 This blog post contains affiliate links. WARNING (Ha, ha!): This is lengthy, but thorough. If you've been hearing about the new book, Trim Healthy Mama, I'm hoping this will answer many of your questions about the book and the lifestyle it promotes.
I was thin most of my life until after my first pregnancy. Not uber-thin, like a twig, but nicely shapely and thin. Pregnancies and a busy life as a homeschooling mama have kept me from working out as often as I've needed over the years...and my weight has suffered because of it. And, I love chocolate. Yup. I admit it. Being honest here. By the time I reached my early 40s, we had switched to eating mostly whole foods...alongside our chocolate. :) You know, whole wheat bread/pasta products (many homemade), lots of veggies, locally raised grass-fed beef, fruit smoothies with breakfast, eggs from my friend's chicken coop across town, coconut oil and red palm oil and...chocolate. We even drank raw goat's milk and then raw cow's milk for about a year...but hardly ever chocolate milk. Go figure. :) But you know what? Even with eating so many healthy foods, we had no idea that we were messing with our blood sugar levels. We had no idea that I was pre-diabetic. When I learned that I was pre-diabetic, I was shocked.  What? After all these whole foods we were eating? Little did I know that combining a grass-fed, organic, natural steak with whole wheat pasta or a plain baked potato was wreaking havoc on my insulin levels! That's where a new lifestyle book, Trim Healthy Mama, came into our lives a few months ago. My doctor hadn't given me much information about how to reduce my risks of becoming a full-blown diabetic. All she told me was to "eat fewer carbs and lose some weight". She also handed me some pills to be taken twice a day, that deceive the liver (I think?) into putting less sugar into the bloodstream. I've learned that this is typical for doctors these days: Here's a pill; you don't need to change all that much about your lifestyle, because you'll end up diabetic anyway. It happens. My doctor is a very sweet lady. I'm not being disrespectful. But after talking to a lot of people who have suddenly learned that they are diabetic or pre-diabetic, they are usually getting the same message from their own doctors.
Three out of the four of us in my family were having some of the same issues: excess weight around the waistline, low energy levels, and craving sugar and carbs ALL. THE. TIME. Not very much fun! While Elmer and our daughters haven't been tested for diabetes, I have a hunch that at least one of them would show up as being pre-diabetic. And within 10 years, I'd bet you that two of them would both have been diagnosed as being diabetic, just like me. What to do? I hear women all the time saying how hopeless it is to be able to lose weight. They have tried every diet under the sun. The problem is that their diets probably have some good pointers that are helpful, but when women get close to their target weights and start eating "normal" foods again, they put the weight right back on. I wanted a change in our lifestyle, not just in our diet. At the same time, I didn't want our meals to be filled with artificial sweeteners that aren't good for us. Splenda, aspartame, sucralose, maltitol, etc. were no-no's for our family. I learned aboutTrim Healthy Mama in November or December and decided to give it a try. Prior to this, I had only been on one diet in my entire life - the South Beach Diet. I had lost 30 lbs. over a six-month time period, six years ago, but the reason I gave up on the diet was because every dessert was full of chemicals and artificial sweeteners like Splenda. Blech. Splenda was highly processed, and it made my muscles ache. Any homemade recipes I made with Splenda, including the recipes from their website and the back of the Splenda bag, tasted a-w-f-u-l. Since I kinda like desserts, that was a problem. The other problem with South Beach was that once I began re-introducing carbs like potatoes, rice, and bread products back into my diet, I was almost instantly "hooked" on them again and began to constantly crave them. I know that I am a beautiful person no matter what size I am, and while that is a healthy view of myself as a child of God, it also - unfortunately - slowed me down from taking a healthier step into getting down to my ideal weight. Trim Healthy Mama isn't a "let's lose weight quick" type of book. Using THM's method of meal planning is a lifetime plan, not a quick fix. If you want to lose weight quickly, try another diet plan. Do a cleanse (ugh). Drink a ton of water. Exercise yourself to death. Train for a marathon. Have bariatric surgery...because THM won't necessarily help you drop 60 pounds in 6 weeks. That would actually be unsafe. Trim Healthy Mama recommends that people plan on losing 4-8 pounds per month. That's do-able, and healthy. After 9 weeks of using Trim Healthy Mama in our home, and losing over 30 lbs. as a family, here's what we think: What we love about THM: Over 600 pages? In a non-fiction book? Yikes! Actually, this wasn't a problem, so don't let this stop you from reading THM. While I'm not a big fan of reading non-fiction books, I got through this book in a hurry! Why? It was so easy to read!  