Book Review

I have enjoyed being a part of the BOOK SNEEZE book review program (see sidebar) for all of 3 weeks. :)

The first book I recieved to review was Nelson's Complete book of Bible Maps and Charts.  This was a complimentary copy from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their blogger's reviewer program. Following is my review:

Thomas Nelson’s Complete Book of Bible Maps and Charts, 3rd Edition, has a vast array of information for beginning Bible students. It explains authorship, date, history, and summary of the content in each book and a chapter/verse outline. There are small timelines of when the events happened, and maps and charts for each book.


For maps, I was actually a little disappointed. They are full color, and reproducible, but most have text bubbles marking routes of travel (as in the Exodus or Joseph & Mary’s route to Egypt), or locations of events (as in the places each judge was born or the towns where Jesus preformed miracles). I found it a little cluttered. I was hoping to see more geographical & historical maps like you would find in an atlas.


The charts included in this book range from comparisons of OT Kings to lists of Women in the Bible or Prophecies in the Old Testament that Jesus fulfilled.


All in all, I think the book could be a good resource, but is a bit more wordy than I like. For a beginning Bible student or Sunday school class, it is easy to read and has lots of general information.



*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."*

Keeping Kids Occupied

This post is more of a query than anything else :)

The topic of conversation: What to do when company comes over....with kids!

There are times, definitely, when it's GREAT to plan a kid dinner/party/activity, and invest your time in kids. But there are also times when you want/and or need to visit with the adults only. And that is this posts topic. What do you do to host families with kids, when you don't have any? When you want to visit with the adults and not only play with kids?

Question #1) Is it appropriate to want to visit with the adults and not play with the kids?

Question #2) What are the best "kid-friendly" games and toys to have on hand in your home?

Question #3) What are some great ways to make the whole family....kids and parents....feel welcome?

In lieu of these thoughts recently, I have started creating a Dress Up Box in my living room. While still sparse, I can see many opporunities for filling it up! Things I still hope to do: 1) Make a dress-up-corner with full length mirror, hat pegs, and play kitchen. 2) Add to the clothes collection

I know that my aunt has a kid-friendly cupboard filled with fun kid toys, that seem to entertain them just fine when they run out of things to do. She includes: toy cars, barbies, legos, noisy toys, puzzles, and rubber duckies.

And so, if you wouldn't mind, I'd be curious on your thoughts, opinions, and stories on this topic....please comment below!

I am thankful for... an email from a friend.

I am wondering... what heaven will be like

I am remembering... the things I need to do this afternoon.

I am going... to eat salads again for lunch next week.

I am currently reading... More Hours in My Day.

I am finding... that I spend way too much time checking blogs and websites and email

I am hoping... for a peaceful weekend.

On my mind... trusting God in what I do not know

Noticing that... It is white and soft and pretty outside

Pondering these words... "Fear errodes trust. Fear makes us irrational."

From the kitchen... fresh coffee cake

Around the house... papers need to be filed, and I need to vaccuum.

One of my favorite things... sprinkles.

Some Interesting Reads

Here are some interesting posts and articles I've run across recently:

•  ElizabethEsther's post  "Do Christian women have a responsibility to dress modestly?" 
•  MIn the Gap's post How can a guy keep pure?
•  Danielle's post about a medical trauma
• Focus on the Family's intresting take on Marriage Books
•  Suzanne's article on Remembering Days
•  Making some Kid's Crafts
•  This free download of a PDF document creator
•  Generous Giving website

To get you thinking....

So....

I was browsing blogs and sites for service ideas in preparation for our coming Winter Retreat.

Alot of sites have the same thing, just in case you were wondering.

But, I did come across some that sounded crazy and fun, and got me thinking about my neighborhood :)

• A Bicycle Rodeo to help children learn bicycle safety (! I've never seen a bicycle rodeo, but it sure sounds creative!)
• Couduct a clothing repair or sewing workshop
• Read a book to a younger kid or elderly person
• Conduct an Easter Egg hunt (hmmmm....a park across the street....local kids....very workable!)
• Create a poison awareness campaign
• Organize a "get acquainted" lunch with neighbors
• Prepare a whole home cooked meal for the residents of a nearby homeless shelter
• Bake a batch of cookies to share
• Set up reading hour, where you visit a homeless shelter once a month, read aloud, and then leave the books behind

These ideas were from the 4H club in Lancaster

Souper Ideas

Today, instead of writing my own (not so) brilliant ideas, I thought I would like to direct you to this great article: Souper Hospitality

Susan Ellington has some great thoughts and humor in her ecouraging article to show Hospitality.

"If you're a naturally gregarious sort, you don't really need encouragement to throw a little party. But if you have a more retiring nature, or you just don't know where to begin, don't worry. I'm here to help—and despite that earlier talk about "trouble" and "effort" it can be a whole lot easier than you think.

