I am living a RICH life!!

I CHOOSE to live RICH! "Poor" is a mindset. There is a HUGE difference between 'poor' and 'broke'. There is a HUGE difference between 'wealthy' and 'rich'. We are living RICH, we are living life with a heart of gratitude, focusing on the blessings in life. Wealthy is a matter of money, RICH is a matter of the heart.

We are living RICH by living life to the fullest enjoying all the wonderful blessings God gives. Life is 'rich' when you choose to open your heart to all of the little things that make life so sweet. Cherishing simple things like breathing in fresh air, receiving flowers from a child, relaxing in a warm bath, sinking in to a freshly fluffed pillow, driving a paid for vehicle, soaking up a beautiful sun set, eating a meal fresh from the garden.... Experiencing and reflecting on special times spent with family and friends. Mary, the mother of Jesus, 'stored up these things in her heart' (she stored the experiences of Chirst's early life in her heart to reflect on later). Life's greatest treasures are not things purchased at the mall (or even at Target... gasp....), the greatest treasures are the every day blessings of life.

Choosing to be RICH means slowing down, FOCUSING on the positives, SPEAKING gratitude and slaying the "gimmies" (children are not the only ones that get these). Choosing to be rich requires a heart of contentment. Thankful for all we have, not restless for things we want, realizing that having more will never satisfy the deep longings of the heart. The heart longs for things that really matter, trying to fulfill these longings with stuff only deepens the need.

I AM rich! I CHOOSE to focus on the little blessings in life that add up filling my life to the brim with true treasures!!!! Count your blessings and name them one by one!

 Think about the longings of your heart. Can they really be filled by that next purchase?? You are not poor because your budget does not allow you to spend freely on all you want. CHOOSE to be rich by living a RICH life... a life lived enjoying the simple things! Challenge yourself to LOOK for the many wonderful simple things that make your life RICH!! Dwell on these, not on any lack.

(I originally wrote this back in march of 2009, however this has been on my mind quite a bit lately so I thought I would post it again.  Hope ya don't mind!)

Have a BLESSED day,
BE a BLESSING!
Heather

Being vulnerable.... being real....being loved

 Support, listening ears, big hearts, hugs, tears and prayers.  FRIENDSHIP!   Unconditional love.

I am so incredibly blessed to be a part of a weekly Bible study with some amazing women.  One of us is going through some extra hard stuff right now and the tears were flowing and the prayers were rising and our time in praise was a time of standing in faith on God's promises!!

If you don't have a tight circle of Godly friends I encourage you to REACH out and make one.  We live in a CRAZY busy world but we NEED friendship!  God Gave us that need!!!!  I have written about my strong convictions about our need for REAL life friendship before...... 

I am grateful for the internet and the online friendships I have developed!  You are a blessing to me.  However, I NEED my real life friends and they NEED me!!  Today was such an incredible reminder why God created the church body, he CREATED us to need each other!!  I just wanted to encourage you to reach out and cherish the real life, in person, friendships that God has given you or challenge you to reach out to create some.  It means being vulnerable, that can be scary, but so worth it.

Have a BLESSED day,
BE a BLESSING!
Heather

Chocolate Fudge Sheet Cake with your choice of frosting: Chocolate or Peanutbutter

 This amazing  Chocolate Fudge Cake has become my standby recipe when baking for a large crowd.  It is easy and extremely yummy and I love the *surprise* ingredient..... cola!!  I first came across this recipe last year at Many Little Blessings.  I have since modified it to make it simpler to throw together, but the results are just as divine!

I whipped this up this evening to take with us for lunch at church tomorrow.  We are having dinner after church with the pastor's family  and a few others.  Tomorrow is a special day for our family.... we are pledging our membership at church!  This is a first for my husband and me..... we have never been members of a church before.  We are so blessed to be a part of this wonderful congregation..... a true family in Christ!

