Changed By Love

God of Wonders: Scientists Prove Almighty God’s Existence Through Science

Nov.17,2013

If you have an hour and a half, and you want to see proof of a Creator through excellent videography of God’s spectacular Creation, then watch this video. Gather your children and have a great Science lesson on the proof of Creation.

But if you only have about 3 minutes, at least watch the intro to this video. It is fabulous!

The whole video is filled with excellent videography of the majesty of nature. It is worth the watch.

Sit back and enjoy your nature study with some popcorn and a favorite beverage today!

Letter to Your Thirteen Year Old Son

Nov.11,2013

This was shared on Facebook by Jimmy Brown.

I plan to read it to my son, Morgan, on his 13th birthday this New Year’s Eve. We do a sort of Bar Mitzvah type of ceremony on our sons’ 13th birthday and pronounce a blessing on him. We pray over him and proclaim the good things we have seen developing in his life and character. This list will be perfect for instruction and blessing on that day.

Thirteen Things I Want You To Know On Your 13th Birthday

13. Strive to excel, but not at the expense of others. Do your best and give your all; just don’t trample on others along the way.

12. Whatever happens next, whatever you do in life, you will always be my son. I love you! No. Matter. What.

11. You are blessed to be a blessing. Use your God-given abilities and resources to do good to others. Don’t wait for someone to ask for your help, just take the initiative and do it.

10. Respect others. Show honor to others even if you don’t agree with them or even like them. Respect says more about the giver than the receiver. So does a lack of it.

9. Think before you speak and speak after you think. Your words can and will have life-impacting effect upon others. Use them to build others up instead of to tear them down.

8. Not everyone is going to be like you, but that doesn’t mean you should treat them badly. People who are different are still people. Treat them like you want them to treat you.

7. Purity is the best wedding gift you can give your bride. Look for a wife who will exchange that same gift back with you.

6. No one in life owes you anything that you didn’t earn. Don’t think that you have a right to something “just because”. Entitlement is an excuse for not putting in the effort.

5. When adversity slaps you across the face, slap it back. Difficult times will come. When they do, don’t give up. Don’t you ever give up.

4. Show people that you care about them. Never leave a loving word unsaid. Today is the day to let others know you appreciate them.

3. The goal is the “right” thing, not the “popular”, “easy” or “justifiable” thing. Never let anyone pressure you into choosing wrong over right, nor into settling for good over better.

2. There is an opportunity cost in everything. When you invest your time, money, and resources in something then something else gets left out. Choose wisely what you value and invest in.

1. Jesus + Nothing = Everything. The reverse of this equation is also true: Everything – Jesus = Nothing. Everything means more when nothing means more than Him.

A Bully, an Icy Creek, and a Big Giveaway from Elisha Press

Nov.4,2013

A bully, an icy creek, and a big giveaway from Elisha Press

Elisha Press, a publisher of Christian novels particularly suitable for homeschool families, is launching a new title this week. Julie: the Redemption of the Backyard Bully is an all-new spinoff on The Reunion by Rachael McIntire. Both books are recommended as read-aloud material for the whole family. Solo readers of Julie should be twelve or older.

Fans of The Reunion may remember Julie Greene, the Gladstones’ troublesome neighbor who almost drowned in the creek. This new novel – longer and illustrated – tells Julie’s story before and after that incident, through the now-aging eyes of “Grandma” Greene. How can a sullen bully learn to be a selfless friend? How can a jealous young lady learn to be grateful and contented no matter what life brings? What does it mean to follow Jesus in the practical work and play of daily life? All this and more is waiting for you within the pages of Julie.

Author Rachael McIntire says that many elements of Julie are based on incidents from her own life. Growing up in the 1960’s, she experienced firsthand the challenges of that tumultuous time. Though the sixties are now long gone, the principles of God remain the same eternally. It is her hope that some of these principles may penetrate young hearts and minds through the story of the backyard bully and her redemption.

As part of their launch event, Elisha Press is giving away one autographed copy of Julie every day this week. By entering once, you’ll have a chance to win each time. This is a 183-page softcover book with 19 black-and-white illustrations like the example shown here.

The sooner you enter the giveaway, the better chance you have to win – so don’t wait! Click here and put in your email address to sign up.

What Do We Remember in November? The Pilgrims, Of Course!

Oct.28,2013

During November, the days can be gray and things can seem kind of slow and draggy. Well, I have a solution for you! Do a unit study about Thanksgiving during the whole month of November.

There are many fun things you can do in the days leading up to Thanksgiving. You don’t have to wait until the week or the few days before Thanksgiving to start studying the Pilgrims. You can start studying them right now. There is a lot to learn about these amazing ancestors of ours.

If you want to integrate a study of the Pilgrims into your homeschool day, an easy, fun way to do it is to listen to audios of the stories of the Pilgrims. A wonderful way to do this would be to listen to a chapter or a couple of chapters each day from a book about the Pilgrims like the book from Yesterday’s Classics called “Stories of the Pilgrims”.

I just happen to know where you can get such a set of audios! Jim Hodges has recorded the book “Stories of the Pilgrims” and you can get it on sale for $15 during the month of November at Jim Hodges Audio Books.

