A Loving Link
Published February 26, 2010I got the call just a few days ago. A friend had experienced complications in her pregnancy resulting in complete bed-rest. Not too long after that, she was rushed to the hospital and her baby was born months premature. My friend also required some serious surgery as well. Now, mom is home with her hubby and other children and a strong, sweet baby girl is in the hospital fighting for her life.
Of course we are praying for this family; our entire church has them on our hearts. And, to put feet to our prayers many of us are wanting to help, especially with providing food for the family during this difficult time.
At such times, usually one gal will spear-head a calling campaign to set up a meal rotation. However, this is the first time that I have ever been part of a meal-scheduling Internet group. I was so impressed with it, I just had to pass the link on to you!
My friend Sharon sent me an email with the link to this clever site. Foodtidings.com is a site where you can log on to create a meal schedule for a hurting family. In their own words:
Food Tidings exists to simplify the process of organizing meals for friends or family members in a transitional time of life. For someone who has just had a baby, recovering from surgery or injury, grieving the passing of a loved one, confined to bed rest, and almost anything else, receiving dinners from loved ones can be very comforting and helpful.
Now, I know setting up a schedule of meals by email is nothing new. However, this site eliminates the need for resending emails, hitting “reply all” ( or hoping you hit “reply all”!) thinking of new people to add to the list, checking and rechecking to see if someone new has taken a day, etc…
It simplifies the set-up process by creating a webpage where those who want to provide a meal can go. They pick a date, list what they’ll make (so there aren’t three days in a row of lasagna and jello salad) and even see the family’s desired meal time, special dietary needs or allergies.
If there is someone you know who cold use a break from the kitchen for a while, visit Foodtidings.com this weekend to get started!
So simple and such a great way to be Jesus’ hands and feet to someone in need.
Well, we’re off to our boys’ regional Homeschool basketball tournaments.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Helping Women Simplify Life and Glorify God,
Weight Loss Wednesday: Fat-free or Good Fat?
Published February 24, 2010Remember when the fat-free craze hit big time a few years back? Fat-free chips, cookies, candy, snacks and such? It seemed the whole weight-loss world had boycotted fat forever.
Including me.
Now, I was able to be successful in losing weight on a nearly fat-free diet. Between babies two and three I dropped over 40 excess pounds that I gained during pregnancy. However, there was one slight problem with staying on a low-calorie, nearly fat-free diet.
I was hungry.
All the time!
Since those days I have schooled myself about fat. Is fat always bad? I think I have discovered the answer is no.
In fact, this time around I am trying to make sure I get enough fat. The so called “good” heart-healthy fat.
MUFAs (pronounced moo-fah) are monounsaturated fatty acids, plant-based fats found in some of the world’s most delicious foods–avocado, nuts and seeds, oils, olives, and dark chocolate! Studies show that these good-for-you fats enhance heart health and protect against chronic disease. And now the latest research shows that these dietary superstars may even target fat where it’s hardest to lose–in your belly! (From Prevention.com:)
So now, I try to have some of these everyday. And since fats metabolize slower and stay in your system longer, I feel hungry less often.
Before for an afternoon snack, I would have a fat-free “mock” treat–you know like a low cal, fat-free Twinkie-type snack or some fat-free potato chips or cookies. They tasted great and were around 100-150 calories.
But I was hungry again in less than an hour since they were made of empty white flour carbs and no fat.
Now, for a snack I’ll have a handful of raw almonds or some sliced turkey wrapped around a wedge of avocado and sprinkled with sea salt or even my beloved three squares of dark chocolate–so dark it is almost like baking chocolate!
They taste great, are between 100-150 calories and I am not hungry again for up to three hours.
Yeah good fats!
If you’d like to read up on these MUFAs here are a few links:
Okay…let’s do our regular check in. How was your week?
