Flashback Friday

This week Linda has asked us to share our prom memories.

My flashback:
My high school had a junior/senior prom. It was held in our high school's SAC (student activity center). I went both years with a group of friends. My junior year I had a black dress that we bought, and my senior year was a teal colored dress made by my aunt. The song for one of the proms was "Don't Go Chasin' Waterfalls," and we had waterfall decorations made from shimmery paper along with Christmas lights and balloons. Before prom we went out to eat together. The parents lined up along the sidewalks to take pictures of everyone as they entered the high school. Afterwards I spent the night at a friend's house. I had never been out to her house before, it was out in the country, and I was afraid I'd get lost driving out there.

Have a day of blessings!

Thankful Thursday

Welcome to Thankful Thursday. We are meeting up this week at Spiritually Unequal Marriage. Hope you will join us!

This wonderful week we've had such beautiful weather. I love the clear blue skies above and the "perfect" temperatures. I was able to go on a nice walk listening to my iPod Wednesday morning.

I am thankful for....
~ my husband and how diligently he is working on some training for his work. He is watching the learning videos and reading the books online with such dedication. I'm proud of his hard work!

~ my sweet boy playing nicely at our snack day this week. A Mom came out of the play area and asked if that was my little boy. She said he is so sweet. It made my heart smile.

~ great books to read. I'm reading one now called Growing Grateful Kids by Susie Larson and listening to The Telling by Beverly Lewis. Both are wonderful, and I will share my reviews soon.

~ having a week that is much slower paced than last week! I felt so busy last week, going and going. This week has been more at home time and it's been great!

~ lessons from our family lesson time on Wednesdays. We are studying the "Full Armor of God" now and are all enjoying these lessons. I would like to do blog posts on it some time.

Thank you for coming by!
Have a day of blessings!

"Wonderful Merciful Savior" by Selah

Today's song is "Wonderful Merciful Savior" by Selah. I hope this encourages you today.



Have a day of blessings!

2010 Books #16 and #17

I finished two books over a week ago and just haven't posted my reviews!

The first is called Love & War by John and Stasi Eldredge. I wrote a review earlier this year for a blog tour but now I have actually completed the entire book. I enjoyed this book on marriage. Marriage is special to God and it should be to us too. What do you do in marriage when the hard time comes? How do you handle those times together and come out ahead together instead of fighting each other through? The authors show how we come from different backgrounds and this affects how we relate to one another. We must realize that we have an enemy to our marriage who will try to destroy it and be on guard against his attacks. This book was provided for review by WaterBrook Multnomah.

The second book I finished is called The Next Level by David Gregory. My husband found this little book on the discount shelf at Mardel. He read it in two days I believe and then I read it. It is a fast read. It uses a business metaphor to depict religion and Christianity. Young Logan Bell has a job as an organizational analyst where he reports to the director his findings about each level of the company. This is a great book for Christians to read. As I read I could relate to people on the various levels. It is a book that will change your thinking about why you do things as a Christian and I recommend you read it.

Have a day of blessings!

Prayers & Promises Week #17

Colossians 3:13--"Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you."

The thing that really sticks out to me in this verse is to consider how we have been forgiven by the Lord. So often we can easily point the fingers at the mistreatment we have received, but do we consider the pain we cause the Lord with our actions? When we remember how much we have been forgiven, it is much easier to forgive others. I read many books and forgiveness is a theme in many of them. This shows me that this is an issue everyone must deal with at some time in life. We need to be forgiving of one another.

I enjoyed your stories in the comments last week on encouragement. Many of the "one another" verses I've read have been about encouragement. It was encouraging to me to read your stories.
Let me know if I can pray for you this week also.
Join us today for Spiritual Sundays.

Have a day of blessings!

Flashback Friday

Today for Flashback Friday we are reflecting on how we experienced grief in our early years.

My flashback:
The first death I remember was when my great grandfather died. I believe I was in kindergarten. I do not remember the service. I attended funerals for people from church as well through the years, but nothing about any of them really stands out to me.

