Young Homemakers

Book Challenge 2012: January Book Reviews

2012-01-31T07:00:00.001-05:00

*R*

Ooh, I've had so much fun with my books this month! :D Something so grand about the start of a new year! I can always tell when I've found a great book because I look forward to coming back and reading it whenever I need to put it down for a bit...and that's just how the books for this month made me feel! :) *happy sigh*

{some goals for this year's challenge posts...shorter and more important detail...less useless chit-chat -- this may take some time to work on. Please, be patient with me}. ;)

Also, clicking on the titles will take you to the page where you can buy the book and sometimes read more about it!

I continued reading the books in the Sally Series: read my reviews here.
They were good, light reading material, but on the whole perhaps a little too far below my normal reading level. ;) But, it's good to read a wide variety and I did enjoy these. :)

My spiritual book for the month was: Until Christ Returns.
Though this was not a deep book, I also enjoyed this book! It gives you a bit to think about how we ought to be living our lives here today in light of eternity.

Besides the above, I also read and edited a friend's book which I *highly* enjoyed, and the play of another friend which I also highly enjoyed! :D I'm so delighted to have these opportunities to read godly Christian literature and help a friend at the same time. :) There was quite a bit of reading going on this month! I am trying to read as much as I can now because we have some hopes of some plans for the spring which will make it difficult to read more then.

* * * * *

So, in total this month's book total comes to (drum-roll please!! *da-da-da-ddaaaaaa*): 5 BOOKS!! (including the one I read by my friend)

I've already started the next books - the last book in the Sally series and What's So Amazing About Grace by Philip Yancey.

See you soon with more books to review! :D
Have a blessed week!
~Rachel~

Book Review 2012: More From the Sally Series

2012-01-30T17:30:00.001-05:00

*R*

Here are more books from my January reads! :)

I decided to continue in my reading of the Sally series, written by Elizabeth Coatsworth, published by Bethlehem Book co. These two books are the continuing story of the book I read in December, Away Goes Sally. You can read my review of book #1 here if you'd like (I'd encourage you to as I won't be sharing as much of the background history in this post).

Five Bushel Farm
by Elizabeth Coatsworth
(book #2 of the Sally series)

This book through me for a bit of a loop - as it's called the "Sally" series, you would think that the main character would be Sally correct? Well, she is, but with a little bit of a twist. The author changed the story to include new characters and the start of the story begins with them! It made for quite an interesting read! ;)

I really enjoyed the new story, the new characters, the new adventures! :D This second book introduces us to Andrew, a son of a sea captain, who is awaiting news of his father's sea voyage - his ship is late, is he still alive? The people he is staying with, the Whitcomb's say he's dead now, but Andrew refuses to believe it! Before he can find out, the Whitcomb's decide to pack up and move to a new territory! What is Andrew to do?

Along the way Andrew has many adventures, where he meets up with Sally, and finds a home. It all ends happily ever after - *bliss*! :D HeHe!

Notes: I only had one problem with this book, and that was the lady Andrew was first staying with, Mrs. Whitcomb, has a sort of "premonition" (a vision) and that is how she decides for her and her husband that they need to move to a new territory. I did not like that - both the leading her foolish husband nor the fact that she had a vision. But, the good news was it was only a few sentences that were very mild and the only thing in the book that gave any concern. ;)

The Fair American

by Elizabeth Coatsworth
(book #3 of the Sally series)

This book takes you on a fantastical trip with Andrew, Aunt Deborah, and Sally... plus even MORE new friends! ;D Sally, Andrew, and his new family are on a sailing trip on the Fair American, docked in France during the French Revolution.

The story begins again with another new character, Pierre, the fleeing son of an Aristocrat. We join Pierre as he runs, and hides, to save his life. Finding both safety and friendship aboard the Fair American.

I love all the historical facts shared throughout this little book, more-so than in the first two books in the series. I *love* history and learning about it and I admit I don't know much at all about the French Revolution. It would be a great book for children to read for fun for school to learn more about the time period and for me it just piqued my interest in this time in history! :D

I admit, this book was not as "thrilling", despite the plot and time period being exhilarating, the writing left something to be desired. It was still a good story, but when I can hardly remember enough to write for this post...that's pretty bad. :( I wish they had shared more about Sally, Andrew, and the family - and more about all the character's once they met up all together, but it was a good clean read. :) And as I said, it did get me quite interested in learning more about this period in history! :D So that's always nice! ;)

The White Horse
by Elizabeth Coatsworth
(book #2 of the Sally series)

Sally and Andrew are on another journey on the ship, the Fair American but along the way the ship is overtaken by the Barbary Coast pirates!! :O Sally, Andrew, and all on board are taken as captives and sold as slaves. It is quite a different thing for Sally, filled with new sites, new people, and an entirely new way of living than what she is used to in America. Every day she must face new challenges as she serves her mistress, however kind she is...often fearing for her life, and others, in the Sultan's household.

I don't know why but I did not find this book very exciting, despite it's very thrilling plot line! I think the problem was an overdose of description and thought and not enough actual speaking going on. I think this book might do well for the 10-12 age range, but younger ones or those with children of fearful minds might find it too scary for the littler ones - there were a few "terrifying" scenes in this storybook with lions and the fear of loved ones lives in great danger that might cause undue agitation for small ones. Older children will be fine, however. :)

Each of these books received a 4 star rating: ****

~

I'm excited to read the last book in the Sally series next.
This one Sally is almost a grown lady and suitor's have begun to pay their attentions to her - and we meet again with some old friends! :)

Well I pray you have enjoyed this review! :)
I shall post another post in a bit of my updated entire list for January.
Have a blessed evening!
~Rachel~

Book Review 2012: "Until Christ Returns"

2012-01-28T12:05:00.001-05:00

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I've decided for this year I'm going to try something different for my reading challenge book reviews. I like to talk a lot about books, and sometimes these book posts can become rather lengthy - even too lengthy! So I'm going to post the books from now on as I read them, with a post at the end of the month as a consolidation of all the reviews (links to my book reviews on that final post) so you can see all that I read for the month, and to make it easier for any who haven't had a chance to read all the reviews as of yet. ;) I just decided this so I'm getting a late start, next month the book reviews should be a little more spread out.

Another thing is that I've started an account on GoodReads.com where I've been posting my reviews/ratings. You can also follow along with me as I am able to mark what I am currently reading and how my progress is on each of the books I am reading! :D It's not only fun but it makes my life so much easier to have it all organized (and user friendly)! :)

* * * * *

Until Christ Returns:
Living Faithfully Today While We Wait for Our Glorious Tomorrow

by David Jeremiah

This was a book I'd had sitting on my shelf for a bit (I think it was a book from my grandmother's collection?) but never got around to reading last year. It made the perfect book to start my year off with - light reading while still very convicting with lot's of idea's to ponder over.

This book covers discussions on Christ's return, some prophecy, and mostly on godly living while we await His returning. It begins with talk of those Y2K predictions, the turn of the new Millennium, and man's constant predictions of setting the date for when Christ will come back. We need to be "discerning" in this age.

"[Christ] will come again. But we must look to Scripture, not human thought, for our guide to preparing." (p.6)

~
"Make [God's] Word your sourcebook..." (p.41)

The author encourages instead of following the predictions of man, to instead look to God's Word. And in so doing we will see that no man can say when Christ will return for His people. But, He IS coming, and we must live lives pleasing to Him, strive to witness to others, build up God's people, all while living with great hope for the future.
Instead of looking to predictions of Christ's coming, or even of studying all He has to say about the future in His Word, we are encouraged to spread the message of God's Word to others around us so they will come to a saving knowledge of Him! :) Why waste our time with the future when we can be serving Him now!

~ "Knowing the precise time of His coming is not important. But what is important is declaring His name and His salvation, near and far. Within your family and within your city. To your neighborhood. To the whole world. Jesus says, "Don't be asking me about times and seasons. Get busy and do the work." (p. 114) ~

We must guard against laziness and use the gifts and abilities the He has given us for His glory and the furtherance of His kingdom. We also need to be encouraging and build one another up in faith. We need to be lifting each other up in prayer, offering our friendship, and making "a genuine effort to meet one another's needs".

In knowing that Christ will return for us, it brings security and hope for today. There is no need to fear tomorrow for Christ is our Victory in the now and our hope for the future. We can trust Him because He's the only One who has never broken His promises, as we have evidence of in the Bible. It is our hope of the future that helps us with the challenges we face today. Though all around us gives way, Christ is our rock and His promises are sure!

"It is only as we fix our anchor in eternity that we find stability for life in these stress-filled days before our Lord's return." (182)

* * * * *

"We ought to live every day of our lives with eternity in view." (p.161)

This is the first book I've read by this author and I thoroughly enjoyed it. :) I give this book 4 stars ****

{I changed my ratings a bit to match with the GoodRead's ratings...so I rated this book as 4 stars "I liked it"; instead of 5 stars which would be "it was amazing". ;) It's a really great book, just not one of my all-time top picks.}

You can see my other review of this book on GoodReads.com here.

Have a most blessed day and a wonderful weekend!
~Rachel~

A Great Bookish Find!

2012-01-13T07:00:00.001-05:00

*R*

I have "discovered" (and I use that term loosely) a great site that is just the BEST for book organization! :D Okay, so my dear friend Sarah told me about it, Lol! I can't really take the credit for this one...Thanks Sarah! :D

I absolutely LOVE this site! It's very user-friendly, and it manages all the books I've read, the ones I *want* to read AND the books I am currently reading right now!!! :D Unlike other sites I've tried, it even had a bunch of the books that normally would be hard to find (some classics or books from Christian/homeschool book companies!). :) There's also a yearly challenge so you can automatically keep track of how many books you have read in a year - perfect for my 2012 reading challenge! Yes! I also found a few of my friends already had accounts so now I can see what they are reading and enjoy all of their reviews too! Fun!

Take a look and Enjoy! :D

goodreads.com

Here is my profile where you can take a look at a bunch of the books I've read both last year and previously, as well as keep up with all the books I am reading/complete each month in the reading challenge! :D I've added a few new blog buttons to the left sidebar for this too.

Love and Blessings!
~Rachel~

A Magnetic Affect

2012-01-12T07:00:00.001-05:00

*R*

"If you have put your faith in Christ and have spent significant time in the Word of God, the tough times can be like a magnet that draws you to the Lord Jesus.

Nothing is going to happen
- EVER -
that will catch Jesus Christ by surprise.

He is able to help His children work through anything, and not a *single thing* is going to happen in the future that can change that fact."
~David Jeremiah {"Until Christ Returns"; p.11}

Have a blessed day! :D
~Rachel~

A January Goal Update

2012-01-09T11:32:00.002-05:00

*R*

I thought it would be fun to give an update of what I've been up to in the past week. :) It feels as though it's been longer than a week...so much has gone on!

I've been quite busy trying to get into a sort of "routine" this past week with all the challenges I've joined. Can't get behind now can we? ;D So I've been busy memorizing my verses, reading, and exercising! :) We also had two babysitting opportunities this week - little kiddo's are the best! We watched some at the ladies Friday morning Bible study at church which Jessica and I do 2 times a month - they are just precious! :) We got to hold a new baby and I got invited over for a "tea party" where we had "smoothies" with something that looked like chicken but was called a "potato" in them. ;D *giggles* And then Nathan and I had nursery Sunday with 2 little ones who kept us on our toes. The last 30 min. of the time I ended up rocking them in a large chair together with music on in the background...that's the only way we could keep the little boy out of mischief and the little girl from bursting into a sudden fit of tears. Once there though they were both as contented as could be. ;)

I've been doing a *LOT* of this....
I've completed almost 2 books already for this month's challenge. :)
I'm trying to make certain that I'm not trying to read too many books all at once right now. There are so many on my list that I want to be reading them all! HeHe!

...Quite a bit of this was done too.
Though I would like to work more on the blogging and things that need to be done and less of the browsing.
*cough*

And some of this, though not as much as I need to to get the projects completed that I were "supposed" to be Christmas gifts. *sigh* More of that will be done this week.

A little bit of note taking for my devotions. :)
You can find the best quotes from books! :D

Some of this too...
And some of the thinking and pondering as well. :D Lol!
"What *DO* I make for dinner?" ;)

*FAR* too much of this. :( Oops.
But I'm working on some plans for some projects so it does help having it all in one place where I can see what I'm looking at.
Just this week my sewing student sent me a link to this *fabulous* (mostly knitting) site! :D It's a Norwegian company with English translated patterns {so, "jumper" is really a "sweater" to us Americans. ;) *HeHe!* I thought that was neat!}
Some of the patterns are quite detailed with Norwegian designing (which I why I love it so) but there are some simple patterns and a few crochet patterns as far as I've seen that is (there may be more around...)

Ah, I so enjoy letter writing! :D
I've been doing a little of this too (Both letters and email)...now if I could only get them *to* the post office! :P

And *THIS* is what I've been spending a great deal of my time with. :)
Memorizing verses from 1 Peter!
Each week we have about 2-3 verses to memorize and I want to make sure I am constantly working on these...I have a lot of memory troubles when it comes to memorizing things. But, with a little perseverance and dedication it's coming along quite well. :D
I can't wait till I can say I've memorized an entire chapter! That seems almost too amazing to be possible in my mind right now. ;) That will be pretty exciting for me! But, that's a long ways off for now....just taking it one week at a time. :)

I'm still working on this one. :)
I joined some friends in trying to exercise more...and I've been working on eating healthier too.
It's been going well...the beginning is always hard to stop old habits and learn some new ones. ;)

Well, that's what I've been up to this week...and I'll be doing it again this week too most likely. :) What have you all been doing so far this year? How are you doing in your goals?

Have a great and blessed week!
~Rachel~

Hope & Joy

2012-01-08T08:52:00.001-05:00

*R*

"Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost." ~ Romans 15:13

My words of the year are "Joy" and "Hope". So far I haven't been learning so much as just remembering. :) Remembering that I can have joy even in hard times...remembering I have a hope for the future in my Lord Jesus Christ. Remembering in each difficult moment that I have a choice - I can choose to have a bad attitude, get angry, and grumble...or I can choose joy! Remembering that instead of despairing in a moment of tragedy or thinking of all the things that could go wrong in life...to choose to hope in my God! :)

Each week through this year I'd like to share a verse or two; on one or the other, or both of these words, to remind myself and you of the joy and hope we have as God's children. :D Sometimes I'll also share a song video or favorite quote. This will give me an opportunity from time to time to tell you how God is using these two words in my walk, which I pray will be an encouragement to your faith in our Great God. :)

For today, just think about and remind yourselves of the joy and hope we have in Him and what that means to you. :)

Charles Spurgeon: "Set all your affections on His person, all your hope in His merit, all your trust in His efficacious blood, and all your joy in His presence. Bind your heart to Him who will never leave you."

Have a blessed Sunday!
~Rachel~

Giveaway: "It's (Not That) Complicated" Book

2012-01-06T14:01:00.009-05:00

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I wanted to let you all know that Jenna from Feminine Farmgirl is hosting a giveaway of the "It's (Not That) Complicated" by Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin! :D I'm very interested in reading this one, which is about how to handle relationships with young men in a godly and biblical way.

Though I do not always agree 100% with everything this family has to say, they do get you thinking and have some sound biblical points. :) This book sounds like the best these ladies have written as of yet!! :D

To read more, please click here to visit the giveaway! :D

It's (Not That) Complicated by Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin

Have a most blessed weekend!
~Rachel~

EEEEKKK!!! A GIVEAWAY!! :D

2012-01-05T21:38:00.006-05:00

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I love giveaway's as much as the next girl and this one is so fantastic! :D

The Long Ladies from Marie-Madeline Studio are hosting another giveaway!!! This one is great! Your clues are...fabric and a sewing book!!! ;D Click the link below!

Marie-Madeline Studio Giveaway!

Blessings! :D
~Rachel~

Jessica's Goals for 2012

2012-01-02T12:55:00.000-05:00

~J~

Last year, I didn't do much goal setting for myself. I kind of ended up just winging things. While that was all well and good and I still managed to get a few major things accomplished, (like finishing my first book and beginning it's sequel) this year, I decided to challenge myself once again by making up some specific goals for the year 2012. Okay, I understand that you know what year it is, I just like writing 2012. It makes me excited about the possibilities this new year could hold. With that in mind, here are some of the major goals I made for this new year...

Read one book a month - My sister participated in a book challenge last year and is doing it again this year. I decided to join her since I didn't get much reading done last year.

Complete the MOHL "His Word in our Hearts 2012 - The 1 Peter Project" memory verse challenge. I, along with my sister and a brave few, will be memorizing the entire book of 1 Peter over the course of this year. which amounts to about two verses a week. Care to join us?

Finish editing my first book

Finish the first draft of my second book

Blog more consistently - yeah, I was terrible with blogging this last year.

Work towards being more healthy (exercising and eating right)

So those are some of my goals for the year. I have a few more but they are a bit more personal and so I didn't really want to share them online for the whole world to be able to read. ;) I know this looks like a lot but I think I can manage. I just need to dig deep and give my all. Please pray for me as I strive to complete these challenging tasks.

Jessica's highlights of 2011

2011-12-31T12:21:00.003-05:00

~J~

Okay, so I know that I didn't do much blogging this year. Okay, so I barely did any at all. However, though I wasn't blogging, I did keep myself busy with other things. I just didn't do much blogging about them. Here is a list of some of the highlights of 2011 for me.

January started off well enough with the MOHL Bible Challenge. I reluctantly joined in on the three month challenge of reading the entire bible. It was definitely a struggle but I managed to finish a day or so before the deadline. Thanks to the help of the other MOHL ladies and my sister for their encouragement. Although I am again slightly reluctant, I'm excited to start this years MOHL Bible challenge - Memorizing the entire book of 1 Peter over the course of this year. I know, it sounds like a daunting task but when you break it down, it only comes out to about two verses a week. Surely I can handle that... I hope. ;)

After the bible challenge was completed, I just wanted to crash. Instead of doing that, however, I resumed working on my book. I only had a few chapters left to write after a grueling writing schedule in 2010. I managed to finish my book in April. It may not seem like much to you, but having finished a book for the first time and having it's word count be 82k was extremely exciting and rewarding for me. Out of everything I did this year, finishing my book was in my list of top two most memorable experiences.

The Chap conference in May was the next big highlight. My family hadn't been to the home-school conference for a few years. (due to money) This year, we were able to all go as a family since the conference gave a reduced family price in honor of their 25th anniversary. Though we ended up not buying much, we treated the trip as a sort of mini family vacation. (the first we've had in a while) We had a lot of fun and it was a good trip overall.

June brought with it the exciting visit of our dear friends from Texas. Sarah and Rose came to visit for two whole weeks. We went everywhere from DC to Valley Forge to Shady Maple and even Winterthur and Longwood Gardens. (we had gone on Longwoods free day and bought a membership at a reduced price specifically so that we could take Sarah and Rose to see it. This year was our families first time ever going to Longwood Gardens.) In Between all those trips, we spent a lot of time talking, playing games, watching movies and just, enjoying each others company. This was the second most memorable experience of 2011 for me. I'll never forget it. It was such a time of encouragement and joy and it was a huge blessing to be around such godly, like-minded young ladies.

