The Christian Mama's Guide to Having a Baby- Review

I was recently given the opportunity to review The Christians Mama's Guide to Having a Baby, and being the doula and birth advocate that I am, I just HAD to check it out!

I should just say that I knew from the get-go that I probably wouldn't see eye-to-eye with a lot of what Ms MacPherson had to say about birth itself, however I had high hopes for the Christian aspect that she would bring to pregnancy.  As far as that went I would have to say that she didn't disappoint.  I thought that she did a very good job of giving Christian and Biblical perspective of dealing with the woes and worries of pregnancy.  She sites lots of scripture throughout the book, and in the sense of keeping you focused on the Lord while you're growing a baby I do think that this book could be a valuable resource.

As for the medical side of things.  Ms MacPherson admits right from the start that she is not a medical expert and is a lover of epidurals.  Even with that said however, I do believe their were a few small things that she mentioned that were probably based more on hear-say than medical accuracy.  I was glad to see a good amount of page-time given to midwives and out of hospital birth, but the whole idea of home-visiting midwives seemed to be completely missed.  She also lumped the tests and procedures of pregnancy performed by doctors and midwives during pregnancy together, which is fairly inaccurate as well.

Erin MacPherson has a nice writing style and put a good amount of effort into being relatable.  I would likely only recommend this book to my clients or friends who I felt had a good, factual basis to rest their ideas about birth and pregnancy on already and who I thought wouldn't be skewed by some of the obviously more hospital/doctor-friendly parts of this book.  However, I would recommend it for ways that women can remember the Lord through their pregnancy.

And here is the required review info for me to include with a FIRST Wild Card Tour:

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books.  A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured.  The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between!  Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today's Wild Card author is:

Erin MacPherson

and the book:

The Christian Mama’s Guide to Having a Baby

GuidepostsBooks (March 1, 2011)

***Special thanks to Sharon Farnell, Publicity Manager, Planned Television Arts for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Erin MacPherson lives with her husband and their two adorable children in Austin, Texas. She was an editor and staff writer for the Nickelodean ParentsConnect website for years, where she spent hours each week researching pregnancy, talking to obstetricians and midwives, and giving out tips and advice to new and pregnant mamas.


Visit the author's website.

SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Filled with helpful tips, amusing anecdotes, and encouraging advice, here's one mama's take on everything pregnancy -- from stretch marks to weight gain to figuring out how to rely on our creator through all of the uncertainty and joy of the next nine months. Pregnant women may discover that while they are thrilled about the baby, pregnancy can be another thing entirely. Instead of glowing they're glistening. There's morning sickness. And suddenly a favorite pair of jeans no longer fits. Erin MacPherson has created a comprehensive guide that's packed with information that every newly pregnant mama needs including exercising while pregnant, a detailed guide to each trimester (including sleep, doctor check-ups, pregnancy sex), what to buy and not buy for your baby, how to use your Bible as your pregnancy resource, and how to use this time of waiting to really draw closer to God through prayer. Filled with helpful tips (how do you quell that not-just-in-the-morning sickness?), humorous accounts (doesn't everyone crave peanut-butter-and-olive sandwiches?), and supportive spiritual advice (what does a godly pregnancy attitude actually look like anyway?). The Christian Mama's Guide to Having a Baby has the advice a mama-to-be wants to hear. Erin MacPherson assures, 'at the end of nine months, you really will be glowing.'


Product Details:

List Price: $14.99
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: GuidepostsBooks (March 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0824948580
ISBN-13: 978-0824948580

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:

Introduction

You're Havin' a Baby!


      The fact that you're reading this probably means you're pregnant. Yep. YOU are pregnant. Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? If you thought your graduation day or your last birthday or even your wedding day was exciting and exhilarating and amazing, just wait until you hold your little bundle in your arms for the first time. The feeling is breathtaking. I get misty-eyed just thinking about it. That said, you have eight months (give or take) to wait before that misty-eyed moment so don't start packing your hospital bag yet.

      I've always wondered how God created the heavens and the earth in seven short days and yet it takes nine long months to create a baby. Nine months. Seems like an eternity, doesn't it? I remember getting so irritated when people told me that my pregnancies would pass in the twinkle of an eye. They swore that I'd be holding my baby before I knew it. That's kind of hard to believe when you're carrying around twenty (er, thirty) extra pounds and gagging every time you catch a whiff of someone else's dinner.

      But, really, your pregnancy will be over before you know it. In the meantime, you're probably going to need some girlfriend-to-girlfriend advice to get you from point A—the miserable, exhausted, growing-by-the-minute, gagging, vomiting and sweating point that you're most likely at right now, to point B—the glowing, ecstatic, sleep-deprived-but-you-don’t-care-at-all point that you'll be in less than forty weeks. And that's why I wrote this book. 

      I remember during my first pregnancy, the first thing I did after peeing on a stick was head to the bookstore to find a book that would keep me informed about what to expect (nausea, bloating and night waking) and what not to expect (a glorious time where I could eat unlimited amounts of ice cream while my husband massaged my feet). Not surprisingly, there were oodles of choices; there were pregnancy guides for new moms-to-be, old moms-to-be, young moms-to-be, and tall moms-to-be. There were pregnancy guides for dads-to-be and grandparents-to-be and second-cousins-to-be. But there was nothing for Christian moms-to-be.  So, I did what any somewhat sane mother-of-two would do.  I wrote my own Christian pregnancy guide. 

      The good news is that I’m not going to bore you with medical jargon. It's not that I don't like medical jargon (when I was pregnant, I loved reading books that told me all about the medical feats that my body was performing while growing a baby), but simply that I'm not a doctor. In fact, I don't have any medical training at all (unless you count the fact that I took—and passed—health education in high school). So, if you're looking for medical rhetoric and big-word-laden advice for a magical medical breakthrough that will quell your ever-present nausea and keep your weight gain to a minimum, this probably isn't the place.

      But, while my medical expertise stops at "take some Tylenol and go lie down," I do have some pregnancy expertise. I've been pregnant twice. My sisters have all been pregnant. My friends have all been pregnant. Heck, a few months ago, my dog got pregnant. I've been surrounded by pregnancy nonstop for the past six years, and as I dealt with morning sickness and weight gain and decorating a nursery, I gleaned some pregnancy knowledge.

      I also had horrible pregnancies. I know. I shouldn't be saying that to new moms-to-be, but for the sake of honesty, I'm going to throw it out there. I went through the ringer during my first pregnancy and swore up and down that I would never, ever survive and that if by some miracle I did survive I would never, ever, ever get pregnant again. Well, I survived. I fell in love with my baby and promptly got pregnant again. And you know what? I survived the second awful pregnancy too. And, if we're being honest, I'd take another pregnancy (or two)), God willing. In an instant.

      You probably don't want to hear this right now, but it is worth it. Every time you gag. Every time you throw up into your mouth. Every pound you gain. Every sleepless night. All of it. It's worth it. Just wait. I promise that nine months from now, you're going to be e-mailing me and telling me I was right.

      I won't say I told you so.





