6/14/2014 0 Comments Sometimes You Just Need A DaddyThis is a poem I wrote on April the 8th 2013, the day I got my wisdom teeth removed. Sometimes you just need a daddy Who will take a day off from work to take you to your oral surgery even though he needs the work Sometimes you just need a daddy Who brings you a blanket for the ride even thought you already have a jacket Sometimes you just need a daddy To lean on and draw strength from Sometimes you just need a daddy To talk to about the mural on the wall in the waiting room to keep you mind off what is to come Sometimes you just need a daddy Who will hold you purse and jewelry because you can't have them during the surgery and doesn't care one iota about his manly pride Sometimes you just need a daddy To remind you that G-d is in watching over you and taking care of you the whole time Sometimes you just need a daddy To hold your hand until the last moment Sometimes you just need a daddy Who will pray for you fervently during the surgery Sometimes you Just need a daddy To open the car door for you and treat you like a princess Sometimes you just need a daddy Who will play the radio the whole ride back because it soothes you Sometimes you just need a daddy Who will make you laugh and smile despite the pain Sometimes you just need a daddy To care for you until your Mama gets home Sometimes you just need a daddy when only a daddy will do Sometimes you just need a Daddy Who understands why you don't want to talk and loves you anyway Sometimes you just need a Daddy Who causes flowers petals to fall on the truck you're riding in because HE knows just what to do to make you feel like a princess Sometimes you just need a Daddy Who is the only ONE who can give you peace through one of the scariest moments of your life Sometimes you just need a Daddy Who takes your hand into HIS when your earthly father has to let go Sometimes you just need a Daddy Who provides you with a doctor and nurses who know exactly how to take care of you Sometimes you just need a Daddy Who pays for a surgery you didn't want but desperately needed Sometimes you just need a Daddy Who give you sleep quickly and gently Sometimes you just need a Daddy Who takes the pain away Sometimes you just need a Daddy Who shows you how much HE loves you through the wonderful people HE placed in your life to pray for you in your weakest moment Sometimes you just need a Daddy Who just KNOWS We all need a daddy, each and everyone of us. G-d bless the brave men who willingly take up this role and fulfill their duty as daddies. And G-d bless HIMSELF, The ultimate Daddy. Happy Father's Day Deddy! Thank you for always loving, protecting, guiding and being there for me. I am blessed beyond measure because of you!
Love Your Sweetheart, Susan
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Hello again dear friends! It's me your friendly neighborhood girl who is a book reviewer by day and a sewing ninja by night! They should really put that on a t-shirt! If they do, would someone buy it for me? 'Cuz I don't want to spend my own money.
Anywho, today I'm going to be reviewing a romance novel entitled Until I Found You by Victoria Bylin. The story is about a woman named Kate whose grandmother just had a stroke. Kate moves in with her grandmother to help until she gets back on her feet. It's also about a born-again-christian named Nick who is trying to live better than his former wild lifestyle. While Kate is in the process of moving in with her grandmother she has a car wreck where Nick saves her life. While the two are immediately drawn to each other there is a slight problem. Nick has vowed not to date for a whole year and he is in his sixth month when they meet each other. The part about one of the characters vowing not to date for a year then, coincidentally, meeting a beautiful young lady he likes is what drew me to this book in the first place. From a young age I always understood that I was never going to date a guy until I knew that The LORD wanted me to and I was ready for marriage; which included not dating in high school. So I was curious to see how this book turned out! Either it was going to be great or the author was going to totally ruin it! Well... I wouldn't say the book was totally ruined, but there was a element that I wish was handled differently. Nick tells Kate up front that he isn't going to date for a whole year so in order for them to spend time together they