I remember being extremely sad and crying as a young girl at the death of my favorite dog. She was bit by a rattlesnake. We were not home at the time it happened, but our neighbors took her to the vet for us. The next morning we found out she did not make it. I was never attached to another dog like I was to her.

At funerals now I always think about what will be said at my funeral. My cousin died in 2002 and The Dash was read at her funeral. It is a great way to look at how you live your life, and I encourage you to watch the linked movie if you've never seen it.

With our son, he has been to a few funerals in his life. One was for one of his sweet Sunday School teachers. He didn't understand and I don't think he remembers now. More recently he went to Mammaw's funeral last year. I remember while we were in the hospital during her last days on earth, we talked to him that Mammaw was sick and might be going to heaven soon. We talked about how she would have a new body and wouldn't be sick anymore. Recently he randomly told us something along the lines that dying was good because you got to be in heaven with God. He said some girls at school were talking about that one day.

Thanks for visiting today. I have two book reviews I need to share of two books I really enjoyed. Also, if you haven't checked out the music download, it was in Wednesday's post below.

Have a day of blessings!

Thankful Thursday

This week we are at Lynn's blog for Thankful Thursday. Hope you will join us! Lynn wrote in her post this week about a tiny love note she received from God this week while out in her neighborhood on a walk and asked if we'd received any little reminders of God's love this week. As I was reading it made me think of this story.

Friday we have field day at Caleb's school (praying for a pretty day for that!). I have contacted the other Mom's about the snacks and drinks to bring for the kids. I realized Tuesday evening that I had not had anyone sign up to bring cups, so I made a mental note that I'd need to pick some up. Later Tuesday evening we had a call from one of the other kindergarten Mom's. She apologized for not returning my call sooner but was there anything that we still needed for Friday. I said well yes actually we need cups! It was just perfect and I told my Mom how I thought it was a neat God thing that she called.

What is on your thankful list this week? Here is mine....

~ my sweet husband who shares with me what he is learning from the Bible.

~ my sweet son talking to me about things from his day. It made me smile today as he talked about some other kids he heard saying words that weren't appropriate words to say at school. I'm glad he can tell me what goes on and I pray he always will!

~ eating at Chick Fil A with my boys! :)

~ my friends at the food pantry. I have enjoyed getting to know the others who volunteer there. It feels like a little family.

~ being a stay at home Mom. I told my husband on days like Tuesday it reminded me once again how thankful I am for this blessing as I was able to go with Caleb's class on their field trip. We had a fun time and the weather was great.

Thank you for visiting me today. If you have not seen my previous post, look at it for a free song download.

Have a day of blessings!

Music Giveaway! (and Laced With Grace!)

I recently found out about Seeds Family Worship music through a blog I read (Bring the Rain). I listened to one of their CD's through their site and fell in love with the songs!

Things I like so far about this music:

• This music is great really for the whole family. I love having it on in the background as I'm typing or online.
• Each song is a Bible verse. The songs are verses straight out of the Bible. We all know how easily songs get stuck in our heads. What better thing to have repeating in our minds and hearts than Bible verses!
• I like how you can hear children singing along on these songs.
• The Bible reference is giving for the songs in the song.

A couple of weeks ago I received an email from Michelle with Seeds. She'd found my blog through Hearts at Home, wondered if I'd heard of Seeds and if I'd like a sample. I received the sample last week and we all have enjoyed playing it in the car. Seeds is "dedicated to planting the seeds of God's Word in the hearts of families. We do this through our NIV Scripture songs." (from Michelle)

Now for the download! If you'd like a free download of one of the seeds songs, all you have to do is click here. You can get a free song called "Do Not Fear" (Isaiah 41:10).

Also, if you would like to purchase some music you can get 20% off the purchase of CD's (not including Clearance CD's) using the code RAINDROPSRAINBOWS at the Seeds Music Store (http://www.seedsmusicstore.com/).

Oh and I forgot....to help you plant seeds in the lives of others, each CD is packaged with two of the exact same CD. You keep one and give one away, which I think is a great idea.

A CD from Seeds would make a great gift for your own children or nieces, nephews, or grandchildren. They are affordable, plus you can get 20% off now.