Mine drove me crazy since I have banished my scale to the barn for a while. I did not have time to fit in exercise except for two days due to a reason that will be explained in a future post. My eating was great on three days and so-so the other four. I am using a pair of jeans for measurement and they fit just like they did last week so I don’t think I have gained but don’t feel a loss either.
How about you?
And what are your musings about the whole fat-free vs. good fat subject?
Leave a comment with your thoughts.
I’ll grab me some dark chocolate and read them! 
Sweet Blessings,
Box Bashing
Published February 23, 2010This is a hard post for me to write. I’d much prefer to be talking about organization or celebrating with your kids or getting along with your hubby or perhaps offering some fun and funky giveaway.
However, there has been a buzz out there lately; a bad buzz.
It involves a group of people I am closely linked with. This group is often stereotyped in a particular way. Usually, I can laugh off parts of the stereotype since I really don’t fit the mold entirely. But what has transpired lately is no laughing matter.
But I am getting ahead of myself. Let me back up.
I first heard about homeschooling way back in the mid 1980′s. One of our college professors was doing it.
I thought it was the strangest thing I’d ever heard of.
Fast forward to 1996 when our oldest was kindergarten age. By this time, we had met and interacted with many families who educated their kids at home and were impressed with how their offspring were turning out and with how many opportunities were out there for them: sports, band, choir, field trips, co-ops, even a homeschool academy for many classes and activities.
My husband also was working a job on the afternoon shift. We quickly discovered that if our kids were in a traditional public or private school setting, they’d say goodnight to their dad on Sunday evening and wouldn’t see his face again until he woke up just after noon on Saturday.
The decision for us was clear cut. Although I had been a substitute teacher in three public school districts and had just turned down a position at a Christian high school, we’d homeschool Kenzie for kindergarten. And we decided to reevaluate how our kids are educated each summer.
Now, many times those women who homeschool are portrayed in a particular light. They are thought to do all of the following:
- Have a boatload of kids.
- Wear denim jumpers and their long hair knotted up in a bun.
- Grind their own wheat.
- Bake their own bread.
- Enjoy memorizing geography and spelling rules just for fun.
And many other such “homeschoolish” activities.
Now, I must tell you that, as I mentioned yesterday, I hate boxes. When others have tried to put me in the homeschool box, I haven’t quite fit.
- I look horrid in jumpers and my husband wouldn’t ever want me to wear one.
- I look much better in a shorter hairstyle and again, the hubster (as well as my fashion consultant Shari) doesn’t like long hair on me.
- I was only able to have three kids, although I wanted at least six.
- I am a flop at geography and spell check is my constant friend.
- However, I do have a wheat grinder and love to make my own whole wheat bread!
Now, please don’t read into this that I have a problem with those women who do all of the above. I have several dear, precious friends that do!
However, there is another stereotype that often comes with the homeschool label.
It is the one I loathe.
It is the assumption that homeschoolers also parent in an over-authoritarian, strict and severe corporal punishment sort of way. In fact, when our oldest was just a toddler, I came in contact with a few families who did just that.
They had all read the same book that told them how to crank out perfectly obedient children. It involved corporal punishment; administered with a plumbing supply line commonly purchased at hardware stores.
I am not joking.
These parents were encouraged to do the following: “If you have to sit on him to spank him then do not hesitate. And hold him there until he is surrendered. Prove that you are bigger, tougher, more patiently enduring and are unmoved by his wailing. Defeat him totally. Accept no conditions for surrender. No compromise. You are to rule over him as a benevolent sovereign. Your word is final.”
One woman I personally knew said she spanked her pre-schooler when he disobeyed to the point that his bottom “looked like hamburger meat.”
Another whipped her 3 year old child’s legs repeatedly because she refused to sit next to me in their vehicle on a garage sale outing one afternoon. (The child did not know me at all and was timid and scared) It happened numerous times over the course of about three hours until this sweet and shy girl had raised and painful welts all over her little legs.
