PrayerPoints: Praying God's Promises at Your Point of Need by: Ken Petersen (Book Review)

Disclosure: I was provided a complimentary copy of this book through the publisher from Tyndale Blog Network, in exchange for an honest review.

PrayerPoints is an excellent book that gives pieces of scripture for some of the emotional, physical, relational, and spiritual challenges we face everyday.  These challenges are listed alphabetically through the book, but there is also a Scripture Index and Topics Guide in the back of the book to help you find these easily.   Each word (or topic) offers a short paragraph explaining that specific challenge we may face, a few pieces of scripture giving peace about that challenge, and then a prayer to close. 

There is over 300 pages in this compact book, but don't mistake it for the typical "coffee table" book.  This would be a perfect book to have with you on the go, whether picking up the kids from school or sports or waiting for an appointment.  It is a breath of fresh air to open, and either study a few words at a time or one word a day.  It can also be used for a daily devotional.  

The book's intent is to help people pray, and to be in the Word.  Some days, we are so lost in the confusion of things that we can't get the words out to pray.  New believers may not know how to pray, and this would be an exceptional resource for them.  It would also be a wonderful resource to an experienced person in prayer, as it describes some things we may not have gone through in life yet.  It helps us understand what certain family or friends may be going through and feeling.   

The cover of the book is beautiful and has an imitation leather bounding, but has these gorgeous trees etched into the leather.  It would be a perfect gift for someone, but it is also a gift for yourself to enjoy.  I would highly recommend this book to anyone.  It's versatility offers something for everyone, and may have just the right scripture you may need to hear that day.

Thanks for stopping by to read my review! If you would like more information about this book or author, please check out  Tyndale Blog Network.

Blessings,

Kelly

#Christian #bookreview

Social Butterfly Sunday 30

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 Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking on the links, I will be compensated. Thanks for supporting my site! - See more at: http://raisingsamuels.blogspot.com/2015/12/disclosure-this-post-may-contain.html#sthash.x79BfzCN.dpuf

Hi, friends! Hope your Christmas was amazing! I can hardly believe that by the time I post this weekly link party next week, we will be in a new year.  I wanted to thank you all so much for supporting this link up party and my site. Blessings to you and yours for the New Year :)

Last Week's Featured Post is...

Congratulations to Rebekah at Faithful with the Little for her post Letting Go of the Perfect Christmas! 

An InLinkz Link-up

Blessings,

Kelly 

#SocialButterflySunday #linky 

Homeschooling During the Holidays (Weeks 16 & 17)

Hi, friends! Can you believe Christmas is tomorrow?  How fast that came up! I hope you all have a wonderful time spending time with your loved ones this week, as we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior. Merry Christmas :)

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on the links. Thanks for supporting my site!

Bible:
Wednesday (12/16): We read the first part of Chapter 15 in Believe Storybook, about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel 3.

Monday (12/21): The boys and I wrapped up Chapter 15 in Believe Storybook, and learned about Stephen's Story in Acts 6:8-7:60.

Math: 
Tuesday (12/15): My Dad was in town this week, so we had fun playing some math games. Today, was Sorry! The Spiderman 3 Edition.

Wednesday (12/16): Today, we played Sorry! The Spiderman 3 Edition again.

Thursday (12/17): B did some math family equations for the number 1 today in his workbook, and G worked on figuring out what number came in between in number sequence, and which number was greater. My Dad had a job interview while down here, so we drove him and waited for him in the car, and did homeschool. The boys also had fun playing with tangram puzzles.





Tuesday (12/22): G did Lesson 9 in ABCmouse called Math: 8 and More, and B worked on his lesson in ABCmouse called Mmmm...Pizza! and did some math family equations for the number 2.

Wednesday (12/23): We did our favorite kind of math today: Baking Christmas Cookies :)



History:
Wednesday (12/16): We played Great States Junior today and learned how to match and identify states to their iconic landmarks or textiles, color, shape, and letter.

Friday (12/18): Today, we played Catan: Family Edition, and set up towns and settlements, and tried to win the game by getting the most points by the textiles each player received.



Monday (12/21): We looked at maps today of states where coal is produced, from our science lesson.

Wednesday (12/23): The boys and I read Jingle Bells and learned about how other countries celebrate Christmas.

Science:
Monday (12/16): We picked up my dad at the airport today, and the boys loved seeing the planes come in and take off.


Waiting for Pappy and getting to watch all the planes come in!

Thursday (12/17): Today, we read the December/January issue of Ranger Rick Jr. magazine.
The boys learned about Emperor Penguins, Antarctica, reindeer, bears, and a snowshoe hare.

