Amish Values for Your Family (Book Review) and HUGE Giveaway!

This post is a part of the Litfuse blog tour.

I am glad I have had the privilege of reading and reviewing Amish Values for Your Family: What We Can Learn from the Simple Life by Suzanne Woods Fisher.  It is truly a wonderful, thought-provoking book about the things we can take from how the Amish live their lives and apply them to ours.  It also includes solid, biblical advice about parenting, marriage, and all aspects of family life.  It will help you learn to prioritize what's truly important, simplify decision-making, slow down as a family, safeguard time together, and let go when the time comes. (It is not about becoming Amish!)  The book is filled with delightful, true stories of Amish families, Amish quotes, and interesting and often funny "blurbs" from Amish Scribes.  Each story also includes a Road Map:  Getting There from Here section that shows how we can take the lesson from each story and apply it to our own lives.


I like how the Amish have a simpler, less cluttered way of living and how they place much importance on family and spending time together. One of the principles from the book that I could incorporate into my life is their exceptional work ethic and that they also expect their children to have the same.  We are in a culture that expects little of our children, and insists that they must always play instead of learning and growing into little adults, so they will be ready for the responsibilities they will have as adults.  There are many additional wonderful lessons in this book.

About the giveaway:

Enter 8/15 - 8/31!

Suzanne Woods Fisher is thrilled to announce the release of Amish Values for Your Family, her latest non-fiction release. "It offers loving ways to bring your fractured home back to life-Amish style. Read it and apply generously! It’s a beautiful book-funny, charming, soulful, and beautiful." -Mary Ann Kirkby

Read the reviews here.

To celebrate the release of Amish Values for Your Family, Suzanne has teamed up her publisher Revell Books to giveaway a Kindle, and with Bill Coleman (the amazing photographer used on Suzanne’s book covers) to give away a signed Bill Coleman original.

One Grand Prize winner will receive an Amish Values Prize Package (valued at over $200) and includes:

* A brand new KINDLE
* A Signed Bill Coleman original
* Amish Values for Your Family (for KINDLE)


Click on one of the icons to enter. Winner will be announced on 9/2 at Suzanne’s blog. Be sure to stop by the blogs on Suzanne’s blog tour – many have copies of Amish Values for Your Family to give away.

But, wait there's more! Suzanne is running a Bill Coleman caption contest during the month of August on her blog. Title one of Bill’s gorgeous photos for a chance to win a print from Bill’s Amish Photo site and/or a copy of Amish Values for Your Family.

About Suzanne:


Her interest in the Amish began with her grandfather, W.D. Benedict, who was raised Plain. She has many, many Plain relatives living in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, and travels back to Pennsylvania , as well as to Ohio , a couple of times each year for research.


Suzanne has a great admiration for the Plain people and believes they provide wonderful examples to the world. In both her fiction and non-fiction books, she has an underlying theme: You don't have to "go Amish" to incorporate many of their principles--simplicity, living with less, appreciating nature, forgiving others more readily-- into your life.


When Suzanne isn't writing or bragging to her friends about her first new grandbaby (!), she is raising puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind. To Suzanne's way of thinking, you just can't take life too seriously when a puppy is tearing through your house with someone's underwear in its mouth. 

Suzanne can be found on-line at: www.suzannewoodsfisher.com.
 
I received this product free of charge to review for the publisher, but the opinions expressed here are completely my own, honest opinions.

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Activity Days for Homeschool Groups and Families Review and Giveaway

If you are a support group leader for homeschoolers or just a homeschooling family, you will love Activity Days for Homeschool Groups and Families by Marcia Washburn.  This 168 page book is full of ideas to have "activity days" for your family's homeschool or your homeschool group.  I do not run a support group, but I love having this amazing resource for our family.

This book is divided into four sections.  Section A: Introduction to Activity Days explains what an activity day is, why we should offer activity days, and tells you how to get organized.  Section B: Ideas for Activity Days is full of great ideas for activity days that won’t wear you out with planning.  Section C:  Ideas for Long-Term Activity Days, has ideas for activities that can be year-long such as geography classes, Bible quizzing, and performing groups.  Section D: Resources is a detailed section of books, magazines, and other resources to assist you with your activity days.