I had no children at the time. I retrospect, I should have done something other than sit silently in disbelief at what my eyes and heart were witnessing. However, I was intimidated. I was also was often in awe of how “outwardly obedient” these small kids were. I had no idea it was because of how much they hurt when they got out of line.
Oh, it gets worse.
Last week I received an email from Virginia Knowles, a cyber friend and popular homeschool blogger. It told a tragic tale; yet another case where recently, a child had actually died as a result of following the advice of those who advocate this type of “discipline”.
On February 6, seven year old Lydia Schatz who was adopted from Liberia, was murdered. Her 11 year old sister Zariah was also wounded and is in critical condition with kidney damage. Who hurt these children and caused one of them to die? Their home schooling parents did. The “offense” of the murdered child was that she mispronounced a word during her lessons that day. She was beaten repeatedly with a plumbing supply line. Another brother has been found badly bruised. And yes, her parents read and followed the advice in that same “child training” book!
And this child isn’t the first to perish. It has happened other times as well. You can read Virginia’s opinion and the news account here. (Please note: I have not had time to thoroughly check out the many links her post contains, so I don’t know for sure if I can agree with the content contained within them all. However, she does a fabulous job chronicling this tragic topic.)
Oh sisters, this breaks my heart!!!!!!
Please, I want you to know that not all homeschool parents severely beat their kids into submission with hoses meant for plumbing purposes or other household objects.
However, some sadly do.
And some non-homeschoolers do too.
And it is an awful, horrid disgrace.
Please join me in praying for those children who are trapped in such a home. May Jesus rescue them somehow very, very soon.
‘Fathers, do not irritate and provoke your children to anger [do not exasperate them to resentment], but rear them [tenderly] in the training and discipline and the counsel and admonition of the Lord.” Ephesians 3:4 Amplified Bible
Blessings,
Boxes
Published February 22, 2010I have a love/hate relationship with boxes.
Just ask my husband. He knows all too well of it.
I love boxes; the sturdy, cardboard kind. The “boys’-baseball-cleats-came-in-this-but-it-would-make-a-great-care-package-mailer” type of boxes.
I save them. I hoard them. Our storage room sports many of them. And I regularly use them.
However, I also hate boxes; different kinds of boxes.
The kind of boxes we put people in.
So many strict, confining boxes. They hem. They confine. And we use them to judge other people without even giving them a chance.
I have been pondering just such a box lately; a box that others have tried to put both me and many of my close friends in.
However, I do not fit neatly in the box.
In fact, I loathe the very thought of being cooped up inside its pressing four walls. When others have attempted to make me fit in that confining container, I have kicked the lid clear off.
This very box has been in the news lately and it has brought me to both anger and tears.
Tomorrow, I’ll explain.
But for now, I have to hunt down some of those boxes I love.
The sturdy, strong and solid cardboard kind.
I have lots of blog giveaway winners who are waiting for their prizes.
I’ll be back tomorrow…..
Boxing Blessings,
A Freezer Deal to Warm (as well as free) You Up
Published February 18, 2010WEEKEND UPDATE: Please note that the Freezer Manuals are all spoken for. You can order one stright from 30 Day Gourmet by clicking here.
Hi all!
I’m home from running Spencer to his day of classes at the homeschool academy and ready to dive in and tackle a big chunk of school with Mitch. Besides helping him study for his mid-term coming up at his co-op, I need to answer several waiting emails, write a Proverbs 31 devotion, do two loads of laundry, mop the kitchen and send a care package to my daughter.
Oh yeah….and my family would probably like something hot and delicious for supper tonight before they dash off to basketball practice.
Enter the Freezer Cooking Manual by 30 Day Gourmet.
I met the author of this fabulous resource many years ago when we both spoke at a Hearts at Home moms conference. As a busy mom with two small children and a baby on the way, I heard her speak of “quantity cooking”; putting up several main dish, side dish and even desserts in the freezer to take out and enjoy on those crazy, busy days.
I was hooked.
