Angels All Around Us

You may notice that I am on an angel kick when it comes to my choice of reading recently. Maybe it's that time of year?

Angels All Around Us; A Sightseeing Guide to the Invisible World by Anthony DeStefano was a thrilling read. I feel that the title is a little misleading as I expected either angel stories or a book all about angels. While angels were the main focus this book goes deeper than just angels. It was previously titled The Invisible World and I think that title would fit better.

That's my only complaint. Other than the title I loved everything in this book. It does discuss the Biblical basis for angels (and "fallen angels"), it digs deep into guardian angels. Mr. DeStefano uses personal life lessons as well as Bible verses and other analogies to explain what he is teaching. This is more like a friend to friend conversation rather than a textbook reading.  

This book also explains us humans - both body and spirit. It goes so far as to clearly explain our choice between heaven and hell.

It may sound deep but it was in layman terms and easy to follow along. There were so many places were I wish I would have highlighted my favorite quotes and many places that I stopped to read aloud a paragraph to my husband. My husband even asked to read it after I was finished and he never does that - we really don't have the same tastes in reading. Right there it showed what high marks the book would get. I will be reading this book again in the future just to let it all sink in.

I think this is a must read for all Christians and would even go as far to say that it will probably fascinate even those who don't believe but may have a sense of something spiritual being in this world.

A paragraph taken from the back of the book describes the book well: "All aspects of the spiritual realm are discussed, including the existence of angels and demons, the whereabouts of loved ones who have passed, the gift of grace, heaven, hell, and even the presence and activity of God in our lives."

 I received this book for free from WalterBrook Multnomah Publishing for my honest review. The opinions expressed are my own.

Brain Splat

A tummy bug has been lingering in our house the past few days. It's strange, as in between bouts of throwing up or tummy aches the kids feel fine and eat and play as normal. Hopefully it will be out of their systems soon.

I made another duct tape box to basket today since Becca has been begging me for one.

It's the perfect size for organizing her dresser drawer.

I've been using this fun decorative duct tape for other projects (photos coming soon) and have a fun Christmas idea for some of those other cardboard subscription boxes.

My sister has been teaching me how to crochet a hat.

This has been the least stressful Christmas ever! I am loving the simplicity of it! Presents are all bought or ready to be picked up, house is decorated, cards are out, and all that is left is baking. I fell in love with online shopping this year and will probably stick with it in the future - such good deals and so simple! I'm also loving that I bought many of the gifts with my Swagbucks - how awesome is that?!

I'm back to being a full-time stay-at-home mom. Yay!

You can find some more of my brain splats and rambling on Trenches of Mommyhood's Facebook Page or Twitter account!

Cravings!!

I've been craving peppermint cocoa the past several weeks. I've looked for cocoa mix with peppermint flavor but have been unable to find any at our local grocery store. I run into Kwik Star (our local gas station) from time to time for a cup of their peppermint cocoa but the majority of the time when my craving hits it isn't convenient to go somewhere to get some. Not to mention that a 99 cent of cocoa may not seem like a lot but multiply that by 4 (really, how could I drink it in front of the kids without sharing?!) and it can add up.

Yesterday while at the store I ran across Coffee Mate's Peppermint Mocha creamer. The wheels in my head started spinning.

At home I made the perfect cup of peppermint cocoa! I could seriously sip the concoction all day! Any hot chocolate mix will do (even a box of 99 cent packages!). Mix it up with hot water as usual, and then add a small (or large!) dash of the creamer. Stick a handful of mini marshmallows on top and call it heaven. Pure sweet delight!
 

Magic Ornaments

Thanks to a Facebook friend, we were introduced to a new craft to create. Not only was it simple but we had all the ingredients already on hand.

I decided to call them magic ornaments because I didn't tell the kids what would happen and the next morning they thought it was magic to see what their ornaments turned into!

