Our Move!

Since my last post a lot has happened. We packed up and moved to our new duty station and now we are in the process of having a home built. I didn't realize how stressful it would be to build a home, but I am sure it will be worth it in the end. We have been living in our RV(fifth wheel), I call it "Our home on wheels". We are liking our new duty station, it's warm and sunny practically everyday. I've had the kids doing some school work over the summer and we will be starting our new year soon. I really don't know which curriculum to use, there are so many to choose from. I would have attended a homeschooling convention but due to our way of life(moving) it didn't work out. I would prefer to try different curriculum's for math and language arts to get a feel before I make a purchase.

Book Review: Healing Your Church Hurt

This book is about being hurt by people in your church. There are stories about what people have gone through when they have been hurt by people in their church. It is a good book. I am one of those people that have been hurt by people in the church and it has taken me a long time to get over it. What to do when you still love God but have been wounded by his people? This book can help.

Book Description
Publication Date: February 17, 2012
If you’ve been part of a church, you have probably suffered a “church hurt”—or know someone who has. Maybe the pastor had an affair or the congregation fought over money or the leaders were disguising gossip as “prayer.” Stephen Mansfield knows how it feels. Though he is now a New York Times bestselling author, he was a pastor for more than 20 years, and he loved it—until he learned how much a church can hurt. Yet he also learned how to dig out of that hurt, break through the bitterness and anger, stop making excuses, and get back to where he ought to be with God and his people. If you’re ready to choose the tough path to healing, Mansfield will walk you through it with brotherly love, showing you how you can be better than ever on the other side of this mess—if you’re willing to start Healing Your Church Hurt. Previously published as ReChurch.

From the Back Cover “After everything that happened, I could never go back.” Is that how you feel? Or have you heard it from others? The stories are all too familiar: The church we once loved broke up or our favorite pastor was fired or people left when the worship style changed. The former pastor had an affair or our kids didn’t fit in at youth group or we had a major life crisis and no one from the church showed up to help. And so it goes. Stephen Mansfield has been there. Though he is now a New York Times bestselling author, a popular speaker, and a consultant who advises leaders around the world, Stephen was also a pastor for twenty years. And he loved it for most of those two decades . . . until he learned how much a church can hurt. But then he also learned how to dig out of that hurt, break through the bitterness and anger, stop making excuses, and get back to where he needed to be with God and his people. If you’re ready to take the tough path to healing, Mansfield will walk you through it with love and understanding, showing you that something good is waiting on the other side of even the deepest church hurts.

Biography
Stephen Mansfield is the New York Times bestselling author of The Faith of George W. Bush, The Faith of the American Soldier, Benedict XVI: His Life and Mission, and Never Give In: The Extraordinary Character of Winston Churchill, among other works of history, biography and contemporary culture. His interest in First Amendment religion issues arises from his decades of work among American churches and his efforts on behalf of religious liberty in the Middle East. Stephen lives in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, with his wife, Beverly. For more information, log onto www.mansfieldgroup.com.

  Tyndale House Publishers has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book or ARC. *I am going to be giving a free copy of this book away. To win leave me a comment with your contact information. Good Luck!

Book Review: No He Can't

This is a book about Obama and the mistakes he had made & how he is dismantling hope and change.

Book Description
Publication Date: April 19, 2011
Nationally syndicated radio talk show host and columnist Kevin McCullough tackles the thorny issue of why the audacity of hope is not found in the current path that President Barack Obama has laid. As the first pundit in the world to predict that President Barack Obama would become president of the United States (verified on-air by Rush Limbaugh), Kevin McCullough was not surprised when Mr. Obama was elected to that office. Yet even McCullough admits he's surprised by President Obama's actions since the election. Surprised by the overt falsehoods already carried out by this administration. Surprised by our country's sudden deficit of clarity and common sense. Surprised by a blatant lack of accountability. In No He Can't, McCullough stands as the loyal but outraged loyal opposition to the current state of affairs.


    

Book Review: The Circle Maker

This book is great. Drawing circles around our prayers and dreams I think is a great way to deal with everything in our lives. My favorite quotes from the book was: "The only way you can fail is if you stop praying." & "Each prayer is a time capsule. You never know when or where or how God is going to answer it, but He will answer it." This book was very uplifting and made me look at life in a different perspective. 

