day7 Whales Tale Baby Blanket Review

"Wrapping your little ones in the love of God."

I was so excited to be chosen to review this beautiful baby blanket from day7 through the CWA Review Crew! Mine came in the mail Monday morning just four days before my 7th child arrives!

My blanket arrived in a nice sealed plastic bag. It comes in three colors, white, (shown above), blue and green. I received the green one. I love it! The first thing I noticed was how incredibly soft it is. My older children  ages 5, 3, and 22 months began to fight over who was going to snuggle with the blanket first.

Here is our 22 month old snuggled up with our new day7 blanket.

The dimensions and care instructions were placed directly in the front so they could be easily seen. You do not want to bleach nor dry clean this blanket. Here is a little more information about the brand new day7 Whales Tale blanket.

About the company from their website:

“By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.”

Genesis 2: 2 & 3

This verse is the foundation of our company.  We are designers, and quilters, and home makers, but above that, we are Christians who desire to share our gifts and abilities.  We want to be able to wrap God’s love around each person, and let them find a soft place to rest.

The founder of day 7 is Myra Harder, who has been working as a designer in the textile industry for the past 15 years. Through her career, her work has produced over 6 quilting titles, resulting in 100,000 copies of her books, she has produced thousands of yards of fabric for top design companies, and she has designed work for over 30 magazines, with 12.5 million copies in print. You will have seen her work on the covers of many top magazines on your local newsstands. However, as she worked, she felt the increased desire to share her faith in her designs, and a small idea started forming in the back of her mind. 2012 brought a decided change on the direction she wanted to create, and today we can introduce you to the first results of her new direction.

100% plush polyester fabric, double sided blanket

Original fabric design, featuring a verse from Psalm 23:3

Large 28″ x 34″ size, to wrap around your little one

Wash in cold water in the gentle cycle, tumble dry at low temperature

Do not bleach, iron or dry clean

Available for $34.99.

If you are looking for a wonderful baby shower gift or for a gift for a special small child this blanket would make an amazing gift! The scripture on it allows you to literally wrap your child in God's love! We were so blessed to get a chance to review this blanket. I can't wait to welcome our newest child and wrap her up in God's Word in this super soft blanket! Buy yours today at day7, or Amazon, or their Etsy shop.

I received a free blanket in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations. I am part of The CWA Review Crew.

Are You Playing by House Rules? A Review

Joe's estranged wife has just been involved in a horrible car accident. The doctors want to declare her brain dead so they can harvest her organs for another wealthy patient. But the hospital  soon becomes aware that Joe's wife is actually pregnant. Now more than one life hangs in the balance. A spiritual battle has begun for the life of Mary and her unborn child. In walks Robert. An outspoken Christian man with some strong values and heavy knowledge of the Constitution. He even has strong opinions about social security numbers and birth certificates. The hospital bills are growing, the Christian school where Joe teaches is being threatened with lawsuits. How much more can Joe take and will he be strong enough to make the right decisions to help preserve the life of his unborn child if his wife never recovers? Will his new faith in Jesus Christ really help him trust that God has everything in His control including the very soul of his wife? Will God hear his prayers and save his wife and child?

About the Authors:

Darren Grant, has a B.S.Ed. chemistry,M.S. Science Education, and has been a certified science teacher since 1991. For the first twelve years he taught within the public school systems of Kansas and Missouri. He became frustrated with all of the systematic built in problems inherent in public education. He learned first hand while he was a state representative delegate for the Kansas NEA that the problems in public education exist by design. The NEA exists to indoctrinate students - not educate them. He was tired of being part of the problem, so he left and taught for seven years in a private christian school. Darren is still certified, and continues working as a teacher and presenter for Real Ark Ministries.

Cara Grant, B.S. Vocal Performance, worked as a CPhT until our marriage in 1999. Since that time she has devoted her life to raising our six children. In December 2005 they formally launched Real Ark Ministries as an educational ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. Many of their friends asked what led them to investigate these issues and write this book. It certainly wasn’t an abundance of free time! They had plenty of activity to fill their days with running a small goat dairy, building a debt-free home, raising and homeschooling their six children, and Darren working full time outside the home as a science teacher. In 2000, they began to study freedom, the Constitution, and the Code of Federal Regulations. These topics eventually led them to study socialism, communism, and the New World Order. As they studied, they saw an evil no one seemed to be warning others about: the slavery of the church and the slavery of the common man. After the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, they felt even more compelled to warn others of the dangers of enslaving our churches and our children.

