Book Review: Pressing Pause

 

Title: Pressing Pause

Subtitle: 100 Quiet Moments for Moms to Meet Jesus

Authors: Karen Ehman & Ruth Schwenk

Genre: Devotional, Christian Living, Inspitational

 Pressing Pause is a daily devotional for moms.  This is a beautiful hardcover book with thick pages, purple lettering and an attached bookmark. There are 100 devotionals that will take just a few minutes of your busy day.  The authors squeeze a lot of goodness into those few minutes.

For me, I take a few minutes every night before I go to sleep to slow down and refresh myself in the Word.  This devotional was a great guide to lead me.  The authors also include questions at the end of each devotional if you want to spend time reflecting on the day's lesson and scripture. 

I recommend this book for all of you busy ladies out there!  I know that in the rush of your lives you can tend to be very unselfish and do, do, do for others but you need to "press pause" and stop and do this for your self.

 You can purchase Pressing Pause on Amazon for just $10.99.

or on ChristianBook.com for $10.99

Disclaimer:  I received this book for free from the Book Look Blogger Program in exchange for an honest review.

 

The Blind Man Meets The Blind Side

I just got back from a four day trip to Columbus, Ohio with my BFF Lindy.  She is a consultant with Thirty-One gifts and earned her ticket to the National Convention.  Since we live in New Jersey, it was going to require a flight and a hotel stay to attend so she invited me along for the trip!  We had so much fun, girl time together.  

 

One of my favorite parts of the trip was one of the speakers: Leigh Anne Tuohy.  You may recognize the name.  She was the mom that Sandra Bullock portrayed in the movie "The Blind Side."   She spoke to us in a stadium of about 15,000 people.

 

She shared with us the inspirational story of how her family adopted their son Michael Oher.  She told us how true to life the movie was.   She said that her family really was driving down the road to breakfast on Thanksgiving weekend when they saw Michael walking along the road.  They turned their car around to go back for him which began the amazing journey for their family.  Their journey started with their white family adopting a homeless 6'6" black teen and ended with that teen becoming the starting right tackle for the Tennessee Titans!

Leanne Tuohy also told us the Starfish story.

She encouraged all of us to make a difference where we can.  God may not be calling all of us to go out and look for 6'6" black teenagers to adopt but God is certainly calling us to help others.  He is placing those who need help right in front of us everyday and we just need to open our eyes and look for it.  We need to respond when we are called.  We may not be able to help every single person but we can help those right in front of us.

I left the arena feeling inspired and recharged.  I took the shuttle bus back to my hotel.  As our bus sat at light in the middle of the busy city of Columbus (the capital of Ohio) I noticed a blind man with his walking stick waiting to cross the intersection.   Our bus pulled up to our hotel and as we all filed out of the bus, I realized that the man was still standing at the intersection.  I watched as dozens of people walked past him as they crossed the street.  The light changed several more times as I watched.  Surprsingly, no one offered to help the man cross.  Why was no one offering to help?  There was my person right in front of me.  The Blind Side had met this blind man.  I was not going to walk right by like I might have in the past assuming that he was ok.  I know that those people were probably thinking that he would ask for help if he needed it, right?  So I walked up to him and gently had a conversation with him...

Me: Excuse me. Would you like some help crossing the intersection?

Him: No

Me: Thinking...Hmmm I guess I was wrong when I thought he needed help

Him: I just need help figuring out where I am.  I got myself all turned around walking through the streets and I don't know what intersection I am at.  Can you tell me?

Me: Sure!  You are facing 3rd Street and State Street is on your left.  The Sheraton Hotel is behind you.

Him: (Sigh of Relief) Ahh!  That makes sense now!  Thank you so much!

Me: No Problem!  Would you like help getting across?

Him: Nope! That's the easy part!

He then heard the chirping of the light that signaled him to cross and away he went with a smile on his face.

 

Lindy and I at the Thirty One awards dinner

 I was really inspired by Leanne Tuohy to act.  I am not sitting here patting myself on the back, I am aware that helping someone cross the street is not worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize.   My point is that if we all start responding to the situations and people right in front of us, then helping others will become a habit and the world will become a better place!

Stay tuned for more upcoming blog posts about my time with Lindy at the Thirty-One convention!

Don't know what Thirty-One is? Check out Lindy's web page here!

 

Teacher Appreciation Month

Garden themed basket including Lowe's gift card.

In case you aren't a teacher or don't have school age kids, you may not know that May is Teacher Appreciation Month.  This is my 14th year teaching and I have felt the most appreciated this year out of all of the 13 previous years combined!  My 7th grade homeroom parents have gone above and beyond!  I received so many fun themed gift baskets from them this month. 

I love puns and this crate was full of them!

This was especially perfect for me since I drink Lemon Snapple everyday.  I don't drink coffee.  Snapple is my caffeine.

I also received some cute little treats in my mailbox like this one:

and this:

There were many other personal gifts too.  One of my favorites was this Blessings Journal with my name inscribed on the cover. 

 

 Want to bless your child's teacher but are short on funds?  Write a short note to him/her thanking them for their work with your child.  Let him/her know how they are making a difference in your child's life.

Why You Should Vote for Candace Cameron Bure on DWTS...