Activity Days for Homeschool Groups and Families has detailed supply lists, instructions, safety considerations, tips for success, pitfalls to avoid, getting others involved, and so much more.  It covers everything from doing dissections to playing the soprano recorder, Valentine's Day to organizing track meets, and even includes full size patterns and handouts.  What is really nice about this resource is that it comes hole-punched and with two nice, sturdy cover sheets to go in a binder.

Marcia has agreed to give away one printed copy of Activity Days for Homeschool Groups and Families to a Blessed Homemaking reader.  To enter, just leave a comment!  To get additional entries, please stop by every day until September 3rd and leave another comment on this post!  (Don't forget to leave your email address if you don't have a blog).  This giveaway will end September 3rd.

If you would like to purchase Activity Days for Homeschool Groups and Families and be blessed by this great resource for homeschoolers, Marcia is offering a special discount for Blessed Homemaking readers for this book:


Order now until September 3rd and save $4.00!

Don't forget about the other giveaways we have going on right now! (see the sidebar)

I received this product free of charge to review for Marcia Washburn, but the opinions expressed here are completely my own, honest opinions.

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Thanks for stopping by.

Talent to Treasure: Building a Profitable Music Teaching Business Review and Giveaway

I am a homemaker, a pianist, and an artist.  I like thinking of ways I can help out my husband financially while still remaining at home and taking care of my other responsibilities.  That is why I enjoyed Talent to Treasure: Building a Profitable Music Teaching Business by Marcia Washburn so much.  I have thought before that I might one day teach children music lessons from our home when our children are a little older.  I also plan on teaching our two eldest girls piano this year.  This wonderful book from Marcia Washburn has given me all of the information I need to do both.  Not only that, but I could even use much of her information to one day teach art lessons from our home.

If you have a heart for music but no head for business, Talent to Treasure will show you how to transform your musical skills into extra income.  Not only that, but Talent to Treasure is written especially for the woman who wants to share her love of music with others while continuing to serve her family at home.  While Marcia gives complete directions on how to teach students music lessons from home, she does not downplay the importance of a woman putting her family first.

Marcia Washburn, BA, MME, is a seasoned piano teacher, writing with authority about a subject she knows intimately and loves passionately—connecting people with music.

In the pages of Talent to Treasure, you will learn:

How to prepare your heart and your home for your business
How to recruit and retain students
How much to charge for lessons (and how to be sure you get paid!)
How to select a “balanced diet” of music for your students
How and what to teach in the first lesson
How to teach using learning styles—how to be a people teacher first!
Great practicing tips—and strategies for dealing with students who don’t!
How to deal with memorization, performance jitters, and more
Reaching and teaching special needs students—from challenged to gifted
And much, much more!

This valuable resource has great information for not only those who are looking into teaching students music and have no idea what they're doing, but also for veteran teachers too.  I even think there is enough information packed in this book to help those who would like to teach other kinds of lessons to students as a home business.

Marcia has agreed to give away one printed copy of Talent to Treasure: Building a Profitable Music Teaching Business to a Blessed Homemaking reader.  To enter, just leave a comment!  To get additional entries, please stop by every day until September 2nd and leave another comment on this post!  (Don't forget to leave your email address if you don't have a blog).  This giveaway will end September 2nd.

Be sure to come back the next few days, because I will be reviewing more of Marcia's books and there will be more giveaways!

If you would like to purchase Talent to Treasure: Building a Profitable Music Teaching Business to see for yourself how you can have a profitable music teaching business, Marcia is offering a special discount for Blessed Homemaking readers for this resource:

Order now until September 3rd and save $4.00.

Don't forget about the other giveaways we have going on right now! (see the sidebar)

I received this product free of charge to review for Marcia Washburn, but the opinions expressed here are completely my own, honest opinions.

Receive Blessed Homemaking in your inbox. Subscribe here.

Thanks for stopping by.

Homemade Convenience Foods Book Review and Giveaway!

(Please read through the post to find out about the giveaway and special offer for Blessed Homemaking readers).


 As a busy momma who loves to cook homemade meals, I am always looking for a way to save time in the kitchen.  I spend a lot of time there making the healthiest meals possible.  If you have children, or even if you just cook for yourself and your husband, you probably would love to learn a way to save time in meal preparation.