After a wildfire in Aug. 2011 took their home and most of their earthly belongings, they again evaluated what the most important issues in life should be. In this book, Darren and Cara have only provided a small sampling of the body of knowledge that exists on these two topics. Their prayer is that readers will take the time to study not only the dangers of church incorporation, but also the dangers of social security numbers and birth certificates.

Why social security numbers and birth certificates? Because these documents are the foundational documents for the enslavement of this generation and the next. 

My Thoughts:

I could hardly put this book down! It reminded me a little like some of Frank Peretti's writings as this book shared with the reader some of the hidden powers of darkness that were at work effecting the characters lives. There were many ideas in the book that challenged me such as birth certificates and social security numbers as well as church incorporation, three of the main themes running through the book. A few times I even stopped to look up a website or book or author and was impressed that this book, even though fiction, had real research with real websites that I could go and look up for myself.

This book had a great story and was worth the read if you read the more challenging issues like birth certificates and social security numbers with a grain of salt. However, if you are concerned about government and its role in your family's lives and would love to be inspired and challenged to research more, this is a wonderful book to make you think and research for yourself what is really going on in America.  Do you know what the Constitution really says or are you willing to have your life played out by others using "House Rules"? 

Buy the book here!

ISBN: 978-0983835967 | ASIN:  B009XMDY4U| List Price: $17.99/ 9.99 in Kindle | Format: Soft cover and kindle | Page Count: 370

Or at Amazon.

I received a free copy of this book to review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations. I am part of The CWA Review Crew.

Thanksgiving Table Cloth Project

This was such a fun project I did last year before Thanksgiving. I had seen this idea somewhere on one of my homeschooling websites, I'm sorry but I don't remember where. But I basically went to the Goodwill and bought an old sheet in a neutral color and some fabric paint in assorted fall colors. I poured the paint onto paper plates to make it easier to apply the paint to everyone's hands and I went around the table having each child press their hand prints in the spot where they would normally sit for a meal. The ones who were old enough signed their own names, (including my silly husband.) I then took a permanent marker and wrote out the Bible verse in the center of the table cloth. "O, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever." 1 Chronicles 16:34

Such a fun project and a wonderful keepsake table cloth! Looks like we'll adding some new hand prints this year too!

Hospital Nursing Gown with Matching Little Girls' Dresses and Review

I have just under three weeks left until I deliver my precious little girl via c-section. She will be our third daughter, fourth tubal-reversal baby, and my seventh child!

(Here I am with my six amazing kids who treated me to ice cream on Mother's Day this year. I am about 3 months along here.)

I can hardly believe the baby will be here and that this is all even real some days! I wanted to share my latest project I finished, my very own hospital nursing gown, I made myself!

I was looking on Pinterest and found this great post about making your own hospital nursing gown from The Crafty Cupboard.

I was really excited to attempt to make this hospital nursing gown as I wanted something to look forward  to as I never look forward to having c-sections. After all  this will be my seventh c-section and also my ninth major abdominal surgery.

Disclaimer: I haven't actually sewed anything in YEARS, (except for minor clothing repairs). I haven't tackled a major sewing project like this since before I had kids about 17 years ago.


I pre-washed and dried all my fabric before beginning. I then printed out the hospital gown pattern pieces on my printer.

 I followed the suggestions of a 36 inch length as I am not very tall and that turned out to be a nice length for me. I tapered my cutting to a nice A-line shape as suggested to accommodate my large tummy.

I followed the rest of the blog instructions fairly easily, creating a lovely nursing gown that doesn't fall off my shoulders thanks to snaps in the front and at each side. You can see a better a view of the front here.

I had a little trouble learning how to use the lightweight interfacing around the neckline, but it was definitely worth the effort as it makes for such a nice crisp neckline to attach snaps to. I accidentally ended up sewing my neckline completely together instead of just ironing it out as directed. The directions said to top stitch and I thought it meant to stitch it closed. This made it more difficult to sew the neckline onto the dress so I added an extra step and  sewed purple binding ribbon to the inside of my dress in order to attach the dress to the neckline. It ended up coming out just as nice. I added purple binding ribbon to the sleeves that match the ribbon around my tummy. I think it came out rather nice! Overall, I think the tutorial from The Crafty Cupboard was very thorough and I would definitely attempt to make this dress again.