Listen and don't forget your free download!

Have a day of blessings!


I am also at Laced With Grace today for a devotional called Orangutans, Elephants, and Crocodiles

"God Is it True (Trust Me)" by Steven Curtis Chapman

Last week I put in a CD as I was driving. This song came on, and I paid attention to the words as I was driving. These are great lyrics.

If you read my blog you know SCC is one of my absolute favorites. His latest CD is full of songs totally from his heart after the loss of their daughter Maria.

I hope this song blesses you today.




Come back tomorrow for a music giveaway (unrelated to this song but one I'm very excited to share with you!)

Have a day of blessings!

Prayers & Promises Week #16

Have you been encouraged by someone recently or have you made a point to be an encouragement? Please share your story if you have one. Find a way this week to intentionally do the things that this week's verse says we are to do.

This week's verse is I Peter 3:8--
"Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another, be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble."

Please let me know if you have any prayer requests this week.

Join us today for Spiritual Sundays.

Have a day of blessings!

Flashback Friday

Today for Flashback Friday we are remembering any lessons/recitals.

My Flashback:

As a child I took piano lessons for a short time. I don't even remember how long I took them. (Maybe my Mom could remind me!) My teacher was a sweet little granny from our church. My parents would take me to her house on Sunday afternoons before church for my lesson. Then she would ride to church with us because she did not want to drive at night. I enjoyed it but never got that great at playing the piano.

My son is five years old. I want him to have activities he enjoys, but I do not want him to become "over scheduled" so that he doesn't have time just to play and do what he wants. He is very much like me in that he likes to have his days that are just days at home without real plans to go anywhere. He is in t-ball right now. I want him to pursue his interests, so I figure as he gets older we will figure out the limits we need to set on how many outside activities he is involved with.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Have a day of blessings!

2010 Book #15: A Praying Life by Paul Miller

I am happy to share with you a book I listened to and finished last week called A Praying Life by Paul Miller. The title is so fitting for what this book is about....learning to have a life filled with prayer.

I felt the author did a wonderful job keeping things real for the reader. He shared stories from his personal life when God answered particular prayers, things he's learned about prayer, and how he has prayed for his children. One of his daughters has autism and he used many stories about struggles they have faced in helping her through the years.


Listening to this audio book has been a wonderful reminder to me of the power of prayer and the importance of covering our lives in prayer. God hears our prayers and desires for us to pray to Him.

The narrator was also easy to listen to on this book.

This audio book was provided through christianaudio Reviewers Program.

Have a day of blessings!

Thankful Thursday

We are linking up at Lynn's this week for Thankful Thursday.

This week I am thankful for:

~ funny times with my husband. I love our silly "inside jokes" and how he can always make me laugh. Once I start laughing that usually just makes him say more silly things of course!

~ hearing my boy read. It is amazing to see the progress he has made this year. I pray he loves reading always!

~ lunch with both of my favorite boys this week. :)

~ living near a track and going for walks there. I've been doing this lately and really enjoy it.

~ encouragement through Christian music.

Thank you for visiting. What are you thankful for today?

Have a day of blessings!

"What Faith Can Do" by Kutless

Today I have the song called "What Faith Can Do" by Kutless. Click here for the lyrics.




Whatever you are facing today, don't give up. Hold on to your faith.
Have a day of blessings!

Fully Believe!

I am reading from the book of Joshua right now. Something in chapter 14 encouraged me, and I wanted to share it today in hopes that it will encourage you right now too.

"Now the men of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, "You know what the LORD said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh Barnea about you and me. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, but my brothers who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt with fear. I, however, followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly. So on that day Moses swore to me, 'The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly.' "

The version I was reading was NCV and it says it this way:
"So that day Moses promised me, 'The land where you went will become your land, and your children will own it forever. I will give you that land because you fully believed in the Lord, my God.' "

Fully believed....That just made me stop and pause. Do I fully believe? I have some things right now that I will admit scare me. I can't see down the road. I know God didn't give us that ability on purpose....if we could see down the road, would we learn to trust Him?