Serene and Pearl are two God-loving sisters who encourage and cajole each other throughout the chapters to help this book be a very comfortable read. I felt like I was sitting on their couch in their living room while they discussed the pros and cons of all kinds of topics related to food health. I loved this! Thankfully, anyone can start eating with the THM methods before they finish the entire book. I think it was helpful for me to read around 230 pages - and then I was ready! THM is:
What kinds of foods must I avoid when using the THM plan? That's always an important question people seem to have when starting a new way of eating. Well, virtually nothing is banned, even for those needing to lose weight - except sugar and many carb-laden foods. Unfortunately, even for the whole food purists, sugar calories are found in raw honey, organic maple syrup, date sugar, coconut sugar, evaporated cane juice sugar, etc. So even if I am eating sugar in its most natural form, my body still reacts to it in the same way as it would white table sugar. There go the spikes in my blood sugar levels. Not good! However, lest you think you must give up all cakes, cookies, pies, etc., that isn't true. There are some amazing recipes for no-carb or low-carb desserts and breads on the internet! You'll find some here on my website, as well. For people who want to or need to lose weight, they're going to want to tone down the types of fruits that they eat. We are primarily eating strawberries, blueberries (in very small amounts), lemons, and apples. Bananas and grapes are an extremely high sugar fruit, so those don't come into our home anymore; nor does orange juice or any juices. But see, the fruit group isn't completely eliminated! THM doesn't eliminate ANY food group, which is really nice! I'm not drinking milk with my lunch or dinner anymore, even though I've had milk with lunch and dinner for the last 44 years. Wow. I'm drinking almond milk these days for dinner - the "30 calories per serving" unsweetened variety. When eating a savory meal, I really don't want a sweet beverage, so the unsweetened plain almond milk is working well for me. I never knew I could make the switch! But I did, almost overnight. Yet, our fridge contains heavy whipping cream, half 'n half, sour cream, cheese, and plain traditional Greek yogurt. See? Dairy products aren't eliminated! Vegetables? We've always been a big veggie eating family. Lots of salads, broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, etc. THM recommends we avoid the starchy, higher glycemic index veggies like potatoes, but we can enjoy sweet potatoes, and in limited quantities, carrots...most everything else is allowed!  Grains? Yes! They are allowed - certain ones, and only when eaten with the right kinds of foods to compliment them in THM style so that they don't go straight to our waistlines. We have learned ways to eat oatmeal for some breakfasts, sweetened with stevia or another THM-approved sweetener like xylitol or erythritol (non-GMO). We can eat low-carb tortillas and wraps. Yum! Also, THM pancakes taste like crepes and are delicious! We can even eat popcorn, as long as it isn't laden with butter or high fat. Proteins? Yes! Lean grass-fed beef, chicken, salmon, eggs, cheese, and nuts are our primary sources of protein now. While the authors don't eat a few things themselves, like pork products and shellfish, they allow people to eat those foods if they feel comfortable eating them.  TO SUM UP WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT "TRIM HEALTHY MAMA":
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Just in time for you to help decorate your home for Resurrection Sunday, Nest of Posies has these beautiful Resurrection Sunday / Easter chalkboard printables free for you to download.
These will look so nice printed on cardstock and placed inside photo frames, or just placed in a prominent wall of your home.
I hope you find these to be as delightful as I did!
We are really looking forward to celebrating Resurrection Sunday with our family. Today, the girls and I even made our first Resurrection Garden - something I've wanted to do for a couple of years and just didn't take the time to get the supplies we needed.
These will look so nice printed on cardstock and placed inside photo frames, or just placed in a prominent wall of your home.
I hope you find these to be as delightful as I did!