can't be alone unless it's business related. At first they handled it pretty well. Nick was careful not to end up alone with Kate and if he did it was strictly for business purposes only (or so he told himself). They tried to simply be friends but pretty soon most of that got flushed down the toilet. They began holding hands, going out to eat, and doing some quote "friendly" kissing (and no, it was never on the cheek). I have some guy friends whom I trust and know that I can count on them in the way Kate knows she can rely on Nick. But unlike Kate and Nick, you will never catch us holding hands or kissing, even on the cheek. A friendly slap on the back is about as far as we would go and even then you'd be lucky to catch that! Personally, I think that you must be very careful with what you do physically with someone of the opposite gender, whether it be a potential mate or simply a friend. We humans have these things called hormones that can quickly get out of control so we must be careful because once we open ourselves up to another person like that there is no going back and it can be very hard to not open up ourselves any more. As seen in the book, after Nick and Kate have their "first kiss", they begin having trouble keeping Nick's vow. In the author's defense however, the characters never "go all the way" with each other. She several times places them in situations where we see them struggle with sexual temptations, but they never follow through with their desires. I just think that they shouldn't have started being "physical", even in little ways in the first place. While the book is categorized as a "romance" novel, the story in not completely about Nick and Kate's relationship, though that is a main plot line. The author explores many issues such as why we do what we do, aging, living with regret, and trusting in G-d. A huge part of the story is about Nick and Kate's personal walks with G-d and their struggles to trust HIM even when HE seems silent. I felt I could relate to their struggles, especially Kate's. She likes to have everything under control and is afraid of being left alone to face life's challenges. Her constant battle with herself closely mirrors my own. I've never been able to relate to a character in a book before quite like this. Mrs. Bylin's story seemed so real that it could have been true! The story was beautifully told and excellently written! From the relatable characters to the symbolisms that appear throughout the book to wrap the ending up in a nice little bow, Mrs. Victoria Bylin is truly a rare find author! I will definitely be reading some of her other novels for years to come! Until I Found You is rewarded with a 4 out of 5 rating from me (see sidebar for rating scale). The ONLY reason it does not receive a 5 is because of the physical issue mentioned above. This is a book that I will definitely re-read over and over again and I'm sure you will too! Love, Susan P.S. I was given Victoria Bylin's Until I Found You by Bethany House Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion. WARNING: If you have not read Anne Elisabeth Stengl's previous books do not read Shadow Hand first. This series, Tales of Goldstone Wood, needs to be read in order for the greatest enjoyment. This review does contain minor "spoilers" so proceed with caution. "They say all the old stories--all the TRUE stories--are about blood. This simply is not so. All the true stories are about love. And blood. The two so often go hand in hand, they're difficult to separate, but it is important not to divide the one from the other, or the story becomes unbalanced and is no longer true. That is why this is a story about blood and love, and the many things that lie between." Thus begins Anne Elisabeth Stengl's Shadow Hand. A story with that dramatic of a beginning has to be good right? Well before I give you my thoughts, I want to tell you about how I first discovered Mrs. Stengl's work and The Tales of Goldstone Woods so you know where I'm coming from. This past winter I was at a local used bookstore looking for a few new books to read when my mom came up to where I was with Mrs. Stengl's first book Heartless. I wasn't that interested at first, after all, the cover looked really dark. But it was a good price so I decided to give it a shot. At first the book started out reeeeeeeeeaaaaalllllllly sloooooooowwwwww then about halfway through the dragon came in and everything changed.
