Thankful Thursday

Join us today for Thankful Thursday at Women Taking a Stand.

Today I am thankful for....
~ my husband.  He is just wonderful and I'm thankful for our love and friendship and how he makes me smile (even those times when I feel like I don't want to smile!).

~ my son sharing stories from school where he showed self-control in a situation.  I was glad he made a good choice! 

~  suppers that turn out tasting like my Mom's always make me smile!  This week I made chicken fried steak and it looked and tasted like hers.  Then last night we had chicken and rice.  I've made it often and it is always a little something missing.  Yesterday it was just right! 

~ the rain as well as the sunshine after the rain.

~ having medical insurance.  When I look at the benefits statements and see the costs of medication, doctor visits, and tests, I'm thankful we just have to pay the copay.

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful." Colossians 3:15

Also, I'd like to invite you to read my review that was posted yesterday on the book Six Ways to Keep the "Good" in your Boy by Dannah Gresh if you have boys!   EXCELLENT book!

Have a day of blessings!

Great book for parents of boys!

I am so excited to share a book with my readers today.  If you are a parent of a young boy, I highly recommend this book to you.  It is called Six Ways to Keep the "Good" in Your Boy  by Dannah Gresh.  She has written other books, including Six Ways to Keep the "Little" in Your Girl.  Visit her website here.

From the publisher:  When bestselling author Dannah Gresh was body-slammed by her 12-year-old son, she was hit with reality: raising a boy is a whole new ballgame!

A boy's relationship with his mom during the formative age between 8 and 12 is vital to his future well-being. So how can moms teach sons to be honest, confident, and respectful when the world and situations encourage them to make bad decisions and grow up too fast?

Dannah's practical experience and research, along with advice from her husband, Bob Gresh, provide a mom with six proactive ways to help her son:

• honor his body in a healthy way
• get outside to play unplugged
• live out his faith

My thoughts: 
This is a book that parents need to read as their sons are moving from little boy to teenager.  It was very insightful and eye-opening to me as a Mom of a 7 year old boy. It showed me things I can do to help my son as he grows. 

Part one of the book is "Becoming a Connecting Mom."  It includes The Connection IQ Quiz to see how well you are currently doing at connecting with your son.  Part two of the book is the six ways to keep the "good" in your boy. 

I think the message of this book is one that Mom's need to read.  Society is telling our boys one message about how to live and how to be a man.  Does that message match up at all with what we want our boys to grow up to become?   We need to educate ourselves as Mom's and make sure we are ready to help our sons navigate through the challenges of the teen years. 

Before each chapter she includes a quote from a Mom related to the chapter's subject material.  These were helpful to me to read the thoughts, struggles, and ideas of other Mom's of boys.  I like the extra relevant resources (like websites or other books) included in the margins of the pages to provide further help. 

I hope you will read this book for yourself and share it with others.  I really cannot say how wonderful and helpful this book has been for me. 

Thank you to Christianne with Harvest House Publishers for sending me a copy of this book for my honest review.

Have a day of blessings!

Song: "Already There"

I have another song by "Casting Crowns" for you today called "Already There."  I loved the lyrics the first time I heard them and could relate to so much of what is said in this song from our move last year.  I like the line of imagining looking back on life someday and seeing how all the pieces fit together. 

We have some "unknowns" right now.  It is comforting to know God already knows the answers.   

Have a day of blessings!

Thankful Thursday

Welcome to Thankful Thursday!  We are meeting at Women Taking a Stand this month.  It has been a quick week for us because Monday both of my boys were home for the holiday.  The week has been busy and fast.  We have enjoyed the sunshine in the afternoons after chilly mornings. 

Today I am thankful for...

~  my husband making waffles for me.  I had recently said waffles sounded so good.  Sunday morning he got up and surprised me with a plate of waffles.  They were so yummy! 

~ my little boy's silliness!  He makes us laugh all the time with the cute things he says and does.  I like to see how his mind works with the things he tells us!  And I love to hear his sweet laugh when he is being silly.
~I shared here about the miracle we saw with Mrs. Pat.  I am excited to share that she was able to go home this week!  This is an answer to many prayers.  God is so good! 

~ the sunny days!  We have not had too many cold days this winter.  Lately we've had a lot of sunshine and temperatures in the 60s and 70s.  Very nice!!

~ having so many appliances that make life easier. 

Have a day of blessings!

Review: The Accidental Bride

I would like to share with you a book I recently finished called The Accidental Bride by Denise Hunter. 

Shay Brandenberger has lived a hard life.  She wants something different for her own daughter, Olivia,   but she has a difficult time making ends meet as a single mom.  She's fearful of losing her family's ranch, a ranch that has been in the family for three generations.  Shay is asked to play the bride in her town's Founder's Day re-enactment.  She doesn't realize until she walks down the aisle that the group is Travis McCoy, her old high school sweetheart who left her at the altar years ago.  Shay makes it through the ceremony and thinks it will all be forgotten until she finds out that, due to a mistake by the preacher, the pretend ceremony was actually real. She is now married to Travis. 

This was a cute book and easy to read.  I enjoyed reading it, like the characters, and look forward to more books from this author.  As I was reading, characters seemed familliar to me.  I realized that this book is in the Big Sky Romance series.  I have previously read A Cowboy's Touch and reviewed it here. 

One part that has stuck with me after reading this book is how Shay was always worried about what others thought of her.  Her friend reminded her of a verse from Galatians 1:10--"Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ."  This was a great reminder for me personally as I think of what I do and why I do it.

This book was provided to me for my honest review by Audra Jennings and the B & B Media Group.  Thank you.

Have a day of blessings!

Song: "Courageous"

Today the movie "Courageous" releases on DVD.  We went to Lifeway and purchased a "pre buy" ticket and will pick up our copy this week sometime.  My husband and I saw it at the theater before Thanksgiving.  What a great movie!  Have you seen it?  If not you really should rent it or buy it.  It has a great message with so many lessons in it.  We are in a war here and need to be courageous. 

I hope you enjoy this Casting Crowns song called "Courageous."  When we saw them in concert in December, this was the first song they sang. 

Have a day of blessings!

A-Z Memory Verse Challenge

Here is the "B" verse for the A-Z Memory Verse Challenge.  You can still join in if you'd like!  Click on the link above to sign up. 
B - Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved... Acts 16:31
Have a day of blessings!