulness and looking for the blessings all around us.  

  The 52 Weeks of Gratitude Journal is unlike any gratitude journal I've seen before.  Divided into four sections focusing on home, community, faith, and beauty, each week includes Scripture, a prompt for reflection, and action steps designed to take the reader even deeper.  There is also space in the back of the book to encourage quick daily gratitude.  52 Weeks of Gratitude is not dated and can be started at any time in the year.  And the quality is just amazing.  The photography is stunning and the paper is premium quality as well.  Part devotional, part journal, this 52 Weeks of Gratitude Journal would make a wonderful gift or just a special treat to encourage an attitude of thankfulness.  I look forward to using this one in 2021!

*Disclaimer: I received a copy of this journal free from the publisher.  All opinions are my own.

 

Beautiful Girlhood {Review}

The world needs more young women comfortable in their faith and leading with boldness and grace.  The Lord has designed women to fill a special place in society, one uniquely theirs.  The world needs women (and men) who don't shy away from their own purposes, gifting, and destinies.  Beautiful Girlhood was written as a guide helping young women through these challenges of character building, handling disappointment, obedience, responsibilities, and more.  

This 100 year old book set for re-release sets out to usher young girls into womanhood.  While these quick chapters may have been useful in the early 1900's, they are clearly outdated today.  According to Hale's advice, girls should be meek and obedient, without any indication that they should also know their worth.  Other examples of its outdatedness are Hale's inferences that crime books should be off limits as well as being out in public.  Hale also speaks of a girl's need to know basic skills like cooking, cleaning, and homemaking.  And while I agree that these are skills all young people should know, there's no instruction in these areas or indication in how to grow in these skills.  

While I love the concept of a guidebook during this transition from girlhood to womanhood, this book is so clearly outdated that it's not worth the time or money to read it.  The ideas in Beautiful Girlhood are so repressive; they spoil the beauty of strong Biblical womanhood.  I cannot recommend this book in any capacity.

*Disclaimer: I received this book for free from the publisher.  All opinions are my own. 

 

Constellation of the Deep {Review}

 

Fox loves nature, particularly interesting and unusual plant life.  So when Seagull tells him about the a special plant call the Constellation of the Deep, Fox knows he must see it for himself.  But although he discovers many wonders in his journey, this special treasure remains elusive.  Will Fox really find the Constellation of the Deep?

This beautifully illustrated book is whimsical and fun, while still sharing relevant information about plant life and nature study.  The names of coral, seaweed and underwater life is taught without feeling heavy and overwhelming.  And the adventurous story delighted both my children and myself.  It would make a sweet addition to bedtime or an ocean unit in homeschool.

*Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Five Ways to Connect with Family at Christmastime

*Post originally published on 12/15/15.  Enjoy!

 The holidays can be a stressful time each year.  Traveling, consuming too much sugar, and generally not getting enough rest can make even the sanest person a little cranky.  Add on top the fact that we all want to connect with our families in meaningful ways.  Still it can be difficult to pull away from our already busy lives and make the time necessary to facilitate relationships.  Here are just a few ideas to help in pulling away from the busyness and connecting with family at Christmastime:

Limit the electronics--I'd like to say leave them at home entirely, but knowing the electronic world we live in, that's not always possible.  Sometimes I'll allow my kids to bring theirs if they'll be spending time with their cousins and I know they can connect and play a game together.  Other times, they are left in the car or at home if they're visiting Grandparents.  Know your location and who you'll be with and plan accordingly.  This goes for mom and dad as well.  The world will not end if messages are not checked every 5 minutes.

Mix up the age groups--Encourage your kids spend time with their grandparents.  Get on the floor and play with your nieces/nephews.  Share a joke with Uncle John.  Get everyone together and tell stories of Christmases past.  Look for opportunities to mix up the age groups and let them interact with each other.

Break out the board games--What better way to mix up the age groups than a board game.  Trivia games, apple to apples, and scattergories are great ones for getting everyone involved.  Playing games together really gets everyone to open up and relax.  And you'd be surprised what you might learn about each other when you're laughing.

Start a family tradition--The holidays are all about traditions.  Looking at Christmas lights, visiting a live nativity, having a baking day, or going to a Christmas play are all some of the traditions that thrive in our family.  Every year my kids look forward to these events and it gives us time to step away and really be together.  It's a memory that builds from year to year as the kids grow and reminds us how lucky we are to be together.

Give experience gifts--Give gifts of time and experience.  Take your grandmother out to tea.  Share a picnic at the park with your nephew.  Enjoy an afternoon at the movies with your aunt.  Spending time together is a much valued gift that can build on the relationship year round.

What are your favorite ways to connect with family at Christmastime?

The Amish Christmas Gift {Review}

 

Elsie Miller has a knack for picking up odd jobs.. and for loosing them.  In fact, it takes her less than a day to loose her job at the local market.  So when she's offered a job assisting a disabled neighbor, she has no choice, but to take it... even if it means spending her days with an old love.

Levi Wyse struggles under a heavy burden... supporting a crippled sister, grieving the loss of their family... and determined not to open his heart to love.  But when his sister hires Elsie as her assistant, Levi has to face his past all over.  Will their arrangement bring healing to old wounds?  Or will it end as all Elsie jobs do... in absolute chaos?

I always love picking up a sweet easy read in December.  With the busyness of the season, it's the perfect time to slow down with a light novel.  There were some elements of this book that were just that.  Amish Christmas Gift contains some wonderful moments of humor and whit, from the banter between Levi and Elsie to the introduction of George who speaks his mind and innocently bumbles into some interesting situations.  

However, there were certainly a few misses in this book for me.  The flirtatiousness of the two main characters was way out of touch with the mood of the book.  In one paragraph, Elsie and Levi would be living with the propriety of Amish culture and in the next paragraph, they would be opening throwing themselves at each other.  And Levi's thoughtlessness of others was drastically blown out of proportion to prove a point.  It was just all together completely unrealistic.  With these two issues and a few others, it was hard to get into the flow of reading this book.  It wasn't my favorite in this genre by far.

*Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.  All opinions are my own.

Read & Pray Through the Bible in a Year {Review}

I love this little devotional for soaking in Scripture through out the day.  I'm not a morning person so having my quiet times early in the day just doesn't work.  With this devotional though, I can read for a few minutes in the morning and still have content to go more in depth later in the day.  I love that this book provides Scripture for both mornings and evenings, and can be read in just a few minutes if necessary.  Each day provides a passage from both the Old and New Testaments, as well as readings from Psalms or Proverbs.  In addition to the Scriptures, this devotional also includes encouragement, prayers, and devotionals for each day, making it a nice blend of both.  This would make a sweet gift for the busy mom or anyone just starting their quiet time practice.