Research shows that the average woman has spent 50,000 hours in her kitchen by the age of 45!
Marcia Washburn developed a system that allows her to have homemade, nutritious food on the table in 15 minutes or less.  Homemade Convenience Foods saves both time and money and works with her sample recipes as well as your own favorites.  In Homemade Convenience Foods, Marcia shares exactly how she cuts meal preparation time down to a minimum.  This isn't a method to throw something together with packaged foods, and it isn't once a month cooking marathons either.

I enjoyed learning some ways to save time in the kitchen.  Even though I don't cook the same way as Marcia (I don't use the microwave to ever make meals, but it is not required to use the book or her method), her ways to save time in the kitchen can easily be used for anyone and for most recipes too.  I learned some very valuable time-savers to help me in the kitchen.  The book has two sections.  In the first section, The Method, Marcia teaches you how to stock your freezer, cupboard, and refrigerator pantries.  The second section is a recipes section with ground beef, sausage, pork, kid-friendly, beef, poultry, and bread mix recipes.

Marcia Washburn has generously offered to give away 1 printed copy of  Homemade Convenience Foods to a Blessed Homemaking reader.  To enter, just leave a comment!  And for this giveaway I am going to offer additional entries in a little different way.  To get additional entries, please stop by every day until September 1st and leave an additional comment on this post!  (Don't forget to leave your email address if you don't have a blog).  This giveaway will end September 1st.

Be sure to come back the next few days, because I will be reviewing more of Marcia's books and there will be more giveaways!

If you would like to purchase Homemade Convenience Foods to see for yourself how you can save time cooking, Marcia is offering a special discount for Blessed Homemaking readers for this resource:

Homemade Convenience Foods—Order now until September 3rd and save $1.00 on the e-book edition

I received this product free of charge to review for Marcia Washburn, but the opinions expressed here are completely my own, honest opinions.

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Blessings.

Which is Better? Plastic or Wood Cutting Boards?

You have probably heard that the best kind of cutting board to keep bacteria away is plastic.  Is this right....?  You may be surprised to know that it is not right.  The better cutting board for bacteria protection is wood!



Cutting Board with Tomatoes and Onions

"...scientists found that 3 minutes after contaminating a wooden cutting board, 99.9% of the pathogenic bacteria had died, while none of the bacteria died on plastic."

 
Check out this very informative post from The Healthy Home Economist to read all of the information.

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Thanks for stopping by.

5 Things I've Learned from the Amish (Guest Post by Suzanne Woods Fisher)

Guest blog from Suzanne Woods Fisher for “Amish Values for Your Family” (Revell)

Five Things I’ve Learned from the Amish that Have Nothing to Do with being Amish and Have Everything to Do with being a Christian:

Being Amish is not a lifestyle. Life among the Amish has to do with faith. Faith can’t be squeezed to an hour or two on Sunday morning; it infuses their entire life like a teabag in hot water. What they do and how they do it is rooted in the spiritual question: What is pleasing to God?

Amish proverb: “Letting go of earthly possessions enables us to take hold of heavenly treasures.”

The Lesson: To pray about my day’s activities and offer them to God, first, for His purposes. And then trusting interruptions (seeing a friend in the grocery store, for example) or de-railings (those days when everything goes wrong!) to be God-managed.

Cherish your family. A family that works together, grows together. Amish families spend a lot of time together and try to keep their work close to home. Children are valued as gifts from God, wanted and enjoyed. They’re included in all of Amish life—from barn raisings to three-hour church services. An Amish bishop once said, "We don't prepare our children for the future, we prepare our children for eternity."

Amish proverb: “Tomorrow’s world will be shaped by what we teach our children today.”

The Lesson: Involving children in chores and activities may not be the most convenient or efficient way to accomplish a task, but the benefits are long lasting. Look for ways to get everybody involved—cook together, sweep out the garage together, set the table together. And have fun while you’re doing it!

Draw a land in the sand. The Amish want to be good stewards of God’s resources—time, money, material goods. They know that convenience comes with a cost. They don’t want to be dependent on outside sources (such as electricity or gas!). Convenience means loss of something valuable. For example, fast food means less nutrition. More stuff means more maintenance. They’re willing to say no.