In this passage Caleb fully believed God. It took a long time but he kept believing. We don't know all that happened to Caleb in the middle of all those years waiting. We do know he fully believed God, with all his heart he belived. That's what is important. God didn't let him down.

Do you fully believe God? I shared this passage with my husband and told him that even though there are many unknowns for us right now, I do fully believe God. I know He has the plan and will take care of all the details. I can look back and see where God has brought us through the years and am encouraged. I fully believe that He will continue and we will give Him the glory.

Have a day of blessings!

Prayers & Promises Week #15

I hope your previous week was full of blessings. Ours went very fast as we have started t ball practice with our boy. The games will start at the end of the month.

This week's "one another" verse is Hebrews 3:13--
"But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness."

This verse tells me we need to be aware of finding ways to encourage one another. Some days are harder than others and you never know what the person beside you is going through. Your smile, kind word, or helping hand may be just the thing they need to keep going. Never doubt the value your encouragement can have on another.

Also, here is a neat one another resource I found while looking on the web. It looks like a great challenge to get in the "one another" mindset.

Here are the prayer requests for this week. Join me in prayer please.

~These are from Annesphamily. She shared them last week. Pray for my nephew Tony. He needs to get his life back on track. Pray for my son-in-laws ex Kathy that she will stop drinking and putting her 6 year old grand daughter in danger! Pray for the Combs/Hoffman Family. These are my husbands relatives and his cousin Kevin lost his beautiful 26 year old daughter Kendra after having tonsil surgery this week. She was a married mom with two young daughters.

~ Michele's prayer requests for her family.

Join us today for Spiritual Sundays.

Have a day of blessings!

2010 Book #14: The Right Call by Kathy Herman

I finished book #3 of the Sophie Trace Trilogy The Right Call by Kathy Herman from David C Cook. After reading the first two books in this series, I had been looking forward to number three!

Ethan Langley is back to Sophie Trace to work for the summer with his uncle to save money to pay for college and also see where his friendship with Vanessa Jessup, daughter of police chief Brill Jessup, might lead. About the time he gets back in town there are several murders, including the death of Ethan's cousin Drew. One of Ethan's coworkers shares some private knowledge with him regarding the shootings. Ethan must decide if he should share the information with Brill even though it could endanger both Vanessa and her son Carter.

This was another wonderful book from author Kathy Herman. This is a great series. I feel like the characters are real people I know, and I look forward to finding out more about these characters in the next series she is writing now.

Thank you to Audra at David C Cook publishers for sending me this book as part of their blogger book review program. Thank you also to the author.

Have a day of blessings!

Flashback Friday

Today we are talking about birthdays for Flashback Friday. (And once again I do not have any pictures. My childhood pictures are at my Mom's house.)

I've always loved birthdays, including my own. That's probably due to the fact that growing up my birthday was always a special time. One birthday party story I have always liked is one my mother told and I shared on Laced With Grace a while back.

I remember through elementary school many of my friends had their parties at the skating rink on Saturday mornings. I never had a party there myself. The parties with classmates I remember were at Mr. Gatti's pizza, the park, or our house. My Mom always made me a cake, which is something she still does for me.

One special birthday was when I was turning 9 in 1988 and in 3rd grade. My aunt was pregnant at the time and due on March 5 (I believe) a few days after my birthday on February 27. My aunt brought me a lamp with a stuffed pink elephant hugging the base, and I have a picture holding the lamp standing by her with her pregnant belly. On March 1 my Mom was volunteering in my classroom and was called to the office over the intercom. My aunt was going to the hospital and waited till I got there to have my cousin Chelcie. Even though we were 9 years apart, we always shared a close relationship. We had our party together many years and continue to get together on our birthday weekend even now.

I remember that on my birthday when I was in middle school I was out of town for a school trip for a science fair competition. We ate at Olive Garden on the way home. My friends ordered a cake and sang to me there. I always remember that when we go to Olive Garden now.

When I was in college, at the time of my birthday I had just started dating my husband. After I got back to my dorm room one afternoon, my roommate told me there was a message of a delivery for me. I went to the director and she had roses for me from my boyfriend. I was so excited! My parents were coming to town that night also and we were all going to a Michael W Smith concert.

