When I saw a fiction novel by Stephen Arterburn, I was extremely interested in reading it since I have read several of his non-fiction books and found them helpful and interesting.  I wasn’t disappointed by his book, The Encounter, as it is a helpful and interesting book too.  The story is a relatable one and is well-written, although it left me wanting more character development from his main characters.  It has a section in the back of the book for those who are struggling with acceptance and forgiveness of their own.  That section, the truth behind the fiction, is compassionately written and delivers beneficial insights into God’s teaching through situations in our lives.

I received this book free from the publisher, Thomas Nelson Publishers, through the BookSneeze book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

         Pastor Andy Stanley gives us wonderful insight and what I believe to be a God-given perspective into God’s Grace through the entire Bible. The Grace of God by Andy Stanley gives us evidence of God’s Grace from the first words of Genesis to the ending words of Revelation. Written in an engaging style, The Grace of God is broken into easy-to-read chapters. The Grace of God is easily digested and makes a great companion to daily devotional time. Grace seems to be a much misunderstood concept by believers and non-believers alike. Andy Stanley takes us on a journey through the whole of the Bible and shows us what God’s grace looks like and what God’s grace means to us.

        I loved this book and was excited to read it. As God always does, He provided The Grace of God at time when I needed it most. One of my favorite insights from the book is: “Grace is never just enough. Grace is always far more than enough.” How very true that is!

I received this book free from the publisher, Thomas Nelson Publishers, through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

For instance, my children are the most interesting people I know.  Rachel who’s an 8 year old 3rd grader, comes out with some of the best stuff.  She was watching me make dinner one day and had apparently seen a commercial for the show “Worst Cook in America”.  Now, I don’t even know if that show is still on or not, but she had seen a commercial for it at one point nonetheless and the wheels in her brain were turning.  She walked over to the stove where I was stirring a pot of something and said, “Mommy, when I’m much older, like 9 or 10, can you teach me how to cook?”

Trepidatiously I answered, “Sure!” I looked at her and smiled.

Her face beamed as she stated, “Then I’ll be the worst cook in America too!”

And, then of course, there was the time we were riding around in the car out in the country and we saw a small dog by the side of the road.  Rachel was convinced she’d seen a fox and was trying hard to convince her brother that what she saw was not a dog but a fox!  He was unconvinced but being a smart little guy of 7 years old, he replied with a professorial type of statement, “Did you know that foxes are good at dry humping?”

It was as if time froze for a brief second.  In that brief instance my husband and I had managed to engage in two behaviors that could have ended tragically but luckily were only minor inconveniences.  My husband had been looking in the rear view mirror watching his children with amusement and pride, amusement at Rachel’s insistence about seeing a fox and pride because Benjamin was trying to keep the peace and also “teach” his sister about foxes, at least until he heard the question Benjamin asked.  At the moment he heard Benjamin’s question, his eyes nearly popped out of his head, the car swerved sharply twice, once because he was startled at the question and the second time it was to over correct the first time and he loudly inquired, “WHAT?”

My reaction was to gasp which wouldn’t have been that detrimental except that I had been drinking tea through a straw.  What ensued was the worst choking experience I can remember ever having and what with the swerving of the car, I nearly hit my head on the dashboard and the window.   I remember looking at my husband who was beet-red, eyes bulging and then looking back at my sweet son who had a wrinkled forehead and a puzzled look on his face, at least I think it was a puzzled look.  I could barely see through the tears flooding my eyes and coursing down my face along with the coughing and spitting and nose-running.

After all of that which probably only lasted seconds, my son stated, “I think I meant to say that foxes are good at high jumping.  Yeah, they are…did you know that, Mom?”  Benjamin chuckled at me.  Weakly I shook my head, unable to speak.

“Oh, are they?” my husband’s voice cracked.  He had righted the car and the flush was fading from his face.  He looked over at me and smiled slightly as if to say, “Whew!”.

So you see, my life isn’t all THAT boring but only because I have AMAZING children!  :)

• Joel had surgery on his neck
• Joel and I went to Gatlinburg, TN for a few days, just the 2 of us!
• I got Rachel’s Easter dress done!  It turned out really cute! 
• Joel preached a couple of times
• I turned 40 on May 17th – Yikes! 
• Rachel turned 6 on May 21st
• Joel turned 45 on June 1st
• Benjamin turned 5 – my baby’s 5 years old!!!
• Joel’s been called to be the pastor at Cloverbottom Baptist Church – yay! We’re so excited!
• I’m getting our stuff out of storage in TX this weekend so we can move into the parsonage
• I finished my BSF on the Life of Moses and I’ve continued my bible study, finishing Joshua and now working through Judges – awesome stuff!
• Continuing to write for HeartBeat the Magazine

God is so good!  I’ll be filling in some of the details later. 

