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Switched!

Posted by Theresa, Owner on February 4, 2012
in Books

Switched is a fictional story about a girl named TJ who goes on adventures into the future with her imaginary friends. It is a bit far fetched, so imaginations are required to read this book! The spiritual lesson in forgiveness outweighs that little negative though.

I did not actually read this book. I had my two teen daughters read it since it is geared towards younger people and they are always looking for new reading material! I did not notice when I signed up for this review that it was book 5 in a series. So my girls were a bit lost in the storyline. What they did get, they thought it was funny. They would have enjoyed it so much more had they read the previous books first.

This book is geared towards middle school.

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.

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Summer of Promise Blog Tour

Posted by Theresa, Owner on February 4, 2012
in Books, Review

The next book up is Summer of Promise by Amanda Cabot and thankfully not a predictable romance! It is romance with a little intrigue thrown in. I really enjoy Amanda Cabot’s books.

Summer of Promise is set during the summer of 1885, and Abigail Harding travels from her home in Vermont to the high plains of Wyoming to visit her sister.

I liked that this novel, while based at a Fort, focused on life inside not outside on a battle field. I have never really thought much about the kind of life soldiers lead while living at a fort. This story reveals the stark contrast between the service men on the battle field and those living at the fort.

It has it’s humorousre parts. On the spiritual side, the lesson that stood out to me throughout the story was the fact that knowing God’s will and following are two very different things. Patience is needed to wait for God’s leading, so this book was a very good reminder, especially as it relates to my businesses and other things going on in our life right now.

Sisterly love and devotion is another theme that was presented. I am looking forward to the second book in the series! Two thumbs up from me!

“Available January 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

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Breakfast & Dinner – Fun with Food Friday

Posted by Theresa, Owner on February 3, 2012
in Food and Treats, Photography

My daughter and I are still taking photos. Besides the children we like taking pictures of food. Due to a local Amazon deal, we are taking a 3-hour photography boot camp at the end of the month with a local photographer. We are looking forward to it and hoping to pick up a few new tips. Maybe you will see an improvement in our amateu pictures! Ha!

Drum roll please….for some breakfast and dinner shots taken by yours truly:

Pancakes for a Large Family

Sizzling Pancakes

A Golden Pile

Ready to Eat

Little Hands Peeling a Clementine

Soaking Pinto Beans

Pinto Beans and Rice

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Prosperity Parenting

Posted by Theresa, Owner on February 3, 2012
in Guest Post, Money & Finances, Parenting

I thought this article had some interesting points and thought it might make for some good conversation, so feel free to leave your thoughts!

Prosperity Parenting
How parents sabotage their kids’ success and how they can ‘change the story’

Guest Post By Randy Gage

Every parent wants the best for their kids. Yet millions of adults unknowingly sabotage their children’s chances for success.

I grew up poor. I was jealous of rich people and didn’t like them. So over the years I kept trying to get rich, not realizing that my subconscious mind was telling me, “Better stop doing that, or you’ll become one of the evil, mean, nasty rich people!”

The messages against wealth and prosperity are all around us, in our culture, media, and religions. But how many parents stop to think about how their own views on getting ahead influence their children’s ability to succeed?

Your core beliefs about everything related to prosperity – money, relationships, health, and spirituality – are set by the time you’re 10 years old. And no one influences those beliefs more than parents.

Millions of parents do this by conveying a negative vision of prosperity and success. If you tell yourself things like “If it wasn’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all,” and “I’m always a day late and a dollar short,” you will, consciously or subconsciously, convey these messages to your kids.

The truth is it’s really not that hard to change your beliefs – If you are aware of them and make that choice. Here are some tips:

Identify negative beliefs you may be creating in your children — Do some critical thinking about what kind of beliefs you developed in childhood about money, rich people and wealth. Honestly ask yourself, are you programming your children with thoughts such as money is bad, rich people are evil, or it’s spiritual to be poor? I call these “mind viruses.” Defeating them starts with acknowledging you have them.

Help kids identify anti-prosperity media messages: Did you ever stop to think about how blockbusters like Titanic and Avatar portray wealth, and how those stories can set kids up with attitudes that sabotage their future success? Talk to your kids about the subliminal messages they receive on TV, in movies and other media. Help them to become self-motivated critical thinkers.

Create a positive vision of prosperity: Examine how you react to families with more wealth than yours when speaking to your kids. Do you discuss them with envy or jealousy, or admiration and respect? Talk to your kids about how their thoughts about wealth can shape their future.