Chapter 1

Getting Into the Pregnancy Groove

Being Pregnant and Loving It


      You figured out how to actually get pregnant (go you!), now you have to figure out how to be pregnant.  And contrary to popular belief, being pregnant isn't as simple as remembering to take your prenatal vitamins, which is a feat unto itself.  Pregnancy is exhausting, exciting, exhilarating and stressful all at once, which means that you're going to be exhausted, excited, exhilarated and stressed for the next few months.  Not an easy thing to be—especially when you're gaining weight at a rate of three pounds per week.

      I hate to even say this to a pregnant woman, but the next few months might not be the best months of your life. (Sorry!)  I think my biggest misconception about pregnancy was that I expected it to be easy. I thought I'd be bubbling with baby-growing joy for the entire nine months. Maybe that’s true for some people, but it wasn't the case for me.  Pregnancy was hard. And stressful. And super-annoying at times. And I wrestled with emotions that I'm embarrassed to even admit.  (But we'll get to that later.)

      Interestingly, while I was trying to get a handle on the stress and emotions of pregnancy, I felt an overwhelming urge to draw closer to God.  There's something about impending motherhood that makes a girl really reflect on who she is and who she wants to be.  I knew that my future children needed a godly mother, and I knew that I fell (far) short of the mark.  This caused me to spend a lot of time reflecting on the characteristics of godly mothers and how I could become one.

      As Christian women, we have to live up to a pretty high standard. The legendary Proverbs 31 woman is gracious and kind and long-suffering and probably never snapped at her husband for leaving dirty clothes on the floor.  I'm not even close.  I find myself living in a daily battle to live up to God's standard for my life.  I wake up praying that I'll live with patience and integrity throughout the day…and find myself losing my cool before breakfast.

      Yet, at one of the most stressful, emotional and trying times of my life (my first pregnancy), God drew me closer to Him.  I actually felt His presence as I spent time praying and reflecting on my baby and my future as a mother. It's comforting to hear His voice in a time of need and feel His presence when you're feeling your worst.  And, hearing God's voice (and knowing he's there) is great motivation to have a godly attitude throughout pregnancy.

      Of course, I was still the same old girl who couldn't seem to make it to breakfast without losing patience about something.  (Have I mentioned the dirty laundry that is always left on the bathroom floor?)  Still, God did show me that purposefully choosing to have a godly attitude resulted in me feeling closer to Him.  That, in turn, allowed me to have a more gracious attitude about my pregnancies.

      Sounds a bit trite, doesn't it?  I mean, if it was all about choosing to smile through any situation then every day would be gumdrops and preggo-pops, right?  Not exactly.  But God does call us to be content in any circumstance (even morning sickness!), which means choosing to focus on the reasons we have to be grateful, even when it’s tempting to be grumpy.

      And trust me, when I was pregnant, I had lots of reasons to be grumpy.  But, I did strive to have an attitude of gratitude about my pregnancy.  Here's how I did (and didn't) do it:

How to Get into the Pregnancy Groove


1.  Get Yourself Pumped Up: 

      When I first got pregnant, I was giddy with excitement.  And who wouldn't be?  I was going to have a baby.  I couldn't stop thinking (or talking) about it.  But then I got tired.  And sick.  And bloated.  And suddenly I wasn't so giddy anymore.   In fact, once those pregnancy symptoms kicked in, I turned into a whiney, moaning, self-pitying mess.  I resented my baby for making me feel so bad and resented everyone else because they didn't feel as bad as I did.  I resented my job because I had to go to it.  I resented my husband because he could sleep and I couldn't.  I even resented my dog because she could spend the entire day basking in the sunshine while I had to actually get up and function.

      So, how exactly do you start thinking about rainbows and baby booties when you've spent weeks hugging the toilet bowl?  One thing I did was immerse myself in babyland.  I bought books about pregnancies and babies.  I hung out with friends who had babies.  I ogled over baby gear on the Internet and rented funny movies about babies and watched them over and over.  The only thing I didn't do was volunteer to babysit because that would've taken way more energy than I had at that point.  But if you're feeling up to dirty diapers and peekaboo, go for it.

      The point is, the more time you spend around babies (and other mothers), the more excited you will be about your own baby.  And believe me, the only thing in the world that is worth nine months of pregnancy is a baby. And you're getting one.  So hop on board the baby train (I don't have to tell you twice, do I?) and start living baby. 


2. Turn that Mommy Guilt into Glee (Or at Least Contentment): 

      That resentment that I felt because I was sick, tired and fat quickly turned to guilt.  I felt guilty for resenting my baby who was supposed to be my pride and joy.  I felt guilty for resenting my husband who was honestly trying to help me as much as he could.  Mostly, I felt guilty that I wasn't thrilled to be pregnant. 

      I started to wonder if God didn't approve of my pregnancy and my baby.  Crazy talk, right?  I know that now, but at the time, I felt so awful and so confused that I started to doubt God's providence.  Of course, once I realized—duh!—that God blessed me with the pregnancy, I wanted to be grateful to Him regardless of how I was feeling.  God wants us to be content in our pregnancies, even when we're not feeling good. Tough job, huh?

      It was a long, uphill battle for me.  And I had to constantly remind myself of God's grace and mercy. But in the midst of the battle, God taught me many lessons that I wouldn't have otherwise learned: how to depend on others, how to trust and what it means to truly depend on God for strength 

3.  Pray for Your Baby

      Another way to get into the pregnancy groove is to start praying for your baby in-utero.  Sounds obvious, right?  Well, it wasn't for me. (I was tired and sick, okay?)  It took me several weeks of pregnancy to start praying for my son.  I was so stunned and overwhelmed by the idea of being pregnant that the idea of praying for my baby didn't cross my mind.  One day, one of the girls in my small-group Bible study mentioned that she had prayed for her baby throughout her pregnancy, and suddenly the light went on.  I wanted to pray for my unborn child, too!

      I could go into the mushy details about how my husband and I lay in bed and put our hands on my slightly protruding tummy and prayed for our son, but I'm sure you get it.  In fact, you've probably been praying for your baby since the moment you found out you were pregnant.  But just in case there's another woman out there like me who didn't think of it, I thought I'd mention it.

4.  Think About the Pros of Pregnancy

      There are some (okay, lots of) wonderful things about pregnancy.  What other time in your life do you have free license to eat extra calories, sleep late and buy baby clothes without reservation?  

      Plus, when you're pregnant, everyone (and I mean everyone) gushes over you.  I remember walking into church just as I was starting to show. Two of the guys in our Sunday school class ran to grab me a chair.  My husband got me water and my girlfriend brought me muffins from the class next door.  They had blueberry crumble!  Everyone oohed and aahed.  Part of me hated all of the fuss—uh, who am I kidding?  I loved the attention!  Who wouldn't?

      But aside from the minor benefits, when you're pregnant it's easy to dwell on all of the things you're missing out on.  You can't eat sushi.  You can't wear your favorite pencil skirt.  Your bras are all too small. And you're too tired to stay up late watching chick flicks with your hubby (as if that happened before).  I remember bursting into tears in the middle of our church group's Christmas party because the eggnog was made from raw eggs, and I was a little uneasy about exposing my unborn child to salmonella.  I actually sobbed.  Totally irrational, I know—especially considering the fact that there were a million other drink options at the party—but I felt so deprived. 