I couldn't put the book down! IT WAS AWESOME!!!!!!! I would stay up late at night after everyone went to sleep and read and read. This book definitely had captivated me! Up until Heartless I never had a book make me cry. But during the climax of the story there was this one scene on a beach and it was raining and OH MAN IT WAS GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is how I started the series. So when Bethany House Publishers sent me an email asking if I wanted to review Mrs. Stengl's sixth book, Shadow Hand, I jumped at the opportunity! Shadow Hand picks up exactly where MoonBlood ends with Lionheart leaving to go reconcile with his father. He arrives on the day of his cousin's, Foxbrush (who will be king in his place), and Daylily's wedding. But before the wedding begins Daylily runs away into the Wilderlands hoping to vanish forever. Foxbrush, however, determined to prove himself, chases after Daylily into the Wood and back through time. The story goes back and forth between Foxbrush and Daylily until ultimately their stories collide. I really liked to idea of a going back in time plot line (yes I'm a Doctor Who fan). In her past books Mrs. Stengl has had her characters go from world to world (which sometimes gets confusing). This time the story mostly takes place in the same place, only in two different time frames (definitely a "timey whimey" type of book :). Characters that readers have grown to love, like Earin and Imraldera, play their part in this tale connecting the former books and story lines to this one. There were also some characters that when first introduced I didn't like, but as the story went along I grew to adore. Nidawi Everblooming for example. I will say I am a little disappointed with Mrs. Stengl's writing style. She has a bad habit of going reeeeeeaaaaalllllllly slow during the first half then jumping into all the action in the last part. Such was the case with Shadow Hand . The first part was really hard to get through. I understand that it was needed to explain and help develop characters, but in my opinion, the first part took too long. I really didn't get involved in the story until the second part after Foxbrush finds Daylily. (***HOWEVER, due to needing to get this review out in a timely fashion, I had to skip Starflower and Dragonwitch and move straight into Shadow Hand upon finishing Moonblood. It didn't really matter in the ability to follow the story. BUT, my mom had read those 2 books and did not find the first half of Shadow Hand as slow as I did. So, maybe it did affect my enjoyment in some way.) On that note, I felt that the relationship between Foxbrush and Daylily was down played. Yes the story was about their own personal developments as well as their love story, but you rarely ever see the two of them together until the climax. So you really didn't feel like you wanted them to end up together. If they did, great, but if not, oh well, it's still a great story. I'm not saying that the love part of the story should have been what the whole book was about but I think that it needed more attention than was given. The attraction between the characters was sweet and didn't involve any sexuality. There was kissing twice and the first one was pretty intense (it says the guy grabs the girl and kisses her hard) but that's as far as it goes. While sexuality wasn't a big issue, language was. Almost all the characters curse at some point in time. They don't use what we would consider "bad words", however they swear and curse by former heroes and villains from their country's past. But that's not the part that bothered me. What bothered me was the fact that while you would expect the antagonists to be the ones with the foul mouths it was the good guys that are constantly swearing. These are the servants of The Most High (GOD in the series) and here they are cursing and swearing every time they get frustrated! I had a hard time with this because I was raised under the "let your 'yes' be 'yes' and your 'no' be 'no'" mindset (which by the way came from the Bible in Matthew 5:36) and cursing and swearing, even by other peoples names, not necessarily GOD's, I still consider to be disrespectful and ungodly. As with her previous books, I had trouble understanding certain aspects of the story. For example, one of the characters is possessed by something that you assume to be a spirit (which is the "villain" of the story). It's not explained until right before the final battle what this thing really is. This character is also harboring a red wolf inside and, once again, it's hard to discern what the wolf represents. While Mrs. Stengl does an excellent job describing when the "thing", wolf, or the actual character is talking or taking over it's hard to imagine what each one represents until the very end which can get confusing at times. It is also hard to discern exactly what Foxbrush's motives are. Yes he is determined to save his homeland and Daylily but you wonder if it's because he is just trying to prove himself or if it is because he really does care about them. Overall, on a scale from 1-5, I would give Shadow Hand a 4 (see sidebar for rating scale.) The plot line was very good and I loved the characters but it just wasn't what I expected. After reading the first part of the