Preparing for college

Emma and I were sitting on the couch Saturday morning hanging out and watching cartoons when a Gerber Life commercial came on. IT was talking about even though the kids were maybe 2 years old the parents were starting to save for their college education already. After the commercial ended Emma turned to me with a serious look on her face and said, “Dad… I am not ready for college yet. I am still too little. So maybe when I am bigger.”

God Gave Us Two {Review}

God Gave Us Two
by Lisa T. Bergren

About the Book
Now that Mama polar bear has another baby in her tummy, Little Cub is bursting with curiosity. “Why do we need a new baby?” she asks. “If we don’t like the new baby, can we send it back?”
“Will you forget me when the new baby comes?”
Gently and lovingly, Mama and Papa assure their firstborn that the new baby is a gift from God they want very much, just as Little Cub was–and still is.
“God gave us you. Now he’s given us two!”
The winsome sequel to God Gave Us You, God Gave Us Two playfully affirms a child’s uniqueness and place in the family and helps little ones accept, appreciate, and love their new siblings.

My Thoughts
Definitely a cute story that was nice to be able to share with Emma--no stranger to the "new sibling" process.  The illustrations were well done and overall I enjoyed the read.  Spoiler alert, but one issue I did have with the book is that it's called God Gave Us Two--assuming one for the first sibling plus one for the soon to come sibling.  But really, it's twins.  So I guess the title still works in that God is giving the family two MORE.  I can just foresee some confusion with a little one who is only welcoming one new sibling into the family.  Otherwise, I was more than happy with the read.

Click here to purchase.  

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

The who's who...

So I have been noticing a TON of similarities between my babies and my husband and I as babies.  These pics don't really do the similarities justice because it's obviously more apparent with certain "looks"... but from the archives... here's the best I can do.  Can you tell who's who??? (There is at least one of each of us--John, Marissa, Emma, Jackson).  Leave your guesses in the comments or on FB!

Someplace awesome

Em: hey, mama, you want to go someplace awesome with me?
Mama: sure, where are we going?
Em: half-price books...that's where I get my half-price books!

Uncompromising {review}

Uncompromising 
A Heart Claimed by a Radical Love
by Hanna Farver

About the Book
Ask any girl on the street what womanhood is about, and you’ll get a blank stare in return. No one knows. Young women are devoid of vision beyond popularity, material wealth, a cute boyfriend or a dream career. Even in Christian circles, significant questions are often left unanswered: What’s the point of purity? Modesty? Femininity? What’s biblical womanhood?  Most of all, girls wonder at the longing in their souls for something greater.

Uncompromising:  A Heart Claimed By a Radical Love cuts straight to the heart of young womanhood. Rather than setting up rules, it pulls at the desire in every woman’s heart to live a life of purpose, fully surrendered to His radical love.  Written in an edgy teen voice, Uncompromising is a collection of “field notes” from the author’s own search for answers…and the story of how she stumbled upon the one Cause worth dying for.  Contains study questions for group or individual use.

My Thoughts
I very much agree with the author that it is CRUCIAL from a young age for girls to know their purpose--what they were made for--their greater Cause.  Women are meant to be passionate, express and create beauty, and live with purpose.  I think Ms. Farver definitely points girls in the right direction.  As I was reading through the book, I kept thinking what a great format and language it is as a tool for the girls in our youth group.  Wow, they need to hear this.  I wish I could show them that...  I was thankful to see the study guide in the back to further involve the reader in the text and the very real possibility for this to be used as a small group study or one-one-one discipleship tool.

She can definitely relate to the age group that this book is intended for (teens), but that is mostly due to the fact that she was that age VERY recently.  By no means do I think that age disqualifies an author or teacher, but it is important that the speaker is very cautious of the possible lack of life experience to back up what he or she is saying.  Obviously, I cannot comment on that end of things as I haven't taken the time to read through any of the archives on her site or anything like that.

Overall, I think it's a great read and would get the minds of young teen girls thinking when it comes to what they want out of life and as Christians what they are capable of in the hands of a mighty mighty God.

About the Author
Hannah Farver is a college student, writer, website blogger, speech and debate coach, and has been interviewed on ABC.  She also embarked on a national conference tour for young women.  Like most people her age, she doesn't know exactly what the future holds, but for now is planning on a career in media--and more writing of course.  She lives outside Dallas, Texas.

I received this book free from Moody Publishers as part of their Blogger Review Program.  I was not required to write a positive review.  The opinions I have expressed are my own.

outcome

we made it home.  a ten hour trip took twenty hours, but we made it home.  friends sacrificed their time, energy, and holiday plans to come rescue us, but we made it home. 

we really thought it was transmission related and braced ourselves for a super costly repair.  thankfully, it was the catalytic converter (MUCH less expensive in comparison!) and we had the car back by wednesday. 

currently, i'm finishing up packing for our SMITE trip.  jackson and i leave for the weekend to minister to the teens from our youth group as they minister to a church in Ohio for the week.  good times ahead!

middle of nowhere

As I sit here typing this it is 2:51 in the morning. I am seated at an extremely worn restaurant booth with minimal padding for my hind end. My iPad is tilted up onto an open novel on the table in front of me. Jackson is sprawled on the seat next to me belly-side down. Emma had woken up, but as hard as she tried was unable to get comfortable on my lap seated upright facing me next to jackson. Right outside my window, John is in our vehicle trying to get any decent sleep as his body is fighting off a cold of sorts and the booth seats just weren't cutting it. The lights are dim in this area of the gas station as the dining side has closed many hours ago. However, the noise of the ice machine and a clingy/vibrating noise rattle on incessantly behind me. Over five hours have passed now since our car had deemed itself unfit for interstate driving. Not being able to accelerate while driving uphill and toward the end maxing out at 30 mph just doesn't cut it while driving from Georgia back to Indiana. Our ride is on the way.

As I have battled over the last year with grief and all that which stems from burying your child (or any loved one, I'm sure), there are a grew things that the Lord has been teaching me. One extremely important lesson He has been teaching me is that of intentional thankfulness. I am learning that I must be mindful and intentional. I must choose joy. Joy in Him is rooted in thankfulness--for who He is, for what He has done, and what He has promised to do.

Here is my list of thankfulness for tonight (at least as best as I can recall):
We are all here together as a family.
A level-headed husband.
We made it off the interstate.
We made it to a substantial gas station.
The gas station has an area where the kids can sleep.
The gas station has wi-fi.
The gas station has air conditioning.
Enough quiet that I can enjoy a book.
Selfless friends willing to drive 5 hours to come pick us up and tow our vehicle.
A husband who legitimately helps with the kids.
That we were able to make a trip to Georgia as a healthy family.
We were not left stranded in the mountains somewhere.
Singing bible verses have memorized with Emma (deut 7:9; deut 10:12-13; psalm 86:5-7; John 1:12-13)

I'm sure there were more little things, but those are what come to mind as best as i can recall at now 3:15.

With love