People have a hard time believing they are sabotaging their prosperity at age 30, 40, or 50 because of a belief that was formed when they were six, but I see it all the time. And that’s the book that gets written, unless you become aware of the plotline and decide to change the story.

Whether you and your children are on the path to poverty or prosperity is determined by the thoughts you give precedence to. Your thoughts come from the type of vision you have.

Everyone has a vision. Millions have a negative one; many more have a neutral one. It’s vital to help your children develop a positive one.

About Randy Gage: Randy helps audiences recognize and reject roadblocks to wealth and prosperity with warmth, wit and wisdom drawing from his rags-to-riches story. A former high school dropout, Randy rose from a minimum wage job and spending time in jail as a teen to become a self-made multi-millionaire who has inspired millions of people around the world. He is the author of eight books on success including Prosperity Mind and Accept Your Abundance that have been translated into more than 25 languages and sold millions of copies worldwide. Learn more about Randy at his public website: http://www.RandyGage.com and on Prosperity TV: http://www.youtube.com/randygage.

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Savory Summer Blog Hop Opportunity

Posted by Theresa, Owner on February 2, 2012
in Blog Stuff, Food and Treats, Giveaways

Thanks once again to Brande, I will be participating in a the Savory Summer Blog Hop from May 16-30.

Savory Summer will be featuring all things food and food-related that can be enjoyed during the summer. Basically, if it is something that a human being can eat, eat with, eat off of, cook, cook with, prepare food with…it belongs in this event!

Bloggers and food related companies have the opportunity to join me in the Savory Summer Blog Hop. Please let them know you heard about the event from me!

Thanks!

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Cash Giveaway at Giveaway Promote & Opportunity for Bloggers!

Posted by Theresa, Owner on February 2, 2012
in Blog Stuff, Giveaways

I am always on the look out for ways to promote my blog (and businesses for that matter), I just do not always follow through. So when Brande shared this giveaway, I decided to “just do it”.

Giveaway Promote is hosting a cash giveaway event to be held from February 20th-March 4th. This is a way for all of you readers to enter a cash giveaway (currently the prize is at $250!) and a way for bloggers to promote their blog. Sign-ups will remain open until February 11th. Details are here.

As mentioned, I will be participating in this event. If any of you fellow bloggers sign up, please be sure to tell Giveaway Promote that I referred you!

Thanks!

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Children & Technology – Wordless Wednesday

Posted by Theresa, Owner on February 1, 2012
in Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Techie Stuff, Technology/Electronics, Wordless Wednesday

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Belated Monday Motivation: Office Organization

Posted by Theresa, Owner on January 31, 2012
in Monday Motivation, Organization

I haven’t been doing very well with keeping up with my Monday Motivation posts. I did get my office organized last weekend but failed to post photos. So I am doing it this week. Though my tables are not quite as neat right now because I am in the middle of a couple of projects!

We still have a bit of stuff in our room, but it is minimal. I have to get another bookcase up to get the books up off the floor! I am also starting to think gardening and since half our room is not really used unless the boys are wrestling, I am thinking about setting up tables to start our seeds. Not sure about that idea yet though.

My utility closet/room is a disaster this week since the younger children have just thrown all their winter gear on the floor! So that is a goal for today to get that cleaned up. I should take a picture of it but the younger children usually do not care about stuff like that so it would be futile to use it as blackmail!

Now I have to do my Fun with Food Post (last week’s but will be posted THIS week!)

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The Essentials – A Healthy Tuesday Tip

Posted by Theresa, Owner on January 31, 2012
in All Natural Products, Health, Health and Garden Tuesday

Why Essential Oils are Essential?

*Immune stimulating *Supportive of the body’s natural defenses *Supportive of the immune, circulatory, respiratory, endocrine, digestive, nervous, and other body systems *Aiding in maintaining normal cellular regeneration *Mood elevating *Antiseptic (topical use only) *High in antioxidants *Aromatic *Oxygenating *Boosting to stamina and energy *Helpful in relaxation *Helpful in managing stress and frustration *Helpful in reducing the appearance of aging *Helpful in the improvement of mental clarity *Helpful in promoting overall health, vitality, and longevity.