Friday (12/18): B did Lesson 48 Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle in ABCmouse.  

Monday (12/21): We learned about the 4 different types of coal today and where it is located in the U.S. The boys got to see and touch the coal on the outside of the plastic bags. You can request the FREE Kit we used for the lesson, here from the American Coal Foundation.  We also did 2 experiments from our Magic School Bus Science Club, and learned about joints and how the heart pumps blood.

 

Tuesday (12/22): G did Lesson 10 in ABCmouse called World Around Us: More Weather, and B did Lesson 51: Muscles and Bones. They learned about different types of weather, the human skeleton, and parts of the body.

Wednesday (12/23): We incorporated some STEM into our day by building a Gingerbread House :)



Language Arts:
Monday (12/14): B read Harry the Dirty Dog all by himself, and then we read The Elf on the Shelf as a family.

Wednesday (12/16): We read Where the Wild Things Are today.

Thursday (12/17): Today, we read The Snowy Day and Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear? We also found a cool book store while we were out and about, and they gave the boys some free Star Wars posters and cards!

Friday (12/18): G did Lesson 7  in ABCmouse and learned about the letter sounds of e and f.  B did Lesson 49 on the Two Sounds of C and G, and Lesson 50, and learned about silent e.

Monday (12/21): We read Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas: A Super Pop-Up Book we found at the local book shop last week.

Tuesday (12/22): G did Lesson 8 in ABCmouseand learned about the Aesop Fable, The Grasshopper and the Ant. B learned about the two sounds of letter c and his sight word of the day was them.

Wednesday (12/23): We read Gingerbread Friends today.

Writing:
Thursday (12/17): The boys wrote numbers 1-10.

Elective:
Tuesday (12/15): We went to one of the local parks today, we call the Pirate Ship park. 





Love this picture of my boys looking at my Dad!

Wednesday (12/16): At church tonight, the children's group had a Happy Birthday, Jesus party and ate cupcakes and cookies, and sang Christmas carols.  They also made Christmas cards.

Monday (12/21) and Tuesday (12/22): The boys had their friends come over and play.

Thanks for stopping by to share our week! Merry Christmas :)

Blessings,

Kelly

#homeschool 

 





 

 

Educents Holiday Gift Guide

 

 Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on the links. Thanks for supporting my site! The Educents team is excited to share some of their favorite deals and products of 2015 with you this holiday season. Each staff member chose their favorite deal for the holidays and included it in this handy guide. As always, you’ll find the best products and prices when you shop at Educents. You’re also helping small businesses grow into something spectacular. Check out the deals by clicking the image, or clicking below. Educents has something for everyone on your list!  

Check out the 2015 guide here!

 

Blessings,

Kelly

#Christmas #educents #ad

Think, Act, Be Like Jesus by: Randy Frazee (Book Review)

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through Book Look Bloggers in exchange for an honest review. 

Think, Act, Be Like Jesus is a 90 day devotional for children ages 6-10 years old.  It can be read on it's own, or accompanied with the books in the Believe series by: Randy Frazee.  A few months ago, I wrote a review for Randy Frazee's Believe Storybook, which is an awesome companion for this book.  There are some of the same illustrations in both books, but they are exquisite.   In Think, Act, Be Like Jesus, each devotion opens with scripture, offers an explanation of what was going on at the time and how it can be applied to today, and then closes with a prayer.

Each devotion would only take about 5 minutes a day to read, so it is a quick and perfect way to start the day for children to be in the Word.  I think it so important for children to know these stories, and Randy Frazee does a wonderful job of explaining the stories on their level.  He offers the significance and meaning behind the scripture and the story, and why it is important to know.

We have been using the Believe Storybook in our homeschool studies for Bible lessons this year, and it is phenomenal.  I am so excited that we have Think, Act, Be Like Jesus to go along with our studies now, and offer encouragement to us on a daily basis.  Although the book suggest the devotional is for children 6-10, I don't see why a younger or older child would not enjoy these devotionals as well.  I would highly recommend this book for Sunday School teachers, churches, and for family Bible time at home.  It would also make an awesome Christmas present or stocking stuffer! 

Thanks for taking the time to read my review.  If you would like more information about the book or author, please check out BookLook Bloggers.

Blessings,

Kelly

#BookLookBloggers #childrensbooks #bookreviews

 

Social Butterfly Sunday #29

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- See more at: http://raisingsamuels.blogspot.com/2015/12/social-butterfly-sunday-27.html#sthash.CJcCuDvf.dpuf

 Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking on the links, I will be compensated. Thanks for supporting my site!