This cake will easily serve 30 people.  I made it with the chocolate frosting tonight, but the peanut butter frosting option is absolutely delish!  

 

 Chocolate Fudge Sheet Cake

Ingredients:
1/3 cup cocoa
2 cups white sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup milk
1 TBL white vinegar (don't worry you won't taste it.... it reacts with the baking soda to make it rise)
1 cup oil
1 cup cola flavored soda (or any dark soda.... I have even used root beer and dr pepper)
2 eggs

Directions:
1)  Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a sheet cake/cookie sheet pan.
2)  In a large mixing bowl combine the first 5 ingredients (the dry ones).
3)  In a separate bowl whisk together the remaining 5 ingredients (the wet ones)
4)  Pour the liquid mixture together with the dry ingredients and stir until completely mixed.  Pour into prepared sheet pan.
5)  Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Frost with either the chocolate frosting or peanut butter below.  You can frost it while it is still hot or you can wait till it cools.... I love the flexibility of this cake!

Chocolate Frosting:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup buter
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup cream or milk
3 1/2 -4 cups powdered sugar

Directions:
1) in a saucepan combine butter, milk and cocoa powder.  stir and cook till butter is melted.
2)Beat in powdered sugar

Peanut Butter frosting

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup Peanut Butter
2 TBL milk
3-4 cups powdered sugar

Directions:
1)Melt together butter, peanut butter and milk
2) Beat in powdered sugar


Enjoy and I will admire your will power if you can just eat ONE piece of this cake!! 

Have a BLESSED day,
BE a BLESSING!
Heather

Choosing Simplicity in the school morning rush!

Back to school  time is here.  My kiddos went back to school yesterday.  Lazy summer mornings are now a thing of the past and the school morning rush has returned.  Whether you home school (I was raised as a home school kid) or whether your kids head out the door to school we share in the fact that school mornings are different from summer. 

5 ways to Choose Simplicity 

on school mornings:

1)  Alarm Clocks
As a mom I set mine so that I am up 30 minutes before my children.  Flylady teaches this principle, too.  This gives me time to get dressed, make a pot of coffee and spend a few much needed moments in the word of God before I face the morning with my family.  When I miss this time we all feel it!  It gives me time to ease into the new day with joy in my heart rather than hit the floor running.

My children set their alarms and they are responsible to get up at the established time.  If I have to go upstairs to wake them up they face consequences.  Harsh?  No.  Self Responsibility.  I am raising future adults, not future children.  Kindergarteners are capable of using an alarm clock  and it will free you from years of being the bad guy that has to wake up a sweet sleeping child!  I want to see their smiling face as they make their way down the stairs, not them grumbling at me for waking them up.  Let the alarm clock be the bad guy, let me be the one they greet with good morning hugs!


2)  Clothes

Have the outfits ready.  For my young children I create outfits as I fold clothes so all they have to do is open up the dresser drawer and grab one.  This has been especially helpful for my boys!  The older children can make outfits as they put their clean laundry away.  Planning ahead makes the mornings so much less stressful.  For example, tomorrow my 7th and 8th grader have spirit day at school (first football game is tomorrow night) and they have to wear neon colors.  They came home from school yesterday and got those outfits ready.... tomorrow morning their will be no scrambling!

3)  Back Packs Ready

The night before we get the back packs ready to go out the door.  Homework, papers that needed signed, library books, etc go in the back packs and the packs get hung on their designated hooks by the back door.   In the morning we simply grab and  go!

4)  Lunches

I will admit that getting the school lunch is the easiest way to go on this one.  However, they do cost more and are generally less nutritious than what we can pack from home.  To make lunch prep simpler in the mornings I pre-package as much as possible ahead of time.    I make individual baggies of things like pretzels, crackers, chex mix, carrot sticks, peanut butter balls, brownies, cookies, etc. (I will often make up a big batch of muffins and freeze them in individual baggies)   My children are responsible for assembling their lunch boxes.  Lunch paking if fairly quick.... make a sandwich or grab a container of left over supper, a piece of fruit and pre- prepared baggies.  They can either pack a reusable bottle with water or juice or buy milk at school.