We are really looking forward to celebrating Resurrection Sunday with our family. Today, the girls and I even made our first Resurrection Garden - something I've wanted to do for a couple of years and just didn't take the time to get the supplies we needed.
The Encouraging Home has detailed directions on how to make a Resurrection Garden with your family. Of course, you can customize it however you would like!
I actually think a lot of people in our town are making these this week. When I went shopping for the supplies, there were no tiny terra cotta pots available, not even the plastic versions. (All the other sizes were available, however, including the tiny sized terra cotta trays. Just not the pots.)
I finally went into Walmart and bought a small, clear plastic "bowl" that probably holds 1/2 cup of water - it's pretty small. But it would have looked tacky with the shiny, clear plastic rim staring at us for the tomb opening.
So, I bought a small bottle of Gorilla Glue and used the tip of the glue bottle to spread glue on the rim and outside edge of the tiny plastic bowl. Next, we rolled it through potting soil so that the soil stuck to the rim pretty well. After we partially buried the plastic bowl into the dirt, we still thought it was odd to have that clear, shiny plastic look inside the tomb...so the girls spread more Gorilla Glue inside the bowl and used a very old, cheap artist brush to "brush" dirt on top of the glue. It worked!
We're hoping that our grass seed sprouts in time, and that we haven't spread them too thickly on the soil. We might have got carried away with that...just a bit! The package says that that the grass seed will sprout in 4-7 days. We've placed the bowl in the south window of our living room, hoping that the sun it receives will cause those little seeds to SPROUT!
Tonight, after we had finished our project, I learned online that wheat grass sprouts in a day or so. I didn't know that, or we would have tried that instead, although I don't know where to buy wheat grass. Well, maybe next year!
I actually think a lot of people in our town are making these this week. When I went shopping for the supplies, there were no tiny terra cotta pots available, not even the plastic versions. (All the other sizes were available, however, including the tiny sized terra cotta trays. Just not the pots.)
I finally went into Walmart and bought a small, clear plastic "bowl" that probably holds 1/2 cup of water - it's pretty small. But it would have looked tacky with the shiny, clear plastic rim staring at us for the tomb opening.
So, I bought a small bottle of Gorilla Glue and used the tip of the glue bottle to spread glue on the rim and outside edge of the tiny plastic bowl. Next, we rolled it through potting soil so that the soil stuck to the rim pretty well. After we partially buried the plastic bowl into the dirt, we still thought it was odd to have that clear, shiny plastic look inside the tomb...so the girls spread more Gorilla Glue inside the bowl and used a very old, cheap artist brush to "brush" dirt on top of the glue. It worked!
We're hoping that our grass seed sprouts in time, and that we haven't spread them too thickly on the soil. We might have got carried away with that...just a bit! The package says that that the grass seed will sprout in 4-7 days. We've placed the bowl in the south window of our living room, hoping that the sun it receives will cause those little seeds to SPROUT!
Tonight, after we had finished our project, I learned online that wheat grass sprouts in a day or so. I didn't know that, or we would have tried that instead, although I don't know where to buy wheat grass. Well, maybe next year!
Have a blessed Resurrection Sunday with your family!
After the summer of 1964, life for Jocie Brooke will never be the same.
Life-changing events rarely happen in quiet Hollyhill, Kentucky, and when they do, they are few and far between. But for young Jocie Brooke and her family, they happen all at once during the humid summer of 1964. Though on the surface, things are just fine, it seems like everyone in Jocie’s life has something they’re not saying, something they’re hiding from her - and from themselves. As Jocie digs into her family’s past, she stirs up a whirlwind of discoveries. Will she find the answers everyone so desperately needs? Or will her questions lead to truths better left hidden?
Life-changing events rarely happen in quiet Hollyhill, Kentucky, and when they do, they are few and far between. But for young Jocie Brooke and her family, they happen all at once during the humid summer of 1964. Though on the surface, things are just fine, it seems like everyone in Jocie’s life has something they’re not saying, something they’re hiding from her - and from themselves. As Jocie digs into her family’s past, she stirs up a whirlwind of discoveries. Will she find the answers everyone so desperately needs? Or will her questions lead to truths better left hidden?
