Faith Approved — MomStart

The Mac Rack Review

February 26, 2009 By Momstart 1 Comment

The Mac Rack is a bible craft. It comes in a plastic bag with everything you need to do the craft. Thanks to Faith Approved and The Mac Rac I have one to review. I received the April Bible Craft 2009.

It really does come with everything you need. You get the glue, the pieces and directions. I do think there should be a bible verse but maybe that is up to the parent to decide. I think for homeschooling mothers this would be worth getting the subscription to. You save money by getting the subscription. I feel that crafting and spending time with your children is very important. They are mirrors at a young age and will do what we do. We should take advantage of that while we can and teach them right.

Assembling the craft took no time at all for me. I can see it taking a child longer and see them having fun doing it. In the end it should Love God. What an important lesson to teach our children, (and ourselves) I know there are lots of verses about loving God.

About the Mac Rak:

Our products are designed with your family in mind and in our hearts. We have designed our products for mothers and others who are looking for simple and exciting ways to develop the mind, body and spirit of the children they care about. We want you to save time & money, while still staying at “Super Mom” status. We hope to enable you to spend more quality time with your family while using our products and services. When you purchase our products you help us to continue bringing you and your family FUN & FREE resources to help you and your family grow! Thank you for considering our products. Happy Crafting, Partying and “Family Funning”!

This post was brought to you by Faith Approved.

Filed Under: Faith Approved, review

Preparing your Heart Giveaway

November 26, 2008 By Momstart 35 Comments

FaithApproved has offered me another great item to review. This week I had the privilege of reviewing a book. The book is Prepare Your Heart for A Great Christmas.

Written by Maria Rodgers O’Rourke. Her goals for you to get out of this devotional:

Peace in your heart throughout your busy days
Gratitude for the simple blessings in your life
Joy in rediscovering the anticipation of Christmas
Love for yourself, your family and everyone you touch
Insights to carry the spirit of Christmas into the New Year

Maria Rodgers O Rourke has over 20 years of experience in communications and not-for-profit management, including positions as communications director, executive director of a national membership association, and advertising account executive. In addition to her skills as a meeting facilitator and presenter, she writes image materials, newsletters, press releases, web copy and sponsorship proposals. Maria s clients have included: Maritz Learning, Inc., Paradigm Shift Studios, Nehman-Kodner Creative, the Archdiocese of St. Louis, the RCGA, The Congregation of the Mission, Jewish Hospital, Quilogy, Inc., Cor Productions, and Loyola University, New Orleans. Maria is also a popular local columnist and speaker.

Now the devotional actually starts tomorrow. So in honor of Thanksgiving and Preparing your heart for Christmas think of

Daniel 3:89. Give Thanks to the Lord for He is good.

What are you thankful for?

I am thankful for my children. Miles had a difficult birth and I’m so very thankful that God let him stay on this earth with us.

If you go through this thought process before you begin each day perhaps you can start off your day in a better mood. Enjoy your cup of coffee and take a few moments for yourself. Let me help you by offering a copy of this book. There are dates for this devotional, but Christmas should be celebrated in our hearts all year round. Let’s be grateful, prayerful, joyful and peaceful all year round. But since it is the Holidays I wish you all a happy one!

I would like to give this book away to one lucky reader.What you need to do is visit http://www.greatchristmasbook.com/. Take a look around and tell me something about the author or about her site in the comments.

Leave your e-mail in the comments so I can contact you.

To earn an extra entry enter the contest over at FaithApproved for a copy of Faith and Doubt.

To earn another extra entry enter the contest over at Mama’s Money Savers for an Avon Fragrance.

You can earn five extra entries by blogging about this giveaway and linking to my site and http://www.greatchristmasbook.com/

Leave a comment for each entry. I will use random.org and announce the winner on December 5th. Contest ends December 4th.

Filed Under: book review, Faith Approved, giveaway

Faith & Doubt

November 18, 2008 By Momstart Leave a Comment

As a Christian, we are looked at in a certain way. We look at ourselves in a certain way. We aren’t supposed to judge each other, but a lot of times, I feel that Christians are the first to point fingers and say nasty things.

Which makes me have a lot of doubt in my faith. I am always very hard on myself. I say that I should just have more faith in God. He’ll make it all OK. Maybe my faith isn’t Strong enough, or which faith is the right faith. I grew up Catholic, and when i was in high school I went to a Southern Baptist summer camp. Well, they told me my whole family is going to hell.

I was devastated.

So where do I turn? I have finally come to a place where I feel good about my faith. I know that I am a sinner and that I am NOT perfect. I need God in my life and I do believe in him. Do I still have doubts? YES. Do I doubt where I will end up? YES Did this book make me feel better. YES YES YES.

John Ortberg is the author of Faith and Doubt.

