Book Review: Hermie A Common Caterpillar

I received the book Hermine A Common Caterpillar by Max Lucado from Tommy Nelson publishing! This is a beautifully illustrated book for level two readers. Hermie is a caterpillar without any spots or stripes, and feels so common compared to strong ants, beautiful butterflies, black spotted lady bugs, and very large snails. He prays throughout the book to God about why God had made him so common. Throughout the book, God answers with "I love you just the way you are. But I'm not finished with you yet!" The story is very sweet and has great lessons on praying and God making everyone special. I would recommend this book for children of all ages, whether they can read for themselves, or have it read to them as a bed time story!

Book Review: The Power of a Praying Wife

I was able to get a copy of The Power of a Praying Wife from church during our last Work Day. I had heard only great things about the book, so I decided to give it a try... and now I know why!! This book is wonderful! It is broken down to 30 small chapters that can be read in 10 minutes each covering a variety of topics. Each chapter includes a prayer and couple verses that relate to the topic. Stormie does a great job explaining why we need to pray for our husband in these areas, but also in a way which causes you to see the flaws in your own life and areas where you need to pray for yourself as well! She is very open and has some amazing testimonies of how prayer has changed not only her and her husband's lives and marriage, but lives and marriages of other couples who were struggling with difficult life and marriage issues!

I HIGHLY recommend this book for EVERY wife and wife to be! Whether getting married in a month, just married or married for 20 years! This is a great way to spiritually support your marriage. With society the way it is... we can use every tool in our tool belt!

I look forward to reading some of Stormie's other books:

- The Power of a Praying Parent

- The Power of a Praying Woman

- The Power of a Praying Husband (I want my husband to read that one! :)

If I could give this book 10 starts out of 5, I would! There should be a copy of this book in every household!!! I hope this book will bless you and your marriage as much as it did for us!

Book Review: Awakening

I received Awakening by Stovall Weems for free for review from Water Brook Multnomah for free. This is a 21 day devotional focused helping you becoming more passionate about your relationship with God. The book is broken into 3 parts. The first part talks about what awakening is. Part two focuses on prayer, fasting (not from food, but from a worldly mindset), and coming to agreement with God's will. Each chapter has an "Awakening Story" to inspire the reader. Part three is a 21 day devotional. It has references to scripture, Bible reading plan, prayer focus, and a section for journaling. The devotional also has a reading plan for the first 2 parts of the book if a reader chooses to follow that plan to read the first 2 parts. There are also small group questions in the back.

The author is slightly wordy throughout the chapters, but has great content and strong scriptural support. I would recommend this book for anyone who is interested in growing a deeper relationship with God.

Book Review: 100 Read & Sing Devotions

As a preschool teacher, I loved using the 100 Read & Sing Devotions. This book and CD combo is perfect for little ones with short attention spans. The devotions are quick and to the point. They include Bible stories, value-based lessons, and songs to go along with each theme! A whole lesson plan in one! The songs are easy ways for the kids to learn the lessons. The illustrations are great.

Each devotion includes a "Word Watch" (Biblical reference), a prayer for the day, and also a commentary. The book is written is simple language and great for beginning readers.

The CDs includes songs such as "Jesus Loves Me", "Zacchaeus Was a Wee Little Man", "The B-I-B-L-E" and many more children's favorites!! I highly recommend this book for all families with little ones!

I received this book for review for free from Thomas Nelson Publishers!

Recipe: Shoyu Chicken

I combined a couple recipes I was given by my neighbor for shoyu chicken! This what was the result...

Ingredients:

5 lbs skinless chicken thighs (on bone)

2 TBS Oil

1 cup shoyu

1 cup brown sugar

2 anise (whole)

6 cloves of garlic (sliced in half)

6 slices of fresh ginger

Directions:

1. In a pot, heat oil on high heat and brown chicken thighs.

2. Add shoyu and brown sugar.

3. Add the rest of the ingredients.

4. Boil for 40 minutes on medium heat uncovered (1 hour if not placing in crockpot).

Crock pot option: since I was making this for a party, I placed it in the crock pot at that point for 1 hour on low, and then turned it to keep warm.

It was so tender and the flavor was amazing!! The meat fell right off the bones! SUPER EASY to make!!!

For those of you who don't know what anise is... it is a spice that has a very similar flavor as licorice. It adds a beautiful blend of flavors to the shoyu chicken!

This can be found in your oriental stores (not sure if regular grocery stores carry it too).

This recipe was a hit at the potluck!

Recipe: Ranch Pretzels

I find regular pretzels so boring that I wanted to kick it up! I found a Ranch Pretzel recipe on TasteofHome.com and compared it to the one my co-worker gave me... they were very similar but the proportions were a bit different.

http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Ranch-Pretzels

I modified it because I didn't have 20 oz of pretzels...

Ingredients

• 1 pound of pretzels
• 1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 teaspoons dill weed
• 1 teaspoons garlic powder

Directions

• Break pretzels into bite-size pieces and place in a large bowl. Combine remaining ingredients; pour over pretzels. Stir to coat.
• Pour into an ungreased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Bake at 200° for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Yield: 12 cups.

This was soooo easy and these pretzels came out delicious! This would be a great party appetizer.

Book Review: Thunder Dog

I received the book Thunder Dog by Michael Hingson with Susy Flory for review from Thomas Nelson Publishing. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED the book! Michael Hingson and his dog Roselle survived the 9-11 terrorist bombing of the World Trade Center Towers. They were on the 78th floor. This story is even more extraordinary due to the fact that Michael Hingson is completely blind since he was an infant! They had to walk down 78 flights of stairs!!!

Even though their survival of the bombing was a miracle... the real miracle is Michael Hingson himself. This book will open your eyes to the world of a man who never let his blindness hold him back. You will laugh and cry as you read about his struggles and his successes of living blind in a sight based world. I am extra impressed not only is he able to do everything I do (ride a bike... drive a car... yes really...) but he does things I probably will NEVER even get a chance to do... like fly a plane (true story) or get a Master's in PHYSICS!!!!!

I highly recommend this book for EVERYONE... but especially those who are blind or have family members who are blind. This will give you encouragement you need to support your loved one. To give you the courage to let them try and go so far above their dreams!! Michael Hingson does a great job educating you about all the technology available to assist the blind as well. I also love the insight this book provides on the relationship between Michael and his dog Roselle. If I could rate this book 10 stars out of 5, I would!