Wow!   It's December.  The last month of 2008...time goes by so quickly! 

    Growing in Grace Magazine has published its eleventh issue!  I think the template is really pretty.  In fact, it's snowing at Growing in Grace!  Yippee! 

    Unbelievably, it will soon be CHRISTmas!  Let's not forget why we celebrate this holiday...it's because Jesus came to earth, died on the cross, and rose again so that we could be saved!  GGM contributors got the chance to express what it means to them that Jesus came to earth to die for our sins in the article: In Rememberance of Him.

This is my review for the book, Boomtown Chang’s Famous Fireworks Factory (Book One) by Nowen N. Particular (for product info., you can go to http://www.thomasnelson.com/consumer/product_detail.asp?sku=1400313457.)

Boomtown is a humorous, tall tale, adventure book for kids. It all starts with the Button family arriving in Boomtown. They have many outrageous adventures. The people of Boomtown are eccentric to say the least. They love blowing stuff up...you will learn about all kinds of crazy explosives such as hen grenades, exploding elves, and lots more. And yet, the people of Boomtown are very nice and welcoming. Once moved in, the Button family come into contact with surprise after surprise. You would not believe all the different inventions they learn about. Soon, a mystery surfaces. Things begin disappearing. What’s going on? The book sounds pretty good, does it not? However, there were some things I did not like about the book. In one chapter, I thought they were disrespectful toward the Holy Spirit. I also did not appreciate them trying to make something seem like a "curse". Finally, the kids are disobedient, the wife is not supportive, and both the kids and wife are demanding and inconsiderate. They are not what you would call good role models. They make it a joke that the kids get into so much trouble and the kids do not seem to get punished for it! I personally would not pay money for this book. Also, because of all these things, I would not recommend it to others.

This is my review for the book, The Moon Shines Down by Margaret Wise Brown, Illustrated by Linda Bleck (for product info., you can go to http://www.thomasnelson.com/consumer/product_detail.asp?sku=140031299X). 

The Moon Shines Down is being published for the first time ever after being found deserted in a trunk!  It was written by Margaret Wise Brown, the author of Goodnight Moon; my mom read that book to me many times when I was little kid.  It is funny that both books had to do with the moon :).  Laura Minchew finished the incomplete manuscript.  This book is a cute story for children.  The illustrations are very bright and colorful.  The story is told in poetic form and it is told from the point of view of a little koala.  The koala travels from the Australian outback to China to England to Mexico and onto other countries.  I am sure the pictures of children and scenery from around the world will be appealing to children.  The "theme" of the book is that the moon shines on everyone in the world...on children everywhere.  It reminds me of a Bible verse.  "He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." Matthew 5:45  Do I like the book?  Yes and no.  I think the illustrations were nice and as I said, the story was cute but it is for young children and does not interest me very much.  A verse from the book that sums this review up well is, "God Bless the Moon And God Bless me." 

I am a book review blogger for Thomas Nelson Publishers.  For more information, you can go to their website: http://www.thomasnelson.com/consumer/.

This is my review for the book Billy The Untold Story of a Young Billy Graham and the Test of Faith that Almost Changed Everything by William Paul McKay and Ken Abraham (for product info., you can go here: http://www.thomasnelson.com/consumer/product_detail.asp?sku=0849920671):

If I were to describe the book with one word, it would be: Interesting! Before reading it, I was somewhat worried that this book would be a boring biography. But it wasn't! There is quite a bit of dialogue which keeps it entertaining. I finished it in four days; it’s a 272 page book! There was a lot of information about Billy Graham that I had never known. Its main "topic" or "theme" is the fact that when Charles (Chuck) Templeton and Billy Graham, who were both young evangelists and very good friends, struggled with doubts/a test of faith, one of them became an agnostic and the other continued to be an effective evangelist. It also shares the life of Billy Graham from his days as a young man on a dairy farm, to a college student, and on to an evangelist. He was told many times that he would not amount to anything great, that he was a failure, and that he did not have the talent necessary to preach. God gave him every ability he needed. It also shows how so many decisions led up to what he was eventually able to do. He could have become a farmer or a military chaplain. Instead, he became an evangelist.

~Alyssa 

Note: Of course, everything he was able to do was because of God, not because of him. All the thousands that came to hear his preaching and received Jesus into their hearts...Billy Graham did not have the power to make them come or to save them. God did. God is the One Who changes hearts and Who saves.

The theme for this month's issue of Growing in Grace Magazine is gentleness.  We should all do our best to be gentle for it is pleasing to God.  Being gentle does not mean being weak.  You can be strong and gentle at the same time; in fact, it often takes strength to be gentle.  "Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart...And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient." II Timothy 2:22,24

The Simple Woman's Daybook is a type of weekly journal you can participate in. Mrs. Peggy at http://thesimplewoman.blogspot.com/ started it.