(Rose, Sarah, Me and Rachel at Longwood)

July was our church's VBS. We had a lot of fun volunteering, although it was hard work.

(the vbs shirts were so colorful this year)

We also went to Longwood for a fountain show in July. It was a lot of fun and the colors were just spectacular. here is a post I wrote about it if you want to see pictures from the event.

Another highlight of the year, though not as fun as Sarah and Rose's visit, was the earthquake we experienced. This was one of the many firsts of 2011. It really made me thankful that God was in control. I am so grateful that none of my family was injured.

Seems this year was the year of disasters. After the earthquake, a hurricane hit our area. Kind of scary. We ended up evacuating and going to stay in a hotel for a few nights. (yet another sort of mini vacation)

In September, we had our annual church picnic. Only my parents and I went. (I forget the reason that the rest of the family stayed home. Were they sick? lol!) We were also able to go see Courageous in the theater. It was both challenging and a joy to watch. Waffle Fries anyone?! ;)

October held a big scare for our family as my dad was rushed to the emergency room late one night/early morning. Here is a post Rachel wrote about it if you're interested in reading it.

The night before Thanksgiving day, our neighbors house caught fire. We were so thankful that no one was injured and that the firemen were able to put it out before it reached the houses next to it. This was my first time seeing a house fire. I've seen cars catch fire but it was a lot more scary seeing a house burn.

After thanksgiving, Rachel and I began to focus all our attentions on the Christmas play we were acting and singing in for our church. We performed it twice over the weekend before Christmas. Most of the family had just gotten over being sick and Rachel's was still lingering a bit so our voices weren't at their best, but we were able to bless others and bring glory to God which is what the goal was anyway. The kids did wonderfully and Rachel and I made several new, young friends. It was a great learning experience for me in seeing how God could use even young children to further His kingdom and share His Word. We hope to participate in more church plays in the future, Lord willing.

So, that's my year in review. I'm sure I missed some things but these were the ones that stuck out most. Hope you enjoyed this post!

Wishing you a blessed new year,
Jessica

Rachel's Favorite Things from 2011

2011-12-31T12:00:00.006-05:00

*R*

2011 had so many wonderful highlights, I just wanted to do a post sharing them all together and thank the Lord for all He's done for us this year. :)

"My soul doth magnify the Lord" ~ Luke 1:6b

"O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together." ~ Psalm 34:3

***

January:

Joined the Book challenge
Joined the MOHL Bible Blas t as we read through the entire bible in 3 months! :D -- we had 50 ladies join us in reading through the bible!! Praise the Lord! {you can see info. for the 2o12 challenge here!}

February

We hit our 200 follower's mark! :) Thanks to all those who continue to follow our little blog. ;) We pray that God will use us!

March:

Turned 25! :D
Continued in the book challenge...
...and joined a media minimization for March (no more than 15 min. of email only per day; no tv)! At this point I was doing **3** challenges in March!
Completed the last month of the MOHL Bible Blast! It was so much fun, but also good to have that challenge. :)

April:

Celebrating the 2-year blogiversary of the Meditations of His Love blog with my girls! :) God has been so good to us and I've been so blessed from being able to write for this blog!

May:

Made plans for our TX friend's visit coming in June! :D
A trip to the CHAP conference in PA! We don't always get to go and this was the first time we've gotten to go *ALL TOGETHER!!* :D It was so much fun and it was a great family bonding time after so many hard times the past (then) 1-1/2 years of my dad's unemployment.
I published my first original recipe! Thanks Gooseberry Patch! :D *squeals*

June:

the best part of this month was meeting 2 of our blogging friends: Sarah & Rose! :D Lord willing we'll be able to meet more of you, our dear blogging friends in future!

July:

Celebrated Mom's 50th birthday with friends and family. :) {her birthday is in June, but we had guests then and mom was out of town I think? so we waited to celebrate till July.} I made a cake and lot's of delicious goodies - it was so much fun!
Trips to Longwood Gardens (fountain show!)
volunteered with our church's VBS {we've missed helping with this!! So much fun!}

August:

Survived a hurricane {my first} and learned some valuable lessons about trusting God. :) {That made it to be a hurricane, a tornado, and an earthquake all in the *SAME YEAR*!!! :O}
Completed my first quilt!

September:

Saw Sherwood Pictures new film, "Courageous"!! :D It. Was. *AWESOME!!!!!* {yes, I cried} coming to DVD January...EEeek! :D

October:

Celebrated our 3-year blogiversary! :D
"More to be Thankful for..." (dad's trip to the emergence room) ~ Okay, this wasn't my "favorite" thing that happened this year...but it was another way we saw God working in our lives and that can't be missed! He is so good!

November:

I started a new challenge on Young Homemakers ~ The 30 Days of Thankfulness Challenge! Each day myself and other blogger's (thank you to those who joined!) wrote about 1 thing that we were thankful for. :)
Entering in the annual Cake Contest for the Fall Festival at church with my Rose Cake design and yummy spice cake with pumpkin frosting. (I won).

December:

Participated in a Christmas play at our church with my family! :) Such sweet memories!
Completed the last month of the Book Challenge 2011 having read 31 books!!!

* * *

A few favorite posts I *read* in 2011:

"Choose and Identity": by Miss Julia ~ This was one of my favorite posts I read this past year, by my friend Julia. :)

"Our Plans Must Fail" ~ "I never could have begun to imagine that the failure of my plans would mean the fulfillment of my dreams."

"Surrender the Staff...or the Snake": by Rachelle ~ This was only posted today...but oh what an encouragement it was for me! I didn't want you all to miss it! Please stop by my friend Rachelle's blog, Inspiring Daring, and read this amazing article about

"Luster" by our dear friend Ena (she's such an amazing writer!) - she was kind enough to let us re-post her lovely poem on our blog. It's about the real beauty of a young girl and not following after the world's idea's of beauty :) Enjoy!

"Better to be Happy Old Maids..." ~ by my sis, Jessica! A quote she shared from "Little Women" that really makes you think!

"Presenting Mr. Ashley Newton" ~ this is one of those "ouch" posts on courtship/singleness. ;)

{these are only a *FEW* of the good ones...I couldn't find all the ones I was blessed by... ;) I had these few bookmarked and saved.}

Favorite posts *I wrote* in 2011:

Being Daring in the Everyday Moments: part 1 & part 2 {a guest post on my friend Rachelle's blog}

Christ My Bridegroom ~ An encouragement in singleness and purity. :) "...and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee." ~ Isaiah 62:5b

Lessons from Leviticus: Sin ~ Just some things God opened my eyes and heart to in the area of sin and what it means to Him to have sin in our lives...things I learned in my readings from the Bible.

"Having a Heart for God in the Craziness of Life": an MOHL post {this one's pretty self-explanatory)

"Content to be Single" ~ It's not easy being different from the world...and sometimes being single can be downright lonely (even in the midst of a crowd of people). But God has taught me and continues to remind me that I am His, He is in control, and that I can have "JOY"! Included in this post are some book suggestions on courtship, contentment, and singleness to the glory of God. :)

"Godly, Sisterly, Encouragement" ~ How God has used the area of friendships of all ages to teach me many wonderful things...

"Glorifying God in the Hard Times": and MOHL post ~ "...instead of wishing for a comfortable life, I wish for circumstances that will show off God's greatness and glory."

"Changing": an MOHL post ~ this one is about our devotional times and having a heart that desires God's word instead of just "going through the motions" of reading the bible. :)

"God's Plan for Your Year": an MOHL post ~ Some things God taught me at the beginning of 2011...that still reign true as we head into 2012. ;)

New Favorite Songs I listened to in 2011:

"Blessings" by Laura Story ~ sister in Christ from our church sang this and Jessica and I immediately afterward Jessica and I had to ask her what the song was. It talks about how the trials and hardships we face are the blessings and mercies of God in disguise. It's so true!
"In My Weakness" - this one talks about God's strength in our times of weakness and weariness.
"It's About the Cross" by a new-to-me music group, The Ball Brothers. Beautiful harmonies, powerful words.
"Courageous" - by Casting Crowns. I'm sure many of you know this one...written for the Courageous film that came out this year this song calls us to stand strong in the Lord and be courageous! :D
"The Precious Blood" by Sovereign Grace Music -- Just a beautiful song all around (my new favorite music group!).
"He Gives me Peace" by Christy Galkin ~ Peace in the midst of trials...this song never ceases to bless my heart and soul. :)

***

My word of the year turned out to be "anchor". Every year God chooses a word for me...it's a tool He uses to teach me things about His character, about myself and how valued I am in Christ, and of the way God wants me to live, as well as ways to encourage me in my faith and Christian walk each day. :) I heard this word in many songs, bible verses, blog posts, and much more this year - "God-incidences". ;)

***

{source - my aunt shared this, I'm not sure if she took the picture or not}.

Well, so long 2011! :( It's been a bumpy, but great, year!
Thank you Lord for all you've had me experience this year...(good and bad).

Happy New Year!! May the Lord bless each of you!
~Rachel~

~ Some Goals for 2012 ~

2011-12-31T07:00:00.005-05:00

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Everyone makes resolutions for the new year correct? Well, I don't like to call them that and I don't really make them, per say...at least not the way others do. I do make goals though! ;) I'm good at that (ha, the only trouble comes in completing them, right!). :D

God's been teaching me a lot especially in this last month of the year. I have area's of weakness and sin that He's been gently telling me to let go, work on, etc. So in 2012, the two of us are going to be working on that together. ;)

"Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof." ~ Romans 6:12

MY 2012 goals are as follows:

1. The MOHL Challenge -- "His Word in Our Hearts: the 1 Peter Project" ~ memorizing the book of 1 Peter in 1 year (2 verses week, approx.). I'm *really* looking forward to this one! :D

2. The Book Challenge ~ my goal is to read 2 books a month!

3. And then some family friends of ours are going to be working on exercising and so I'm joining them because I need to work on that too (they were nice enough to let me join them). :)

4. Working on letting go of "self" and thinking more on God; recognizing area's of sin that I've allowed to reign in me and with God's help, to take care of some of those.

5. Every year God brings along a word or even a phrase to remind me of His promises and how much He loves me. One year it was "contentment", another it was ". Last year the word was "anchor" and God reminded me that He is holding onto me and I am secure in Him. I found my word everywhere: a phrase spoken, something I'd read, 2 new favorite songs, and in His word (something I hadn't seen before)! :D 2012's words seem like they're going to be "Hope & Joy". :) Two very lovely words if you ask me! I am so excited to see what God's going to teach me through meditating on the meanings of them (perhaps you'll hear more about this in future on the MOHL blog as well as our own)!

{source}

So I shall have quite the busy year working on all the area's: mind, soul, and body in 2012! :D Got it all covered! ;) Lol! I'm praying God will teach me many things in this next year. :)

May the Lord bless you in 2012! :D
~Rachel~

Book Challenge 2011: End of Year Review

2011-12-30T11:00:00.071-05:00

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Well my friends, the year is closing and so is this book challenge for 2011. It's been fun, it's been great...it's certainly lived up to it's title "challenge"! ;) Lol!

With God's help I was able to accomplish my goal and then some! My goal for 2011 was to read 24 books, a huge goal for one who hasn't read very much in the last few years since highschool! I have always loved reading but finding great books to read that will be both entertaining, but more than that to be spiritually strengthening, can be quite difficult at times (on a tight budget that is). But it seems I hadn't really taken a good look at our bookshelves and when I did...I found an entire treasure trove of books yet to be read by myself! :D I still have bunches on my shelf I've collected that never got read this year {2012 here I come!}. ;)

~ With God's help I was able to read 31 books in 2011! ~

Thank you all for your support & prayers, your encouragement, and your comments! :) I am so blessed to have friends and reader's like you! :D I'm glad you enjoyed reading the reviews and I pray they encouraged you and maybe inspired you as well to get reading more (perhaps you found a few treasures this year yourself to read in future?)!

* My rating system:

***** = Best books ever and will read numerous times and highly recommend as everyone should read this (want my own copy too!!!)! Top Favorites. :)

**** = A good book that I would recommend and might read again sometime.

*** = Okay book...not too exciting, perhaps a few things I disagreed with. May or may not ever read again. Probably won't recommend though.

** = Disagreed with much of this book and/or did not enjoy content/writing style of this book. Won't recommend and won't ever read again.

* = Please don't read this...no one should. (end of story). ;)

{I have tried to give fair reviews/ratings but please remember these are my opinions only. You are free to think differently. ;)}
- for a full list of my reviews see here.

Books Read: 2011

January

“Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God” - by Francis Chan *****

“Presenting Miss Jane Austen” – by May Lamberton Becker *****

February

“Radical” ~ by David Platt *****

“Patrick Henry: Firebrand of the Revolution” ~ by Nardi Reeder Campion *****

“Guns of Yorktown” by R.W. Daly *****

March

"Fighting the Flames" ~ by R.M. Ballantyne *****

"Homemaking" ~ by J.R. Miller *****

April

“Amazing Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce” ~ by John Piper *****

“And He Dwelt Among Us: Teachings from the Book of John” ~ by A.W. Tozer & compiled/edited by James L. Snyder *****

May

“The Pursuit of Holiness” ~ by Jerry Bridges (audio download) ****

"A Life of Obedience: Learning to Trust His Time, His Place, His Will" ~ by Andrew Murray **

June

“The Pony Express” ~ by Samuel Hopkins Adams *****

“Mere Christianity”~ by C.S. Lewis *****

July

“Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit ~ by Francis Chan *****

“The Golden Thread” ~ by Norman MacLeod (Lamplighter book) *****

August

“Heroines of the West” ****

“One Holy Passion: The Attributes of God” by R.C. Sproul [only read 4 chapters...didn't like! I think because I just couldn't get into his writing style though...not because I disagreed with him? :( Can't remember now...] **

“The Boxcar Children” ~ Gertrude Chandler Warner *****

“The Boxcar Children: Surprise Island” ~ Gertrude Chandler Warner ****

September

“The Boxcar Children: The Yellow House Mystery” ~ Gertrude Chandler Warner ****

My friend Sarah's book “The Destiny of a Few” (which I had the great pleasure of helping to edit) - ***** {this was an unbiased opinion...I'm a tough critic, right Sarah?! ;)}

“Pollyanna” *****

“Red Falcons of Tre'moine” ~ by Henry Peart ****

October

“The Rose Round” (Bethlehem Book) ****

“Red Hugh of Donegal” (Bethlehem book) *****

“If All the Swords in England” (Bethlehem book) *****

“The Passion of Jesus Christ” ~ John Piper *****

November

“Post Haste” ~ R.M. Ballentyne *****

"Facing Your Giants" ~ by Max Lucado *****

December

“Glaucia The Greek Slave: A Tale of Athens in the First Century” ~ Emma Leslie ***** {There are a few more books by this author published by Salem Ridge Press that I would like to get!!}

"Away Goes Sally" ~ by Elizabeth Coatsworth (this received a slightly lower rating than I'd have liked to have given because of one small reason about the book, which you can read about here) ****1/2

My top 3 picks for this year are:

1. “Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God” - by Francis Chan ~ This book was so different than any other spiritual book I've ever read! It was almost shocking, only because of his boldness in speaking the true word of God instead of tip-toeing around issues, while a great deal of Christian writer's today seem to talk only of "feelings" of Christians. :)

2. “Mere Christianity”~ by C.S. Lewis ~ I'd been reading quotes from Lewis all year and decided it was about time to actually read one of his spiritual works! I was not disappointed!! :D I take notes and write my favorite quotes from my spiritual books as I read them - this one by far received the most written out pages in my notebook! ;) Lol! An excellent read and a wonderful encouragement and I shall read again and again!

3. “Post Haste” ~ R.M. Ballentyne ~ I *think* this one will be my third choice...it's a toss up between this, the other Ballentyne, and the William Wilberforce book!! :D But I wanted a fiction on this final list + I think I enjoyed this one just a *teensy* bit more than the other R.M.B. book! ;) It was packed full of twists and excitement! And not only that, but I enjoyed learning so many things about the London post office services in the early 19oo's! :D I'm a history buff really. ;)

* ~ * ~ *

I *will* be continuing in this challenge again for 2012! :D I enjoyed it so much and having to meet up with the goal's each month really helped to stick to it! Instead of saying "I will read more"...I actually *DID*!! ;)

I'd thought about trying for 3 books a month for next year, but I decided that with so much going on next year with perhaps some travels and plans God may have in the works that it would be better to keep with 2 books a month as a goal (if I read more, that's fine too!). :) That's one of the nice things about this particular challenge...you can set just about whatever goals you'd like, whether it be by the amount of books, pages/chapters per day/week, or whatever! :D

Some of the books for my 2012 reading list are:

The Douglas Bond's "Crown and Covenant" series {I've yet to read his books but we own them and I've heard around that they are quite good}.

More books by Bethlehem Books Company; "Under a Changing Moon", "That Girl of Pierre's", "The Lost Barron", "God King" and "Hittite Warrior", "The Switherby Pilgrim's"...and we'll see after that. ;) Haha!

There's also a couple of R.M. Ballantyne's {I really enjoyed the 2 I read this past year!} - "The Pirate City" is first on my list then "Hunted and Harried"!

And few classics..."A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" by Mark Twain (which I've seen movie versions of but have never read it), some of "The Bobbsey Twins" and more of "The Boxcar Children" books series'.

I may read a few period drama type books (I have watched some of the films but not read most of the books as of yet): "Cranford" and "Wives and Daughters" by Elizabeth Gaskell, "Nicholas Nickleby" by Charles Dickens, "Mansfield Park" by Jane Austen {I've heard the book is much better...}

And of course my spiritual books I hope to read this year include: "Until Christ Returns", "Mary Slessor" a Heroes of Faith book (began this in 2011 but wasn't able to make even a dent in it in December. So I will be slowly reading this one through the whole year I think); "Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ" {John Piper}, "Discovering the Power of the Cross of Christ" and "Discovering the Power of Christ's Miracle's" both by Charles Spurgeon, "Daughter's of Destiny" {looks EXCELLENT!!}, "Why?: Answers to Weather the Storms of Life", "Esther" by Charles R. Swindoll, and "Answers to Prayer From George Müller's Narratives" (a free kindle download on the computer). :)

And 1 Lamplighter book thrown into the mix for good measure..."The Boy Who Never Lost A Chance" and another Ancient history book like the one I read this month "Twice Freed" which mom read to the other kids but I've never read.

HaHa! Most likely I *won't* read ALL of these this year, but I do hope to make a dent in my stack at least! ;D Lol! There are a lot of great looking books here and I am so excited to get started!! I have more spiritual books I'd like to add to my shelves later this year perhaps that might be read before some of the others...we'll see. :)

~ ~ ~

Thanks so much for stopping by! :D

See you again in 2012! ;)

God bless!