      The thing is that pregnancy isn't about deprivation.  Sure, there are things you shouldn't and can't do, but there is also one huge thing that you can do:  Nurture your own child inside of you.  What an incredible privilege. I'm sure some of our husbands are secretly envious of us that we get to do it and they don't!  How else can we account for their sympathy weight gain?

      The best way to get out of a pregnancy funk is to think about the reason for the pregnancy.  I know that sounds obvious, but focus on your baby.  Focus on the privilege.  It'll help you to forget the pain.  And if that doesn't work, think of all of the things that you can get away with during this brief period of your life.


Things You Can Do While Pregnant (That You Would Never Get Away With Otherwise)

1. Wear flip-flops or clogs every day.  Even to church.
2. Leave the toilet unscrubbed for the nine entire months (might as well make it an even ten).
3. Order dessert (and eat it all by yourself).
4. Wear sweats to the grocery store, to work and to dinner at your mother-in-law’s.
5. Skip your morning shower.  Three days in a row.
6. Add half and half to your decaf (or half-caf).
7. Send your hubby to Sonic for a foot-long hot dog at eleven o’clock at night.
8. Eat a foot-long hot dog at eleven and wash it down with Chunky Monkey.
9. Go to bed at seven on a Friday night.
10. Spend your entire Saturday camped out on the couch watching A Baby Story.
11. Borrow your husband's T-shirts.
12. Chat about baby names on a baby names message board.
13. Go to BabiesRUs and camp out in one of their rockers for an entire afternoon. (You probably need to test it out, so go ahead and take a nap if you'd like.)


Pregnancy Rocks (Even Though it Sometimes Stinks)

      The fact is, in spite of all of the nausea, bloating and constant peeing, there's also an ecstatic, blissful, giddy joy that comes from the fact that you have a baby growing inside of you.  It's amazing.  And no matter how bad you feel, you can still cling to that. I remember being hunched over the toilet puking up my guts and thinking to myself how amazing it was that there was a tiny life growing inside of me.

      The truth is, it's okay to be a little ambivalent, depressed, scared, worried, nervous, angry, irritated or annoyed by your pregnancy. Feeling that way is natural. And feeling that way about your pregnancy has nothing to do with how you're feeling about your baby. Of course you love your baby. But you don't have to love pregnancy to love your baby! Just because you're thrilled to be pregnant, you don't have to ignore all the aches and pains and annoyances.

      So, enough pep talking… you're ready, right? Time to get down to the nitty gritty. What are the next nine months really going to be like? What can you do to combat morning sickness? And bloating? And the rest of those icky pregnancy symptoms? And, perhaps most importantly, how much longer (in minutes) are you going to be able to fit into your favorite prepregnancy jeans? Let's talk first trimesters.

Be sure to visit my sponsor- Marmee's Bread Market- for recipes and everything else you need to easily make fresh baked goods for your family!

Voices of the Faithful II- Review

I recently received Voices of the Faithful II from Thomas Nelson Publishers and I honestly didn't know what to expect since I was not familiar with the series by and Beth Moore.  But knowing I very much enjoy pretty much anything by Beth Moore, I thought I'd give it a whirl.

The book is a year long devotional with a short story or testimonial for each day written by a missionary from around the world.  Each day also includes a short scripture that pertains to the devotion and a prayer about the subject matter, for the foreign peoples, or for the missionary.

Although I am not typically drawn for any significant length of time to these sorts of devotions, I have found these to be refreshing and enlightening.  In fact, this morning as I was reading the prayer for a specific family who had shared their account of God's miraculous provision, I thought, "Wow- now this family in the third world has prayers being sent up specifically for them all around the world!  How amazing is that?!"  I would love to hear what has happened for them since the time this book was written as I am sure the Lord is still working in powerful ways for them.  It was crazy to think what a huge impact a simple book could have.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a light and short devotional to round out their quiet time and either start out or wrap up their day.  You can purchase it here on Amazon, and by the way, it's on sale for only $7.80 right now!

Be sure to visit my sponsor- Marmee's Bread Market- for recipes and everything else you need to easily make fresh baked goods for your family!

The King's Christmas List- Review

Buy		Read

If you are looking for a wonderful book to share with your children that teaches the true meaning of giving gifts at Christmas and what Jesus really wants, then you have got to get a copy of The King's Christmas List by Eldon Johnson.  This sweet story of Emma and her Honorable Gentle Dog Shu-Shu speaks in a way that is easy for children to understand to instill a great truth in them- that Jesus wants us to take care of others and by doing so we are giving Him the gift He truly wants.

My boys lap this book up and want to read it again and again.  Each time we read it I feel like they understand the principles of Christ-centered giving just a little bit better.  The back of the book even has suggestions for ways you can give by donating to blood:water mission or World Vision.

Why stop there though?  This is a great time of year to purge old toys to donate or give in a tangible way that your children can understand. You don't have to have a lot of money to take care of others and there is always someone worse off than you.  After all, it is more about your heart than it is about what you are actually giving.  Do what you can- Jesus knows where you're at.

 It's not too late to pick up this book to share with your kiddos this Christmas!

I received this book for free in exchange for honest review as a participant in the Book Sneeze program for Thomas Nelson.  All opinions are solely my own.

Be sure to visit my sponsor- Marmee's Bread Market- for recipes and everything else you need to easily make fresh baked goods for your family!

Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball- Review

About This Book- courtesy of the Waterbrook Multnomah site

Can mysterious matchmaking booksellers bring two lonely hearts together in time for Christmas?

In a sleepy, snow-covered city, Cora Crowder is busy preparing for the holiday season. Searching for a perfect gift, a fortuitous trip to Warner, Werner, and Wizbotterdad’s (a most unusual bookshop) leads to an unexpected encounter with co-worker Simon Derrick. And the surprise discovery of a ticket for a truly one-of-a-kind Christmas Ball.

Every year, the matchmaking booksellers of the Sage Street bookshop host an enchanting, old-fashioned Christmas Ball for the romantic matches they’ve decided to bring together.

This year, will Simon and Cora discover a perfect chemistry in their opposite personalities and shared faith? Or will the matchmakers’ best laid plans end up ruining everything this holiday?

My Opinion-

Cute.  If I'm being frank (or maybe I should just be MacKenzie! :-), it was one of those books I wasn't entirely sure about when I first got it.  However, after the first chapter or so I was hooked.  I love a good little romance and this one definitely fit the bill with a good dose of Christmas spirit thrown in to get me in the mood for the holidays!

There was a bit of "magic" thrown in, which I am always leery of.  However, I do have to say that I appreciated the new perspective that Donita K Paul gave me of wizards- or at least the perspective of them in this book.  She talks about them a lot as wizened older people rather than mystical and related to the witchcraft movement.  I'm still not entirely sure what I think of the "magic" in the book but it wasn't offensive enough to deter me from reading.

