Molly's Money-Saving Digest for July

Molly's Money-Saving Digest this month features how to save money on clothing, landscaping, and decorating. There were several ideas dealing with thrift stores and sewing, and hints on how to build a classic wardrobe on a budget. My favorite section was "Parenting that Pays." It focused on gratitude and teaching that trait to our children. I think that is especially important when money is tight and our initial response may be to complain or focus on the problems instead of the blessings. Molly's digests are a great resource for families new to the frugal lifestyle. It is helpful to glean ideas from other frugal moms and to know you are not the only one pinching pennies.

I've also found that when I regularly read something about saving and taking care of finances, it keeps my focus on that aspect of my life and helps me avoid impulse purchases. I think of it like scripture reading. When I keep the Lord in my life everyday, my spiritual body is nourished and spiritual things are at the front of my mind. While finances are not as essential in the eternal perspective, they are important temporally and keeping my priorities straight is a blessing to my family.

Molly's digest can be purchased as a e-book through The Old Schoolhouse Magazine.

Stealing Home by Allison Pittman

Stealing Home gets a thumbs up from me for being a sweet, well written romance story without all the shady scenes found in many romance novels! I enjoyed reading this story and would be completely comfortable sharing it with my 16 year old sister or having someone pick it up off the table to read a few pages.

It’s 1905 and the Chicago Cubs are banking on superstar Donald “Duke” Dennison’s golden arm to help them win the pennant. Only one thing stands between Duke and an unprecedented ten thousand dollar contract: alcohol. That’s when sportswriter David Voyant whisks Duke to the one-horse town of Picksville, Missouri, so he can sober up in anonymity. He bides his time flirting with Ellie Jane Voyant, his unofficial chaperone, who would rather hide herself in the railway station ticket booth than face the echoes of childhood taunts.

Ned Clovis, the feed store clerk, has secretly loved Ellie Jane since childhood, but he loves baseball and the Duke almost as much–until he notices Ellie Jane may be succumbing to the star’s charm. Then there’s Morris, a twelve-year-old Negro boy, whose only dream is to break away from Picksville. When Duke discovers his innate talent for throwing a baseball, Morris might just have found his way out.

I have 2 copies to share, so if you would like to read it, email me or post a comment and I will choose 2 lucky readers. Please make sure you leave a way for me to contact you if you comment. Drawing will be 2 weeks from today. I'm noticing a 2 theme, so please share your 2 favorite summertime books as well!

Saints in Limbo by River Jordan

Saints in Limbo is an easy, gently moving novel for summer. Written with descriptive language and imagery, it's a relaxing book to read on lazy days.

Ever since her husband Joe died, Velma True’s world has been limited to what she can see while clinging to one of the multicolored threads tied to the porch railing of her home outside Echo, Florida. When a mysterious stranger appears at her door on her birthday and presents Velma with a special gift, she is rattled by the object’s ability to take her into her memories–a place where Joe still lives, her son Rudy is still young, unaffected by the world’s hardness, and the beginning is closer than the end. As secrets old and new come to light, Velma wonders if it’s possible to be released from the past’s deep roots and find a reason to hope again.

I have one copy to giveaway. Please post a comment or email me if you are interested. The winner will be selected 2 weeks from today.

Night Watchman

The Night Watchman by Mark Mynheir

Summary:

Ray Quinn is a tough, quick-witted homicide detective in love with his partner, Trisha Willis. She gives Ray something to live for—something to hope in. Until a barrage of bullets leaves Trisha murdered and Ray crippled.

Struggling with his new physical disability and severe depression, Quinn turns to whiskey, scorn, and a job as a night watchman to numb the pain. But when a pastor and dancer are found dead in an apparent murder-suicide, the pastor’s sister approaches Quinn for help.

Reluctantly, Quinn takes the case and is plunged into the perilous Orlando. Soon he discovers that, not only was the pastor murdered, but the case may be linked to his and Trisha’s ambush.