Joy In Our Journey's review:
My friend, Jan, read and wrote the review for this book today. Here's what she had to say about Scent of Lilacs:
This book was so good that I read it in one day. (At this stage of my life, I do not have children to take care, of just a husband!)
How did I feel about the new book Scent of Lilacs by Ann H. Gabhart?
Very simply, I just loved it!
Why?
I remember the time period, and Ms. Gabhart hit it just right. The setting was the perfect place for the story, and the characters fit right into the time and place. I appreciated the soft, gentle way she portrayed each character and the problems each faced.
Josie, as a thirteen year old girl on the brink of "growing up," was true to the time period. She was innocent in a way that fifty years later seems almost too hard to believe. Josie has two prayers: first, that her sister will come home, and second, she would like a dog. How God answers her prayers is a miracle.
David, Josie's father, feels that God has called him to be a pastor, but he is struggling with the fact that his wife left him and subsequently divorced him. What congregation would want a divorced pastor?
Oh yes, the book also has a character named Wes, who is Josie's best friend. He is, strangely enough, from Jupiter. Seems that his space ship left him on earth by accident!
Aunt Love cares for Josie and her father, but she is not quite as quick as she used to be, and often has some real disasters. Aunt Love also seems to have a deep seated problem or hurt that is bothering her. How can Josie help?
How God works a miracle in the middle of a tornado to heal this family is a satisfactory ending to this well written book. Remember Scent of Lilacs by Ann H. Gabhart.
This book was so good that I read it in one day. (At this stage of my life, I do not have children to take care, of just a husband!)
How did I feel about the new book Scent of Lilacs by Ann H. Gabhart?
Very simply, I just loved it!
Why?
I remember the time period, and Ms. Gabhart hit it just right. The setting was the perfect place for the story, and the characters fit right into the time and place. I appreciated the soft, gentle way she portrayed each character and the problems each faced.
Josie, as a thirteen year old girl on the brink of "growing up," was true to the time period. She was innocent in a way that fifty years later seems almost too hard to believe. Josie has two prayers: first, that her sister will come home, and second, she would like a dog. How God answers her prayers is a miracle.
David, Josie's father, feels that God has called him to be a pastor, but he is struggling with the fact that his wife left him and subsequently divorced him. What congregation would want a divorced pastor?
Oh yes, the book also has a character named Wes, who is Josie's best friend. He is, strangely enough, from Jupiter. Seems that his space ship left him on earth by accident!
Aunt Love cares for Josie and her father, but she is not quite as quick as she used to be, and often has some real disasters. Aunt Love also seems to have a deep seated problem or hurt that is bothering her. How can Josie help?
How God works a miracle in the middle of a tornado to heal this family is a satisfactory ending to this well written book. Remember Scent of Lilacs by Ann H. Gabhart.
Author Ann Gabhart
| I started writing when I was ten and have been writing ever since. I've now published twenty novels for adults and young adults. I'm married to Darrell Gabhart. We got married when we were both very young, but we defied the odds and are still married all these years later. Maybe because we went to church together and were committed to the Christian life. We have three children, Johnson, Tarasa, and Daniel, who are all grown and married and they've given us nine wonderful grandchildren. I've been going to the same small country church since I was seventeen, and I used my memories of how it used to be in Scent of Lilacs. I like walking in the fields and woods, finding wildflowers and spotting birds and wildlife while trying to keep in shape. I'm crazy about dogs, with three of my own and several neighbor dogs who like to hang out in my yard or take walks with me. |
Scent of Lilacs is available March 2013 at your favorite bookseller ~ from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
I received one copy of Scent of Lilacs from Revell in exchange for Joy In Our Journey's opinion and thoughts in this review. No other compensation was provided.
When life suddenly becomes a few shades darker, how do you make sense of it? Where do you put the pain and confusion? When faced with a series of tragic events, JJ Heller and her husband/co-writer, Dave, decided to pull out their songwriting book to process the hurt. The culmination of these songs eventually became their sixth studio album, LOVED.
Recently, I received a new Christian album from JJ Heller ~ Loved ~ to review and share a copy with you.
