Finding Christmas

Christmas is everywhere . . . even where you least expect it.

Join award-winning author and storyteller James Calvin Schaap as he uncovers the grace, joy, and love of the season through seven heartwarming tales of miracle moments in a messy world. This beautiful and inspiring collection of contemporary Christmas stories will remind you what grace looks like--and where to find it.

Endorsements

"Jim Schaap knows our lives. He re-fires our memories. He draws us into settings familiar. He causes us to inhabit the worlds of plain folk struggling with the problems of an ordinary life--and he makes it all so very, very important. . . . Schaap writes sacred mystery into our common lives."--from the foreword by Walter Wangerin Jr.

James Calvin Schaap, a professor of English at Dordt College and president of the Chrysostom Society, is the award-winning author of twenty-two books. He lives in Sioux Center, Iowa.

To read an excerpt from Finding Christmas, click on the book icon at the top of this page.

"Available at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group."

The Christmas Dog review

Christmas miracles can come from unlikely sources.
Betty Kowalski isn't looking forward to the holidays. She just can't seem to find Christmas in her heart. Maybe it's because her husband is gone. Maybe it's because she's missing her children. Or maybe it has something to do with her obnoxious new neighbor, who seems to be tearing his house apart and rearranging it on the lawn.
But when a mangy dog appears at her doorstep, the stage is set for Betty to learn what Christmas is really all about.
My Review: This was an entertaining story by Melody Carlson. I enjoyed the light humor mixed with the quirky characters. It provided a good reminder that God cab be found even in the presence of a mangy dog.

To read an excerpt of The Christmas Dog, click on the book icon at the top.

"Available at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group."

The Unfinished Gift review

Taken from the back cover: Ian Collins is an old man without his son. Patrick Collins is a young boy without his father. On his Christmas list are only three items. He wants the army to find his father. He wants to leave his grandfather's house. And he wants the dusty wooden soldier in Grandfather's attic - the one he is forbidden to touch.

My Review: WOW! Excellent book. I knew I would like it when I read the quotations from other authors on the front and back covers both mentioning the need for kleenex while reading it. I was very impressed with the high quality of this book, especially knowing that this is the first novel for Dan Walsh. The storyline is gripping and the characters are realistic. It is an emotional tale but definitely worth reading! I am looking forward to Dan's second book "The Homecoming", which will be released as the sequel in June 2010.

Click on the book icon to read an excerpt from The Unfinished Gift.

"Available at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group."

Green Works Cleaners review

I was recently given the opportunity to try out Green Works laundry detergent.

After several washes I am still impressed with the quality of this product! My clothes smell wonderfully citrusy (is that even a word?), the laundry is clean, and it is better on the environment too.

Green Works is made with 95% natural ingredients that come from plants and minerals.

I am somewhat skeptical about "green" cleaners that are rapidly appearing on the shelves these days, but I really appreciated the information provided on the Green Works site.

Q. What does natural mean? Are Green Works® products 100% natural?

A. Currently, there is no industry standard definition for natural cleaners. To create Green Works® natural cleaners we set ourselves a very stringent standard. The ingredients must come from renewable resources, be biodegradable and free of petrochemicals. Green Works® cleaners are at least 95% natural. In certain cases we had to use synthetic ingredients, like the preservative and green colorant. But we're working hard to develop natural alternatives so the entire line can be 100% natural.

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  Q. Why is Green Works® more expensive than traditional cleaners?

  A. The cost of natural ingredients is significantly higher than what is used in traditional cleaners. Green Works® products cost less than other natural clearers and when you consider they are more natural and clean with the power you expect from Clorox, the premium price is a good value.
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  Q. Is Clorox merely jumping on the green bandwagon?

  A. We've been working on natural products for the past 5 years. We set ourselves a difficult task–to set the standard for natural cleaning and create products that clean with the power you expect from Clorox. In fact, we delayed Green Works® products from hitting the shelves by 6 months to further perfect the formula. We are fully committed to continuing to develop natural products that continue to set the standard for natural.

So Scary

This afternoon I had the biggest scare of my life.

I have been trying to tackle my ever-growing list of things to do before finals begin.

We were watching a friend's child for a little while this afternoon and then we had about 10 minutes before picking up Brie.

Ella decided that she was going to take extra time getting her coat, shoes etc. so we ended up being a little late getting to the elementary school.

It really was only about 1-2 minutes late.

But, oh what a difference those 120 seconds can make.

We got to the school and saw many cars driving away already.

No Brie in sight.

She is usually a prompt girl, but we patiently waited for her to come around the side of the school. (Her classroom entrance is on the opposite side of where we pick her up)

Still no Brie.

I saw my lovely friend, who is also a wonderful teacher, as she was supervising the schoolyard. She must have sensed the growing panic in my voice/eyes as she told me that she saw Brie a few minutes earlier.

A few other passers-by also commented that they too saw her a few minutes ago.

But still no Brie in sight.

I literally picked up Ella as I held her to my hip like a baby and RAN to the van to begin searching for her!

