Bible in 90 Days {B90} ~ Day 32 Check-in

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I’m getting into a ‘groove’ of sorts with reading my Bible, especially in larger chunks. In some ways, I am really surprised that it we’ve finished 4 weeks of the challenge already. That’s 1/3 of the reading! I'm still about 2 days ahead, but that fluctuates and gives me a little buffer. :)

I never seem to have the right notebook with me when I’m reading, so I am forever scribbling notes on scrap pieces of paper or dog-earing pages that I want to check back on later.

I had to laugh out loud at my own notes this week though. I’ve been twittering back and forth with some of the other people participating in the B90 Challenge and apparently have Twitter on the brain. Yesterday while writing my notes for my reading, I titled my page ~ Notes for Week 4 #B90days. Sad that my notes reflect Twitter hashtags. :)

Anyway, here are a few lots of the things that I found interesting this week:

• Felt bad for the 3 guys who broke through enemy lines to get King David some of the water he longed for ~ and then he poured it out on the ground. I know there’s more to the story, but can you just picture the looks on their faces when David did that ~ after their risky covert operation?
• The list of names in Chronicles was oh-so-long at times, so I injected a little fun by searching out the women who were mentioned in the lineage and underlined/circled their names. Because you know they were special if they were mentioned, right?
• NEVER knew there was a real-life woman named Sheerah. Who was important enough to mention in the lineage because she built two cities!! She WAS a She-rah!
• Spent some time wondering what Asherah poles were, since all these crazy kings didn’t tear them down or erected them in the temple next to the altar. Did a little googling on the term and think I have a fairly good understanding now ~ basically, another form of idolatry.
• Used this list of the kings from Israel/Judah to track the good and bad kings in 1&2 Kings and 1&2 Chronicles. Interesting…very interesting.
• Cheered out loud when I was reading about Hezekiah. Such a good king who actually tore down all the idols and followed after God ~ especially since his father was so evil and did much to destroy things.
• Waited for lighting to strike Ahaz when he made a replica of a pagan altar and then put it in the temple. It didn’t.
• Even though Chronicles is much of a repeat of Kings, there are still some ‘gaps’ that are filled in some storylines. Kings never mentions that David did the bulk of the prep work for building the temple by collecting materials and having them ready for Solomon.
• Find the wording in two similar passages about the census David took very interesting. 2 Samuel 24:1 says that “he {God} caused David to harm them {the Israelites} by taking a census. ‘Go and count the people of Israel and Judah,’ the Lord told him.” 1 Chronicles 21:11 says "Satan rose up against Israel and caused David to take a census.” So who was it? :)
• Loved 2 Chronicles 5:13-14 when the temple was being dedicated and God’s presence filled the temple and no one could continue working because of it. How absolutely amazing would that be??
• And off on a completely random tangent, can you imagine how long it would take to follow all of the specific Levitical guidelines to properly sacrifice 22,000 oxen and 122,000 sheep. Those priests would have been exhausted after all that {and hopefully had an extra garment or two to wear after all that sacrificing}.

Next week I’ll be doing a weekly sum-up here, but I will also be guest posting at Mom’s Toolbox!! If I’m SUPER brave, I might even be vlogging ~ who knows? :) You’ll just have to tune in and see!

Be sure to visit Mom's Toolbox today and read some thoughts from Ted Cooper, Jr. who founded the 90 Days ministry. There is a link to a survey there also about the B90 program. :)  If you are interested in learning more about the 90 Day Bible reading challenge, you can read more about it at Mom’s Toolbox. You can also download your own printable reading bookmark if you want to join along in the challenge ~ you can start at any time because the bookmark isn’t dated. :)

 

Book Giveaway ~ Things Worth Remembering

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Maisey’s wedding is a just a week away and even though she is home in body, the distance between her and her mother Kendy is overwhelming. There was a point in their lives when their relationship was a model example of the perfect mother/daughter bond. Now Kendy struggles to understand what caused the chasm between them. She only wants her daughter to have a perfect wedding day ~ and longs for restoration between the two of them….but is it even possible?

My Thoughts


Jackina Stark has done a wonderful job weaving the importance of communication and also forgiveness into Things Worth Remembering. An event that happened over ten years prior has virtually destroyed the relationship between a mother and daughter. Because it had gone undiscussed, bitterness had taken root in the relationship.
With her daughter on the verge of her own marriage, everything comes to light ~ and while it seems like difficult timing, it was something much needed and eventually a big blessing.

The Giveaway

Would you like to win a copy of  Things Worth Remembering by Jackina Stark? Leave a comment on this post ~ be sure there is a way for me to contact you! The giveaway will be open until Friday, February 5th at 8pm.

Be sure to stop by and visit 5 Minutes for Books and their monthly meme called "What's on Your Nightstand?" and also the Saturday Review.


Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book to review from Bethany House. All opinions expressed in this review are mine.

The Silent Governess {Book Review}

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Olivia Keene flees her village and the only life she has ever know because she believes she has done something horrible ~ and unforgivable. In her travels, she accidentally overhears some sensitive information about Lord Bradley that causes her even more problems.

If the secret is shared, Lord Bradley stands to lose more than he can fathom, so he employs Olivia in exchange for her silence ~ and to keep a watchful eye on her. Fortunately for him, her voice was injured in a recent accident and she is forced to remain silent. 

My Thoughts

I am a HUGE fan of Regency period books and The Silent Governess by Julie Klassen is one that has found a permanent spot on my bookshelves! Just when I thought I had things figured out in the book, there was another twist {or two} that kept wondering until the end of the book.

From the start of the book, I was hooked and literally couldn’t put it down ~ and with 4 young children, that is a feat in and of itself! Klassen created some wonderful characters and very subtly weaved in what it truly means to be a follower of Christ while providing a glimpse into the working class life of the 1800’s.

