Tuesday Talks: Above Rubies

Wow! It's already Tuesday again? Sometimes the week just flies by!

Today I'm reviewing a great resource for Christian women, Above Rubies.

Above Rubies is an excellent magazine and website devoted to encouraging women in their high calling of wives, mothers, and homemakers.

Their magazines are full of great articles and encouragment, as is their website. They also have great Women's devotionals and forums. Subscription to their magazine is free! So if you haven't already, head on over and subscribe!

Here's the website's description of the magazine:

Several times a year, the Above Rubies Ministry publishes the "Above Rubies Magazine" designed to encourage women in their high calling as wives, mothers and homemakers.

It's purpose is to uphold and strengthen family life and to raise the standard of God's Truth in the nations.

This valuable resource is available to you at no cost and is jammed packed with:

• Encouraging articles
• Stories
• Recipes
• Poems
• and much, much more.

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

--Flibby

Care to join Tuesday Talks? Please, leave your review below!

Giveaway Winner!

Sorry, I'm a bit late posting this but, the winner of our lovely Ribboncraft book is...

Ashley R.

Congratulations!

Thanks to everyone who participated in our giveaway. :)

--Flibby

Tuesday Talks: MaryJane's Ideabook, Cookbook, Lifebook

Today is Tuesday Talks here at Stay-At-Home Daughters!



I am reviewing "MaryJane's Ideabook, Cookbook, Lifebook."





This book is perfect for the farmgirl in you. I learned so much with this book! There are sewing patterns, LOTS of ideas for crafts, lots of information on organic gardening, and beautiful photographs throughout the whole book.

Sometimes, I just pull this book out to read it, because it is a very endearing book. The photographs are so lovely, with a simplistic, whimsical, old time feel. There are even directions on how to make a hammock! :)

The Amazon review follows:
"The Martha Stewart of the West proves that not only is she proficient at organic farming, carpentry, food preparation, and much more, but also that she can sell with the best of them. Her delivery is clear and forceful. She seems like someone you might like to have as a neighbor or as a manager running your company. Tender moments such as sewing a last-minute Christmas rag doll for her daughter share air space with the organization of a vendor sale. She happily provides Web sites of products she likes as well as her own. So what if you don't need to know how to keep an outhouse smelling fresh--this is a great listen. J.B.G. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --"

This is a wonderful book for anyone! You can purchase it through her website, and if you order it through the website, you will receive the book autographed by MaryJane herself!

Have a review to share! We would love to read it! Leave your link below!


Happy Tuesday!

~*~Courtney~*~

It's a Giveaway!

Last time we did a giveaway, one lucky individual won a beautiful apron from Stay-At-Home Daughters!

This time we are giving away something even better!

Yes, that's right! This time around you can win a beautiful book on Ribboncraft! This is just the sort of thing we love here at Stay-At-Home Daughters, so it's perfect for our giveaway.

This book includes 22 projects with wonderful instructional color pictures that follow each project step by step. It educates on all the different types of ribbons and has three sections: Home Accents, Gifts and Keepsakes, Wedding and Baby.

To enter, simply leave a comment with your email address or a similar way to contact you. We'll draw our winner on Friday, April 25 at noon CST.

Good luck!

For more great giveaways, visit Bloggy Giveaways!

Fruit of the Spirit: Peace

It's time for another Fruit of the Spirit installment! We've already covered love and joy. This month's Fruit is Peace.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." Galatians 5:22-23

The kind of peace that I'm going to talk about is the kind that passes all understanding. The peace that only the Lord can give. When you have this peace from God, the world can see it. Children of God don't have to worry about death, or circumstances beyond their control. The Lord is sovereign!

I have seen so many people fall into worry and stress when they are not leaning on the Lord's guidance. You may have a false sense of security, a lot of money, you may have a lovely home, or a wonderful family, but without the Lord's hand in the lives of His children, we would have nothing.

I can't even explain how grateful I am to the Lord for choosing me and allowing me to be born into a Christian home with such wonderful Christian friends. It's the greatest encouragement of all to me. Whenever I start to feel tense about anything, whether it be large or small, all I have to do is remind myself to keep my focus and trust on Jesus. He is my rock. Without Him I would be nothing.

To those who are truly walking with the Lord, the petty things of this world don't matter. It doesn't matter whether or not others are pleased with your actions, as long as you are obeying the Lord's commands, all other thoughts can be put into perspective.

"I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help" Psalm 121:1

When things seem to be falling apart, and stress and sadness threaten to overcome, I find that crying to the Lord and keeping my focus on Him and Him alone is the only way I can find true peace.

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls" Matthew 11:28, 29

It's not possible to express in words how at peace and delighted in the Lord I feel when I think of the fact that His eye is on the sparrow, so I know He watches me.

Nothing can touch me that God does not allow! Everything is according to His purpose. It's the most reassuring feeling. When we give everything to the Lord and keep Him the number one priority in our lives, God's peace is granted.

Today, I want to encourage you to revel in the peace that comes only from Christ Jesus.

God Bless You!
Flibby

"The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace" Numbers 6:26

Tuesday Talks: The Elsie Dinsmore Collection

I can't believe we've never reviewed these before today! The Elsie Dinsmore books are some of my very favorites!

Set in the 19th century, this series follows Elsie Dinsmore from her young childhood to her days as a grandmother. She is a wonderful example for little girls and adults alike. Elsie becomes a child of God very early on, but she is persecuted and mocked by her relatives and father. She handles it with grace and wisdom that is far advanced for her age and throughout the series most of her family members gradually become believers because of her influence.