Now, before you tune me out….hear me out. I am not talking about “once-a-month” cooking where you assemble several complicated, casserole-ish, “glop-on-rice” dishes that are starchy, fattening and look like a church potluck gone bad.
I’m talking delicious, easy and family friendly meals that are easy to assemble, freeze well and reheat beautifully.
This book even is a sort of “freezer cooking for dummies” walking you through step-by-step how to plan, shop, prepare, freeze and serve the great dishes contained within its pages.
Oh, and it shows you how to do it even if you don’t have a separate freezer.
So, if you have a desire to make a big mess, either by yourself or with a friend or two, on one day, but buy yourself several days off of kitchen duty by doing so, I have a deal for you.
I carry this fabulous cookbook when I speak on organization and hospitality and let me tell you, it flies off the table! Well, I am not speaking on these two topics for several months, so I am clearing out my inventory.
I have about 10 Freezer Manuals left. They are normally $15.00 plus shipping and tax. However, I will sell the remaining ones to those of you who’d like one for $13.00 and I’ll cover the shipping and tax.
So, if you’d like to try making Cheeseburger Quiche, Chicken Divan, Taco Chili, Parsley Parmesan Chicken, Master Meat Mix (to use several different ways-from meatballs to meatloaf and more!) Frozen Peanut-butter Bars, Breakfast McBiscuits and the BEST bread machine mix EVER (that you can use to make pizza dough, calzones, bread sticks or cinnamon rolls) then email me at karen@proverbs31.org. I’ll get your credit card info or give you my address if you’d prefer to mail a check.
Then, on one of your crazy-busy days, you can do what I’m going to do today.
Walk to your freezer and ask yourself, “What sounds good for supper tonight? Mexican? Italian? Good ole’ meat and potatoes?” Then pull it out, pop it in and enjoy! (oh….and wash much fewer dishes since there were no prep pans, just the baking dish!)
Happy Cooking!
On Motives and Breaking Up
Published February 17, 2010First of all…congrats to the winner of my prize from yesterday’s Proverbs 31 Carnival of Giveaways. She is:
Faith: Timestamp February 16, 2010 at 3:22 pm
Send your home address to karen@proverbs31.org so I can ship your gift out asap!
Now back to our regularly scheduled Weight Loss Wednesday post. (If you haven’t joined our little cyber group of girlfriends, don’t fret! Newcomers are always welcome. You can get caught up by clicking on Weight Loss Wednesdays in the side bar.)
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I had a hard week.
I planned on it being a great week; especially after stepping on the scale last Wednesday and glancing down at the digital numbers flashing at me. It was then that I realized I was only a tad bit over 10 pounds away from getting back to my lifetime Weight Watchers goal weight.
Man was I pumped.
The end was getting in sight.
Then, this past Thursday, I got sick. A terrible sinus monster invaded my head. It made it throb, pound and feel as if it surely would explode. I couldn’t sleep, or think straight. And I had an entire weekend of thinkin’ ahead of me.
Since I am severely allergic to cold medicine, I had to suffer. I was able to use a nose spray that helps for a few hours, just long enough to make it through playing a “Showcase Showdown Girl” during a game show spoof at our church’s Valentines Day banquet . Other than that, I was miserable.
And worst of all, since I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t smell. Since I couldn’t smell, nothing tasted good. Ya think that woulda helped my weight loss efforts.
It didn’t.
Nothing tasted good.
So I kept tasting.
I went from salty, to sweet, to spicy and back to salty again. On Sunday, I added back in dark chocolate, which I had been fasting from. Sweet hubby even bought me my favorite— Sea-salted dark Chocolate from World Market. It still didn’t do the trick. Could hardly taste it!
I know now my stomach wasn’t hungry; my taste buds were bored and no matter what I ate, I didn’t feel satisfied.
It lasted for three days!!!!
I also gave into a sometimes bad habit I have of hopping on the scale just to “peek” at how I am doing from Wednesday to Wednesday.
By Friday morning, I was down a bit.