Amish proverb: “Things that steal our time are usually the easiest to do.”

The Lesson: Technology has its limits. And technology isn’t all good. Evaluate purchases more thoughtfully. Think of where a purchase or an added expense will lead your family. More time together or less? More stress or less? Reframe your view of time and money and goods as God’s resources.




Amish Children, Lancaster County, PA



Watch Your Words. The Amish continually stress the importance of filtering their speech.

Amish proverb: “Words break no bones, but they can break hearts” and “Mincing your words makes it easier if you have to eat them later.”

The Lesson: Say less. Prayer more.

Nothing replaces face-to-face visits. Back in the day when telephones emerged on the scene, the Amish bishops made a deliberate decision to keep the telephone out of the house. They didn’t want to interrupt family life. But they drop everything for a face-to-face visit.

Amish proverb: “Use friendship as a drawing account, but don’t forget to make a deposit.”

The Lesson: Nurture relationships by investing face-to-face time in them. No technology can substitute for the real thing.

Honor the Sabbath. An Amish person would never think of working on a Sunday. But it’s more than that—they truly cherish their Sabbath. They spend time on Saturday to make Sunday a smooth and easy day.

Amish proverb: “Many things I have tried to grasp and have lost. That which I have placed in God’s hands I still have.”

The Lesson: Strive to make Sunday a different day than other days. A day of rest is important on so many levels—time to worship, time to reflect, time to re-energize. A re-charge your battery day.


Suzanne Woods Fisher is a bestselling author of Amish fiction and non-fiction and the host of a weekly radio program called Amish Wisdom. Her most recent book, Amish Values for Your Family released in August. The Waiting is a finalist for a 2011 Christy Award. Amish Peace: Simple and Amish Proverbs were both finalists for the ECPA Book of the Year (2010, 2011). Her interest in the Amish began with her grandfather, W.D. Benedict, who was raised Plain. Suzanne has a great admiration for the Plain people and believes they provide wonderful examples to the world. When Suzanne isn't writing or bragging to her friends about her first new grandbaby (!), she is raising puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind. To Suzanne's way of thinking, you just can't take life too seriously when a puppy is tearing through your house with someone's underwear in its mouth. Keep up on Suzanne's latest news on Facebook, Twitter and on her blog!




Thanks for stopping by.

Five R's for Godly Womanhood {Product Review} Part 2

Today I will be reviewing the last three sessions of the Five R's for Godly Womanhood from Eternal Encouragement for The Gabby Moms.  If you remember in July, I reviewed the first two, which were Refresh: A Woman Who Kneels Before God Can Stand Before Anyone (Session 1) and Rekindle: Red Hot is So Cool (Session 2).  The last three are:

Refine: From Homekeeping 101 to Graduating With Honors
Rejuvenate: What To Do When Abel Is Raising Cain
Rest: Give it Up and Get it All

and again, each session comes with an audio and an ebook to go along with it.


So what are these wonderful sessions about?

You can probably guess from the description of Session 3, Refine that it is all about homekeeping!  In this session, Mrs. Lorrie Flem gives astounding advice for truly being the "mistress" of your home.  She shares a funny story to show that she wasn't always a great housekeeper, but also points out the seriousness and greatness of our appointed job.  I love that Lorrie knows and believes that homemaking is a Christian woman's high calling, and she helps us to remember and embrace this as well.  You will find great instruction from a godly older woman to help you become a better keeper of the home.  I was encouraged by Lorrie's admonishment to rid the home of all unnecessary clutter for the well-being of those who live there.  I really enjoyed her explanation of "Less is More" and think I will remember it for time to come, and may even make a wall-hanging out of it:

Less is more:
• More time
• More room
• More freedom
• More energy.
• More patience

This session includes 7 Homekeeping Teachings: Plan to Manage, Plan to Improve, Plan to Start Strong, Plan to Do It First, Plan to Bless Others, Plan to Feed, Plan to Clean.  All of these will help you to well, plan, so you can be a better homekeeper.  The last chunk of this session deals largely with your attitude as a homemaker, and you won't want to miss it.