The total dress cost probably less than $30 including 3 yards of material, purple thread, purple binding ribbon, and velcro, and snaps.

Now for the matching little girls' dresses!

My mother bought me a Simplicity New Look pattern at Wal-mart to make the girls' dresses in size 4 and 6, (along with all the material, it was a very nice birthday present for sure)! Thanks again, MOM!

I just followed the instructions and they were fairly easy to put together. The gathering at the waist was a little tricky but by the time I got to the second dress I got the hang of it. Since I took this picture above I have sewed some little purple bows onto the necklines and added purple ribbons at the waistline to match my gown.

For the infant gown I was inspired by another Pinterest post by Sweet Haute. Lazy Girl Designs has another hospital nursing gown but it didn't have the detachable nursing neckline like I wanted so I ended up going with The Crafty Cupboard's design. But what I DID like about this post was the cute matching infant gown. I basically made a small dress and sewed an elastic into the bottom of it and then sewed it to an infant onesie. I already had a pretty sweater and hat saved from my daughter so I thought it matched perfectly the purple fabric I chose for my dress!

I have two more dresses to make for the girls but I am already looking around at what I can sew next! Well, maybe after the baby comes I hopefully can pick up my sewing again soon. It is such a wonderful way to spend an afternoon! What sewing projects are you working on? 

Clothed With Thunder by Vicki Watson Book Review, Gift Ideas, and Lapbook Horse Study

I had the chance to review one of Vicki Watson's new books Carrie and Bandit and I couldn't wait to read the next book in the Sonrise Stable series with my girls.

INTRODUCING.....

Sonrise Stable: Clothed With Thunder

This is Book 3 in a Series of 4 from the Sonrise Stable series.

A little bit about the book from the website...

"After sitting through a 4-H demonstration on the evolution of the horse, Rosie and Carrie are determined to present the arguments for creation at the club’s next meeting. The demonstration proves harder to put together than they imagined as everyone offers the girls their opinions. The lessons Rosie learns about creation extend into her life in surprising ways as she faces her old adversary, Billy King, who cheated her out of her first trophy with her pony, Scamper."

About the Author: Vicki Watson

My love of horses began when a teenage neighbor offered me my first ride, on the back of her horse. From my 8-year-old perspective, it seemed like the biggest horse in the world. From that moment on, I was addicted. Horses were to become a very important part of my life, although I never could have imagined, at the time, how much God would teach me about Himself and my relationship to Him through these wonderful animals.

The Sonrise Stable series combines my love of God and horses in stories that I hope will help children learn more about both. I have a vision for ten initial books in the series, taking the main characters through one year. Beyond that I'll see where God leads me.

I have been blessed with three daughters and homeschooled each of them through high school. I enjoy trail riding my Rocky Mountain mare, Nikki, hiking, photography, and playing guitar. I work from home as a computer programmer and enjoy the variety and flexibility that allows.

Here is a fantastic trailer to the book. It is very informative and presents wonderful illustrations on the design of horses and how they could not have evolved.

                                    

My Thoughts:

My girls and I were excited to receive the next book in the Sonrise Stable series. This book picks up where the last book left off leaving us delighted to learn how the grandmother was healing from her trail riding accident. This book also jumps right into a heated discussion when the two homeschooled girls, Rosie and Carrie have to sit through a 4-H presentation that focused on evolution. I thought the author did a wonderful job weaving truth into the story as we follow the girls and their progress in presenting their own clever 4-H presentation. There are several life lessons learned as the girls are involved in their parent's decision to attend an auction to buy a new farm and Rosie learns to overcome some hard feelings against an old enemy. The end of the book gives great definitions to dive deeper into the topic of horses and how they are clearly designed by God. The author also gives a website where the reader can learn even more about creation truths. I would recommend this book for any young girl who loves Jesus and horses! Such a great little book!

Oh, and if you check out the Sonrise Stable website you'll see they sell t-shirts and jewelry to go along with the books! Last year I bought their heart shaped locket like the one in the Carrie and Bandit book. I think this necklace would be a great gift to go along with this book if someone were to gift the book to a young girl.

It's labeled as "Blue Ribbon Necklace" and you have to get to the end of the story to know why it is such a fitting necklace to go along with this book! Sorry, I just can't give you anymore details...you have to buy the book yourself! 

Or this t-shirt would make a great gift too!

Purchase your copy today directly from Sonrise Stable here or Amazon.