But by Monday morning, after my three day quest for something to taste good and fill me up and after downing lots of salt which I normally avoid….I was up over 3 pounds! Ughhhhhhh!
It threw me into a massive blue funk. An “I-might-as-well-throw-in-the-towel-and-shut-down-WLW-on-my-blog-since-I-am-such-a-bad-example” funk.
Seriously.
But the last two days I have settled down and tried to discover if God wants me to do something different.
He does.
He wants me to break up with my scale. My state-of-the-art, Weight Watchers Digital scale.
It is defining me. And it is defeating me.
Even though when we started off last October, I encouraged you all to be defined by obedience and not a number on the scale, (post here) this past weekend, I was not taking my own advice.
So, I am officially breaking up with my scale, ending the love/hate relationship I have with it. Not for good, just for a while.
I have decided to start weighing in only on the first day of the month. I need my motivation to be obedience to God in my eating, not some stupid number on the stinkin’ scale. And I know from losing weight before how crazy addicted I get to hopping on the scale and seeing it go up or down when I am near my goal. It makes me crazy! And I often react by overeating if it doesn’t move as quickly as I’d like, which often drags out losing those last 10-15 pounds for what seems like an eternity!!!
So, I will still check in with you each Wednesday. Just not with my scale.
He and I will just have a once-a-month date and in between, I’ll have my husband hide him somewhere in the house. No….out in the pole barn. Then I’d have to wander 30 yards through several inches of snow to get it!
I hope this works!
Well— how was your week?
I hope it was better than mine. And thanks again for your cyber-presence here. You help me keep in line, and when I don’t, to hit the restart button—which I am doing RIGHT NOW!!!!!
Sweet Blessings,
A Carnival of Giveaways
Published February 16, 2010Welcome to a godly girlfriends giveaway carnival hosted by our Proverbs 31 speaker team!
Quick….get your housework (or work-work!) done and carve out a little time to grab a hot drink and hop around to each gal’s site and see what awesome items are being given away. Simply leave a comment on any site you wish. You may just be a winner! (And to make it easy on you, just say “I’m in!” for my giveaway!) You have until the end of today to enter.
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Well, today is all about celebrations.
Although we do up holidays big around our house, I want to take a second to encourage you to celebrate the everyday.
The joy of caring for a sweet, wiggly baby.
The warm feeling you get seeing a struggling child master a new skill.
The touch of a faithful friend’s hug.
A smile from a caring coworker.
The privilege of cooking for your middle-aged man or caring for your aging parent.
Purpose today to delight in the daily days of life.
Most of all, in our loving, delight-ful God!
And I’m hoping one of you delights in a basket-in-a-box full of simple delights from me!
For my contribution to today’s celebration, I am giving away a Winter White Basket centered on Psalm 51:7 “Wash me and I will be whiter than snow” It includes Skin Milk body wash, a white loofah, Winter White Citrus Bath & Body Works lotion, white lily linen and room sprays, white hot cocoa, a white mug and white-chocolate macadamia nut cookies. Along with it, a copy of our book on celebrations entitled Homespun Memories for the Heart: More Than 200 Ideas to Make Unforgettable Moments co-written by myself and friends Kelly Hovermale and Trish Smith.
Now, for more chances to win, here are my P31 sisters who are participating today:
www.WendyBlight.com Wendy is giving away a copy of the One Year Chronological Bible and her book Hidden Joy in a Dark Corner: The Transforming Power of God’s Story.
www.ShariBraendel.blogspot.com Shari is giving away 3 beautiful jewelry pieces to begin a spring wardrobe with! One for a Glamour Girl, one for a Movie Star and one for a Rock Star!
www.miccacampbell.com Micca is giving away her book An Untroubled Heart, and a cute clutch purse for those fun summer evenings!
www.Whitneycapps.blogspot.com Whitney is giving away a $30 Francesca’s Gift card, redeemable at www.francescascollections.com
www.melaniechitwood.com Melanie is giving away One marriage conference call (see her blog for details) and her new book What a Wife Needs from Her Husband.
