Breakthrough to Clarity Bible Contest and Giveaway

I was recently accepted as a Tyndale blogger. I do not yet have a Tyndale book review to offer; however, I am pleased to let you know about their current sweepstakes:

The New Living Translation Break Through to Clarity Bible Contest and Giveaway

Visit http://www.facebook.com/NewLivingTranslation  and click on the tab that says "Sweepstakes”

Fill out a simple form, take a quick Bible clarity survey, invite your friends to join and you’ll be entered to win one of our exciting prizes.

With each fan number milestone a new prize will be given away.

Grand Prize

Apple iPad 64G and a Life Application Study Bible
Awarded when the NLT Fan Page hits the fifth milestone
Retail Value: $829.00

2nd Prize - Already awarded

32G iPod Touch and a Life Application Study Bible
Awarded when the NLT Fan Page hits the fourth milestone
Retail Value: $300.00

3rd Prize – Will be awarded when fan count hits: 3500

Kindle DX and a Life Application Study Bible
Awarded when the NLT Fan Page hits the third milestone
Retail Value: $489.00

4th Prize Will be awarded when fan count hits: TBD

Apple iPad 16G and a Life Application Study Bible
Awarded when the New Living Translation Fan Page hits the second milestone
Retail Value: $499.00

5th Prize Will be awarded when fan count hits: TBD

Apple iPad 32G and a Life Application Study Bible
Awarded when the NLT Fan Page hits the first milestone
Retail Value: $599.00

Prize Eligibility – Recently updated to include more countries

Sweepstakes participants and winner(s) can be U.S. residents of the 50 United States, or residents of any country that is NOT embargoed by the United States, but cannot be residents of Belgium, Norway, Sweden, or India. In addition, participants and winner(s) must be at least 18 years old, as determined by the Company.

Sweepstakes Started

March 17, 2010 @ 10:24 am (PDT)

Sweepstakes Ends

April 30, 2010 @ 10:24 am (PDT)

Wait, there’s more!

Visit http://biblecontest.newlivingtranslation.com/index.php for a chance to win a trip for two to Hawaii!

Here are the details:

Choose one of six passages of Scripture from the New Living Translation and consider:
How do these verses encourage you to know God better?
What is God teaching you in this passage?
How does this passage apply to your life?

Submit your answer and you’ll be entered to win.

Just for signing up: Everybody Wins! Win a Free .mp3 download from the NLT’s new Red Letters Project. It’s the dynamic, new presentation of the sung and narrated words of the Gospel of Matthew. You win the download just for entering! Or choose to download the NLT Philippians Bible Study, complete with the Book of Philippians in the NLT.

Every day, one person will win the best-selling Life Application Study Bible!

The grand prize: One person will win a fantastic trip for two to the crystal clear waters of the Turtle Bay Resort on Oahu’s North Shore in beautiful Hawaii.

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A Prayer for Your Women's Ministry

Today I was bitter.

Bitter about things that were not going the way they should for a church event.

Bitter because I felt women were passing up something great.

Then God convicted me through the message of another blogger - I was being judgemental when I should have been standing in the gap for women in prayer.

So that led to this combination of scriptures I have put together as a regular prayer for the women's ministry at my church. I thought I would share it with you:

I pray that the women of __(your church name)___ will be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that we may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that we may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Colossians 2:2-3)

I pray that in Christ the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him we will be built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his spirit. (Ephesians 2:21-22)

I pray that we will not lose connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow. (Colossians 2:19)

I pray that Satan will not outwit us, for we are not unaware of his schemes. (2 Corinthians 2:11)

That we will wrestle in prayer for each other, that we may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. (Colossians 4:12)

That we will put on the full armor of God so that we can take our stand against the devil's schemes. (Ephesians 6:10)

I pray that we will put off falsehood and speak truthfully to our neighbors, for we are all members of one body. (Ephesians 4:25)

I pray that we will not let any unwholesome talk come out of our mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. That we would not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom we were sealed for the day of redemption. That we would get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. That we would be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as Christ forgave us. (Ephesians 4:29-32)

That we will submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. (Ephesians 5:21)

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)

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Winner of the Open House Giveaway!

We have a winner! Elizabeth Jones has won a $30 gift card to Christianbook.com in the Open House Giveaway. Congratulations, Elizabeth!

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Book Review: The Language of Love & Respect

The Language of Love & Respect The Language of Love & Respect: Cracking the By Dr. Emerson Eggerichs / Thomas Nelson

I am struggling with my review on this book for two reasons:

1.
The Language of Love & Respect is an extemely insightful,"dead-on" accurate description of communication between a husband and wife. If you have ever felt like you were speaking German and your spouse was speaking French, this book will help you translate. If the two of you feel like you love each other deeply and are both trying to make your marriage work, but you just can't seem to stop arguing, you will find answers here.

2.
This book was at least twice as long as it needed to be. The points were often over emphasized. There were so many letters and examples for each point. They were all helpful, but as a whole it was overkill. There was also a lot of extra time in the beginning chapters devoted to clarifying things for "political correctness." There were also too many acronyms used.