Like Sonrise Stable Books on Facebook here.

Follow on Twitter here.

You can also subscribe to Vicki's Youtube channel here.

And a homeschooling side note: (because we homeschoolers are always ready to take this to the next level), I found this great little lapbook on sale at Currclick through Free Homeschool Deals just as we were finishing this book. The discount may have expired but at $8 it is quite an in depth lapbook study of horses and worth the price.

Topics include:

All About Horses, Safety on Horses, The Colorings of Horses, Weaning a Foal, Caring for a Horse, Measuring a Horse: “Hands,” The Stall, Accessories For A Horse, Branding, Cowhands, Roundups, Horse Fun Fact, Requires 2 folders.

  Just click this link to get your own!

I received a free copy of this book to review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations. I am part of The CWA Review Crew.

Making a Felt Board for Bible Through Felt Betty Luken Felt Set

With baby number 7 on the way due in November I've been trying to track down inexpensive ways to teach my little ones at home. We love StarFall, for it's fun preschool learning time. We also use Nick Jr. occasionally with my three and five year old girls. They love to print out the craft projects from their favorite cartoon characters. I began looking into Easy Peasy Homeschool.  I am planning on using some of their ideas but I was looking for a more in depth Bible time with my little ones when someone on the Easy Peasy Facebook page mentioned another free website called ABC Jesus Loves Me. It is a great website incorporating Bible time with crafts and pre-reading and pre-writing skills as well. It utilizes the Betty Luken felt stories and I was thrilled to find a used set on ebay.
My order arrived yesterday and I remembered that I had just sold my four foot by 2 foot daycare sized flannel board so I was going to have to get a new one. I decided to make one!

We set out with the girls on a shopping adventure!

We ended up at Wal-mart and I purchased a cork board for $5.97.

I bought one yard of felt for $2.27.

(The girls wanted pink, my husband and I settled on a magenta. I really wanted just a traditional black, blue, or even green felt.)

Next I measured around the board and simply stapled the felt to the BACK of the cork board so we could use the cork board if we wanted to.

Here is the front of our new flannel board!

Here is the back of the flannel board and the front of the cork board. I plan to embellish the cork board side a bit so it doesn't just look like the back of a flannel board!

Here  are the girls after we finished our first Betty Luken flannel story on Creation!

The flannel set came with the book too!

What a fun project for a wonderful Bible curriculum!

A Cause To Be Thankful by Yolanda Shanks- BOOK REVIEW

Thankfulness. This is something I am trying to cultivate in the hearts of my children. With so many blessings in this world it can sometimes be hard to remember to give thanks to God and to the people who have blessed us. Using her own life as a suicide attempt survivor and through her healing process, Yolanda Shanks wrote this book to help others walk through the thankfulness process and to see that we really do have reason to reject living in ingratitude and discover a cause to be thankful.

This book is a fairly short read at only 110 pages but there is plenty of material to meditate and reflect on.While I would not use this book with my children as there are some very mature subject matters discussed such as a suicide attempt, I can definitely use many of the scripture passages and references in this book to help me in teaching my kids to live with a thankful heart toward God.
 This book is written with a suicide attempt survivor's heart in mind, but as Yolanda writes many of us may be able to remember a time when we felt lost and things seemed hopeless. Yolanda walks the reader through a study of thankfulness by first studying what thankfulness is and to whom are we to be thankful.  After studying what leprosy is and sharing her own personal testimony of her teenage mom experience and what led to her suicide attempt in chapter three, Yolanda dives into the heart of this book in chapter four and begins her in depth study of  the ten lepers and how they approached Jesus for healing and how only one of them came back to thank Jesus. She gives scripture references throughout the book and pauses often in the middle of the chapters to pray for the reader. She wraps the book up with a powerful message of salvation and help for the new believer in Christ. If you know someone who is hurting and feels lost and hopeless this might be a good book to either give to or study alongside them, for there truly is good reason and a cause to be thankful in Jesus Christ!

Yolanda Shanks

About the Author: Yolanda Shanks

Multi-published author, speaker, blogger, teacher, wife, grandmother—Yolanda Shanks wears many hats, but the one she most resonates with is her role as an advocate for living life to its fullest.

Shanks’ award-winning first book, Destined to Live, Despite Me, continues to be a source of hope for those battling effects from a prior suicide attempt. It garnered an enthusiastic Kirkus review, which stated the book was “a commendable guide for finding meaning after considering suicide.”

