Sunday, July 31, 2011

Money Mondays ~ Week 31 in 2011

Sorry I've been gone from my own blog hop for so long.  I've moved and am now, hopefully, settled not only in the house but also in life.  Hahaha, who am I kidding...when are we ever settled in life?  So let's see all the new items you have out there for sale!  I can't wait to hop around and see them all...not to mention promote them!


It's Monday and time to link-up and join in on the Blog Hop for Money Mondays. To read how Money Mondays got started check out my Money Mondays Page.

So here we go! Link Up your Etsy Stores, Shop Websites, Photography Sites, ect. I'm enjoying hosting this blog hop every week and visiting all of yours as well. Grab the button above and place it on your site. Please remember to keep it family friendly. Explicit Sites will be removed.  Remember to grab the Blog Hop Code below to place on your blog so that we all benefit from this hop!  Let's all have some fun, promote our own businesses and check out every one else!

Crazy Days of Summer ~ Bubbles



This weeks theme for Crazy Days of Summer is Bubbles!  Now one would think that this would be a great way to spend your summer day.  But for one that is living in Texas where the heat and drought are EXTREME I didn't want to get out in it more than I had to.  I'm thinking that the last time we saw any rain was back in May.  This week we are under an Extreme Heat Warning.  Temps are going to be near or at 110 degrees.  Along with the fact that having just moved one would think that I would have remembered where I packed my camera battery charger.  Hey...at least I had my camera ready to go.  So for this week I'm going back into the vaults while my camera battery is charging (Yes, I finally found it.) to bring you some unusual bubble pictures.  I give you Milk Bubbles!

Who said that bubbles have to be made with soap and water!


Monday, July 25, 2011

ReChurch: Healing Your Way Back to the People of God ~ Book Review



Product Review:

It seems that everyone who has ever been part of a church has suffered a “church hurt.” The pastor had an affair or the congregation fought over money or the leaders were disguising gossip as “prayer.” Stephen Mansfield has been there. Though he is now a New York Times best-selling author, he was a pastor for over 20 years, and he loved it—until he learned how much a church can hurt. Yet he also learned how to dig out of that hurt, break through the bitterness and anger, stop making excuses, and get back to where he ought to be with God and his people. If you’re ready to take the tough path to healing, Mansfield will walk you through it with brotherly love, showing you how you can be better than ever on the other side of this mess … if you’re willing to ReChurch.

My Review:

I received this book from Tyndale House Publishers. All opinions are my own and I was not required to write a positive review.  Now that I have read ReChurch, I have to say that it has great insight into the issues associated with leaving a church (for whatever reason).   The author Stephen Mansfield does not hand hold the hurt person but yet he wants to see them healed and back at church. Let's face it, unfortunately, Churches hurt people.  Often the hurt is over little things, sometimes it is over large things. But no matter the cause, once someone has left the church because they have been hurt, it is hard to get over the hurt and get back into church.  This would be a very good book for them.   I personally have not been hurt by a church but I know many who have.

Below Mansfield explains his purpose in writing `ReChurch':
I want to show you how to get clean and free from what you have done to yourself in your church hurt. That's it. Along the way we are going to talk a bit about how to be a part of a church without surrendering your soul and what healthy churches look like. But I'm not trying to fix the body of Christ. I'm trying to get you to fix what you can in you, so that God can fix the rest and get you back into the fold.  Counselors nurture souls. Coaches teach skills. I'm your coach.
Second, I want you to understand that you will not get free unless someone gets tough with you. When we are in pain, we have too many voices playing in our heads - voices from the past, voices of our critics, voices of our admirers, and even the voice of our own inner dialogue. There are likely other voices from demons we have known and loved... Suffice it to say, a riot is taking place in our souls when we hurt. All of this tends to make us distracted at best and crazy at worst. We need someone to cut in harshly and silence the storm. (p. 14)



The Secret Holocaust Diaries: The untold story of Nonna Bannister ~ Book Review


Product Review:

Nonna Bannister carried a secret almost to her Tennessee grave: the diaries she had kept as a young girl experiencing the horrors of the Holocaust. This book reveals that story. Nonna’s childhood writings, revisited in her late adulthood, tell the remarkable tale of how a Russian girl from a family that had known wealth and privilege, then exposed to German labor camps, learned the value of human life and the importance of forgiveness. This story of loss, of love, and of forgiveness is one you will not forget.