If you enjoy murder mysteries, this one will pull you in and keep you turning the pages. It is well written, with interesting characters and plenty of twists to keep you guessing.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my review. You can find places to purchase the book by visiting http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781590529355&ref=externallink_mlt_thenightwatchman_sec_0414_01

Jesus Calling by Sarah Young

This little book is small enough in size to slip into a purse, but filled with enough insight to ponder throughout the day. It is set up with a devotional thought for each day of the year. The passages are written as though Jesus is talking to you, encouraging you to trust Him and find peace through Him. Each passage is only a few paragraphs, so it can be the starting point for a more in-depth study or a quick thought to ponder throughout the day.

I tend to hit-and-miss with a daily book, so I ignored the dates and read the messages as time allowed, some days were missed, some days I read several. I found many treasure thoughts to highlight and ponder. None of the messages are "new" information, but reminders of promises Jesus has already made to His followers. There are also scripture references at the end of each day for further study.

I enjoyed leaving the book in my car to read while I was waiting for children. It is easy to pick up and enjoy when you only have a few minutes or to read for longer times while you wait. I also liked the small size, about 4 inches by 7 inches.

Hero and Giveaway

Hero: Becoming the Man She Desires is written by Fred and Jason Stoeker. It is directed at young men and talks about the importance of leaving the girls they date better, instead of worse, for having known them. It talks about many of our cultures' lies about intimate relationships and why physical relationships prior to marriage hurt both men and women, but especially women. It examines several different "myths" about physical relationships before marriage.

My boys are still young, so I don't know what age, if ever, I would just hand them this book to read. It is pretty straight-forward and open about the p*rn and garbage that the media portrays as normal. I do think it's a good book for parents or leaders of young men to read. There are many points in the book that I think are valuable for teaching, and that could be beneficial to a discussion. I liked how it teaches young men that women want a "knight in shining armor," a hero who will love, honor, respect, and protect her. There are several good analogies and personal stories/journal entries that make the book (after the first few chapters) read more like a story and less like a lecture. There is one section of about 3 paragraphs that I skipped. The authors warn you that a graphic list of garbage found in some current, popular PG-13 and R movies is coming. I would black that section out with a marker because we don't allow those in our home and I don't want the descriptions here either.

I think the message in this book is essential. We need more young men and women to take a stand for purity. Here is a link to the Random House website with options for purchasing the book online: http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781400071098&ref=externallink_mlt_hero_kef_0403_01

I have two copies of this book available as give-aways, so if you are interested, please leave a comment or email me. I will do the drawing 2 weeks from today.

What Does the Bible Say about That?

The Bible is filled with advice about all aspects of our life, but finding which scriptures apply to a given situation can be a challenge, especially for kids who are new to studying the scriptures.


What Does the Bible Say about That? is a charming book by Carolyn Larsen, that covers over 300 topics like patience, kindness, jealousy, planning, and even homework. Each topic has a simple one page summary with scripture references, commentary, and a daily goal related to the topic. This book, published by Crossway Books, is written for 8-12 year olds, and deals with issues that are important in their lives as well as topics that apply to all ages.

By taking everyday topics and relating them to scriptures, this book is a gentle way to teach children how to study the scriptures and apply the teachings to their own lives. I have been using it with my 8 year old. Each morning we read a topic together, then look up the quoted scriptures in our KJV (the book uses the English Standard Version). This is helping my son learn WHERE to find the quoted scriptures. We then compare and talk about the versions. We are LDS and have also been looking for related scriptures in the Book of Mormon.

I would recommend this as a book for parents to use with their children. From an LDS perspective, I only noticed 3 topics that don't match up exactly with LDS doctrine, (Hell, Salvation, and the Trinity) and they were presented close enough that it was easy to explain and expand.

Some of the topics are very similar to another, like Honesty and Integrity, but the commentary is different even when the quoted scriptures are the same. Even with 300 topics, there are several important ones missing, like Baptism, Jesus, and Savior, but that is probably because different denominations would present those topics differently.

