almost amish

Living in the midwest (central Indiana), I have always been intrigued by the amish community. There are several small towns in our state that are known for their amish roots. I always knew they were excellent bakers, quilters, and craftsman, but other than that my knowledge of their practices was very limited. After reading this book, it is amazing what could be applied to my everyday crazy busy life! You can learn a lot from the amish!

The author isn't comparing her family's lifestyle to the amish, instead she investigates the principles they believe in and how they can apply to her (and my) life. She looks at the following 10 different areas in her book:

*HOME
*TECHNOLOGY

*FINANCES

*NATURE

*SIMPLICITY

*SERVICE

*SECURITY

*COMMUNITY

*FAMILIES

*FAITH

I love how she says "The busyness of our modern life has a way of thwarting even the best of intentions". I have often said I have very good intentions, but very poor follow-through. This book has reminded that simple is often better.

~Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path and you will find rest for your souls. Jeremiah 6:16~

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for my review. All opinions are mine.

stand by me

I love it when God brings two totally different people together. I see this in many different relationships, marriages, and friendships. It has been said before that opposites attract, and I am a firm believer in this fact. That is the premise of Neta Jackson’s newest book. The two main characters that are introduced in this story, Kathryn and Avis, are polar opposites; yet their paths keep intersecting and bringing them together at various places. It is through their story we learn God always has a plan. His plan doesn’t always look like we think it should, which is hard to comprehend when times are tough.

Near the end of the book, Avis has her defining moment when she realizes God has used Kathryn in her life in ways she would never have thought or dreamed.

"Oh God! Forgive me for judging that girl. Your Word says that all the parts of Your body are important. And that we need each other! I didn’t realize it, but You did, my Father. You knew I needed Kathryn, that she was the one You were going to use."

My hope and prayer is that my eyes would be open to God’s working in my life through people around me.

GOD GAVE US LOVE

I am always looking for good Christian books to read with my twin boys. They are 1st graders and are becoming little readers themselves. So I was so glad to be able to read this new board book with them. The main character, Little Cub, and his grandfather have a great conversation about God's love while out fishing in the wild. My boys love to be outside, so the setting was great for them. The book talks about how hard it is to love sometimes especially when people upset us or are different than us. It gives great examples of sibling rivalry (something we deal with on a daily hourly basis) and moodiness too. The part my twins loved the best was when Little Cub talked about her twin siblings! They got so excited to be reading a book with twins in it.

As a mom, I appreciate books like this. It seems like I am constantly nagging at my kids to get along, to be kind, to stop fighting, and to love, love, love! This book drives home the message that God's love is the greatest example we have and that I should practice what I preach to my kiddos!

*I am a blogger who loves to read and review books. I was given a copy of this book by WaterBrook Press in exchange for my review.*

(in)courage (in)RL Beach Party

Have you checked out the (in)courage community? It is an awesome sight with some great writers, speakers, mentors, and encouragers. I love reading this sight every day. It is a great online community, but they are changing things up a bit this spring....

"We love the online world, but there's only so far a comment box can go to connect us. We're looking forward to stepping through blog posts and into each other's real lives - on April 27-28 and beyond. Hopefully, this is just the beginning of connecting (in)courage in real life." ~taken from their webpage~

They are hosting a day of (in)courage meetups all around the country and globe with a webcast for everyone to watch. They are encouraging friends to open up their homes and invite others to gather and watch live webcasts of (in)courage contributors and community. What an awesome way to connect with others who may be in close proximity to you! This event is called (in) Real Life and it takes place April 27th and 28th all over the world!

You can go here to register for the event or here to learn more about the event.

Happily Ever After

It is often said that God's timing is always perfect. Over Christmas break, I was once again reminded of this fact that yes indeed God's timing is perfect. While the kids were out of school for 2 weeks, my husband was off work and I only had to work 2 days the entire break. So we all spent a lot of time together. A. Lot. Of. Time. We were really starting to get on each other's nerves. Fuses were very short, quick nasty comebacks were being said, and we found ourselves annoyed from the time we woke up to the time we went to bed. Then what should appear on my doorstep the beginning of the 2nd long week together but this book Happily Ever After. How ironic I thought!

I have to admit that so far my favorite section (so far) is the one on conflict resolution. I have been married 14 years and we have had our fair share of conflict. I can always use help in this area. I tend to be a conflict avoider until I erupt, then things get crazy!! This book is a great reminder of why conflict needs to be dealt with and not swept under the rug.

My second favorite part of the book is towards the end. There is a section called What I wish my wife would change & What I wish my husband would change. I read this part to my husband one night and it was uncanny how much it sounds like the "lists" we make in our own heads about each other! It is nice to know our relationship is normal and other couples feel the exact same way. This is designed to stimulate conversation with your spouse and to come up with ways to make positive changes in your relationship.

This book will definitely be added to my marriage book section that I share with girlfriends who are struggling with their marriages.

*I was provided a book by the publisher in exchange for my honest review. The opinions are mine.*

Purex UltraPacks

Have you heard of the new Purex Ultrapacks laundry detergent? Probably not, because they will not be on the store shelves until February 2012. As a Purex Insider, I was given the chance to try these little packs out before everyone else! I was so excited when my pack arrived. They are very convenient to use (no measuring laundry detergent and no spills). I was skeptical about the packet dissolving in water, so I checked the first one after adding it to my washer, and sure enough, the packet opens up and the detergent oozes out. Even in cold water! So easy, I would trust my 10 year old to start a load of laundry all by himself!! These Purex UltraPacks are safe for all washing machines including HE machines. One thing to remember is to make sure your hand are completely dry before handling the pack, otherwise there will be a mess. One more exciting thing about Purex, is that in mid February FreePurexSample.com will be back up and running. So you can snag a free sample of Purex UltraPacks and see how great they are for yourself!

As a Purex Insider, I was given a free sample of their laundry detergent so I could write a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Purex and Jockey....A Winning Combination and a GIVEAWAY!

**Contest closed** Congrats to the winner Jessika C.!!

You may or may not know that I am a Pure insider. What exactly does this mean? It means I get to try out the newest Purex products, give my opinions back to the company (which I love to do!), I get to tell my friends about Purex products, I get coupons to give away to my friends (you want to be my friend now, don't you!), and I get to post reviews and host giveaways on my blog! All of these are things I love to do.

So when Purex sent me a bottle of Purex Crystals fabric softener in the tropical splash scent and a Jockey Tech Terry Performance sports bra, I was totally pumped. It made me want to workout and get all sweaty and then wash my new sports bra with the tropical splash fabric softener! Which by the way, I totally did!

Here are some facts about Purex Crystal fabric softener:

*it is a natural way to freshen clothes that lasts for weeks!

*it goes in at the start of the wash

*the scent is infused with your laundry the entire wash cycle

*it does not contain oil, so it is safe for all clothing including my new Jockey sports bra!

Here are some facts about the Jockey Tech Terry Performance Sports Bra:

*has moisture-wicking to keep you dry & cool

*has a convenient key pocket

*has breathable mesh panels

*has a soft bottom band for comfort & support!

My other favorite thing about Jockey is that their spokesperson is the very talked about Tim Tebow! You can't go anywhere these days without people talking about Tim and the Denver Broncos...both of which I am a huge fan!!

Now if you've read through this whole post, here is the best part. I get to pick one winner to get their own Jockey sports bra and Purex crystals. Here's how to enter:

*Visit Purex and leave a comment with the scent of purex crystals you like the best

*Become a follower of Denise's Reviews for an extra entry! Just leave a comment stating that.

Contest ends Sunday, January 29th at 10 PM. I will email the winner on Monday.