Book Description
Publication Date: December 13, 2011
According to Pastor Mark Batterson in his book, The Circle Maker, 'Drawing prayer circles around our dreams isn't just a mechanism whereby we accomplish great things for God. It's a mechanism whereby God accomplishes great things in us.' Do you ever sense that there's far more to prayer, and to God's vision for your life, than what you're experiencing? It's time you learned from the legend of Honi the Circle Maker---a man bold enough to draw a circle in the sand and not budge from inside it until God answered his prayers for his people. What impossibly big dream is God calling you to draw a prayer circle around? Sharing inspiring stories from his own experiences as a circle maker, Mark Batterson will help you uncover your heart's deepest desires and God-given dreams and unleash them through the kind of audacious prayer that God delights to answer.

About the Author
Mark Batterson serves as the lead pastor of National Community Church in Washington, D. C. Recognized as 'one of America's 25 most innovative churches,' NCC is one church with seven locations. Mark's blog (www.markbatterson.com) and webcast (www.theaterchurch.com) also reach a virtual congregation around the world. Mark is the author of several bestselling books, including In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day. He and his wife, Lora, live on Capitol Hill with their three children.andnbsp; You can follow Mark on Twitter: @markbatterson andnbsp; SPANISH BIO: Mark Batterson sirve como pastor principal en la Iglesia National Community en Washington, D.C. Reconocida como 'una de las 25 iglesias mas innovadoras de America', la INC es una iglesia con siete localidades. El blog de Mark (www.markbatterson.com) y la fundicion en la red (www.theaterchurch.com) tambien alcanzan una congregacion virtual alrededor del mundo. Mark es autor de varios libros exito de ventas, incluyendo En la fosa con el leon en un dia de nieve. el y su esposa Lora residen en Capitolio con sus tres hijos. Puede seguir a Mark en Twitter:@markbatterson

Biography
Mark Batterson serves as lead pastor of National Community Church (www.theaterchurch.com) in Washington DC . Targeting emerging generations, 73 percent of NCCers are single twentysomethings that live or work on Capitol Hill. Currently one church with three locations, the vision of NCC is to meet in movie theaters @ metro stops throughout the DC area. The theaterchurch.com podcast is one of the fastest-growing church podcasts in America . Mark is also a daily blogger @ www.markbatterson.com . Mark lives on Capitol Hill with his wife, Lora, and three children.


    

Book Review: Christmas Is Not Your Birthday

This book is about the true meaning of Christmas. I really like this book because it is a great reminder why we should celebrate Christmas. It is Jesus's Birthday not yours and it isn't all about the presents. I know with all the hype from the stores for Christmas we get distracted with all the stuff you can buy and what a great deal it is but that is not what Christmas is about. This book was a wake up call for me. I definitely will do Christmas differently this year....... Thank you Mike Slaughter for a great book!

Book Description
Publication Date: August 2011
Every year, we say we’re going to cut back, simplify, and have a family Christmas that focuses on the real reason for the season—Jesus. But every year, advertisements beckon, the children plead, and it seems easier just to indulge our wants and whims. Overspending, overeating, materialism, and busyness rob us of our peace and joy and rob Jesus of his rightful role as the center of our celebration. This Christmas, cut through the hype that leaves you exhausted and broke at the end of the year. Instead, experience the peace of knowing that God is truly with us, the joy of giving sacrificially, and the love of a Savior who gave everything he had for us. In five short, engaging chapters, Pastor Mike Slaughter inspires readers to approach Christmas differently, and be transformed in the process.