Overall, my son and I have enjoyed the book and will continue using it for our morning devotion time together. It has been a good way to show him how the Bible can answer his questions and that it has important information on almost every topic.

You can find more information about this book at www.crossway.org/blog

Famous Men of the Modern Ages

I received the "Famous Men of the Modern Ages" from Memoria Press. I have other versions of the "Famous Men" series (Greece and Rome) and love how they bring history to life by bringing the people of that time period to life. Memoria Press takes their text even further with beautiful illustrations to compliment the written stories.

Famous Men of the Modern Ages starts after the fall of Constantinople with Lorenzo the Magnificent. Here is a direct link to the table of contents. I love these books because I have many gaps in my own knowledge of history. It was really sad how many of these famous men-- from only the last 500 years-- I knew nothing about. Some I remember memorizing, probably along with a date that I have long since forgotten. This book has interesting details about each person that make history more interesting.

Memoria Press also has student and teacher guides to go along with the text. The guides turn an interesting book into a year long study of the given time period. There are 33 lessons and 6 review lessons. They include quotes, vocabulary, comprehension questions, and activities, like timelines and mapwork. The teacher guide is the same as the student guide, but with the answers filled in. The Famous Men of the Modern Ages text is $16.95 and each of guides are $17.95 or you can buy the set of all 3 books for $39.95. My son is in 3rd grade and dislikes writing, so we did many of the comprehension questions orally. His favorite way to use the book was for both of us to read the text silently, then "have a contest" to see if he knew the answers better than I did.

If you are a classical homeschooler or would like an enjoyable way to fill in the gaps in your own knowledge, The Famous Men books are a great starting point. I think anyone would benefit from the text. I would not consider it a complete history curriculum, but it is far more interesting than any of the history texts I had in school and I expect my son will retain more from this book and study guide than I did from the "complete" curriculums to which I was exposed.

Memoria Press Latin

Salvete, amici Latinae.

I can read that now! And I know what it says! Latin was always something I thought would be good to teach the kids, (because smart people know Latin, right?). However, since I had no background or experience, I was apprehensive and probably never would have gotten around to it. Latina Christiana I by Memoria Press has taken away the fear. I received not only the student and teacher guides, but the Instructional DVD's that go through each lesson in the books. The DVD's are directed to the student and my kids enjoyed watching them. All of the kids sat and watched and I was surprised how much even the little ones picked up. We have taken it slowly, repeating rules and lessons until it is understood.

It has been nice to just sit and learn along with the kids. I did have a little bit of Spanish in college which has helped with understanding the grammar and helped me pick up on some things faster, but I think you would be fine without any foreign language background. The teacher book seems well laid out, and could probably be used without the DVD's, but for me the DVD's have changed Latin from a fearful subject to an enjoyable one. I have used the teacher's guide more as a supplement than as the main resource.

Memoria Press has many other interesting items, and different members of the Crew reviewed different items, so check out what my fellow crewmates had to say here.

The Noticer by Andy Andrews

This book is A MUST READ!!! It is one of the best books I've ever read, and I read a lot. This book is based on an amazing true story and has the potential to change your life!

The story follows an old man, Jones, not Mr. Jones, just Jones, who manages to show up in Orange Beach, Alabama just when someone's world is falling apart. He gently shares his wisdom and perspective and changes the struggle into a moment of growth. I kept thinking this is how the Three Nephites from the Book of Mormon or the Apostle John would minister while they waited for the Savior's return.

It has the qualities of a classic and I know I will read it over and over again, especially at those times when I'm discouraged or worn down by life's trials. I was immediately drawn into the story and couldn't put it down. There are so many gems of truth and wisdom in the pages of this book. Andy Andrews makes you feel like you are living the story along with him. I have already recommended it to many friends and will be buying more copies as gifts.