Have a day of blessings!

Thankful Thursday

Welcome to Thankful Thursday, a day to stop and give thanks for the blessings of daily life. We are meeting at Lynn's in April. I hope you are having a great week!

This week I am thankful for...

~ my husband helping me find an Easter dress. I wrote about this on Marriage Monday this week. And also Monday was his day off and he really blessed me with all his organizing and cleaning up our bedroom and started on the closet. We hope to work on it some more this weekend.

~ my sweet boy waking me up with his little sweet "good morning" and a kiss on my nose! Then we got to have breakfast together at school....we plan that on the days when they have cinnamon rolls.

~ going to the zoo with my family on a beautiful Easter weekend.

~ ears to hear the birds singing and eyes to see the wildflowers blooming.

~ having great books to read. I am nearly finished with the third in a series by Kathy Herman and another audio book on prayer. Both are excellent and I'll post reviews soon.

Have a day of blessings!

Book Review: "This Little Prayer of Mine"

I was happy to be able to review This Little Prayer of Mine by Anthony DeStefano and illustrated by Mark Elliott. This rhyming book is a wonderful reminder for children as well as their adults that God answers the prayers we pray. What I liked about this book was the various reasons it gave for us to pray and the feelings young children face..fear, sadness, loneliness, thankfulness, and more. My son and I really liked the illustrations of the children in various settings as well. This book would be great for your child's personal library or would make a nice gift for a little child in your life. We enjoyed this book and recommend it for you.

You can purchase this book here.

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

Have a day of blessings!

"Safe" by Phil Wickham

Today I'd like to share a song I've been hearing on KLove called "Safe" by Phil Wickham. Here are the lyrics too.



I hope this song encourages you today. Whatever you are going through God wants to help you and keep you "safe in His arms." It doesn't matter where you are, He is with you.

Have a day of blessings!

Marriage Monday: Open topic

Want this button?

This month for Marriage Monday we have an "open topic."

It's kinda hard to know where to start when we have an open topic today!

I'm so thankful for my husband. I try to make a point to encourage him and make sure he knows I appreciate what he does for our family. I'm very blessed to be married to my best friend. I love how he knows me so well and how he wants to make me happy. I'm thankful that we are partners to walk through this journey of life. We said in our vows to each other that we wanted to help each other on this journey toward Heaven. He really does that for me. He shares with me and helps me grow in my relationship with the Lord. It is a comfort to know he is walking beside me on this earthly journey. I'm thankful for his encouraging words to me. I love how he makes me smile. This weekend I was looking for a new dress for Easter. I do not like buying clothes for myself and rarely do, but Easter is one time I like to get a new dress (as tradition I suppose!) It made me smile because he walked through the store with me, giving me his opinion on certain ones I picked up. One went right back on the rack after he told me what he thought of it! Afterwards it made me smile that we had that time to share and he gave me his opinions.

Thinking about your spouse today, what has he done recently that made you smile? Thanks for stopping by!

Have a day of blessings!

Prayers and Promises Week #14

Happy Easter! This is such a wonderful day. I love this day and everything it represents. I've shared my Easter memories two weeks ago on my Friday Flashback post. I hope you have a wonderful day and realize how much Jesus loves you.

For April the theme for the verses will be "one another." I remember one time hearing a sermon on the verses that referred to "one another," and even know when I'm reading I will notice these two words in a verse. There are many of them and they offer instruction on how we should live day by day.

The first one for this week is Ephesians 4:32:
"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."

I had been considering having this "one another" theme for the verses. Then earlier this week I saw this post with a cute video of little Eli singing a song for Ephesians 4:32. Here is the video.

Do you have any prayer requests today? I will be happy to pray for you. Please remember:

~ Denise and her vision.

~ Orion's family. This week will mark Orion's 5th birthday, his first in Heaven. The same day will be 6 months since he went to Heaven. Remember his family this week as they have another "first" without him here with them.

Thank you for visiting today. Visit other blogs or link up at Spiritual Sundays.