prologue (see above) I expected it to turn out differently than it did. Don't get me wrong, the ending was wrapped up very nicely and I think it couldn't have turn out any better. But... ***SPOILER ALERT It should have been Daylily who kissed Foxbrush to wake him up not Lark! Can I get an amen?!?!?!!!!!!!! The author did use the moment when Daylily does (FINALLY!) kiss him to show her choosing him of her own free will. But still, she should have kissed him twice! Come on Anne! END OF SPOILER*** Also... ***SPOILER ALERT When it mentions that there is blood in this story, I expected it to be Foxbrush's, not innocent children's blood. But the scene at the end where Foxbrush gives his own two hands for Daylily's life was touching and I was very pleased with that. Sorry, I'm just one of those kind of gals that if the guy doesn't shed some kind of blood (or loses his hands in this case) for the girl he loves then it's not worth my time! Now everyone knows why I'm single! They told me to set my standards high! :) END OF SPOILER*** Shadow Hand will stay on my bookshelf and if ever I'm in the mood for a story about blood and love, I'll pull it back down and "Recall you now my ancient story!". Love, Susan P.S. I was given Anne Elisabeth Stengl's Shadow Hand by Bethany House Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion. 5/11/2014 2 Comments A Letter To My Best FriendDear Mama, I really don't know how to begin this letter. I know I have some things to talk about but now that I'm actually writing I can't seem to make my thoughts come together. But that's ok, because you're use to that right? You're always the one who gets to listen to me spill out all my problems and feelings and somehow make sense of it all. You're the only one in this family who understands what it's like being a girl (since it's only you and me). Because I am an only daughter, I've be able to have special privileges that most girls with sisters never get. I've been able to have a one-on-one relationship with you that I would have had to share if there was another female living in the house. Since you and I are the only two we look out for each other (you of course more than me!) I don't know what I would do with out you! You've taught me to be a godly lady (mostly through example), helped me sort through issues, prayed for me, incouraged me, laughed and cried with me. You've done so much for me and I have always taken you for granted. I always expected you to be there for me, for there to be a meal on the table three times a day, for my clothes to be clean and for you to slove every problem. Deep down I knew I shouldn't because I knew you job was hard, but I was selfish and just didn't know exactly how hard you worked. When you left to take care of Grandma for a week I thought the whole world was falling apart. You had always been the one who held everything together and now you were gone holding up someone else. I realized very quickly just how hard your life as a mother really is (and that was only being in charge of the cooking). You wake up everyday and serve others with rarely any time left for yourself and, once again, I take you for granted. So I'm writing this to tell you how sorry I am: I'm so sorry for every time you called me to the table and I ignored you. I'm sorry for every time I disrespected you. I'm sorry for every time you asked for my help and I didn't do what you asked. I'm sorry for every time I did help you but secretly thought you were being lazy or grumbled the whole time. Because you deserve better Mom. You deserve much more than you get from me and I'm sorry. I'm not going to say I'll change and from now on I'll be a better daughter for you and that I'll never treat you wrong again. Because if there's one thing I've learned about myself it's that often I promise to do things that I never do. I try to change my ways and it never works. I still remain that selfish girl who only thinks for herself. But.... I do promise to try to make a more contentious effort to see things from your prospective and not weight you down with all my little things that really aren't that important. I promise to come to the table immediately after you ask because I know you worked hard to prepare me a meal and coming to the table on time is better than an audible "thank you". I promise to treat you with more respect and love. And with The Holy Spirit's help, I'll keep those promises and (slowly) I will change. And when I miss up, (because I will) I know that you will still forgive me. You've done that my whole life, forgiven me, and shown me through that that I really can be forgiven by a Heavenly Father for so much more than not coming when I'm called. I still remember as a little girl you telling me that GOD loves me more than you love me. It was so hard to imagine and still to this day I have a hard time grasping the concept that someone loves me more than you do. Because, to me, you are the picture of love. Love that is given in abundance every day forgetting what has happened yesterday and focusing instead on today. I love you Mommy, I know I never say it much or enough times but I do. I think I'll add that to my list of improvements: telling you "I love you" every day, and "thank you". Because you deserve that. And I'll start right now. Mommy, Mama, Mum, Mummy, I love you. Thank you for all you've done for me. You'll always be my best friend. Love,