She and her children, and her grandchildren have many adventures and life milestones that are charming and wonderful to read about! These books are wonderful to share with younger siblings, especially sisters! I have enjoyed this whole series time and time again, and it's easy to become so involved that you can't put them down. They are written beautifully and very intelligently, but still easy for younger children to understand.

The Elsie Dinsmore Collection is very high on my list of recommendations for Christian girls and stay at home daughters, as well as sisters, wives and mothers! This is a series that I think everyone should have in their book collection. I can't wait to read them to my children someday.



You can purchase them very easily through Vision Forum.

Speaking of Vision Forum, I love their description of this series:

In the nineteenth century, millions of readers learned the meaning of godly womanhood from a little girl named Elsie. Her commitment to principle in the midst of adversity and her passionate love for Jesus Christ were the theme of twenty-eight volumes spanning her life. These are the original twelve volumes presented just as a young lady would have found them one hundred years ago. Over the last several years, I have heard hundreds of reports from home schoolers and Christian families about the blessings these books have been in their lives. Elsie raises the standard of godly womanhood to new heights. Feminists will not be happy with Elsie. She is a God-honoring young woman who strives to solve problems while working through biblical authority structures. By Martha Finley...>

I hope you and your family are blessed by this recommendation!

God Bless,
Flibby

Do you have a review you'd like to share? Leave your link below!

Rules and information on "Tuesday Talks" can be found in the sidebar.

Happy Birthday Poppy!

It is my dear friend Poppy's birthday! She is such a shining light and example to everyone around her about God's love. I wish her many blessings and good wishes over this coming year.

Happy Birthday Poppy!

Leviticus 26:1-15
Reward for Obedience

"'Do not make idols or set up an image or a sacred stone for yourselves, and do not place a carved stone in your land to bow down before it. I am the LORD your God.

'Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the LORD.

'If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees of the field their fruit. Your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want and live in safety in your land.

'I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid. I will remove savage beasts from the land, and the sword will not pass through your country. You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you. Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.

'I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you. You will still be eating last year's harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new. I will put my dwelling place among you, and I will not abhor you. I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high. "

~*~Courtney~*~

A Thought For Thursday: J is for Joy

This is a neat little memory tool for prioritizing your time and how you spend it:

J- Jesus First

O- Others Second

Y- Yourself Last

Although it seems so simple, JOY is a great way to remember to put the most important priorities first.

Many times (and I am guilty of this myself!), we put ourselves first, without thinking about others and what they might need. There are so many people who are hurting or just need a helping hand, and we are so occupied with ourselves that we miss the bigger picture. God wants us to help and be more mindful of others.

Sometimes we shove God aside, saying or thinking things like: "I will read my Bible later" or "Praying isn't that important".

God is the very backbone for my life. If He wasn't here, my life would be totally different. He loves and cares about me. If I truly loved Jesus, why would I put Him aside? I try to remember this before thinking of my own time.

JOY has really helped me place my priorities in order, and I know this will help you too! :)



You can feel free to place the graphic in your sidebar.

Wishing you all a lovely day!
~*~Courtney~*~

Tuesday Talks: The Ultimate Gift

Today is Tuesday Talks!

I am reviewing "The Ultimate Gift".

Last week, my family and I enjoying watching this movie. It was a pretty clean movie, with the exception of a few outfits that were a little skimpy in a couple of scenes, and a reference to a curse word. Also, Abigail Breslin is portraying a girl with cancer, and is a little rude in some scenes, as is Drew Fuller, who is your typical rich kid in the beginning of the movie.

The Amazon review reads as follows:

"The Ultimate Gift is a tale of one man's tumultuous journey toward personal growth and fulfillment. Surrounded in life, and death, by avaricious family members fueled by a sense of entitlement, billionaire Red Stevens (James Garner) wants to bequeath at least one member of his extended family "the ultimate gift": something he perceives as immensely more valuable than material wealth.

Red's arrogant grandson Jason (Drew Fuller) holds a deep-seated hatred for his newly-deceased grandfather, so he's surprised to learn from his grandfather's friend and lawyer Mr. Hamilton (Bill Cobbs) and assistant Miss Hastings (Lee Meriwether) that he's been mentioned in his late grandfather's will. Far from a straightforward gift of cash, land, or stock, Red's bequest comes in the form of a series of mysterious recorded instructions, the first of which requires Jason to hop on a plane for Texas the very next morning without a hint of the trip's purpose or the nature of the gift that awaits him.

Dropped into a life of hard physical labor on a ranch in the middle of nowhere, Jason's bad-tempered fury eventually turns to resignation and he finds himself engaged in, and even taking pride in, the first real manual labor he's ever done in his life. Unbeknownst to him, his journey toward claiming the ultimate gift has only just begun.

When he returns from Texas, Jason finds his home cleared out, his car confiscated, and instructions to produce one true friend. While Jason is reduced to sleeping in the park, a young child name Emily (Abigail Breslin) and her mother Alexia (Ali Hillis) make his acquaintance and lead him to re-examine his personal prejudices and perceptions of what's truly important in life.

Jason's journey of self discovery continues throughout a series of other trying experiences and, in the end, Grandpa Red's "ultimate gift" of life lessons profoundly and permanently improves the quality of Jason's life. What's more, Jason's new perspective of his place in society has a very positive affect on the larger community. This very powerful film is funny, heartbreaking, and intensely thought-provoking."

I thought it was a pretty good movie. The comedic parts were funny, and there were some tear jerker scenes as well. This is one that I definitely recommend, but do take to heart the warnings above. 4 out of 5 stars for me.

You can learn more about or purchase the movie at the official website.

Do you have a review you would like to share? Leave your link below!

~*~Courtney~*~