Wow. Her music is beautiful. Her words are deep and meaningful, not the repetitive, shallow lyrics that are in some albums these days.
Wanna take a quick listen and see what you think of "Loved", her new album?
I thought so. Here you go!
Wow. Her music is beautiful. Her words are deep and meaningful, not the repetitive, shallow lyrics that are in some albums these days.
Wanna take a quick listen and see what you think of "Loved", her new album?
I thought so. Here you go!
JJ Heller and her husband work hard and save hard to pay cash for each album that they produce. I like that. Just like the average guy around town. Here's more info. on why LOVED is written in a deeper style than some of their past albums:
I've been given one new JJ Heller CD to give away to one of you fantastic readers! If you love Christian music that is deeper and more meaningful than the average fluff, this is a gem. This giveaway ends on Friday, March 29th. Please, only U.S. entrants. Thanks. :)
Entrants must be 18 years or older; only U.S. residents are eligible to enter this giveaway. I will select the winner of this prize using Random.org (via this Rafflecopter entry form, below).
I will be verifying the winning entrant's giveaway entry options to make sure they are valid. In the past several months, multiple potential winners were excluded from winning even though their names had been selected randomly as winners, because they said that they had signed up for email subscriptions but had not completed the process, which includes clicking on an email you will receive to confirm your subscription. An email subscription to Joy In Our Journey.com is not a requirement to enter our giveaways, but if you do use an email subscription option to enter to win, please make sure that you click on the confirmation email that you will receive. That will validate your entry. Thank you! :)
I received one copy of JJ Heller's audio CD, "Loved," in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own. No other compensation was provided.
Hosea, Amos, Micah, Isaiah, Jonah: little known prophets of old, with books of the Old Testament attributed to their names.
Jerusalem, Tekoa, Israel, Samaria, Judah: real geographical sites of happenings told in the Old Testament.
Jehoash, Jereboam II, Zechariah, Shallum, Menahem, Pekahiah, Pekah, Amaziah, Uzziah, Jothan, Ahaz, Hezekiah: kings of Israel and of Judah during the period of this story.
Gomer: the misfit harlot who is hard to respect and love and yet, God commanded Hosea to woo her, marry her, have children with her, and most of all, love her to know his God, Yahweh.
This is an almost inconceivable command which we are likely to skim over and ignore because of the abominable descriptions of this woman and her activities who is center-front in Hosea's story.
Yet, God had a definite purpose for this story and compared it to Israel's love and rejection of Himself.
It is used to teach lessons that we all must learn. These people are connected and brought to life with their emotions, intentions, and ideas through the gift of great imagination and excellent writing.
This was a difficult story to read as a Christian, and it had to have been a difficult story to write.
Yet it is accomplished in a way that leaves the reader needing to read more and eventually come to the end of the story.
In Love in a Broken Vessel, Gomer becomes a very real personality, a picture for all of us as we judge those less fortunate around us every day. We generally read Hosea, the book, and think only of him and his frustration with this woman as he attempts to follow the commands of Yahweh. We know that there was a huge purpose in the telling, and we also know that Gomer, as a woman, had her own story to tell.
It must have been a very sad one.
Gomer connects with Hosea as he pursues her, but very reluctantly. She does not understand or even like the life to which he introduces her in his village, Tekoa.
She is rejected by most of the villagers and used by those who have no respect for her; she eventually learns to become a potter as a trade, an escape from her mundane life, and she falls in love with creating beautiful clay objects. Hence, the title of the book, Love in a Broken Vessel.
Gomer does not relate at all to Hosea's travels throughout Israel and Judah, feeling always that he has deserted her, and so she falls back on the trade she knows most well, prostitution.
But the one true God, Yahweh, has other plans for her and insists that Hosea, as broken-hearted and even becoming hard-hearted toward Gomer as he does, continue to pursue Gomer and bring her back. He never stops loving her, just as God continues to love all His children no matter how far away we stray from His Word and His teachings. Hosea has a difficult time ignoring his Yahweh.
This is an emotional story, with many personalities coming to life and expressing their feelings. Life is real, life is hard, and there are many disappointments along the way. There are also untold rewards for following the call of our Lord.
