99 Prayers for Children

Today I want to share with you a book called 99 Prayers for Children compiled by Juliet David and illustrated by Elina Ellis.

This is a sweet book for young children to read with their families. I personally liked the colorful illustrations and the variety of topics for which prayers were included. For example, there were prayers for mealtimes, bedtime, special days, and family and friends.  Some of the prayers will be familiar to you probably while others will be new. Some are rhyming poems as well.  It provides a nice way to teach children how to pray for others and as well as how to use different prayers and not just the same one every time.

This is a nice book for a gift or for your own children for families who enjoy praying together.

I received this book from the publisher and this review is my honest opinion. Thank you.

Have a day of blessings!

Thankful Thursday

This will be quick tonight!  What a day and week it has been!  We've been busy, and my husband was gone one night for a work trip so it made the week feel different. Here is my list for this week!

~ my husband's concern for me when my phone didn't work. I was not at home and didn't realize the phone was messed up till I'd left. I could call out but could not hear anything on the other end. He could call me but we couldn't hear each other. He was worried and called Sprint to see if they could get through. After I got to his office, we went on his lunch to the Sprint store and they thought it was a problem with the hole where the headset goes. So it worked with a headset. Later in the day it started working normally again.

~ my boy's ideas to wear in support of  Red Ribbon Week. Each day they had a different theme and he had some good ideas. My favorite was on "dress like a super hero day" when he dressed like his Dad.

~ my sweet humming baby boy. When I rock him to sleep some nights he will start humming to me. One night at a football game he got tired and laid his head on me and started humming. It's so sweet!

~ receiving a box of clothes for Titus from a friend that her baby couldn't use. It is cute and perfect size for him for fall/winter.

~ being able to order things online to save a trip to the store.

~ having a shopping cart cover made for Titus. I am so excited to use it. I never got one with Caleb but wanted one and asked my neighbor friend. She made it up in less than a week. It is a cute Mickey Mouse pattern.

~ getting my car back (again!).  My husband noticed a spot in the bumper that looked like paint was peeling so he took it back, and they fixed it. It took a few more days, but we have it home now.

Have a day of blessings!
 

Glory Days

About the book:
The wilderness. Maybe you know it well. 

The Israelites sure did. After all, they spent forty years wandering the desert. Victories were scarce. Progress was slow. They were free from Pharaoh but not free from fear. Saved but stuck. 

Sounds a lot like midlife misery. Caught in a rut. Stalled out. Running on empty. Are you mired in the same? 

You can name the day you became a Christian and escaped Egypt. But you can’t remember the last time you defeated a temptation or experienced an answered prayer. You’re fighting the same battles you fought the day you came to Christ. You’re out of Egypt, but Egypt’s not out of you. 

Isn’t the Christian life supposed to be better than this? 

Jesus offers abundant joy. Yet you live with oppressive grief. The epistles speak of grace. You shoulder guilt. You are more than a conqueror yet are commonly conquered by temptation or weaknesses. 

But there’s good news. With God’s help you can close the gap between the person you are and the person you want to be. Like Joshua and the Israelites, you can move from a wilderness existence into a promised inheritance. 

This is God’s vision for your life. You, at full throttle. You, as you were intended. You, as victor over the Jerichos and giants. You, minus the stumbles, hurts, and hate. 

You and your Promised Land life. 

New York Times bestselling author Max Lucado invites readers to leave the wilderness and discover a life defined by grace, refined by challenge, and aligned with a heavenly call. By studying the life of Joshua and the biblical book that bears his name, Lucado reveals God’s promises for every step and reminds readers that God still fights for them.

About the Author:
More than 120 million readers have been inspired by the words of Max Lucado. He lives with his wife, Denalyn, and their mischievous mutt, Andy, in San Antonio, Texas, where he serves the people of Oak Hills Church. 

My thoughts:
I have read many of Max Lucado's previous books.  I was interested in his new one called Glory Days.  It goes through the study of the book of Joshua, and I found this book to be encouraging.  It gave me a new perspective on the book of Joshua, and I want to go back and read this book of the Bible again with the thoughts from Lucado's book in mind.  There are great personal examples he uses with each chapter as you find in his other books, and his writing is very easy for reader to relate to what he is saying.  Also as is typical for many of his books, there is a study guide at the end with questions for each chapter.  I recommend this book to you and hope you benefit from it as I have.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers 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.” 

