Normally, the books I suggest you read are practical, not necessarily beautiful. Recently though, I was offered an opportunity to review a book that was both practical, beautiful and designed to help you grow a bit spiritually. Life In Season: Celebrate the Moments That Fill Your Heart & Home by Vanessa Hunt and Heather Patterson combines so many things I enjoy about books all in one volume.
I have to admit, I had never seen or read their At the Picket Fence blog, so I am not a fan writing a review. (Although, I did look at their blog while reading the book.) The authors, who are sisters, have taken each of the seasons and written beautiful chapters which are part devotional, part motivational, part how-to.
There are crafts, recipes and other beautiful ideas for you to replicate throughout the book. They usually include detailed, but simple directions for doing it yourself. On the “Martha Stewart Difficulty Scale” (If you are familiar with Martha Stewart, you totally understand what I mean!), the ideas are as beautiful, but usually less difficult. At least one required a drill though, so be warned not all of the ideas can be completed without purchasing a few items.
I’m not sure why, but it always seems there are a lot more opportunities for women to have small group Bible studies than there are for men. There also seem to be a lot more devotional book options.
It happens every year. Attend any performance involving a group of children and inevitably there are one or more who are in obvious rebellion against everything they have been told to do by the director. You know the child. It is the one who shouts into the mic and laughs, even after being told multiple times for weeks to speak normally. It’s the child who screams out to audience members while others are trying to say lines or acts silly in an obvious bid to be the center of attention. (Mind you, I’m not talking about age appropriate wiggling and such.)
If you haven’t figured it out already, Christian parenting can be hard. There are days when you are sleep deprived or discouraged. At times, it can be hard to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get back in the parenting game.
My favorite part of Christmas is that our daughter has a lengthy break from college. It allows us some time together when she isn’t forced to spend a lot of time on schoolwork. This year instead of spending all of that free time with your kids in separate rooms doing different things or stuck with your total attention on devices, make a difference.