Her second book, Not Just a Hearer but a Doer (released June 2012) challenges the body of Christ to act upon scripture. In the Fall of 2012, she released a third project, entitled Destined to Live, Despite Me – A Cause to Be Thankful.

Check her website (www.YolandaShanks.com) for book events in your area and for weekly wisdom from this lover of life and committed Christ-follower.


From the back of the book, A Cause To Be Thankful,
"Have you ever considered how often we neglect expressing genuine gratitude?

The Bible gives an account of how Jesus healed ten lepers.

But only one returned to express thanks.

Using the Biblical story of the ten lepers as a reference, A Cause to Be Thankful by Yolanda Shanks will unpack the Biblical model for thankfulness, showing how a spirit of entitlement has overshadowed our spirit of thanks. In this straightforward and challenging book, you will not only learn how to return as the one leper who expressed gratitude, but you’ll come away with a clear plan for including consistent and genuine thanks in your prayer life and day-to-day encounters."

ISBN: 978-0985361600 | List Price: $12.95 | Format: Hard Copy | Page Count: 110


Follow Yolanda on Twitter:
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I received a free copy of this book to review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations. I am part of The CWA Review Crew.

See The Light Art Class-Review

I recently had the opportunity to review a fantastic art curriculum called See The Light. They offer three DVD programs called "Art Class", "Art Projects", and "Bible Stories". I chose to review "Art Class".

I received the first DVD in the "Art Class" series valued at $14.99.

(You can purchase the entire 9 DVD series for $99.)

Art Class is a 9 DVD/36 lesson series geared for ages 6 + that includes:

Step by Step Tutoring

Integrated Art History & Biblical Truth

Progressive Skill Building

No Workbooks Ever – Only Basic Supplies

Three bonus lessons 

This series qualifies for the Fine Arts school requirement.

(This is what the first DVD Lessons 1-4 cover for instruction.)

Lesson 1: TOOLS OF THE TRADE - Learn the basics of what makes a drawing. Master artist Pat Knepley demonstrates what you need to have on hand in your drawing “toolkit” to always be ready to draw. Supplies needed: #2 Pencil, White Eraser or Gray Kneaded Eraser, 1 Sheet of White Paper - 8 1/2 by 11.

Lesson 2: IT ALL STARTS WITH A LINE - The most fundamental element of all drawing is the line - but not all lines are alike! Learn about different line qualities and the most essential skill of drawing - contour drawing. Supplies needed: #2 Pencil, White Eraser or Gray Kneaded Eraser, 1 Sheet of White Paper - 8 1/2 by 11, 2 Apples.

Lesson 3: CONTOURS & COMPOSITION - Train your eyes and hands to be synchronized! You'll learn some tips to place items in a drawing - or "composition" - to get the best results! Supplies needed: #2 Pencil, White Eraser or Gray Kneaded Eraser, 3 Sheets of White Paper - 8 1/2 by 11, Black Fine Marker or Pen, Black or Dark Gray Charcoal Pencil, 2 Apples or any two pieces of Fruit.

Lesson4: DRAW WHAT YOU SEE - You'll take a common everyday item - a shoe - as your subject for a completed contour drawing. This is a true test of whether you draw what you SEE or what you KNOW! Supplies needed: #2 Pencil, White Eraser or Gray Kneaded Eraser, 1 Sheet of White Paper - 8 1/2 by 11 or a little larger if you have it, Black Sharpie Marker, A Shoe.

Bonus Lesson: CHALK-IT-EASY CHALK ART LESSON with See The Light chalk artist Gloria Kohlmann

I had heard of "See the Light" art curriculum but I didn't know they offered an actual art class that my children could use that would fulfill their fine arts requirement all with Bible-based lessons taught within the art curriculum! Check out this video to see "What is Art Class?"

Here is some information about the other two programs offered by See the Light.

Art Projects is a 9 DVD/36 lesson series geared for ages 10 +. Each of the 9 projects focuses on the work of a famous artist and contains:

Step by Step Tutoring

Integrated Biblical Truth

Art History

Art Elements

Art Principles

Bible Stories with Related Art Lessons is a 5 DVD series that includes a Bible story artistically and dramatically presented for the entire family. There are 3 step by step art lessons on each DVD that are related to the Bible story presented. Children of all ages love the “POP” of the black light included in each lesson. Bonus features are included on each DVD such as the Plan of Salvation, a commentary by the chalk artist, etc.

