Friday, November 3, 2017

Descriptions and Prescriptions by Michael R Emlet

FTC disclaimer:  I received a free copy of this book to review.  This post may contain affiliate links.

I studied psychology in college.  I didn't expect this book to be anything new to me, but I wanted to read it to see how the concept was presented to pastors and other church leaders in helping those who are mentally ill.  Mental illness is a real -- it's not something we can say to them everything would be fine if they just pray more -- in fact instead of helping, that can be harmful in discouraging the truly sick to avoid going to a psychiatrist.  My grandmother landed in the hospital multiple times over her life because her pastor encouraged her to go off her medication -- without consulting her doctors or being weaned off of it.  Then there are times that someone knows there is a sin issue causing them problems and a pastor just says to go to Christian counseling.  Can there be a good balance between faith and trust in God and medicines that help improve functioning?  I believe so.  And I am happy to say that the author of Descriptions and Prescriptions thinks so as well.

Sunday, October 29, 2017

Don't Kill The Birthday Girl: Tales from an Allergic Life

This post contains affiliate links.

 In  Don't Kill the Birthday Girl: Tales from an Allergic Life, Sandra Beasley presents a sad but at the same time humorously written account of life with multiple food allergies.  Weddings?  As careful as she is, nearly half of them have left her gasping for air during an allergic attack.  Traveling overseas?  Don't forget plenty of meds, they may not have the same food items available.   
What a joy when a doctor relative gifts you with six months of allergy samples -- or they make them in a different way by compounding medicine.  While this is a memoir, I learned a lot about food allergies and some of the theories behind them. Do Bambas help reduce the risk of nut allergies? Did you know that China doesn't have the incidence of peanut allergies the United States does?  Does dry roasting peanuts make a difference in the higher rate of peanut allergies in America?  While that's not known, she does present some interesting facts about food allergies sprinkled through the book.


Monday, October 23, 2017

Macular Degeneration Can Happen in Any Family

My dad was a volunteer fireman for  nearly 50 years.  He first volunteered because his town had so few firefighters that they allowed the boys to leave school if there was a fire if they had joined.  So, naturally, what sixteen year old didn't want to get out of school?  He signed up, and volunteering because his lifeblood.

By the time I was ten, he had a slew of health problems from heart disease to high cholesterol to diabetes.  The one thing that no one was very concerned about at that time was the health of his eyes.

My mom grew up around books and as a child she plunked out stories on the 1915 Oliver typewriter her family owned from the coal mine business.  As I grew up she wrote stories for me, which I treasure.  She would love to read of an evening, and as a child on winter evenings we would curl up together on the couch under an afghan each of us with our own book and a cup of hot chocolate.  She didn't get her eyes checked regularly because it wasn't covered under her insurance.

Sunday, October 22, 2017

Making the Dinner Table Family Time


This is a sponsored post on behalf of U.S. Cellular.

I think most of us have always thought that sharing a meal together is good for spirit, brain, and health of all family members.  The Family Dinner Project has confirmed that.  October is Eat Better, Eat Together Month, but I really think every month of the year this concept should be practiced.  In fact, I often stay up very late until my husband arrives home from work for us to have dinner together.  (We do not have children, so this is possible.) 


When he works late, the responsibility for fixing dinner is on me.  While I use my cookbook collection (remember those?) my husband, on his nights to cook, prefers using apps.  It's not uncommon for me to wander into the kitchen and I ask what is for dinner and see him searching Yummly on his iPhone 8.  Sometimes he uses the AllRecipes Dinner Spinner to seek out something interesting to cook for dinner.  (Yes, ladies, you can be jealous that my husband considers cooking a hobby!  I realize how lucky I am!) 

Saturday, October 21, 2017

My 5 Favorite Fall / Halloween Children's Books From My Childhood

This post contains affiliate links.  When you click through a link, I get a small referral fee at no additional cost to you.

I love doing these posts to help introduce a new generation to some of my childhood favorites.  I hope you find something you and your child enjoy here.

The one Halloween book that stands out to me most is Grandpa's Ghosts Stories.  I'm not the only one who would put this at the top of the list -- it FINALLY came back into print after the ones from the late 70s and early 80s were going for huge prices on eBay and Amazon.  (I have to confess, I sold mine once when I desperately needed the $60 it was going for.)  Now that it is back in print, I plan to get another copy!  But enough about the high prices this one could fetch, let's get to what I remember about the book.   It was fun, and I think you would enjoy love it.  There's a scary thunderstorm out, and Grandpa starts telling stories of things that are a lot scarier -- like a witch that turns little boys into spiders.  I got it from Weekly Reader book club about 1979, and it's the first book I think of when I think of Halloween.  (Although this isn't exactly a Halloween book, the content is appropriate for the season.)