www.LynnCowell.com Lynn is giving away a prize for mom and a prize for a teen girl in her life – the 3 book series B.A.B.E. series by Andrea Stephens (Beautiful, Accepted, Blessed, Eternally Significant) for the teen and for Mom a $10 gift card to Starbucks along with Lynn’s CD “Building a Bridge to Your Child’s Heart”.
http://www.tsuzanneeller.com Suzie is giving away a webcam!
www.zoeelmore.blogspot.com Zoe is giving away a journal, a copy of My Heart’s Cry by Anne Graham Lotz and a piece of jewelry Zoe style!
www.CharleneKidd.blogspot.com Charlene is giving away a $20.00 Starbucks Gift Card and a copy of Karen Ehman’s book: A Life That Says Welcome; Simple Ways to Open Your Heart and Home to Others.
www.TracieMiles.com Tracie is giving away her CD “Overcoming Stress with Extraordinary Faith” and a Soulmates Slipper with Christian Notepad and Pen.
www.RachelOlsen.com Rachel is giving away “Bread for Life”: a hardback copy of The Daily Message: Through the Bible in One Year by Eugene Peterson (which you can read this along with her this year) and the Williams-Sonoma Muffins cookbook.
www.wendypope.org Wendy is giving away a copy of her book Out of the Mouths of Babes and her CD Yes, No, and Maybe of a Balanced Life.
www.LuannPrater.com Luann is giving away an Encouragement Cafe mug and t-shirt for her site as well as on www.encouragementcafe.com too!
www.LeAnnRice.com LeAnn, our P31 executive director, is giving away a copy of her cookbook Sharing Grace: Recipes- Family Traditions-Gift ideas and a Starbucks gift card.
www.susannescheppmann.blogspot.com Susanne is giving away her “Birds in My Mustard Tree Bible Study” with an I-tunes gift card.”
www.ReneeSwope.com Renee is giving away Lysa TerKeurst’s Becoming More Than a Good Bible Study Girl DVD Set and her CD message, “Living Beyond the Shadow of Doubt” on DVD.
www.LysaTerKeurst.com Lysa’s give away is a Mom’s Book Club gift pack including 4 copies of Lysa’s book, “Am I Messing Up My Kids?” and a 30-minute Q&A conference call with Lysa.
www.vanwalton.blogspot.com Van is giving away her DVD for children – From the Pound to the Palace
www.GlynnisWhitwer.com Glynnis is giving away her book “work@home: A Practical Guide for Woman Who Want to Work from Home” and a French Country Wire Silverware Basket
www.shereads.org She Reads (our on-line book club) is giving away two novels, Watch Over Me by Christa Parrish and Screen Play by Chris Coppernoll, and chocolate, courtesy of the authors. They will tell the story of how their writing brought them together – a love story, quite literally, fit for a novel!
www.RadRevolution.org Our ministry to teen girls is giving away a copy of “Do the Hard Thing” along with a RadRev t-shirt!
Okay gals……comment away!!! Tell me a simple, daily pleasure you delight in or just say “I’m in!”
And, I almost forgot…..the winner of yesterday’s Presidents Day Bath & Body Works Cherry Blossom giveaway is:
Nancy Timestamp: February 15, 2010 at 1:04 pm
Email me your home address at karen@proverbs31.org so I can ship your gift out to you!
Celebration Blessings,
Cherry Blossom Presidents Day Giveaway
Published February 15, 2010Thanks to the many of you who let me know you were praying for me since I was feeling a bit under the weather this past weekend. You are too sweet!
Normally a little sinus trouble shouldn’t get a girl down, but I am severely allergic to cold medicine—as in wind-up-in-ER-and-admitted-to-the-hospital allergic, so I must suffer somewhat. Sea salt sinus rinses and melting a glop of Vicks Vapor rub in a metal bowl of boiling water and breathing in deep help a bit. There is one nose spray I can use, but only sparingly. So, most of the weekend, my head felt as if it would explode!