About the Author
Mike Slaughter, lead pastor at Ginghamsburg Church, is the three-decade dreamer of Ginghamsburg Church and spiritual entrepreneur of ministry marketplace innovations. His life-long passion to reach the lost and set the oppressed free has made him a tireless and leading advocate for the displaced children, womenand men of Darfur, Sudan, named by the U.N. as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today. Under Mike’s leadership, Ginghamsburg Church has become known as an early innovator of small group ministry, the Church “media reformation” and cyberministry, with the Ginghamsburg website averaging 50,000 visits monthly from around the world. Since initiating The Sudan Project in January 2005, Ginghamsburg has invested over $5 million into humanitarian relief in Darfur. The resultant agricultural project, child development program and safe water initiative are expanding to reach a quarter of a million Sudanese refugees and villagers. As a mentor, Mike travels globally to speak and use his “gift of irritation” to equip ministry leaders to minimize brick and maximize mission so that they may fully deploy the mission of Jesus into the world. Mike is the author of multiple books for church leaders including Change the World, Spiritual Entrepreneurs, Real Followers, Momentum for Life, UnLearning Church, and Upside Living in a Downside Economy. For more information about Mike, visit www.mikeslaughter.com

Biography
About Mike Slaughter Mike Slaughter is Lead Pastor and Chief Dreamer of Ginghamsburg United Methodist Church in Tipp City, Ohio. Located in the struggling "rust belt," Ginghamsburg strives to be the hands and feet of Jesus, serving those in need from Dayton to Darfur. Under Mike's leadership, the church has grown from 90 worshipers a week to over 5,000. Mike's books include "Christmas Is Not Your Birthday," "Change the World," "Spiritual Entrepreneurs," "Real Followers," "Momentum for Life," "UnLearning Church," and "Upside Living in a Downside Economy." Learn more about Mike Slaughter at
http://mikeslaughter.com/ 

Book Review: Then Sings My Soul Book 3

This book tells the great history of worship, the first biblical hymns, biographical sketches of the most interesting composers, and almost 60 generations of hymn singing. The new book also includes a collection of the greatest hymns you've never heard, with lead-sheets included.

Great book. I loved it. My daughter can use this to play songs on her piano.

Product Description The long-awaited third installment! In 2003, Robert Morgan released what would become a future classic for over a million readers, a unique book entitled Then Sings My Soul. This collection of the world's greatest hymns and the stories behind them stirred an entire generation to better understand the heritage of our faith through song. Now, in the long-awaited third volume of this series, Morgan expands his material to include the great history of worship, the first biblical hymns, biographical sketches of the most interesting composers, and almost 60 generations of hymn singing. The new book also includes a collection of the greatest hymns you've never heard, with lead-sheets included. All of this is in addition to even more standard hymns and the stories of the composers behind them. Morgan's conclusion guides the reader into enjoying all of God's music, blending the old and the new into a symphony of praise that keeps the worship alive for a new generation.

*I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review Books for Blogging program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255. Positive or negative, this is my honest opinion of the product.

Book Review: The Christmas Singing

This book is about a girl named Mattie. She once was in love and the guy broke her heart so she moved away to start a new life. She opened up a cake shop and started dating someone new. The dating was mostly out of convenience and companionship. But when fire destroys her shop she goes back home and finds out that she still has feelings for the guy that broke her heart. She finds out the truth why he broke off their engagement. They end up realizing that they are meant to be together. Love conquers all!


This is a really cute book. An absolutely adorable love story. I would definitely recommend it to anyone. I read this book in a day because once I started reading it I had a hard time putting it down.

Book Description: Series: Ada's House Series | Publication Date: October 4, 2011 After Gideon coldly broke her heart, can the warmth of the season revive Mattie’s hopes? Mattie thought her childhood sweetheart adored her until he abruptly ended their engagement on Christmas Eve. Three years later, will learning the truth behind his rejection restore her Christmas joy – or open the door to even deeper heartbreak? Spend Christmas with the Amish in this story of love, romance, heartache, and restoration.

About the Author: Cindy Woodsmall is a New York Times best-selling author whose connection with the Amish community has been featured on ABC Nightline and on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. Her ability to authentically portray her characters comes from her real-life connections with Amish Mennonite and Old Order Amish families. Cindy lives in Georgia with her family. Visit her website at  CindyWoodsmall.com.

Disclaimer: I was given a free copy of this book by Waterbrook Multnomah Press, I was neither paid for this review nor was I commanded by Waterbrook Multnomah Press to write a positive review. This review is my own personal opinion. This disclaimer is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx03/16cfr25503.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”