Book Review

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for reviewing it.

The Fantasy Fallacy is not the type of book I would typically choose to, but with the recent popularity of books like 50 Shades of Gray, I thought it was an interesting topic that needs to be discussed more in the church.  I also personally know people whose marriages have suffered because of issues such as these.  I was given the opportunity to review it for Thomas Nelson Pusblishers.

The author brings out a lot of interesting thoughts from her counseling experiences.  She also addresses 50 Shades of Gray, why women read it, and the dangers behind the ideas presented in the series.  It wasn't what I expected - she delves into the "why" behind fantasy and what causes issues in people's lives.

This would be a great read for anyone who is in ministry or who mentors people.  It could really help them understand the reasons behind issues like this and how you can help someone who is struggling with this.

Eyes of Justice: A Review

I've been reading Lis Wiehl's Triple Threat series since the first book.  They are the kind of books that you get more and more wrapped up in as the series continues.  You feel like you really get to know the three friends who make up the group.  You see the ups and downs through the cases they work, as well  as their personal struggles.

That's what makes Eyes of Justice such a shocker - one of the Triple Threat women becomes the victim, leaving her remaining friends grief-stricken and searching for her killer.  I never saw the beginning of this book coming.  Ok, I never saw any of this coming!  I was floored by the events as the whole story unfolded.

It was a pretty emotional read, but I think this is probably the best book yet of the Triple Threat series.  It's a little tricky to really review the book without giving away too much of the plotline, but it's safe to say it's a fantastic read!  As always, I look forward to the next book and can't wait to see the new directions the series is sure to go in.

Heaven is For Real

I have to admit, I was a little wary when I first heard about "Heaven is for Real."  I've read books before by people who claimed to have gone to heaven and returned to earth, and to be honest, many of them don't line up with Scripture.  But when I found out this book told the story of a child who saw heaven, I was very interested. 

I really didn't expect this book to influence me like it did.  It rocked me to the core.  If you want something that will build your faith, this is the book you need.  The descriptions shared from Colton's experiences are incredible.  I read much of the book with tears in my eyes.  When Colton told his dad, "Did you know that Jesus has a horse only He can ride?" I had goosebumps.  Colton's descriptions of heaven and of an adoring Father who loves us more than we will ever know will not disappoint even a skeptical reader (like me).

Thank you to BookSneeze for allowing me to review this book.  I received a free copy in exchange for my review - however, the opinions expressed are entirely my own.

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Ready for Some Big Changes?

Sometimes you need a change of scenery. You need to shake things up. You need a new direction. I've reached that point. For the past year, I've felt restless about my blogging. I started changing. God started pointing me in a new direction. After years of blogging at Confessions of a Wannabe Supermom, its time for a new look, a new location, and a new purpose - here, at Grace in Our Moments.

Morning Grace

I'm a rule-following kind of girl. Its a great trait to have...sometimes. Sometimes it can really get in the way, though. When it comes to my morning quiet time, it can be downright dangerous. As a college student and into my early married years in my 20's, it was easy for me to get up early and spend an hour ir more with God every morning. Then we had kids, and everything changed. Suddenly I was a 22 year old stay at home mom who considered taking a shower a major accomplishment. Days went by without me ever even opening my Bible. My prayer time dwindled to, "Lord, how am I going to get this done?" I'm a voracious reader, so as my kids got older, I started reading again - along with my Bible, I read books on marriage, parenting, and being a Godly woman. I learned a lot from those books - mainly that I was failing. One book said I should spend an hour or more a day in Bible study. Another told me it should be easy to pray for an hour a day. Still others told me I should tithe my time - spend 10% of my time with God and never miss a day. I beat myself up a lot during those early years of marriage and motherhood. I knew there was no way I could live up to what those books suggested. I was breaking all the rules. Then, a few years ago, I discovered something amazing - grace. Its my morning grace - grace for my times with God. My goal is to get up early every morning and spend time with God. Most days it happens, but if not, there's grace. Some days its long, other days its just a short devotional. One day I might spend more time in Bible study, another day might be focused more on prayer, and still another might focus on journaling or scripture memory. Whatever I'm doing, there's grace. I believe that God delights in our efforts and our successes to spend time with Him, but I also believe that He's ready to wrap His arms around us and carry us when we're frazzled, frustrated, and struggling to keep up. He made us, He knows us, and He understands our ups and downs. My morning quiet time is again something I look forward to. In fact, its one of my favorite times of the day. Do you want to have consistent time with God every day? Sign up for Hello Mornings! It has inspired me so much that I'm going to be an accountability captain for the 2nd time in the winter session!

When Mom Gets Sick

The past couple of weeks have been interesting...and challenging.  I finished the fall semester two weeks ago today and threw myself into getting ready for Christmas. Despite my plans to rest, I was doing anything but resting. Finishing my shopping, taking Christmas card pictures, helping my husband get ready for Christmas events, going to church Christmas parties....

Then, while teaching my preschool Sunday School class last Sunday (the 17th), my throat started hurting. It went downhill from there. I think I just had a bad cold, but it hit me really hard. I'm sure my immune system was down from the stress and exhaustion of school. Whatever it was took me down in a hurry.

Suddenly, Mrs. "I-get-up-at-5:00-a.m.-every-day" was rolling out of bed at 9:00 a.m. Instead of running 90-miles-an-hour at work, I was rescheduling appointments and struggling to even show up at work. I think this was God's way of saying, "Look, you need to rest, and if you won't take time out for, I will make sure you get the rest you need." It worked.

