Christmas 31 Day Writing Plan

 

When was the last time you copied things out of a book? Probably the last time you took a class.....right?!  When you take time to write things out, it helps you to remember better what was written.....well....at least that is how it works for me!

So why don't we spend more time writing out scriptures from the Word of God so that we can commit them to memory?

I came across this Christmas Scripture 

Writing Plan at 

http://www.swtblessings.com/2014/11/christmas-scripture-writing-plan.html?m=1

and thought I would pass it along! Take some time as we are in this Christmas Season to spend extra time in the Word! 

You won't regret it!

Where's Your Treasure?

 

 

 

 

Matthew 6:19-21 says, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

 

So my question is this......How do you define treasure? Merriam-Webster defines treasure as this:

1: wealth (as money, jewels, or precious metals) stored up or hoarded

2: wealth of any kind or in any form :  riches

3: a store of money in reserve

4: something of great worth or value; also :  a person esteemed as rare or precious

5: a collection of precious things

 

See, most of us define treasures the same as Merriam -Webster. We spend our lifetime acquiring treasures that the world says we should have.....Now listen, I am not saying that we have to get rid of everything that we have.....but we really should take a closer look at what exactly we are treasuring. If you look around at our society you will see that we as Americans have become obsessed with so many things. We have become obsessed with status, with looks, with technology, with sports, and just plain busyness. All of these things are here for a short time and then vanish like a vapor. Yet we find ourselves pouring everything we have into them......WHY?  That is truly the question of the hour!

1 Timothy uses plain language to instruct us about the obsession of material gain. "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it."

1 Timothy 6:6-7 NIV

One of the best things God gave us was our free will. He freely allows us the opportunity to either choose to serve Him or choose not to. I honestly hate that part....the part where we can choose not to serve Him, but that is free will! We can choose to invest ourselves in the kingdom of God or we can choose not to.....sadly, in my own life I have seen times that I wasn't necessarily completely focused on the things that truly matter.  I'm sure that you can say the same thing.  It really confuses me because I fully understand the sacrifice that was made for me and yet there are times that I have taken that for granted and pursued my own agenda. Come on......haven't you? 

So let me ask this, why aren't we more consumed with Christ and spreading the Good News??  I know I don't really have a good answer to that.......do you? 

 

You would think that our desire to tell others how they could spend eternity with the Creator of all things would grow over time.....not diminish!!  As we focus on the things that will last forever, we will be storing up treasures in heaven.....and those treasures will last FOREVER!!!  Yet, we find ourselves, distracted and our worldview distorted as we go about our days focused only on the temporary things of this world.

 

God has made us for so much more! He has designed us so wonderfully unique and He has something special for each of us to do for Him! That is exciting people!! We were made with an eternal purpose!!! You heard me......we were made with an eternal purpose!! Then, because He loves us and desires our love in return, He gave us the option....we can pursue that eternal destiny and store up treasure in heaven, or we can pursue treasures that evaporate when stacked against eternity. So choose to make a difference for eternity!!

 

 

Barbette



Under His Wings

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I am so thankful for the Word of God and the power that it has in my life. If you aren't careful, you could find yourself overcome by fear as you look around our world, nation, or even your own city and see what is going on. Face it, the news is full of negative reports, contradicting stories, and political scandal. Racial tension is on the rise, and Christian values are under attack. With the swirl caused by biased media reports, and viral social media posts.......we could find ourselves feeling defeated and hopeless.

I am so thankful that as a Believer in Jesus Christ my hope does not rest on the shoulders of world leaders, nor on positive news reports.....my hope rests in Christ alone.
Psalm 91 is an amazing portion of scripture and one that causes peace to rest in our hearts as Christians.
91:4-6, 10 says, "He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.....no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent."

What a wonderful promise from the Word of God! Even when we feel that things are out of control and chaotic.....which is often!....we have hope through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!!  Now that is something to shout about!!

So the next time you are watching the news and you find your heart rate starting to rise.....take a deep breath and open your Word to Psalm 91. The Lord is our refuge!!!

Grapevine Studies: Birth of Jesus Beginner/and Traceable Review ~ TOS Crew

  This post may contain affiliate links. Thank you for supporting my blog and homeschool! See my full Disclosure statement for more information   30% off The Birth of Jesus Study from November 27-30. This is our biggest sale of the year on this product!  

 

Recently, I was able to review Birth of Jesus:Beginner by Grapevine Studies. With The Christmas season coming quickly, the timing couldn't be any better. If you look around the stores in our country, it doesn't take long to see that the focus is no longer on our Savior, but tends to be on toys, Santa, and decorations. If we aren't careful, the worldview of those around us can infiltrate our families and become the worldview of our children.