My Review:

WOW!  This is an amazing book and was very hard to put down.  Reading this book is like sitting down with Nonna Bannister herself as she unlocks the secrets of her past.  I actually found myself wanting more and more of her life told to me.  I was so engrossed in her writings and her family. I felt swept back in time with her experiencing almost the same sad and also some happy memories with her. I also like this book because is a view of the Holocaust that you don't normally read about.  This family was not Jewish and was from Russia.  I won't tell you much more about the story as it would spoil some of it for you.  I will tell you that some of the memories are horrific and you should monitor the age of those that read this book.  I felt that this was more a story of her and her family going through the Holocaust than the Holocaust itself.  I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys reading memoirs.  I received a complimentary copy of the book for review purposes from Tyndale House and the views are my own.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Wordless and Wordful Wednesday ~ Sunset

This was the view out of the window in front of my desk at our new house.  How beautiful!

 
If you would like to see more Wordless photos head on over to Wordless Wednesday, 5 Minutes for Mom, Live and Love...Out Loud, Project Alicia and J. Leigh Designz. Now if you're like me and sometimes you can't stay wordless head on over to see some Wordful Wednesday photos at Parenting by Dummies.  Don't forget to sign the Linky below.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Tasty Tuesday ~ Berries and Cream Popsicles



I'm finally moved and have done some creating.  I had some leftover berries that we had over the 4th of July and created some Berries and Cream Popsicles.   ENJOY!


Berries and Cream Popsicles

Berry Layer:
1 Cup Frozen Berries Thawed with juices. (I used Strawberries, Blueberries and Blackberries)
1 Cup Strawberry Koolaid (or you can use Crystal Light Strawberry or an off brand)
If needed....1 packet of sweetner

Cream Layer:
1 Cup milk
3 Tbsp Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla

Place berry mixture and koolaid in a blender and blend to a liquid consistency.  In another bowl you can go ahead and mix together all of the cream layer and place in your refrigerator until needed.  Pour in some of the berry layer and let freeze for one hour.  Then pour a cream layer and freeze for one hour.  Finally pour one more layer of the berries and put in the stick and freeze for another few hours.  I had enough that I made 6 in my molds and 6 more in dixie cups with popsicle sticks.

Sam said that these were the best he's had...and I have to agree!  Can't wait to make more as we've been eating them like crazy ever since they froze.  Looking at making more kinds of popsicles really soon.  Stay tuned.....
 

Friday, July 8, 2011

Seriouslly???

It is currently 104 outside.  We've been in 100 degree weather for I don't know how long now. And we haven't seen rain in...forever!  And here is our 10-day forecast:

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Crazy Days of Summer ~ Patriotism



This weeks theme for Crazy Days of Summer is Patriotism.  I thought of many ways that I could go with this photo.  But after taking my Mom and Dad to the Dallas/Ft Worth National Cemetery on July 4th I knew exactly what photo would represent and mean Patriotism.  It's a fairly new National Cemetery as far as National Cemeteries go as it's only been open since 2000.  It's set on 638 acres of beautiful rolling hills and once it is at capacity it will hold 280,000 eligible veterans and their dependents.  Here are just a few of the brave men and women that gave their lives for their country.


Below is the same area but taken from further away.

I'm also submitting the first photo for the "Favorite Photo of the Week Contest", "Show {Off} Your Shot" and "Fabulous Friday".  

and then, she {snapped}

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Wordless and Wordful Wednesday ~ Popsicle!




We are finally in our new house but have yet to finish unpacking. YEAH!  I thought that I would take a break and post my Wordless/Wordful Wednesday post.

With the temperatures we've had lately (in the 100s for days on end and no rain in sight) a good Popsicle is a great way to cool off.  I'm going to be trying some different recipes soon and if they are any good I'll share them with you here.  This one that Sam and I enjoyed today was super simple.  Just make up your favorite jello flavor (we used cherry) according to the package instructions and then pour into your popsicle molds or paper dixie cups and freeze.  I do have to say that frozen jello has a different texture than most popsicles but they are still soooo good on a hot day.

If you would like to see more Wordless photos head on over to Wordless Wednesday, 5 Minutes for Mom, Live and Love...Out Loud, Project Alicia and J. Leigh Designz. Now if you're like me and sometimes you can't stay wordless head on over to see some Wordful Wednesday photos at Parenting by Dummies.  Don't forget to sign the Linky below.

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