{these moments} – A Friday ritual. A couple of photos – capturing precious moments from the week.  Simple, special, extraordinary moments to pause, savor and remember.

linking with Amanda and with Amy

Our family received a kit from Post, enabling us to sample the Post Honey Bunches of Oats Tropical Blends in exchange for a review.

We have 2 coupons for A Free Box of Honey Bunches of Oats Tropical Blends so that your family can try them as well.  You can enter below.

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First the first time in several years “one word” for the year didn’t come to me.  As a matter of fact, not one word, nor a few words.  But when I think over the books that I am currently reading there is no doubt that I am being led on down the road by my Saviour.  Time after time I find that what the Spirit is teaching me is brought up in Scripture, in books I am reading, sermons on Sunday and sermons on the radio.  Sometimes I’ve really thought that God, our pastor, Charles Stanley and my husband have had a conference.

Here I am again.

Because He Love me.

“It’s essential for us to think about God’s love today because it is only his love that can grant us the joy that will strengthen our hearts, the courage that will embolden us in our fight against sin and the assurance that will enable us to open up our lives to him so that he might deal powerfully with our unbelief and idolatry. 

If we don’t consciously live in the light of his love, the gospel will be secondary, virtually meaningless, and Jesus Christ will fade into insignificance.  Our faith will become all about us, our performance, and how we think we’re doing, and our transformation will be hindered.” Elyse Fitzpatrick in “Because He Loves Me.”

I am reading Hind’s Feet on High Places and listening to Because He Loves Me.   And I know that another golden thread is being woven into my heart, another transforming work being done upon my mind.

At the end of chapter 1 Elyse Fitzpatrick asks “Do you have any hopes or expectations as you begin this study?”

Right now I am experiencing a bit of breathless wonder that the God of the Universe once is again calling me further upwards.

linking with Ruth and with Joy.

 

Since I turned down several invitations to leave the house today (errands others wanted to do) I’ve enjoyed this DAY AT HOME.  Games of Dutch Blitz and Battleship have taken place and the hope of starting a new read aloud after dinner has me working to get some things wrapped up…

Home Sewn Nursing Pads ~ Sunshine Princess had her first baby on January 19th.  Nursing is going super well and today we set out to make some cloth nursing pads.   She picked up some cloth diapers at Target and I figure we can make 12 from 3 of the diapers.  This will allow us to set aside the rest for when JoyNess outgrows the ones our sweet neighbor friend lent us.

Another cousin quilt is almost completed, I have to sew the binding on one last side, then hand sew it down on the back side.  This is my favorite of the quilts I have made so far.

Can you believe how cute this is?

Fine Art drawings by cousins on cotton blocks

Good days.

{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember

This book, UNSTOPPABLE by Nick Vujicic, is an encouraging read.  Not only does Nick share the wisdom he has gleaned from his own struggles and victories, but he also share numerous stories of the struggles and victories of other people.  With each victory experienced after heartache and struggles, Nick is an example of one who believes every life is a gift from God, and a gift to be lived to the fullest.

He says, “God finds ways for us to use bad things for a good purpose.”  This sentence hit home for me.  There have been some bad things in my life, and it’s been difficult to believe that God will make something good out of them.  But, allowing God to show me how to use the bad things for a good purpose.  That makes more sense.

If you are looking for an inspiration read, this book is a bit long, but definitely inspiring.

This book was provided to me by WaterBrook Press in exchange for an honest review.

 I’m so ready for routine and schedules to resume in February.  We didn’t intend for our Christmas break to continue on into a Winter Break, but life brought us quite a few changes and challenges and tremendous blessings.  We have stacks of books waiting to be read, and since this book Goodbye to Yesterday is such a little read, I did manage to finish it.  It actually only took a little time one afternoon.

Goodbye to Yesterday by Wanda E. Brunstetter is part 1 of 6 in The Discovery series.  A sweet Amish fiction that reads easily, this story took me away from my own challenges for a little while.

As the story began to unfold and pick up a little speed I was surprised by the abrupt ending.  Just 121 small pages long, the story is to continue in The Silence of Winter in March of this year. 

While I did enjoy the story, that abrupt ending caused me to think about the size of the book.  I’ve waited a couple of days to write this review because I needed to think it over.  As a family we’ve read some great read alouds designed to be read daily, with cliff hangers at the end of each day’s reading.  This book wasn’t written in the same way, but it does seem strange to have a story printed in a short book form, and to have to wait a couple of months for the next segment of the story.  It’s really just a little more than a booklet in size. I’m curious to read what others think.

I recived this book in exchange for an honest review from HANDLEBAR — 207 Reber Street, Suite 100, Wheaton, IL 60187

We received two letters from Guatemala this past week!

Lesbia wrote in response to some questions we sent her in the fall.  One specific question I had asked her was about her father.  She always asks us to pray for her grandmother, her mother and herself, because they are “all alone.”  In this most recent letter from Lesbia, she was more open than ever before.  It seems that we have been granted a level of trust, that I cannot share the letter in full here.  We treasure this letter as an open door to a deeper relationship with this precious girl and to pray more specifically.

Now from Carlos,

 

Mae skipped cheerily into the house one day this past week singing, “Two letters Marme.”  In our home, getting sent to check the mail box is like a special treat, as each of us really look forward to those cream colored envelopes from Compassion International.  Seeing  “A Message from your Sponsored Child” is exciting to every member of the family.

Here are the 2 letters that arrived that day.

From Neema, Tanzania and from Lucia.

In case you noticed the similarities between the two letters, Neema and Lucia live in Tanzania and actually attend the same Child Development Center.   As they grow their different personalities are sure to be more noticeable.

We are also part of an online community that sponsors a young man through Compassion.  Earlier in the month we received a couple of emails with a scanned letter from Obwini, as well as a link to a song he mentioned in his letter.  I hope you enjoy!

“>Obwini’s Favorite Song