Now, since I still have that slight head-bursting feel, I will be brief. At the end of this post, I’ll announce all five winners of the Valentines Week giveaways. I’ll also offer a Presidents Day prize for today and want to invite you all back here tomorrow for a HUGE carnival of God’s Girl’s Giveaways our speaker team at Proverbs 31 is holding. Hey…the world will be indulging and celebrating Fat Tuesday up big. We’ll celebrate here too!
First, let me tell you what we’re giving away today.
Since it is President’s Day here in the states, and since I always associate that winter holiday with ole’ George Washington and the cherry tree legend, I’m giving away some Bath and Body Works Cherry Blossom products; a bottle of lotion and some shower foam too. Flowers not included They are leftover from our Valentines banquet at church.
SO…here is the dealio. Leave a comment today about your earliest memory of a US president. Was it someone you saw on TV? Was it passing out campaign literature with your parents for a candidate?
My friend Debi tells of being on her dad’s shoulders in Owosso, MI standing outside the train depot waiting for JFK to make a campaign stop. I remember my mom “sushing” us when President Nixon was on our black and white television screen resigning from office and Gerald Ford, his VP who is from my home state of MI, was taking office.
What about you? What US president do you first remember seeing or hearing about? (Please….no political slamming or “what a moron he was” comments. Let’s all be nice )
Now—for the winners from last weeks Valentine’s giveaways: (winners, please email your home address to karen@proverbs31.org and tell me what prize you won)
A signed copy of What A Husband Needs from His Wife by Melanie Chitwood and a $5.00 Starbucks card: Jill: February 8, 2010 at 2:38 pm
A signed copy of Is There Really Sex After Kids by Jill Savage and a heart-decorated oven mitt and some Bath and Body Works P.S. I Love You Spring Fling Lotion: Abi : February 9, 2010 at 8:32 pm
Some P.S. I Love You oil and a new electric oil diffuser and shower gel from Bath and Body Works: Vicki Foss: February 10, 2010 at 10:32 am
A copy of Dr. Emerson Eggerichs’ best-selling book Love and Respect: Katie: February 12, 2010 at 3:44 pm
A signed copy of Melanie Chitwood’s What a Wife Needs from Her Husband along with a $10 Starbucks card: Rebecca: February 12, 2010 at 8:17 pm
Now—what is your earliest memory of a US president? You may be today’s winner!
Monday Blessings,
What A Wife Needs From Her Husband Giveaway With Melanie Chitwood
Published February 12, 2010Hi all–
Sorry this post is up a bit later than usual. I started coming down with a case of the creeping crud last night—fever, chills, some sinus junk. I felt I’d better not set the alarm and just wake up when my body wanted. My body wanted some serious sleep!
I wanted someone to take care of me.
It really doesn’t matter that normally I am mom/nurse/caregiver/encourager/chicken noodle soup maker/medicine dispenser for three kids. When I am sick, I want to be pampered. Normally, I think of myself as very low-maintenance (overheard my hubby telling a buddy that one day. I considered it a huge compliment. Todd has a severe aversion to high-maintenance women and tells tales of many guys at the shop complaining about their own high-maintenance wives. Now…. I didn’t care to hear what ‘non-strengths’ he thinks I have. I know for certain I have many!!!)
However, when I am sick, I get a little high-maintenance myself. And I love me a little TLC.
So, this morning, there was my dear husband, who is off on Fridays, getting me garlic oil pills and a dose of Airborne and a tall glass of water, wanting to know what else I needed.
He is a gem.
What else do I need?
Hmmmmm..
Let’s talk bigger picture here for a minute.
What do wives in general need from their husbands?
So glad you asked.
My friend and Proverbs 31 sister Melanie Chitwood has just released a new book all about that. You could win her helpful book, along with a $10 Starbucks card. Read on……
First, here is a short interview with Melanie.