You can plan a party around any excuse or no excuse at all. I once threw a "Poverty Party" for those of us who couldn't afford our church's singles' retreat. The rule was you had to wear old clothes and bring food you had already paid for, which made for quite the eclectic menu. For years I held an annual birthday party for Sherlock Holmes. (He never showed, but he was in his 150's and it's a long flight from London to Texas.)"

She shares recipes and tips in her article too.
 
And I guess, she also hits a spot with me because of her ideas to "host on a holiday"....like National Chocolates Day :)
 
So check out her article here.
And check out this list of February Unique & Bizzare Holidays too while you're at it :)

Tried It...

This is not my picture. I forgot to take a picture of my food that I tried.

But I can tell you, that it looked just like this (except for the green stuff...didn't have any of that)

And I can also tell you, that a Tablespoon of chili powder IS NOT that same as one green chili chopped up! *nervous smile with smoke coming out of ears*

I will definitely make this again, but will TONE DOWN the spice, or make sure I have actually the right ingeredients :)

Food

Now I don't know about you, but this Cauliflower Rice looks good to me. I like cooked cauliflower.

I've enjoyed browsing some Indian food blogs recently, and the above is one recipe I hope to try. That one was shared at Cooking 4 All Seasons.

The other site I like to browse is  Eggless Cooking.

See those binders?

See those red binders on the counter?

I like those. Wouldn't they be nice to hold pattern print-outs, sewing ideas, pictures of things to make, and other misc. papers floating around!

I thought so too.

I like getting new ideas for keeping things neat and clean. My current read is "More Hours in My Day" by Emilie Barnes. It's full of tips and ideas.

Now to just see if I can impliment any of them! :)

I did it

Well,
  I heard rumors that Focus on the Family purchased an ad for the Super Bowl time.

I also read that there was some opposition to this, from different sources.

I do not know if this is true, but I thought, if it was, I should do something about it. (I thought this on Sunday)

It's easy to read about it, but I found it was hard to take action.....not in the sense....hard to convince myself I should, but in the sense, hard to actually sit down, research, write, and DO something.

But, today I did it.

I went online to CBS.com to their Feedback form, and wrote a quick request:

That if it the above rumors were true, and indeed they were running an ad and it was being opposed, that they consider my request to air the ad regardless.

After I wrote my request, I found this better wording, which I wish I had used:

"Reg: Focus on the Family Super Bowl Ad

To whom it may concern,
I hope to watch the Super Bowl on February 7. I just would like to thank you for allowing Focus on the Family's ad to air during the Super Bowl. "


I'll let you know if I hear back. :)

And I did find out you can watch all the ads here, (on Sunday anyway) that air during the Super Bowl. So I guess I'll check it out and see if the Tebow Ad appears!

Toy Making....Toy Making

So, you should check out Jackie's blog Blessings Overflowing... because there are all sorts of cool toys to make (I'm always impressed with 3D toys anyways)

These are ones I think would be fun to try...

Felt mailbox

Some armor for my Dress up Box

An I SPY QUILT!!!!

Uh, and yes, I know these are not toys....but it's a reminder to me that I need to fix my rice bag we have (has a hole in it now), and I keep forgetting. Maybe this weekend....

And this reminds me I have 3 patterns at home for "other" toys to make

1. Noah's Ark animal set (flat stuffed animals, small, for quiet time play)
2. Sheet House (make a fabric "cube" with windows and door to hang over a cardbaord table for an indoor playhouse)
3. A car play mat (like my brother had a long time ago)

New Ideas

I've been reading this nice book from Abbi "Creative Families," which has all sort of creative teaching and play ideas in it.

It was one of those "aha" moments when I read the paragraph (well, there's more than a paragraph, but that's all I read honestly) about a "Dress Up Box."

image from Happiness Unlimited

I loved dress up as a kid....tea parties....adventures with my siblings.....plays.....so I'm not sure why I never thought of starting my own here at home. Maybe it was because I always thought of the big dress up box at my Mom's....and it never crossed my mind that visiting kid's might like one here too!

Either way, I'm starting one now. Quite exciting really.

I found a nice fuzzy red hat and a couple ties at the vintage store. And a pair of gloves and suit coat at another second hand shop.

Oh yes, but I forgot....the whole reason I started this post was to write about the fun patterns I found at the vintage shop!

To make a long story (not so) short, while I was looking for dress up hats, I found 4 fun patterns for 1) shirt 2) pants 3) jumper 4)dress pattern. All of which I thought looked simple to make, and nice to wear. We'll see if I get around to them anytime soon! :)

This is a picture of a dress I'd like to make sometime....and the hopes that one of my patterns will be close to it....