Wednesday, December 8, 2010

A Little Taste of Home for the Christmas Holidays

Today I got a little fire lit under me.  I managed to get my floors mopped, bathroom cleaned, and then I decided I'd better get movin' on my Christmas duties...Christmas is almost two weeks away! 

Each year our family gives a small Christmas gift to those who are part of the ministries we oversee at our church, or who minister to our family in some way.  This year I planned to use homemade canned goods from the abundant apple harvest as a little taste of home for the Christmas holidays for our friends.

In the Fall I canned about 30 small jars of apple butter, and several large jars of applesauce. 


Apple Butter

Applesauce

I think canned goods are pretty just as they are, but when giving them as a gift I want them to have a little something special.  I found these pretty 5" fabric squares the at the Wal-Mart, 100 for $10.  There are 5 different coordinating prints included.  I looked at other fabric and figured it may be cheaper to cut my own squares, but sometimes weighing the cost of my time is well worth the cost of convenience.  Obviously, convenience won this time.


Here are the 5 coordinating fabrics in the Fabric Cuts I chose.

In my basement I had quite a few extra canning lids.  So, one fabric square and one lid per jar...


Makes quite a stunning display!


This basket is for my neighbors.


These are for church.
With help from one pair of little hands and my own of course, we soon had all the fabric squares and canning lids attached.  My daughers' teacher is diabetic, so that's the reason for the one jar of applesauce.  Everyone else gets the ever so sweet apple butter.  Yummy!

Friday, December 3, 2010

Living Life In The Zone, by Kyle Rote Jr. and Dr. Joe Pettigrew


A 40-Day Spiritual Game Plan for Men,
by Kyle Rote Jr. and Dr. Joe Pettigrew. 

Being the wife of a NFL fanatic, I jumped at the chance to review a men's sports devotional, and I give it a Touch Down!  With an easy to read straight forward man to man format, this sports themed devotional speaks to real issues real men face.  The purpose of Living Life In The Zone is to give men Biblical direction and Spiritual insight to live and enjoy the abundant life Jesus Christ promises.  The reader gains Biblical direction, and Spiritual insight from famed christian men in sports, as together they focus on God, wife, children, friends, and work.  Including insights from Playmakers such as Coach Tony Dungy, the authors encourage men daily through God's Word in The Game Plan, challenge them with a short contemplative Time Out, followed by implementing what they've read through Today's Assignment.

This is a great devotional for that special man in your life who loves sports.  The devotions are specific and relevent to real issues married/family men face in their day to day lives.  The authors hit a home run when they decided to incorporate not only a sports theme, but wisdom and insight from christian men in sports whom men respect.  As a devotional, the format is consistent and easy to follow.  The Game Plan sections including God's Word are right on target because God's Word is the ultimate Game Plan!  I would certainly recommend Living Life In The Zone for any married/family sports fan man!

Booksneeze has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book.