Book Review: Set Free The Authentic Catholic Woman's Guide to Forgiveness

 

FTC Disclaimer:  I received a copy of this book to review from The Catholic Company.

Who do you need to forgive?  Many times the top people on the list of people we need to forgive is ourselves and our parents, yet those are often people we overlook when we start thinking about who we need to extend our forgiveness.

In this beautifully written book, Genevieve Kineke takes us on a journey of forgiveness.  In just 145 pages and seventeen chapters she shows us the healing that can take place if we but extend grace to others.  We aren't perfect, yet sometimes we expect or at least hope others to be.  

This book was a joy to read, and I believe it will help many women who are struggling with bitterness.  Just the way it was written seemed to be soothing to read as she shares her heart about how we can bring ourselves closer to God by forgiving others.  She doesn't pretend that this is easy, she acknowledges the difficulty and the heartbreak of situations that we need to fully give over to God.  She mentions sexual abuse, an accident that might be over in a minute to the person who caused it but leave behind a lifetime of pain for the victim, and she even talks about when the person who hurt you does not apologize nor acknowledge the harm that was caused.

As someone who did not grow up Catholic, I was surprised when she mentioned how if we are disappointed and hurt by our earthly mother, we can look to Mary as the perfect Mother.  I'd heard about turning to our Heavenly Father to make up for what we were lacking in an early parent, but had never heard of seeing Mary as someone who could help heal wounds.

Another passage from this book that really stuck with me was how the author mentioned that some churches are excellent in trying to keep people from sinning, but only the Catholic Church has a way for them to express their guilt and know they are forgiven.  As someone who didn't grow up going to confession this is something that really rang true to me.  I remember once thinking how wonderful it would be to have someone say to me that I was forgiven of my sins.  Although I know that God forgives sometimes hearing it does wonders, and I liked that she made that point.

I highly recommend this book and give it five stars.  If you or someone you know is struggling with trying to forgive someone, this is the book for you.

This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Set Free.   The Catholic Company is the best resource for all your seasonal needs such as First Communion Gifts as well as ideas and gifts for the special papal Year of Faith.

Are You Pressing the Lever on McDonald's Monopoly?

I love entering sweepstakes.  I love the thrill of winning, the hope of winning, just imaging I might win.  It's McDonald's Monopoly time again, and so I will eat at McDonalds maybe once or twice with the hope of winning something.

But did you know that you can send off for free game pieces?  Do the math.  You can send off for game pieces with a self-addressed stamped envelope, costing around $1.00 in postage, plus the cost of the envelopes.  Or get the same amount of game pieces by buying large fries ($2.09).  Of course you would get the fries, but who needs almost half a day's amount of calories to get a couple game pieces?

The rules say 1 in 4 win.  Last year I sent off for a number of game pieces, as I have done in years past.  In previous years I won more food than I could eat (and ate more than I should!)  I won nothing larger than an Extra Value Meal, but I still won tons of food when I sent for thousands of game pieces.  (Of course this was YEARS ago when they had the Best Buy dollars with the pieces and I had quite a bit I was able to spend at Best Buy, but I'm talking just the Monopoly section of game.)  This meant I ate at McDonalds a lot more often, and in so doing that wasn't a good choice nutritionally to eat there so much even if it was free.  After all, keep in mind the results of the University of Wisconsin study that showed that while upsizing a meal costs 67 cents at the register, over a lifetime it costs up to $7.72 in added medical costs.  Is that really a value for your 67 cents?  You can read that study here.

This week I had some free egg white McMuffin coupons if you made a purchase.  So I decided that my mother and I would use them.  We each ordered a hash brown, and an egg white McMuffin.  We did this two different days.  We did not order drinks.  Had we not had the coupons, I would have paid right about $15 for four muffins and four hash browns.  So paying $4.24 wasn't bad in terms of financial outlay when we got breakfast.

Each food item had two game pieces on it, for a total of sixteen pieces.  From those, I won three medium fries.  (value $1.69 if you are going to be eating fries.  I'm trying to go for healthier options overall these days.  This size fries has 380 calories in it.)  I also played all my codes online and won a Redbox movie rental.  (Value $1.50, but I won't use it so will give it to a friend.) 