Susan P.S. One more thing. If there are any grammar mistakes or misspelled words I apologize. I wanted this to be a surprise so I didn't have you check it. If it really bothers you you can correct it later. Forgiveness right? :) (My flower everyone signed at my graduation party) One year ago today, I accomplished the first to-do item on my bucket list:
Graduate as a homeschooler from start to finish. Even though I have finished all my "schooling", I've never stopped learning. During this past year I learned many valuable life lessons; some of which I'm still learning today. So I thought in honor of my graduation "anniversary" I'd share a few of those lessons with y'all along with the three best pieces of advice given to me since then. Some are a little silly and some are very serious but all have helped shape me into the person I am today. Hopefully, you can learn from me and give yourself a little laugh! So without further ado, here they are in no particular order: Lessons I've Learned Since High School Graduation: -Life is going to start whether or not you're ready for it -Marriage is loving someone unconditionally for the rest of your life -If you're buying gas and you're paying in cash, you must go in and pay FIRST before you start pumping. Otherwise, you'll be standing there wondering why in the world nothing is coming out - Who the woman doctor is (courtesy of Mrs. Shelby H. Thanks for that one!) -How to hide money in your bra (I was so proud of myself when I figured that one out!) -What it feels like to have absolutely no control of the things happening around you -How to play nerf war -How to stop said nerf war without lifting a finger. Just scream your head off and someone will call an automatic time out 'cuz they think you're seriously hurt or something -That I can be over dramatic at times (see above) -What happens when you put diesel fuel in your car that isn't suppose to run on diesel -When someone tells you to shut up; listen to them. (There're probably trying to save you from embarrassing yourself) -What it feels like to lose someone you love -What it feels like when a piece of your heart is ripped from you and buried alongside that person -How to cook chicken -How to dry out sweet potatoes in the oven -How to calmly address this situation: one of your friends decides that it would be funny to drop an article of food down your blouse IN PUBLIC! (I'm looking at you Annie W.!) -How to be a bridesmaid (which may or may not involve helping the bride pee 10 minutes before the wedding) -How I handle emergency situations (It's a good thing to know, because if you're like me and don't handle them well, you need to make sure you're always with someone who does) -That I HATE cast iron! It wants to be babied and I feel like it never gets clean. So if I ever get married, please DON'T BUY ME ANYTHING CAST IRON! -That even when I mess up, I am surrounded by o-mazing friends and family who love me despite my flaws and a Heavenly Father who loves me even more than that! "Being old is cool! You can choose to not buy cigarettes or respect the elderly in an adult manner, and no one can stop you." -My friend Robert who graduated two years before me "Don't worry, you'll be fine. You will mess up, but if you do, there is always Sonic and Hardee's down the road." -My Mum before she left me in charge of the cooking for a whole week while she took care of my Grandma in Mississippi "Your attitude affects your altitude! Soar high in all you do. God will see you through." -Donna H., my 5th & 6th grade Sunday School teacher Love, Susan 4/18/2014 1 Comment Love is....I have the wonderful privilege of babysitting two 4 year old twin boys once a week. I always have a fun time with those two and sometimes, they like to do or say things that catch me off guard. Like yesterday for instance. We have this thing where we will tell each other "I love you" just on a whim, then usually end it by tickling each other. So yesterday I was at the sink getting them some water and the oldest of the two was watching me. Suddenly he goes:
"I love you Susan" I smile back and say "I love you too baby" "You wanta know how much more I love you?" "How much more do you love me?" "I love you more..." he grins "than PEANUT BUTTER SANDWICHES!" Yeah I know, peanut butter sandwiches. But to a four year old who's favorite hobby is eating, (and who loves him some peanut butter!) that's a big part of his world right there! So I smile catching his meaning and turning to face him I say: "Well I love you more than bologna sandwiches!" (bologna is his next favorite type of sandwich) He stops and stares at me wide eyed like "nobody can love ANYBODY more than bologna sandwiches!" Yep sometimes they can catch me off guard, but then again, so can I! I love you all more than hot-dogs! Susan 3/31/2014 0 Comments Purim 2014This month (March) is the Jewish festival of Purim, a holiday remembering how GOD used Esther to save the Jewish race from being totally massacred in Persia (see the book of Esther in The Bible). Our Bible Study Group, (The Branch) hosted a party a couple of Sunday ago to celebrate. Traditionally, Purim is celebrated with a masquerade party as