I have never been so scared as I was frantically driving and scanning the sidewalks.

My plea to God has never been more heartfelt.

We fortunately found Brie about 4 blocks away, running as fast as she could on her way home.

She was scared too.

There were tears and embraces.

And MANY sighs of relief.

I am SOOOOOOO thankful that she was fine.

But she crossed 3 streets by herself. I asked her if she remembered to look both ways before crossing.

Nope. Didn't remember.

Thank you God for watching over her today.

Thank you for caring teachers who were beginning to drive around town looking for her too.

Thank you for the happy ending.

Please let this never ever happen again.

Awesome Book Sale!

For those of you who enjoying reading, like me, there is an excellent fiction sale on right now!

I purchased MANY books from this sale last year, and just made another order yesterday.

Seriously, great prices.

Book Closeouts has an annual Black Friday sale (for the US thanksgiving) so all fiction is 50% off their already low prices.

So books are now about 2-3 dollars. The sale continues until Dec. 2nd.

I purchased about 15 books yesterday.

For $45.

Forty Five Dollars! For fifteen books!

AND there is also free shipping right now!!!

It does not get any better than that!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Book Closeouts! I typically shop there at least a couple times a year, but this is definitely the best time to stock up on any fiction that I would like to read. This sale doe not include children's books, but that's okay. I think they have enough books for now. Now it's time for me to get some new ones!

Crafty

Lately I have been in a craft-ing mood.

Now it could be because I tend to be a procrastinator.

Or it could be because the school semester is slowing down. (eek, is it only 3 weeks until FINALS?)

But there is something about this time of year where I feel like sitting down and creating something.

I'm not starting to cut fabric for Ella's quilt, although it is purchased.

I'm not really making Christmas cards, but I have begun.

I'm not even making birthday invitations for the girls, but just planned out what they would like with what I am able to create.

But I have planned out a month's worth of activities to coincide with the candles of Advent for the kids during the church services. I'm really excited about the first Sunday, which is one week away.

We are making these, except with a star shape instead:

Looks fun, hey? And it's actually REALLY easy to do because I have tried it out.

I've even begun to look at Easter crafts.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME???

This is very messed up, people!

So in order to get this craftiness out of my system, our family went on a nature walk today, looking for large pinecones. The girls had lots of fun exploring our neighborhood in search of this treasure.

Then we made them into little bird feeders.

We all had a fun afternoon!

AND...I even wrote a small paper for school this afternoon so it wasn't all procrastinating.

Not really.

The Story of Christmas: a review

Read and Share: The Story of Christmas
By Gwen Ellis

Book Description

The Story of Christmas from the Read and Share™ Bible is a colorful retelling of the birth of Christ and the events surrounding it.

Based on the International Children’s Bible, this book begins with the birth of John the Baptist. Next comes the angel appearing first to Mary, then to Joseph, the trip to Bethlehem, the birth of Jesus, the angel’s announcement to the shepherds, the wise men and their gifts, fleeing to Egypt, and at last heading home to Nazareth. The “Can You Retell the Story” activity at the end of the book is a fun way for children to learn to tell the story themselves.

The animated DVD includes a 15-minute story plus coloring pages and other bonus features.

My Review: My girls have enjoyed reading this book and watching the included videos. I like that each story is simple and not too lengthy, but also accurate to what the bible says. Each story comes with a good discussion question too to help encourage good dialogue between ourselves and our kids. The videos match the book and is certainly entertaining for kids who love to watch anything media-related (a.k.a. my kids!).

This book would make a nice gift for someone with younger children.

Focus On Parenting

This past weekend John and I attended an all-day conference that was created by Focus On The Family.

There were many speakers, but our favorites were definitely Mark Holmen and Kevin Leman.

The main purpose for the conference was to help families see that the responsibility of sharing our faith with our kids lies within ourselves, and we need to stop blaming the "church" for the lack of young adults leaving their childhood faith behind and not ever returning.

The statistics are actually quite alarming. Studies vary in percentages, but at best it appears that approximately 50% of kids stop attending church once they reach adulthood. The worst statistics said it was closer to 61%.

As one speaker put it, if you have two children the chances are very high that one of them will quit going to church someday and never return.

Or if you have three kids, maybe two of them will.

He asked us which child we would choose.

*GULP*

I don't want that to be either of my kids.

Why is it that most people don't see this as a problem?

I posted a review a while back about "How to Raise a Modern-Day Joseph". Actually the author for 'Raising a Modern Day Joseph' was at the Focus on Parenting conference. He had some excellent points about this crisis, but I also like the action plan that is in the "How To" book.

I have also ordered a few books from authors at the conference. The one I am most looking forward to is "Faith Begins at Home".

Another statistic is that parents are 2-3 times more influential in their children's faith than any church program.

So John and I will be setting some realistic goals for our family. But it has to begin with us. In my own life. And in his.

We need to live out our faith every day. Read our bibles. Do family devotions. Talk about God/church/life with our kids.