• I started a Prayer Shawl Ministry at our church in October.
• Joel went to preach for a search committee in GA in November.
• We had a lovely Thanksgiving with Joel’s family in NC.
• We had a wonderful Christmas at home.
• I got new glasses at the end of January.
• We went back in view of a call to the church in GA at the beginning of February.
• Made the decision a week later not to go, but it was fun visiting with them and we got a very mini-trip to see some great and dear friends of ours, the McCullers.
• Joel’s getting surgery for a herniated disc in his neck on Tuesday.
• We are hoping to take a few days and go to Gatlinburg by ourselves to celebrate our 12th anniversary which was March 15th.
• I’m continuing to learn and grow with my BSF study on the life of Moses.

• I’m crocheting Rachel an Easter dress with a little hat.  Too cute!

• The kids had their AWANA program last night.  It was adorable!

• I’m singing on Sunday morning.

Now you are caught up to date. 

The biggest news with us is that we are going down to GA next weekend so Joel can preach at a church in view of a call.  We are excited about the possibilities!  I’ll post again when I have more news.

Most of the time you can catch me on Facebook, so please feel free to look me up there.

I always seem to have something come up, but here it is.  If you want to join in, click on the banner above.

Sunday, September 7th

• So tired!  Went to church in the morning sang and taught extended session.
• Went back to the hotel, turned on cartoons and slept for 4 hours!
• Went swimming with the kids in the hotel pool.

Monday, September 8th

• Spent all day at the motel going crazy while they re-carpeted the downstairs and part of the upstairs.
• I did learn something new on the computer – animation!  Yay!  It’s so cool!

Tuesday, September 9th

• Insurance company called and told us to move back home.
• Got all of our stuff loaded in the car and moved back home.
• Went to Bible study – I so needed it

Wednesday, September 10th

• First day of BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) – we are studying the life of Moses this year.  Yay!
• It was such a good day!

Thursday, September 11th

• Cleaned and organized our stuff
• Remembered 9/11/01 and prayed for the people it touched

Friday, September 12th

• Another day of cleaning and organizing our stuff

Saturday, September 12th

• Slept late, relaxed and had a great day!

Well, it’s time again for my weird Wednesday pics…

What is this obsession with weird food pictures?

Talk about crusty bread!

Hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s pics!

Sunday, August 31st

• Joel and I sang at church today.  It went really well – I love singing with my husband!
• Choir practice was good and the Sunday night sermon was excellent.  Pastor talked about surrendering our worries and problems to Jesus, laying them at the cross.  Sometimes He has us pick them up again to work through them, but He always is there with us to help us and strengthen us through those things.

Monday, September 1st

• Labor Day so Joel is off.  We went to see some real estate today for a ministry possibility.  We are so excited about what the Lord could do with it, what He has already done and could continue through us with it.  Please pray with us about it.
• Met some new friends and got to see a beautiful dapple gray mare and her dark brown colt, Patriot.  What fun!

Tuesday, September 2nd

• Did some laundry and the washer burst causing massive chaos and water damage, not to mention almost an hour of 5 blaring smoke alarms.  Aaahh!
• The insurance company sent ServPro (excellent and helpful people! – I highly recommend them!) to come over.  They assessed the situation and acted quickly.  We now have fans upstairs underneath the carpet.  The kids think it’s great because they feel like they are on a magic carpet ride.
• 2 dehumidifiers are set up downstairs.  It was getting rather warm down there.

Wednesday, September 3rd

• My parents 42nd anniversary!
• Fans continue to blow and furniture is being moved out of the house into a POD on the driveway.
• The insurance company has set us up at a nice Hotel.
• God is so good to provide for our needs!

Thursday, September 4th

• I wanted to go over to see my friend Greg, but I didn’t make it.
• Moved hotel rooms to a suite with a small kitchenette.
• The kids are so tired.  They were asleep by 7:30pm.

Friday, September 5th

• The breakfasts they serve at the hotel are outstanding!
• Joel, the kids and I were able to go see my friend Greg, cut and wash his hair, have lunch with him and watch a couple of movies with him.  It was so good to spend some time with him.
• Went to CiCi’s for pizza and fun.

Saturday, September 6th

• Had a late breakfast
• Watched Joel and the kids swim.
• The kids were tired so we came back to the room and they are now taking a nap.
• Going to be studying my extended session lesson for the Preschoolers.
• Joel has gone down to Lexington with my dad to pick up a new washer.

And I was complaining that I felt boring in my comment on LorelaiCC’s Saturday’s week in review!  Not any more!  What was I thinking?!  This week has certainly been an adventure!  And now, maybe even a little bit of a mini-vacation?!

I can’t wait to see what happens next!