The Preview!

Here is the preview of the new ebooks!!  I hinted at this a few posts ago.  We will be selling them at the GHEA Convention in Atlanta on May 5-7.  If you are at the convention, please stop by, I would love to talk with you!

Julia has been working very hard to write some how-to books for making jewelry.  She is done with all three books and they are available for purchase on her website, http://www.jewelsbyjuliashop.com/ .

 My sons have updated the Battle Book which they sold last year with computerized patterns, instead of hand-drawn ones.  The Armored Glove book was made last summer.  The Greco-Roman and Barbarian books are totally new.  There are new weapons, helmets and costumes in them.

The ebooks will also be for sale on their website, http://www.warfarebyducttape.com/. as soon as we can get them up there.

They have also made a lot of swords, spears, battle axes and throwing axes to sell at the convention.  So if you didn't get your toy weapon last year, now is your chance.  :)

As we are super busy getting ready to go, I won't be posting for a little bit.  I will let you know how everything went when I get back. 

Please keep us in prayer for the whole deal, OK?  Thanks so much!!

Blessings,

Forgiveness

Forgiveness.

God's forgiveness for us, so freely given if we confess.

1John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

It does not make light of the sin, but it cleanses it and restores the person to their place in relationship.

Even though it is not easy, forgiveness must be given.

Matt. 6:14-15 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 

 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Restore the sinner.

Gal. 6:1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

God remembers the sin no more, could we not do the same?

Heb. 8:12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

All because of the blood of Jesus Christ.

1John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

Thankful for forgiveness,

Strawberries!!

Oh, I love strawberries!
I went strawberry picking with my 3 children and we were able to get 57 pounds of berries in about an hour the picking was so good.  I wish I had a picture of the berries before we cleaned them.  They were huge!!

 They were so sweet and juicy we were able to make 72 1/2 pint jars of jam!!  Yum! Yum!  That will sure taste good when the cold weather comes again.

Canning is something I absolutely love to do.  I only learned since we moved here and I just enjoy doing it!

 This is the first time in about 3 years that we got enough strawberries to put up an good amount of jam and we are so grateful!

Do you like to can, too?

Spring Flowers

Here are the azaleas in full bloom.  This spring was one of the most beautiful springs we have had here.  All the flowers were gorgeous! 

Most of the azaleas blooms are over now but the rhododendrons are coming on and should be awesome. 

Thank you for praying for Denise.  She is healing slowly and is improving.  She is going to have surgery on her heel soon. 

Would you pray for our family?  We are preparing to be exhibitors at the GHEA Homeschool Conference in less than two weeks.  We are working very hard to get things ready but there is still much to do.  It will be exciting as the boys will have their own booth selling the Warfare by Duct Tape items and ebooks and Julia will be selling her jewelry in her own booth. 

Life is good and we are so blessed!

Blessings,

Please Pray

My niece, her name is Denise Paull, was in a head-on car accident last week.  The Lord spared her life.  But she is pretty banged up.  The front of the car was totally smashed in and it took the emergency workers 45 minutes to cut her out of the car.  The Lord spared her legs.  She has a broken heel, shattered ankle and broken kneecap.  She could have died or lost her legs.  Her upper jaw is broken and she lost her 3 front teeth.  There was a gash on her face and arm.  A nerve was severed in her wrist but God provided a surgeon in the emergency room to microscopically reattach it. 

She was visiting family out of state.  My sister and brother-in-law were on the plane to join her when the accident happened.  They are going to try to fly her home on Thursday with a wheelchair.  Please pray for healing and a safe and comfortable journey home.  She is 18 years old. 

Thank you for praying,

Garbage....er...Extra-ordinary Soup!

Learning how to save money or how to be a better steward of what I do have is a constant pursuit of mine.  Recently, my sweet friend, Danna, lent me her copy of Cut Your Grocery Bill In Half with America's Cheapest Family®.  It was a great book and I learned so much.  There is no way I can implement all of the ideas at once but I am doing what I can. 

One great idea was called Garbage Soup.  After we tried it, Julia aptly named it Extra-ordinary Soup.  She named it that because you take ordinary leftovers and save them in a jar in the freezer.  When you have enough, you make it into soup, possibly adding some fresh onion and celery or whatever you have on hand and it becomes extra-ordinary!  If you don't generate any leftover dripping from meat for broth, you could use bouillion.  I really like it because it tastes great but also because we won't waste those little bits of leftovers anymore!

This is the second jar of leftover we have accumulated since I read the neat tip. 

 It's about time to make that good soup!

You can learn more about the authors, Steve and Annette Economides, on their website, America's Cheapest Family.