About the Creator:

Pat Holt has a passion for children and a heart for missions. She has worked with children since she volunteered for church ministry at age 14 before earning degrees in education and instructional technology.  Since then, she’s taught in public schools and founded a Christian school while authoring many books including the bestselling When You Feel Like Screaming – Help For Frustrated Mothers and the award winningDon’t Give in, Give Choices, as well as being a guest on a multitude of radio and TV programs. She was awarded the Gold Medallion in Christian Education by the Evangelical Publishers Association. Pat and her husband, Dave, live in California.

You can "like" See The Light on their Facebook Page or follow them on Twitter.

My Thoughts:

I thought this was a fantastic DVD art class program. Pat Knepley's love for art and teaching art really shows. Also her love for God and His Word is woven throughout the lessons and I found this a wonderful way to add inspiration to my children's daily lessons. The kids seemed to enjoy the DVD lessons too. I even had fun drawing along with my kids and learning the lessons with them. I'm looking forward to ordering the rest of the DVD's so we can finish out the year with a full art curriculum!

I received a free copy of this DVD to review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations. I am part of The CWA Review Crew.

"Don't Forget To Pack the Kids"- by Jill Richardson REVIEW

I grew up in a small town in Maine. It wasn't until I got married and moved to California that I ever really encountered people who didn't look like me on a daily basis. I went to work in a child care facility on a military base in Southern California. I took care of children 12-18 months five days a week. I once got to care for a little African- American baby named Corey. He had no teeth even at 15 months but he could "eat" a peanut butter sandwich with his gums! He was the sweetest little kid and I remember him snuggling up to me one day and I looked down at his wonderful brown skin. Such a stark contrast to my own milky white skin. A seed was planted in my heart that day to care for a child other than one who looked like me. For a child with dark skin to call me, "Mom".

Since then, my heart has longed to go on a missions trip and possibly adopt a child from a foreign country one day. I have not had the privilege to do either of these-yet, although my heart still longs to. So I was thrilled when I saw I had the chance to review Jill Richardson's book, Don't Forget to Pack the Kids. Maybe taking my family on a missions trip isn't such a far off idea.
What if there were more "why not" answers to my "why should we" questions?

Watch this video and see how the author's children and family were able to serve God on a short-term missions trip!




Here is some more information about the book.

"Short-term missions have traditionally been the province of singles, youth groups, and married-with-no-kids.

Five years ago, few would have picked up a book about taking the family on a short-term mission. Now, more and more of us 30 and 40-somethings with kids are asking―

Why can’t we do something meaningful for others with our kids? 
Why do we have to wait until they’re teens and then and pack them off on a youth group trip?
Why can’t we let them experience using their gifts in ministry now? 
And why can’t we discover those gifts alongside one another in an experience they’ll never forget?  Well, you can. With some planning specifically geared toward making a family mission trip successful, you can. And you should.

Don’t Forget to Pack the Kids interweaves personal experience stories with extensive how-to information.



Statistics tell us over three-fourths of our kids will leave the church when they leave home. Why? Part of the reason is their feeling that church is irrelevant to their lives and they can get entertainment and fulfillment elsewhere. If we taught our kids early that the church is relevant because they are the church, and it is fulfilling because they fill it with their gifts and ministry, we could reverse those statistics.

Serving together can be a huge part of that."

My Thoughts:

I loved this book. The author takes the reader on a fabulous journey of all the ins and outs of how and why you can and SHOULD take your family on a short-term  missions trip. I found this book to not only be inspiring but very practical. From fundraising ideas in chapter 6 to dealing with all the realities of missions trips I thought this book was a wonderful read and very inspiring to step out of my comfort zone and actually do this one day! The author reminds us through her own personal stories woven into her tips such as things like you can't think of this mission trip as a "vacation" as she describes having to "sleep" on a train with her family. This book has so many tips like making sure your health records are up to date to being certain you "pack Jesus" and spend a huge amount of time in prayer and planning and learning about the country you will eventually visit. If you have ever considered a short-term missions trip but thought you should wait to go once the kids were older, you might want to read this book and reconsider what God might have you do while your children are still young and what God  might teach your children out of their effort to serve and love people around the world!

Author BIO:
Jill has a BA in English and Education and an MDiv in theology. She is ordained in the Free Methodist Church and has served as a worship, preaching, and discipleship pastor. She is also a professional speaker available for speaking engagements. Jill is represented by Diana Flegel at Hartline Literary Agency.

