Let's Learn about the Lord's Prayer Book Review & Blog Tour

It has been awhile since I have been part of a Blog Tour but I am so happy to be a part of this one!  Let's Learn about the Lord's Prayer by Catherine DeVries is a delightful book that invites preschoolers and beyond on a playdate adventure to learn the Lord's Prayer.  This new resource from David C. Cook is a fabulous and fun tool to help your preschooler learn the Lord's prayer.

 E and F with our new book!

 Not only do they love the stories but the illustrations are great as well.

 Here is an example from inside the book!

We are huge fans of memorizing scripture in our home.  My kids usually have a weekly memory verse they are working on for church, co-op and our homeschool.  I love that this book just fits right in with our daily life.  It is encouraging, loving and educational - my kind of book.  I really love that the HeartSmart series is about filling children's hearts with God's Word and ultimately a greater love for Him.

Be sure to check out the complete Let's Learn about the Lord's Prayer Blog Tour.  And you can purchase your own copy of Let's Learn about the Lord's Prayer.  Read more about this book and the author below.

 More about Let's Learn about the Lord's Prayer (David C. Cook, September 2015)
In this first book of the HeartSmart series, preschoolers are invited on a playdate with Emma.  Together they learn the Lord's Prayer and practice "teaching" it to Emma's favorite teddy bear.

Introducing HeartSmart, a Scripture memory series designed to create opportunities for children to fill their heart with God's Word.  HeartSmart combines key Scriptures with songs, giving parents a spiritual formation path for building a strong foundation of faith.

The entire Lord's Prayer is included, along with a custom song (free download with access code.

Catherine DeVries

More about the author
Catherine DeVries has written twenty books for children, including the bestselling The Adventure Bible Storybook.  As associate publisher of Children's Resources at David C Cook, she leads product development for The Action Bible collection, which has sold over a million copies.  Catherine lives with her husband, their three children, and their big furry dog in the Colorado forest.

Disclosure:  Thanks so much to Litfuse Publicity Group for allowing me to be a part of this tour and providing me with this book to facilitate my review.  All opinions expressed are my own.

Renuzit #TBT Girls Night In Sweeps

I wanted to share with you an awesome Renuzit promotion!  Every week in the month of September, Renuzit will be hosting a Renuzit #TBT Girl's Night In Sweepstakes with all sorts of amazing prizes.  Check in with Renuzit's Facebook page every week to enter and for more information.

Yes, Renuzit is taking it back this month!  I am posting this a bit late but there is still time to get in on the fun.

September 24-30: One winner will win the ultimate #TBT Girls Night In package, including a FREE Renuzit Cotton Breeze cone, home essentials and 1 year of Hulu Plus.

So check out Renuzit's Facebook and enter to win while you are there and good luck! 

Disclosure:  Thanks so much to the Purex Insiders program for allowing me to be a part of this campaign and providing information about this sweepstakes!  As part of this campaign I am eligible to win prizes. 

A Bathroom Bites The Dust

Well, our bathroom is completely destroyed!  I mean gutted - no toilet, no sink, no floor, no tub, no nothing really.  And it all started with a faucet.  We decided to replace the faucet in the kid's bathroom, which is also our guest bathroom.  Our home has two bathrooms and we make it work.  We picked out the faucet and it should have been fairly easy but no.  There were stains on the old counter top that were bigger than the new faucet knobs, it just looked bad.  So we thought, ok - let's take out the counter top.  Then that led to removing the ridiculously old floor and then the toilet, and then the tub - basically everything!  Honestly, I am kind of happy it happened.  I have always disliked that floor and the tub/shower didn't work quite right, the plumbing needs to be fixed. 

 We removed the cabinet and counter.

Then decided to go for the floor.

I thought the floor was already bad but take a look at the other layer of floor below, yikes!

 This is what was under the tile above the bathtub.

 The toilet is gone.

 Removing the bathtub was a bit harder because it was all one piece.