For today...October 27, 2008

Outside My Window...The sun is shining on rocks.

I am thinking...about Jamestown and how it is so wrongly interpreted nowadays.

I am thankful for...God's mercy and grace

From the kitchen...Nothing is happening right now.

I am wearing...A cream dress with floral print that is somewhat pioneer looking

I am creating...Novels: I started my first one last year; you can read the nutshell summary (subject to change) here. I then started two different novels both of which failed. Now, I am writing another novel and will be starting another one (my fifth) very soon.

I am going...to participate in a challange to write a novel in one month (November)...you can learn more at http://ywp.nanowrimo.org.

I am reading...Morning Star of the Reformation by Andy Thomson

I am hoping...Christians do not celebrate halloween or mislead their children with santa claus or the Easter bunny or the tooth fairy, etc.

I am hearing...My mom and brother talking

Around the house...Orange bean bags (my brother used them for an obstacle course)

One of my favorite things...Reading a wonderful, God-honoring book/book series...like the Life of Faith series! (I hear the orginal books are even better but I've only read one of them so I can't say.)

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: Start my novel this weekend, continue my other writing (including a research paper on glaucoma), celebrate Reformation Day...which is October 31st...let's celebrate Reformation Day and remember the God fearing reformers instead of halloween (an evil holiday), etc.  To read more about the true orgins of halloween, please go here:

http://heartofthematteronline.com/2008/10/23/halloween-for-christians/

http://www.agministries.org/2008/10/hell-oween.html  

A very exciting thing is happening in Colorado.  This November, the people of Colorado will have the opportunity to define an unborn baby as a person from the time of conception!  If you live in Colorado, vote YES on 48! 

Their website address is http://www.coloradoforequalrights.com .  You can see a five minute video about it.

Even if you don't live in Colorado (I don't!), I encourage you to check it out!  Getting it on the ballot was a huge accomplishment.  Please pray for this to succeed.  You can read the official ballot text here: http://www.coloradoforequalrights.com/files/initiativetext.pdf

Please tell people you know about this!  I hope others will be motivated to get a personhood amendment on next November's ballot in their state!

The October issue of Growing in Grace Magazine  is here!  The young lady on the cover is Miss Amanda who is a contributor; you can read more about her in the GGM interview.

My Grandma really loves all her grandchildren.  She prays for all of us.  When I had my own newsletter which I sent to my relatives, Grandma was a loyal supporter. She encourages us in our goals.

My Grandma is very kind and generous.  She let us stay at her house for almost three weeks after our house was sold and we were waiting to get into our new home!  Thank you, Grandma, for everything!

Growing in Grace's August issue is out!  One of our contributors was interviewed-can you guess who she is? 

I wasn't able to post about it until now because we're just moving into our new home.  Today is the first day we have internet access. 

There is a Digi-Scrap contest at Growing in Grace Magazine!  It ends August 15th.  Please click on the button for details.

It's summer and time is often wasted in these months since official "school" is out for most.  But that doesn't mean you should stop learning or using your time wisely. 

Scheduling is helping me to keep on track and get more things done.  You can make a simple weekly or daily schedule for yourself; it can be as structured or flexible as you want. 

Is there something you've wanted to learn?  Do you have a project you started but didn't finish?  Now's the time to do all the things you didn't have time for during the school year! 

Some ideas:

First and foremost, I encourage you to spend time praying, reading the Bible, and hiding God's Word in your heart.

Cooking--A useful skill which can be fun too.  (Why not surprise your parents with a special dinner?  I'm sure they'd appreciate it!)

Homemaking-Learn a new skill that will help you be a better keeper at home. 

Playing an instrument--If you already do, great!  Continue practicing and improving your skills.  If you don't, perhaps you can teach yourself how to play an instrument this summer.

Drawing--BreezyTulip has started The Drawing Blog which has art lessons!

Non-fiction writing--I personally have not liked non-fiction writing (i.e. essays).  Therefore, I haven't done it much.  (I focused mainly on fiction/historical fiction writing.)  However, it's important to be able to clearly express your beliefs and ideas through writing.  So I encourage you to practice writing clear and concise essays this summer.

Story/Novel/Fiction writing--Mrs. Marlow's Writing Workshop is great!  It's fun and will improve your writing skills.

American Sign Language (ASL)--Sisterlisa is teaching sign language at Apples of Gold Ministries.

Please comment and share your thoughts.  Let me know your ideas and what you like to do during the summer. 

Growing in Grace's  July issue is out!  Once again, GGM has a great new template!  I encourage you to go take a look (not just at the template but at the articles too :)).

HSB Backyard is giving away a t-shirt from The Homeschool Boutique! 

You must be 17 or younger to enter.  All the rules are listed in the Homeschool Boutique Contest! post on HSB Backyard.

Note: You must be logged into HSB to be able to access HSB Backyard.