Pray for Peru Part II

Friday, July 24th - Monday, August 3rd

Friday - travelling day. Please pray for safe travel, good health, and on time flights!

Saturday - training, orientation, and meeting the Peruvian pastors.

Sunday - worship services

Monday - Wednesday we will be working with our first Peruvian church.

Thursday - Saturday we will begin working with our second Peruvian church.

Sunday we begin travelling back home.

Monday - we will get to see our families!!!!

Micah 6:8

And what does the LORD require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy

and to walk humbly with your God.

Hank the Cowdog

Our family received three fun products in the mail the other day from Maverick Books; The Case of the One-Eyed Killer Stud Horse in paperback, Tales and Tunes CD, and The Tornado Game

John R. Erickson is the author of the Hank the Cowdog series, and he definitely has a gift for story telling! He will have you (and your children) laughing ‘till you’re plum tuckered out! I would recommend reading his books in your best Texas accent to add to the fun and laughter!

The children enjoy playing the Tornado game, and I like how it is compact, and will travel easily with us on long road trips. It is available for $12.99.

The children have repeatedly asked to listen to “the silly dog CD” as my 4-year-old daughter calls it. This CD includes story excerpts from 10 books plus 9 original songs, which equals 68 minutes of entertainment. I asked my children what their favorites were from this CD. One daughter said her favorite is, “the story about the double bee sting.” My other daughter and son said they couldn’t choose just one favorite, because they like everything on this CD. This CD is available for $3.00.

This may have been our first Hank the Cowdog read aloud, but it certainly will not be our last! For $4.24 for each paperback, you just can’t beat that price!

Our family was truly pleased to “meet” Hank the Cowdog. A new friendship has blossomed indeed!

Pray for Peru!

One week from today, I will be leaving for Lima, Peru! I will be gone for 10 days. I get to travel with three other individuals from my church, and joining with other Christians from the United States and South America as we help serve and encourage 35 churches in Lima, Peru!

I would like to ask you to pray for us while we serve the Lord and share His love with those He allows us to meet! I am humbled and in awe to be given this opportunity to go and serve in this way!

Micah 6:8

And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.

This is my prayer while I'm gone. That I will indeed act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with my God!

Menu Plan Monday ~ July 13

Breakfast Options:

• Cereal
• Oatmeal
• Peanut butter toast
• Eggs and toast

Lunch Options:

• Macaroni and cheese
• Sandwiches or wraps
• Leftovers

Snack Options:

• Fruit
• Homemade fruit smoothie popsicles
• Apples and peanut butter

This is what's for dinner this week:

Monday - Sunday School Party (I only have to cook brownies today)

Tuesday - Miss Ashley's choice - tacos or Pizza from Frank's

Wednesday - Buffalo burgers, fresh fruit and veggies, and chips (I'm going to attempt grilling. This is usually my husband's gig).

Thursday - Fast food @ home - Chicken strips and French Fries

Friday - Quesadillas with salsa and homemade guacamole

Saturday - Springfield Cashew Chicken served with brown rice

Sunday - I have no idea...Friday is grocery shopping day. I'll make a decision by then:)

Do you have a menu you'd like to share? Go to I'm an Organizing Junkie and share!

Nature Study

We are trying to attract toads to our yard. My son really likes amphibians. We got some information at the Science Mouse, a Science ezine for kids. We don't have any toads yet, but we're still waiting. We also put up a hummingbird feeder a few weeks ago. It has been so much fun watching the tiny birds buzz around our porch. We are also learning a lot about nature by watching our garden grow! The next thing we hope to do is get a sherpherd's crook in our yard to hang a bird feeder on! What do you do to study nature in your own backyard?

Book Review ~ Radical Womanhood

Radical Womanhood...Feminine Faith in a Feminist World by Carolyn McCulley takes an honest look at the history of the feminist movement and how society has changed as a result.

McCulley walks you through the history of feminism and reveals how our Creator, His Word, and His design for families is defied by many of the movement's leaders.

"The history of the feminist ideology is manifestly anti-mother, anti-child, and anti-Jesus" (142). Does this sound harsh and maybe a little unbelievable? Radical Womanhood reveals the often hidden truths of the feminist movement.

McCulley makes it clear that there is a difference between restoring God given rights to women and setting women above both men and God (32). As a former feminist, McCulley is able to write this book from an informed perspective. Her writing is also grounded in sound historical research and Biblical study.

I hope you will take the time to read this book, so you can evaluate whether the feminist beliefs you may have are shaped by society or God's Word.