If you are looking for a cute Christmas roman to read this season, Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball would be a good choice that you could definitely read before the 25th!  You can find this book here on the Waterbrook Multnomah Press website.

And here is a little promo video you might enjoy!

Be sure to visit my sponsor- Marmee's Bread Market- for recipes and everything else you need to easily make fresh baked goods for your family!

Advent Book- Review

We're on a Christmas roll folks!  After all, it is next month!  Ahhh!  Can you believe it?!  So, yeah- we should probably start planning what we are going to do for the most wonderful time of the year!  If you want to spice things up a bit and add some fun new traditions, then this book is just the thing.  It is small, concise and packed with lots of fun ideas.  Definitely worth the $5.99 you spend on it!  Enjoy!

The following is the standard post from FIRST Wild Card Tours- scroll to the bottom to see an excerpt from the book!

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books.  A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured.  The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between!  Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today's Wild Card author is:

Kathleen M. Basi

and the book:

Joy to the World: Advent Activities for your Family

Liguori Publications (July 1, 2010)

***Special thanks to Rebecca Molen of Liguori Publications for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Kathleen Basi is a stay-at-home mom, freelance writer, flute and voice teacher, composer, choir director, natural family planning teacher, scrapbooker, sometime-chef and budding disability rights activist. She puts her juggling skills on display on her website (see below).


Visit the author's website.


Product Details:

List Price: $5.99
Paperback: 80 pages
Publisher: Liguori Publications (July 1, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0764819372
ISBN-13: 978-0764819377

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:

Introduction

Reclaiming
Advent

Call it December madness: On the day after Thanksgiving 2008, a seasonal worker was trampled to death by shoppers swarming a department store at opening time. In mid-America, two women got into a fist fight over a toy, and the store personnel had to pull them off each other.

 At this time of year, it’s hardly possible to escape feeling rushed, harried, and overwhelmed. It seems like every year the Christmas decorations at the mall go up a little earlier, and all the news reports dwell on how much money retailers are (or aren’t) going to make. The ad inserts get fatter and the TV shouts: “No need to wait! Zero down! No interest for thirteen months! Hurry, hurry, hurry!”

 Just about everyone gripes about it, but no one seems to know what to do about it. Some families throw out the whole secular celebration in an attempt to prevent materialism from overwhelming both Advent and Christmas. But most families feel—rightly so—that they shouldn’t have to choose one over the other. It’s supposed to be “the most wonderful time of the year,” but often families feel stressed as the calendar fills up with recitals, shopping, parties, and housecleaning. In this atmosphere filled with distractions, the idea of Advent as a season in its own right has been overwhelmed. How can we wait for Christmas when we never have to wait for anything else?

 Christmas is not about children, gifts, cookies, or trees. It’s about a love so powerful that God came to earth to dwell among us: human and divine intertwining—a holy union of wills that reaches its apex not in birth, but in crucifixion and resurrection. In salvation.

 And we spend December fighting over Blu-ray discs and toys?

 It’s time to reclaim Advent—that season of holy hush, of waiting, of light and anticipation—that season that helps make Christmas so special. We can’t withdraw from the world, but we can take the trappings of the season and infuse them with a deeper meaning. Joy to the World: Advent Activities for Your Family outlines a way to reconcile the secular with the sacred—to celebrate them side-by-side, to mold them into a single, month-long “liturgy,” and in so doing, to enrich both celebrations.

 Chapter 1 presents a brief overview of Advent and why it is important. Chapter 2 introduces the three parts of the Advent Reclamation Project, which are explained more fully in Chapters 3 through 5. Chapter 6 offers suggestions for other traditions that families or parish communities might choose to adopt as their own, and in the appendices, you will find resources to flesh out the earlier chapters.

 Early childhood is the ideal time to start developing family traditions, so this book is aimed at young families. Each chapter contains a short italicized section to be read directly to children, explaining some part of the celebration. As your family grows, you can adapt the traditions to fit your own circumstances. Many of the ideas will also translate to the classroom. Remember that Advent, like Sabbath, was not created for God’s sake, but for ours (see Mark 2:27). God doesn’t need it. We do.

Chapter

1

The Case
For Advent

Advent holds a unique place in the Christian calendar. For Catholics, it is the beginning of the liturgical year. It is a season in which the church is decked out in purple—a sign of penitence—yet the Scriptures also speak of joy, hope, and light.

 The word “Advent” comes from a Latin word meaning arrival or coming. In the earliest days of the Church, all of life focused on the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ. After all, the Apostles expected the Second Coming during their lifetimes.

 At this time, the ancient pagan cultures structured their seasonal celebrations on nature. The celebration of the winter solstice was the biggest festival of the year in ancient times. It centered upon the shortest day of the year—the day when the “unconquered” sun began slowly to take back the days. Gift-giving, feasting, lights, and greenery all originated in these pagan celebrations. As Christianity expanded into these lands, the Church adopted many of these traditions, infusing them with Christian meaning in order to ease the transition for its new members. Thus, sometime in the fourth century ad, Christmas—and Advent—made their appearances.

 Originally, Advent was a forty-day period of fasting and penitence—a parallel to Lent. In the early centuries, the Church focused on preparing for the Second Coming. Not until the middle ages did Advent begin to point toward the birth of Christ. Over the centuries, many traditions cropped up surrounding the season. The Advent wreath grew out of a Pagan tradition of lighting candles to signify the hope of spring. The Jesse tree probably originated in Northern Europe, where lineage and genealogy determined one’s place in society. The Jesse tree taught the faithful about Jesus’ royal lineage. Over time, these customs (and the meanings associated with them) have evolved. Some grew more important, others less so.

 Nowadays, the secular culture and many Protestant denominations make no distinction between Advent and Christmas. The Sundays of December are filled with the story of the Christ Child, and the Christmas celebration is over and done around New Year’s. But in Catholic tradition, the season of Advent focuses on the two “comings” of Christ—the Incarnation, when God came to Earth as human child, and the glorious Second Coming at the end of time. In fact, the readings for the first two weeks of Advent speak of John the Baptist “preparing the way” for Jesus, the grown man who turned the world upside down. Only in the later part of Advent does our focus zero in on Bethlehem.

 This duality is something we experience even with our senses. Catholic churches are hung with violet for these four weeks—the color traditionally associated with penitence. But the purple we use at this time of year is different from the purple of Lent; it is meant to be a richer, royal purple, reminding us also that Christ is King.

Advent gives us a chance to meditate on:

Hope—for deliverance;

Expectation—for the coming of one who will bring justice to an unjust world;

Preparation—so that we may prepare our hearts to receive Christ, who is

Light—the light of the world.


 These are beautiful themes. Why should Advent be shoved into a corner, nothing more than four weeks of filler before Christmas? Advent can be a magical time, if we approach it the right way.

 Advent does not need to become a “second Lent,” but the violet hangings and vestments remind us that penitence remains an important part of the season. Advent gives us the chance to examine our hearts and “defrag” our scattered souls. To reorder our thinking and our priorities. To point our lives, for four weeks, toward Christmas, so that when we reach the holiday, it has meaning and beauty that is distinct from the four preceding weeks.