Have a day of blessings!
 

Thankful Thursday

We've had a rainy Thursday. It's been a soft steady rainfall and very soothing to hear as I've had the back porch door open most of the day. 

This week I'm thankful for...

~ my husband taking care if us in so many ways. 

~ my big boy enjoying the library books I get him. He looks forward to the day I go to the library for him. I get him a variety that I think he will enjoy. I always like to see which ones he is excited about and if I guess correctly at which will be his first to read. 

~ my baby boy making us laugh with his new moves. He has been doing something that looks like a push up position, and he holds that way for a few seconds. He's trying to figure out crawling...he's been doing motions to go backwards this week. He's so much fun!  

~ the much needed rain. 

~ visiting with my neighbor.

~ having a pretty "normal" week at home. I'm thankful for the routine and the way it feels to have a regular schedule.

What's on your thankful list today? 

Have a day of blessings!
 

Thankful Thursday

I have so many blessings. I'm thankful!  I can't believe it's the middle of October already. The holidays will be here soon. It hasn't felt like fall lately during the afternoon with the warm days.

This week I'm thankful for...
~my husband making me laugh and being an encouragement and helper to me.

~ my sweet boy making me a sandwich for my lunch this week. He wanted to make his sandwich for his lunch, and I saw it and told him it looked so good. I asked him if that one was mine. Then he made me one and left it in the fridge for me. It was very good too.  The one I made did not taste as good.

~ my baby boy having a good 6 monthh appointment. He is growing, healthy, and did not have trouble with his shots. Hearing his sweet talking was a sweet thing to wake up to this morning.

~ our new back porch/deck. It is not quite done, but I'm so excited already to spend time out there.

~ October 15 is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day.  We will always remember the two babies we have in Heaven.

~ my car being out of the shop (for repairs after I was rear ended). It's been there since October 5. I'm glad we had an extra vehicle during this time.

Have a day of blessings!
 

Our baby's room: Berenstain Bears!!

I am finally getting these pictures shared of Titus' bedroom.  We had several choices on our list of themes to use for baby room decorations.  I looked for ideas on Pinterest, and we decided together on Berenstain Bears.

Here is what we did (and by "we" I mean my Mom did most of these decorations! haha!)

This is a mobile my Mom made using pictures from old books. It hangs in a corner by the closet over his dresser.

These are pictures printed off the Internet that Caleb and I colored. They are sitting on the dresser.

This is the curtain.

Caleb and my Mom made this blanket or wall hanging.  Titus plays on it on the floor for now.

These are the pillows and bed sheet.

I saw this idea on Pinterest using a different book.  These letters were cut by my Mom and then covered with pictures from Berenstain Bear books.  I love how this turned out!

These little stuffed characters were a gift.  They are on top of his bookshelf along with a book we got.

Have a day of blessings!
 

6 months

Our baby boy is 6 months old today.  He is such a blessing to our family.

The time has gone so quickly. Today I was looking at the sweet pictures of the day he was born.  It always amazes me how much a baby changes in such a short time.

Titus is a happy boy and makes the sweetest faces and noises.  I like when he does his little humming noise as he lays on my shoulder.  He loves his big brother, and his little face lights up when he sees him.  He is sitting up by himself now. He's enjoying the baby food he has tried, and I'm thankful as well to still be able to breastfeed him.  He likes for us to read books to him.  He's been happy to go to his little cradle roll Bible class too on Sunday mornings.

We are so thankful for this little guy.  I love seeing his personality develop.  

Have a day of blessings!
 

My First Hands-On Bible

My thoughts:
What a great Bible for preschoolers! There are so many things about this that I really like.  First, it is great I think that it has the real text of the Bible, not just a snippet of the story. The New Living Translation is used so the stories are easy to understand I thought.  Second, the illustrations are wonderful.  Children will like these a lot I believe. Third, the hands-on activities are just perfect for little ones and relate appropriately to the stories. Some of the activities I liked are:  "Stand in a doorway, and try to block me from getting through." from the story Balaam's Talking Donkey; "Name three people who make you feel safe." from the story Boaz Helps Ruth. Finally, I like that at the end of each story is a prayer, a couple more activities, a couple questions, and "The Jesus Connection." Every story points back to Jesus.