What Are Essential Oils

Essential oils are the subtle, aromatic and volatile liquids extracted from the flowers, seeds, leaves, stems, bark and roots of herbs, bushes, shrubs and trees through distillation. According to ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics and Chinese manuscripts, priests and physicians were using essential oils thousands of years before Christ to heal the sick. They are the oldest form of medicine and cosmetic known to man and were considered more valuable than gold. There are hundreds of references to oils in the Bible. The wise men brought the Christ Child gold, frankincense and myrrh. (Clinical research now shows that frankincense oil contains very high immune stimulating properties.) Some of the precious oils which have been used since antiquity for anointing and healing the sick are: frankincense, myrrh, galbanum, hyssop, cassia, cinnamon and spikenard. Science is only now beginning to investigate the incredible healing substances found in essential oils.

Young Living Essential Oils are 100% Pure Therapeutic Grade

The Frequency of Essential Oils

The effectiveness of essential oils cannot be fully understood without some discussion of frequency. Frequency is the measurable rate of electrical energy flow that is constant between any two points. Everything has frequency. Pure Essential Oils have very high frequency. Dr. Robert O. Becker in his book, The Body Electric, establishes that the human body has an electrical frequency and that much about a person’s health can be determined by ones frequency. In 1992, Bruce Tainio of Tainio Technology, an independent division of Eastern State University in Cheny Washington, built the first frequency monitor in the world. Tainio has determined that the average frequency of the human body during the day time is 62-68 Hz. (A healthy body frequency is 62-72 Hz.) When the frequency drops the immune system is compromised. If the frequency drops to 58 Hz. cold and flu symptoms appear, at 55 Hz. diseases like Candida take hold, at 52 Hz. Epstein Bar, and at 42 Hz. Cancer. According to Dr. Royal Rife every disease has a frequency. He found that certain frequencies can prevent the development of disease and that others would destroy disease. Substances with higher frequency will destroy diseases of lower frequency. The study of frequencies raises an important question concerning the frequencies of substances we eat, breath, and absorb. Many pollutants lower healthy frequency. Processed/canned food has a frequency of zero. Fresh produce has up to 15 Hz., dry herbs from 12 to 22 Hz. and fresh herbs from 20 to 27 Hz. Essential oils start at 52 Hz. and go as high as 320 Hz., the frequency of Pure Rose Oil. Clinical research shows that essential oils have the highest frequency of any natural substance known to man creating an environment in which disease, bacteria, virus, fungus etc. cannot live.

Essential Oils Are Aromatic

Essential oils are highly aromatic and therefore many of the benefits can be obtained by simply inhaling them. This can be done by breathing in the fragrance from the bottle or can be diffused into the room. Essential oils when diffused can be the best air filtration system in the world. They will: (1) Purify by removing metallic particles and toxins from the air. (2) Increase atmospheric oxygen. (3) Destroy orders from mold, cigarettes and animals. (4) Fill the air with a fresh herbal aromatic scent. (5) Increase ozone and negative ions in the house which inhibits bacteria growth.

Essential Oils Penetrate

The penetrating characteristic of essential oils greatly enhances their ability to be effective. 100% Pure, Therapeutic Grade Essential Oils will penetrate into the body when applied to the skin. Essential oil placed on the feet will be distributed to every cell in the body in 21 minutes. They will even penetrate a finger or toe nail to treat fungus underneath.

Don’t expect the same results unless you are using Young Living Therapeutic Grade essential oils and supplements. Also, each person is different so they may not work as well for you as it does for others, So try another oil or supplement that might work better for you.

Essential oil testimonials are an effective way of learning and sharing. With this knowledge, We can take control of our own personal health. However, we are required by law to state:

“These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. Products and Techniques mentioned are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Information provided here is in no way intended to replace proper medical help. Consult with the health authorities of your choice.”

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Where Wildflowers Bloom – A Revell Blog Tour

Posted by Theresa, Owner on January 28, 2012
in Books, Review

I read Where Wildflowers Bloom shortly after Christmas. It is a book in the Sisters at Heart series written by Ann Shorey.

Unfortunately my review isn’t going to give a stellar rating of this story. It was only ok. I found it a predictable, historical romance. I thought the main character, Faith Lindberg, was a bit flaky and did not make very wise choices because she was trying to run from her problems. Guess I am old enough now that I know running from problems only gives you more problems in the end!

On the other hand, I could understand Faith’s grief and wanting to run away from it because I have been there and done that. It is the realist in me, which is now on the other side of grief, that saw how useless her running away was ineffective against her healing.

I didn’t like the predictable story line. It makes for a rather bland book, in my humble opinion.

Ann Shorey is offering a giveaway that you may enter here.