The Hour that Matters Most

I recently read "The Hour that Matters Most" by Les & Leslie Parrott with Stephanie Allen & Tin Kuna. I have read several books by the Parrotts and was excited to delve into what they considered the importance of dinnertime. Staggering statistics reveal that the idea of a family eating together at the dinner table on a regular basis is quickly becoming a dying concept.
Recently married, I have been on both sides of this issue. Growing up, we always ate what was the quickest to prepare, frequently fast food, in front of the t.v. The only time I really remember eating at our dining table was when we had guests over or it was an important holiday, such as thanksgiving. When my husband and I married, we decided that we would not allow ourselves to become the typical American family today. We wanted to cherish our time together by having quality conversations and creating lasting memories with our children. We promised to always eat together at the table, except by rare occasions something special was occurring. We've loved it and really enjoyed it. With a young child, and another on the way, I've become less proficient though at creating wholesome, well-planned meals, which why I was very excited to read this book.
One of the chapters is about freeze and fix-it meals, something I have long wanted to do with my family. It motivated and encouraged me to start planning meals ahead, so when things get crazy, my family isn't eating frozen prepacked meals made by a company, but rather something good I created.
This book is great, although I defiantly think it would be better for someone with older kids. I felt as if I couldn't relate to many of the chapters because my daughter is so young: "cultivating deeper values," "how to listen so your kids talk," "curbing conflict at the table".
Stephanie Allen and Tina Kuna, sub authors, own a prepare and freeze it company, "Dream Dinners" and I felt throughout some of the book their company was pushed forward a little too much. They did include some recipes in this book, but I think I would be more willing to share this book with others had there been more. Overall this is a great book for a working mom who is desiring to have home-cooked, nutritious meals but just needs a little motivation and encouragement.

The Hour that Matters Most

I recently read "The Hour that Matters Most" by Les & Leslie Parrott with Stephanie Allen & Tin Kuna. I have read several books by the Parrotts and was excited to delve into what they considered the importance of dinnertime. Staggering statistics reveal that the idea of a family eating together at the dinner table on a regular basis is quickly becoming a dying concept.
Recently married, I have been on both sides of this issue. Growing up, we always ate what was the quickest to prepare, frequently fast food, in front of the t.v. The only time I really remember eating at our dining table was when we had guests over or it was an important holiday, such as thanksgiving. When my husband and I married, we decided that we would not allow ourselves to become the typical American family today. We wanted to cherish our time together by having quality conversations and creating lasting memories with our children. We promised to always eat together at the table, except by rare occasions something special was occurring. We've loved it and really enjoyed it. With a young child, and another on the way, I've become less proficient though at creating wholesome, well-planned meals, which why I was very excited to read this book.
One of the chapters is about freeze and fix-it meals, something I have long wanted to do with my family. It motivated and encouraged me to start planning meals ahead, so when things get crazy, my family isn't eating frozen prepacked meals made by a company, but rather something good I created.
This book is great, although I defiantly think it would be better for someone with older kids. I felt as if I couldn't relate to many of the chapters because my daughter is so young: "cultivating deeper values," "how to listen so your kids talk," "curbing conflict at the table".
Stephanie Allen and Tina Kuna, sub authors, own a prepare and freeze it company, "Dream Dinners" and I felt throughout some of the book their company was pushed forward a little too much. They did include some recipes in this book, but I think I would be more willing to share this book with others had there been more. Overall this is a great book for a working mom who is desiring to have home-cooked, nutritious meals but just needs a little motivation and encouragement.

So Why Does Church Matter?

In his book, "Why Church Matters," Joshua Harris outlines the absolute importance of being a member of a local church body, and not just being a member, but rather being an active participant.
We live in a consumer society, which translates to a "I need this... Can't live without this... What can this do for me?" attitude, which is not at all how Christ intended His bride to be. He is our groom and we are united with Him through the CHURCH. Christ calls the we CHURCH his bride, and I think it is really important to remember that. This is foundation to Joshua Harris' book. Also included in this book are discussions about why we need the local church. This life is not about us, and this chapter will allow us to see the importance of the church is a global and local way.
Another great aspect of this book are the 10 things that matter most when choosing a church. As someone who moves frequently because of employment, this is a great tool to go back and reference when choosing a new local church to place membership.
I really enjoy reading Joshua Harris' books, and was quite excited to see that he had come out with a new book. As I was reading this book though, it sounded really familiar. I went and looked at another book of his that I had "Stop Dating the Church," and realized it is the exact same book, just a new name and different cover. If you have already read this book of  Harris', you don't need to purchase this one. I would highly recommend this book to all Christians though. I even went through "Stop Dating the Church" with a prior church and really enjoyed it. Great book! Biblical advice!