 I stopped watching Dancing with the Stars (DWTS) many seasons ago.  I used to watch it in the early seasons but I stopped watching a few seasons ago.  It used to be a fairly family friendly show (it airs during the 8:00 family hour on the east coast) but in recent years it has gotten progressively more inappropriate.   Some of the dancers are performing in barely more than their underwear.  It is mostly the outfits on the female dancers that have crossed the line.  

So why have I started watching again?  Candace Cameron Bure!  You may remember her as eldest daughter DJ Tanner from Full House.  You may have watched her as a kid or may have a daughter now like mine who watches Full House in reruns before bed at night.  

Candace Cameron Bure is a Christian that is not shy about her faith.   On the show last night she performed in a modest dress (pictured below) and in an interview during the show stated that she planned to be a role model and wear modest costumes.  She is a woman who has the courage to stand by her morals and stand up for her faith.

 

She was also quoted as saying that she wants to be an inspiration for other moms,  "I want to represent all the moms out there and inspire them and encourage them," she explained. "I'm just a woman, I'm not any different than all the moms out there -- my priority is my family, my husband, my kids and so this for me is truly just a joy. It's something I've never done and to get the opportunity to do this is fantastic. I'm just going to enjoy every moment. We're working hard of course, but I'm thrilled to just be able to work hard and do this." 

Last night, Candace and her dance partner Mark finished 2nd after the scores from the judges.  The way the show works, one couple is voted off each week.  The couple with the lowest scores goes home.  The score is a combination of the scores from the judges and the votes from the viewers. That is where you come in!

You need to vote for Candace!  I am voting for her for several reasons:

1.  She works really hard and does a great job dancing.

2. She is a Christian that is not afraid to share her faith.

3. She wants to be an inspiration to other moms out there.

4. She is a champion for modesty.  You can be modest and still look beautiful and be successful.

5. She is bring the "family" back into what used to be a family show. 

Without your votes, her strong finish with judges will not be enough to keep her in the game.    I would love to show the mainstream media that it doesn't take a skimpy outfit to win at this game, that morals and conviction can win as well.  I want Candace to show that the talent and hard work are what matters not the sex appeal. 

Join me in voting for Candace and her family values!

 

Book Review: Unstoppable

Title: Unstoppable

Subtitle: The Incredible Power of Faith in Action

Author: Nick Vujicic

Genre: Inspirational

What?!? Is there really someone on the cover of this book surfing with no arms and no legs?   Yes!  There is! No photoshopping there!

This is the second book of Nick's that I am reviewing so I am familiar with his story.  You can read my review of "Limitless" at http://bestlifemistake.blogspot.com/2013/04/book-review-limitless-by-nick-vujicic.html

Nick Vujicic was born without any of his limbs- no arms and no legs!  His parents had no idea that their son was missing his limbs until the moment he was born.  After the initial shock, Nick's parents raised Nick along with his two siblings and treated him the same as his siblings.  They  did not expect less of him.   They did not treat him as a disabled person.

Nick went through a difficult time as a teenager.  I am sure you can all relate to those challenging and awkward teen years!   I can't even begin to imagine how difficult those years were for him!  In this book, he overcame his despair with God's help.  He knows that his life has meaning and that God does not make mistakes.  God created Nick this way and Nick understands his purpose.

You will find this book inspirational as Nick openly discusses the struggles in his life and how he overcame them.  He will encourage you to believe that anything is possible with God!  Nick's message is strong and true!

My favorite part of the book is when Nick shares the story of how he and his wife met and married.  When I started that chapter, I could not put it down!  He then went on to start a family and have a son!  

I also enjoyed reading about Nick meeting the Reverend Billy Graham.  What an amazing opportunity for both of them.  Two evangelists talking together and encouraging each other!

If you read this blog, you already know that I teach middle schoolers.  It is both rewarding and challenging.  One of the challenges is that middle schoolers struggle with their body image.  They often struggle with a positive self esteem.  Sometimes when I try to encourage them it is difficult.  I can tell them that it all works out and that it may seem difficult now as a teenager.  They look at me and think, "what does she know, she was a tall, blonde athlete?"  Of course, they don't understand that tall blonde athletes struggle with their self images too.   They don't always trust the advice I am giving them.  I think they would trust what Nick Vujicic has to say!  They would not question that he has struggled with body image issues and overcame them!

I recommend this book to everyone! There is not a person out there that hasn't experienced despair and struggle.  Everyone can learn from Nick's example!  

There are a few, specific groups that I think would especially benefit from reading this book:

The first would be teens and young adults.  Nick speaks candidly about the struggles he experienced as a teen and how his despair led him to attempt suicide.  I think that every teen would benefit from Nick's example and life story.  I think his story would help any teen that is struggling with self esteem and contemplating taking their own life.  

The second would be parents of a disabled child.  It must be heart breaking and challenging to have a child with a disability.  This book would help those parents to see past their child's disability and look for their child's purpose and gifts.    Nick's parents are a shining example of a positive way to raise a disabled child.

If I could give more than 5 stars to this book I would! 


You can read more about Nick and his ministry on his website: http://www.lifewithoutlimbs.org/

Disclaimer:  I received this book for free from the Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Company in exchange for an honest review.



 

Quotes to Inspire You When Life is Tough

Verses of Encouragement