 Nor is Christmas the end of the journey. Without Holy Week and the resurrection, the manger in Bethlehem would be unremarkable: just one more baby born in poverty. For Christians, the destination is Easter. Glorious as it is, Christmas is a stop along the way.

For the children:

Even though all the advertisements on TV are about Christmas, right now we are actually in the season of Advent. During Advent, our job is to get ready for Jesus to come and live in our hearts. At Christmas, we will celebrate Jesus being born as a baby—but he has promised us that he will come back again someday, and we need to be ready. One way we do this is by remembering our sins and trying to do better. This is called penitence, and it is why the church is decorated in purple. But Advent is also about looking forward to Jesus coming. We are excited because Jesus is the light of the world, and when he comes, he will make the world fair for everyone.

Be sure to visit my sponsor- Marmee's Bread Market- for recipes and everything else you need to easily make fresh baked goods for your family!

Everything Christmas Book Review

This is my first book tour with Wild Card Tours and I am thrilled to be a part of it!  I really enjoyed receiving Everything Christmas.  It is filled with fun Christmas trivia, lyrics to your favorite Christmas carols, recipes, stories, history, tradition ideas and much more!  The book is broken down into short chapters for every calendar day in December leading up to Christmas and I very much look forward to using it with my family this Advent season.  I think this book would make a fun addition to your family's festivities and would also make a lovely gift!

The rest of this post is a standard post for the Wild Card Tour- be sure to scroll to the end to read the first chapter of Everything Christmas.

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books.  A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured.  The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between!  Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today's Wild Card authors are:

David Bordon
and
Thomas J. Winters

and the book:

Everything Christmas

WaterBrook Press (October 5, 2010)

***Special thanks to Staci Carmichael, Marketing and Publicity Coordinator, Doubleday Religion / Waterbrook Multnomah, Divisions of Random House, Inc. for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

David Bordon and Tom Winters are partners in Bordon-Winters, LLC, a book concept and packaging company that produces successful books and gift products. Their previous titles include the 101 Things You Should Do series, especially the popular 101 Things You Should Do Before Going to Heaven.


Product Details:

List Price: $14.99
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: WaterBrook Press (October 5, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 030772929X
ISBN-13: 978-0307729293

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:

December 1


Let Us Keep Christmas

Grace Noll Crowell

Whatever else be lost among the years,

Let us keep Christmas still a shining thing;

Whatever doubts assail us, or what fears,

Let us hold close one day, remembering

It’s poignant meaning for the hearts of men.

Let us get back our childlike faith again.




The History of Christmas

     Many of our Christmas traditions were celebrated centuries before the Christ child was born. The twelve days of Christmas, the bright fires, the yule log, gift giving, carnivals, carolers going from house to house, holiday feasts, even church processions can all be traced back to the early Mesopotamians. These traditions were passed down throughout the known world and were popular in Rome long before the birth of Christ.

     Most historians say that some three centuries after the birth of Christ, Christianity was spreading rapidly. Church leaders were alarmed that their converts continued to honor the ancient celebrations honoring pagan gods. Early Christians had chosen to keep the birth of their Christ child a solemn and religious holiday, without merriment. For centuries they had forbidden their members to take part in those ancient celebrations. But now it seemed it was a losing battle. As a compromise, they agreed to allow their members to partake in a demure and respectful celebration of the birth of Christ. Thus, the Christian celebration we know as Christmas was born in Rome, near the date 336 AD.

     The actual date of Christ’s birth is unknown, so the early Christians chose December 25, probably to compete with the wildly popular Roman festival of Saturnalia. Eventually, most of the customs from the festival of Saturnalia were adopted into the celebration of Christmas and given new and sacred meanings.

     Today, Christmas is both a holiday and a holy day. In America, it is the biggest event of the year, celebrated by people of all ages.




Christmas Every Day

William Dean Howells

     The little girl came into her papa’s study, as she always did Saturday morning before breakfast, and asked for a story. He tried to beg off that morning, for he was very busy, but she would not let him. So he began:

     “Well, once there was a little pig—”

     She stopped him at the word. She said she had heard little pig stories till she was perfectly sick of them.

     “Well, what kind of story shall I tell, then?”

     “About Christmas. It’s getting to be the season.”

     “Well!” Her papa roused himself. “Then I’ll tell you about the little girl that wanted it Christmas every day in the year. How would you like that?”

     “First-rate!” said the little girl; and she nestled into comfortable shape in his lap, ready for listening.

     “Very well, then, this little pig—Oh, what are you pounding me for?”

     “Because you said little pig instead of little girl.”

     “I should like to know what’s the difference between a little pig and a little girl that wanted Christmas every day!”

     “Papa!” said the little girl warningly. At this her papa began to tell the story.

     Once there was a little girl who liked Christmas so much that she wanted it to be Christmas every day in the year, and as soon as Thanksgiving was over she began to send postcards to the old Christmas Fairy to ask if she mightn’t have it. But the old Fairy never answered, and after a while the little girl found out that the Fairy wouldn’t notice anything but real letters sealed outside with a monogram—or your initial, anyway. So, then, she began to send letters, and just the day before Christmas, she got a letter from the Fairy, saying she might have it Christmas every day for a year, and then they would see about having it longer.

     The little girl was excited already, preparing for the old-fashioned, once-a-year Christmas that was coming the next day. So she resolved to keep the Fairy’s promise to herself and surprise everybody with it as it kept coming true, but then it slipped out of her mind altogether.

     She had a splendid Christmas. She went to bed early, so as to let Santa Claus fill the stockings, and in the morning she was up the first of anybody and found hers all lumpy with packages of candy, and oranges and grapes, and rubber balls, and all kinds of small presents. Then she waited until the rest of the family was up, and she burst into the library to look at the large presents laid out on the library table—books, and boxes of stationery, and dolls, and little stoves, and dozens of handkerchiefs, and inkstands, and skates, and photograph frames, and boxes of watercolors, and dolls’ houses—and the big Christmas tree, lighted and standing in the middle.

     She had a splendid Christmas all day. She ate so much candy that she did not want any breakfast, and the whole forenoon the presents kept pouring in that had not been delivered the night before, and she went round giving the presents she had got for other people, and came home and ate turkey and cranberry for dinner, and plum pudding and nuts and raisins and oranges, and then went out and coasted, and came in with a stomachache crying, and her papa said he would see if his house was turned into that sort of fool’s paradise another year, and they had a light supper, and pretty early everybody went to bed cross.

     The little girl slept very heavily and very late, but she was wakened at last by the other children dancing around her bed with their stockings full of presents in their hands. “Christmas! Christmas! Christmas!” they all shouted.

     “Nonsense! It was Christmas yesterday,” said the little girl, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

     Her brothers and sisters just laughed. “We don’t know about that. It’s Christmas today, anyway. You come into the library and see.”

     Then all at once it flashed on the little girl that the Fairy was keeping her promise, and her year of Christmases was beginning. She was dreadfully sleepy, but she sprang up and darted into the library. There it was again! Books, and boxes of stationery, and dolls, and so on.