a reminder that Esther's "Jewishness" was hidden from the royal court and the fact that GOD is never mentioned in the book of Esther (but His power is clearly evident!). So that's exactly what we did (I may or may not have stood up and declared that, as a costumer, I never get a chance to wear any of my costumes but once. So we were dressing up and that was that!). Mama and Daddy went as Daddy's grandparents on his dad's side (my great-grandparents). Daddy's grandfather served in World War II in the Army Air Force. So Daddy wore a uniform and Mama based her costume off of a picture of great Granny we have in our home. Christopher and I went as two blue-bellied rollers (a type of bird from Africa). Christopher told me if I found something that wasn't too girly he would try to match me. I knew I wanted to wear my Titanic era dress so Mama looked up and found these birds and guess what? They have the EXACT same colors that are in my dress! Call it destiny if you like. Jonathan and Gideon went as two characters from The Wingfeather Saga . Jonathan dressed as Pete, a half bird half man character and Gideon dressed as Kelmar, a half wolf half boy character (sorry, I didn't get a picture of Gideon's costume. You can see some of it in another picture below). Other costumes created from members of our group included: superman, batman, a cowboy, a very adorable princess and the cutest ever Mary Poppins and Bert! We had a great time listening to the story of Esther, acting it out, dancing, singing and of course, DRESSING UP! Oh yeah, and there was TONS of food! It wouldn't be a Jewish holiday without it! (making "groggers" and noise makers for the reading of Esther) Some friends from a messianic congregation in Nashville (who helped us get our group started) came down to join us! We were so excited to see them again! (Daddy teaching on the account of Esther) (Acting out a skit based on the story of Esther) "and that these days would be remembered and observed throughout every generation, every family, every province and every city; and that these days of Purim would never cease among the Jews or their memory be lost by their descendants." Esther 9:28
As the Jew's grafted in brothers and sisters in The LORD we gentiles celebrate their holidays as a reminder that GOD will always deliver HIS people. No matter how impossible the odds seem. If we forget that we will lose sight of GOD's power and HE will no long be the great wonder HE really is to us. Love, Susan Hello everyone! How's it going? Today I am going to post a book review for Sheri Rose Shepherd's children's book Bible Stories for His Beautiful Princess. This is my first book review so please bear with me. Ok, here we go! First, let's look at the cover: The first thing that caught my attention about this book was the tile. It could have been labeled Bible Stories for Princesses, Bible Stories for Little Girls or simply Bible Stories. But instead the author chose to title her book Bible Stories for HIS BEAUTIFUL Princess. I believe that every girl, and woman, should be told throughout her ENTIRE life that she is beautiful and loved (several times 'cuz after all we do grow and change!). So to see a book that states:
#1: You are HIS, The Maker of The Universe's #2: You are Beautiful and #3: You are a Princess in the title alone, to me that shows that as you read this book you are going to feel like one of GOD's Beautiful Princesses (because guess what? You are!). I do wish that the author didn't refer to the accounts from the Holy Bible used in this book as merely "stories". I strongly believe that everything in the Bible really did happen just as it is recorded. This makes them historical accounts not just "stories". I realize that this is a children's book and children don't know what a "historical account" is. But I do believe that we should begin to teach our children at a young age that the Bible is true through and through. So my suggestion to you is that as you read this book you remind your child that these "stories" are true and that they really did happen and use it as a tool to introduce them to the real Bible. The second thing that caught my attention was the lovely artwork. I know as a child I always wanted to read the books with the colorful illustrations on the front and I still decide if a book is worth my time by the cover artwork. Shelly Dieterichs did a wonderful job on the front cover and throughout the whole book as well. She even has a picture of a little princess at the end of each "story" and guess what? They're not all white! She has an asian looking girl, an african american looking girl, one with curly hair, one with straight hair, several different looking girls showing that all GOD's little princesses are unique and beautiful in the special way He created them. That was one of my favorite parts of this book! However, she does portray the biblical characters as all white. Which was disappointing considering that Jesus was born in Israel to Jewish parents and therefore, was Jewish himself. Overall, the illustrations are bright and full of beautiful colors to capture young minds. Now on to the best part...the "stories" themselves! When you first open this book you are greeted by a sweet dedication page and a very well laid out Table of Contents. I