Weekend Book Review: The Family Illustrated Bible

I always appreciate a good, solid children's Bible. And this Bible fits that ticket exactly!

The Family Illustrated Bible (formerly known as The Children's Bible) is a beautifully written and illustrated children's Bible. The Bible is on the larger side, measuring 9 1/2 x 11 inches. It is a hardcover which adds to the beauty of it. This is one of those children's Bibles that you'll want to take care of and pass on to your grandchildren!

In addition to the many wonderful Old Testament and New Testament Bible stories, the Bible also has several pages in the back listing exciting facts about people from the Old and New Testaments. It also has a large, thorough index, a comprehensive map of the lands of the Bible, timelines, and other tidbits of information tucked in here and there.

This is a beautiful Bible! And it covers all of the usual children's Bible stories, as well as more uncommon ones that typically aren't printed in children's Bibles. It contains approximately 87 Old Testament stories and around 76 New Testament stories.

I received a complimentary copy of this Bible from New Leaf Publishing in exchange for my honest review.

Weekend Book Review: Spiritual Warfare for Women

Spiritual Warfare for Women: Winning the Battle for Your Home, Family, and Friends, by Leighann McCoy, is a fantastic book addressing spiritual warfare and, specifically, in a woman's life.

I have read several books on the unseen battles that rage around us in the spiritual realm, and this one is one of my favorites. I am not one to underline in books, but this book has underlining all through it now that I'm through with it!

In the first part of the book, McCoy starts by discussing God's love for His children. His love is our most powerful weapon against the enemy of our soul, because His love is what ultimately defeated Satan and redeemed us.

In the next section, she exposes the enemy, who he is and what he does. She also writes about what spiritual warfare really is.

In part three of the book, McCoy addresses the targets in our lives as women that Satan most often attacks: our marriages, our children, our friendships, our health, and our churches. She really gets into detail in these topics, devoting an entire chapter to each area.

The last part of the book is devoted to discussing our victory in Christ. This part discusses who we are in Christ, how we can defeat our enemy, and why we should not fear Satan.

The really interesting thing about this book, is that the year that McCoy wrote this book, she was diagnosed with cancer (and survived it), experienced a flood in the large church her husband is the pastor at, and was also dealing with a wayward daughter (something that came as a shock and was completely unexpected to McCoy.) So she wrote from experience. She was living in the trenches of warfare while in the midst of writing the book. And so she was living what she was writing, putting to practice what she was preaching.

I really think this book is a great, helpful tool for spiritual warfare. McCoy writes with humor too, which helps offset the seriousness of the topic. I did not feel this book to be overwhelming or frightening as some books on this topic are, but she presented the reality of spiritual warfare in a lighter way. Not that she made light of spiritual warfare, because she definitely did not do that. She just made the subject a little less scary than some other resources I have read.

This is definitely a keeper. I HIGHLY recommend this book to my sisters in Christ! Spiritual warfare is real, and we need to be alert to the subtle ways Satan attacks us in our lives. And this is a great resource for educating yourself on the topic and how to do battle in Christ.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House in exchange for my honest review.

When You're in Life's Trenches...

When breaths come in heaves rather than peaceful inhalations. When the mind races with confusion and questions rather than peace and rest. When the fiery darts of doubt are flying dangerously close to you. This is when you must just trust.

And when you're just not sure why He's allowing this "thing" in your life, this thing that tugs, and weighs down, and exhausts you. And when you find yourself questioning His goodness (although you'd never readily admit that you are, even to yourself), this is when you must just trust.

And when the doubts and guilt seep into your soul, when they consume your mind, when they threaten to choke out your joy and life, this is when you must throw yourself into the arms of God. For He will protect you from the enemy who desires to steal your joy and render you useless to the Kingdom. The devil may not be able to pluck you out of your Father's family, but he can surely (and surely does try) to paralyze you with his lies so that you feel unworthy to be used by the King. This is Satan's life - to steal yours from you.

So what to do?

Plunge deep into the refreshing, life-giving water of the Word. Throw yourself headfirst into it's quenching tides. And determine to believe it, although you don't fully believe it yet. Claim the Words that He wrote with His blood. Because who would shed blood for all mankind if the words were fraudulent?

So as you tread, knee-deep (and sometimes fully immersed) in the murky trenches of life, the trenches that are dirty, and blood-stained, and full of guilt, anger, hurt, pain, depression, anxiety, reach up to the hand of God who promises to lift us up out of the slimy pit and set our feet on a rock.