The odds of winning are remote.  I think many times people don't realize how remote it is because there's the "reward" of free fries.  I studied psychology in school and I remember a study where if a rat was fed at random times when it pressed a lever,  it would press the bar much more often than a rat that was fed when it pressed the lever every X number of times.  So we peel a game piece, win free fries, and we're ready to press the lever again, so to speak, since we're rewarded at random intervals.   What if we knew that we'd only win every other time we visited?  Or every third time?   In addition, there's the collect and win, and while I know people who have won cars, cash, trips in sweepstakes I don't know ANYONE who has won in the collect and win portion of McDoanlds Monopoly.  But we peel a game piece and we get excited because we don't have Pacific yet, and we faithfully paste it to our board feeling accomplished even though we'll likely never see the rare game piece that will allow us to win a sports trip we probably might not even want to pay taxes on.  You will also see posts on Facebook with people asking for a rare game piece and saying they have the others in the grouping and if you have the piece they need, then they will split the prize with you.  (Having a rare game piece is the only reason I would say to start eating at McDonalds until you get the other pieces you need, but the easiest prize to win in the collect and win game has odds of 1 in 152,520,645.  It goes up to 1 in 5,945,378,686.)  That's almost one in six billion.  Your odds of winning Powerball are much better than that!

Read the rules of a contest, see what the odds are then enter wisely.  With no Best Buy dollars on this one anymore, I might decide to eat at McDonalds during the Monopoly game, but it's not going to make me eat at McDonalds more often.

Has anyone else figured out what they have spent at McDonalds above what they normally would have during Monopoly and what they have won from that?  Yes, some people will win, but to me it's not a wise financial move nor wise health move to be eating at McDonalds more often than I normally would in hopes of winning. 

You can check out my other related blog posts here:

How to Win Sweepstakes and Prizes
How to Win a Skill Contest
How to Win a Voting Contest
How to Win in Twitter Parties
How to Win Amazon Giveaways
How to Win Blog Giveaways
Where to Find Sweepstakes to Enter
What to do when you wi n a prize.
Should You Keep the News of Winning a Contest Prize a Secret or Tell Everyone?
Are People who Win Prizes Just Lucky Ducks?
Entering Sweepstakes and Public Assistance Like SSI and and Disability
WIN your Christmas
Are you Pressing the Lever on McDonalds Monopoly?

Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio Book Read Along -- Start here -- Chapter One

World's Ugliest Pinata Take Two

I turned a significant birthday this year.  (Here's a hint -- it ends in a zero!  Yikes!)  Each year I host an annual party and this year I decided to make it the weekend of my birthday because I could "turn old" by myself or "turn old" with friends, and I decided it would be best with friends.

Each year I wrap stuff I've gotten free through the year.  It could be something I won in a sweepstakes when aiming for a different prize, something that I got free with coupons, or some other way that I came across an item with no cost.  I take all these, wrap them up and we play the "Dirty Santa" game with them.  I draw a name out of a hat, person 1 can choose from all the wrapped gifts.  Person 2 can steal from person 1 or choose any of the wrapped gifts.  Most people play this game with "three steals and it's out" but we play unlimited steals because the gifts aren't that expensive and there will be no hard feelings.  This year's most stolen items were a box of shredded wheat cereal, a pie plate, and a package of men's 2XL boxers.  (Both people stealing them were women!)

I also made a pinata.  I found a homemade pinata idea on Pinterest last year and mine was a far cry from that one. 

Here is last year's pinata:

Well, this year I didn't have a large paper bag.  I think one of my friends was a bit embarassed by the pinata I rigged this year.  But the kids care about what is inside, right?  This is what I came up with this year:

Someone told me they liked the multiple bag idea because when they were a child they were blindfolded, the pinata broke apart on the first try and they got no candy because they were blind folded.  We had ages 4-10 so it worked well because all kids got some candy or small toys as the bags were broke open at different times!

The most special part of my party this year was I invited a former teacher of mine.  She was a resource teacher and I had her from the time I was 8 until I was 12 when she moved away to get married.  I have stayed in touch with her but haven't seen her since I was 12.  She lives an hour and a half away, and on Friday I received an e-mail telling me she was coming!  It was so nice to see her again.

Next year I'll likely move my annual party back to August or September as that's usually when I have it, but I think I'll keep the Sunday afternoon date.  It seemed a better day of the week than Saturdays when I have had my party in the past.

I just can't believe I've hit the big (mumble)-zero.

Book Review: Plastic Donuts

Plastic Donuts: Giving That Delights the Heart of the Father by Jeff Anderson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


FTC disclaimer:  I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions are my own.

This is a short book at only 109 pages, but it's full of thoughts and ideas about giving.  Most of us who have been in church for any amount of time have heard things like "To NOT tithe is to rob God." or on the opposite side "The tithe is an Old Testament mandate and we live under grace."   Author Jeff Anderson doesn't take either of these approaches, but rather the approach of Christians should give God their plastic donuts.

What does that mean?  His daughter gave him a toy piece of food from her kitchen set one day and he saw the delight she had in giving him what she was able to give freely and willingly.  He came to the conclusion that is how our giving should be to God.