John is a pastor at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church in California. He has written many books on faith. A central theme in his books is how people form relationships through life experiences and this is also true with our relationship with God.

From the Back Cover

What if the most important word is the one in the middle? We often think of doubt as the opposite of faith, but could it actually strengthen our relationship with God? According to John Ortberg, best-selling author and pastor, the very nature of faith requires the presence of uncertainty. In this refreshingly candid look at a life of faith, he traces the line between belief and unbelief: less a dividing line between hostile camps than a razor’s edge that runs through every soul. His findings point us toward the relief of being totally honest. Questions can expand our understanding, uncertainty can lead to trust, and honest faith can produce outrageous hope. Written from Ortberg’s own struggle with faith and doubt, this book will challenge, comfort, and inspire you with the truth that God wants all of us—including our doubts.

I found this book to be great and comforting. I do have doubt as I stated above and it is wonderful to read that it is doubt that can be used to make my faith stronger. These times in life when we have to pray harder and work harder and read harder to be comforted bring us closer. One, I was comforted to know that I’m not alone. Two, I never thought about how this brings me closer to Him. YEAH. You can get your copy here….

Enjoy!!!

Filed Under: book review, Faith and Doubt, Faith Approved

Getting into Christmas

November 9, 2008 By Momstart 6 Comments

Do you find yourself having a hard time dealing with Christmas this year?

I am on a few frugal lists and freebie sites and people are depressed about Christmas. How are they going to buy their kids presents how are they going to keep everyone happy?

I don’t know how to answer all of these questions except by looking to my faith. We need to remember what Christmas is about, and not the commercialism. We need to remember family and others in need. Mostly, we need to remember the birth of Jesus. This is something that we do with our daughter and now that we have a son we will do it with him as well.

We will read the story of Christ’s birth. We have a touch and feel Christmas story book. This will be one of our family traditions and I can’t wait to build more.

I was reminded to look into the happiness of Christmas when I was given the opportunity to read and review the e-book Saving Christmas Magical Tips for creating lasting Christmas Memories through FaithApproved.

This e-book was put together by Denise Willms. Denise set out to create an e-book that would teach everyone how to save money and how to keep themselves sane during the Holidays. She asked her friends at WAHM-articles to help her with ideas and what she found turned into a compilation of Saving Christmas.

“By ghostwriting content moms like to read, Denise Willms helps gain exposure and build reputations for those who market to moms. Go to www.WAHMArticles.com/forum and sign up for your free account to learn more about writing WAHM Articles, and building your own relationship with the mom market.”

Denise organized her story and stories from the following group of people into an inspiring anecdote reminding us of what Christmas means and how we should treat family and how we should not let family treat us.

Dominique Goh

http://www.dominiquegoh.com

Sophia McIntyre

http://www.WorkAtHomeSpace.com

Stephanie Fish

http://www.buckeyeva.com

Tracey McBride

http://frugalluxuries.blogspot.com

Tammy Embrich

http://www.onestopwebemployment.com

Laurie Neumann

www.christianhomebusinessconnection.com

Deborah Allinder Lee

http://www.ourmusicalhome.com

Ada Lloyd
http://www.mastervisionscoaching.com/

Nina Newton

http://www.mamaslittletreasures.typepad.com

Jacquie Ross, Professional Organizer

http://www.castawaytheclutter.com

Jane Straus

http://www.StopEnduring.com

Nancy Fulton

http://www.nobetterfriendmovie.com

Filoiann Wiedenhoff

www.filoiannwiedenhoff.com

Denise Landers

www.KeyOrganization.com

Lesley Johnson

http://www.JFSMONEY.com

Adela Osmond

http://www.trainupchildren.com style="font-family:Arial;font-size:8px;color:blue;">

Ruth Willms

http://www.RuthWillms.com

Lucille Zimmerman

http://www.RumorsOfGlory.net/blog

Leisa Watkins

http://www.leisawatkins.com

Roxanne Weber

http://online-business-woman.com

Jane Euell, Certified Divorce Financial Analyst

http://drcofcolorado.com

Gina Bell, The Networking Maven

http://www.thenetworkingmasters.com

Corrie Petersen

http://www.virtualfreedom4you.com

Judy H. Wright

http://www.ArtichokePress.com

Teresa Steventon

www.WorkingFromHomeWorldwide.com

Lynn Menendez

http://completewellnesstoday.com

You can purchase your copy of Saving Christmas at WAHM-articles. I’m ready to put up my tree and get out all of the decorations. I can’t wait until the smell of pumpkin pie drifts from the kitchen. This is excellent at re-introducing us to Christmas. It reminds me of the song from The Grinch, sung by Faith Hill. “Where are you Christmas”.

Filed Under: Christmas, e-book, Faith Approved, review