We have been listening to “The Stories of the Pilgrims” for a couple of weeks now. The stories have children as the main characters, so children can relate to them well. They start all the way back at Scrooby, England when the Separatists were being persecuted by King James for not attending worship services at the Church of England. The stories are entertaining and poignant.

We experience with them the fear and frustrations of trying to escape from England and the tyranny of King James. Many details and small incidents are included to make the story come alive.

One personal connection for us was the part where the Pilgrim children saw the wheels on the roofs of the houses so that storks could build nests on them. This was during the leg of the journey when they went to Holland seeking religious freedom. We were reminded of “The Wheel on the School” which we just read a couple of weeks ago. We loved that story!

There are nice descriptions of people and places that the Pilgrims encountered along the way. Listening to these audios is a good way to learn about geography and other cultures as well as learning about the Pilgrims who came to America in 1620.

It is an excellent way to learn about the background of the search for religious freedom, the culture and geography of England and Holland, and the hardships that the Pilgrims suffered as they relocated to a whole new continent to settle where they could live as Englishmen but worship as they pleased.

Here is a great chance to get these audios at a great price – $15, plus a bonus study guide for only $5. Get both for $20! You can even sample the first chapter for free in an audio download.

Jim Hodges is offering his audio recordings of “The Stories of the Pilgrims” at a special price of $15 during the month of November.
See details of the sale here.

Plus, I have a great giveaway to tell you about!

You won’t believe how much is included in this giveaway!

This will keep you and your kids busy for more than just the month of November (happily busy, I might add!).

If you win this giveaway, I think you will be full of THANKSGIVING!

UPDATE TO THE GIVEAWAY!

We are now offering a 2nd place prize. The 2nd place winner will receive all of the G. A. Henty audio downloads!!!

The stories by G. A. Henty are some of the best historical fiction you will ever hear. They are stories that feature a young hero during a certain era of time told by a fantastic storyteller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Jim Hodges has recorded 20 of them. This would be a delightful addition to your homeschool repertoire. You would be very blessed to win this!

The winner of this incredible homeschool giveaway will receive one of each download offered through Jim Hodges Audio Books! This is an amazing prize worth over $700 and featuring hundreds of hours of quality listening for your family.

This is what you could win:

Huge Giveaway of Jim Hodges’ audios

Use this Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Review: Fields of the Fatherless by Elaine Cooper

Oct.24,2013

About the story:

Fields of the Fatherless is the story of the beginning of the American Revolution in Menotomy Village, Massachusetts. While fiction, it is filled with facts. And it reveals that there is much about that first day of the War that many are not aware.
While the sacrifice of the few who fell in Lexington and Concord is written about in our history books, the worst battle took place in Menotomy as the British troops withdrew to Boston. By the time the King’s Army reached Menotomy, just six miles from Boston, they were exhausted, angry, and out of control. The brutal onslaught that occurred in my hometown—for this is the town I grew up in—brought more casualties on both sides than anywhere else that fateful day. It was a story from our history that begged to be told.

About the Author:

Novelist Elaine Marie Cooper is the author of The Road to Deer Run, The Promise of Deer Run and The Legacy of Deer Run. Her passions are her family, her faith in Christ and the history of the American Revolution, a frequent subject of her historical fiction. She grew up in Massachusetts, the setting for many of her novels.
Her stand alone historical fiction, Fields of the Fatherless, will by released October 22, 2013 by Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas.
Elaine is a contributing writer to Fighting Fear, Winning the War at Home by Edie Melson, and I Choose You, a romance Anthology. Her freelance work has appeared in both newspapers and magazines, and she blogs regularly at http://ColonialQuills.blogspot.com, http://AuthorCulture.blogspot.com and http://novelPastimes.com.
The award-winning author is married with two grown sons and she is the very proud GiGi of triplet grandchildren. Their birth coincided with the arrival of her first shipment of her first novel in 2010. She calls it “the best delivery day ever.” Elaine is a hopeless animal lover who can’t resist rescuing homeless animals. But her sweet yet practical husband keeps her adopting habits in line.

And now for my review:

I just finished reading “Fields of the Fatherless” by Elaine Cooper. I learned more about the first day of the American Revolution than I had ever known before. I felt like I was right there. Through the eyes of 18-year-old Betsy Russell, we see the fear and anxiety that filled the hearts of townspeople near Lexington and Concord before that fateful day when the King’s soldiers came marching along the road to confiscate the guns and ammunition stored in Concord. We experience the nerve-wracking waiting and wondering as her family and friends tried to prepare for the worst and prayed to be spared the horrors of war.

Elaine is an excellent storyteller. She brings the story to life. I kept feeling like I was peeking out the window watching the road to Concord for the King’s soldiers. I felt like I was trying to figure out where to go and what to do when they came.

The characters are likable and believable. The author develops them and the story line so well that we feel for them when tragedy strikes, and we are moved by their heartache and loss. I cried through many parts. I was moved to tears before the battle even started.

The author addressed forgiveness and how to deal with our enemies as Christians. As Betsy went on with life after the terrible day that took the lives of so many and left such bitterness and rage in the hearts of many in her hometown (more died in her town that day than in Lexington and Concord), we see how God pulled her through tragedy and restored her soul to the point that she could truly love her enemy and protect his life.

The last scene is very satisfying, and the author’s note at the end tells the rest of the story and ties it all together.

I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who likes history and enjoys immersing themselves in a story so that they feel like they were really there.