The busyness of school and life seems to get in the way, but we need to focus on the long-term. I'm thinking a realistic plan will be in the works for 2010. The girls will be able to help make decisions about what we are going to learn (and how we will do it) throughout the year.

It will be neat to look back in 2011 to see what we have accomplished!

Remembering

So thankful for my freedom.

The freedom to vote.

The freedom to choose to attend university.

The freedom to choose to work or not.

The freedom to worship God.

I don't even begin to comprehend the sacrifice that was made for me, but I am truly thankful.

Compassion El Salvador

Today marks the beginning of another Compassion Bloggers trip.

This week a group of bloggers will be in El Salvador.

I really know nothing about this country, so it will be interesting to hear more details as they are posted.

Today is also the 6th birthday of the girl we sponsor. Happy birthday sweet Ashly! We are thinking of and praying for you today.

I actually just sent her some tattoos in the mail last week, which she should get in time for the 2010 Olympics. Correspondence is slow, but oh so worthwhile! Not too long ago, she sent us a lovely drawing that is now permanently on our fridge.

My girls talk about Ashly ALL the time. They would love to meet her, so we have begun to pray that God would make this possible some day.

There are many kids who still need a sponsor and I have chosen to take a more active role with Compassion to share my experiences and look for more sponsors. Would you consider it today?

It's only $35 a month and will forever change a child's life.

It would also make a wonderful Christmas gift for someone.

Please pray about it.

Also, to help get your kids involved Compassion has created a fun website for them.

Glee

Can I just say that this new release makes me very happy?

I am really enjoying this show for it's quirkyness and great music.

Now I can share the love of it with my kids too.

Afterall, they already request "Step by Step"...

Heh, heh, heh.

I probably shouldn't admit that online!

Ah well. It's fun to relive those days every once in a while.

Touching Wonder: a review

Heard the Christmas Story a Few Too Many Times?

With his instant classic, Touching Wonder, author John Blase

breathes new life into the story of the Nativity

Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX—Little children understand how amazing the Nativity story is. But, sometimes, as we become men and women, we put away the childlike with the childish. The result? We lose something vital—the wonder of it all. When author John Blase went looking for the lost wonder of Christmas, he went back to the place he’d last seen it—the stories from Luke 1-2. What he found fills the pages of his new book, Touching Wonder: Recapturing the Awe of Christmas(David C Cook, September 2009), with flesh and bone and dust and night and a baby’s cry; the intimate union of human and divine—the Incarnation.

By boldly imagining the first two chapters of the gospel of Luke, writer, editor, and former pastor John Blase has created an instant classic for Christmastime. In a tale that reads like a novel parallel parked by the record of Scripture, Blase beckons those who could use a little wonder in their lives to step onto the stage of history and witness the long awaited coming of the Messiah. With Eugene Peterson’s The Message Bible translation as his backdrop, Blase adds his own voice and commentary to the historic events, exploring the renowned drama from an array of viewpoints.

In Touching Wonder, readers will meet a cast of unruly unlikelies—a frightened teenaged girl, a worried carpenter, a collection of senior citizens, a disillusioned young shepherd, even an angel or two—moving toward the realization that the little one just born is the One. This imaginative retelling of the grand miracle will leave readers wide-eyed, slack-jawed, and heart-full. The Lord is come!

In this lovely and distinctive book to be read…and re-read…and pondered in the heart, young and old will recapture the wonder of the Christmas story by seeing through the eyes of those who lived it. The book’s graceful design and Amanda Jolman’s beautiful line drawings combine to make this a thoughtful Christmas gift as well as a wonder that families will treasure for years to come.

Author Bio: John Blase’s work includes Living the Questions and Living the Letters Bible-study series, the Worldviews reference book (TH1NK), Real Life Stuff for Couples, and The Message Children’s Bible. A former pastor, John currently edits by day and writes by night. He and his wife, Meredith, have three children and make their home in Colorado.

Touching Wonder: Recapturing the Awe of Christmas by John Blase

David C Cook/September 2009

ISBN: 978-1-4347-6465-2/hardcover/128 pages/$12.99

www.davidccook.com

My Review:

This book was easy to read in little bits and was a quick read. I appreciated the new perspective that it gives as we examine how different "characters" in the christmas story would have reacted to their situations.

Multiple Personalities

This halloween brought 3 different outfits for each girl.

I did not go out and buy them each 3 costumes, in fact I only purchased the giraffe costume secondhand for $5.00. The rest of the items we already had from previous years, or from the dressup box.

The girls each picked out what I thought was going to be their costume for the year and wore them to school. Ella was a giraffe, and Brie was Jasmine from the movie Aladdin.

When Oct. 31st came I was in the process of getting those same costumes ready again when both girls announced that they each wanted to be something (or someone) different.

So Ella became a beautiful princess and Brie was an equestrian.

That night we were on our way to a friends' house for a halloween party and the girls each wanted to wear another costume, so out came the dressup clothes again. I didn't take pictures of this but Ella was dressed in a blue dress and Brie was in pink. Both had matching accessories for the evening.

Having girls is sure fun!