     There was the Christmas tree blazing away, and the family picking out their presents, and her father looking perfectly puzzled, and her mother ready to cry. “I’m sure I don’t see how I’m to dispose of all these things,” said her mother, and her father said it seemed to him they had had something just like it the day before, but he supposed he must have dreamed it. This struck the little girl as the best kind of a joke, and so she ate so much candy she didn’t want any breakfast, and went round carrying presents, and had turkey and cranberry for dinner, and then went out and coasted, and came in with a stomachache, crying.

     Now, the next day, it was the same thing over again, but everybody getting crosser, and at the end of a week’s time so many people had lost their tempers that you could pick up lost tempers anywhere, they perfectly strewed the ground. Even when people tried to recover their tempers they usually got somebody else’s, and it made the most dreadful mix.

     The little girl began to get frightened, keeping the secret all to herself, she wanted to tell her mother, but she didn’t dare to, and she was ashamed to ask the Fairy to take back her gift, it seemed ungrateful and ill-bred. So it went on and on, and it was Christmas on St. Valentine’s Day and Washington’s Birthday, just the same as any day, and it didn’t skip even the First of April, though everything was counterfeit that day, and that was some little relief.

     After a while turkeys got to be awfully scarce, selling for about a thousand dollars apiece. They got to passing off almost anything for turkeys—even half-grown hummingbirds. And cranberries—well they asked a diamond apiece for cranberries. All the woods and orchards were cut down for Christmas trees. After a while they had to make Christmas trees out of rags. But there were plenty of rags, because people got so poor, buying presents for one another, that they couldn’t get any new clothes, and they just wore their old ones to tatters. They got so poor that everybody had to go to the poorhouse, except the confectioners, and the storekeepers, and the book sellers, and they all got so rich and proud that they would hardly wait upon a person when he came to buy. It was perfectly shameful!

     After it had gone on about three or four months, the little girl, whenever she came into the room in the morning and saw those great ugly, lumpy stockings dangling at the fireplace, and the disgusting presents around everywhere, used to sit down and burst out crying. In six months she was perfectly exhausted, she couldn’t even cry anymore.

     And now it was on the Fourth of July! On the Fourth of July, the first boy in the United States woke up and found out that his firecrackers and toy pistol and two-dollar collection of fireworks were nothing but sugar and candy painted up to look like fireworks. Before ten o’clock every boy in the United States discovered that his July Fourth things had turned into Christmas things and was so mad. The Fourth of July orations all turned into Christmas carols, and when anybody tried to read the Declaration of Independence, instead of saying, “When in the course of human events it becomes necessary,” he was sure to sing, “God rest you merry gentlemen.” It was perfectly awful.

     About the beginning of October the little girl took to sitting down on dolls wherever she found them—she hated the sight of them so, and by Thanksgiving she just slammed her presents across the room. By that time people didn’t carry presents around nicely anymore. They flung them over the fence or through the window, and, instead of taking great pains to write “For dear Papa,” or “Mama “ or “Brother,” or “Sister,” they used to write, “Take it, you horrid old thing!” and then go and bang it against the front door.

     Nearly everybody had built barns to hold their presents, but pretty soon the barns overflowed, and then they used to let them lie out in the rain, or anywhere. Sometimes the police used to come and tell them to shovel their presents off the sidewalk or they would arrest them.

     Before Thanksgiving came it had leaked out who had caused all these Christmases. The little girl had suffered so much that she had talked about it in her sleep, and after that hardly anybody would play with her, because if it had not been for her greediness it wouldn’t have happened. And now, when it came Thanksgiving, and she wanted them to go to church, and have turkey, and show their gratitude, they said that all the turkeys had been eaten for her old Christmas dinners and if she would stop the Christmases, they would see about the gratitude. And the very next day the little girl began sending letters to the Christmas Fairy, and then telegrams, to stop it. But it didn’t do any good, and then she got to calling at the Fairy’s house, but the girl that came to the door always said, “Not at home,” or “Engaged,” or something like that, and so it went on till it came to the old once-a-year Christmas Eve. The little girl fell asleep, and when she woke up in the morning—

     “She found it was all nothing but a dream,” suggested the little girl.

     “No indeed!” said her papa. “It was all every bit true!”

     “What did she find out, then?”

     “Why, that it wasn’t Christmas at last, and wasn’t ever going to be, anymore. Now it’s time for breakfast.”

     The little girl held her papa fast around the neck.

     “You shan’t go if you’re going to leave it so!”

     “How do you want it left?”

       “Christmas once a year.”

     “All right,” said her papa, and he went on again.

     Well, with no Christmas ever again, there was the greatest rejoicing all over the country. People met together everywhere and kissed and cried for joy. Carts went around and gathered up all the candy and raisins and nuts, and dumped them into the river, and it made the fish perfectly sick. And the whole United States, as far out as Alaska, was one blaze of bonfires, where the children were burning up their presents of all kinds. They had the greatest time!

     The little girl went to thank the old Fairy because she had stopped its being Christmas, and she said she hoped the Fairy would keep her promise and see that Christmas never, never came again. Then the Fairy frowned, and said that now the little girl was behaving just as greedily as ever, and she’d better look out. This made the little girl think it all over carefully again, and she said she would be willing to have it Christmas about once in a thousand years, and then she said a hundred, and then she said ten, and at last she got down to one. Then the Fairy said that was the good old way that had pleased people ever since Christmas began, and she was agreed. Then the little girl said, “What’re your shoes made of?” And the Fairy said, “Leather.” And the little girl said, “Bargain’s done forever,” and skipped off, and hippity-hopped the whole way home, she was so glad.

     “How will that do?” asked the papa.

     “First-rate!” said the little girl, but she hated to have the story stop, and was rather sober. However, her mama put her head in at the door and asked her papa:

     “Are you never coming to breakfast? What have you been telling that child?”

     “Oh, just a tale with a moral.”

     The little girl caught him around the neck again.

     “We know! Don’t you tell what, papa! Don’t you tell what!”



William Dean Howells (1837—1920) Best known as an editor and critic, this American fiction writer produced more than forty novels and story collections. He challenged American authors to choose American subjects, portray them honestly, and create characters who use native-American speech. As a critic, he helped to introduce writers like Mark Twain, Hamlin Garland, and Stephen Crane to American readers.




What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past,

courage for the present, hope for the future.

It is a fervent wish that every cup may overflow

with blessings rich and eternal, and that

every path may lead to peace.

Agnes M. Pharo




Scented Applesauce-Cinnamon

Ornaments



3 cups applesauce

3 cups ground cinnamon



     Mix applesauce and cinnamon together until it is thick enough to hold a form. Flatten the mixture on a flat surface and cut into cookie-cutter shapes.

     Place cookie shapes on a cookie sheet to dry for 3 to 4 days depending on the size and thickness of the cookies. If using as a hanging ornament, make a hole with a toothpick before drying.

Makes 15 ornaments.