~Rachel~

Book Challenge and Book Reviews #11 {December}

2011-12-30T01:00:00.005-05:00

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This is it...this marks the 12th and last month of the 2011 book challenge! :( *sniff* I'm so sad to see it go...but I'm excited to say I have decided to continue and join the 2012 challenge!! :D

~ Some of you have mentioned how much you've enjoyed the book reviews each month and reading these posts as I continued my journey towards my goal and that has been such a blessing to me! Thank you for joining me and for your encouragements and prayers along the way - they meant so much and greatly helped in accomplishing my goals each month! :) You are the dearest of friends! ~

Through doing this challenge, a friend and even my sister Jessica have been thinking about doing this same challenge along with me in 2012 {please say yes!!!}. :D I'd like to invite all of you to join as well...I had so much fun and enjoyed reading through a variety of new books and it felt wonderful to be accomplishing goals every month (even though some of the time it was very difficult to do so!).

So, I had one more difficult month in getting my goal accomplished. I got sick...again (story of my life it seems...) and just before the Christmas play we were in too! It was awful. It was only a cold but it kept me out of commission so that I could rest up before the play! :( Only by the grace of God was I even better to perform in the play. I had not the desire or health to even read my books... So I was not even able to read very much at all until this very last 2 weeks of Dec.! AAACCKKKK!!! :O I had a lovely thick book all chosen but it had to be put aside for a much smaller book on my reading list so I could attain my book goal for the month (and there is no shame to be had in that, my friends). It shall be continued in the next year instead. ;)

But despite all the difficulties God helped me to stick to it and complete my goal for the month...meaning I have read over my 24 books goal for 2011!!!!! :D {****31*** to be exact!}
~
That in and of itself deserves it's own little post so I'll write up another one later today with the running list of this year's books, finishing thoughts and what my favorites were. ;)

{This first review will be the longer of the two as there was just so much I wanted to share about this wonderful find!} :)

Glaucia The Greek Slave:
A Tale of Athens in the First Century
Emma Leslie

"...the gods of Rome could not satisfy the sore hunger of my heart, and the philosophy of Greece was but as husks instead of bread." (p.239)

This was by far one of the best books I have read in a long time! It began slowly and I thought perhaps it would be another one of the "dull" ones I've read this year...but goodness was I wrong! It is one of the most encouraging and spiritually strengthening/uplifting books I've *EVER* read (truly)!! :D More so even then some of the missionary books I've read! Somehow it just got through to me...my heart and mind... of how important it can be to share your faith with others and how strong a personal testimony (and prayer for the salvation of others) can be! This also is one of only a few early church books I've read - I've not read many if any at all that I can recall!

The tale begins with two siblings, boy and girl, who come under difficult circumstances and end up being sold as slaves in the ancient times of Greece and Rome when Paul was teaching and under arrest. They are torn from each other to serve separate master's, far from one another, with no hope to see them again. Through amazing circumstances, that in a real-life situation could only be God-ordained, they both come to a knowledge and saving grace of God and follower's in His "new church". :D

"This God whom Paul came to make known to men is the Almighty God, who made heaven and earth and all men dwelling upon it. He hath not only made them, but redeemed them from sin and the power of evil by the death of His only Son, Jesus Christ the Lord." (p.86)

I was completely inspired by this book! Oh, what a joy to read a tale of the early Christians...their daring faith and courage and full trust in the One True God Almighty!

"He is the God of the Gentile as well as the Jew, the only true Almighty, Eternal, Ever-present God, the Great One not to be equaled or approached by anything calling itself god in heaven above or in the earth beneath." (p.75)

""Where is the temple of thy God...."
"He needeth no temple, for the heaven is His throne and the earth is His footstool, and there is no God but Him."" (p. ?)

Along the way both brother and sister are challenged by physical and spiritual dangers. The story of how people like them face difficulties and stand up for their faith in a country that worships another god will have you cheering and inspired to share your faith with everyone around you! :D

The people in this time struggled greatly with idol worship. They had a god for just about any reason you could wish one for! Farmer's worshiped gods who would help their crops to grow, when you had a sick family member/friend you went to a god who could heal, and if you were a sea-faring man well there's a god for that too! The gods were something to be feared and not ones whom you would ever go against or anger! Which is why it's so amazing when you reflect on the great God we serve who thinks more of us than He does of Himself! :D

"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." ~ Psalm 51:17

"How strange...these people worshiped a God who, unlike Jupiter and the rest of the Olympian deities, took care of His worshipers, noting even their smallest acts, instead of being taken up with His own pleasure and amusement." (p.137)

The story is set in Ancient Greece and Rome in the time of Emperor Nero, before the burning of Rome. And woven through this tale are both historical and biblical accounts from our past. Nero was awful to this "new sect" of people known as Christians - torturing them and many others in sport along side his gladiators or his arena's, etc. :( Nero had a "cruel, ruthless disregard for the value of human life." But I am thankful to say that this book can be read by young children because the details of such horrific sites as must have gone on in this time have been kept to a minimum and are not very gruesome at least in description.

A few more quotes and thoughts:

"Nay, nay, but [Paul] is a messenger from God - the only true God, who made the sea and stars as well as the dry land. Shipmates, we need a God such as this man came to declare - one who needeth not statue or temple for His worship; for what can sailors do with either? We need a God who is at hand when the wild wind lashes the waves into fury - a God who holds the wind in His fists and the waters in the hallow of His hand." (p.86)

~ I just have to say I loved this part. :) To be reminded of the great and mighty God that I serve just made my heart soar! :D Life has thrown so many curve balls in the last 2 years that I forget too often how BIG and powerful He is! Even the waves obey His voice...then how should I be afraid? :)

"But his companion shook his head. "Shipmates, ye that are fathers and know what it is to love your children, would ye be content with any but the first place in their hearts? Would it please ye to see them hug the gifts ye took home, but turn from thee the giver? It is just so with our great Father. We are His children, whether we know it or not; and He desires our love and worship, and will not give it to another." (p.88)

~ Wow. What an example! I had never though of it in this way. I only wished I had been explained it in this way when I was a little girl it would have made things so much clearer! :D This is an excellent book to read especially with, or for young ones to read (recommended for ages 10+)! :D It really gives you a grasp on so many doctrinal issues in easy-to-understand words. :) A wonderful way to bring up discussion as a family!

"What is thy wealth to One who has created and owns all this world, as well as the brilliant stars in the heavens. Eternal life is God's *FREE GIFT* to rich and poor alike. All who enter heaven must lay down their pride on this side of the gate, and walk lowly, as little children." (p.237)

"Yes, He is infinite, and therefore He can satisfy the wants of every heart, diverse as it may be. This is beyond our comprehension, and therefore man has made a host of gods, that each may worship the one answering best to his needs. One who longs for wisdom and knowledge bows to Pallas Athene; Jupiter claims the votary of power; Apollo the lover of music, poetry, and science; but the wants of all are met in the fullness of God our Creator.

His heart is as the ocean, boundless; illimitable in power, purity, and love." (p.236)
-- can I get an "AMEN" on that one! :D

"...these mourners were sorrowing without hope, for the world beyond the grave was a dark, unknown mystery to them...grieving with a grief that we can never know, since we have the hope of meeting our beloved ones beyond the grave." (p. 242-243)

~ praise God who gives us hope for the future! I have seen and felt the sorrow of what death can do in a family and to have the words to speak comfort that we will see our loved ones in Christ again one day...what a blessed joy that brings to my soul! :D Oh, what a good and loving gracious God we serve!!

"I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death." ~ Revelation 1:18

So, the conclusion is this: READ THIS BOOK EVERYONE!!!! ;) Lol! I mean it too! By the end I wanted to take a highlighter to it (something I never do!).

This book receives: 5 out of 5 stars!!! *****

Away Goes Sally
by Elizabeth Coatsworth

{by Bethlehem Books}

Set in a time just a little before the War of 1812, this endearing short little book was just the thing to end 2011 on! :) I loved it! The characters were bright and simple, the story was intriguing, and the overall appeal made you want to curl up with a blanket and hot chocolate and read it to a group of little ones! ;)

This tale is of a young girl living with 3 aunts and 2 uncles (all siblings!). It's quite a house-full! Sally's days are filled with activity like taking meals to her uncle's in the field and helping her aunts to spin wool! But everything gets turned around when her uncle's cousin sends a letter telling of the exciting and prosperous land to be had in the rugged state of Maine! Aunt Nannie and Uncle Ephraim are at odds again - who will win? Will they stay as Aunt Nannie wishes or will Uncle Ephraim win out and they all pack up and move to Maine? Well I'm not going to tell you...you'll just have to read that for yourself! ;) *giggles*

""It's like this Sally," he said. "Your Aunt Nannie is not one to be driven, and she's not one to be led either. She knows now it would be best for us all to go, but she would rather die than go back on her spoken word. But how is she to give in? I think I see a way," and he smiled to himself again."

My Thoughts:
I loved this little book! It's only 118 pages so it wont' take very long to get through. It's just the thing when you just want a sweet little story. At the end of each chapter, there's a cute little poem having to do with something said in the story. :) Charming! There are 5 books in the series and by the looks of it it takes you through her growing up years...each book Sally is a bit older. :) I already have book 2 ready to begin reading!

The only problem I had with this book is that they put in a witch. :( I know it was something believed in at that time (okay, possibly still today)...but I didn't think it was necessary at all to the story and I wish they'd just left it out. Having her in there didn't add to the plot at all and it wasn't important to the story - more of a side trip, really. Thankfully though it wasn't *too* bad. She didn't do any "magic spells" or make up potions for them. She was just a bit creepy (but not probably something that would scare little ones) and it didn't last for more than a couple pages. That's the good part about it. It would be up to you and your family's discretion whether to read this or not, but I think it would not be a bad read on the whole for most family's as other than that small section it was perfectly lovely and not something that would be likely to trouble the hearts and minds of small children (t'would be a good thing to bring up in a family discussion on your faith and beliefs!)! :) The rest of the book more than satisfied my "momma bear" type "A" personality with it's charm just right for young girls and just sweet enough for us older gals. ;) It was such a fun story...taking me back to memories of our mother reading the Little House on the Prairie books!

"[Sally] was old enough to reel the yarn that would be knitted into stockings during the long winter evenings. Forty yards to a reel - she measured it with a sort of song, beating out the time:

"There's one,
There ain't one,
There will be one,
by 'n' by --"

This book receives: 4-1/2 out of 5 stars (only because of the witch in the story, or it would have been 5). ;)

* * *
I had forgotten to tell you all as I went, but I've been linking up here on the Book Challenge Host Blog & here on my friend Tarissa's blog for her "Sharing our Bookshelves" blog hop (more than book reviews you can share just about anything book-related such as quotes from books, lists of books, etc.!) through the past months. :)

* * *

Stop by later this afternoon for the full year's review of the book challenge!! :D
God bless!
~Rachel~

Join in the Challenge!!!

2011-12-28T10:25:00.002-05:00

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It's almost time!!!!

Have you joined yet? Have you heard? The Meditations of His Love devotional blog team (including Jessica and I) will begin a year-long challenge starting January 1st!! :D

What's the challenge you may ask? Well I'll tell you (and it's pretty exciting!!)... We want to hide God's word in our hearts and so we're coming together to memorize the book of 1 Peter in 2012! That averages to about 2 verses a week! :D

Now I'm not as good at memorizing scripture as I ought to be...I've always struggled with it. But I figure that it's something God wants us to do. And if I can spend my time doing many other things and I can easily memorize movie lines/words to songs...then I should be able to spend a little time each day working on memorizing God's own words right? :D We have no excuse for not hiding His word in our hearts. :) 2 verses a week isn't' very hard...just take it one day at a time, then a week, then a month and before you know it we'll have all of 1 Peter memorized!!! So I hope and pray that you will be courageous and join us!

Besides memorizing 1 Peter, all of the posting for 2012 will be based on this book as well! :D I'm so excited about it and I can't wait to see what God's going to inspire!

~~~

Click on the image below to head on over and sign up! ;D

{If you'd like to help us spread the word, you can grab our challenge blog button on the Meditations of His Love sidebar and/or blog or Facebook about it! Thank you!}

Hope to see you there!
God Bless!
~Rachel~

p.s - my friend Julia made these images...isn't she the best! ;D
Thanks dear for your hard work!

Merry Christmas...from Us!

2011-12-24T07:57:00.005-05:00

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John 3:16
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have...
everlasting life*."

I am so thankful that we have "a hope and a future" because of the the love and sacrifice that Christ made for me. :) His love is so precious.

Merry Christmas everyone and thank you for being a part of our lives! :)
God Bless!
~Rachel & Jessica~

Guest Post Announement

2011-12-22T08:00:00.001-05:00

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Hi everyone! I just wanted to let you all know I am a guest blogger over at Emily Rachelle's blog Struggles of a (Maybe) Teen Author today. She's been hosting a fun Christmas blog party! Stop by because I have a great and delicious recipe to share with all of you that is perfect for last minute gifts and party treats!

Here's a sneak peek!

Now head on over and say hi! :D

Merry Christ-mas!
~Rachel~

Meditations of His Love Challenge 2012!!!

2011-12-07T09:00:00.002-05:00

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We're here to announce some of the plans the girls on the Meditations of His Love blog have for next year! It's going to be *really* exciting!! :D

His Word in our Hearts challenge!

This challenge is to get us into God's word in a fun way and all together! To learn more about it please click on the link above! Our friend and fellow MOHL writer did a wonderful job with the introductory post and I'd hate to spoil the surprise for you all! ;) Please head on over!! :D

On another note: Jessica and I are very busy this month with preparations for the Christmas play at church, getting ready for Christmas, and I'm busy with trying to read up 2 books for this last month of the book challenge, plus a host of other of our "normal" activities. So I'm afraid there will be a serious lack of posting until at least after the 18th (when hopefully we can show some pictures and more about the play!). :) After the 18th hopefully we'll have a bit more time to work on a few blog posts for you. We'll miss you while we're gone but we'll be thinking and praying for you all. :D Hope you have a blessed and wonderful month!

Love in Christ!
~Rachel~

Guest Post at Inspiring Daring

2011-12-01T09:00:00.004-05:00

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My dear friend and fellow writer on the Meditations of His Love devotional blog, Miss Rachelle, asked me awhile ago if I would participate in some guest posts she is hosting on her own blog. I was most happy to! :) The topic was quite compelling and I learned a lot actually in writing it and I pray that it will bless you! Please stop by if you have the chance and please leave a comment and say hi! :D

Hop on over to Inspiring, Daring!

Blessings!
~Rachel~

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 30!

2011-11-30T06:00:00.028-05:00

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I am most thankful, that God *teaches* us to be thankful...to know how to be thankful. :) Jesus Christ shows us an example to live by in always praising and thanking His Father in heaven. He has preserved stories from other's with an example for us to follow in being thankful for the things God has blessed us with in His word, and even in history. On our own, we would not be thankful...not without the Holy Spirit's prompting in our hearts and God's word in our minds teaching and reminding us of the many things He has given to us. Even if all around us gives way, He is still there to guide us and comfort us and be with us - and that is the thing I am most thankful for.

"Count your blessings,
name them one by one,
count your many blessings see what God hath done!"

~ ~ ~

I want to thank you all for joining along with me this month for this challenge! I've been so blessed to read your posts, and I thank you for your comments and encouragements to me as well. :) I am sure God is most pleased when we give Him the praise and honor for His blessings to us!

I pray the Lord will bless you and continue to remind you and I of the many things He has blessed us with. :)
~Rachel~

Book Challenge and Book Reviews #11 {November}

2011-11-29T07:00:00.001-05:00

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It's that time again! 11 months down - 1 more month to go for this challenge *sniff*! :D And all the praise I give to God because truly I couldn't have stuck with this challenge this year without His help and urging! :)

I am seriously thinking of continuing this challenge again next year (and at the urging of a friend who graciously said she's enjoyed reading these review posts - thank you dear!). I, too, have really enjoyed getting back into regular reading once more and writing up these posts once a month. :) I've missed all the great literature that's out there in being discouraged about all the bad there is mingled alongside it. God's really used both the fiction and non-fiction books to teach me things throughout this year, not to mention the lessons of hard work and commitment by sticking to my goals for this year. :)

This month I read only 2 books (my goal); "Facing Your Giants" by Max Lucado, and "Post Haste" by R.M. Ballantyne. I'm *so* glad I was able to finish these in time. It's quite busy this time of year for me and it will be quite a struggle next month, especially, to accomplish that last month with the Christmas play, our grandmother's 3-week visit, Christmas gift making/baking, time with family, etc.! Whew! :D But I'm looking forward to enjoying my last month of reading for this challenge for the year (not sure what I will pick out to read for Dec. yet though!). ;)

"Facing Your Giants:
A David and Goliath Story for Everyday People"

Max Lucado

"Everyday People"...yup, that's me! ;D Though we think of David as one of the "heroes" of the Bible {He's my favorite!}, really he was just an ordinary man who God placed in extraordinary circumstances. He failed a lot, lost his focus many times, but always had a heart for the Lord - that's what I want. Oh yes I lose my way quite often! But even if I move in a squiggly line I want to still be heading in the general direction of the *straight* path God's laid out before me. :)

"God called [David] "a man after my own heart."He gave the appellation to no one else. Not Abraham or moses or Joseph. He called Paul an apostle, John His beloved, but neither was tagged after God's own heart."

This book takes your through different and varying struggles (giants) that we all face: the dry seasons of life, grief and death of loved ones, our own arrogance, how to treat those who hurt us, and also reminds us that it's okay to feel sometimes (hurt, lonely, sad, scared, etc.). Giants come in many forms. God truly does understand those giants that come up in our lives and has not left us without hope for the future and a plan (and courage) to help us to face them. The lessons we can learn from David on how to overcome these conflicting emotions and struggles are many!

"A subject appears in the story.
More than "David versus Goliath,"
this is "God-focus versus giant-focus."

In this book I found encouragement for my hard days, my discouraging thoughts and feelings, those times when it's hard to hear God's voice, and the times I am filled so much with "me" that I lose focus on what's really important. :) Life throws us a lot of curve balls but God's there to help us get back on track. David was just like you and me...the only difference was that he focused on God in life: in worship, in times of trial and testing, in times of success!

"Giants. We must face them.
Yet we need not face them alone.
The times David did, giants fell.
The days he didn't, David did."

~ ~ ~

"David shows up discussing God. The soldiers mentioned nothing about Him, the brothers never spoke His name, but David takes one step on stage and raises the subject of the living God."

I am usually not a huge fan of Max Lucado's writings...only because he tends to focus too much on the emotional side of things and not enough on scripture, I've found. And sometimes his examples don't pertain to my life-style. ;) But this one struck a cord in my heart and life. It brought comfort to my spirit and encouragement for my day. :D I think that has to do in part that I relate so well with David and his life. This book has reminded me of things I'd forgotten or didn't want to listen to before that God has tried to show me in the past. The giants that I've pushed aside but never fully taken care of.

"Your Goliath doesn't carry a sword or shield; he brandishes blades of unemployment...depression...he brings bills you can't pay, grades you can't make, people you can't please...a career you can't escape, a past you can't shake, and a future you can't face." (p.2-3) "First thought of the morning, last worry at night - your Goliath dominates your day and infiltrates your joy." (p3)

The reason I wanted to read this was because I've been having some struggles in this area myself. Many of you know our family's story. My father has been out of a job or on government compensation pay more times than I think he's *had* a job. Right now in fact...it's getting harder. The world tells you you need things, you need a job to sustain you. God tells us He's going to supply all our needs if we only will but trust Him fully. I've seen Him work real and true miracles in this and other area's of my life - He's working! My doubts arise when I lose sight of my BIG God and focus more on temporary things. When I focus on the how's and why's and what if's of the future...

My hearts greatest desire is to marry and have a family - and at 25-soon-to-be-26, sometimes it's hard to hang on to a dream when there are no prospects in view. ;) I don't know what God's plans are for me in this area...I don't know what will happen come January with my dad's employment situation. But one thing I do know is that I need to stop focusing so much on these giants of singleness and financial problems that have faced me for the past 5+ years or so! Down deep inside I know I'm only trusting God as far as I need to...just enough to say it but not enough to fully trust Him with abandon! He is lovingly and gently helping me to face my giants of fear for the future, and to begin to fight them out of my heart and mind so that satan can't use them against me to doubt God's Almighty power in my life. I know God loves me so much and His plans are better than I could ever imagine them being. I need to stop focusing on the "what if's" and focus on what God has given me to do right now. :)

As I got closer to the end of this book, as a note, they do discuss David and Bathsheba's relationship in a couple chapters (only one chapter was a bit uncomfortable really though) - I just thought you should know that. It's easily skipped if you are a young reader. Though I felt a bit uncomfortable, I did get a lot out of the lessons in these two chapters. More than immorality it's also about listening to God's voice to avoid sin and recognize/confess the sin in our lives. That was a good reminder to me. :) It's easy to be blinded and to push away that small voice of the Holy Spirit when we are wanting our own way. :(