Make shapes out of pipe cleaners

Tie a string to the top (in order to hang on the tree when finished)

Mix 2 cups of boiling water and 6 T. of borax in a glass jar.

Optional: If you want colored ornaments mix a few drops of food coloring in

Submerge the ornament into the solution and let sit overnight.

The next morning you will have some sparkling "magic" ornaments! Let dry on a towel and then hang on the tree!

Lifted By Angels by Joel J. Miller

I have always been fascinated with angels. I figured this book would be right up my alley.

Lifted By Angels by Joel J. Miller is more of a textbook case on angels, rather than a feel-good book of angel stories. I, like other reviewers, found parts of it to be dry. While the Biblical accounts of angels and their purpose are interesting, there is only so much of that before one gets a bit bored while reading.

Two chapters interested me fully. The chapter about fallen angels and the chapter about guardian angels. I've always had the belief that each of us has a guardian angel, and have experienced the protection of mine in a few instances. Reading more about the Biblical basis of guardian angels was fascinating. Reading about the dark (or fallen) angels was equally as fascinating, as well as a bit bone chilling. Because it is only more proof that while angels can have a very important part in our life, so can the dark angels. This book brings home the point that that we literally are in the fight daily between good and evil.

While this was not a page turner for me, I would recommend it for anyone who loves the topic of angels, or wants proof of where in the Bible angels are mentioned and what part they play in our lives as Christians. It makes for an interesting, though possibly slow, study on angels.

This book was provided by Booksneeze as part of their book review bloggers program. I have not been compensated for this review, nor was a positive review expected. The opinions presented in this review are my own.

 

Stork Stack

Last month the subscription box "Stork Stack" had a discount code for the first box. I decided to try it out and just received the December box today.The theme this month is "Rock, Roll 'n Roar"

I get the infant box so this is what I received:

The subscription is usually $28 a month. While I like everything that I received in this box I would have been highly disappointed had I paid $28 for it.

*Rockabye Baby "Good Day, Good Night" 2 Cd Set ($24.98). This has lullaby renditions of "The Beatles", "u2", "Metallica", etc. I'll be the first to admit that I hate typical lullaby music and that this is a CD that the whole family may actually be able to stand when it's playing (maybe even hubby!) but I would never buy a CD for $25.

*BearHands & Buddies Fleece Mittens ($12.99) Adorable and warm

*EDUSHAPE Baby Maraca ($3.75) Seems to be like something that could be purchased at the dollar store. Not impressed.

*Zubels Guitar Rattle ($17) It's 100% hand knit and organic. Love that aspect as I won't worry about the baby chewing on it now but I wouldn't pay $17 for it.

*Rockin' Green Detergent 4 load sample ($1.25). I LOVE Rockin' Green so this was fun.

This box was valued at $60 this month but I truly don't feel I would pay more than $15 for this whole box without being disappointed. I know that other ages get other items in their boxes and I am curious to see what they receive. I've been impressed with the past boxes that I have seen so wonder if this theme just "isn't us" or if this is an "off month" for Stork Stack. I will probably cancel for now as I wasn't as impressed as I had hoped.

Disclaimer: This is just my honest review of Stork Stack. They have no idea who I am and I was not compensated for this review, nor are there any referral links in this post.

Today

*We are working on our Christmas chains. The minute the calendar page turns to December the kids want to get their craft on!

*I really want to stay in my pjs today but there are lots of errands needing to be checked off the list so I suppose I need to resemble a human while out and about. By the way, have you ever worn your pjs out in public? I beg of you not to!

*While shopping at Goodwill this past weekend I spotted an adorable corduroy Fossil purse. It's the real deal, but was only $2.50 because it had a large white stain inside. I figured no one would see the stain seeing as how it's inside the purse so I would buy it, but also attempt to wash the purse to see if it would come out. This morning it emerged from the washing machine looking brand new!  It really never does hurt to try.

*I'm trying to get together my to-do list for baking this holiday season. What is your all-time favorite holiday treat?