Chelsea Smith visits Tennessee!

Well, I have been meaning to write this post for a couple of weeks now... Every time I sit down to write about my wonderful week with Chelsea, I seem to get distracted, but now I will set aside everything else that needs to be done to tell you about my wonderful time with my sweet friend!
Chelsea came to visit us the week after my parents left. Other than the few couple of hours I saw her during our trip through Texas in June, I believe the last time I really spent time with her was before our wedding. Let me just say that was way too long!
During her week here, we went on a tour of a historical mansion here in Clarksville (properly called the Smith mansion), talked, watched great movies, walked some beautiful trails, played with Miss Abi, talked, taught children's church on Wednesday night, talked some more, went hiking at the local caves, talked even more, and just had an overall great week together!
Chelsea is such a wonderful friend and I am so blessed to have her as a part of my life! She is so dear to my life, and I am incredibly blessed to know her! I miss her greatly and can't wait until we get to see each other again!!
Here are a couple of pictures from her time here:

This picture was taken at the airport right before Chelsea left for Texas. We realized that we had not taken one picture together all week...

This is upstairs in the Smith mansion. I thought it was neat to learn what life was like 200 years ago. No indoor bathrooms, detached kitchen, and slave quarters were all a part of their everyday life. 

Awesome DVD series!

When I requested to review Desiring God, I believed that I would be receiving the text, but was pleasantly surprised when I received a 10 series instead. My husband and I both love it! My husband has read the book, I have not, but I have not had any difficultly at all understanding the concepts given by John Piper, the main point being "that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him." This DVD does not have to be used along side the book "Desiring God," although I do believe it would be beneficial and that the reader would attain additional knowledge.

I believe that this DVD was recorded during a seminar given by John Piper. It is split into 10 manageable segments, typically no longer than 25 minutes. This would be an excellent resource for any small group going through this text, as well as the individual who would like a little more insight. I am a more visual person, and therefore seeing and hearing John Piper was probably the best way for me to understand this concept. I encourage you to look into this DVD series if you are reading the book or if you simply want more information about how to glorify God in your daily life!

My First Hands on Bible

I recently received "My First Hands on Bible" from Thomas Nelson. I was really excited about this bible and using it with my daughter. (While she is only 5 months old, I believe she is never too young to hear the truth of scripture.) I know that there is a "Hands on Bible" that is directed for elementary school students, and therefore, I thought this book would be for much younger children. The activities in this bible though are more clearly designed for children aged 3+, and I would most likely use this book with a preschool child. They have to be able to use some higher thinking to complete the activities after each chapter (there are 3 activities for each story/chapter of the bible included). I really did appreciate the way this particular bible is exact scripture, not a paraphrased rendition. This bible does an excellent job of keeping each story to a few short verses in order to keep the child's attention. The pictures are simple and go along well with the text.  I am currently babysitting a little boy (4 years old) and I asked him if he would want this book and his response was "Well, I already have a bible, but if I didn't I would want this one." Cute. I would recommend this book to teachers and parents of preschoolers. It is definitely a book that allows you to explore the Bible together.

Beautiful Children's Book!

I loved this book from the moment it arrived in the mail! "This Little Prayer of Mine" written by Anthony DeStefano is beautifully illustrated children's book. This bedtime prayer is offered up to God by a child. This child's prayer includes many things that young children typically pray for: to be brave and strong, to be happy when sad, guidance in choosing the correct path, etc. The prayer is written in poetic form and is read very smoothly and easily. My favorite thing about this book though is the illustrations hands down!! They are absolutely breathtaking. Each one beautifully depicts a particular section in the prayer! I really enjoyed reading this book with my daughter and look forward to reading it to her again soon! I would highly recommend this book to all parents!