~~~

My sister Jessica has read this book too, a few years ago, as well and greatly was encouraged by it. This book is one of those that is for all types of people and personalities. We all face giants...not all the same, but all keep us from serving and honoring God as we'd wish to. Helping identify our area's of weakness helps us to be able to better serve the Lord in all we do. :)

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars: *****
And I am adding it to my "to buy" book list to add to my collection. I only add books to this collection if they are worth reading again and again throughout my life. ;)

"Post Haste"
R. M. Ballantyne

To say that I loved this book would be an understatement. ;) Yes, it was *that* good!! This delicious book has everything: action, history, joy and sadness, love and tears, wickedness and godliness, and spirited characters to love. :)

This is the second book by R.M. Ballantyne that I've had the pleasure to read (see here for 1st review) and I enjoyed this one immensely! Though I liked Fighting the Flames that I read earlier this year, the characters weren't very exciting and sometimes the plot got a tad boring {though I greatly enjoyed learning about the London fire department and there was a lot of action!}. This story was much better. The characters were engaging and I learned a lot of wonderful lessons from them. And I greatly enjoyed the nice balance of storyline mingled with historical facts about the London Post office in the 1800's plus the addition of many biblical principles (and some scripture!). :) There were so many things I did not know about the post office that I learned that were fun! :D

"...the mails we've got to send out daily from this office consist of over 5,800 bags, weighing forty-three tons, while the mails received number more than 5,500 bags...we passes through our hands in one year about one thousand and fifty-seven million [letters]...""But these are only the letters. If you include the somewhere of about four hundred twenty million post-cards, newspapers, book-packets, and circulars, you have a sum total of fourteen hundred and seventy-seven million odd passing through our hands. Put that down in figures - 1,477,000,000." (p. 88-89)

"Mr. Bright led them back to the great sorting-room, where the energetic labour of hundreds of men and boys - facing, carrying, stamping, distributing, sorting, etcetera - was going on full swing. Everywhere there was rapid work, but no hurry; busy and varied action, but no confusion; a hum of mingled voice and footfall, but no unnecessary noise. It was a splendid example of the power of orderly and united action." (p. 180)

It's hard to give you a basic idea of what this book is about because it has quite a few cast of characters and the storyline jumps around a bit between historical fact and fiction. ;) But, basically it follows a brother and sister and a few of their friends. Along the way they pick up even more friends and characters, of course, which leads to more plot twists and more lessons to be learned. The sister works for the London post office and it is through this connection that we begin to uncover that magnificent thing known as "The Post". :) It wasn't until I was almost finished with the book that I realized it has similarities in the style of plot as the period drama, "Cranford". ;) *giggles* Though London is large...even in this time period, you get that sense of community amongst the characters which is always a delight to see.

I found nothing in this book I was uncomfortable with, except a little bit perhaps with the romance, and that only because I don't believe in that "love" or "infatuation" at first sight sort of thing. ;) There wasn't a whole lot, and really I was rooting for them the whole time, honestly...but in reality...no thank you. :)

I should warn young readers that this book talks a great deal about drinking, though perhaps not so much about the affects of it. It gives you just enough, in my opinion, of how it affects the characters who've exposed themselves to it without going into too much detail. Nor does it suggest any unsightly scenes that anyone may be uncomfortable with. I only let you know in case that's not the sort of thing you or your parents are comfortable with you reading in books. ;) Understandably. I however found it to be very well-written in that the author discourages such going's on and even writes about the struggles it causes to family's and to the drinker too. This world is full of sin, we cannot really avoid hearing of things such as this completely, but we can learn how to deal with them and how to react and pray. I found it a powerful part of the story and how Christ can turn a life around for His glory. :)

"So it is all through the course of life. At every turn we are liable to meet with those who shall thenceforth exercise a powerful influence on our characters, lives, and affections, and on whom our influence shall be strong for good or evil." (p. 80-81)

--- just a reminder to all of us that we have others who look up to us for friendship and such, including family, that God has placed in our lives. We have the power to influence them for good or to influence them for the bad so we must be careful to continue to follow *God's* leading and obey Him...those around us are watching and there may be those (especially younger ones) who are watching and following our example!

"She was a strong-minded woman. We do not say this to her disparagement. A strong mind is as admirable in a woman as in man. It is only when indicates the strength of her mind by unfeminine self-assertion ["position advanced" - Webster's 1828 dictionary] that we shrink from her in alarm." (p. 157) -- the italics and included dictionary reference are my own.

...I was so encouraged by phrases such as this throughout the book...biblical personalities and character qualities in books are hard to find! Here are some more...

"...the prayer of faith - however weak and fluttering - is surely answered, whether we see the answer or not, and whether the answer be immediate or long delayed." (p.174)

***

"The evening being free he devoted himself to study - for Phil was one of that by no means small class of youths who, in default of a College education, do their best to train themselves, by the aid of books and the occasional help of clergymen, philanthropists, and evening classes." (p. 316) --- I *loved* this quote. As a non-college-bound girl, God impressed on me that I should continue my studies of biblical theology and homemaking and such at here at home (instead of just sitting around). ;) I've so enjoyed my studies over these past couple of years especially! I love being able to choose what I am learning instead of being taught things from someone else that most likely wouldn't pertain to me. This really has been a huge blessing in my life to be able to continue studying His word and the area's of homemaking now during my single years. :)

"It is true, I do not expect to make much money in my profession, but my Master promises me sufficient, and a man needs no more. But even if much money were essential, there is no doubt that I should get it, for the silver and gold of this world are in the hands of my Father." (p. 385)

"I mean that there is no Saviour from sin of any kinds but Jesus Christ. The remedy pointed out in that little book is, I am told, a good effective one, but without the Spirit of God no man has power to persevere in the application of the remedy. He will get wearied of the continuous effort; he will not avoid temptation; he will lose heart in the battle unless he has a higher motive than his own deliverance to urge him on...the physical remedy will not cure the soul's disease, but the moral remedy - the acceptance of Jesus Christ - will not only cure the soul, but will secure to us that spiritual influence which will enable us to 'persevere to the end' with the physical. Thus Jesus will save both soul and body - 'it is God who giveth us the victory.'" (p. 344)

"But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." ~ 1 Corinthians 15:57

This book also gets a 5 out of 5 star rating: *****

~ ~ ~ ~

Thank you so much for dropping by! :D I hope you enjoyed reading through these reviews for this month. I do try to give fair reviews for the books I read, these were a bit difficult since God taught me so much from them, even though there were a few minor things here and there. :)

I'm not sure what I'll be reading for next month yet...I have a few idea's but haven't settled on anything quite yet. ;) Lol! But I need to choose soon because I need to begin the next books or I'll run out of time!

See you all with another review after Christmas! :D {you can keep me in prayer that I can get this last month's books read: we have play practices, sewing for the play, our grandmother will be visiting, plus a host of other activities! Please pray that I can keep up with my reading and accomplish my goal! Thank you!}

God bless!
~Rachel~

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 29

2011-11-29T06:00:00.042-05:00

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I've been thinking a lot about answered prayers lately. God is so good. He listens to me. He hears me when I pray. He understands my changing moods and unspoken feelings.

I am so thankful that I have someone to talk to when I can't share things with others (even sometimes my family). There are times I don't want to or shouldn't/can't share something with those around me...it's too personal or perhaps sharing those feelings and thoughts would hurt someone. But God understands all my conflicting thoughts/feelings/emotions. :)

"I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time- waking and sleeping. It doesn't change God- it changes me." - C.S. Lewis

God is so good to answer my prayers: big ones, small ones they are all the same to Him. :) Praying keeps me calm, and answered prayers just encourage and brighten my days...they remind me of His goodness and faithfulness!

***

God is soo good: He answers my prayers, small and big. Like for the past two weeks I've been trying to work on getting skirts and such made and ready before Dec. 1 and also trying to complete the last few chapters of my two books for the Book Challenge. I was very discouraged with things that kept going wrong and getting in the way of accomplishing these things. I knew what I needed to do was stop and pray. So I did. And I even asked others to pray for me to. And God was very good to me and blessed my day. I was able to get everything done that I needed to and was even able to enjoy time with my family as I wanted to! :D This may not seem like a "big" thing, but to me it was...it was important to me as it's something I'm doing trying to honor God with (serving and learning more of Him).

No prayer is too big, nor too small for our God. He hears every plea and cry, knows every longing of our hearts. It is a gift to us so we can communicate with Him because He loves us so much. :)

You know the value of prayer; it is precious beyond all price. Never, never neglect it. -- Thomas Buxton

Have a blessed day!
~Rachel~

30 Days of Thanksfulness {2011}: Day 28

2011-11-28T07:00:00.007-05:00

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I'd like to thank you all for joining with me thus far in this challenge! It's been a blessing to have your encouragement as I do this challenge and to see how God's been also using it in your own lives as well! :) Only 2 more days to go!!

"Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking,
it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails."
~ 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a {NIV} ~

Our pastor has preached on 1 Corinthians 13 these past two Sunday's and I've been greatly blessed by his teaching. Love is something I try not to think about too much, actually, but I think that's because I have had a distorted view of it (even though I've read this passage more times than I can count). Somehow growing up I just never *got* it...well, I did understand it but I just could never fully grasp how God's love for me could be lived out in daily life. Practically....you know. ;)

God's brought people through the years that have been difficult to love: the clingy people, the whiners, those who think highly of themselves (and less of you), the rich people who could never understand your father's job losses and financial struggles (you're mother should get a job you know!), the people who you know only want to be your friend because there's no one else your age around to talk to (gee, thanks). *sigh* :( They remind you of all your "faults" and tell you how to fix them. Yes, Lord, oh, they are so hard to love! Do I *have* to?

And what about siblings...oh, please, not them! ;) *giggles*

Yes, God sees fit to let me rub shoulders with those who try my patience, make me think about His plans for me and about my choices, and who are as different to me as night is to day. But I'm thankful for them too...I'm not a "better person" because of them, per say, but more because of what God's taught me in knowing them. I've struggled in learning to love my siblings and we've worked on accepting and even loving each others differences. Each of us has gifts and God's put us together in this family and what a wonderful thing that is when we all work together! :D

And the long-gone friends who've walked in then out have taught me things about myself and lessons about how God wants me to treat others and behave to His children - even if we don't agree on everything. ;)

God calls you and me to love with a deeper love than just how we *feel*...He calls us to love with that same love that He has shown to us - with mercy and graciousness and forgiveness. I can love others because God loves me and has shown me how to love and what that kind of self-sacrificing love looks like. :) I am so thankful He has shown me and is still showing me how to love and how I can love others in a tangible way - both my family and church family and those, even, who are not His sheep yet. :)

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" - {Romans 5:8 NIV}

Have a most blessed Monday!
~Rachel~

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 27

2011-11-27T06:00:00.040-05:00

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Hello everyone! Goodness, only *3* days of this challenge to go! I think I'm going to cry! Ahh...I've so enjoyed this challenge. What a joy to reflect on God's goodness in my life! :D And to have you all joining with me just overwhelms me! {I know there are not too many who link up on the posts each day, but there are those on facebook who have joined too}. I think God must be pleased to hear us giving Him the praise and glory for the work He's done in our lives and the blessings He's given to us.

Do you ever have those moments where you just feel overwhelmed with what God's done in your life?

I would listen to sermons and to testimony's of people in churches before growing up...you know, the ones where God delivered them out of bad relationships, addictions, bad lifestyles and the like. Of course there were also the older people who spoke up of God's faithfulness to them through the years too. :) I always enjoyed listening and I praised God too for I never like seeing people hurting. But then I'd look at my own life and wonder what kind of testimony I could possibly have - I mean, I was a good girl, right?

Well as I look back now and reflect on my only 25 years of living and 22 years of being a child of God, I am overwhelmed as I see how God's worked in *my* own life! :D He's taken a selfish, hard-headed, stubborn, angry, and self-righteous girl and is transforming her daily to be kind, loving, gentle, thoughtful, joyful, God-seeking young woman. Of course, this is not to say things are perfect mind you. ;) I have my daily struggles, moment by moment relying on God. But it's exciting to see God working in my life and to look back through the years and see how far He and I have come together. :)

On the way to church this past week, I was just reminded again of this. A cloudy day...where the clouds are one giant sheet spread across the sky. And suddenly, a light streams out through the darkness, spreading sunshine below. A pocket of light peering out of a cloud. The light glints and sparkles against the clouds and turns something sad and sorrowful looking into something exquisite. Somehow it's in those moments I feel so close to God. It's like I can "see" His love shining down on me. As if He put that ray of sunshine there just to encourage my faith and remind me of how very much He loves me (similar to the rainbow in the story of Noah). :)

"When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him?" ~ Psalm 8:3-4a

"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork." ~ Psalm 19:1

I am thankful for those moments that God just takes that extra care through His glorious creation to tell me He loves me. :) The details of a rose, the colors of the Autumn leaves, the joy in a baby's smile...

...the ray's of streaming sunshine through the dark clouds.

"Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice: and let men say among the nations, The LORD reigneth." ~ 1 Chronicles 16:31

"Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds." ~ Psalm 36:5

Have a most blessed day! :)
~Rachel~

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 26

2011-11-26T06:00:00.022-05:00

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This was a song I discovered earlier this year and it has been such a blessing in my life, to remind me of what's *truly* important. I've shared it before many times on this blog and elsewhere but it's worth sharing again and again. ;)

It doesn't matter if things are tough (they always be here in this wicked world) or if I'm rich or poor, friendless or have many friends - not as long as I have my God and King here with me. :) What's most important is not whether I have lot's of nice things, not that I am well-known or well-loved, etc. What I truly do want most is that *God would be glorified*!

My favorite line is: "You still reign in the deepest valley. You're still God in the darkest night." I love that! There have been many deep valley's and dark nights in our family's life but God has always carried us through them and brought us to the other side. :) I want to praise the Lord even in the hard times so that others will know my Big God, My strong and Mighty King!! :D I want to be able to say, "I long for nothing else as long as You are glorified." I am thankful that He helps me to say this, even when I may not always *feel* like it.

Shall I take from Your hand Your blessings
Yet not welcome any pain
Shall I thank You for days of sunshine
Yet grumble in days of rain
Shall I love You in times of plenty
Then leave You in days of drought
Shall I trust when I reap a harvest
But when winter winds blow, then doubt

Oh let Your will be done in me
In Your love I will abide
Oh I long for nothing else as long
As You are glorified

Are You good only when I prosper
And true only when I'm filled
Are You King only when I'm carefree
And God only when I'm well
You are good when I'm poor and needy
You are true when I'm parched and dry
You still reign in the deepest valley
You're still God in the darkest night

*So quiet my restless heart
Quiet my restless heart
Quiet my restless heart in you*

Oh let Your will be done in me
In Your love I will abide
Oh I long for nothing else as long
As You are glorified

May the Lord help you to say "To Him be the glory!" :)
~Rachel~

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 25

2011-11-25T06:00:00.046-05:00

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Today, I'm thankful for the gift of music and singing...for the joys of harmonizing with my family! :D

~
"While I live will I praise the LORD: I will sing praises unto my God..." ~ Psalm 146:2

Since I could talk...I've been singing. ;) Lol! Mom and Dad were in choir at an old church we went to when I was little, mom's always incorporated music and the history of music into our schooling. Jessica and I participated in the homeschool choir for many, many years - I loved it so much I even helped for a few years after graduation! Both parents have encouraged us to pursue using our voice talents to bless and encourage others through the years. And now we sing as a family in our church (a capella)!

Through music, God speaks to my soul. :) It's His Word put to music! It's a way I can communicate to Him, and Him with me too. There are times when His word set to music speaks to me when I've been struggling with something. Or when I can't find the words in my own heart, it reflects the praises I want, and so desire, to sing out to Him! :D

I enjoy that the gift of music can be used to share with others too...to lift *their* spirits and remind them of God's faithfulness and goodness! :D What a delight and joy to be a part of God's work in healing hearts, lifting spirits, encouraging, praising Him, and so much more!
♥ ♥ ♥

"I will praise thee, O LORD, among the people: and I will sing praises unto thee among the nations." ~ Psalm 108:3

"I will praise the name of God with a song,
and will magnify him with thanksgiving."
~ Psalm 69:7 ~

May the Lord bless you all!
~Rachel~

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 24

2011-11-24T06:00:00.044-05:00

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HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
:D

"I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving." ~ Psalm 69:30

Today, our family will be doing our traditional family day/dinner. We used to go to one of my aunt's house for Thanksgiving but things have changed since then and we just enjoy a leisurely day at home together now. :) So we put in the turkey, watch the Thanksgiving Day parade, play games and watch Miracle on 34th Street (the old version), and then make the rest of dinner together later!

~ ~ ~

I am thankful today that we have a day to celebrate and thank the Lord for His many blessings to us. It's a day to reflect, a day to praise and thank the Lord for His provisions and His work in us over the years. A day to spend with those we love.

God is soo good, so gracious to us. It is *so* very easy to forget to thank Him for all He provides for us each day - each *BREATH* we take can only be by His provision!

"No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next,
as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise
to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens."
~Abraham Lincoln ~
October 3, 1863

(you can read the whole letter - which isn't very long - and a little more information about how this day came into being, here and here!)

"Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name." ~ 1 Chronicles 29:13

~

"Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever." ~ Psalm 106:1

Wishing you all a blessed and happy thanksgiving! :)
~Rachel~

P.S - only *6* days remaining in the thankfulness challenge!

More to be Thankful for....

2011-11-23T23:53:00.001-05:00

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At approximately 9:30 Wednesday night, we hear sirens coming down our street (again). It was a fire...a couple doors literally down from our home.

My parents checked to see what was going on, but since we seem to have so many times when the firetrucks/police come down our street for violence and who knows what, I wasn't too concerned right then and continued on with my work...but my parents went outside to see and so I went over to the front door and looked out. To my horror, sparks and soon flames were coming out of the top story window of a house not too far from us. We live in a double home (a full house connected by a wall between) and it was the double house next to us that was on fire! We all quickly gathered coats (it was quite windy and cold) and shoes and went outside leaving all behind us. The firemen/policemen ended up ordering us out of the house before we were done anyway.

Flames were licking from out the window but thankfully God was with us and the family's house and providing already. I had already been praying by this time (those flames scared me!). I was so frightened for the people as we didn't know if they had come out of the house at this point. The firemen were already there before we had got out of the house and taking care of things {thank you Lord for the service these men and woman offer to those in need!!); thankfully God protected the people in the house and the family connected to that home. Praise the Lord He is so good!

Oh, how we have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving! There could have been so many things that could have gone wrong...the wind was blowing in the direction of our home and it could have caught our own house on fire...there could have been people seriously injured but God kept all safe...there was not "great" amounts of damage...the house is still standing and looks to be only the front room really damaged (though we don't know that for certain). Our home is fine with no damage to our's or any of the other homes.

* * *

Don't ever let anyone tell you that God doesn't hear our prayers.
He does. He cares about us and our everyday lives.
He hears the cries of our hearts before our lips and mind can form it into words.
I cannot fathom His love for me.
I cannot fathom the depth of His goodness and graciousness.
We have so very much to be thankful for this day and every day.

"Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!" ~ Psalm 107:8

"The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower." ~ Psalm 18:2

Here is a quote from Jessica (she posted this on Facebook not too long after we were able to come back indoors):

God is good. This whole year has been full of chaos. An earthquake, a Hurricane, and now a fire! Tonight, the house next to our double house caught on fire. There were tons of fire trucks, an ambulance or two and several police cars. It was extremely windy and for safety reasons, we were asked to stay out of our house. Standing in the cold, November wind and watching the flames, I was so thankful that God kept things under control and protected the families involved. Though a bit shaken, we are all fine and will have even more to be thankful for as we celebrate God's goodness tomorrow. ♥

Please keep this family in your prayers that God would touch their hearts through this incident, and perhaps that of our other neighbors as well, and that they might come to know how very much God loves and cares for them.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving and safe travels!
We love you all and are so thankful for the sisterly encouragement and blessings we have found through blogging.
~Rachel (and Jessica)~

Guest Post: On "Living on LIterary Lane"

2011-11-23T12:42:00.008-05:00

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Just wanted to let you all know I have another guest post over at Elizabeth's blog, Living on Literary Lane! It's a book review on one of my favorite books I read this year by my favorite author: C.S. Lewis! :D

Please stop by and say "Hi"!

Happy Thanksgiving to all! :D
~Rachel~

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 23

2011-11-23T06:00:00.031-05:00

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Homeschooling: We children are first generation homeschooler's in our family! I'm so proud of my parents for stepping out in faith (with opposition from family and church family at times), and doing what God had lead them to do! :D

How grateful I am beyond words for the life God has given me and the parents He has put me with. I am so thankful for my mother's care and training and teaching of me over the years - I was not an "excellent" student, and many times I hated schoolwork..not school itself mind you, just having to try so hard in doing things I was not good at or couldn't understand at the time. ;)

I had a safe and godly environment to learn and grow.
God's word could be a part of my schoolwork in both the studying of the Bible and in learning how God worked throughout history and in Creation (instead of being fed false truths).
My mother instilled in me a *love* of books.
I was able to be myself and to learn how to love my siblings by being with them everyday.
I could learn any subject I wanted...including crafts! ;D *giggles* And YES I *DID* count them for school!
It gave me freedom to be a part of other activities outside of "schoolwork" to be a part of: acting with homeschool groups, helping mothers in need, church activities, and more (I can't think of them all! My mind's drawing a blank! Ah!). :)

I am also thankful for my Father's courage to allow my mother to homeschool...for desiring something better for us. For sticking with it when we had opposition or when mom was struggling knowing how to helps us kids with some of our learning troubles. Being being our leader and our comfort. For following God's leading and stepping out in faith. :)

Thank you both Mom and Dad! I love you so much and pray that one day you will see your children teaching little ones of their own - to see even more the fruit that you planted growing. :)

And I'm thankful to God, for leading my family in this step and for helping each of us kids to learn to put ourselves under our parents authority and desire to be taught by them...not the world.

"...choose you this day whom ye will serve...but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." ~ Joshua 24:15 (in part)

Have a blessed day! :D
~Rachel~

Interview over at Meditations of His Love

2011-11-22T08:54:00.001-05:00

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I just wanted to let you all know that Jessica and I have been interviewed over at the devotional blog we write on, Meditations of His Love, this week! :) You can learn some fun facts about us there and also take a look at all the girls interviews that will be going up this week! :D I'm looking forward to reading them all!

Our family is looking forward to the nice restful Thanksgiving this year. Jessica and I will be making pies tomorrow and then Thursday we'll put the turkey in while watching the Thanksgiving Day parade, play some games, watch Miracle on 34th Street, and eat our Thanksgiving meal! :D

I pray you all have a blessed Thanksgiving spending time with family and/or friends. :) We have so much to be thankful for to our God!

Love and blessings!
~Rachel~

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 22

2011-11-22T06:00:00.022-05:00

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"I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with *thanksgiving*." ~ Psalm 69:30

I am thankful for the work that God has done in me. I am thankful to say today that I am a different girl than I was yesterday...than I was last week, month, year...thankful that He hasn't given up on me yet (though I have given up on myself a few times). ;) I am thankful that I can trust Him with my future and that He won't *ever* give up on me.

~ ~ ~

"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:" ~ Philippians 1:6

May you feel the work He's doing in you today too! :D
Take courage my friends!

~Rachel~

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 21

2011-11-21T06:00:00.049-05:00

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"I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works." ~ Psalm 9:1

Thankful for friendships:

I don't know why I didn't think of this one sooner! ;D *giggles* God has given me "good" friends over the years, and I am thankful for them too, for they taught me many things...among which is how to be a good friend, what I want out of my friendships, and what a **great** friend doesn't look like.

There were a few years I had no friends at all. We changed to wearing skirts ("going Amish" as one, quote, "friend", said to me) and lost some of our friendships as we grew one way and they grew another. It's happened before, it hurts, but God is good and gracious. Jessica and I (and our parents too) prayed. We prayed the Lord would send true godly sister's in Christ to us who not only we could love and care about but who also would care about us in return and who valued Christ first in their lives instead of second. He answered that prayer 3 years ago when we started blogging. :) And *every* *single* *day* I am soo very thankful!

"Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass." ~ Psalm 37:4-5

Left to right: Jessica (front left), Sarah, Me, Rose.
The first, hopefully, of many sister's in Christ we that we'll meet in person. :D
*Waves* to all my sister's in Christ whom I love! ;)

♥ ♥ ♥

Jessica, Sarah, Me, Rose - on our visit to Washington D.C.

These true friends of mine, not only those shown but many others I've met online these past years, are different than previous friends. When I have a bad day...they don't judge me but encourage and pray for me! And in turn I can do the same for them. :) They are teaching me in many area's of life and faith! We can encourage each other and talk about the Bible...not in a passing way to make conversation but because God is such a part of our hearts and lives! I know my friends are praying for me even when I do not ask for it!

I pray that God would in turn make me a better friend. :) More caring, more aware of when my friends and sister's in Christ need me. That He'll help me remember to pray more for each of them and to give me the words (that can only come from Him) when they, in turn, need comforting.

A BIG thank you to all of you, my....

{Found this image online awhile back - love it!} :D

May the Lord be near to you and bless you all!
Love in Christ!
~Rachel~

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 20

2011-11-20T06:00:00.023-05:00

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Welcome and thank you for stopping by today! It's a pleasure and a blessing to have you! I pray the Lord encourages and blesses your heart today.... :)

I'm thankful for God's everlasting peace and calm in the storms of life. :) There have been many! Since I was little there have been struggles within our family in many area's (health and financial being the main ones). God's taught me a lot about Himself - far past the "Sunday School" version of God that most people know. He's taught me that He can be trusted to hold me above water when the storms rage in my life (or even in the lives of those I love most!). He reminds me often of His love and His promises -

"...His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." {Lamentations 3:22b-23} Look at that...right in a book that is filled with sadness...is a glimmer of hope... verses that remind us of God's goodness. :D Oh, how glad I am that He is such a great and good God!

We need to hold on to these promises!!! In fact, I pin them on my walls, and make bookmarks with verses to remind me...I want God's word everywhere in my mind, heart, and sight to keep it there always so I do not forget His love for me - or when I do...there it is in plain sight to comfort and remind me again. ;)

“When your in the middle of a storm and it seems like you cant hold any longer but somehow its seems you are, well its because you're not holding on, GOD is." :)
(status shuffle on FB)

~ ~ ~

"And I'll praise You in the storm, and I'll lift up my hands. 'Cause You are who You are, no matter where I am! And every tear I've cried, you hold in Your hands. You *Never* left my side, and though my heart is torn, I *Will* praise you in the Storm." ~ Praise You in the Storm by Casting Crowns

I pray that each of you may feel and remember God's blessings in your life today - no matter if you are in the storms of life right now, or in the calm and peace of His loving arms. :)

May you have a blessed day thinking of His goodness!
~Rachel~

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 19

2011-11-19T06:00:00.012-05:00

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"Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness." ~ Psalm 97:12

Today, oh I am just thankful for the millions of "tiny" things God blesses me with each and every day - those many things I take for granted! Each, so precious and without God, would never be...

Breath, living, breathing, life!
***
Health - each day is a new challenge for some people but God has given me excellent health compared to some. I am no better than they (God has given me other area's of challenge in my life), but I hate seeing people hurting and in pain. I am thankful that one thing I do not struggle with for now is health.

***

Air, sun,
changes of seasons,
coolness of night,
snow in the winter, flowers in the spring!

***

Food to eat! God has given us all I need to remain healthy and strong...to use my body to glorify Him more! My father has been out of work more times than I can count on both hands...yet I never have gone a day without food to eat. That, is a miracle that only comes from my heavenly Father. :)

***

Heat in the winter...air conditioning in the summer.
We have gone without for parts of my life.
It wasn't fun, and yes we survived.
But oh, how thankful I am for it! :D

***

A home, safe, warm, comforting.
We have moved a few times...a trailer, apartments...and God blessed us with the gift of a home of our own. :)
We have a Habitat home - my parents worked alongside the construction workers to help build our home.
God has provided the low mortgage rates and income so we can keep our home.
We have a home to live and grow in. To reach out to others in need and show them the love of Christ. To keep us safe and sheltered in the storms and storms of life. :)
Thank you Lord!

***

For the family God has put me in.
I hear stories every day of broken family's. It breaks my heart to hear of them...sometimes I cry for the hurt of others and the pain I know they are in (even if they do not speak it).
But God somehow chose to place me, Rachel, in *this* family.
Safe and protected.
Where I can be myself!
Where I can grow in Godliness!
Where I can serve and learn!
Where I could be homeschooled and taught about God and not of the things of this world.
Where I could learn how to love - by loving my family and seeing them love me in return. :)
I am truly blessed....

~

If you'd like to join me in this challenge, just add your blog link from your post on thankfulness below! It can be on whatever you'd like, a song, poem, quote or scripture verse or just something you'd like to share that you are thankful for today! :) Join me in thanking God for His many blessings! :D

Give Thanks! :D
~Rachel~

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 18

2011-11-18T06:00:00.011-05:00

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"In everything give thanks, with all your heart give praise, for the Lord we serve will never let you down!"

Time to share my favorite song about being thankful! :D I found this song earlier this year and it's now on the top of my list!

"...The Lord can take a circumstance and turn it all around." :)
THAT is what I am thankful for today! :D

Bad days come...and they go. We can't always control our circumstances, but we *CAN* control how we react! I have been posting these Thankfulness posts to encourage not only you, but myself, and remind me of God's goodness in my life now and in years past. My family has had many "bad days" (I had one yesterday as a matter of fact) - but I was encouraged because I know things in this life are only temporary - God is still good all the time and is here with me every step of the way (He'll NEVER leave me!)! :)

This is *SURE* to brighten you day and put a SONG in your step! ;D HeHe!

Have a blessed and thankful day! :)
Don't forget to link up your post below! ;)
~Rachel~

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 17

2011-11-17T06:00:00.027-05:00

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Welcome to day 17 of the Thankfulness challenge! :D I so appreciate all of your cooperation and encouragement in joining in this challenge! I pray you are getting as big of a blessing as I am! ;)

Today I am so thankful for the talents God has given to me. Some are natural gifts and talents He has given me that have just been developed over the years (organizing/hard work and the things a young lady needs to posses to run a household, the gift of encouragement, etc.). While others, such as cake decorating, sewing, baking, housekeeping, singing...I learned later on. ;) Hehe!

It wasn't until I was in my late teens that I discovered I had the spiritual gift of encouragement. In fact, when I did "discover" this, I kind of laughed too. Because If left to myself, I would be one of the most discouraging people! I have a foul temper at times, I grumble and complain more often than I'd like to admit, and I am easily judgmental of everyone. :( Though God's given me the gift of encouragement, it's also taken some work to put aside my fleshly feelings and emotions. They spring up at the most inopportune moments of course. ;) God has been very gracious to me in this area, being patient with me as I grew older and more mature both in body and spiritually. My family too has been *very* patient with me. :) I enjoy looking back and "young Rachel" and seeing the girl I was to the young woman God has guided and helped me to become. Oh, I'm not saying I'm finished - there is a looooooong way to go yet, of course! ;) I am just thankful for where I am now...and thankful for those moment's He helps me to put myself (my wishes, feelings, selfish thoughts) aside to be able to be there and help another. :)

And then there are the "domestic" talents and gifts I am thankful for! Thankful to my parents and my mother especially for the early training and encouragement to pursue these things when I was young! :D And to my hard-working grandmother always being an example of godly womanhood in the area of domestics.

Housekeeping, baking, cooking - all of which can be used to serve others both in the home and at church or when visiting friends/family! :D

Delightful crafts such as knitting, sewing, crocheting, embroidery, cross stitch, hand sewing, weaving, quilting, and more! It brings me enjoyment to work with my hands and to be able to use these things to in turn bless others! Whether it's giving to a charity organization, a family in need, or just to family...God helps me to share my talents with others. :) {as well as keep me out of mischief! Lol!} ;)

Cooking and baking - ahh, what delight and joy it brings to my heart! :D Oh yes it's taken some years to become a good cook (and yes, I still have some recipes that don't turn out quite right on occasion) but I enjoy it! And, it's part of being a keeper at home! :D To surprise a shut-in or a family in need with a home-cooked meal is such a joy! Or to send baked goodies to friends and family far away just to show you were thinking of them. :)

I enjoy every minute of my training to be a skilled young lady so that I can in turn use these talents and gifts for the benefits of others who God brings into my life. Whether it be just to bring them a smile and encouragement, or to help with a real need! And it also benefits my own family as well! :D

Thank you for stopping by!
Have a blessed day!
~Miss Rachel~

The Destiny of a Few Blog Tour!!!

2011-11-16T09:40:00.002-05:00

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Jessica and I have the delight and pleasure to be part of our dear friend, Sarah's, blog tour for her newest book: The Destiny of a Few! :D Join us as we get to know more about Sarah and see some of the fascinating things that you will find in her latest writings!

Journey with us in this sequel as we meet new characters, and discover new plots, new adventures and jaw dropping twists and turns! It's an exciting journey to see where God will lead Maria and the new band of characters next! It's edge-of-your-seat excitement with the tale of a God-driven mission.

* * *

We had the pleasure of working with Sarah on the blog tour for her first book last year and you can read the fun and exciting interview we had with her! :D You can learn all about Sarah and her joy of writing and the mission that God has shown her for this series! You can also see more on the first book in this series by reading the interviews of other blogger's here.

* * *

It's a joy to be part of this second book in the Destiny series with Sarah! :D Once again Jessica and I were on the editing team and it was great to see how much Sarah has grown as a writer! I'm so proud of her! But, it was also exciting to read this newest addition! Such thrilling excitement on every page! :D

The Destiny series follow one girl, Maria, as she travels through the galaxy to find the crown jewels (book 1) and the lost crown prince (book 2, very exciting!) and tries to follow God's leading in the mission He has laid out before her. Along the way there are many obstacles including the USF (the evil government) who Maria is always on the watch for. There are many spectacular lessons to be learned in reading this book - friendships, treating people you don't especially like with love and kindness (even if they are not kind to you), following the path God leads you on even when it gets hard and might be life-threatening, caring more for others than of yourself, and so much more! Follow Maria as she travels from planet to planet searching and following the mission that God has placed before her.

The Destiny of One was great...but we think the Destiny of a Few is even MORE wonderful! ;D Filled with biblical examples and truths, the Destiny series will leave you encouraged and inspired in your Christian walk. :)

***Just as a note, this is a Christian sci-fi book. Normally I don't go for those types by Sarah does an excellent job putting something in her books for everyone's taste. ;) This second book in the series is now a favorite - I love character-development and seeing how people grow...that's my thing. And there's plenty to be had in this book! :D But you are more of a girl who likes a good mystery or thrilling plot lines - this book is for you! {Okay, so I like those too. HeHe!}

We enjoy interviews so we asked Sarah if she would answer a few questions about her latest book:

What are some of the lessons your characters learn in your second book?
Sometimes there is more to people than meets the eye. You might think they are strange or don’t have the same standards, but underneath, you might have more in common then you realize. Another lesson that this book focuses on is the cost of following God. Sometimes, the path God places us on is hard, but we should keep following Him.

What is one favorite thing from your new book (character, scene, a line) that you can share? ;)
One of my favorite things has to be this paragraph;
“Maria!” The voice was stern. “Maria, your destiny isn’t something that you choose; it is something that is prepared for you. Lift your eyes and understand; your destiny isn’t just about what you are supposed to do with your life. It’s about all the lives you will touch and all the lives that you will change. Don’t you see? Your destiny isn’t the only one that is tied to that box, the destiny of a few are in your hands. Will you toss their destinies along with the box?”

What did you enjoy most about writing and working on "The Destiny of a Few"?
I think my favorite thing about writing this book was creating all the different places Maria goes to, each with their own feel and look. Rio is an orange planet where the people wear black and the houses are built right next to each other. Corateda has huge cities with tall buildings, a huge desert, and a farming community.

If you are new to Sarah's Destiny series, you can find all about it here (there's a great trailer for book #1!!)

...and now, *drumroll please*,

"The Destiny of a Few" trailer! Enjoy!

