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.