 

It is the mission of Grapevine Studies to introduce the gospel to children in a way that will build a foundation for the rest of their life to be built upon. As children build Bible Study skills at an early age, it will transform them for a lifetime. Grapevine Studies offers Bible Study materials for children ages 5-14. They offer multiple mediums of learning for those who learn in different ways. Your child will listen to stories being told, then draw what they heard and finally you can review it with them by asking questions. All three work together to teach your child in a way that will stick with them! That is the way that we as parents can help our children build a correct worldview based on the Bible!!

 

The Birth of Jesus – Beginner study features 7 weekly or 14 daily lessons. There are several books that you will need for this study, and each book is sold separately.  First, you will need the 26-page Teacher Book with lesson notes, memory verses, review questions, and key points. You will also need the 30-page Student Book consisting of lessons pages, timelines, maps, memory verses, and reviews, and a Traceable book that includes pre-drawn stick figures for your child trace and color. These tools all work together to open up the bible to your kiddo in a way that engages their heart and their mind! Please note that each book is sold separately.

 

How We Used This Product:

 

Although my girls are a little older, I used this product with my friend's little girl, which is almost 3, that I babysit. What a blast to watch the Bible come alive in her eyes! We used traceable pages which worked the best for her. Drawing is a little harder at that age, so the traceables were PERFECT!!

 

My Bottom Line:

I absolutely love the concept of Grapevine Studies and the way they bring Bible study to live for children. My sweet "L" loves to draw and color, and found the traceable pages funny. I liked the ease of the lessons!   It is SUPER simple!!  I also love the simplicity of Birth of Jesus study for Beginners. It worked great for my sweet "L" and I hope to find a few other products that I can use with her. For that matter, I will be using Grapevine Studies for my older children as well. Anything that makes Bible Study come to life is a bonus in my book!


Social Media: You may be like the rest of us, and enjoy connecting through social media. Please follow the links below to connect with Grapevine Studies.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GrapevineStudies
Twitter: https://twitter.com/grapevinestudy
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/grapevinestudy/
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+Grapevinestudies/posts
Periscope: @Grapevine Studies
 

 

The Critical Thinking Co: The Basics of Critical Thinking Review ~ TOS Crew

This post may contain affiliate links.

Thank you for supporting my blog and homeschool! See my full Disclosure statement for more information. 
What is critical thinking? Can you describe it? These are just the questions that this book will answer for you and your student. I had the opportunity to receive and review The Basics of Critical Thinking by The Critical Thinking Co. To be completely honest.....it is fabulous!  I was so excited when I had this opportunity. I am not new to The Critical Thinking Co. I have also had the distinct pleasure of reviewing other products from this company in the past, and I have never been disappointed!

The Critical Thinking Co. has done a great job putting this workbook together. This 146 page book written by Michael Baker for 4th-9th graders, takes your student through a variety of exercises to help them develop their critical thinking skills. First, it starts by explaining what critical thinking is. That was very helpful for my student.

Critical thinking is: "finding and evaluating evidence to try to make the best decisions." As you work through this book, you will see that it focuses on critical thinking skills for making decisions and gaining knowledge.

What I like is that there aren't long lecture times, or a lot of reading pages that go along with each lesson, instead your student will learn through short activities, diagrams and easy explanations. My daughter found the explanations easy-to-understand. I know that is also something my daughter appreciated!

How We Used the Product:

I had my daughter work in this book several times a week. When she opened the book she was excited to dive right in. She found the chapters fun and pleasurable to work through. With the topics being something other than Math, Grammar, or Science.....she found it almost refreshing to have something that gave her a change of pace.

When I asked her what she thought of the book she said, "It was fun and it wasn't boring!" I have noticed a difference in the way that she processes information....which is a wonderful consequence to have!! The Basics of Critical Thinking takes your student through chapters on: Decisions and Conclusions, Beliefs and Claims, Evaluating Evidence, Facts and Claims, Venn Diagrams, Logical Connectives, and much, much more!  With the answer key in the back, you will find it easy to check your student's work and answer any questions they may have.

Critical thinking is crucial to the development of your child into an adult, and this book by The Critical Thinking Co. fits the bill!
 

My Bottom Line:

 

The Basics of Critical Thinking is something that all Middle School students should work through. I feel that our society has lost their focus on developing the skills taught in this book. We loved this book and everything about it......with that being said, I really wish it was larger! It didn't take long for me to notice changes in the way that my daughter  made decisions as she worked through this book! Which is the whole purpose!

You should head to the website and pick one up for your student today!

 

Social Media:

You may be like the rest of us, and enjoy connecting through social media. Please follow the links below to connect with The Critical Thinking Co.

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/TheCriticalThinkingCo
Google+  https://plus.google.com/114500823774999703181
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/criticalthinks
Pinterest:  https://www.pinterest.com/source/criticalthinking.com/