No greater LOVE than Jesus!

I cannot believe Christmas is in nine short days!  I know Christmas comes every year on December 25th, but for some reason this year has gone incredibly fast.  I have done minimal decorating this year.  I have not really done much shopping yet.  It just feels like we have been busy busy busy!  I do know Christmas will happen if I am ready or not.  And I do know that for some reason this year we are choosing to focus more on LOVE this year.  

I think God has been trying to teach me about love since January.  There have been so many times that love has come up in conversation.  Our MOMSnext (a branch of MOPS International) theme verse this year is "love as if your life depended on it."  I have watched and listened to sermons about love.  As a wife, mom, leader, nurse, and friend it can be so hard to be loving.  I recently watched an Unglued video session by Lysa Terkeurst.  Her challenge was to choose the right thing (being loving) instead of the easy thing (reacting with sarcasm, anger, or other harmful emotions).  So this has been my challenge to myself.  And this Dayspring Christmas tree skirt is a constant reminder!

Greater love has no man than this:

To lay down one's life for one's friends.  John 15:13

To me that is what Christmas is all about.  Love like Jesus.  Love as if my life depended on it!  Love because it is the right thing to do, not the easy thing to do!  You are more than welcome to check out the DaySpring collection for yourself.  I think you will find reminders of what the Christmas season really is all about!

*DaySpring provided me with this Christmas tree skirt.  The picture and opinions are mine.*

Torani isn't just for coffee!

Who doesn't love a hot cup of coffee on a cold day?  I know that is one thing I look forward to as the days get shorter and colder!  And I am now so glad to have Torani Gingerbread syrup to add to my coffee!  I start with about a 1/2 cup of skim milk in a mug and microwave it for about 30 seconds.  {Just enough to get it steamy.}  Then I brew a large Kcup of coffee. {usually breakfast blend by Green Mountain}  Then I add two splashes of Torani Gingerbread syrup and stir well.  This makes a perfect gingerbread latte for a lot less than the coffee shop prices!  Yummmy!!

Have you ever tried Torani syrups?  You can also use them to make flavored teas, Italian sodas, smoothies, and even cocktails!  There are over 120 flavors of Torani syrup and there are Regular and Sugar-Free varieties.

I engourage you to enter the Torani Holiday Cheers Contest! Torani wants to know how you use their syrups to turn your everyday coffee (and recipes) into an everyday treat!  Be sure to send your holiday recipe creations to HolidayCheersContest@torani.com - don't forget to snap a pic, blog about it and share it on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Be sure to tag Torani at @Torani and #Torani. Starting November 12th you’ll have the chance to win special Mr. Coffee prizes along with your favorite Torani Syrups each week! This contest runs till December 9th so we want to see all the recipes you have incorporating Torani.

This is a sponsored post for shespeaks and Torani.  The opinions are mine.

Purex PLUS OXI is da bomb!

***Contest has ended!!  Randi & 1porkchop have been contacted by e-mail.  Thanks for entering!!***

Have you seen the new Purex PLUS OXI in the stores yet?  Well, I am here to tell you this stuff is amazing.  I am so excited to tell you about this detergent and give you a chance to win a free coupon for a bottle to try out in your home. 

This year my sixth grade boy made the travel basketball team.  He was beyond thrilled to be a part of the team.  It meant he got a whole uniform complete with jersey, shorts, pants, shoes, practice shirt, and a sweatshirt!!  I was not thrilled when I saw how much of his uniform was white.  I never buy anything white.  I am sure any mom with 3 boys can relate to this.  Or any person with kids for that matter!  So I decided to give the Purex PLUS OXI a try on my sons newly stained (from greasy pizza in between games, of course) uniform.  And I was so happy with the results.  The stains came out and it stayed white.  A big win for us all.  Except for at the basketball games.  We've had a rough start....his team is 0-6.  But we are having lots of fun, and his uniform is still white!!

Purex PLUS OXI works on over 101 different stains.  (I didn't know there were that many stains around)  There are three different stain-fighting enzymes in each bottle to work against the different types of stains.  You can use this as a pretreater on stains also by just rubbing a little bit on the stain and letting it sit for five minutes.  One less bottle to buy in the laundry aisle.  A win for everyone!!

Now for the fun part!!  I am a PUREX INSIDER and am giving away TWO COUPONS FOR A FREE BOTTLE OF PUREX PLUS OXI (maximum value $6.00).  I will pick two winners and mail them each one coupon!  To enter, just leave a comment saying what item of clothing in your house could use some Purex PLUS OXI.  This contest ends DECEMBER 7th at midnight.  I will contact winners by email, so please leave a way to get in touch!

Holiday Cards

*****UPDATE: Contest has ended!  Commenter #8 was the winner picked by my son :)  She has been notified by email.  Thanks for entering!!*****


It's cold and rainy here in the Midwest.  Tomorrow is Halloween and I am afraid our trick-or-treating is going to get rained out.  It's supposed to be the coldest Halloween in 10 years.  I have a Captain America and Thor who will be really sad if it is raining tomorrow evening.  With all this cold weather it makes me think of winter and Christmas and what I am going to do about our Photo Christmas Cards this year.  Because my oldest daughter got married in June, do I leave her and her husband out of the card all together, or do I include them in the picture and sign their names also?  What to do?  This is our family picture from her wedding and I LOVE it (except for the alien face on my one son, but if you know him, you totally understand!).  So I might just use this picture.  Or we could take a new one over Thanksgiving break because she and and her husband will be here.