You can find out more about The Destiny series and about Sarah at the official site for the Destiny series and the Destiny facebook pages, as well as Sarah's excellent blog (where you'll also find encouragement and tips for writing!). :D

The Destiny of One {official site}!

*****

The Destiny of One facebook page

The Destiny of a Few facebook page
~ ~ ~
Sarah's Blog

Thank you for joining us today and for stopping by! :D
~Rachel & Jessica~

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 16

2011-11-16T06:00:00.040-05:00

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Blessed Wednesday everyone! :) Ah, November is such a delightful busy month isn't it? ;) I've been doing quite a bit of baking seasonal goodies and working on many craft projects (shh, it's a surprise!). Mix that in with this challenge, some guest posts, play practice, and writing for MOHL you have one busy girl! :D Lol! But, I've had some time for reflection as well and enjoying the beauty of God's glorious creation all around me!

Forgiveness, oh what a beautiful word that is! God is so good, so gracious to us. Though I've been saved most of my life, I still can't grasp in my mind the fact that He would send His only Son to die a horrible death - just to save me (and you)?! "Oh, what love is this!" His Son, Jesus Christ payed the ultimate sacrifice so I wouldn't have to.

"If Christ had not gone to the cross and suffered in our stead, the just for the unjust, there would not have been a spark of hope for us. There would have been a mighty gulf between ourselves and God, which no man ever could have passed." ~ J.C. Ryle

Trials come and go and to have the Holy Spirit living in me and giving me strength for each day...oh what a comfort and peace it brings to me! But even more than that, that God is changing me and helping me to grow. Teaching me of Himself.

Because of God's love for me, I have the promise of tomorrow, I can rest in Him with no worry for my earthly body or my soul. :) My sins no longer have to hang over my head - forgiveness from my Father in heaven. What *bliss*!

"In him we have *redemption* through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace" ~ Ephesians 1:7 (NIV)

"But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you." ~ Psalm 130:4 (NIV)

"The fact that Jesus had to die for me humbled me out of my pride. The fact that Jesus was glad to die for me assured me out of my fear." [The Reason for God - Timothy Keller]

When I was little, I became easily frustrated when ever I would do something I knew was wrong (like getting angry or hitting my siblings, not submitting to my father's authority, or not spending time in God's word). I had thought that being a Christian meant that I would get better and be able to have control of my emotions and my actions much more easily. That my sins would be mostly gone at least by the time I "grew up". When they didn't I felt like there was something more I had to do.

God doesn't ask us to give Him anything for His great sacrifice...at least, not to pay for our sins that is. It is a FREE gift to anyone who comes to God and believes in Him alone. :) {Ephesians 2:8-9; Hebrews 11:6} I am forgiven...When God looks at me when I go to heaven, He will not see any sin in me for He'll be looking through His Son to me (like a filter). :)

"It could never assure my poor heart to be told there was no sin in me, for, alas I know too well there is. What I am to rest in is the wondrous fact that God sees no sin on me — that gives the conscience peace." -Arthur Pink

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." ~ 1 Corinthians 1:18 (NIV)

~ ~ ~ ~

"Your Grace Still Amazes Me"

"Oh patient Savior, You make me whole
You are the author and the healer of my soul
What can I give You, Lord what can I say
I know there's no way to repay You
Only to offer You my praise."

"Amazing Grace, how *Sweet* the sound!" :D
Blessings dear friends!
~Rachel~

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 15

2011-11-15T06:00:00.035-05:00

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Hello and good morning to you all! :D

I am so thankful for God's provision of work for me over the years. I love being able to do things from the home. :) It's been a blessing!

God's provided opportunities to not only make some money but also to help people - babysitting (times where a normal girl my age would have been in college or working a regular job and not able to help), small sewing/sewing repair/hemming jobs for people in church who really can't afford to send it to a "professional", and more. I enjoy being able to serve and, at the same time, find that God provides me with work and spending money. :)

God inspired me to start a small in-home cake decorating business a few years ago after highschool...He helped me to let that one go and to follow the laws for food safety set up by our government. It hurt more deeply than I like to admit. I don't like letting go and saying goodbye to parts of my life that I've enjoyed. But God also has brought new opportunities and through all this He is teaching me to "let go and let God". He's brought me this far and He knows the future. I'll trust Him with it. ;)

Then only a year or two ago God inspired me to use the talents He'd given me to teach other girls! :D This is something I have a passion for! I've had a few students to teach in the arts of sewing, knitting, and crocheting...as well as a few "baking" lessons with some girls we babysat. ;) Fun! God has faithfully brought me one steady student whom I am very thankful for and makes me reach outside of myself and inspires my creativity! :D

I'm just thankful for His providing of all my needs, both the financial and emotional. I get a blessing from work and serving others...feeling needed...and using all the talents God has gifted me with! I'm looking forward to seeing where God takes me next!

***

So, what are YOU thankful for today? :D
Care to share below? ;)

Have a blessed day!
~Rachel~

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 14

2011-11-14T06:00:00.009-05:00

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Good morning all! :D TWO WEEKS so far!!! God is good! :D

There is one thing that really makes me want to shout and dance all at once
...can you guess what it is?

It is that my savior LIVES!!! :D

Today that is what I am most thankful for. In entire post is not long enough to contain the joy and hope I feel in knowing that He Lives and that He loves me! :D

I pray you have a wonderful day thinking of the how the fact that He is risen makes an impact in your life today! :D
I hope you know how much He loves you!
~Rachel~

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 13

2011-11-13T06:00:00.013-05:00

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Blessed Lord's day everyone! :D

"Gratitude unleashes the freedom to live content in the moment, rather than being anxious about the future or regretting the past."-Ellen V. {from "Choosing Gratitude}

I am so thankful for God's teachings to me over the years in my journey of learning about contentment. :) In highschool, I read a book "Calm My Anxious Heart" by Linda Dillow and this was when I was introduced to "contentment". It was such a blessing to read this book and to discover area's of weakness and begin to work on them. Stress, worry, greed, and many other things can infiltrate my heart at any moment if I don't continue to keep in God's word and focus on Him instead of my troubles.

Contentment to me is being happy, thankful, and enjoying life in the place God has you, whether that be a difficult place or a good place. It's not been easy and many times I don't feel content. It's something I have to work on all the time, reminding myself of the basics of my faith and of the One who is in control of my circumstances. You can read more about my journey with contentment here.

"Contentment does not come when all in your life is going well. Contentment can only come from a day-to-day reliance and rest in God and a peace about where He has you in life at this moment and where He will have you in the next moment." ~ Rachel

"But godliness with contentment is great gain." ~ 1 Timothy 6:6

I am so thankful today that I can say "I am content" with where God has me. It's not perfect of course and many times my heart would desire more but even in that God helps me. :) He is so good!

"...for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be *content*." ~ Philippians 4:11

Blessings!
~Rachel~

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 12

2011-11-12T06:00:00.017-05:00

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"Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people."
~ 1 Chronicles 16:8 ~

God has been so good to me in the area of health. As some of you may know I was diagnosed with thyroid disease a little less than 2 years ago. But God was with me and as it turned out the issue was not too serious and easy to treat with medication (which as another blessing to our family, is not expensive in the least as our insurance pays for all but $1 of it!).

I had some rough months with adjusting to the medication but after the first few weeks I had more energy than I had had in ages! Now I am able to live a normal healthy life having more energy and my emotions are under control now too! :D God provided for me in so many ways and still is helping me in this area of health and wellness of the physical body He has given me.

I have so much to be thankful for as over the last few years even I've seen and heard stories of others who have gone through very painful and exhausting psychical issues (including my own sweet grandmother). :( I'm thankful for a God who can sort all this out and who has a greater purpose for us. It's such an encouragement to know He is in control of not only our spiritual but our mortal bodies as well. :) I can safely rest in Him.

Have a blessed and thankful day! :D
~Rachel~

Friday Link-Up #65

2011-11-11T07:00:00.072-05:00

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Whew! I really love this time of year but it certainly gets busy! ;D Lol! Thankfully this week our Christmas play director gave Jessica and I off because the kids had practiced that part of the play enough for a bit. So that means I was able to work on the slew of blog posts for MOHL, our blog, and some guest posts for the future! Praise the Lord I was able to get a lot done in that area on Wednesday. Now hopefully I can concentrate on the bulk of sewing that needs to be completed before Dec. 1st!

I'm so excited about the opportunities for doing some guest posts in the next few weeks and in Dec. There will be recipes, spiritual posts, and book reviews! :D Lot's of fun stuff! I'll keep you posted so you can go take a look when they go up. ;)

The following Link-Up posts will be filled with holiday recipes and things you can make and give for Christmas (and some Thanksgiving things too!). :) I know I'm always looking for new idea's so I'll be sharing some of the good ones I've found with you all! I'm nice like that. ;) HeHe! Have fun browsing!

Spiritual
Meditations of His Love: Temperance ~ This is my latest post at MOHL! :) We're studying the fruit of the Spirit. Temperance is moderating on things that are permissible to us but might not necessarily be good for us and seeking God's help in knowing what those things are for each one of us. "All things are lawful for me," but not all things are helpful..."

30 Days of Thankfulness ~ So far we've been really enjoying finding things in our lives to thank and praise the Lord for the blessings He continues to give to us! :D You can still join us if you'd like or just read some of the posts from me and the others who have joined!

Homemaking
Thinking of a Simpler Season ~ A wonderful post reminding us of simpler things of Christmas and a free download! :)

More Than a Movie ~ I found this blog hopping the other day and it looks really good! This woman has put together an e-book or more than 50 idea's for frugal family nights without using the tv!! :D

Crafts
Give Thanks Embroidery Pattern ~ Some exciting news - the Brookshire ladies have begun a new Etsy shop of the most beautiful embroidery patterns! :D Take a look!

12 Days of Christmas Tutorials ~ 12 great projects you can make and give this year!

Little Gentleman's Faux Vest Onesie ~ SOOO ADORABLE!!!! Perfect for the new little man in the family or for baby showers!

Art Journal Tutorial ~ A fun gift for the budding artist!

Number Bean Bags: Tutorial ~ This is such a fun idea for a children's gift! :D Very easy to put together and it even has a little bag for carrying the bean bags! Why not look up and find some fun bean bag games online that you can include as a print-out for the receiver!

Patchwork Scarf Tutorial ~ A beautiful and easy fabric scarf tutorial! Make one for every lady in your family this year!

Thanksgiving Scripture Verse Free Printable! ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:18 {"In everything give thanks.."} free art to frame comes in 4 beautiful Autumn colors! An inexpensive way to dress up any room for the season.

Fabric Pumpkin Tutorial ~ These are adorable and will be sure to brighten up your Thanksgiving decor!

Fleece Boot Socks ~ It's cold outside all right but now your footsies can be all toasty warm with these fleecy boot inserts! These would make really good "men" gifts for those dad's and brother's who are difficult to shop for. ;)

Turkey Thumbprints ~ Aww, these are so cute! I think they would make great placecards for Thanksgiving!

Windsor Ripple Throw ~ A great scrap yarn project and a wonderful charity gift for a nursing home or that special loved one. :D

Acorn Patch Pillow ~ Adorable Autumn fabric squares with an acorn appliqué in the center. There isn't a pattern but you should be able to easily come up with the design yourself from the pictures if you do any sewing. :)

Giant Craft Stick Snowflakes ~ These are so beautiful! Hang in front of a window or on a wall..maybe even put them on a stick for a front yard decoration! :)

Vintage Paper Leaf Wreath ~ An old book is transformed into a beautiful vintage wreath!

Cotton Lace Scarf ~ A lovely and simple knitting pattern!

How To: Easy Fall Wreath

Mint Chocolate Chip Bark ~ Fun, simple, and tasty! Wrap in those charming cellophane treat bags or a treat box from your local craft store for a quick and easy gift!

Glitter & Gem Snowflake Ornament ~ Pretty little ornament for a pretty little gift or decoration. :)

Christmas Tree Cake ~ Wow! With just one icing tip and a simple technique you can create a stunning cake for your family!

Felt Poinsettias Ornament ~ Besides an ornament, you can use this on packages or as a Christmas pin to wear or put on a bag!

Modern Lace Shawl ~ Really this looks like a "vintage" crochet shawl...that classic lovely style will be perfect draping the shoulders of a sweet lady in your life (mother, grandmother, friend). :D

Button Wreath Ornament ~ So cute and so easy!

Crochet Snowflake Ornament

Easy Felt Garland ~ So cute and perfect for tree decoration or for home decor! :)

Merry Christmas Cocoa Wraps ~ Wrap parchment paper around packaged cocoa mix with some candy cane sticks and some pretty wrapping! A lovely gift or party favor!

Braided Bracelet Tutorial ~ A fun stylish fabric bracelet!

Recipes
Butter Toffee Popcorn ~ Eat it or wrap it for someone special! ;)

Sausage Cornbread Stuffing ~ Perfect for Thanksgiving or anytime!

Mint Chocolate Chip Bark ~ Fun and simple! Wrap in cellophane holiday bags from your local craft store for a lovely gift for friends and family.

Herbed Turkey Meatballs with Cranberry BBQ Sauce ~ Here's a great seasonal dish you can serve just to your family or for a get-together!

4-Layer Bars ~ These sweet treats are made easy with the use of a cake mix! Yes!

Easy Chicken with Spinach and Tomatoes ~ A nice *healthy* dish!

Peppermint Oreo Cookie Balls ~ Chocolate and mint are the perfect pairing!

Pumpkin Seed Cranberry Biscotti ~ Whether for Autumn, Christmas, or anytime, these gourmet style cookies will have young and old delighted! I'd personally drizzle them with a little white chocolate myself though. ;) Hehe!

Taco Casserole ~ This is a family favorite meal!

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Topped Cinnamon Vanilla Crepes ~ Wow!

Crispy Butterfinger Cookies ~ My favorite candy in a delicious cookie. Oh goodie!

Peppermint Twist Cupcakes ~ A delicious homemade cupcakes topped with a fluffy peppermint swirl frosting.

Candy Cane Homemade Marshmallows ~ Make and give these special treats this year...they are perfect for hot cocoa drinking! ;D

Pork Roast with Apples and Onions {Pioneer Woman}

Baked Butternut Squash Fries ~ A fun seasonal twist on a classic!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Fudge ~ You have to see it to believe it!! Why not add this to your holiday sweets tray this year?

Texas Garlic Mashed Potatoes ~ For your Thanksgiving meal or just anytime!

Cinnamon Roll Milkshake

Reduced-Fat Crescent Veggie Bake ~ The perfect appetizer - both tasty and healthy!

Homemade Almond Paste ~ Almond paste can be used in a number of delicious recipe from pie crust to cookies. Make some, place in a jar, and attach a delightful recipe card for a special cook! :D

Nutella Oreo Truffles ~ Y.U.M.!!

Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer ~ Serve this with coffee for Thanksgiving or just use it yourself to brighten up your morning. :)

Slow-Cooker Rustic Italian Chicken ~ filled with good veggies and you can shop or bake while it cooks all day! :D

Our Softest Sugar Cookies ~ These delightful little treats are frosted with fluffy frosting! :D The sour cream in the cookie dough create a nice soft cookie.

Roasted Vegetable Medley ~ The perfect accompaniment to any meal! :)

Lightened Up Sweet Potato Casserole

Meatloaf Cupcakes ~ Okay, so these are *not* cupcakes...they are adorable and fun mini meatloaves baked in a muffin/cupcake pan and then you use an icing tip and bag to squirt the mashed potato "frosting" over them! They are so cute!!! Kids will think they are so fun and eat them all up! ;)

Snickerdoodle Cookie Cupcakes ~ These...are glorious.

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies ~ A delicious chocolate peppermint cookies covered in white chocolate and sprinkled with crushed peppermints!

Lightened Up Twice Baked Potatoes ~ The added carrot in these makes them look more cheesey than they really are - less fat without losing any of the flavor!

Day-After-Thanksgiving Soup!!! ~ Direct from the Gooseberry Patch ladies this delicious soup can be whipped up in a flash AND uses some of those Thanksgiving leftovers! Scrumptious!! I am definitely trying this this year! ;D

Layered Pumpkin Pie Toffee Cheesecake ~ Okay, this is seriously the most delicious looking dessert EVER!!! :O

Chai-Spiced Tea Mix ~ For gifts or for yourself -- either way it's delicious! ;D

Quote of the Week:

"None are more unjust in their judgments of others than those who have a high opinion of themselves.” - Charles Spurgeon

For more of my favorite finds of recipes, craft ideas, home decorating, and more... {if you need an invite email me at younghomemakers@inbox.com}

May God bless you! :D
~Rachel~

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 11

2011-11-11T06:00:00.009-05:00

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Good Day to you all and thank you for stopping by again! :) Wow! I can hardly believe it - there are 90 people joining us on facebook and so, with the bloggers joining too, that equals over 110 people joining in the Thankfulness challenge!! :D I just think that's wonderful! So many people coming together with one purpose -- to give praise and thanks to the Lord! :D

"The whole life of a Christian should be nothing but praises and thanks to God; we should neither eat nor sleep, but eat to God and sleep to God and work to God and talk to God, do all to His glory and praise." ~Richard Sibbes~

***

I'm thankful for God's provision today. Times have been tough over the years, maybe not as tough as others have been I know, but they were hard for us. Times we didn't know where God was leading or what He was doing with us...in fact, we are in one of those times right now. :)

But one thing He has taught me is that He will always care for His children. It may not be in the way we'd wish, it may not be as soon as we'd like, but He has promised to never forsake us and He has kept that promise. And for that I am so very thankful! We have always had food on the table, and a place to live (even if not our own home) and the most important...His love and guidance in our lives and hearts!

Blessings in Christ!
~Rachel~

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 10

2011-11-10T06:00:00.013-05:00

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Hello! It's Day #10! This is so exciting!

I'm sorry I've not been commenting or going to y'all's blogs over the weekend really...it was very busy what with the fall festival at church and then all day at church with service and then play practice till 4. :) So I'll try to catch up on my reading here and there this week, have no fear! :D

How have you all been and how have you been enjoying this so far? :) Have you been able to keep up with posting on your blog/facebook?

~ Today I am thankful for technology! ~

Having the ability to phone friends and family, or to contact and keep up with them through blogs and facebook and chats and such is such a blessing to me! :D Yes, I do have to be careful too not to spend *too* much time on my computer, but it's great to have this as a gift too. ;)

Also, to be able to use this blog as a ministry and to share what God puts on my heart and encourage others in godly young womanhood is something that I never could have imagined doing years ago before we started this blog! It's a blessing and also a challenge to live my life the way God wants me to - both on and off the blog. :)

It's very humbling to know that people I might not even know will read this and other posts on our blog and that it could possibly have an impact on their spiritual lives. I do not take that lightly by any means! And we so appreciate the support of you as godly women, who have stopped by our little blog through the last 3 years - you all are such an encouragement to *US*! :D

"Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with thy honour all the day." ~ Psalm 71:8

Thank you for stopping by again today! :D It's always nice to meet new friends and chat with old ones and to read your stories of how God's working in your lives!