If you have a preschooler in your family, this is a great Bible for you to read with them.  Read more about it here.  (I notice there is one of these available with a blue cover as well in case you were wondering!)

I received this book as part of the Tyndale review program.  Thank  you.

Have a day of blessings!
 

Thankful Thursday

Happy Thursday! We have had a good week.

What are you thankful for this week? Here is my list:

~ my husband getting to come home earlier than expected from his trip.  We missed him, and it was a good surprise for him to get back today.

~ my big boy doing so well in his first six weeks of junior high. We are proud of his hard work and how he wants to be involved in various activities.  He is such a good big brother too.  He really helped me while Daddy was away.  Wednesday night he fed his baby brother his carrots so I could shower really fast.  Then I got out, and he was getting a bath ready for him and wanted to bathe him too.

~ snuggles with my baby boy.  I love when he lays his head against me.

~ taking pictures in the pumpkins with the boys and bringing home one for the porch plus some baby ones for inside.

~ enjoying the fall weather.

~ making it the days and nights by myself with the boys.  It went smoother this time than the other time he had to be gone overnight, and I was thankful.

Have a day of blessings!
 

Free CD download!

One thing I have always felt was important was memorizing Scripture. I remember as a little girl having memory verses to recite in Sunday School.  I want to pass this on to our children.  With our oldest son, even before he was school age I would write out verses on sentence strips for him to practice.  I can still hear him saying those in his sweet little voice.

I was so blessed to be introduced to Seeds Family Worship years ago.  We've bought several CDs since then.  The CDs are straight word for word from the Bible.  And it makes it so easy to memorize the verses as you sing the songs.  I've been encouraged by listening to these with my family.  Another great thing is that when you order a CD from them, they send you two CDs so you can keep one for yourself and give one away.  Great idea, huh?

You can get a FREE download of Seeds of Courage CD from the Seeds Family Worship website.  It is super easy to get, just visit their website.  I am not sure how long this lasts so get it while you can. You will be blessed!

Also, I wanted to point out the blog they have on their website. Each week they post a new lesson to do centered around one of the verses from a CD. Our family has been doing these for a Wednesday night family lesson during the school year.  There is a write up for both younger kids and older ones so it's easy to use the ideas in any family.  Check out the blog here.

Go now to their website! Share this with a friend too.  Here is their Facebook page too.

Have a day of blessings!
 

The Prince Who Was Just Himself

Today I want to share with you a children' s book called The Prince Who Was Just Himself by Silke Schnee.

About the book:
The royal couple is looking forward to their third child. “He looks a little different,” muses the king at Prince Noah’s arrival. “He is not like the others,” agrees the queen. Soon they notice what a very special person he is, even though he can’t do everything his brothers can. When the youngest prince disarms the cruel knight Scarface, the nation’s most dreaded enemy, with an act of compassion, everyone finally realizes how good it is that each person is unique. This delightfully illustrated fairy tale for children three years and older instills appreciation for children with Down syndrome and other developmental challenges, making it a valuable aid for teaching tolerance in the home or classroom.

My thoughts:
I enjoyed this book and feel it has a good message.   I was touched how little Prince Noah reached out to the mean Scarface. No one else in the kingdom would have done that.  He didn't know any different and because of this made an impact on the enemy.

The illustrations go nicely with the story, and young children will like the castle and the king and queen.

This is a sweet story in my opinion.  Children will enjoy it and hopefully learn something from reading it (as could the adults who read it). It would be appropriate for a family or classroom.

The back of the book also has information about Down syndrome which I found helpful to myself.

Thank you to Handlebar for sending me a copy of the book for my review.

Have a day of blessings!
 

Thankful Thursday

Happy October!  How is it already October?

This week in thankful for...
~ my husband having a job to go to today. We weren't sure if there'd be another government shutdown or not.

~ seeing (or I guess hearing!) my big boy learn to play the trumpet. I have noticed progress already in the last month. It's exciting to see his excitement as he is learning it.

~ being able to breastfeed our baby boy. I keep praying that will continue to go well.

~ so many answers to prayers lately. I'm thankful God hears us and cares for us and our concerns matter to Him.

~ being able to go to a consignment sale. My boys had a "boys' night" while I shopped. I found some good buys for fall and a Christmas present for Titus!  I've also sold a bunch of things at the same sale.

~ supper cooking  in the crock pot.

Have a day of blessings!