Saturday, October 14, 2017

The KJV Know the Word Study Bible & Kindle Fire Giveaway

This post contains affiliate links.




Diving deeper into God's Word can be easy and rewarding if you break it down book by book, verse by verse, or topic by topic with the new KJV Know The Word Study Bible by Thomas Nelson. The book-by-book series of notes leads you through the main points of each book of the Bible. The verse-by-verse notes help you to dig deeper into God’s Word. The topic-by-topic articles, which cover 21 theological topics, guide you through a series of insightful notes and give you a thorough biblical understanding of each topic. With the beautiful and timeless text of the KJV translation, the KJV Know the Word Study Bible offers you choices of how to study Scripture and grow in your relationship with Christ.




This fall, become a regular student of the Bible and enter to win the Kindle Fire giveaway!






 



One grand prize winner will receive:



Enter today by clicking the icon below, but hurry! The giveaway ends on October 31. The winner will be announced November 1 on the Litfuse blog.






  • A copy of the KJV Know The Word Study Bible

  • A Kindle Fire 7

  • A Kindle Fire case (winner's choice)

Friday, September 22, 2017

Matthew West's All In Album -- Power! Love! Sound Mind!

I have always loved Matthew West's albums.  They deal with real life.  They give hope, and they have always met or exceeded my expectations.  So when I was given the opportunity to review this album, I immediately was excited about it.

The Album is called All In, but I'm torn between what songs are my favorite.  I believe I have a new "anthem" for my life at the present.  But I'm thinking it's going to be three songs right in a row on this CD.

Track 10:  Power Love Sound Mind
Track 11:  Never Ever Give Up
Track 12:  Dream Again

While I have to admit that one thing that makes these three tracks especially stand out to me is my state is mentioned in Never Ever Give Up.

Thursday, September 21, 2017

Use Your Talents for a Christmas Without Debt!

FTC disclaimer:  This post contains affiliate links.

Do you ever get to the holiday season and panic?  Wonder where the money is going to come from to buy gifts, decorations, cards, and all the foods and candies that in our mind seem to make our December the most costly month of the year?  Do you wonder how you can cut down on the stress of the holiday and do more than just survive but actually do something you haven't done since you were a child -- ENJOY Christmas to the fullest?

The goal of this series is to arrive at Christmas without debt and to be better prepared.  Christmas isn't an emergency, and it's something we can plan for, and planning takes preparation and time.  This month I'm going to focus on homemade gifts.

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

The Money Challenge by Art Rainer

This post contains referral links.

The Money Challenge:  30 Days of Discovering God's Design for You and Your Money by Art Rainer is a short book, but stuffed with content.   At only 148 pages (and in a smaller sized hardcover book, at that!), this book is an easy read to get anyone started on their financial plan.

Being a savings and finance blogger, there was nothing new to me here, but I like to review books like this to let my readers see what is out there as resources.  This book is one that I would highly recommend.

Even though I am good with money, I am not where I would like to be in life with my bank account.  Part of that is because I took care of my sick mother for so long, meaning I couldn't get a job outside the house.  So, I feel like I'm starting again when it comes to money.  I'm sure I'm not the only one in mid-life like this.

Tuesday, September 12, 2017

College Then and College Now


This is a sponsored post.  All opinions are my own.  May contain referral links.

School is in full swing at the university town near me.  I'm in the city about once a week and I always see college students with their backpacks full of books, hearts full of dreams and a mobile phone in hand.

As I look at the new generation of students at my Alma Mater, I have to think back to my days of school in a non-tech world.  I not only had to go to a computer lab to check e-mail as no one had computers at that time, but we also had to take a floppy disk with us to be able to access our e-mail.  We were unreachable unless we were in our dorm room, and the only way we could watch a movie was to go out and rent something on VHS.

So how has technology changed how one goes to school?  Many different ways.  I remember taking an off campus class when I was in college.  The lectures were on TV on the public TV station in the early morning hours.  I had to set my VCR to tape them.  (And I waited until near the end of the semester and my VHS tape broke, so I wasn't able to access any lectures!  I still made a C in the class even though I basically didn't go all semester.)