Chestnut Dressing

8 Tbsp. butter

3 ribs celery with leaves, chopped

16 ounces chestnuts

1 large chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1 pound sourdough bread, cubed

3 cups turkey stock



     Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut a deep X into the flattest side of each chestnut and place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake 30 minutes, or until outer skin of chestnut splits. Wrap roasted chestnuts in a towel to keep warm. Peel off the tough outer skin of the chestnut and thinner inner skin with a sharp knife. Chop the chestnuts coarsely and set aside.

     Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Empty skillet contents into a large bowl. Add cubed bread, parsley, and enough stock to moisten the mix, about 2 1/2 cups. Stir in chestnuts and add salt and pepper to taste.

     Use to stuff poultry or place in a buttered baking dish, drizzle with 1/2 cup more stock, and bake 30 minutes to an hour.

Makes 10–11 cups.




Roasted Goose

1 goose, 10–12 pounds

1 orange, halved

kosher salt and black pepper, to taste

For giblet stock (used in gravy):

2 onions, quartered

1 carrot, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 pints of water

2 sprigs of sage

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1 Tbsp. cornstarch (to thicken)



     The goose should be defrosted and left at room temperature for at least 2 or 3 hours before cooking to bring it to equilibrium. This will improve the overall texture of the finished product. Remove the giblets from the goose and set aside. Wash the bird thoroughly inside and out with cool water and pat dry with a kitchen towel. Cut away any loose pieces of fat. Then rub the orange inside and outside of the bird. Mix the salt and pepper and rub into the skin and inside the cavity of the bird to season it.

     Preheat the oven to 425°F.

     Truss the bird by folding the wings back under the body. Then tie the legs together with butcher’s twine. Lightly prick the skin of the bird several times with a fork to allow the fat to adequately render during the cooking process. It is important not to pierce the flesh of the bird. Place the goose breast-side up on a rack in the roasting pan, and bake in the oven for approximately 30 minutes to develop some initial color. Then reduce the oven temperature to 325°F and continue cooking for approximately 3 hours.

     Make a simple giblet stock to fortify and enrich the gravy while the goose is roasting by placing the giblets in a saucepan with some goose fat and cooking over low heat until browned. Add chopped onion, carrot, celery, herbs, and water. Bring to a boil and then simmer gently for about one hour. Strain and cool until needed.

     The goose is done when the internal temperature of the thigh reaches 175°F. For a visual test to see if the goose is cooked, insert a skewer into the thickest part of the thigh. If the juices run clear, then it is ready. If not, then return to the oven for additional roasting time.

     Once the goose is cooked, allow it to rest for 20–30 minutes. This will allow the meat to firm up and will help retain the juiciness of the bird. Remove all of the drippings from the roasting pan, strain, and remove the fat. Add these defatted drippings to the giblet broth and season to taste. To thicken the gravy, combine 1 Tbsp. of cornstarch with 3 Tbsp. of water and add to the gravy. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1–2 minutes or until thickened.




O Little Town of Bethlehem

Phillips Brooks



O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie!

Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by.

Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting Light;

The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.

For Christ is born of Mary, and gathered all above,

While mortals sleep, the angels keep their watch of wondering love.

O morning stars together, proclaim the holy birth,

And praises sing to God the King, and peace to men on earth!

How silently, how silently, the wondrous Gift is giv’n;

So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His heav’n.

No ear may hear His coming, but in this world of sin,

Where meek souls will receive Him still, the dear Christ enters in.

Where children pure and happy pray to the blessed Child,

Where misery cries out to Thee, Son of the mother mild;

Where charity stands watching and faith holds wide the door,

The dark night wakes, the glory breaks, and Christmas comes once more.

O holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray;

Cast out our sin, and enter in, be born in us today.

We hear the Christmas angels the great glad tidings tell;

O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel!



Historical Note:

On Christmas Eve, 1865, Phillips Brooks was in Jerusalem, a trip intended to inspire spiritual rebirth after the horrors of the Civil War. Just a few months earlier, he had spoken at the funeral of President Abraham Lincoln. That clear night as he walked the streets of the Holy City, he had a sudden inspiration. Renting a horse, he set out for Bethlehem. After a solitary journey under the clear night sky, Brooks reached the tiny, remote village and was surrounded by the spirit of the first Christmas. His impoverished soul was refreshed as he considered what had happened there so many years before. Three years later on Christmas Eve, 1868, as he sat alone in his study preparing his sermon for the next day, he felt inspired to pen the words to this beautiful carol.




I, the Lord All-Powerful,

will send my messenger

to prepare the way for me.

Then suddenly the Lord

you are looking for

will appear in his temple.

The messenger you desire

is coming with my promise,

and he is on his way.

(Malachi 3:1, cev)

Be sure to visit my sponsor- Marmee's Bread Market- for recipes and everything else you need to easily make fresh baked goods for your family!

The SIlent Governess- Review

So, sometime last week I decided that I better finally buckle down and finish reading a few of the books I have had on my shelf for quite sometime, just waiting to be reviewed.  I'm not sure why it took me so long to finally get around to it.  Under normal circumstances I am an avid reader and find much enjoyment in it.  But, as many of you know, the last, oh I don't know, year, has not been normal.

Anyhow- once I actually started reading The Silent Governess I absolutely fell in love!  Wow- this book was beyond lovely!  Filled with suspense and the ever-growing possibility of romance, I was captivated.  I couldn't put it down!  I would be lying if I said that I didn't sneakily stay up until the wee hour of 2:00am last night to finish the last hundred pages or so!  I could easily see this book being turned into a movie, a very good movie, and I don't think that about every book I read.

Julie Klassen did such an amazing job of capturing the essence of the Victorian era and researching the historical details that I almost felt like I was learning something too... but that's not the point- it was just great fiction!  Even the language presented a new challenge being very accurately akin to what would have actually been spoken in 1800s England.

Can you tell I liked it?

Go get it!  You'll like it too!

You can purchase The Silent Governess right here.

This book was provided to me for honest review by Bethany House publishers.  All opinions are entirely my own.

Be sure to visit my sponsor- Marmee's Bread Market- for recipes and everything else you need to easily make fresh baked goods for your family!

A little Mother Culture!

As some of you may recall, over the summer I reviewed the book Pocketful of Pinecones by Karen Andreola, and the gist of it was that I was completely in love with the book and couldn't wait to read the sequel, Lessons at Blackberry Inn.

Well, shortly after my review I came across Karen's blog, Moments with Mother Culture, which I was positively thrilled about, and shared with her that I had reviewed her book.  Imagine my surprise and complete gratitude when she not only visited my blog and commented but also sent me the sweetest email in which she offered to send me a free copy of Lessons at Blackberry Inn out of appreciation for my review!  I was shocked and beyond delighted!  It is always a humbling thing to have an author or speaker that you have reviewed actually read your work, but then to offer to also send me her book was thrilling, especially since I have been dying to read it!

Just to add to my excitement when the package arrived it had not one but TWO of her books inside- Lessons at Blackberry Inn (which she signed!  Eeeeek!) AND Story Starters (which I will be discussing more on my homeschool blog, The World According to Them, very soon)!  And get this- she even wrapped each book in tissue paper!  It was the sweetest gift and I am so honored to have received it!