With three daughters, three cats, and (thankfully!) only one husband, she keeps busy otherwise with community theater, gardening, reading, scrapbooking, and bugging her last child to do 4H projects. Jill loves oceans, cats, chocolate, teenagers, her family, the Cubs, and God, not necessarily in that order.

Follow Jill on her Website, Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin or on Youtube.

Amazon Link

ISBN-10: 0615581188 | ISBN- 13: 978-0615581187 | List Price: $8.00 Softcover, $3.99 Kindle |Format: Softcover and Kindle | Page Count: 134


I received a free copy of this book to review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations. I am part of The CWA Review Crew.

What is "Common Core" and Why You Should Care

There are some really bizarre ideas circulating around the internet lately. Watch the following video and you will see what I mean.




"these are our children...so part of it is we have to break through our kind of private idea that kids belong to their parents or kids belong to their families and recognize that kids belong to whole communities."


In case you missed it, did she REALLY just say that MY kids that I grew inside MY body, breastfed for years and home educated don't really belong to me, but to the state? I think NOT! My children are MY BLESSINGS from God and REWARD from my Heavenly Father. They absolutely do not belong to the community or state!

Psalm 127:3

"Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him."

Now I'm sure there are plenty of parents out there that would gladly hand their offspring over to the state and wash their hands of their responsibilities for that child, but most sane people would think MSNBC's anchor Melissa Harris-Perry's statement is foolish. Really? My kids don't belong to ME?

“It’s almost a parody of reality,” Glenn Beck said of the clip.  “It is so far beyond what we have ever thought as a nation, it’s remarkable…” 

Beck goes on to say that "while the notion has been reserved largely for theoretical papers thus far, Beck claimed it is growing legs in America’s academic curriculum and connected it to the concerns recently raised about two programs called Common Core and CSCOPE:

“It’s already being implemented with Common Core.  It’s already been implemented here in Texas with CSCOPE.  You don’t have a right to see as a parent what your children are learning.  You go to a Texas school and say, “Let me see the curriculum.”  You can’t.  “Let me see that test that you are teaching through CSCOPE.”  You can’t. You’re a parent.  You don’t have a right to know." You can read the rest of the article and watch the video HERE.

the-whole-story-on-common-core- Here is a link to get the whole story of the common core.

At first glance the Common Core curriculum initiative sounds great. If you look at their website you will find wonderful things like, "The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers. With American students fully prepared for the future, our communities will be best positioned to compete successfully in the global economy." You can read more at their website here.

"Robust and relevant"? Really?

Maine adopted Common Core standards back in April 4, 2011 and began fully implementing its standards in this school year of 2012-2013. The Maine website gives information on Common Core and what it plans to implement here. "Educational standards identify the skills and knowledge that students should have when they graduate from high school, and benchmark the development of those knowledge- and skill-sets either grade-by-grade, or over the course of a grade span." 

A ONE-SIZE FITS ALL EDUCATION!

It's all about preparing kids for the workforce, NOT about meeting the needs and learning styles of our kids.

Stopcommoncore.com put it this way:

"Simply put, the Common Core is designed to replace local and parental control over education with centralized, top-down control. The purpose is to train students for jobs, not educate them to be full, thoughtful citizens in our democratic republic. If we do not take action now to prevent this destructive experiment on our children, it will be too late."

When you check out stopcommoncore.com they have a myth vs fact page. It is really eye opening.

Like for instance Common Core was never a state-led initiative, but by private interests in Washington, D.C. without any representation of the states. There are many other myths placed beside the FACTS there. 

We would all do well to be educated in what Common Core really is and how to STOP it from being fully implemented. If you think homeschoolers are immune to this, be warned. Top homeschool curriculum companies such as Saxon have already adopted Common Core and are revamping their entire curriculum to accomodate it. The final phase then ends in testing kids who have been taught Common Core standards. If my homeschooled kids are not taught Common core standards then they won't do well on SAT's. Homschoolers are not immune to this ludicrous curriculum being adopted in America. Watch to the end of this short video on what Dr. Duke Pesta has to say about homeschooling and CC.

You can also order a video on Stopping the Common Core for a $10 donation over at Concerned Women for America.

