"Trust Me," He Says

I've never participated in Lisa Jo's "5-Minute Friday" link up, but when I saw today's word, I knew I had to.

GO

Trust is the one word that keeps cropping up in my mental vocabulary. Trust God with this. Trust God with that.

Trust God with the mouse that is wreaking havoc on my state of mind, leaving little presents on my desk, ottoman, dining room floor...ugh. Yes, I know that I'm like a bajillion times the size of that thing, but...can you spell out the sound for when you shiver the big, whole body shiver? If you can, please let me know how it goes, because I sure would love to write it. right. here. *shivers*

Trust God that He will give clear direction on what we're supposed to do with Kiddo's school next year. Problems that keep coming up seem to point to putting him in school, but is that my fault or his? Or is there any fault at all? And if we put him in school, should we wait until the volatile years of junior high are over and the only-less-slightly volatile years of high school have begun? Will he be ready for college if we keep homeschooling? Tim Tebow was! Ugh. I don't know.

STOP

And I didn't even get to the Trust God with our finances, which is the biggest one of all. The one that looms the largest over our home. I guess the lessons I'm learning by reading through the Old Testament again are as timely as they always have been."Trust Me," He says.

I trust you, Father. Help me trust you more.

Want to read what other bloggers have to say about that little 5 letter word? Head over to The Gypsy Mama and visit with others who have their own trust tales to spin.

Clubhouse Magazine (for tweens) Review

My review "week" continues...(I told you I had a lot!)
Clubhouse Magazine, one of Focus on the Family's printed resources, is one of the best investments I've made for my son's spiritual growth, even if it's "just" a kid's magazine. Through the articles, fiction stories, "Adventures in Odyssey" clips, and more, my now 12-year old son learns more about the world of a tween-ager from a Christian world view.

What's missing is the celebrity gossip of other "teen" magazines, as well as photo layouts of not-so-modestly dressed young girls trying to look "hot." Nor does Clubhouse constantly try to hawk mindless products that cause discontent in my son's heart. He gets that enough from watching television. I love that I don't have to worry about it coming from his favorite magazine.
My son tells me what he likes best about the magazine are the "Average Boy" stories (in his words, they are "HILARIOUS!"), but he says he likes everything in the magazine. When asked why this magazine is better than a secular magazine, he says that Clubhouse has funnier jokes than other magazines he's read, and it doesn't talk about the earth being "a billion, trillion, gazillion years old." We love the art of exaggeration around here. Heh.

How refreshing to invest in a magazine that actually cares about my son's spiritual growth instead of wanting to make money off of him or make his heart discontent with what he has already been blessed with. He doesn't know that he's "supposed" to be all into girls at his age. He doesn't know he's "supposed" to try to figure out life without God. On the contrary, Clubhouse emphasizes our need for the Savior. I love that!

If you have a child between the ages of 8 and 12 and are looking to add to their reading material (or if they complain EVERY DAY they don't get anything in the mail. Not that I know anything about THAT one. Ahem.), Clubhouse Magazine is a great option.

Right now you can get it for just $14.99 for a year subscription from Christianbook.com in partnership with Focus on the Family. That's $1.25 an issue! Well worth the small investment.

If your kids are younger, we also loved Clubhouse Jr. Magazine (also $14.99), geared toward children ages 3 to 7. Same kind of content, just made where younger ones would be interested.

AND, since I'm on the subject, all three of us love reading Thriving Family, Focus on the Family's parenting and marriage magazine. It has great reviews of new books, movies, and music (secular as well as Christian - Kiddo loves these); not to mention the other relevant articles and regular features that Sound Man and I like. At a price of ZERO dollars, what have you got to lose?

If you haven't checked out these resources yet, I encourage you go now!

And the Winner is...

Bonnie! You've won the One Year Uncommon Life Daily Challenge by Tony Dungy. Yay! I'll be sending your certificate for your free copy soon!

Thanks for entering, girls! I wanted to give each one of you a copy! MUAH!

Music Inspired by The Story

I'm not sure I would necessarily call this a review. I'm just going to tell you to go buy it. HA!

No, really. Go buy it.

I found out about Music Inspired by The Story a few months ago. The Story is a Scripture-based "experience" of the Bible (not a translation, not really a paraphrase), written as one sweeping story that tells about God's love for His people.