Have a day of blessings!

Flashback Friday

Here is this week's topic for Flashback Friday at Mocha With Linda: Last week we shared our memories of how we celebrated Easter when we were growing up. Many of us mentioned the new Easter dress, some complete with hat and gloves, that we had each year. The flashback this week surrounds our fashion memories. You may elaborate on your childhood Easter fashions and/or share about styles in general. What fashions were popular when you were growing up? (Any time from birth to high school graduation)

My flashback:

I'm going to share some things I remember about clothes I wore through the years. I don't have pictures to share with you.

Something that came to mind immediately was my hair accessories. I always had long hair. My Mom would put it in pony tails and also had ribbons or matching pony tail holders (which I always called "ponies"). I remember ribbons that looked like yarn. Also my Mom made a lot of bows for me when I was little.

I remember when I was probably 3rd or 4th grade my Mom made me a bunch of tshirts and tshirt dresses. My aunt made me some too. One of them had smiley faces on it with googly eyes and painted black smiles. One had little bows sewn across it. Too bad I don't have a picture of those to share! My younger cousin and I often got matching tshirts. We were at a craft store one time and had a glitter splatter painted heart added to purple tshirts. Then my Mom wrote our names in the middle of the hearts.

It was always a big deal to me to find THE suit for the first day of school. Usually I'd have something in mind and we'd look for just the right outfit. Once we got it I'd save it until the first day and wouldn't wear it until school started. I remember some of my "first day" suits. One was flowered leggings with a big black shirt. Do you remember "Hammer" pants? I think that was another suit for the first day. Mine were a yellow flowery pattern.

One year, I think when I was in middle school, everyone had "bubble suits." That's just what we called them, I don't know the "correct" name for them. They were made of light material with big puffy legs and then gathered back up at the ankle. I was so proud when my Mom made me one for my birthday. It was light blue with big flowers on it.

I wore cowgirl attire in middle school for a time as well. I had a couple pair of "Rockies" (one pair of purple, one turquoise) and a pair of light brown boots.

Well, that was funny to think about things I wore when I was younger. I look forward to reading your memories today.

Have a day of blessings!

2010 Book #13: An Absence So Great by Jane Kirkpatrick

I have finished reading An Absence So Great by Jane Kirkpatrick.

Here’s a summary:
While growing in confidence as a photographer, eighteen-year-old Jessie Ann Gaebele’s personal life is at a crossroads. Hoping she’s put an unfortunate romantic longing behind her as “water under the bridge,” she exiles herself to Milwaukee to operate photographic studios for those owners who have fallen ill with mercury poisoning.

Jessie gains footing in her dream to one day operate her own studio and soon finds herself in other Midwest towns, pursuing her profession. But even a job she loves can’t keep painful memories from seeping into her heart when the shadows of a forbidden love threaten to darken the portrait of her life.

My thoughts:
I was disappointed in this book. First of all, it was hard for me to get into it. It wasn't one of those book that I "just couldn't put down." This is the second in a series, and I did not realize that when I started reading. Maybe it would have been easier to follow had I read the first book. I was confused with the characters and knew they had previously had some relationship they weren't supposed to have, but it was never clear exactly what that relationship in the past was. I had a bad feeling towards the two main characters, Jessie and Fred, because it seemed they were so wrapped up in their own feelings that they didn't care who they were hurting because of their obvious continued affections for one another. It makes it hard to write a negative review because this book is based on the life of the author's grandmother. I mean it's not like she could change the facts of what happened. I just didn't agree with their attitudes that their relationship was okay, so I did not enjoy reading the book. I also know there is more to the story than just their inappropriate relationship. The book shows the reader how a woman pursued her love of photography at a time that the business world was dominated by men.

On a positive note, it was well-written, and I kept thinking how it would be a great book to use as a study like we did in high school English classes. There were certain themes that ran through this book on so many levels, and these would be interesting to study and follow throughout the book. Many comparisons are made to life being like a portrait. I enjoyed the black and white photographs that were included and the stories about them.

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group. Click here to learn more or buy this book.

Have a day of blessings!