What I’m Reading

Look for reviews on a few of these books to be coming up soon!

• The Bible. :) ~ I'm still working on reading through the Bible in 90 days.
• Leaving Yesterday ~ Kathryn Cushman
• Emma ~ Jane Austen
• Sense and Sensibility ~ Jane Austen
• Closer: Devotions to Draw Couples Together ~ Jim and Cathy Burns
• The Heart of Anger ~ Lou Priolo

Be sure to stop by and visit 5 Minutes for Books and their monthly meme called "What's on Your Nightstand?" and also the Saturday Review.


I was given this product to review by Bethany House.  I do not have to return the product.
I was not paid for this post. All opinions expressed in this post are mine.

Emma ~ PBS Masterpiece

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You all might remember that I love anything and everything that is Austen. To the point that I own practically every version of the movies based on her novels.

That {sadly} includes several versions of Persuasion, Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice. And after the PBS Masterpiece special is done, I’ll be adding another version of Emma to my stockpile.

If you missed the first week of Emma on PBS, you can view it online. Me? I’m sitting here patiently waiting for the next two weeks to air, and meanwhile watching the other two copies that I have so I can compare/contrast the different versions for myself. BBC has done a great job with the costuming and filming, so I’m enjoying it so far!

PBS is airing the special from January 24 until February 7th ~ you can check here for when it will be showing in your area.

Homemade Laundry Soap

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I’ve been thinking about making my own detergent for some time, and this past summer I finally took the big plunge and did it ~ and haven’t gone back since! My fears of it being time-consuming and hard were so completely wrong. It seriously took me about 20 minutes from start to finish, and that includes the time it took me to walk downstairs and grab the boxes I needed as well as grate the soap.

These are the few simple ingredients I needed to make the soap and 9 oz {$3.95} cleaning bar will make two batches of detergent, enough for 128 loads of laundry. After figuring out the cost of the detergent, it works out to about 5 cents a load of laundry, and you'll have plenty of Borax and washing soda for future batches.

• Arm & Hammer Washing Soda {in the cleaning aisle}
• Borax {cleaning aisle}
• Laundry bar ~ I buy mine from Virginia Soaps and Scents
• Water

Pretty basic and simple to make too!

The recipe that I use comes from the Virginia Soaps and Scents website and you can download a 4x6 folded recipe card here.

Ingredients:

~ 4½ ounces of “Virginia Soaps & Scents” Cleaning Soap
~ ½ cup washing soda
~ ½ cup borax powder ~ grater
~ You will also need a bucket, 3-5 gallon size

Directions:

1. Grate the soap and put it into a large sauce pan. Add 6 cups of water and heat until the Cleaning soap melts.
2. Add the washing soda and the borax. Stir until the mixture is dissolved. Remove from heat.
3. Pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket. Now add your soap mixture and stir.
4. Add 22 cups of water and stir (22 cups = 1 gallon plus 6 cups).
5. Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel. You use ½ cup per load.

Note: The finished soap will be in a gel form. It is a low-sudsing soap, so is great for front-loading washers as well as the top-load variety.

Our kids love it too, since they can easily scoop the detergent out themselves and help with the laundry {Mommy loves this part too!}.  Others have asked if we've noticed any change in our laundry ~ is it getting clean? Absolutely yes!  The bars are also unscented, so the detergent doesn't have any overwhelming smell either. Just 'clean'.

If you aren't sure that you want to make your own detergent and want to 'test the waters' to see if it would work for you, Virginia Soaps and Scents offers a Laundry Soap Kit for $4.95 that includes everything you need to make a batch of detergent ~ all you need to do is add water!

Just wanted to pass along a little something that is Working for Me!

Bible in 90 Days {B90} ~ Day 25 Check-in

This post may contain affiliate or advertiser links. Read my full disclosure policy here.

Do you have a favorite Bible that you like to use when reading? Over the years I’ve had several different versions that I’ve used and I love my mammoth of a Bible right now ~ enough to lug it with me on a plane this last week and risk a mild shoulder injury. :)

I’ve finished up 1 Kings and am now working on 2 Kings ~ so right on schedule at this point. Reading about all the kings who didn’t follow God is almost depressing at times, so those few that actually DID are enough to make you smile. Here are a few of the things that I found interesting this week:

• The parallels between the story of the Levite {Judges 19} and also the angels that visited Lot before Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed.
• LOVE the story of Ruth {as always} and the symbolism in the fact that Ruth was ‘redeemed’ by Boaz {her kinsman/family redeemer} ~ and the lineage of Christ comes through Boaz and Ruth
• 1 Samuel 8:7 ~ when Israel wants a king and Samuel is upset, God says that they are rejecting Him as their king. And really ~ how true that is of us also in so many aspects. Just because they wanted to be like the other nations around them {vs. 20}.
• After Saul’s disobedience, Samuel never went to meet him again. Such a visual picture of being removed from the presence of God.
• Just wonder how many men there were in Israel that played the harp, and yet David was the one chosen to play for Saul. Obviously the hand of God, but such an opportunity to see the inner workings of how a king would rule and gain a deeper understanding of things.
• I don’t quite fully understand why Jonathan and David had their ‘secret code’ with the arrows to let David know if it was safe or not ~ especially since David came out of hiding and he and Jonathan then talked face to face. Why didn’t they just talk face to face to begin? :)
• Reading through the descriptions of the building of the temple ~ absolutely amazing and so wish I could have seen what it looked like.

If you are interested in learning more about the 90 Day Bible reading challenge, you can read more about it at Mom’s Toolbox. You can also download your own printable reading bookmark if you want to join along in the challenge ~ you can start at any time!