5) Breakfast

I am a firm believer that breakfast is the most important meal of the day..... especially for school age children.  Their bodies and brains NEED a healthy breakfast to help them learn.  They need the energy and brain power that a quality breakfast provides.  They need good protein, complex carbs for energy and fiber to help keep away the hunger pangs till lunch time.

Things we eat for breakfast:

• whole wheat toast with Peanut Butter (or just a whole wheat PB&J sandwich)
• whole grain pancakes or waffles (warmed up from the freezer.... I don't cook in the morning)
• whole grain cereal with milk
• smoothies (we have several different recipes.... just use what we have on hand)
• supper left overs (my husband thinks this is weird, but hey if left over spaghetti sounds good to them, why not?)

Our mornings are not *perfect* (nothing ever is)!  However, these 5 things make our mornings much, much, much smoother!  So cheers to school mornings and CHOOSE SIMPLICITY!!!!


Have a BLESSED day, BE a BLESSING! Heather

Refrigerator Dill Pickles

 The garden is really starting to produce!  Time to start "putting up" the harvest.  We love cucumbers, but you can only eat so many of them fresh out of the garden.  I have tried several times to can pickles but they have always turned out a mushy mess!  So this year I decided to give refrigerator pickles a try and we LOVE them!!!!!  I have made 2 gallons in the last 2 weeks and my kids eat them like candy.  They are a hit that will definitely become a "putting up the harvest" tradition.  These pickles will store well in the fridge for a couple of months.  I will keep making them and hopefully we will have pickles till thanksgiving! 

Refrigerator Dill Pickles
**** I combined 2 recipes and I don't measure exactly.... feel free to modify as you wish.

Ingredients:
washed and sliced cucumbers  (however many you have)
salt
ice
Onion slices
Pepper slices (banana or green)

To make the liquid:
1 cup white vinegar
2 cups water
1/2 - 1 tsp garlic powder (depending on how much garlic flavor you want)
1-2 tsp dry dill weed (we really like the dill flavor so I use 2 tsp).... I buy dry dill weed at rural king.... they have spices cheap!!
1-2 tsp salt (again, this depends on how salty you like your pickles)


Directions:
1)  Wash and slice cucumbers and put them in a PLASTIC bowl.  It is important that you don't touch  the pickles with anything metal... only plastic or glass!!!

2)  Sprinkle liberally with salt and cover cucumber slices with ICE and let soak for 2-5 hours.  (this makes the cucumbers crispy)  I just leave this sitting on the counter for a few hours.

3)  Drain and rinse.  Drain and rinse again.

4)  Put slices in jars (you can use whatever you have).  Add in onion slices and peppers (optional).  You can also add garlic cloves instead of using garlic powder in the liquid.

5)  Fill jars with prepared liquid to cover cucumber slices.  If you need more liquid just mix up another batch.  It will save for later if you have too much.

6)  Let sit in fridge for 3 days and then EAT and ENJOY!!  The longer they sit the better they taste!!!  They will keep in fridge for a couple of months... not that any will last that long around here!!  LOL

Have a BLESSED day, BE a BLESSING! Heather

Treasuring the view, enjoying the moment!

This is the view out my back door..... LOVE our simple life.  However, sometimes we can loose focus on the blessings and get preoccupied with the struggles and frustrations.  Actually, this picture is a few years old... still the basic same view only now there are some wind turbines..... I need to do another "tour Tuesday" again.

I came across the following great reminder on Kristy's blog, little natural cottage.... I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

We can enjoy life or we can survive life.

Our daily responses to the little things determine which it will be.

If the carpet is worn, vacuum it anyway.

If the furniture is old, dust it anyway.

If the linoleum is scuffed, sweep it anyway.

If the tub is stained, scour it anyway.