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking on a link, I will be compensated. Thanks for supporting my site!

- See more at: http://raisingsamuels.blogspot.com/2015/12/social-butterfly-sunday-27.html#sthash.CJcCuDvf.dpuf

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking on a link, I will be compensated. Thanks for supporting my site! - See more at: http://raisingsamuels.blogspot.com/2015/12/social-butterfly-sunday-27.html#sthash.CJcCuDvf.dpuf

Hi, friends! It has been a busy, but amazing week for us.  My Dad came in to visit and we all had a wonderful time of just resting, enjoying Christmas carols and cookies, and spending time together.  I am a bit behind in leaving comments and pinning your posts from last week, but I will be doing that over the next few days!

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a season of joy!  Hope you all have an outstanding week getting to spend time with loved ones :) 

 

Photo credit: Tyndale House Publishers

Featured Post... 

 Congratulations to Beth for her post: December Challenge: Will You Join Me? (Mindful Monday)!

Blessings,

Kelly

 

An InLinkz Link-up

#SocialButterflySunday #linky

Homeschool Week 15: North America

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Hi, friends and thanks for stopping by! I'm amazed at how much we accomplish in a week, because I always feel like we never do enough.  We are starting to slow down as it is getting closer to Christmas. Do you homeschool during the holidays?

Bible:
Monday: Today, we read Chapter 14 in Believe Storybook, called "Jehoshaphat Prays to God for Help."  It covered 2 Chronicles 20: 1-30, and how God hears our prayers.

Thursday:  The second half of Chapter 14 in Believe Storybook was on Matthew 14:22-33 called "Jesus Walks on Water."  It was on how Peter got out of the boat and went to walk on the water towards Jesus, and how he sank as soon as his eyes were off of Jesus.

Math:
Monday - B's lesson in ABCmouse today had him skip counting by 2's and color by number by addition equations of 2.

Wednesday - G worked on lesson 6 in ABCmouse called Math: Diamonds, and B worked on tally marks in his lesson.

Friday: G learned about number 12 today in his workbook, and B did some addition equations in his workbook.







Social Studies:
Monday - B learned about the first colonies, Plymouth Rock, Pocahontas, Squanto, and Miles Stadish in lesson 43 The First Thanksgiving in ABCmouse.  He also learned the Pilgrims sailed over and had the first Thanksgiving n 1620, and how it took 2 months to sail to America.

Tuesday - B's Lesson 44 in ABCmouse was called Flying High! and he learned about the Wright brothers.

Thursday - We played Great States Junior and read pages 92-95 in What Your First Grader Needs to Know.  We learned about Canada, the United States, and Mexico.  The boys learned that the climates range from tropic to polar temperatures, and it is the third largest continent.



Science: 


We had what we think was a dove make himself at home for a few days in our bird bath, and then he left. The boys thought we had a new pet!

Tuesday: The boys helped Daddy with our new trees that were sent to the house. We're excited to get them big enough to plant on the side of the house.



Wednesday: B learned about forms of matter (liquid, gas and solid) in Lesson 47: Matter Matters in ABCmouse.

Thursday: We discussed the many plants and animals found in North America from the book, Usborne Children's Picture Atlas.

Friday: The boys did some STEM today with their Hot Wheels track and cars.

Language Arts:
Monday: B did Lesson 8 in First Language Lessons, and learned more about common and proper nouns.  His sight word of the day was boy, and he did color by beginning letter blends in ABCmouse.  We also read Ten Thank-You Letters.

Tuesday: B did Lesson 45 in ABCmouse called Let's Build It.  He learned about long vowel sounds, making words plural, completing sentences, and identifying nouns and verbs.  G did Lesson 9 in 100 Easy Lessons.  His new words and sounds were letter r, mat, sat, and am.  We read Lego Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and We're Going on a Bear Hunt.

Wednesday: G did Lesson 5  in ABCmouse called Reading Alphabet Practice, and B did Lesson 46: Stanley the Snail. The boys learned about describing words and also did some reading comprehension.

Thursday: The boys and I read a story in the Usborne Stories from Around the World  book, called "The Magic Doll- A Story from North America."

Writing:
Monday: B wrote the sentence: Mother ate cereal for breakfast from his reading lesson.  G wrote the letters a and r.





Electives:
Monday: The boys had some of their friends over.

Tuesday: We made Christmas cards and wrapped presents for cousins today.  They also had their friends come over for a playdate.