And ride the tide while He's manning the invisible boat. Because while it seems that we're being swept along the white waters, He's really there, keeping our feet steady, and only sending us down the rapids that He deems best for us and that He's already treaded before us. What the enemy means for evil, He means for good. Treading the murky waters with Him as our life preserver, only strengthens the spiritual muscles.

May we all rest in the truth that He is God, He loves us, and He is making us more like His Son through our trials. Nothing can separate YOU from the love of Christ.

Romans 8:28 - And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.

Mason Jar Pies

We had our new pastor and his wife and daughter to our home for dinner last night. I was planning on making a blackberry galette, but instead decided to do these cute individual blackberry pies. I had previously seen mini cakes in mason jars somewhere on the internet, and that served as my inspiration.

I just mixed up my homemade pie crust (but you could also use store-bought to make this really quick and easy) and lined the inside of each mason jar with the crust. At first I tried rolling out mini-circles of dough, but I found it easier just to take a bit of dough, stick it in the bottom of the jar and mold it up the sides.

Then I mixed up the blackberry pie filling (blackberries, sugar, a little flour, cinnamon, and lemon juice) and spooned this into the jar.

After filling each jar, I took another bit of dough and pressed it out with my fingers into a round shape which I then placed on top of the jar. I then crimped the edges - I did mine in a more rustic style. I definitely didn't get very fancy with my crimping. I prefer a more rustic, raw look when baking pies.

Using a sharp knife, I cut an x-shape into the top of the pie to vent the air. Make sure you do this step or your filling will erupt out of the top or your pie! Then I sprinkled the tops with a cinnamon/sugar mixture.

I placed the jars on a cooking stone and baked at 350 degrees for approximately 45 minutes. I forgot to time how long it took, so make sure you check on them as they are baking.

After dinner, we whipped up some creamy, homemade vanilla ice cream to serve alongside the pies.

Oh, and I used 4 oz crystal-quilted mason jars. You could go with the half-pint jars, but I think that this size made the perfect serving size.

While I worked on the pies, Lily made her own little creation. When I make pies, I usually give Lily a bit of dough to make something with. She made a blackberry pastry roll-up yesterday. All her idea and all on her own.

I want her to know that it's good to be creative and try new things in the kitchen. I want to instill this love of kitchen creativity in her at a young age. I don't want her to be scared of trying something new or different. So giving her a little bit of dough and pie filling and letting her go at it inspires her in the simplest way to be creative.

And then, of course, I always let her taste-test her creations while they're nice and hot out of the oven!

Have a blessed Wednesday!

How to Really Do Battle...

If you had more faith, you could conquer this. If you knew more Scripture, you could overcome this. If you only believed more fully, you would defeat this.

Do you hear it too? The whispering lies of the serpent, that fall so subtlety on the ears? And we think it's the God-voice telling us how to overcome. But it's really the prince of this world distracting us from what we really need to do ~ rest in Him.

And when we've been doing heavy battle for years, the muscles begin to ache and the heart grows weary. The future looks gray because that's where our sights stay focused. And sometimes it's just hard to find hope when the world looks gray and weighs heavy on the shoulders.

But the one Who holds the future tells us He's already there. And because He's already there, the mind can rest in His sovereignty because not only does He hold the future, but He holds us too. Right there in His hand, our life is secure.

And when the Spirit really speaks the truth, it feels right. When the Spirit gently whispers into my discouraged, downcast, anxiety-ridden soul, "Amber, just rest in me," I can be sure that it's Him. Because only the serpent encourages the endless, unrelenting striving and discord of the heart that stirs up discontentment and frustration from the murky deep pits that try to suffocate our souls. The serpent desires we battle our way into mind-exhaustion.

But the Creator knows what comes of striving. He knows how the body sags and heaves as each breath is taken when it's taken upon itself to do battle in the flesh.

So my prayer is this: Father, help me to rest in You. And show me my part in this battle I'm in against the enemy. May my feet not budge, until You move them. And may my mind and heart only sojourn where You lead. Help me to lay aside this heavy body of flesh, and snuggle up in Your arms, fully accepting all that You have planned for me.

Making and Freezing Pesto...

While visiting my friend Carmen several years ago, she made me a sandwich that was out of this world. Upon investigation, I found out that she made her own homemade pesto which she had mixed in with a little mayo and then spread on the sandwiches. Well, I just had to get my hands on that recipe!

For the last three years, I've been using her recipe to put my basil to good (and yummy) use. And I'm sure she would not mind me sharing her recipe with all of you because she's very generous like that! :)

Fresh Pesto

1 cup firmly packed basil leaves

1/2 cup firmly packed parsley sprigs with stems removed

1/2 cup fresh-grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

1/4 cup pine nuts (or walnuts or almonds)

1 large garlic clove (I actually use 3-4 because we're garlic-lovers here)

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup olive oil.