If the sink is leaky, clean it anyway.

If the toilet needs fixed, scrub it anyway.

If the bedspread needs updated, make your bed anyway.

If the rug is frayed, straighten it anyway.

If the pillows are lumpy, fluff them anyway.

If the clothes are out-of-date, iron them anyway.

If the shoes are cheap, shine them anyway.

If the closet is too small, organize it anyway.

If the dishes are chipped, wash them anyway.

If the table is rickety, wipe it anyway.

If the kids are fussy, hug them anyway.

If the hubby is cranky, kiss him anyway.

If the neighbors are loud, wave at them anyway.

If the clerk is rude, smile at her anyway.

IF LIFE IS LESS THAN PERFECT… ENJOY IT ANYWAY!

We can live in Order without perfection;

Peace without luxury,

and Joy without convenience.

Life is what you make of it… so do it anyway.

Have a BLESSED day, BE a BLESSING! Heather

Farmer's Market here I come!!

Tomorrow will be the FIRST day for a local 2011 Farmer's Market and it will be the first day of my first season as a vender!!  I am very excited and a little nervous.  I will be selling produce from our garden (as soon as we have some) and flowers from my many flower beds.  However, I am specializing in Baking Mixes and Seasoning Mixes.  I LOVE to cook and bake from scratch and I believe that eating whole foods is best for our bodies and for our families.  I want to help others enjoy whole foods by helping them with some of the work.

Pray for me!  I really want this to be an opportunity to meet new people, develop new skills and also earn some income for our family.  I want to continue to be a stay at home housewife/mom so a job like this is perfect.


Have a BLESSED day, BE a BLESSING!
Heather

My addiction is broke! I am FREE!!

"You had an addiction?"  I hear you asking.  Yes.  Addicted to myself.  My SELFISHNESS led me to a computer addiction, an escape from real life!  YIKES!!! 

When I felt God calling me to give up recreational computer use for lent I was sure I was hearing things wrong.... but I finally decided to follow HIS leading and give it up... for an entire lent season.  Let me tell ya.... the first week was HARD the second week was still hard and after that I had days that were hard!  I was so used to plopping myself down in front of this ol' thing and disappearing into a world beyond my own four walls and my own four children.  I had made my daily escapes from home such a habit that when I felt such strong withdrawal pains I had to admit the truth.... I was addicted to this 'escape' method.  I was feeding my selfishness rather than LIVING the life that God has given me.  I was trying to escape from the mundane parts of life (dishes, laundry, homework, sibling rivalry, etc).

I know it sounds horrible.... but I had so many nicer words for my addiction.... such as connection, learning, research, relaxation, fun, friends, and even more holy ones such as ministry, encouragement, insight and learning.   Ha!  Hogwash!!  The truth was is that I have used the internet as a selfish tool more than I have used it for good.  I selfishly waste time, energy and precious moments I could have with REAL people by leaving home via my computer.  Even if I physically stayed home all day, my heart and my mind were off somewhere else way too much!!


As the withdrawal symptoms reared I spent a lot more time in prayer.  I had to give these feelings to God.  I was sacrificing this selfish part of my life to him as an offering.  I wanted Christ to work in my heart.  He did!!  My prayer life deepened and I have felt His presence so much more.   I spent a lot more time listening to praise music, more time reading the Bible and other good books, more time baking and doing projects and more time talking and having fun with my children and husband.


My life is far from perfect, but I tell ya FREEDOM is a wonderful thing.  Lent finished as we celebrated Christ's ultimate sacrifice for us.  Celebrating LIFE in JESUS!!

Now that lent is over and I can technically get back on the computer I have to tell you I don't have much desire.  FREEDOM is wonderful and I don't want to end back up in bondage......  I want to live my life free from addiction of any kind.  (ok... I might still have a few such as chocolate and fountain sodas!!)  Whom that the SON sets FREE is free indeed and I want to stay that way.  I know myself... if I'm not careful I will allow my flesh to get sucked back in.