So should you buy this book? I would still say "yes." I think the information is too valuable to your marriage to pass it up because it is wordy. The helpfulness outweighs its tedious style. I just think that a book that is intended to help marriages should be written to a wider audience. Many couples need to hear the information that it contains, but would never pick up a 300+ page book. A much lighter "handbook" style would have been more appropriate.

I am a Booksneeze blogger, and a copy of this book was provided to me for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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That Sweet Kid Who Carried My Lunch Trays

About 24 years ago, my best friend decided to break up with her boyfriend.  I thought it was a great idea.  I really didn't care for the boy she was "dating" (this was 7th grade).  Actually, I pretty much thought he was a jerk who didn't care about anything.  I had let him know this a few times, too.

When they broke up, she returned some jewelry that he had given her.  She just felt like that was the right thing to do.  That day in the lunch line, he approached me and asked why she gave back that jewelry.  He seemed genuinely hurt that she would do this, and explained that it was a gift he meant for her to keep.  So we started talking.

Then he carried my lunch to the table.  We continued talking throughout lunch.

Almost every day after that, this boy would stand in line with me and carry my lunch tray to the table.  We became very good friends.  I learned that I was really wrong about him, and that he had a maturity and a respect for women that most boys his age didn't have.

When he travelled to California that summer, we wrote letters to each other.  We had become great friends, and we remained great friends throughout middle school and high school.  It wasn't until the end of our junior year that we actually started dating.

Eighteen years ago today, I said "I do" and married that boy. 

He's still just as sweet, he still shows me tremendous respect, and he's still a great friend.

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Book Review: Homeschooling for the Rest of Us by Sonya Haskins

Homeschooling for the Rest of Us: How Your One-of-a-Kind Family Can Make Homeschooling and Real Life Work By Sonya Haskins / Bethany House

This is a refreshing read for homeschooling parents. Sonya Haskins offers a real life view of what it means to homeschool in a non-perfect household. She is also respectful of the reader's time, not over-emphasizing her points just to produce a long book. Sonya gets to the point and moves on; I read this book in one evening.

This is not a book that lists and evaluates curriculum choices and teaching methods. Instead, it offers suggestions on how to incorporate homeschooling into your life. The focus is on rejecting perfectionism, building a foundation on positive relationships, and recognizing that the burden and responsibility of education is on the student. I'm all about rejecting perfectionism, so I was hooked from the beginning when I read, "Even if perfectionism could be achieved, what's the cost to your sanity?"

I enjoyed reading Sonya's stories of living in a "very messy house" and serving sandwiches and leftovers during the times when she needs to be a working, writing mom who happens to homeschool. I also enjoyed reading the stories and insights of other homeschoolers, which are included in the margins throughout the book.

This book is very honest about frustrations that homeschooling families face, and helps to sort out what needs to be addressed and what needs to be ignored. She covers socialization, public perception, dealing with relatives and friends, and working with a tight budget.

I believe that Sonya achieved her stated goal to offer helpful suggestions without being judgemental. She offers examples of routines and schedules while noting that a more relaxed atmosphere is okay. She gives a well-rounded view of support groups and extra-curricular activities, but leaves it to the parent to decide how much is appropriate. Any time her own methods are given, they are truly given as options she has chosen that may not work for everyone. Finally, she recognizes that public or private school may be the right choice at certian times. In the end, she reminds us to sift through the advice and find our own path.


Buy Homeschooling for the Rest of Us at Christianbook.com.

A copy of this book was provided to me by Bethany House for my honest review of the product. All views expressed are my own. Tabitha's Team is an affiliate of Christian Book Distributers, and purchases made through the links on this post will support Tabitha's Team Inc with a commission.



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Awesome Affordable Christian Women Conferences

This is not a sponsored post, but it may sound like one. I almost missed out on something great, and I don't want you to miss out either. A couple of weeks ago, I was visitng Amy Bayliss' site (as I often do), and noticed that she was running several giveaway contests. I signed up to enter two of them.

One happened to be for a ticket to the Homeschool Refresher conference that Heart of The Matter Online was hosting.  I left my comment, connected in a few places for my entries, and forgot all about it.  I had seen the agenda for the conference and thought, "Oh, that's nice."  But honestly, I think because it was only $12.95, I pictued it more as a chat session.  Besides, I'm busy trying to get this new web design up that I keep promising.

Well. I won the ticket.  It was only after attending that I truly realized the value of this conference.  It was four full days of conference sessions.  Qualified, helpful speakers who did a lot more than just promote their products.  They gave me information, tips, and much needed confidence.  I have pages of notes, a stack of handouts, and a list of resources to follow up on.

I'm embarrassed that I didn't just pay the $12.95 and sign up to begin with.  This conference was one of many that are offered by A Woman Inspired.  These conferences are very affordable.  In my opinion, they are giving them away. 

There is a general conference for Christian Women coming up March 15-19.  The Get Revived Conference for Christian Women is the same price.  $12.95.   That's twelve dollars and ninety-five cents.  If you ever wanted to attend a Christian Women's conference, but could not shell out the money or leave your family, here is your chance to be blessed.

Also, if you have an idea for a class that you can offer to Christian women, you can host your own event on their website and make some extra money.

For goodness sake, let's support this site, so that they can keep it so affordable.  I'm on my way over to buy my ticket now, so come and join me.



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