Melanie– Your new book is called What a Wife Needs From Her Husband. What prompted you to write it?
)Love & Respect Giveaway with Dr. Emerson Eggerichs
Published February 11, 2010Today Spencer, our youngest child, turns 12.
However, it seems like only yesterday he was an infant in the nursery when I sat at my discussion table at the MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) group at East Lansing Trinity Church.
That particular Wednesday morning, Pastor Emerson Eggerichs was our guest speaker. He was there to talk to the moms and gather info and data that would help him in a new ministry he was launching called Love and Respect. He brought to life the male/female differences and highlighted in tangible ways the well known Bible verse Ephesians 5:33 which reads:
“…each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.”
Simple verse.
Profound concept.
Following it leads to marital peace.
Disregarding it leads to severe spousal strife.
Emerson and his beautiful wife Sarah took a leap of faith as they launched the Love and Respect Conferences in August 1999 to serve husbands and wives. They are convinced that the insights presented in the conference can turn hurting marriages into good ones, and good marriages into better ones.
I have had the honor of not only speaking alongside the Eggerichs at Hearts at Home conferences, but becoming friends with them and watching first-hand as God took their conferences and their message to a national level. They are the real deal, folks. They live what they preach and are not afraid to admit that they still struggle with living out daily the truths of scripture in a word tainted by “what’s in it for me” thinking.
Emerson E. Eggerichs (yes….that is his real name. I’ve teased him, asserting that apparently his parents wanted to buy a vowel!) was born in Peoria, Illinois on April 30, 1951. He met his wife while attending Wheaton College. Together, they have 3 adult children, Jonathan, David and Joy.
Emerson received his B.A. in Biblical Studies and an M.A. in Communications from Wheaton College and Graduate school. He was later awarded his Masters in Divinity from Dubuque Seminary. He also earned his Ph.D. from Michigan State University in Child and Family Ecology. His dissertation was an analysis of effective fathers.
Emerson has donated a copy of his best-selling book Love and Respect to give to one of you who leaves a comment on today’s post. This life-changing book has helped countless people seeking a biblical and successful marriage.
Today, you and your mate can start fresh with the ground-breaking guidance that Emerson provides in this helpful resource. His revolutionary message, featured on Focus on the Family, is for anyone: in marital crisis…wanting to stay happily married…who’s feeling lonely. It’s for engaged couples…victims of affairs…pastors and counselors seeking material that can save a marriage.
Using his breakthrough techniques, couples nationwide are achieving a brand-new level of intimacy and learning how to: – stop the Crazy Cycle of conflict – initiate the Energizing Cycle of change – enjoy the Rewarded Cycle of new passion.
And if you’ll take this biblically based counsel to heart, your marriage could be next!
So, if you’d like to have a chance to receive this practical and inspirational book from Emerson, leave a comment by Sunday at midnight. (as with all of this weeks’ giveaways, you have until then to enter. Winners will be announced Monday.)
Let’s make it simple. Either:
- Tell us your wedding date and where you tied the knot.
- Or, if you are single, tell us why you would like to win this book. Do you need advice on helping someone in a struggling marriage? Is there someone you’d give it to?
I’ll start us off.
Todd and I were married on June 21, 1986 in Lansing, Michigan. It was a sunny and 72 degree perfect day. Although I’d always swore I’d never be a June bride. However, we graduated college the last weekend in May that year. Todd said he’d waited long enough and I could pick any weekend in June to get hitched. So, June bride I was! (I also always swore I’d never have three kids—didn’t want the whole oldest, middle, baby syndrome. Well…can you count? Check out the pic of my family in the upper right corner. How many kids do I have?)
Note to self: Stop swearing you’ll never do something.
God chuckles and oft times proves us wrong.
NOTE: For more on this topic, you may want to read today’s Proverbs 31 Encouragement for Today devotion written by my P31 sister Tracie Miles.
Lovingly and Respectfully,
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My Family