Have a blessed, thankful, day!
~Rachel~

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 9

2011-11-09T06:00:00.010-05:00

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Today I'd like to share with you all a re-post from a something I wrote on the Meditations of His Love young ladies devotional blog. I wrote this last year, but everything here is just as true now as it was then. They are echo's of my heart. :)

***

My Heart is Filled with Thankfulness

Written by Miss Rachel -

Sometimes this time of year...when we ought to be so thankful and praising the Lord for all He has done and is doing in our lives...I've sometimes had trouble being able to really "feel" that in my heart. Our family has had many trials both physically and financially over the years. As much as I know that He only is the One who is able to help me in everything and especially help me through tough times, my heart has not always "been in it". I've had to work a little on my attitude even this year, though it's not been too difficult recently, just because it seems hard to remember God's faithfulness and blessings to me. Satan would love nothing more than to have me forget about Whom I love most and Whom I am to be thankful for. He tries every day to steal my joy from me and keep my thoughts on things of this world. The thing to do is, spend your time reflecting on

I thought maybe some of you might be having some of the same struggles this year too. So instead of sharing a list of things for which I am so thankful for here, I thought I'd share some verses of praise, worship, thanksgiving, and glory to our great God and King. :) I pray they will strengthen, encourage, and bless all of your hearts today.

As a note...it's not about the thanksgiving feast, it's not about what you have or what you don't have...it's about the year and how God has worked things in your life. Whether you've had a good year or a difficult one, God is the only one who is worthy for our full thanks and praise. :) Even in the most difficult times in my life, I have still seen Him at work in my life and blessing me. He wants and desires us to thank Him. He is worthy of our praise and thanks. And all the time...not just at thanksgiving. ;)

"O LORD, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens." ~Psalm 8:1

To God be the glory, *great things He has done*;
So loved He the world that He gave us His Son,
Who yielded His life an atonement for sin,
And opened the life gate that *all* may go in.

O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood,
To every believer the *promise of God*;
The vilest offender who truly believes,
That moment from Jesus a pardon receives.

Great things He has taught us, *great things He has done*,
And great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son;
But purer, and higher, and greater will be
Our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see.

Chorus:
*Praise the Lord*, *praise the Lord*,
Let the earth hear His voice!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
*Let the people rejoice*!
O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son,
And *give Him the glory*, great things He has done.

"Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and *give thanks* at the remembrance of his holiness." ~ Psalm 30:4

"I will *bless the LORD at all times*: his praise shall *continually* be in my mouth. O magnify the LORD with me, and let us *exalt his name together*. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing." ~Psalm 34:1,3,10

"In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for ever. Selah." ~Psalm 44:8

"Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands: Sing forth the honour of his name: *make his praise glorious*." ~ Psalm 66:1&2

"I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with *thanksgiving*." ~ Psalm 69:30

"I will *remember* the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old. I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings. ...who is so great a God as our God?" ~ Psalm 77:11-13

My Heart is Filled With Thankfulness
My heart is filled with thankfulness
To Him who bore my pain;
Who plumbed the depths of my disgrace
And gave me life again;
Who crushed my curse of sinfulness
And clothed me in His light
And wrote His law of righteousness
With pow’r upon my heart.

My heart is filled with thankfulness
To Him who walks beside;
Who floods my weaknesses with strength
And causes fears to fly;
Whose ev’ry promise is enough
For ev’ry step I take,
Sustaining me with arms of love
And crowning me with grace.

My heart is filled with thankfulness
To him who reigns above,
Whose wisdom is my perfect peace,
Whose ev’ry thought is love.
For ev’ry day I have on earth
Is given by the King;
So I will give my life, my all,
To love and follow him.

“My Heart Is Filled with Thankfulness“
Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
Copyright © 2003 Thankyou Music

I don't know about you...but I feel much better now. :) It all melts away when I remember how glorious, wonderful, merciful, gracious, loving, and powerful my God and King is and how much He has done in my heart through the years! :D What a wonderful gift it is to be able to sing, pray, and worship Him each day...may I not forget that. :)

"I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD." ~ Psalm 104:33

I would suggest if you have been struggling with "feeling" thankful lately, that you open your bible up to the Psalms or even something like Romans or Ephesians or Philippians. :) Spend some quiet time in your bible and with the Lord. Pray, listen to some soft music that speaks of all that God does and is. I assure you, you'll then be able to have the right spirit and heart for worship and praise and thanksgiving. :)

"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." ~ Psalm 51:10

May you have a blessed day of thanksgiving to our Lord!
~Rachel~

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 8

2011-11-08T06:00:00.022-05:00

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Welcome to day 8 of the Thankfulness challenge! :D

Today I am just thankful for God's beautiful creation.
For the magnificent sunrises and sunsets we've been seeing lately...

"And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O LORD..."
~ Psalm 89:5a

to the uniqueness of each creature with it's grand design and purpose...

...for the changing of the seasons...

{source}
"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above..."
~ James 1:17 ~

the magnificent flowers of all shades and styles...

trees, their strength and grandeur...

...life.
Sweet, precious, God-given, life.

"Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee..."
~ Jeremiah 1:5 ~

"Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?" ~ Exodus 15:11

May God give you a blessed day! :)
~Rachel~

Rose Cake for the Fall Festival

2011-11-07T07:00:00.012-05:00

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The Fall Festival at our church was rescheduled to this past Saturday and once again this year I entered the bake-off, just for fun. :) I enjoy baking quite a bit and since ending my cake decorating "career" a year or so ago I've missed it some. So it's fun to have an opportunity to try new techniques!

~ Sweet roses ~

I made my Spice Layer Cake with Pumpkin Spice Buttercream Frosting (here as mini cupcakes). I just love the combination of two recipes that I put together a little while ago - Mmm! The flavor of the cake is like a spice wafer cookie and the frosting *OH*...so GOOD!!! *swoon* It was a hit at the festival! Everyone seemed to love the look and the taste! :) Well, that makes me happy. ;) It's always nice as a cook to have people enjoy your food.

Tutorial to make the rose cake here!

I won again this year. My family was more excited about it than I was really - I did it for fun and to have an excuse to bake! HeHe! :)

There was also a chili contest and an art contest so it was fun to see all the talented folks of our church! :D

{Thanks to my sis once again for taking these great photos! :D Love you Jessica! You're the best!}

I entered two things, thinking there would be more entries this year since there were 4 categories to enter under - but it turned out to be not too many entries again this year unfortunately. These were good too, but not as popular as the cake. ;) They are the same ones I made for the church picnic earlier this year that were so popular...I just cut them into 1" bites to feed a crowd more easily.

Snickerdoodle *Bites* :)

...sweet soft blondie crust sprinkled with a cinnamon/sugar and topped with a little drizzled glaze.

Once again, my sweet sister came to the rescue and found this pretty container from a gift that I'd saved and she and mom worked on decorating it up for me.

*Yum*

Tomorrow should be fun - I plan on resting for most of the day after these past two busy weeks. {though I might work *some* on a few blog posts that need writing....} ;)

Thank you for stopping by! :D
Have a blessed week!
~Rachel~

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 7

2011-11-07T06:00:00.006-05:00

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This song reminds me to thank God for everything.
For roses by the wayside and thorns with their stems,
for storms and sunshine,
for God's care and provision,
for His love and grace "beyond compare". :)

~ * ~

To join me in this challenge to strive to be thankful today, just add your blog link below! :D

God bless you and give you a wonderful day and remind you of His goodness in your life!
Thank you for stopping by!
~Rachel~

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 6

2011-11-06T06:00:00.007-05:00

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"So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever: we will shew forth thy praise to all generations." ~ Psalm 79:13

I am thankful for God's gift of teaching.
Yes, that's what I said! ;D

I love how God can take an analogy and form it into something our finite minds will understand. Take the image of a shepherd for instance. I can understand God's love and care of me because I can understand how a shepherd watches over his sheep. The sheep (that's us) often will stray from the path, get into difficult circumstances they can't get out of by themselves, and have to fully rely on the Shepard for their food and all their needs. :)

...I love that the meanings of God's names each show us a different part of His character: Jehovah-Rohi (The Lord our Shepherd), Jehova-Jirah (the Provider), The High Priest, the seed of Jesse, the Great *I AM*...

...He is my *Rock*,
my *Deliverer*,
my *shield and buckler*,
the *Chief Cornerstone*,
and so many other wonderful and powerful things. :)
{see more here}

I love that my God is so BIG He can fill the universe...and so "small" that He can dwell in my heart. That He is the Most High God...and yet still loves me. I love that He can take a simple girl and teach her things that confound the "wise" of this world - and not because she is something special or trying to gain more knowledge...but because He loves us so much that a most powerful supreme God would bring us close to Himself and help us to know and grow in our knowledge of Him so we would love Him. :)

I'm just thankful to be called one of His "sheep".

If you have a thankfulness post to share with us, please just add your blog link below! :)

Blessed Sunday Everyone! :)
~Rachel~

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 5

2011-11-05T06:00:00.030-04:00

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Ah, day 5 of this challenge! :D I've so enjoyed reading the comments and blog posts and things you've all shared! Its' a great encouragement to read how God is working in your own lives and it inspires me too!

"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him." ~ Colossians 3:15-17

* * *

~ I am *so* very thankful for God's word in my life today. ~
The power of God's word in my life is amazing. Though I've not always been a very good "scholar", especially during my school years, He's helped me to learn to love His word more and more as I grow older. I cherish my time learning and growing through my bible times.

"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." ~ Psalm 119:105

"How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" ~ Psalm 1119:103

I love how each time I read my bible I find new truths or am reminded of old ones still yet to learn and put into better practice. :) How when I just open it, not knowing where to start, the Holy Spirit quietly leads me right to the pages with the verses my heart so longs and needs to hear. I can be confidant that His promises are sure and that His word is true. :)

"The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times." ~ Psalm 12:6

I am thankful that God has given me a desire for His word and that He has preserved His word for us today to encourage, teach, inspire, help us grow, tell us about Himself, and so much more! My bible is so precious to me and His words are the treasure of my heart...I often forget there are those who do not read His word nor follow it...or those who are in countries who are fighting for the right just to read it. Yes, I am very blessed.

"But the word of the Lord endureth for ever." ~ 1 Peter 1:25a

Have a blessed day! :D
~Rachel~

Friday Link-Up #64

2011-11-04T18:24:00.002-04:00

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Sorry this got up late - we had babysitting for mom's bible study today (though there weren't any kids this time) and we had errands to run, then when we got home I just needed a bit of a rest.

It's been *really* busy here what with the Encore! Christmas play practice twice a week, practicing lines and sewing costumes, teaching my sewing lesson once a week, bible study's, family stuff, blogging for the 30 Days of Thankfulness challenge and MOHL and guest posts (more on that at a later date), reading for the book challenge, and the Fall Festival which was rescheduled for tomorrow so that means time to bake! Whew! ;D

This time of year is usually busy...I love it! :D Baking, friends, serving, sharing the love of Jesus Christ in various ways...all while enjoying the beauty of God's glorious creation! Like this morning...such a *GORGEOUS* sunrise! *bliss*

Well, I didn't want to leave you all with just the thankfulness posts, so I got going on finishing this up for you all tonight (albeit late) - - Enjoy!

Spiritual
Our dear friend, and author, Sarah has is getting ready to release her newest book "The Destiny of a Few"! We are*SUPER* excited about this upcoming sequel! Click on the trailer below and then go visit Sarah's blog and/or "The Destiny of One" Facebook page for more details about this fun (and God-honoring) series! :)

30 Days of Thankfulness ~ For those of you just stopping by, I have a new series I am doing for the month of November! :D You can find out all the details here (it's not very hard). ;) We've been enjoying our time sharing how the Lord has been a blessing in our lives, whether through trial and storm, or family, or faith, or just the everyday simple things of life we may take for granted. :) If you want to join, you still have time...just hop right in and you don't even have to stop after 30 days if you don't want to! ;D We need to praise the Lord *all* the time!

"Dude, Where's Your Bride?" ~ Despite the odd title, this is an excellent article shared with me by a friend. Many Christian young woman today are asking the question, "Where are all the godly young men?" I know just how you all feel to, for I have found myself asking similar questions on occasion. The world as we know it seems to have weakened the men...but is it all their fault? This article, though it doesn't answer the question, does serve as a good reminder to both men and women to be seeking Christ first, to pray for our nation and our people, and to be patient and joyous in the time God has given us. :)

MOHL: Lessons from the Book of 2 Samuel ~ The girl's over at the Meditations of His Love blog just completed an excellent series of posts from 2 Samuel! Included are topics such as:

Homemaking
Young Lady Training #1 ~ Miss Elizabeth shared this delightful post about how her mother spends a few minutes each day to teach her things about homemaking and such and here she's shared a few of the things that she learned this past August! :) Perhaps you will be inspired just as I was! :D She is thinking of doing more posts like this, so if you are interested, please just leave her even a small comment letting her know you would be interested! ;)

Decorating Bible Verses with Leaf Art: by Doorposts ~ This was a lovely idea I found on the Doorposts blog yesterday! Such a beautiful way to display God's word and the beauty of His creation together!

Crafts
I found some *delightful* patterns from Lion brand last week that I just *had* to share with you all! :D

Felted Acorn Pencil Case (knit) ~ Charming little case!
Rosy Ribbed Hat (knit)
Fall Wineglass Decorations (crochet) ~ I am thinking of making these for napking rings! And the little leaves could be used for on cards or
Fall Flower Brooch (crochet) ~ A delightful little bouquet of flowers in Autumn colors!
Acorn Brooch (crochet) ~ *SO* cute! :D
Pumpkin Pie Brooch (crochet) ~ I saved the best for last! ;D When I saw this I squeals aloud!!! It's A-dorable!!! Make some of these brooch's as Thanksgiving gifts/favors this year! :)

Simple Drawsting Bag ~ This is a GREAT beginner sewing project to make! :D And, while you are at it...a fun Christmas gift as well! ;)

Ruffled Scarf Tutorial ~ Ruffles are a girl's best friend. ;) Lol!

Pointed Flower Tutorial ~ Use these adorable handmade fabric flowers on bags, or for your hair on a headband or hair pin! :D Even make a brooch for your mom! :)

Copy Cat Bag Tutorial ~ This is a really cute bag pattern! Some ruffles, some boxey shaping, (lovely fabric)...perfect! :D

Infinity Scarf Pattern ~ These are fun to wear and to make! This would be a lovely and inexpensive gift for someone this Christmas!

Tiered Skirt Tutorial: by Shannon! :D

Hanging Hand Towels ~ Another great homemaking gift for someone...or if you just like pretty things in the kitchen. ;)

Recipes
Homemade Apple Cider Syrup ~ A charming seasonal topping to pour over your pancakes. :)

Turkey Meatloaf Balls ~ The creative idea of adding shredded zucchini and carrot makes these healthy and "pretty". ;) Hehe!

Soft Pumpkin Rolls ~ These lovely rolls are great for serving with a roast or chicken for a side dish, or just spread with apple butter for afternoon snack!

Caramel-Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies ~ A sweet apple cider cookie dough wrapped around a caramel and baked! YUM!

English Muffin Bread ~ The sliceable English "muffin"!

Gourmet Caramel Apple Cookies ~ An apple cookie with a dulce de leche center! Gourmet doesn't mean hard though...this cookie is rather simple to make!

Taco Biscuit Bake ~ a great family evening meal!

Mulled Apple Cider ~ Just a few simple ingredients to a most *wonderful* and seasonal beverage! Mmmm......

Orange Chicken ~ A tasty "Chinese Take-out" dish. :)

Zucchini Meatloaf ~ I made this recipe just this Thursday and *BOY* was it GOOD!! The zucchini (and about 1/4 cup shredded carrot I also added) created a moist meatloaf while the sweet and sour topping made it flavorful! The whole family loved it and it's now going to be a family favorite on the menu! I served it with the delicious fries below. ;)

Baked Oven Fries ~ *VERY* good homemade fries that look AND taste just like the "diner" restaurant ones! These do take some time for preparation and baking, so leave yourself enough time to cut, soak, and bake these. :) {I didn't bake these at 475 because our smoke detector goes off if the oven goes above 375 so I baked for awhile at 350 before mom took over because Jessica and I had Encore practice - we ate the fries when we got back. Like I said, leave yourself some time when making these! Lol!} ;)

Dark Chocolate S'More Bark ~ Such a fun "indoor" s'more treat! Wrap it up and gift it to a friend for a little cheer-up gift! :)

Pasta with Creamy Pumpkin Sauce ~ Okay, so I am completely in love with the idea of this recipe! I'm a pumpkin fanatic! ;D HeHe! So the idea of turning an afredo-type-sauce recipe and adding pumpkin to it just intrigues me - can't wait to try this one out! :D

Carrot Cake Pancakes with Honey Butter ~ Oh my goodness...I made these this week as well (it was a great week in the kitchen) and now they are my new favorite pancake! :D The batter is nice and fluffy, the pancakes have just a *hint* of orange (because I only put in about 1 tsp. that was *PLENTY*!!), and are topped off with the most delicious homemade honey butter! The flavors mingle perfectly! *bliss* I added in a bit of zucchini with mine for color. ;) So it was more of a "harvest" pancake. :)

Ready, Set, Eat! ~ This is a new-to-me site I found this past week...it's *filled* with loads of great recipes JUST for dinner! Now the question of "What do I make for dinner" can be solved in a jiffy! :D Yeah! Why not try this Beef and Noodle Stir Fry, or this Veggie French Bread Pizza! Yum! The other amazing thing about this site is you can enter your zip code, choice of favorite grocery stores in your area...and then it will tell you and mark on the recipes what is on sale! :O I {heart} this site. ;)

Misc.
Sock Bun Tutorial ~ Everyone loves those perfect ballerina hair buns right? Now you can create that same look...with a sock!? ;D So neat!

Easy Curls by Using a Sock! ~ Yes, another "sock" hairstyle! Very much the same as the last...use the sock to create a bun and leave in overnight...in the morning, let it all loose and there you go - perfect curls! :D I want to get Jessica to try this one out (she has straight hair). ;)

Quote of the Week:

"God examines hearts. When He finds one set on Him, He calls it and claims it." {Facing Your Giants by Max Lucado, p. 18} - my new book for the month of November! :)

For more of my favorite finds of recipes, craft ideas, home decorating, modest fashion, and more... {if you need an invite email me at younghomemakers@inbox.com} :D

~Rachel~

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 4

2011-11-04T06:00:00.019-04:00

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Thank you all for joining me for another day of thankfulness! :D You all have been such an encouragement to me in doing this challenge - I have loved reading your comments, blog posts, and facebook updates! :D It's so great to be praising the Lord together with you all!

"How marvelous, How wonderful! And my song shall ever be:
How marvelous, How wonderful! Is my Saviour's love for me!"