Session 4, Rejuvenate: What To Do When Abel Is Raising Cain, is all about child training.  Again, Lorrie gives instruction straight from God's Word, and you can not argue with that.  "Is there a system for child training that works? Is there one that you can know is the right way? Yes! Of course, it is the Bible."  Lorrie covers consistency, obedience, how to deal with young ones, what to do before disciplining, the importance of praise (and the right and wrong way to do it), anger, spanking, a helpful hint called "ambushing", and the discipline of older children too.  The suggestions are clear, concise, and Biblicaly-based.


In Session 5 Rest: Give it Up and Get it All, Lorrie shares what real rest is for the Christian homeschooling mom.  It is not about getting away from your husband, children, and other responsibilities.  It is not about disappearing into the bathtub like that old "CALGON, take me away!" commercial.  Our real rest, Lorrie explains, comes from abiding in the Lord, which enables us to


• Avoid spiritual burnout
• Sense a gratifying fulfillment in all your work
• Enjoy greater intimacy with God
• Drink deeply of the riches in God's Word
• Revive your heart through prayer and worship

If you would like this amazing bundle for yourself, you may purchase Godly Woman: 5 R's for Godly Womanhood at Eternal Encouragement's website.

Would you like to review encouraging, helpful products for the Gabby Moms like I do?  They are now accepting applications, and you can begin by starting here.

As I'm sure you know, I received these products free of charge to review for Eternal Encouragement, but my opinions expressed here are completely my own, honest opinions.

Many blessings.

The Beautiful Bride

Tomorrow we plan on going to a wedding.  Hopefully it will be beautiful.  Hopefully it will be enjoyable.  I pray that it is a blessed and joyous time for all who are involved.

I have noticed a disheartening trend, even among Christian ladies, to wear the most revealing dresses at weddings that they would never wear elsewhere.  Both the brides and bridesmaids bare almost all with bare chests and backs, while the guys stand around in their tuxedos.  Do you see the irony in this?  May the Christians take more thought into how they dress for weddings, so as not to offend the people who are joining them in the celebration of new life together.

Wedding dresses did not used to be so revealing, but portrayed beauty and loveliness in the fabrics instead of the bride's show of skin.
In honor of the beauty and purity that a virgin bride is supposed to exude, I have posted some pictures of simply lovely brides in their modest wedding dresses below.

Enjoy.
















With love.

A Cheap Salvation

But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully;

but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.

—2 Corinthians 4:2

Here again is seen the glaring discrepancy between biblical Christianity and that of present-day evangelicals, particularly in the United States....

To make converts here we are forced to play down the difficulties and play up the peace of mind and worldly success enjoyed by those who accept Christ. We must assure our hearers that Christianity is now a proper and respectable thing and that Christ has become quite popular with political bigwigs, well-to-do business tycoons and the Hollywood swimming pool set. Thus assured, hell-deserving sinners are coming in droves to "accept" Christ for what they can get out of Him; and though one now and again may drop a tear as proof of his sincerity, it is hard to escape the conclusion that most of them are stooping to patronize the Lord of glory much as a young couple might fawn on a boresome but rich old uncle in order to be mentioned in his will later on.

— Tozer

Mothering 24/7

Mothering doesn't end at bedtime, does it?  After a long day of mothering, cooking, cleaning, schooling, you may feel so exhausted....You may even wish for that bedtime to come.

Try not to whisk them off to bed though without that Bible reading, bedtime song, and prayers.  These are the sweetest moments, and they will be gone too fast. You and your children will treasure these moments together, both now and in the future.  They will remember if you always whisked them off to bed "to get rid of them", or if you tenderly got them ready for a peaceful night of slumber.

When they have grown, will you wish you hadn't always been anxiously awaiting when they would be out of your way for the day?  Will you wish you had spent your time more wisely in those fleeting moments?





It is especially tempting for wives of husbands who work late or who are out of town, to plan and plot for when the children will go to bed. Some wives become undisciplined with their time when they don't expect anyone home soon and have no one keeping them accountable. Instead of keeping an early bedtime, some wives use after bedtime hours to stay up late doing meaningless, fruitless tasks, and are not ready to take care of the needs of their families when there are nighttime interruptions.