love how next to each "story" title it lists where you can find the actual account in the Bible. For example, Baby Moses (Exodus chapter 2) pg 21. Mrs. Shepherd does not list exactly where the account takes place (as in specific verses) she simply lists the book and chapter of the Bible it takes place in. For example, her "story" about the golden rule (found in Matthew chapter 7 vs 12) is listed as Matthew 5-7 which is the whole sermon on the mount. For review sake, I decided to go back and read the original account of each "story" in the Bible according to the scripture reference given by the author. The book starts off with the account of creation and works its way through Jesus' resurrection with many familiar accounts such as Noah, David, Jonah, Daniel and of course several about Jesus. Don't worry, not all of the "stories" are about men of the Bible. There are a few about women including the woman who gave her last two coins (found in Mark chapter 12 vs 41-44) which I think is one of the least "popular Bible stories" of our day. Each "story" is only 2-3 pages long with a (very) small paragraph of words on each page. The rest is filled with pictures. At the end of each "story" there is a page with a short Princess Prayer and a Princess Jewel which sums up the moral of the "story". The prayers, while short and sweet, are very impactful and will even give adults something to think about! The length of each "story" is perfect considering that the average toddler/preschooler's attention span is only about thisbig. I've babysat many kids during my teenage years and know reading to kids can become frustrating since normally they jump out of your lap before you can say "Once upon a time there was...". Short stories for kids are my best friend as I'm sure are many others. Even though they are short, I think Mrs. Shepherd did a wonderful job condensing a whole chapter in the Bible (sometimes a whole book!) into bite size stories for little children to understand. I did have a few issues with a some of the stories in that I wished certain things were addressed differently. For example in Mrs. Shepherd's retailing of Daniel and the Lions she starts the "story" this way: "Once there was a king who wanted everyone to pray to him instead of praying to God." As I read the original account in the Bible what I understood was that the king was tricked into passing the law decreeing everyone should pray to him only. Mrs. Shepherd portrays the king as someone who didn't believe in GOD. When in reality, I believe, the king secretly did. He even tried to figure out a way to save Daniel and after he threw Daniel into the lion's den he stayed awake all night praying to GOD to deliver Daniel. Afterwards, when Daniel was found unharmed, did he make it "legal" to pray to The One True GOD. The king was never the "bad guy", his men were. The king was simply tricked. I wish Mrs. Shepherd had wrote that instead of making the king into the bad guy. Another example is in the "story" of the wisemen's visit to baby Jesus. Ms. Dieterichs paints a picture of the wisemen at the stable with Mary and Joseph. Many historians and scientists believe based on their study of when the star first appeared and the time which Herod declared that all male babies 2 years and under should be killed that Jesus was older by the time the wisemen came to visit, probably about 1 to 2 years old. The Bible even states in Matthew 2:11 that they came into the house. This seems to indicate that Mary and Joseph had moved into a house somewhere. This is a common mistake made by many christian children's book authors. I was sorely disappointed that Mrs. Shepherd didn't appear to do her research as well as she had in some of her other "stories". In the very back of the book is a Salvation prayer along with a letter to little girls from GOD. Mrs. Shepherd states that "If God wrote you a letter about his love, it might sound like this.". Thank you so much for stating that Mrs. Shepherd! You did not say that your letter was The Word of GOD, but what you thought HE would say. I bothers me when people say things like "this is what GOD would say to you if blah blah blah" and don't use scriptures to back them up. I believe we can get into dangerous territory that way. So thank you for mentioning that this is what you think God would say and not stating that HE really did say this in the Bible. All in all Bible Stories for His Beautiful Princess By Sheri Rose Shepherd was very good. As mentioned before, I did have some issues with certain retellings but over all, I think Mrs. Shepherd did a very good job. I will probably end up keeping this one for if GOD decides to give me children of my own someday to use as a tool to get them excited about the real Bible (or at least my mom will because she is expecting grandchildren in the near future!). Love, Susan *ADDITIONAL NOTES* I was given a complimentary copy of Bible Stories for His Beautiful Princess By Sheri Rose Shepherd for review purposes from Tyndale House. You can learn more about Tyndale House HERE. I had no children to read this book to. This is my own personal honest opinion. 