Today I am so very thankful for my saviors love for me. More often than I would like to admit, I take it for granted that God loves me so (for He did not have to!). "He took my sins and my sorrows; He made them His very own. He bore the burden to Calvary, and suffered, and died alone." What sacrifices He made for me...what burdens He bore, pain and sorrow He suffered because He knew what would be my end if He did not take my sins for me. He loved me and He loved you "before the foundation of the world" and He knows all about me...and He still loves me, He still died for me. :) Oh, how very thankful I am for His sacrifice that I could never repay...and do not have to because it was a gift of love.

I love this beautiful a cappella version of this song. :)

I pray that you will not take His love for you for granted today.
I hope you know Him!
~Rachel~

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 3

2011-11-03T06:00:00.011-04:00

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One of the greatest thing I am thankful for is my family. I know that everyone says that (sometimes it almost feels like you should be "obligated" to say it!)...but I truly AM thankful for my family. :) We've been through lot's of hard times in many different kinds of ways but through the years God has helped us stick together and work through it all.

Over the past few years, and especially in this last year, God has helped me to realize just how precious they are. God has used circumstances around me in others lives to help me see how often I take them for granted. They are always there for me each and every time I fall or need a helping hand...for every time I need a laugh and a smile or a kind word...

Singing at the Needlework Guild last year.

So, to my family -
Thank You for loving me!
And I love YOU so very much and I'm thanking God for you today! :D

Please join me in the challenge by adding your thankfulness blog post link below! :D

God give you a blessed day!
~Rachel~

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 2

2011-11-02T06:00:00.010-04:00

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It's day 2 of the 30 days of Thankfulness challenge! :D Wow! I am so excited about all who are joining! So far we have over 80 people joining from both facebook and through blogs! That's wonderful! I'm so happy to see so many people praising the Lord and looking for the blessings He has placed in their lives! :D

I found this on Pinterest awhile back and it serves as a very good reminder! :)

Today I am thankful for moments. :) Moments that remind me that God is real and there. Moments to reflect and ponder. Moments to remember. Moments to laugh, cry, sing, praise, rejoice, pray...

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father
There is no shadow of turning with Thee
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside

Great is Thy faithfulness
Great is Thy faithfulness
Morning by morning new mercies I see
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me

~

What are *you* thankful for today? :)

If you would like to join in the challenge, just write a post (short or long) on something you are thankful for or something that reminds you to be thankful, etc. It can be an image, song, scripture verse, poem or quote! *please keep it clean!*

Add your blog link below so that I (and others) can go read it! :D

Have a blessed, thankful day y'all! :)
~Rachel~

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 1

2011-11-01T06:00:00.032-04:00

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Welcome to day 1 of my 30 day's of thankfulness challenge! :D I am so excited about this and have been looking forward to this for about a month now! I want to thank you for stopping by and I pray this series will encourage you this month and remind you of God's goodness, love, mercy, and greatness. :) Below you will find a linky where you may add a link to your thankfulness post for today. I would *LOVE* it if you would join me in this challenge to thank the Lord for the 30 days in November! :D

Circumstances are not always what we might want them to be, but I know, from God's word and what He has been teaching me over the years, that thankfulness is something that we all should strive to have in our hearts. It's not always easy, as you may well know, but it's so much better to try to find things to be thankful for and to remember all the blessings we *do* have instead of complaining or being discouraged about all that we do not have.

There has been one verse over the years that has helped me *tremendously* when I am feeling thankless and ungrateful for all that God has blessed me with...

"I will *bless the LORD at all times*:
his praise shall *continually* be in my mouth.
O magnify the LORD with me, and let us *exalt his name together*.
The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger:
but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing."
~ Psalm 34:1, 3, 10 ~

If you are magnifying, thanking, and continually praising God for His goodness...there will be no room in your mind or heart for thoughts and feelings of discontentment with your life. I am thankful for the comfort of Christ in my life today and always. Though I may fail Him, He's never let me down and promises to always be by my side and always guiding, comforting, and strengthening me along life's journey. "Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen." (Revelation 7:12b)

Find some time today to seek Him and just reflect a little on all that God has blessed you with over the years. :)

~Rachel~

***It may take a few minutes for your link to show up...wait and then refresh the page. ;)

Book Challenge and Book Reviews #10 {October}

2011-10-31T12:03:00.001-04:00

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Well, have I got some exciting reviews for you today! I reached my reading goal very early this month but kept on reading anyway. *wink* I was just having so much fun! ;D HeHe! And, hmm, seems as if I went on a Bethlehem book craze again this month. :) I read 3 of them!!

Books for October:

The Rose Round - by Meriol Trevor {a Bethlehem book}

Red Hugh Prince of Donegal - by Robert T. Reilly {a Bethlehem book}

The Passion of the Christ - John Piper

If All the Swords in England - Barbara Willard {a Bethlehem book}

~ ~ ~

"The Rose Round"
by Meriol Trevor
{a Bethlehem book}

So I've been in a "Bethlehem publishing co." book mood lately for some reason. One reason is probably because there are quite a few on our shelves mom's bought for school that I haven't read yet! ;) They are historical fiction books (with a somewhat "Christian" faith in them).

This is a story of a young boy named Matt (13) who goes for visits to a grand old, practically deserted, mansion to see his sister who is the cook/maid of all work. :) The story is set after World War II. Now in this mansion lives an old lady and her spunky grand-daughter. And from there a story is woven of mystery mingled with a sad tale. For part of the mystery of the mansion and the family is that years ago there was a tragedy of sorts.

What I loved about this book was the many lessons about treating cripples the same as you or I, showing kindness and love to those who are cruel to us, what *true* love really is, and other smaller lessons as well about family and siblings and such. All very good! The characters are not very unique and yet the way their were written and the circumstances made them original. :) I love the way the author wrote this book, with the main character being more of a "backseater" and observer rather than it being all about him. That was a nice change of pace from the norm. ;)

There were a few things I did not like about this book. One was that it was not until close to the end before I could decide if I liked it or not! Lol! I was on chapter 10 before it got good. :P {though the plot was good enough that I had to keep reading..even though the writing was rather boring} Before that I was too confused as to what was going on and trying to figure out the purpose and the plot and where the story was going. A writer would say that was a good thing to keep your reader in suspense, but in my opinion keeping a reader's interest by giving them "hints" along the way is more important and if I was not such a stubborn reader I might have put the book down. I'm the kind who likes to see a glimmer of the end of the tunnel before I get there. I like to have a basic outline in my mind so that I can hope and expect an outcome instead of just reading along waiting for the author to tell me what's going on.

The other two things I did not like about this book was that the religion was catholic (and a mixed one at that with the grandmother "worshiping" one way, the uncle another, some of the main characters you didn't know how they felt, and so on). And there was also some philosophy about astrology and such, which sometimes I don't mind too much in an Ancient Rome book, but in a WWII book it was a little odd. I kept thinking it was supposed to be a clue to some mystery or something and was disappointed when I discovered that there was no mystery in this. Hmm, maybe I'm just looking for too much in a good book these days? HaHa...don't answer that! ;D

Oh, one more thing...the title of the book and what it was is a "secret garden" of sorts...but it only had a little to do with the book and wasn't really a vital part of the story. So I didn't like that either. :( The basic overall plot for this book was good but the beginning was kind of weak and as I mentioned, the few things kind of made me dislike it somewhat. Anyway, regardless of those things, I did enjoy it. The characters were all very interesting, the plot *was* very good and towards the end got very, very exciting! There's a little romance, friendships, action, culture...something here for everyone I'm thinkin'! :D

I'd give this 3-1/2 out of 5 stars, because it won't be on my "top" favorite books but it was still a very good book by the end! :) The end half of the book saved it from being a full 3 star rating. ;) Lol! Pretty average book on the whole though.

Red Hugh: Prince of Donegal - by Robert T. Reilly
{a Bethlehem book}

Hugh is a young man in Ireland, a prince in fact. The son of a king...who has been very ill of late. It is the age of Queen Elizabeth and her fleet and military have caused nothing but trouble to the Irish as Elizabeth tries to conquer their lands. Hugh travels on a special short journey to see a friend of his father's (and said man's daughter) when the worst happens. He is captured by the English! What is Hugh to do?! :O Thankfully, he is a very resourceful young man and not one to shy away from a fight. ;) What happens next...you will just have to read for yourself to discover. :) Hehe!

This book has it all and I was hooked by chapter 2 (now *THIS* is what I like!). ;) Quite a switch in time period and style from the previous book! It's packed with action right and left, excitement, adventure, yes there's some romance in this as well...though it's the sweet real kind not a "fantasy", and..oh, I can't even tell you how much I loved this book! :D It was GREAT!! I'm not sure if it's a *must read* but it's definitely really good.

I loved the character of Hugh...he was my favorite. I think young men will especially enjoy this book with it's weaponry, prison confinement, war strategies, and so on. ;) But I did enjoy it as well for it's historical content and great character qualities. :)

One thing I should mention, these Bethlehem books are geared for ages 10+ for the most part (this one says 10 and up on the back of the book but recommends 12 and up on the site). This one especially I would recommend that if sensitive younger children plan to read it/are being read to, that perhaps a parent or older sibling read it first (there is just one part with a medical situation that may disturb young children, though it's not anything unusual for the time and it doesn't go into great detail). For the most part though, what I love about the few I have read so far they are clean family-friendly historical fiction books. :)

This one gets 4 out of 5 stars. ;) Much better! A very good plot and characters and everything with only a few little spots of things I wasn't the most excited about so far as the author's writing style. It only doesn't get a 5 star rating because I leave that only for the BEST books. ;D

The Passion of the Christ - John Piper

This was my devotional book for this month. It's just a nice skinny little book with 50 reasons why Jesus Christ came to die for us. Wow, I was blown away by this book! I think it's because as we get older perhaps it's easy to become desensitized to the message of the cross sometimes. This was a great reminder that goes straight to the heart. :) And, as I've read it my relationship with Christ has just been so much more open and loving feeling (from my end) as I was just reminded not only of His great sacrifice and love for me, but of God's plan and timing and working in every area of Christ's death and resurrection so that we might be children of God.

"He paid the highest price possible to give me the greatest gift possible." (p. 31)

The book is short, with only 2 pages per "day". Each "day" has a specific topic, looking through various biblical arguments about Christ's death. I loved that they were short, only because I could pick it up and read a small section whenever I liked instead of reading a long chapter all at once. Therefore I spread my reading time throughout my day, sometimes reading many pages, sometimes only reading one and thinking on that one all day. :) There were 50 days though, so I tried to read more than 1 page most days so I would be able to complete the book in the 30 days this month. ;)

"The suffering and death of Christ guarantees the inner chance of His people (the law written on their hearts) and the forgiveness of their sins." (p. 47)

One thing I love about John Piper's writings is...I never have to worry about it being scripturally based. He *always* has lot's of good verses to back up what he is talking about! So far in the few books I've read/quotes I've read elsewhere, etc. I haven't had anything to disagree with him on anything. :) And, I love his concise notes and to-the-point writing. He doesn't beat around the bush...he says it like God says it. ;)

From the back cover (slightly adapted for clarification): "...fifty reasons [for Christ's death and suffering]. Not fifty causes, but fifty *purposes* - in answer to the most important question that each of us must face: what did God achieve for sinners like us in sending His Son to die?"

As to the question of why Jesus had to suffer and die...Piper's reply is that we have to look past "human cause" - our own human reasoning. (p. 11)

**You may read more on my spiritual discoveries from this book here on this post. :)

~~~

"The whole message of the Bible leads to this conclusion. God meant it for good. [Genesis 50:20]." (pg. 11)

"If God were not just, there would be no demand for His Son to suffer and die. And if God were not loving, there would be no willingness for His Son to suffer and die. But God is both just and loving. Therefore His love is willing to meet the demands of His justice." (p. 11) :)

"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" {Romans 3:23} -- "We glorify what we enjoy most. And it isn't God." (p. 20)

"Sin is such a powerful influence in our lives that we must be liberated by God's power, not by our *willpower*." (p. 77)

I *highly* recommend this book! :D It was filled with biblical truths...making everything much more clear about the purpose of Christ's death and resurrection. I give this book a 5 out of 5 star rating! :D And I shall most definitely read it again! I hope you'll pick this little book up - it's a wonderful reference and a great encouragement to read! It's a nice inexpensive book and so would also make a good gift to new Christians or those who have struggled with this issue. :)

If All the Swords in England : A Story of Thomas Becket
- Barbara Willard -
{a Bethlehem book}

A tale of two brothers, twins, growing up in the time of King Henry II. The story is set up so that the twins are separated...one going with the King and the other with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket. That way you get both sides of the story. ;) Very nice! The book takes you through the conflict between the King and Becket leading up to the "infamous" slaying of Thomas Becket at the cathedral. (book is ranged for children 9+).

Now, if you know nothing of Thomas Becket or King Henry the II...this book won't teach you very much about them. So, I would use this as a supplement school book *after* having read some about these men. For me, I'm going to have to get a book out about Thomas Becket because I can't remember much about him from my school years. ;) {You can also read this very good article about him here which helped me}. I should have read a book first or at least an article about his life - I had the hardest time trying to decided who's "side" to be on - King Henry's or Thomas Becket! You are meant to be on Thomas Becket's side...but I felt sorry for the King. Somehow I felt he had this "King Saul" (from the bible) problem where perhaps because the people loved Becket, he became jealous? :( Not sure but that's how it seemed from the book. ;) Also, more probable, was the fact that Becket was putting the church first instead of the government. Of course, the king did not like this at all.

The cons of the book was the fact that thought he back cover was quite thrilling and the plot was very good...the story it self was soo boring! :( There was far too much description and "telling" how everything was instead of using some dialogue. I didn't get to feel very much for any of the characters, except perhaps Thomas Becket, because I didn't feel there was a sufficient amount of "character thought" throughout. And, as I said, it did not give you a good grasp on the history of the king or the archbishop and the times. This book was just very dry for something that ought to have been very thrilling as far as the topic goes.

The one good line in this book that actually helped me to understand what was going on:

"This was a matter outside politics. If the King had his way, he would be driving a wedge between the clergy in England and the Pope, leaving those within the Church no appeal but to the civil authority." (p.69)

{I wish I had marked the other good line that goes with the title of the book - I tried to look for it but couldn't find it. Sorry.} :(

I give this book a 3 out of 5 stars. It was another average book to me {though my brothers and mother loved it when they read it last year. I guess it just wasn't my cup of tea.}. :)

*****

Thanks for joining me for another month of book reviews! :D

I appreciate the feedback and encouragement for continuing in this challenge! I can't believe there are only 2 months left of the challenge! :O Where did the time go?! Seriously! Lol! Ahh, but I have so been enjoying it...and have been challenged both in getting the reading completed each month and through the reading of the books I have read these past 10 months. :) It's been a great year with lot's of things God has used to challenge, convict, strengthen, encourage, and so much more in my life. :) I'm very thankful for it!

Blessings to you all!
~Rachel~

3 Year Blogiversary!

2011-10-30T21:15:00.003-04:00

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Goodness...3 years already Jessica and I have been blogging! I can scarce believe it! Sometimes to us it feels as if we've been blogging forever and other times as if we are still in our first year. ;) HeHe!

God has been so good and gracious to us these past few years of blogging. Never would we have dreamed of such blessings as we have received from you, our dear readers and friends. :) We pray, that in our turn, God may have used us to be a blessing in your lives as well.

One never knows what a day, week, month, or year may bring...we have had many trials and blessings, adventures and disappointments, praises and prayers. :) And we are so thankful that God has been there with us in every moment! :D It's been fun to share with you some of the things we are learning both in skill and spiritually and to share tid-bits of our daily lives. :) Hopefully we have not bored you. ;) *giggles*

"Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O LORD...and I will sing praises unto thy name." ~ 2 Samuel 22:50

Thank you, to all of you, our dear followers, for your delightful comments and encouragement over these 3 years! :D I pray whatever the Lord's plans for Jessica and I this year, that God would help us to continue to bless and encourage you also in your journey of young womanhood. :)

Love and Blessings!
~Rachel & Jessica~

Young Homemakers

Book Challenge 2012: January Book Reviews

Book Review 2012: More From the Sally Series

Book Review 2012: "Until Christ Returns"

A Great Bookish Find!

A Magnetic Affect

A January Goal Update

Hope & Joy

Charles Spurgeon: "Set all your affections on His person, all your hope in His merit, all your trust in His efficacious blood, and all your joy in His presence. Bind your heart to Him who will never leave you."

Giveaway: "It's (Not That) Complicated" Book

EEEEKKK!!! A GIVEAWAY!! :D

Jessica's Goals for 2012

Jessica's highlights of 2011

Rachel's Favorite Things from 2011

~ Some Goals for 2012 ~

Book Challenge 2011: End of Year Review

Book Challenge and Book Reviews #11 {December}

Join in the Challenge!!!

Merry Christmas...from Us!

Guest Post Announement

Meditations of His Love Challenge 2012!!!

Guest Post at Inspiring Daring

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 30!

Book Challenge and Book Reviews #11 {November}

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 29

You know the value of prayer; it is precious beyond all price. Never, never neglect it. -- Thomas Buxton

30 Days of Thanksfulness {2011}: Day 28

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 27

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 26

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 25

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 24

*More* to be Thankful for....

Guest Post: On "Living on LIterary Lane"

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 23

Interview over at Meditations of His Love

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 22

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 21

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 20

“When your in the middle of a storm and it seems like you cant hold any longer but somehow its seems you are, well its because you're not holding on, GOD is." :)(status shuffle on FB)

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 19

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 18

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 17

The Destiny of a Few Blog Tour!!!

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 16

"If Christ had not gone to the cross and suffered in our stead, the just for the unjust, there would not have been a spark of hope for us. There would have been a mighty gulf between ourselves and God, which no man ever could have passed." ~ J.C. Ryle

"The fact that Jesus *had* to die for me humbled me out of my pride. The fact that Jesus was *glad* to die for me assured me out of my fear." [The Reason for God - Timothy Keller]

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 15

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 14

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 13

"Gratitude unleashes the freedom to live *content in the moment*, rather than being anxious about the future or regretting the past."-Ellen V. {from "Choosing Gratitude}

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 12

Friday Link-Up #65

"None are more unjust in their judgments of others than those who have a high opinion of themselves.” - Charles Spurgeon

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 11

"The whole life of a Christian should be nothing but praises and thanks to God; we should neither eat nor sleep, but eat to God and sleep to God and work to God and talk to God, do all to His glory and praise." ~Richard Sibbes~

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 10

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 9

My Heart is Filled with Thankfulness

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 8

Rose Cake for the Fall Festival

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 7

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 6

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 5

Friday Link-Up #64

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 4

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 3

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 2

30 Days of Thankfulness {2011}: Day 1

Book Challenge and Book Reviews #10 {October}

3 Year Blogiversary!

More to be Thankful for....

“When your in the middle of a storm and it seems like you cant hold any longer but somehow its seems you are, well its because you're not holding on, GOD is." :)
(status shuffle on FB)

"The fact that Jesus had to die for me humbled me out of my pride. The fact that Jesus was glad to die for me assured me out of my fear." [The Reason for God - Timothy Keller]

"Gratitude unleashes the freedom to live content in the moment, rather than being anxious about the future or regretting the past."-Ellen V. {from "Choosing Gratitude}