Mix all ingredients except the oil in a food processor or blender. Blend until a paste forms. Gradually add olive oil and blend to the consistency of a soft butter.

Okay, now here are some things I do:

* I have always used pine nuts, but they're hard to find and expensive. This year I was going to buy walnuts instead but I couldn't find any that didn't have a "may contain peanuts" warning on them and my daughter has a severe peanut allergy. I did, however, find that Diamond almonds are peanut free, so I used almonds instead. It made for a courser pesto because almonds are a harder nut than pine nuts or walnuts, but it still tastes absolutely wonderful.

*I never measure the olive oil. I just gradually pour it in until it looks right. I also don't always measure the other ingredients. I have found that as long as you eyeball close to what the measurements are, the pesto will be pretty hard to mess up.

*I roast my garlic cloves in a little of olive oil before adding them. It makes the taste a little deeper and richer. I have a small stoneware baking dish that I put the cloves in, sprinkle them with a little olive oil and then pop them in either the oven or microwave. If you use the microwave, start with a shorter cooking time because you will chance drying the cloves out.

*I just made four batches of this pesto a few days ago. I always make a bunch and then freeze it in ice cube trays. Once completely frozen, I pop the pesto cubes out of the trays and store in a freezer bag. Then I can defrost as many as I need for a recipe, as I need it. I still have some cubes left from last summer, and they still taste as good now as they did then.

Well, I pray that you all would have a blessed day and a great weekend. My darling husband and I are planning on a Chick-fil-a and IKEA date night tonight. Yay! We don't have either of these places nearby so we don't get to go to them very often, so I'm excited!

Oh, and on another note, did you all hear that Borders Books is closing? I got an email from them last night. So sad. With the e-reader movement and declining economy, they just can't make it. Brad and I often go to Borders for coffee and books for our date nights, so this makes me so sad.

Well, I'm off to do laundry!

Blessings!

Berries and Broccoli

One of the wonderful blessings of living out in the country, is all the wild blackberry bushes that just seem to sprout up spontaneously. A prolific production of berries = lots of fresh, homemade jam!

Brad found a large patch of bushes last week. And the patch is pretty much right in our backyard! He and the kids picked enough for me to make a batch of blackberry jam, and there are so much more where those came from!

I spent a few hours yesterday morning making both the blackberry jam as well as a batch of blueberry jam. I checked last night before bed, and all my jars had sealed. I love to hear that little "click" that occurs when the jars seal. Those of you who can, surely know the sound I'm speaking of!

So, now I'm hoping to be able to pick enough blackberries to try making some syrup. A friend of mine gifted me with a wonderful jar of plum syrup last year (or the year before, time slips away...) that her and her husband had made and canned. It was so yummy, and it inspired me to try making syrup myself.

Our green beans are in abundance. I'll go out tonight and pick them if the plants are dry. I was out this morning picking broccoli that suddenly sprung up! I have enough to make some fresh broccoli for a couple of days as well as enough to freeze for later use.

Although a garden can be hard work, the payoff is so worth it.

Well, my beautiful friend (actually the one who gave me the plum syrup) just called and invited me down to her farm (one of my favorite places to visit) for coffee this morning. A last minute, impromptu invitation is always such a pleasant, unexpected surprise!

Have a blessed Tuesday!

This Morning...

It's 7:45 am and already my dehydrator is full and humming busily away, drying the herbs picked fresh from my garden this morning. I'm sitting here with a warm cup of creamy coffee writing to you, dear friends.

I started reading The Practice of the Presence of God (Paraclete Essentials) while on vacation last week. It is a lovely little book. A much-needed reminder that we need to allow God's presence into all the moments of our day. When our mind races and we rush, rush, rush, we shut God out of our lives mentally. When we slow (even in the midst of physical busyness) and meditate moment by moment on our Lord and His goodness, we permit the Holy Spirit to work in and through us. And we can feel Him.

photo source

Such a simple concept, really. Almost so simple that it's a bit complicated to figure out how to do (since so often the simple things are quite able to confound us, don't you think?) So how does one really permit God into their moment-by-moment living and breathing? It's by emptying the mind of all that does not glorify God and refocusing it on Him and His blessings. And, according to Brother Lawrence, it takes practice. It's another one of those sanctifying processes of the Christ-follower's life.

So, I simply encourage you to invite Him in today. Invite Him in by meditating on His goodness, on His blessings, on His creation. See Him in the mundane tasks of the day, the dishes, the laundry, the crumb-caked floors, because He'll come if we let Him in. Go about your tasks today, doing them as a service to God.