I will be VERY, very limited on my recreational computer usage.  I want my time on the computer to bring my savior glory, not feed my selfishness.   So please don't take it personally if I don't visit your blog as much or write here too often.... just know that for right now I am learning to deny my flesh and follow Christ.

Have a BLESSED day, BE a BLESSING! Heather

Making some tough choices....

Lent.   This is a relatively new thing to our family.... we did not practice lent as I was growing up.  However, I believe that fasting is a very important thing to do and that  lent is a deliberate time of fasting and focusing on the gift of salvation that Christ gave us.  For the past couple of years each one of us in our family has given something important/something that we hold dear.  Usually, I feel God call me to give up sugar.... I have a huge sweet tooth.  However, this year I feel Him calling me to something different.... something tougher.

Computer.  Blog.  Facebook.  What!!!!  Really God?? Really??  What about all the things I learn?  All my readers??  What about all the friends I have online??  YIKES!!  As I have resisted giving up computer I realize that the computer has become a very ME, MY, I kind of thing.  I spend time on here that should/could be much better spent serving my family, playing with my kids, reading to my children,  praying, reading my bible, reaching out to others, helping at my children's school, and the list goes on.  If I'm really honest (which is a little tough to do when confronting ones own weakness) I spend WAY too much time on the computer.  The computer is a great resource for me.... I look up countless things from recipes to questions about my chickens, to growing potatoes to which president is on the US nickle.  All kinds of wonderful and interesting things to be found!!  I also have connected with some amazing Christian women and am encouraged, inspired and convicted by posts I read.  It has been a tool for growth in my life, one for which I am very grateful for.

However, on the flip side I use it to ESCAPE the mundane responsibilities of homemaking, of life.   I use it to escape the realities of real life...the parts that are not so pleasant..... like doing dishes and dealing with attitudes.  I use it to COMPARE myself, to judge my abilities... this is both good and bad.  Usually I end up falling short of all the cool things others do and have.  The computer has become a too big a part of my daily life.  Yikes!

Giving up the computer for lent will not be easy... I know that my flesh will be going through withdrawal... I will have to LEAN on Christ rather than on computer breaks.  My energy, my refueling will have to come from HIM rather than gleaned inspiration from others. 

I will miss ya all!!  But I answer to the call and am going on a computer fast.  I have done other fasts from the computer and they have been very beneficial in my life.  I always loose 'readers', but I gain much more in my heart.  When how many readers I have becomes too great a worth in my life I know it is time to re-evaluate.  So, I bid you all a LENT farewell!  Taking some time to FOCUS on our Savior and what HE wants for my life!!


Participating in lent is a growing experience.  As always, why am I surprised that when we DENY our FLESH we are able to HEAR Christ more fully??  Why does my FLESH cry out so selfishly for the ME, MY and I things??  Maybe this time I will really get it!!  My prayer is that during this no computer time my Spirit will be zoned in on hearing my savior!  That I will GROW in HIS love!!


Have a BLESSED day, BE a BLESSING!
Heather
What is for supper?? Eliminate this daily stress from your life! http://www.simplefamilysupper.com

Getting myself straighted up!!

I look around and my eyes automatically head straight for the "undone" things... the basket of laundry needing folded, the games at the bottom of the stairs, the boots sitting out..... My ears prick to the whining, to the disrespectful tones.   My fleshly nature is to see and hear the negative, the undone, the frustrations.... the total opposite of how I want to be!!  It takes a deliberate effort to focus on the positive, the good, the fun, the right.   However, I know I am not alone and I know that she has also found the wonderful antidote to this heart matter.... gratitude.

CHOOSING simplicity = CHOOSING to focus on the GOOD!!  This is not automatic in my life... yet.. but as I CHOOSE this way of life it is getting easier and easier!!

