Embracing the Full, Hard and Good Life, While Pausing Often by Quiet Waters
This paper airplane letter post is an updated version of a popular post from the archives. I’ve included paper airplane patterns with letters to my Compassion International sponsored kids, and am trying them out with my grandchildren when they visit. Simple. Easy. Fun
Hello Friends and Readers. The blog has been very quiet for a time. There are seasons of quiet when there are no words, and it is necessary to be still. This has been one.
BUT
You may know that I really love the Word of God and enjoy receiving newly packaged Bibles to review here on the blog. Well this week I have not one, but two Bible’s to tell you about. Today, I have a new children’s Bible that I think will be a super delightful gift for one of my grand daughters. As a matter of fact, I am thinking about buying a couple more copies as I have several grand daughters!
The Sparkle and Change Bible is packaged in a teal blue or pink cover. The cover of the Bible has embossed detailing, and sequins that change color right before your eyes. I have caught my teens handling this book, and running their hands over the sequins. It is definitely eye catching and fun.
This Bible is set in ten-point type, with bold in-text subject titles. This will help kids find the passages they are looking for more easily. There are bold type words that correspond with the dictionary and the concordance. And as always, I appreciate the maps and timeline that are included.
There are pretty pages that include a presentation page, a place to record favorite verses and articles to increase a child’s understanding of Jesus’ love and purpose for her.
The translation of this Bible is the International Children’s Bible by Tommy Nelson. This translation was created for children, for readability and understanding. This is a good translation for children between about 6 and 10 to use in his/her own reading and following along in Sunday School and church.
One thing I’d recommend is that you don’t have your child memorize in this translation. Choose the translation that your family, or your church teaches from… and memorize from it. From experience I know the challenge of memorizing in one translation…and it not meshing with the memory work in the teen and early adult years.
My photos just don’t do this Bible cover justice. It is quite pretty and very sparkly. Thank you to Front Gate Media and Tommy Nelson for this free Bible in exchange for this post.
Being a rather bookish person, I love to share good books with others. I’m finding that more and more of these sorts of posts are jotted into my planner.
My youngest children were literally raised, and schooled with books. Our home school was built around living books, great literature and plenty of time gathered around reading together.
I hope to pass that gift to my grandchildren, so I am constantly checking out new children’s books. And today I have three new books to share with you.
Loves Does was a family read aloud some years ago, and that book has stayed with me over the years. There are occasional clues that it has stayed with my kiddos as well. When I head that Bob and his daughter were teaming up to write a version for kids my excitement was intense. It is my plan to read my copy to my grandchildren…but we’ll see. We laughed, and cried our way through the original copy, and as I skimmed through LOVE DOES for Kids, the tears started again. So much of what this book is about resonates with the deepest hopes of my heart.
If you haven’t read Love Does yet, start there, but go ahead and buy these books together… as I think you’ll want to dive right into sharing the wisdom and love in action theme to the kids in your life!
Multiple copies of this charming, beautiful board book are stacked in my sewing room (a room with a locking door so I can keep gifts “hidden” as well as projects pet hair free). My youngest grandson, Mr Man, will be getting a copy for Christmas, and I also plan to gift this book to new moms in 2019.
And if you are wondering who sang the first song… no spoilers here, go get this book!
This is a touch and feel book and the illustrations are incredibly sweet. God Bless You & GOOD NIGHT is a perfect bedtime read. As your own little sweetheart settles in and gets sleepy, you can read about the baby animals getting ready for bed. Your little one can gently touch and feel the textures on each page as you begin to lay the foundation of security in God’s love. This is another book going on the little stack for little Mr Man this Christmas.
Two of these books were given to me by FrontGate Media in exchange for this review. And I gladly recommend God Bess You and GOOD NIGHT and LOVE DOES for Kids to you.
Maybe you’ve seen a lot about Sponsorship through Compassion International on social media lately. Maybe you’ve seen the tag “sponsor selfie day” and wondered what it’s all about. I want to share what sponsor selfie day means to me, a little about my 24 years of experience sponsoring children.
I first started sponsoring a child in 1994. As a young single mom, I just felt a tug to do something. I realized that some might not have even the basics that I was able provide for my daughter. At the time, I didn’t realize that I had made a long term commitment. When I married my husband, he joined me in the sponsorship of Edgar, until Edgar graduated from school and the Compassion program. And then we sponsored more children.
Now more than 20 years later I’ve seen sponsorship in action. A couple of my daughters and I have traveled to meet our sponsored children. I have seen what sponsoring a child does for a child, a family and a community. And with amazement and joy, I can see what involving ourselves in the lives of these kids has begun to do in each member of my family.
It is pure joy to sponsor Alys, pictured here, and Alisson, in the picture at the top of the page. Despite the difficulties these girls and their mommas face daily, sponsorship means they are not alone. I have linked arms with these mothers, the teachers, and the pastor of their local church. Together we each do our part to give Alys and Alisson, the opportunity to each reach her God ordained potential, to walk out of poverty and to fully live.
If you are interested in linking arms with a family and a church for a child growing up in poverty, please check out Compassion International , comment below, or email me at michelle at byquietwaters.com
I am happy to answer questions or help you sponsor a child, in Jesus name.
Kids in the Kitchen
Having our kids in the kitchen has been a normal part of family life. My husband is a great cook and an excellent teacher. From the time the kids hung out in backpacks while we cooked, until now, Builder has been teaching them how to cook all the favorites. Builder loves to cook big meals, with Thanksgiving being at the top of his favorites. So you can imagine making sure the kids know how to prepare not just any meal, but the Thanksgiving feast is high on his priority list.
Celiac Disease and Gluten Intolerance
As the years have passed, some challenges arose to the way we’ve always prepared food. First was the lactose intolerance that caused us to sideline some family favorites like lasagna. Then a gluten intolerance issue that got worse, and celiac disease entered our vocabulary. Add some food allergies and meal time became more of a challenge than a delight.