Wednesday: They had their friends come over, and then we went to our new church for choir practice. The boys did an amazing job this Sunday in the Christmas musical, and they also made Christmas invitations and card for the party this week.

Thursday: We did some Play doh fun today, and the boys had their friends over.




The boys version of Minions. 

That's our week! Thanks for stopping by to share it with us :)

Blessings,

Kelly

#homeschool 



 

Social Butterfly Sunday #28

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking on a link, I will be compensated. Thanks for supporting my site!

Hi, friends! It is getting so close to Christmas and I am just overjoyed!  My Dad flies in this week to visit, and my husband and I are celebrating 7 years of marriage this month.  I have so much to be thankful for. I wanted to share with all you some encouragement. Look for the joy in things. There is much to be disappointed in this world we live in, but keep your eyes on God.  He knows exactly what He is doing. 

Featured Post...

Congratulations to Lori at Lori Schumaker Searching for Moments for her Just Choose Jesus: Betrayal and the Church post.

New Giveaway

Goo and Spot Book Blast & Giveaway Win a $25 Amazon gift card or $25 in Pay Pal cash! Open to residents worldwide and ends at 11:59 pm on 12/20/15.

An InLinkz Link-up

Blessings,

Kelly

#SocialButterflySunday #linky

Homeschool Week 14

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on the links. Thanks for supporting my site!

Our silly Elf on the Shelf :)

Bible:
Monday - Today, we read "Where Love Grows" from Tyndale's Advent email, and we learned to pray for those who are less fortunate and who need God's love.

Math:

Monday - G did Lesson 2 on ABCmouse today and learned about numbers 7 through 10. 

Tuesday - Today's math lesson was about what a sum is, (the answer to an equation when you add two groups together) and B worked on some addition equations.

Wednesday - B did Lesson 40 on ABCmouse called Peanut Gallery, and he learned about nonstandard measurement by measuring objects with other objects, how tall and wide something is, and addition with tens and ones place value.

Thursday - We had a family game night and played G's favorite board game, Spiderman 3 Sorry!

Friday - B did Lesson 41 on ABCmouse called Birds with Pilati, and did some addition and subtraction equations.  We also made some Hershey's Smores brownies for Grandma's birthday!

Social Studies:

Wednesday - B did Lesson 39 on ABCmouse called Explore the Mountains.

Thursday - We played Great States Junior today and the boys learned not only about the states, but also reinforced their color, number, letter and shape skills!

Science:

Monday - We did an Advent lesson today called Advent in the Beginning from Focus on the Family, and actually got a Science lesson out of it!  We learned about Apollo 8 and the first pictures of the moon taken on Christmas Eve 1968.

Wednesday - The boys learned about some animals that live in the mountains such as a bald eagle, bighorn sheep, deer mouse, red fox, snowshoe hare, and peregrine falcon.

Thursday - We went to Bass Pro Shops today and got to meet Santa! They had many of the games available on floor display for children to play with so we got in some STEM with archery, shooting, and racing cars around a track.  They also love looking at all the fish and the animals on display.

Language Arts:

Monday - G did Lesson 1 on ABCmouse called Reading: Letters Aa-Bb.  We also read Sam and the Firefly by P.D. Eastman. 

Tuesday - B worked on short a sounds in his workbook, and also went over sight words that start with ap and ar.  He also worked on phonics for words that start with y, z, and qu.  G did Lesson 7 in 100 Easy Lessons, and he learned phonics for t, and how to sound out at, met, and et.

Wednesday - B's sight word today was may, and he worked on words with the blend sound beginning with sn,  (snake, snowman, snorkel, snap, snail, snow) and also long and short vowel sounds.

Thursday - We went to a Scholastic warehouse sale today and the boys were able to get a few things for themselves, but also helped to pick out Christmas presents for their cousins.

Friday - G did Lesson 3 on ABCmouse called Reading Letters Cc-Dd and Lesson 8 in 100 Easy Lessons. HIs new words were mat, set, and am.

Writing:

Tuesday - B wrote qu, y and z. G wrote the letter t and T.

Daddy helping with homeschool :)

Friday - G wrote letters u through z today!

Elective:

Tuesday - The boys drew some pictures today and also made birthday cards for Grandma and their uncle.

Thursday -  The boys got to decorate a cute snowman bag today at Bass Pro.

Friday - G did Lesson 4 on ABCmouse called Art: Colors in the Mountains and Lakes.  We also went to see my nephew play his JV basketball game and ended the night celebrating Grandma's birthday.

That's our week! Thanks for stopping by to share it with us!

Blessings,

Kelly

#homeschool