The ways of the LORD are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them.
Hosea 14:9
| Mesu Andrews is the author of Love Amid the Ashes and Love's Sacred Song. She is an active speaker who has devoted herself to passionate and intense study of Scripture. Harnessing her deep understanding and love for God's Word, Andrews brings the biblical world vividly alive for her readers. She lives in Washington. |
Love in a Broken Vessel is available as of March 2013 at your favorite bookseller - from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
I received one copy of Love in a Broken Vessel from Revell, in exchange for my honest review. No other compensation was provided.
In this new regency-era romance, Ruth Axtell deftly creates a world where black and white burst into a confusion of colors - and no one is who they seem to be. Axtell’s expert storytelling and attention to historical detail bring the Regency era alive with intrigue and romance.
Lady Celine Wexham seems the model British subject. French by birth but enjoying life in 1813 as a widowed English countess, she is in the unique position of being able to help those in need--or to spy for the notorious Napoleon Bonaparte. When Rees Phillips of the British Foreign Office is sent to pose as the countess's butler and discover where her true loyalties lie, he is confident he will uncover the truth. But the longer he is in her fashionable townhouse in London's West End, the more his staunch loyalty to the Crown begins to waver as he falls under Lady Wexham's spell.
Lady Celine Wexham seems the model British subject. French by birth but enjoying life in 1813 as a widowed English countess, she is in the unique position of being able to help those in need--or to spy for the notorious Napoleon Bonaparte. When Rees Phillips of the British Foreign Office is sent to pose as the countess's butler and discover where her true loyalties lie, he is confident he will uncover the truth. But the longer he is in her fashionable townhouse in London's West End, the more his staunch loyalty to the Crown begins to waver as he falls under Lady Wexham's spell.
Joy In Our Journey's review ~ by my friend, Jan:
This was a good book, but I found that the middle of the story became a little long. There was also a rather intense kissing scene, so you might want to preview it before your teens read the book. Or, if you avoid books with passionate kissing, this may be one to not read this time:
It was a dark night; the lady and her maid were gone at last. This is his chance! Now can he find out what milady is really up to. Is she a spy for France, or not? It was the perfect chance, so what went wrong? Why is he huddled up under milady's gowns, cramped and hurting all over, in fear of his job, if not his very life?
So begins the story of Celine and Rees, two star-crossed young people; one French and the other English. This is just my type of story! Ruth Axtell has written a beautifully described romance in Moonlight Masquerade.
The descriptions,of life in Regency England and the fast-paced action made this book an attention-getting read that I finished in one day. :) I enjoyed the budding attraction between Celine and Rees and the slow but sure steps that they took to a God-ordained marriage.
The interesting detailed descriptions of the gowns of this period were fascinating. Just reading about the number of times they needed to change clothes for each activity made me tired! Oh, except for the gowns, it just might have been worth it!
For a peep back into time to the English aristocracy and the conflict between the English and the French expatriates, Moonlight Masquerade by Ruth Axtell is a book I think that you will enjoy reading.
Moonlight Masquerade is available as of March 2013 at your favorite bookseller - from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
I received one copy of Moonlight Masquerade from Baker Publishing in exchange for this website's honest review of the book. No other compensation was provided.
Website: http://veggietales.com/littlehouse/
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/veggietales
How fun is this? A new VeggieTales video! Here's the newest: The Little House That Stood.
Enter below to try to win a new copy of this VeggieTales DVD for yourself! (Email subscribers will want to click back through this email to enter the giveaway.)
About The Little House That Stood
When the Three Little Pigs roll into Cabbageville looking to build some new houses, they meet one builder with a plan and two without a clue! Larry builds with hay, Mr. Lunt with bricks, but only Bob builds his houses on a firm foundation - following the wise plans from the Master Builder's Handbook! Will the Little Piggies make the right choices when it comes to building their houses - and their lives - on solid ground? Find out in this parable that shows kids when they follow God's blueprints, then can stand strong when the storms come!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/veggietales
Twitter: https://twitter.com/veggietales
How fun is this? A new VeggieTales video! Here's the newest: The Little House That Stood.