If you would like to help, please sign this petition to STOP COMMON CORE IN MAINE

And one last word from your child's teacher...even some teachers know their jobs are being threatened by new changes in curriculum and data processing. I didn't even touch on that (data mining), you can learn more about that here.

http://spunkyhomeschool.blogspot.com/ has been working very hard to stop Common Core in her home state. Her site is well worth checking out. She has done a TON of research and people are listening! She recently gave her testimony before the Michigan Education Committee. SpunkyHomeschool Does not Align To Obamacore Go SpunkyHomeschool!!!!

There are many more websites out there to research this for yourself. These are just a few I have compiled that have stood out to me this week.

Please be informed of what is taking place without parental consent in your children's schools and PRAY! Our children belong to us, not to the government. Lest you believe compulsory schooling has always been in existence you can read a whole truth about the history of our American education system here.

My T.R.I.P. Update-Final Post!

We are coming in for a landing!!!

We have come to the end of our reading and writing journey with the Targeted Reading Improvement Program, also known as, T.R.I.P. To read more about why we started this program and  follow our progress through it you can follow the links below.

Why we started this T.R.I.P.!

First Update

Update number two

Update number three

A little information about the T.R.I.P. program...

From a trusted homeschool curriculum reviewer, Cathy Duffy,

"TRIP grew out of years of clinical work with students with reading problems. The same techniques used in one-on-one clinical lessons can now be done at home with parental guidance at far less cost with this interactive video program. The program is very nicely done with bright, colorful graphics and a clean, easy to use layout..." 

www.cathyduffyreviews.com

TRIP was created by Walter C. Waid and Jordan H. Price, teachers with a combined total of 40 years experience working with special needs, ADD, ADHD, Dyslexic, and special ed students. They received their degrees and teaching credentials from California State University Long Beach and Fullerton California, respectively. 

SPECIAL FEATURES 

TRIP Contains 20 lessons. Each lesson consists of 3 parts. Plus A How to To Instructional Video With Step-By-Step Teaching Instructions.

Below is a sample video of what you will see when you purchase the DVD.

The program is divided up into three parts.

Part 1: WORD LISTS

These contain 160 basic sight and phonetic words for instant recognition. Spelling practice is incorporated as well. You, the parent, administer this program with your child, just as though you were a private tutor. You make a check beside each word as your child reads the words correctly. My son breezed through the 160 words with little difficulty. My daughter is just learning to read so she had quite a bit of trouble reading the words. We will definitely revisit this program with her in another year or two.

Here are three of my kids. My 10 year-old is working through the flashing words at a fast pace. My 5 year-old is waiting patiently for her turn while my 3 year-old looks on.

Part 2: FLASHING PRACTICE. 

This consists of flashing a series of symbols, letters, numbers and words on the screen. Students have a choice of three speeds and write down what they see. This is designed to improve visual imagery for better spelling and reading accuracy. My kids loved this part of the program. My son enjoyed controlling the laptop flashing by pressing the flash button after each shape/line or word or number revealed. We started at the beginner level for my daughter but my son really had a blast working at the faster pace to challenge himself to write the symbols he saw before they disappeared!

Here is my son checking over his word list after completing the flashing words.

Part 3: STORY CARD. 

10 sight words are reinforced with each story card which is read aloud. Students practice writing down the words while following directions and answering simple comprehension questions. For this section of the program I had my son read the story out loud. In doing this, I was able to catch any words he was mispronouncing or transposing. I found he has a  tendency to place words not written there into the context as he tries to read through a sentence. For instance the sentence might say, "There were tears in her eyes." He would actually say, "There are tears in her eyes."

Overall, for the price of the DVD at only $19.99, I think this program is well worth it. The T.R.I.P. website explains that "private reading centers and tutors charge anywhere from $65.00 a lesson and up. Many tutoring centers will not even take special needs readers."  I'm so glad we were able to try this program out. If your child is a slow reader, a struggling reader, has ADD/ADHD, dyslexia, or other reading problems, this would be a great tool for parents to use to help their child become better readers. I think this program can really help a child break bad habits in reading and spelling and even writing as they work through the written flash words, and read through the spelling lists. At the end of 20 lessons, your child will be confident they can read through 160 words and you, the parent, will have an idea of where your child's strengths and weaknesses are in both reading and writing. You will be able to be more confident moving forward whether you homeschool or your child goes to public/private school knowing you have helped your child improve their reading skills!

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I received a free copy of this DVD to review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations. I am part of The CWA Review Crew.