3/3/2014 0 Comments 4 Teenagers Under 1 RoofMy 3 brothers and I are all 2 years apart from each other in age (and no, that was not planned). Also, all of our birthdays fall in either January or February (that wasn't planned either). So every year when our birthdays roll around we end up with either all even ages (like 2, 4, 6 and 8) or all odd ages (like 3, 5, 7 and 9). It's kinda cool to see what ages we end up being in relations to each other. But this year was definitely the coolest! Why you ask? Because this year our ages are 13, 15, 17 and 19. Did you catch that? We are ALL TEENAGERS! This year and this year only! The boys and I have been waiting for when we all were teenagers for forever! So we combined birthdays this year into one celebration instead of 4 separate ones. The only difference was that Mamaw and Papaw only drove down once, we had one "cake" and Mom got bragging rights that she had ALL TEENAGERS now! (pity her.) Presents were opened outside since the weather was so nice. Oops that's another difference...we normally have to do everything inside because it's always SO COLD! Christopher received a pancake flipper from Gideon, (remember he's the pancake master) striped arm warmers from Jonathan, blue jeans (that actually fit him!) from Mamaw and Papaw and a ticket to see The LEGO Movie from me. We have this thing with tissue paper. Every Christmas we have a competition over who gets the most and the prettiest. Christopher was trying to redeem himself here with how much he got. Sorry bro, Christmas has already past. It's over. I won. Gideon got a book from Christopher, two LEGO mini figures from Mamaw and Papaw, a ticket to see The LEGO Movie from me and a little LEGO creature thing from Jonathan. Before he opened Jonathan's present he had to complete a series of puzzles Jonathan cooked up. (Gloating because he got more money than we did in our presents. Guess we know who the favorite is now :) Jonathan's presents consisted of two new cups from Christopher (we each have our "own" and his others broke), two (soft) t-shirts from Mamaw and Papaw, a LEGO set from Gideon, and a movie ticket from me (I'll let you guess what movie :) ("Ooh feel it. Feel how soft!") Last, but most certainly not the least, moiré got M. Night Shyamalan's movie The Village on DVD from my extremely-cool-grandparents-who-take-hints-really-well, and the boys all went in together to buy me a sewing device that marks straight hems on skirts and/or dresses. For those of you who don't sew, just know my life is now a WHOLE LOT EASIER! I suspected that's what it was... ...and I was right! A friend of mine owned this movie when I first saw it but she took it when she moved. You're forgiven now Ms. Lindsey :) (Big box. I like big boxes!) Then all 4 of us got an outdoor game set from Papaw (sorry Mamaw, you did say it was his idea)! By this time it had started getting chilly so we cleaned up and headed inside for our "birthday meal" of chicken fajitas, beans, guacamole salad and salsa. All made from scratch by our wonderful Mommy! Except the guacamole salad, that was made by me. Sorry Mom, gotta give credit where credit is due! :) A couple we call "our third set of grandparents", their daughter and two granddaughters stopped by just in time for cake (now that I think was planned :) Our "cake" was really homemade almond joy bars. But we couldn't get the bars to shape like bars. So we turned them into cupcakes. Because they stayed in that shape :) And that's how we celebrate birthdays the Stewart way! Thank you to all who celebrated with us whether present or in your heart! I have an amazing family!
Love, Susan 3/1/2014 0 Comments MiraclesSometimes GOD likes to do miracles... ...like making it snow in Southeast Tennessee! Yep! That's right! We got about six and a half inches of beautiful, perfect ball forming, fairy tale worthy snow! That's the most snow we've gotten since my family moved to Tennessee almost fourteen years ago! Look at that! This was taken in a part of our woods we call "Narnia". It really looks like Narnia now! (My wonderful parents; aren't they so cute together? Twenty years and counting) After Mama took her *required* snow photos, we finally got to play around and get messy! Snowball fights, Tree climbing, Snowman Building, (Gideon and Christopher's snowman "Charlie") (Mama and her "snow girl") Gideon and I made a "snow cat" and "snow boy " to go with Mama's "snow girl" (Also known as "Ma" & "Pa"). Now they're one big happy family! (Our doggies) (Fuzzy) (Pippi) And then, of course, we had to go sledding. (What snow day would be complete without it?) So the boys and Deddy got to work building up a path and ramp on our front drive. Christopher took some pictures as we sledded and, because we're Stewarts, some of us had to title ourselves. Gideon-"The Ramp Jumper" (because he never stayed on the track) Jonathan- "The Adventurer" (because he just looked so epic!) Me- "The Wipe-Out Queen" ('cuz I fell off the sled. Every. Single. Time. No lie) Mama- "The Face Maker" and "The Sleeping Wonder" (because she laid down in the sled) Yep, sometimes GOD does miracles; like letting me grow up in a family that puts HIM first and loves me unconditionally. I'm SO BLESSED to get to spend days like this with them. Celebrating GOD's love and wonders! Love, Susan |
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October 2019
Book Review
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