This morning as I was getting myself and the kids (plus the 2 children that come for before school childcare) ready for the day my mind was at battle within my.  My silent litany on all the things I should have gotten done over the weekend, the things I need to do, the ways I'm not 'good enough', etc.  I was working myself up in a tither... why????  Why do I this to myself.  Finally, I had enough and deliberately CHOSE to change the direction in my mind and start telling myself all the good!!  There is a TON of GREAT things about the last several days and as I focused on them my heart began to relax, my mind began to have peace and my Spirit thanked me for following the way of gratitude.  Ahhh... so much better!!

So what kind of GOOD things do I have to focus on??

Thursday mornings I spend with a fantastic group of ladies as we are working our way through Elizabeth George's book A Woman's High Calling.   You all know how much I value real life friendship and this new group of ladies is a HUGE blessing in my life!!  I have been a part of a Women's Bible study for the past 4 years.... it is vital to me.  However, I felt God calling me to start a new group at my house with local ladies from my own rural area and small town.  (the group I was in before was in the "big town" about 30 minutes away)  It was hard to pull away from my previous group... such a fabulous group of women after God's own heart!  In fact it took me nearly 6 months to follow God's leading.  God's growth sometimes requires us to step out of our comfort zone!!

On Friday I spent the morning with a friend teaching her how to make bread.  We laughed, we talked, we kneaded dough!  We had a blast and we enjoyed a big cinnamon role fresh from the oven.  Another day of friendship and fun time in the kitchen... two of my favorite things!!

Friday evening my husband and our only daughter, Robyn(age 11),  joined other Dads and daughters from Robyn's Bible study group for a Daddy Daughter date night at a nice restaurant followed by a movie.  They both got all dressed up and had a great time together.  Robyn enjoyed it so much and she felt so special.  It means so much to a girl to hear her Dad tell her she is loved and beautiful and to be treated like a lady.  It fills her heart so that she doesn't need to be out looking for other guys to tell her these things!!  I am so thankful that my husband does a good job of telling her she is pretty, loved and valuable.

While Chris and Robyn were out Friday evening the boys and I ate FUN food (corn dogs and french fries), played rounds and rounds of UNO and then watched two movies.

When I start to feel the pressure of so much to do (there is always a ton to do) I CHOOSE to focus on all that I did get accomplished over the weekend:

• Planted seeds inside by our south window in preparations for the GARDEN!!  Yippee!!  I planted peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, sage, chives, leeks and a flat of aster flowers
• Planned menus for the next two weeks and wrote out the shopping list
• Went shopping with my daughter... fun time... haven't been shopping with her in a few months since I normally shop while they are at school.
• Unloaded and put away all the groceries with a bunch of help from my family.... :)
• Finished up our new black board wall (I will write a post about that soon) and filled it with a BIRTHDAY drawing in celebration of our Ethan's 8th birthday this week.
• Made a big batch of "Better Butter"
• Packaged up individual baggies of things for packing school and work lunches (this makes the moring rush so much easier).
• Made a batch of cookie bars (didn't turn out as good as I hoped, but we are not having any trouble eating them)
• READ for several relaxing hours!!!!

I do have SO very many wonderful accomplishments to focus on and I also need to remind myself that my VALUE does not come from what I DO... It comes from WHO I am in CHRIST!!

Well... I need to get OFF the computer and start my day strong.  I have an extra special task today: baking cupcakes for our Ethan to take to school tomorrow in celebration of his birthday!  I'm also going to brown up 10 pounds of ground meat to freeze for later use (Efficient Cooking) and have a mountain of laundry to tackle.  I am CHOOSING to have a GREAT day and a day full of living out the plan and purpose God has for me.  Doing laundry, cooking and baking cupcakes are all MINISTRY work that God has given to me as wife and mother!!  Praise the Lord!!



Have a BLESSED day, BE a BLESSING!
Heather

What is for supper?? Eliminate this daily stress from your life! http://www.simplefamilysupper.com

Discover What your LOVE Language is.....