No more tub!

 This is a great opportunity to fix up all the things that need to be done and I know it is going to be awesome in the end.  So, it you come over and see our out of order sign, IT'S REAL!  If anyone want to sponsor a bathroom redo, please let me know :).  This project will probably take us a while.  And I would love to hear suggestions on storage ideas for large families with small bathrooms.  We just might implement one of your suggestions.

The Happy Christian & Giveaway

You guys know I love to read!  I have been in my bookclub for over 9 years now and I sometimes wonder how many books I have read through my club and blogging.  I know it's a lot!  I just finished reading The Happy Christian (Ten Ways to be a Joyful Believer in a Gloomy World) by David Murray.  This book is broken down into ten chapters along with an introduction and conclusion.  The chapter topics are Happy Facts, Happy Media, Happy Salvation, Happy Church, Happy Future, Happy World, Happy Praise, Happy Giving, Happy Work, and Happy Differences - you see the theme, HAPPY!

 E and I enjoying the birds.

It is amazing to realize how much of an impact negative thoughts, feelings, actions, words, relationships, etc. have in our lives.  And just as amazing in reverse, how much of an impact positive (happy) thoughts, feelings, actions, words, relationships have in our lives.  As believers we have the ultimate weapon to combat lies and negativity in our lives, we have the Bible - full of wisdom and truth.  I am still learning how to carry my sword and I have complete faith and confidence that I will get there.  I love that this book leads me in the right direction.

Our small group (weekly Bible group) is made up of families from various local churches.  I have really enjoyed this aspect of our group.  In his book, Murray talks about the advantage of Biblical diversity and how every encounter with diversity doesn't have to be a threat or negative experience.  I liked this perspective.

More About This Book
In The Happy Christian, professor and pastor David Murray blends the best of modern science and psychology with the timeless truths of Scripture to create a solid, credible guide to positivity. The author of the acclaimed Christians Get Depressed Too, Murray exposes modern negativity’s insidious roots and presents ten perspective-changing ways to remain optimistic in a world that keeps trying to drag us down.

Even though hopelessness and negativity has invaded much of culture, including the church, Christians have resources to live differently. The Happy Christian invites readers to shed negativity and become counter cultural missionaries by demonstrating the positive power of the gospel in their lives.  Be sure to check out David Murray's blog.

I love the quote in the video below by Maurice Roberts, "This book is good medicine for sad saints."



Ready for a Giveaway?  Two readers will win their very own copies of The Happy Christian thanks to Family Christian.  Just enter below and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Disclosure: I am proud to be a Family Christian Blogger and Affiliate.  I was provided with my own copy of The Happy Christian to facilitate my review.  All opinions expressed are my own.

Bible Journaling Challenge and My Bible Journaling Pages

For the last month I have been taking part in a Bible Journaling Challenge.  Actually, I have enjoyed it so much I am continuing this journey.  I have had so much fun drawing and writing out God's word.  It makes me happy!  I wanted to share a few of my pages with you and invite you to start your own Bible Journaling Journey.

Check out my awesome Journaling Bible and Bible Journaling pen set that I picked up at Family Christian.

 I had a lot of fun with this page.

Here are a few of my favorite pages so far.

Starting at the beginning...

I loved adding more.

And here you can see I added a few more touches.

There really is no right or wrong way to Bible Journal.  I read the pages and see what sticks out to me or what I think God is saying and then I just start drawing and writing.  I love that no one's Journal Bible is going to be the same.

I haven't decided if I am going to keep this page simple or add more.

Now, I will walk you through a page.  My Bible Journaling pen set came with this awesome ruler that has the books of the Bible listed on the front.

I am about to journal Psalm 127:3-5.

I used the ruler to create lines.

Then I made the lines into arrows.

Here you see the finished arrows.

Then I added the words.

 And extra arrows - I wanted there to be six arrows as we have six children.

And that's pretty much all there is to it.  What do you think?  Have you ever Bible journaled?