What about the times a little one comes crying to your bedroom door because of a bad dream? A bloody nose? A bathroom accident? You can be pleasant at these times too. Why do your little ones come to you at these times? Because you are Momma, and no one else will do. They have that God-given expectation that you will help them, comfort them, soothe them, in their time of need. Should you give them help, or angrily thrust them away for disturbing your sleep?




Yes, mothering is a 24/7 job. To help you be better prepared for this:

Don't stay up late watching TV, reading romance novels, or playing on the computer. Before electricity, people would go to bed much closer to the sunset, and they had to, for there was much work to be done in the morning. Don't use the time after the children go to bed to indulge yourself into the late night hours, but maybe have some alone time with your husband before you go off to bed.  If your husband is not home at this time, what a wonderful opportunity you have to spend some time with the Lord or put some last homemaking touches in the house before you go off to bed.


Prepare yourself mentally by reminding yourself that motherhood is the care of these children who are with you 24/7, to raise, to train, and to nurture in the fear and admonition of the Lord.  Much like our Lord never goes to sleep or leaves His guard over us, we must realize that our job is constant, and doesn't end at a certain hour of the day.  Yes, thankfully, most nights come with a rest from the days toils, but sometimes the children will need us beyond these hours, too.

And that is okay.

Much love.

Linked to:

Domestically Divine Homemaking Link Up
Time Warp Wife
Raising Homemakers
Women Living Well
LACE

Sunday Afternoon Nap...

Sometimes it is good to take a Sunday afternoon nap...

Sometimes Momma just can't help it!   *smiles*

Can you spy the little napper in this picture?

Hope your Sunday was blessed.

Find Modest Skirts All Over the World

I hear many women say how hard it is to find beautiful, modest clothing.  It is true, that clothing that is feminine and doesn't bare all can be extremely hard to find.  Just the other day, a woman at the store complimented my daughter and I for our pretty, long skirts and mentioned how difficult it is to find decent clothing these days.  I was wearing a skirt from New Creation apparel and my daughter had on a skirt that was a gift.

 

I have mentioned before to you how I love New Creation Apparel, which sells gorgeous, modest skirts (yes, even maternity skirts!)  I also came across a video that shows many other sources to obtain modest skirts all over the world (and yes, the video mentions New Creation Apparel as well).  So take heart, they are out there, and I hope this blesses you.



Have fun shopping!

Youth Leaving the Faith

As you look on the church landscape, youth are leaving the faith in droves.  The modern church, overall, is struggling to reach the next generation with the gospel.  What has happened?  Whether for good or bad, men, for many years, have been inventing solutions or brainstorming ideas without fully relying upon the foundation of God’s Word.  God, however, is greater than man, and as the heavens are above the earth, so are His ways higher than ours and His thoughts than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9).  We have substituted the greater for the lesser – God’s wisdom for man’s ideas.  Jesus said that he who hears His Word and does it, is like a man that built his house upon a rock, and when the storm came, it stood firm.  On the other hand, he who rejects His Word, is like a man who built on the sand and when the storm came, the house fell (Matthew 7:24-25).

Shouldn’t the church, as a whole, abandon the sandy ideas of man and shamelessly return to the firm rock of the Word of God?  God’s Word sufficiently identifies how youth are to be reached.  For more information on this issue, please see the film Divided, which is a documentary on age-segregated youth ministry in America.  Watch it for free (for a limited time) at www.dividedthemovie.com.  For an in-depth study, the book A Weed in the Church delves into the topic and more thoroughly handles the Scripture passages that address ministry to young people.  For other details or to help spread the message, visit www.dividedthemovie.com.

Our children are our heritage.

Freebies of Interest for the Homemaker

Hello Dear Friends,

I've come across some freebies that homemakers may find of interest, and I thought I would share them with you.

• Here you can register for a chance to get The Double Back-to-School Giveaway. The first 3,000 to respond will receive one pack of Ziploc Brand Containers with the Smart Snap Seal (medium square) and a box of Ziploc Brand Sandwich Bags (50 count). This is from RightAtHome
  
• Free Plant Biology Bookmarks
  Click on the ones you want and add to cart...
  **See site for all details**
• New HomeMade Simple Coupon Booklet
  ( You will need to log in or register if you're not already registered) 
• Get a free sample of Huggies Snug & Dry from Walmart.com

I hope these are helpful.