 Taking this 5 Love Language assessment from Gary Chapman is easy and fun!  They have one for husbands, wives, singles, teenagers and children.  My husband and I took it a couple of years ago and I learned that his love languages are NOT what I thought they were!!  Man, and after all that effort that could have been spent more wisely and effectively.....  Oh, well... any effort to show love is good, but hitting the mark with their love language is much better.  We found that we actually have the same primary love language: Words of affirmation.  Learning this has helped me focus on SPEAKING and writing  words of respect and encouragement to him.  It is also easier for me to express this love language because I know how much I love it.

Anyway, I'm going to have my 2 oldest children take the assessment..... I wonder if I have them figured out correctly!  I'm all for learning how to better love my family.

Have you taken this assessment??  What did you discover was your primary love language??

Have a BLESSED day,
BE a BLESSING!
Heather

What is for supper?? Eliminate this daily stress from your life! http://www.simplefamilysupper.com

I discovered a VALUABLE resource!!

Homemakers by choice has been around for a long time..... but I just found them last week.  I have been listening to  podcasts while I work around our home.  Let me tell you I have been BLESSED.  What an incredible source of encouragement, inspiration and an occasional swift kick in the....  Folding laundry and doing dishes has been a great time for me to soak in these powerful messages.

Have you ever heard of this ministry??  If so, what is one of your favorite messages.  If they are new to you, too.... check them out and then let me know what ya think!

Have a BLESSED day,
BE a BLESSING!
Heather
What is for supper?? Eliminate this daily stress from your life! http://www.simplefamilysupper.com

Helping my children WALK with Jesus!!

Keys for Kids!!! We LOVE it! Growing up it was a part of our family devotions. I loved the stories as a child and learned so much about God. Today, I am the parent helping my children learn to WALK their everyday life with Jesus and we use Keys for Kids as part of our tools.

We have used Keys for Kids for five years and this year we started using the PODCAST version. After all those years listening to MOM (me) read (the printed version of Keys for Kids) the kids find it MUCH, much, much cooler to listen to Uncle Charlie! I have to admit, hearing his voice brings back wonderful memories of listening to the Children's Bible Hour when I was young.

The stories in the Keys for Kids really make WALKING out the word of God come alive. The stories are very relate-able, realistic and interesting. The Godly principles taught will last a life time.

So, what do my kids have to say??
My oldest son Wesley (age 13), says that Keys for Kids is a good devotional to use because "the stories are good and apply to real life even though I am getting a little old for them". My daughter, Robyn (age 11) enjoys Keys because "It helps helps me get through the day because they help me learn what to do". My son Ethan (age 7) says he likes Keys for Kids because "I love God and they help me learn about my life and what to do." My son, Nate (age 6), says Keys is good because "we love God and it helps us to learn not to say bad words and other bad things and it helps our heart".


If you are looking for a way to help FEED your children's SPIRITUAL life you might enjoy Keys for kids, too!! If you are already using Keys, what is your favorite thing about this devotional?? Did you use Keys for Kids when you were growing up??

Have a BLESSED day, BE a BLESSING!
Heather

Babies on the way!!!

25 Baby Chicks to be exact! They will be here the middle of April.... really ready for spring, now!!
We haven't had any chickens since last fall and I'm ready for farm fresh eggs again. Nothing compares to an egg collected right out your back door. Here is a picture of my old flock... so much enjoyment!

Have a BLESSED day,
BE a BLESSING!
Heather

Take advantage... FREE February eddition of Simple Family Supper

The month long give away is winding up.... MARCH is almost here!!! You have no idea how much I look forward to SPRING!!! Ok.. off subject. DOWNLOAD your FREE copy of my February Simple Family Supper Menu Plan Kit E-book today.

ENJOY some wonderful SIMPLE suppers with your family. This menu plan does not have dates.. you can jump in anytime, any month of the year.


Have a BLESSED day,
BE a BLESSING!
Heather