Book Review: Unglued Devotional

The Unglued Devotional is the companion book to Lysa TerKeurst's book Unglued. However, I did things backwards and read the devotional first and am now reading the book. :) The devotional is written in 60 short focused daily readings with Scripture, a thought for the day and an ending prayer.

I must say that at only halfway through the regular Unglued book, I feel like I got more out of the devotional. I think maybe the reason could be that while Unglued is a great self help book - seeing yourself and your reactions as they truly are and how to deal with them - the devotional is more "nourishing." So they do both work well together. I loved the short chapters, and actually read at least two per day. Lysa has written so many tidbits that stand out to me (in fact, I started following her on Facebook for this very reason). The following is one of my favorite quotes from this devotional: "While brokenness is universal, with God redemption is also universal. No matter what cracks and crevices cover our hearts, if we seek the truth of God above all else, He will work all things for good."


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A big thank you to Book Sneeze for this review copy - my opinions are my own. :)

The first step to a cure:

Admitting you have a problem...

No, friends, this isn't even ALL of them! Maybe the problem is that they mostly reside in pairs. Think they could be multiplying in the boxes they're stored in?

**sigh** No, I'm afraid I simply have a problem. Anyone know of a support group?


I'm starting my spring decor today. Going to keep it simple and less "Easter-y." We'll see how it goes. :)

Valentine's Day Mantel

I hope you all are having a good week!! It has already been a busy week for us! I wanted to pop in and share our Valentine's Day mantel.



I didn't do much different from last year, but I have been enjoying it. Although with some of the beautiful weather we had last week, I was about ready to go ahead and put my spring decor up. Not this week though... it's been cold and rainy, perfect weather for enjoying my cozy winter decor a few days longer. :)

I hope you each have a very happy Valentine's day!! 

Finished Object Friday: Spread a little Love

Wow! This Friday has flown by!! Thank you, Brittany, for reminding me that today is Finished Object Friday! This week has been a little different for me with my hubby just getting back from a flying business trip.

So... while trying to think up something to share (I haven't been very crafty lately...) I remembered that I never shared one of my little Christmas crafts with you! I made lotion bars! (And given the shape, they are a great craft to share for February!)



These turned out so very nice. I love using them! I used this recipe, and they were very quick and so fun to make! I bought the scent from Hobby Lobby - the one I picked is called "Grapefruit Blush" and is so nice - not over powering at all. I did buy a soap mold, but most of the ones I made, I put into some silicone "molds" I had - brownie pan and ice cube trays. I only used half of the block of beeswax and it made plenty! The big heart is from the brownie pan - it made a really nice size.

I gave these as gifts to the ladies at church the night of our Christmas program, and also gave them to family and friends I got to spend time with over the holidays! :) The fun thing was, when we opened our stocking gifts with Mark's family, my sister-in-law had made each of us beeswax lip balm!! Great minds think alike! :)

Sorry this is so late in the evening, but feel free to share during the next week - we can enjoy this longer than just Friday! ;)

Book Review: A Home in Drayton Valley

In this book, A Home in Drayton Valley, Tarsie and Joss are thrown into a "partnership" (as the back cover calls it) for the sake of the children of recently widower Joss. However, Tarsie, already in love with children Emmy and Nathaniel, finds herself in love with Joss as well. And Joss has his own issues and addictions to overcome. They travel from New York to the small Kansas settlement in Drayton Valley. The story climaxes with a bit of mystery and of course has a happy ending.

I really enjoy Kim Vogel Sawer's books and the premise of this one grabbed my interest especially. However, I chose to read this one at a particular time a couple of weeks ago, because I assumed it wouldn't draw me in too much and I would be able to put it down at night. Oops. Mistake on my part. This did draw me in. :) She does a good job representing the children - it frustrates me when authors present children as mini adults. The story also deals with how people of different races were treated at the time as well as adult illiteracy. I enjoyed reading it, and would recommend it to anyone looking for a good historical romance.

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Thanks to Bethany House for the review copy. My opinions are my own. :)