Blessings to you on this beautiful, God-created Wednesday!
Amber

Redecorating, Recent Finds, and Sewing Projects...

I used to be a little obsessed with decorating (and redecorating) my house. It was something that the Holy Spirit convicted me about several years ago. My home had become an idol in my life. Then some things (aka panic/anxiety disorder) sent me reeling, bringing me to the realization of just how distorted my priorities had become.

One thing I learned was that I MUST spend time daily in God's Word. That was the only way I could stay focused. Not being able to leave my home due to agoraphobia led me to this conclusion out of necessity When you have no strength left in your mental bones, you either go crazy or you go to the Word.

Fast forward a little over two years later... I still occasionally wrestle with discontentment. I have learned that I have to consciously guard my heart. I have to be careful of the time I spend perusing blogs that focus on "the home", we no longer have HGTV (that was a big discontentment source), and I constantly find myself having to remind myself that I am totally blessed beyond measure (there are so many people in this world that live in poverty or worse; how dare I complain about my green kitchen counter tops!)

However, I still do enjoy decorating. I just have to do it differently now. I want for our home to be pleasing to the eye and cozy for my family and all who enter our doors. And I don't believe that God minds if I spend a little time and a few dollars on decorating the walls in which we live and breathe most of our days as long as I keep things in perspective and guard against discontentment and covetousness.

Most of my decorating takes place with thrift store or yard sale finds. And I guard how often I redecorate.

I found this old kitchen scale a few weekends ago. I love the nostalgic look it has! I actually have used it to weigh food a couple of times. I bought it solely for the looks of it, so I love that I've actually used it for the purpose it was built. $3.00 was all I paid for it!


I had a dark, primitive country shower curtain hanging in our hall bathroom. My style has shifted to a lighter, more airy look over the last couple of years. I found a set of long lined window panels (these are at least 84") at the thrift store in the early spring. I took one of the panels and am now using it for a shower curtain. It doesn't pull the whole way close, but we only ever pull the vinyl liner shut the whole way when showering anyway, so it doesn't matter. The pair of panels cost me $5.00 total. I have the other panel set aside for some other future use. Maybe pillows for my sofa?

And while we were on vacation, I found a couple of cute shops. I found this reproduction turquoise pitcher that I really just fell in love with...

And I also found these baskets at one of the shops. This came as a set of two (one large, one smaller.) They're painted a light, beachy yellow color, kind of "chippy" and distressed, just as I prefer things!

I'm also planning on painting my hutch in my dining area white. I discovered half a gallon of white paint in the basement last night, so I'll use that for a completely free makeover.

And when I get brave enough, I plan on attacking my kitchen cupboards with paint of some sort. Probably a white or off-white. This is something I've been wanting to do for years, but haven't worked up the gall to do it yet. It's a big project, an unnecessary project, and I really need to make sure I have the time to devote to it before I dive in!

Yesterday, Lily and I did a little sewing. I've been wanting some new, summery pillows for my sofas. The pillows that we have were purchased 11 years ago with the sofa, and they're threadbare in some places.

(When I sew, Lily always wants to participate. What I do is cut out two small squares, put them right-sides together, pin them and draw sewing lines for her to sew along. It's always far from perfect, and most times she doesn't even complete the project, but it gives her practice and helps to establish fine hand-eye coordination.)

I made this pillow cover from a thrift-store find sheet and trim. I measured the dimensions of our sofa pillows and made the cover to fit the pillows we already have.

Then I made this pillow for Lily's bedroom from an old sheet and trim I got on clearance at WalMart a while ago. It turned out simple, cute, and goes perfect with her bedding.

Oh, and completely unrelated to sewing, I'm so excited to finally have hydrangeas on my hydrangea bush that I can dry. I cut these two blossoms off yesterday and I started them in the drying process using the water-drying process. There are several more blooms on the bush that I will cut off and dry once they are ready.

So, the important thing is to have our priorities straight. It's fun to decorate and rearrange things in our home to make things look fresh and new. There's nothing wrong with that. When we start to err is when our homes become an idol in our lives. And there's a very fine line between the two, as I know personally.

So have fun decorating your God-given home, but ask for God's blessings and discernment as you pursue it so that you continue to honor Him through it.

Have a blessed Tuesday!

Down by the seashore, where life is a little easier...

We headed south last weekend to Chincoteague Island and Assateague Beach in VA. Spending a week in the salty, ocean air does wonders for the soul. I always find myself in wonder, standing on the sandy beach looking out over the great expanse of sea.

Have a blessed Monday!!!