K in the Kitchen!

K is my 6-year-old daughter! She has been a helper in the kitchen for quite some time now. I remember when she was 2-years-old and helped me stir things or add toppings to homemade pizza. Before the age of 2, she played in the tupperware drawer, and built towers out of items found in our pantry!

Now she likes to crack open eggs, cut up things for me, stir things, knead dough, and she even helps with the clean up!

K asked last week if she could do more cooking. So, tonight she made dinner for us. She looked through a kid's cookbook we have, planned out her menu, and helped make a shopping list! Tonight she made Chili Dog Pie, and EVERYONE in our family REALLY REALLY REALLY liked it! We had fresh veggies with dip, and watermelon with it! We can't wait for K to cook Spaghetti Pie later this week!

My 4-year-old daughter was really sad tonight that she didn't get to cook anything. Her Daddy promised to make blueberry pancakes with her sometime very soon! That cheered her up!

Menu Plan Monday ~ July 6th

Last week, my six-year-old daughter told me she wants to start cooking more. So, I asked her if she'd like to cook dinner one night a week. She said, "yes." So, we've taken the first steps. She has chosen her menu, and added the needed items to our shopping list. This week she will make her cooking dinner debut! She helps a lot in the kitchen already, and I know she'll do a fabulous job! I have a cookbook called, "Kids in the Kitchen," and she has selected two things to make this week before her Dad heads out of town for a few days. She wants to make Chili Dog Pie and Spaghetti Pie.

Monday: Chili Dog Pie served with fresh fruit and veggies

Tuesday: Grilled Chicken, Baked Potato Bar, and Salad

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Spaghetti Pie, Cheesey Garlic Biscuits, and Salad

Friday: Husband's Birthday Dinner - Shrimp Scampi Pasta, Stuffed Mushrooms, and Salad

Saturday: Sandwiches

Sunday: Breakfast for Dinner

Would you like more Menu Planning Monday ideas? Go to to I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Review ~ Dramatic Audio Bible

The WORD of PROMISE, next generation, NEW TESTAMENT is a dramatic audio Bible with an all-star cast. It contains 3 MP3 CDs with over 23 hours of listening!

My children, ages 7, 6, and 4 enjoyed listening to this during quiet times around the house. I also enjoyed listening to this, even if it is marketed for a younger generation. Recently my husband was teaching a weekly Bible study on the book of James. It was nice to play the book of James and listen to it during that time.

At Christmas, we listened to the various gospel accounts of Christ's birth. At Easter, we listened to the passages of His resurrection!

The booklet insert inside the case says, "MP3 Discs can be played on: almost all computers with a CD and/or DVD drive, many home DVD players, portable MP3 players, CD players labeled 'MP3 compatible.' They will not play on standard CD players." I had to play mine in my DVD player, because the CD player we have in our family room is a bit ancient. It worked quite well for our family! It is easy to select what book and chapter you'd like to listen to.

Honestly, this was my first experience with any type of audio Bible. Our entire family has enjoyed it very much!

Click here to read more details about the all-star cast on the Thomas Nelson website, and purchase a copy for yourself or your family today!

What Do Your Children See?

One day I told my children I needed to have my Bible study before school because I overslept. So, I asked them to play quietly, so I could have my time in God's Word.

The next morning, my son (who was five-years-old at the time) asked me if I'd had my Bible study yet. At first, I thought he was being kind and holding me accountable. But, I really believe he was hoping to delay the start of our school day.

My children do see me worship, read God's word, and pray. They knows it's a priority in my life! I hope I am an example of a woman who is deeply in love with her Savior!

My children also see me mess up BIG time! But, they've also seen (and heard) me stop and ask for God's forgiveness and help to overcome different areas of sin in my life. That's what my pastor called in one one of his recent sermons, "living out the gospel at home." When we (parents) ask for God's forgiveness and also our child to forgive us if we've sinned against them. (Anyone ever yell at their child in an angry voice and then later go and ask them for forgiveness?)

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 is one of my favorite passages of scriptures to cling to as a parent. You know...a lot of people talk about verses 7-9, but 4-6 are VITAL!!!! How can we as parents "impress" or teach anything to our children if we first do not LOVE the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength?

⁴ Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. ⁵ Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ⁹ Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

So dear Parent, do your children SEE you worshipping, loving, and serving the Lord? Are you making any effort to teach your children about the one true God - who He is, what He has done, and all He's promised to do? Do you have a testimony to share with your children? It is YOUR job to share Jesus Christ with your children and help them continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18)