This phrase always makes my New Year’s resolution list: read more books. I believe reading is good for the soul, but I usually makes excuses not to do it. Excuses or laziness? Hmm…both. I choose Netflix, social media or a nap, none of which grow my mind. Reading is a gift. Our kids love when we read them books. I can still remember certain books I read my children that both of us loved. Guess what, Mamas? We have time on our hands! Time that might go on for quite a while. There aren’t enough good Netflix shows to fill all that time. If we’re honest, most of those Netflix shows are a waste of time. Reading can change our hearts and minds. Reading can bless our families and prompt discussion. It’s time to read!
One of my favorite people to follow on Instagram is Ruth Chou Simons. She is a Christian author, artist and speaker. She is raising 6 boys in the mountains of Colorado and is just lovely. Her words are honest, heartfelt and challenging. Goodness, I get full every time I spend a moment with her wise words. She and her husband have released a new devotional book for families called Foundations: 12 Biblical Truths to Shape a Family. I pre-ordered this book because I was so excited about it, and did I devour it immediately? No, I got busy. But TODAY, I have time on my hands and so my family is sharing this book together. There are 12 foundational truths and each one has 5 days of devotional reading. The daily readings are just the right length, not too long for short attention spans. Each day gives a couple discussion questions and a verse to memorize. We are loving it! The pages are full of Ruth’s beautiful artwork which awes my creative mind. The words are simple and relatable and true. I am thrilled for the opportunity to do this book as a family and use our time for some heart-to-heart truth.
“You should read to your children!” I’ve always heard this and would completely agree, but do I always do it? No. I get busy and tired and sometimes they ask a million questions for every page of the book. Guess who has a million minutes to spare? We do! My sweet friend wrote this new children’s book and it is excellent. I love supporting local authors who step out on faith to make a dream a reality. Robyn did just that and I think she created a forever treasure. This book begins the story of a life-long friendship between two corgis. My daughter loves dogs and seeing their real-life picture at the end brought all the smiles. That’s right, this book is based of real-life people and dogs who call Royse City and Rockwall their home. The illustrations are delightful and the story is easy to follow. Young children will enjoy the pictures, early readers can recognize words they know and my elementary daughter was able to read it all by herself. I’m so excited for the adventure to continue in her next book. Help support a local author and MOM who is putting pen to paper and get this book today!
This is a time of toxic thoughts. The heavy news of Coronavirus is coming at us from every angle. Our lives have drastically changed and there is no specific date for going ‘back to normal.’ Some of us have been hired to a job we never expected: Homeschool Mom. I’m so thankful for our Gather community of moms to do this alongside. We are thriving, not just surviving! Grab a copy of Jennie’s book and learn a new tool to tackling toxic thoughts. We have a choice about what we think. We can choose to stop the downward spiral and instead look to Jesus for hope and truth. I think it’s important to remember that our real battle is ‘not against flesh and blood, but against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.’ (Ephesians 6:12) Satan wants us defeated and depressed about what is happening in our world today. He is using fear and anxiety to steal your focus. Our God is still in control and at work in ways that we can’t see with the physical eye. Now is the time to choose Christ!
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