You can also learn the benefits of homemade broth from an older post that I did here.   The link for the Broth is Beautiful article has moved to here.



 Happy cooking,

Desires of our Hearts

Our Heavenly Father is such a good Father.  He loves us so much.  He often gives us the very desires of our hearts.  Granted, sometimes, He doesn't because they are not the best for us. 

I have always wanted to bake my own bread, from scratch and have it taste really good!!  Almost two years ago, I was blessed to receive a grain mill as a gift from a friend.  Then God provided the funds to buy a bread machine.  So for almost 2 years my family has been blessed to eat wonderful, healthy, homemade bread, rolls and buns!  You know, I don't take it for granted and I don't begrudge the effort.  I know that God provided a heart desire for me.  He is so GOOD! 

So what is your heart's desire?  Ask your Heavenly Father for it and watch to see how He blesses you!!

Thankful,

I Need Your Help

Most of you may know my daughter, Julia.  It is her birthday this Sunday, April 10th.  You can read what I wrote on her blog here.  So if you would like to, it would be nice if you commented on her blog to wish her Happy Birthday. 

Thanks so much!

Personal! For Ladies Only!!

OK, don't say I didn't warn you.  Actually, the title is rather silly because probably only women read my blog anyway!  But I wanted to give fair warning so after you read this post you won't say, "Why didn't you tell me this was personal?"

During a season of thoughtful frugality, I was thinking on how to save money.  I was trying to think outside the box of normal savings.  A faint memory came floating through my brain.  I had seen these little things on Etsy and had briefly considered them then.  But nothing came of it until this moment.  It wasn't going to be a huge savings but it was the principle of the thing.  Cloth panty shields/menstrual pads! 

Before you say, EEWWWW!!, please hear me out.  I did some research on how to make them myself and therefore being extra frugal.  I had some flannel in my fabric stash.  So after reading HERE (I like her layered idea even if she is a little pin crazy!) and this LINK to many patterns, I decided to give it a try.

So I made one.

I tried it on. 

It was awesome!

Seriously, I was hooked, completely convinced!  It was so soft and comfortable.  I just knew that I had to make some to use all the time. 

So I did even more research and found out about a relatively new fabric called PUL.  It stands for Polyurethane Laminate.  It is a waterproof fabric but feels like thin knit, with stretch to it.  Fabric.com has it for $7.98 and right now they have a sale of at least 15% off (more if you spend more).  It is 60" wide so unless you are making a lot you won't need much.  I bought some so I would know the pads were waterproof. 

I used the disposable pad I had been using as a pattern and just made up my own pattern.  Then I used a layer of PUL and 4 layers of flannel.  You could use an old towel for the terry cloth if you wanted it more absorbent.  I use a basic snap on the "wings" and it works fine and stays in place.  If you want more info, or a copy of my patterns, leave a comment and I'll get back to you.  :) 

Just throw them in with your regular wash cycles and they clean up beautifully!
Please read what the Hillbilly Housewife has to say about how to use these for your cycle.  She explains it so well, I don't need to repeat it.  Click HERE. 

Here are some I made.

So now you may think I am crazy.   But if you sew, try them yourself.  You may be pleasantly surprised at how nice they are and wonder along with me why you didn't do it sooner!! 

P.S. If you already use these, drop me a line and let me know what you think of them.  :)

Happy sewing and saving,

Exciting Things

Some very exciting things are happening around here.  Our home is abuzz with activity and creativity. 
The season is upon us and we are up to the challenge.

Here is the first clue:

If you have read any of my other posts, (look back a little ways), you may know what is coming but then again you may not!!  When it is finished, we will have an unveiling!!  You'll be the first to know!

Here is the second clue:

Some of you know what Julia does really well so this may not be a big surprise.  But this has a new twist!  It is something that anyone could use.  That is all I can say right now but we will let you know all about it when this project is done.

Creatively speaking,

New Blog Header

A special THANK YOU to my sweet daughter, Julia for creating this pretty new header!!  She is so gifted with graphic arts and always does such a good job making things look nice! 

The verse has a special meaning to me.  Trusting God from my youth.  It is really possible to trust God from the time one is small all the way through life!  Some people today don't believe this anymore.  They seem to believe that letting children "sow their wild oats" is normal.  It doesn't have to be this way. 

God desires that children be raised up to know and love him.  He wants us to love and serve Him all the days of our lives. 

     2 Timothy 3:15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

God has given to parents the responsibility to teach their children the ways of God.

Deuteronomy 6:5-9 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.  And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:

 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.  And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

What a promise, what a blessing when children are taught to love God and follow His ways.

Isaiah 54:13 And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children.

May your days be peaceful,