Book Review: The Winnowing Season

"The Winnowing Season" is the second book Amish Vines and Orchards series by Cindy Woodsmall.  I had the opportunity to read the first book in the series, "A Season for Tending", and found that I enjoyed this book a lot more.  I'm not sure if this is because I already knew the characters from the first book and got to know them better or if the second book was just more engaging.

Like the first book, Mrs. Woodsmall includes some very "un-Amish" topics in her story.  The main character, Rhoda, has a gift with herbs and can sometimes foresee future events.  Jacob, her beau, is running from his past while he was "out in the world".  Samuel struggles with loving the girl his brother is courting.  Leah is just trying to figure out if she wants to remain Amish or not.

In all, this is a really good story.  We are reminded that the Amish are people, too, with real struggles.  I'm looking forward to the next book.
Disclosure of Material Connection:  I was provided a free copy of this book by Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion.

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• Read Chapter One
• Author Bio

Menu Monday, May 13

Photo credit

***Oh my goodness!  This was supposed to have posted on Monday and I don't know what happened!  So sorry!!!***

I didn't make a menu last week.  The weather was so beautiful that I found it hard to be in the kitchen or at the computer to meal-plan.  This week I'm making myself sit down and do it and I know I'll be so glad that I did.  I always am.

The rain is back and so are some meals that I might normally make in the winter.  Ho hum...

On the bright side, we have arugula, bok choy, kale and some peas in the garden that I'll be adding in to our meals.  Oh, I love the garden!


Monday 
B: Oatmeal with blueberries & peaches  
D: "Kitchen sink" omelets; bacon & sweet potato hash; spinach salad

Happy Mothers Day!

Happy Mothers Day!

...And don't forget to shut the mixer off first.

Raising a Modern-Day Knight

What's in a name?

Get it here...

Our culture doesn't think a whole lot about the meanings of names.  In the past, though, people gave a lot of thought to naming their children.  God even renamed a few people in the bible.  Remember Abram and Sarai, for example?  And how about King David's wife, Abigail.  Her first husband's name was Nabal.  That means "fool".  Do you think his parents were excited about having him in the family?  Uh-ya.

Well, as our kiddos are in their tween years and moving toward adulthood, I have been fascinated by the value of a name, by honor, and by the customs and traditions mostly forgotten by many in our Western Civilization.

What brought this on?  Well, as I've been researching the bar/bat barakah (a rite of passage ceremony... I'll be writing more on this later) I read a fantastic book titled "Raising a Modern-Day Knight" by Robert Lewis.  Although this book is written to fathers for their sons, I didn't think Mr. Lewis would mind if I gave it a peek, too.  And I'm glad I did.

Passport to Purity Weekend

As a parent, we get to look back at our childhood and choose those things we would do the same as
our parents... and those we would change.

I'm a product of the 80's.  My parents both worked like crazy to support our family and pay the tuition to send us to Christian schools.  They did the best they knew how to do.  We were a pretty typical middle class family, I guess.

One thing as a teenager, though, was that communication wasn't very open about certain important subjects.  Like sex.

I learned about the birds and bees from girlfriends and I knew that sex was an absolute no-no before marriage.  Bad...bad...bad.  That kind of attitude really can mess with a good Christian girl after she's married and it's supposed to be okay, even good, then.  It sure would have been nice if God would have installed a switch to flip inside of each one of us, ya know?  Off...  On...

Well, anyway, this was one of those areas I looked at and really wanted something different for my daughter and son.

A few years ago, a friend of mine was telling me about Dennis and Barbara Rainey's Passport to Purity.  It's a CD and workbook that goes over some really important topics like peer pressure, sex, and a plan for the teen to remain sexually pure until marriage.  Good stuff.

I've heard pros and cons about this particular "curriculum", but what I really wanted was to open the door to discussion, to make these topics available to be talked about.  I don't want my kiddos to feel like they can't discuss something with me because they feel that it is "taboo".  And that is something I am really trying to do better!  I also understand that this is not a one-shot deal.  We can't just do this "project" and expect a stellar outcome.

So, a few weekends ago, I had the opportunity to get away with my 12-year old daughter for our"Passport" weekend.  We didn't go far and it wasn't crazy expensive.  But, the door of discussion that opened is one that I will be working hard to keep open.  We had a wonderful time connecting in a way we never had before and the memories we created are priceless.


In a couple of years, my hubby and son will go off on their own adventure.

And prayerfully, the story of our children's youth will end triumphantly.

What are you doing to keep the lines of communication open with your tween- and teen-agers?

Book Review: American Phoenix

I love history.  It has to be my absolute favorite genre.  And when I received "American Phoenix" by Jane Hampton Cook, I was just about drooling as I opened the package.

This book is phenomenal.  450 pages of history supported by letters and diaries.  This is not what I would call an "easy" read, but one that is captivating and propels you into that period of time so thoroughly that it's hard to remember what century you live in. 

I had absolutely no idea of the story of John Quincy Adams and his wife Louisa prior to this book.  Now I feel like an expert.

If you love history, this is a must-read.

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I was provided a free copy of this book by Thomas Nelson Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion.

Menu Monday, April 29

Bread bakin' day today.  Everybody loves bread bakin' day.  It's amazing how quickly an entire loaf of fresh bread can be devoured by people that aren't even hungry.

This week, I got out my copy of "Simply in Season".  It's a great resource for seasonal recipes...go figure :).  You'll see those recipes marked (SIS).