Thankfully I felt much better by Christmas. I'm almost 100% now, although I'm still fighting a little bit of a cough. I'm gradually getting back to a normal routine...although I only managed a 7:45 a.m. wakeup time today. Gotta work on that... Its good to be back to even a kind-of normal life though. Back to blogging, back to planning, back to normal, and definitely back to enjoying every second of my Christmas break.

Not Quite According to Plan...

I've been so excited about Christmas break.  I have so much I want to accomplish over this month-long break - books to read, projects to work on, cleaning and organizing to do.  I was ready to hit the ground running Thursday, my first day with no classes.  It started out okay, although I had a busy end of the week last week.

Then this week happened.  My week so far...

• I cooked for a church dinner.
• I almost destroyed my cake for the church dinner.
• I went to church.
• I got sick.
• I slept in.
• I went to work.
• My washing machine broke.
• I got sicker.
• The dog puked on my pillow.
• I sat in the puke on my pillow.
• My house is a mess.
• My presents aren't wrapped.
• The boys are fighting.
• I yelled at the boys.
• The toilet overflowed.
• ...Merry Christmas - where's my Grinch hat?

Thank goodness for God's grace, even when I'm exhausted and nothing is going according to plan!  One day, hopefully soon, I'll look back on the week before Christmas 2011 and laugh...

A Digital Scrapbooking Giveaway!

I was very excited to recently get the chance to review My Memories digital scrapbooking software.  I posted a few weeks about wanting to be creative again and starting new projects, including digital scrapbooking. 

I had a lot of fun playing with My Memories.  It's very easy to use.  I created a couple of pages right away...

Althought was my first ever attempt at digital scrapbooking, I already love it!  My Memories software is just as versatile and fun as traditional scrapbooking, but it takes so much less time.  Plus, it's really easy to share albums and pages with others.  I also love the fact that there are so many add-on packs available for a very affordable price.  I can't wait to do more!  I'm already planning albums I want to put together.

If there was anything I didn't like about My Memories, I wish there were more embellishments available in the starter pack.  However, as I said, there are so many very inexpensive add-on packs available, that's really a minor thing.  Overall, I think this is great software that will really help me reconnect with my love of scrapbooking.

Now for the really fun part...the giveaway!  One lucky winner will win My Memories for FREE and all my readers can receive a special discount code that provides a $10 discount off the purchase of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software and a $10 coupon for the My Memories store - a $20 value!  Just enter code: STMMMS56503.

To enter to win, go the My Memories website and then leave a comment here telling me which digital scrapbooking kit you like best.  For additional entries: follow me on Twitter, subscribe to Confessions of a Wannabe Supermom,  like the My Memories Facebook page, follow My Memories on Twitter, and leave a separate comment for each one.

Entries will be accepted until midnight on Saturday, December 24.  The winner will be announced Monday, December 26. Thanks for entering, and good luck!

Real Women, Real Health, Real God

I am so excited about the new website/forum/ministry my blogging friend Kristi is launching! January 1, 2012 will mark the launch date for Must Love God, where women can find support for total health - physical, emotional, and spiritual. This has been on Kristi's heart for a long time. She has covered this in prayer, and so have many others. I'm so excited and honored to be a contributor for this. Watch for updates and like the Facebook page. I can't wait to see what God is going to do!

Black Friday Madness

1.  So, did you get sucked into the excitement and drama of Black Friday? If so, what deals did you snag?? And for our international gal, has our shopping madness spread to your area?

2.  Four day weekends are nice but the transition back to work can be challenging! How are you doing with the transition?

My name is Amanda, and I am addicted to Black Friday shopping.  Ever since my husband and I went on our first day-after-Thanksgiving bargain hunt nine years ago, I've been hooked.  We've landed some amazing deals over the years, and we could never pull of the kind of Christmas we have at our house without those bargains. 

This year was much more challenging in some ways, because stores were opening all night long instead of just early Friday morning.  I left my house at 8:00 p.m. Thursday and didn't get home until 7:00 a.m. the next day.  Yes, it was my first ever all-night shopping trip!  I slept for a couple of hours before I left home, and (I'm not kidding) I slept in our truck for about an hour and a half while I waited for JC Penney's to open.

As always, we got some great deals on gifts for our kids, like two video game rockers, normally $65-70, for $32 each, and tons of DVD's, video games and toys.  This year I also scored some awesome deals for our home, like a soft, fuzzy king-size blanket for $24 (which came in handy while I was napping outside Penney's); a set of 600-thread-count sheets for $20 (we won't go into the fact that I was almost trampled for those sheets at Walmart...) and two Scentsy-style wax warmers for $9 each. 

Finally, I got a few things for myself - a cashmere blend pea coat (originally $200) for $50; a pair of boots for $30; five seasons of our all-time favorite TV show, 24, for $10 each (a joint gift for my hubby and me); and (you may do a double take on this one) ammo for my gun for 1/2 price.  (Yes, I have a gun...not a rifle, but a pistol...going to the gun range is one of my favorite ways to spend an afternoon.  My husband and I both shoot, and we'll take his .22 rifle and let the kids shoot, too.  It's a fun family hobby for us!)

I'm sure I like having stores opening on Thanksgiving night, but I love the deals on Black Friday, and it would take a lot to keep me away from it.  It's become a challenge to us to find the best bargains. My hubby and I team shop (although he just hit the first couple of stores with me this year) and plan it like a military operation.  I love it!