This would be an excellent book for a small group discussion or to make into a sermon series at your church.  I'm not sure the average person would pick this up on their own because, honestly, money is a topic that is shied away from in many churches.  What pastor likes to get up and teach on giving?  It's a hot topic and certainly one that can ruffle feathers of the flock.  But the way Anderson approaches it, it's a Biblical concept that doesn't dictate what you should do except to give joyfully.  THAT is something I think all Christians can agree is a great idea. 

I think it's great this book is out there as a resource for both individuals and churches, and I hope that the ideas within Plastic Donuts become the attitude of giving we see in western Christianity.

   Plastic Donuts by Jeff Anderson by WaterBrook Multnomah

Please rate my review here:

Filippo Berio® Olive Oil

FTC disclaimer:  I received a free bottle of olive oil to review for this post.

One thing I learned recently is it's important to have some fat in your diet if you want to lose weight.  After the fat-free diets of the 1990s I thought the best thing to do was cut as much fat out as possible, but that's not true.  The key is to eat GOOD fat, and one of those things you can use is Filippo Berio Olive Oil.  You can even download a guide at their website as to how much olive oil to use in place of butter in a recipe.   

There are also recipes there you can use to inspire your taste buds.  I am one who likes to make my own tomato soup.  (My mother says I'm the only person she knows who doesn't just open a can when I want tomato soup.)  I always saute my onions for the soup in olive oil.  I also use olive oil to drizzle over salad at times when I know I need a little extra fat in my diet that day.

I use olive oil a lot as it is healthier than other oils, and currently I have a bottle of Filippo Berio Olive Oil on my kitchen counter!

In Memory of Fuzzy the Guinea Pig

Fuzzy the Guinea Pig

May 4, 2008 - July 2, 2013

The Sunday before Mother's Day in 2008 a couple kids showed up on our doorstep, rang the doorbell and asked if we wanted two girl guinea pigs.  They were living outside, had no food, and needed a home.  While we didn't really want more guinea pigs (we had three) we had to do something.  I decided I could at least help them find a home.   Turned out they were boys (we had boys and didn't want girls because we didn't want hundreds of guinea pigs!) While I attempted to find them a home, they started showing off for us -- almost asking to stay with us.  We knew they couldn't be separated, and that was more difficult than finding a home for just one guinea pig.   Needless to say, during this time they became not just part of the household, but part of our hearts.

 A Fuzzy Photo Bomb:

They arrived to us un-named.  They had no food, no water bottle, no home, and no names.  One had a beautiful plume of white fur that reminded me of Albert Einstein, so he quickly became named Einstein.  The other had silver and white fur that made him look a bit dingy, and the fur on his rump went straight up instead of falling beautifully.  He looked like a FuzzButt, so that became his name, shortened to Fuzzy.

He had a tragic last year.  Einstein passed on June 14th of last year and then his next cage mate, Bingo, passed on December 28th.  We adopted another fellow so Fuzzy wouldn't be lonely as he lived out his days.  (Looks like Lucky is going to adjust quickly to being an only pig.  He has a strong personality and   I have always thought he'd do well with "only pig" status.)

Yet Another State Visited

I visited Utah for the first time and now I can update my states visited map.  They are getting filled in slowly.  Someday I would like to have traveled to all 50 states.


visited 30 states (60%)
Create your own visited map of The United States or website vertaling duits?

States I've Visited

I like to update my map of states visited when I've traveled to a new state.  This is my map as of now.


visited 29 states (58%)
Create your own visited map of The United States or website vertaling duits?

U.S. Cellular's Family Protector Plan

FTC disclaimer:  While this is a sponsored post, I only endorse companies and products I feel strongly about their value to my readers.

U.S. Cellular offers a FREE PRINTABLE Parent Child agreement to help you discuss safety of the Internet, cell phone usage, limits, and courtesy with your teen or tween.  You don't even need to be a U.S. Cellular customer to access this, although I have been for 10 years and highly recommend them. 


Suppose your teenager is out and you don’t know where she is, and she’s not answering her phone?  What do you do?  Immediately start worrying?  Maybe not.  For some parents the answer lies as close as their computer.  If you had Family Protector from U.S. Cellular, then instead of calling your teen’s friends, you would simply log on to U.S. Cellular and you could see at an instant where your child is!

Book Review: The Lamb's Supper The Mass As Heaven On Earth

FTC disclosure:  I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.  The opinions are my own.

Anyone who has been to church has been curious about the book of Revelation in the Bible.  Growing up, I remember timelines across Sunday School classrooms that showed when the anti-Christ would make his appearance, when the Church would be raptured, and when Jesus would begin his 1,000 year reign on earth.  I’ve heard sermons saying the Revelation of St. John was fulfilled in the first century.  This apocalyptic book of the Bible has not only often remained an enigma, but is often requested to be taught on in Sunday School and Wednesday night Bible studies in Protestant churches.  Many times doing so, materials are supplemented with recent newspaper articles.