I wasn't going to start reading until I had finished the other books that I have been working on... but I couldn't resist!  So, I have stashed it in a spot that I can fairly regularly sneak off to for a few minutes alone and I try to read a couple of pages whenever I can!  I'm about a third of the way in and loving it just as much as Pocketful of Pinecones!  I will be sure to let you all know what I think when I am finished!

Thank you so much Karen for such a lovely gift!  I appreciate your generosity and extravagance more than you can know!

Now for a little Thankful Thursday...

#21.  Generous authors who go above and beyond

#22.  MOPS- a lovely break yesterday

#23.  MOPPETS Volunteers- who deal with even the fussiest of kiddos

#24.  friends who offer support and encouragement

#25.  friends who allow you to return the favor and get the attention off yourself

#26.  Kay Arthur podcasts

#27.  cool fall days

#28.  little boys who say and do the funniest things I've ever heard and seen

#29.  second (and third, and fourth, and infinity) chances

#30.  creative inspiration

Be sure to visit my sponsor- Marmee's Bread Market- for recipes and everything else you need to easily make fresh baked goods for your family!

Sense and Sensibility Insight Edition Review!

I have always wanted to read Jane Austen but, to be honest, have always been rather intimidated.  However, I have recently found two things that dramatically help put that intimidation aside- reading in an English accent (haha- seriously!) and using the Insight Editions of her work!

If you haven't heard of the Insight Editions published by Bethany House, you have really got to check them out!  All throughout the books they sprinkle little trivia and helpful side-notes.  Everything from how things were depicted in film adaptations, to what was happening in Jane's real life at the time of her authorship, to giving the context and definition to various phrases and references in the books, the Insight Editions truly give that extra little verve and interest to the classic works.  The extras are well written and added with care by a fellow author (Julie Klassen) who has a genuine love and appreciation for Austen's work.

Now, of course, Jane Austen stands on her own just fine, but having always been an avid watcher of DVD Bonus Features, the Insight Edition was right up my alley!  If you have ever considered purchasing one of these classics, I would highly recommend going the Insight Edition route!

To purchase and find out more about the Insight Edition of Sense and Sensibility, you can visit Bethany House Publishers.

This book was provided by Bethany House Publishers for honest review.  All opinions are entirely my own.

Be sure to visit my sponsor- Marmee's Bread Market- for recipes and everything else you need to easily make fresh baked goods for your family!

"The Voice" Review

To be totally honest, I really wanted to like this rendition of the New Testament.  As a creative person by nature, the idea of a translation of the Bible that was written in a way that would recapture the individuality of each author, was very appealing to me.  The fact that this translation was written in screenplay format also sparked a note of interest.  For a variety of reasons I do like this translation and appreciate what it is trying to accomplish (ie- being a more accessible and understandable option for new believers or non-Christians).

However, the number of liberties that this translation takes does give me some reservation in recommending it, and in many ways I prefer to call it an interpretation (more like The Message) then a translation.  For instance, to help clarify passages and bring people back to the context that believers of the original time would have had, the writers have added what would essentially be footnote statements directly into the text.  While all of these additions are clearly marked with italics, and in many cases do shed more light on the verse, I fear that many people would pick up this Bible, not read the purpose of these italics in the Preface and accept them completely as scripture- such as new believers or non-believers who are not familiar with the Bible.  Of course, new and non-believers are two of the main audiences this Bible is targeted for, so this does give rise to concern for me.

All in all, I think I would have to label this Bible as a helpful tool, but nothing more.  While I enjoy it's perspective and it's efforts to bring clarity and the original voices back to the text, I just could not rely on it as a translation all on its own, or feel comfortable recommending it to anyone I wasn't sure of being well seasoned in their Biblical knowledge.  It's a lovely read and a good companion text, just make sure you always compare it back to a more true translation so as to not become confused or swayed.

If you would like to purchase a copy of The Voice you can do so here on Amazon.

This book was provided to me by Thomas Nelson Publishing for honest review in their Book Sneeze Program.

Be sure to visit my sponsor- Marmee's Bread Market- for recipes and everything else you need to easily make fresh baked goods for your family!

"Pocketful of Pinecones" Review

Where do I even begin?  I LOVED this book so much and since finishing it (okay- so even while I was still working my way through it) I have been recommending it to nearly every mom I know, homeschooling or not!

Let me give you a little background.  Pocketful of Pinecones, by Karen Andreola, is a living book about doing nature study with your children.  What's a living book you ask?  Well, in this case, it is a book that teaches you about something (Nature Study) but it is written in novel form.  Yup, you heard me!  This book boasts a wonderful storyline that completely drew me in, while at the same time offering me tons of wonderful ideas for how to implement nature study into our lives in a very natural, Charlotte Mason style.  I very much appreciated that I was able to learn about a Charlotte Mason method in a Charlotte Mason way- which I think is hard to come by! 

Though it was set in the early 1900s I was able to instantly connect with Carol, the mother whose journal you are peering into, and learned so much from her example in not only teaching her children but raising them as well.  Karen Andreola does such a lovely job of weaving what she calls Mother Culture into the book- those things that span the test of time and all mothers can relate to.  She also reminded me of how much more work being a wife and mother was in the 20s and 30s!  Man do I ever have a renewed appreciation for my little modern conveniences that rarely used to cross my mind!

Oh and did I mention that the chapters are blissfully short, thus allowing you to actually fit them into your own little mother culture?  I loved the fact that even if I only had a couple of minutes to sneak in a little reading, I could almost always actually complete an entire chapter! 

Along with the beautiful story that Karen Andreola has woven, she rounds out the text with questions at the end of each short chapter to help you consider how you might be able to incoporate nature study into your everyday life, along with the latin names for the things discussed in the chapter.  Lovely nature poems are also sprinkled throughout the book and each chapter features exquisite hand-drawings.

I have truly found that this book has given me a fresh perspective on considering nature and on motherhood.  I spent time outdoors growing up but I was never all that particularly inquisitive about nature itself.  Now, however, I find myself noticing things that I never have before.  My renewed curiosity for the world around me is rubbing off on my children and they are beginning to make their own discoveries as well, which is so exciting to witness.  I am thrilled to be able to use these methods in our homeschool and am so glad that I discovered them so early in our homeschooling journey!

So, obviously, my recommendation would be for you to run out and purchase this book immediately!  This isn't one that you would just want to borrow from the library!  I guarantee it is a text that you will return to again and again for years to come!  Personally, I just can't wait to get my hands on a copy of the sequel, Lessons at Blackberry Inn, in which Karen Andreola continues the story and expands on Charlotte Mason's philosophies of learning in all areas, not just nature study!  Sounds like the perfect read for back-to-school!

For more information about the book you can go here and to order you can go here.  Oh, and you can visit Karen's blog here and read about all her other books and articles here a her website- Homeschool Highlights.

By the way, this is a book I purchased on my own and decided to review because of my genuine love for it!  This review is 100% my honest opinion.