Each song, written by Nicole Nordeman (lyrics) and Bernie Herms (music - and who happens to be married to Natalie Grant) takes you through one "chapter" of the Story on a very personal level. Adam and Eve's story, for example, gives the listener a glimpse into what it must have felt like to know they've broken the Creator's heart.

"If I could, I'd rewrite history
I'd choose differently
If I could, I would
I'd leave out the part
Where I broke Your heart
In the garden's shade
Fix the mess I've made
If I could, I would..."

So heartbreaking, but it makes the coming of Hope that much more wondrous!

The songs that move my soul are "Good (Adam and Eve)," sung by Matthew West and Leigh Nash of Sixpence None the Richer; "Be Born in Me (Mary)," sung by Francesca Battistelli; and "Alive (Mary Magdelene)," sung by Natalie Grant.

But my favorite songs to listen to just for ear candy are "Born for This (Esther)," sung by Mandisa (man, she kicks tail on this song!); "Bring Us Home (Joshua)," sung by Michael Tait from Newsboys, Bianca Callahan from Group 1 Crew, and Lecrae; and "Move in Me (Paul)," by Jeremy Camp.

One of the more poignant moments is when Todd Smith of Selah sings "Broken Praise (Job)." My son was the first to connect the dots. After the tragedy of losing their newborn daughter, Todd and his wife Angie have gone on to minister to thousands (Angie is a blogger, author, and past speaker at the Relevant Conference). While listening to the song and reading over the CD cover, Kiddo said, "Wow...Todd Smith is singing Job's song. How fitting." I love those moments when he gets it. I hadn't even thought about that connection.

For the price of a regular CD, you get two discs with a total of 17 songs on it, all of them taking you from Creation to the Second Coming, and not a bad song in the bunch.

If you haven't gotten the message, I highly recommend it.

Freeset: Redeeming Lives by Giving Purpose

There are times I liken myself to an ostrich with my head in the sand. If I don't know the bad stuff that's going on in the world, it's really not happening, right?

No. It's not right. It's irresponsible. If I'm not aware of issues that need my attention, how else am I supposed to do anything to help?

Did you know last Wednesday was National Human Trafficking Awareness Day? I couldn't believe this issue was being brought to my attention yet again; I was first confronted with it at the Relevant Conference.

Freeset, one of the sponsors at the conference, gave out keychains signed by the women working at their India-based company. Because I was so busy getting stuck in the elevator, enjoying the snow, and talking to my roommates until the wee hours of the morning, I didn't really get what Freeset was about. When I got home, looked up who signed my keychain, and watched this video, I finally GOT IT. And was shocked. I never knew the numbers of women just in Kolkata who were victims of the sex trade until I watched this. But that's not the end of the story, if Freeset has anything to say about it. Please take a few minutes to watch. It will break your heart; it will give you hope.

The last scene with the crayon-box array of saris makes me tear up every time I watch it.

Back in December, Kristi Griem, a blogger who works with Freeset contacted me and wanted to know if I'd be willing to do a review of a Freeset bag. Hmm, let's see...a bag of my choice, made by a woman whose life has been given back to her and her family, designed to be as unique as she is? Yes, please! (Please forgive the awful lighting...it was nighttime and this was the best shot!) I chose a Farmhouse Jute Bag in Earth Brown, and I love it! I compared it with another jute bag I have and this one came out the winner in my opinion. The Farmhouse Bags are made from a sturdy laminated jute material, meaning they have a kind of plastic backing on the inside of the bag, keeping it much sturdier than if it was regular jute. They each have two gusset pockets on the inside of the bag, one on each end, as well as an internal purse with velcro closure. Have I said I love it?

My favorite thing about these bags, though, is the recycled sari material they use for the front of the bag as well as the inside of the handles. Isn't that gorgeous? Each bag is unique...just like the woman who made it. No, I don't know who sewed this bag together, but I know that her life will never be the same since coming to work for this company.

If you didn't watch the video, PLEASE watch it now and find out more about Freeset. YOU can make a difference by purchasing a bag or a Freeset t-shirt.

You know, Valentine's Day is right around the corner. Why not send a little birdie to your husband or boyfriend and let him know you'd like one of the many (did I say many? I mean MANY) bags to choose from in Freeset's line, or maybe a unique tee. You will be giving purpose to women's lives, aiding them in their flight from the most heinous trade there is...human life.