Happy New Year!

The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:

the Lord make His face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:

the Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

~ Numbers 6:24-26

Vision Forum Overstock Liquidation Sale! -- Save up to 50%

Discounts range from 25%-50%. If you are the kind of person who likes to plan ahead for birthdays and special occasions, this would be a wonderful time to take advantage of this once-a-year sale which ends at midnight (CST) on December 31, 2007.



Again, if you click through to Vision Forum using the link above & make your purchase you will benefit our family as well as the company.
Thanks & God Bless!

10% off at ChristianBook.com

The 10% offer is good off any purchase amount and on every order placed before the end of the day on January 1, 2008. They have not had as many offers lately that I am aware of lately...you may want to take advantage of this.


ChristianBook.com usually has good prices. Discounted by 10% makes great prices. Their shipping rates are not exorbiantly high and they OFTEN have deep discount bargins - be sure to check those.

To take advantage of this offer:
1. Fill your shopping cart with bestselling books, inspirational home accents, worship CD's, and anything else you wish.
2. Enter promotion code 271835 as you enter the checkout process.
3. Repeat on every order you place between now and 11:59 P.M. Eastern Time on 1/01/2008 to save an extra 10% off!
Please note: This offer cannot be combined with any other offers.

If you are not already their affiliate, please consider using this link to make your purchase. You can use my link whenever you purchase from - you help out my family. Thank you.

Emmanuel

Emmanuel, translated means "God with us". What a precious thought. What a reality. This name of our Lord, usually only comes to mind around Christmas when we reflect on the birth of Jesus and sing the songs of that celebration season.
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Our Pastor reflected on this in his Christmas morning address, but he also went on to draw our attention to Romans 8:9-11 where the Word tells us that God is not only with us, but now through the provisions made possible by Christ's birth, then death, ressurection and eventual ascension, if we believe, God is IN US:


"But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you." ~ Romans 8:9-11


There is power in being a believer - the power of Heaven on earth - IN US!

Sears offer

Go here to print a coupon for $5 off a Sears craftsman tool purchase of $5.00 or more.

A great opportunity to stock up on tools to fill your son's and/or husband's tool chest.

After reading the fine print I see that this offer is only good for those who live in the U.S. The rest of us will rejoice on your behalf. I hope this benefits someone - let me know if you are blessed by it OK? I'd love to hear about it.

And the Winner is ...

The winner of the Gifts for Sons Contest is ... Vicki. Congratulations Vicki.

Thanks to all for stopping by & watch for more in the new year.

Gifts for Sons Contest

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of Lights..." ~ James 1:17

God gave the ultimate gift, His Son, Jesus to rescue us from our sins. Like Him, we share gifts with our loved ones.

I invite you to share with us your gift ideas for your sons of all ages.

Leave a comment to this post no later than December 20, 2007. Be sure to let me know how to reach you if you're the winner.


One of you that posts a comment will win this DVD:

The League of Grateful Sons courtesy of
Vision Forum.

Nothing Like ... Homemade Croutons

Not only are homemade croutons a great frugal trick they're a delicious gourmet treat! A healthy snack! An easy meal-maker!

Cube a couple slices of your favorite whole wheat bread. Toss into a pan with extra virgin olive oil. Add some of your favorite spices - ours are garlic salt, oregano leaves and chili powder. Toss and stir regularly as the croutons toast gently on low heat until the cubes are dried and toasty. Use immediately or store in closed containers until needed. Freeze in zip-locs if you're storing more than a week.

A big bowl of cesaer salad seems to be a repeated request - at home and to take along to gatherings. It is so easy & so good! ... and always gone!

Our favorite cesaer dressing is "Rene's".

Blessed Again!

Last summer we had a hot spell. Not thinking, we left one violin on it's stand - of course, it was the best one we have, the oldest, the nicest sounding ... the one the boys pick up and play most anytime they stroll past it ... The heat caused the glue to release and with the tension on the strings the neck "broke" off. It was just another thing that went "wrong" for us at that time, but our long-term plan with that particular violin was to have it refinished anyway.

Well, to make a long story shorter, Ken took this broken violin to the man that first taught him and our two oldest how to make their first violin. Today, he called and Ken went to pick up the refinished instrument. It is absolutely beautiful! The flame shimmers nicer than ever and the sound ... is superb. Ah, just in time for Christmas. What a blessing!

So, first, God has used this man to bless our family through his generosity - leading us into violins, both making and playing, and now he's blessed us again by putting his professional touch on a treasure that needed restoring.

God bless you, Abe! Your gift for His glory!

Gifts for Growing Boys

Through the years, my husband & I have tried to give our sons gifts that match their personality, their unique gifting from the Father.

Here are a few ideas:
- their very own Bible. By age six each son has had their own. By then they are able to read a little on their own already and when the family reads these little ones feel so VERY important to be able to read a verse out loud right from their own Bible, the same as everyone else. It is well worth it. One additional note - we have found the giant-sized print Bible makes it easier for little eyes (same as older eyes right).
- Bible cover
- Lego
- meccano
- drawing/sketch sets
- musical intrument
- music accessories: violin stand, harp stool, music stand, music case,
metranome, etc.
- yoyo
- harmonica
- skates
- hockey stick
- shovel
- snow scoop (child size if need be - but buy quality, you won't regret it)
- flashlight
- tool box
- tools: hammer, measuring tape, pliers, etc. - they may come in handy "Boy" (pun-intended :-) - do their little hearts swell when they can help out Daddy with their stuff ...
- cordless drill: our eldest son's cordless drill is used up in his service to the family (or at least the batteries are worn our, even though it is a DeWalt, but it will cost just as much to buy new batteries as a new drill). The purchase has still been worth it though, had the drill been Dad's, it wouldn't have given the character benefits of ownership. Son #2 is now asking/waiting for his drill ...
- fishing rod & tackle
- sleeping bag
- life jacket
- huge bath towels (different colors for each - but colors that co-ordinate in your bathroom). Eventually, they'll take these with when they leave - depending on how long it is until that time ...
- desk lamp
- wallet
- watch
- games: Cashflow 101 by Robert Kiyosaki - teaches accounting/real estate by "osmosis" = FUN!