Either way, I am going to check out Shutterfly!  They have an awesome new collection of merry and bright colors with a modern feel!  They also feature religious and scripture based cards which I love.

~Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will toward men.  Luke 2:14~

You can also check out Shutterfly's Special Offers page and save some money on cards, photo prints, or even shipping.  As a bonus, Shutterfly is letting me giveaway a $50 off an order of $50 or more (excluding tax and shipping & cannot be combined with any other promos (expire 12/14/2012 – no extensions) to one lucky reader!  All you have to do is leave a comment with your favorite Shutterfly card design.  Entries will be accepted until November 15th at midnight.

~This post and giveaway is being sponsored by Shutterfly~

A Sudden Glory

I am a girl who has lots of issues.  I am totally willing to admit this.  I have areas I really struggle in, and I have issues that I think I have all figured out.  Then something out of the blue creeps up, and I realize I really didn't have it all figured out!  I can be a very jealous person.  I compare myself to others way too much.  I see things that I want very badly.  I think I deserve more.  I wish life was easy for me.  I don't like struggling or working too hard.

All that being said, it is a little difficult for me to read a book like A Sudden Glory.  I am a fixer and after reading a chapter, I immediately go into fix-it mode.  When sometimes I need to just step back and let God work in my life.  I know.  Easier said than done!

Have you ever looked at someone's life and thought, I want to do what she's doing.  I want to have the impact on others that she is having.  I want the ministry she has. Unfortunately, I have fallen into that    trap many times.  But then God reminds me of His words: "I know the plans I have for you" (Jeremiah 29:11).  His plan for me is uniquely choreographed.  His plan for you is uniquely choreographed.... planned to a T.  Sometimes the choreography will make perfect sense in your limited understanding, and other times it may make no sense at all.  But be sure of this: God always has a plan.  (pages 126 & 127)

The study guide offered at the end of the book is an excellent resource if you are looking for a women's book study.  The study offers a lot of scripture references for a deeper understanding of each chapter in the book.

*I was given a free book in exchange for my review.  The opinions are mine.*

GREAT BOOK FOR TWEEN GIRLS

I wish I were twelve years old again (okay, not really).  But I do wish I could have read this book when I was twelve.  It would have helped me realize that a lot of my feelings and emotions were normal.  I think every twelve year old girl on the planet wants to know she is normal.

Have you ever thought....

There are a lot of scary things going on in the world.  Am I safe?

Why do babies die?  It's so unfair!  They didn't even get a chance to live.

How am I supposed to pray?  Some people want me to pray out loud, but I'm kind of embarrassed to do that.

How am I supposed to know what is true and what is a lie?

In this incredible devotion book by Sandra Byrd, she answers questions like these and more!  Each daily devotion starts with a great question, a short paragraph with an answer, then scripture to back up what was just taught, and a challenge for the day.  This would be a great gift for any tween girl in your life.

What exactly is a tween girl?  Well according to Wikipedia, a tween is a preadolescent, that is, the stage between middle childhood and adolescence in human development, in the range of 10 to 12 years old.

*I was provided a copy of this book in exchange for my review.  The opinions are mine.*

Oral B Healthy Clean PRECISION 1000

I inherited the bad teeth gene from my parents.  I have two siblings and whenever my mom would take us to the dentist, they would have zero cavities and I would have seventeen.   Okay maybe not that many, but I always had cavities until the dentist ran out of teeth to fill.  Now that I am an adult, my old cavities are falling out and my teeth are starting to crack.  I have had two root canals, two crowns, and an implant.  All this for the girl who flosses every day faithfully!  And I brush three times a day.  And I try to stay away from Laffy Taffy (thats a hard one...especially banana).  I digress.

So when ModernMom offered a toothbrush for me to try out I was way excited.  I love to take care of my teeth and hope they stick around for a long while.  Here is the lowdown on the toothbrush I tried out:

~Oral-B uses clinically proven technology that pulsates to break up plaque and then oscillates & rotates to sweep the plaque away!

~The round brush design (much like what they use at the dentist's office) surrounds each tooth for precise cleaning!

~The brush stops pulsating if you are brushing too hard.  What technology!

All in all, I thought the PRECISION 1000 cleaned my teeth very well.  I loved how it hugged each tooth as I brushed it.  My back teeth have never felt cleaner since I started using this brush.

The one thing I would warn everyone is to make sure their lips are shut before they turn the toothbrush on.  If not, watch out for toothpaste spray!  Also this toothbrush comes with a charger that will need to sit somewhere on your bathroom counter which may be a drawback to some.  I go to the dentist in a couple weeks and cannot wait to see if this cuts down the time they have to scrape the plaque off my teeth.  If so, I will be happy!!

I was provided this toothbrush by ModernMom in exchange for my review.  The opinions are mine.