Enter below to try to win a new copy of this VeggieTales DVD for yourself! (Email subscribers will want to click back through this email to enter the giveaway.)
About The Little House That Stood
When the Three Little Pigs roll into Cabbageville looking to build some new houses, they meet one builder with a plan and two without a clue! Larry builds with hay, Mr. Lunt with bricks, but only Bob builds his houses on a firm foundation - following the wise plans from the Master Builder's Handbook! Will the Little Piggies make the right choices when it comes to building their houses - and their lives - on solid ground? Find out in this parable that shows kids when they follow God's blueprints, then can stand strong when the storms come!
Bob the Tomato, Larry the Cucumber, and friends come together to share the parable of 'The Wise and Foolish Builders' from Matthew 7 in their version, The Little House That Stood!
This DVD teaches a lesson in making good choices and also features a Veggie retelling of the classic Humpty Dumpty story, "The Good Egg of Gooseville." When you go to their website, please be sure to check out all the amazing resources they have too - a discussion guide for parents, coloring pages, trailer, and more!
This DVD teaches a lesson in making good choices and also features a Veggie retelling of the classic Humpty Dumpty story, "The Good Egg of Gooseville." When you go to their website, please be sure to check out all the amazing resources they have too - a discussion guide for parents, coloring pages, trailer, and more!
Julieanne's take on the new VeggieTales movie:
What did our family think about it? We enjoyed the first movie selection of the DVD, a combination of The Three Little Pigs nursery rhyme from Mother Goose and the parable Jesus told in the Bible about the builders that built houses on solid rock and on sand. It was typical VeggieTales style, all the way.
The "Silly Song with Larry", one of the pieces you can count on while viewing a VeggieTales DVD, didn't disappoint us, although it might have been a bit odder than normal. :)
The last piece of the video was all about selfishness and helping and serving others. It combined pieces of many Mother Goose nursery rhymes and poems into the video, which could have been very confusing to many children who haven't been read the nursery rhymes.
My girls, however, were not happy about one very obvious part of this movie. The mayor, whom we don't know if he is a paid government employee or an unpaid volunteer, is getting tired of serving his community and dealing with their problems and complaints. He decides to leave and go on vacation, leaving his community in disarray. The final conclusion by him toward the end of the story is that he should be serving his community all the time. Sounds good - at first glance. But the kinds of things he's asked to help with sometimes look just like economic handouts instead of gathering friends together to help solve a problem. My girls noticed this right away and complained about it to us. "Let's give everyone all these handouts and do everything for them so they don't need to work together as a community," grumbled one of our daughters. It's true - most, if not all of the help that is given is offered by the mayor himself, and not as people working together to solve a problem of their own.
You may think we are really reaching far to come to this conclusion, but we all agreed that if the leader in the movie had been a pastor, we would have had entirely different conclusions. However, since everyone in the community was always whining and complaining to the mayor to solve their problems, this bothered us. We're not anti-government, but we also believe in churches helping and serving, and in individuals helping and serving themselves and others, not just relying on the government to do it all for them.
As well, we didn't see anyone in the movie praying and asking God to help them first with their struggles. Instead, they went directly to the mayor first. We personally don't think that the mayor was representing God or Jesus, just in case you wondered. This could have been a great opportunity in the movie to show children how to handle stress and financial difficulties they will encounter.
The DVD is around 49 minutes long. Starting Tuesday, March 5th, you can buy it at Christianbook.com and other sources that sell Christian, family-friendly DVDs, or you may enter here to win your own copy!
Click here or on the graphic below to download and print some new VeggieTales coloring pages:
Click here or on the graphic below to download and print some new VeggieTales coloring pages:
And parents, how about a discussion guide you may use with your children after watching the movie together?
Now for our giveaway of one new copy of
VeggieTales: The Little House That Stood!
Entrants must be 18 years or older; only U.S. residents are eligible to enter this giveaway. I will select the winner of this prize using Random.org (via this Rafflecopter entry form, below).
I will be verifying the winning entrant's giveaway entry options to make sure they are valid. In the past several months, multiple potential winners were excluded from winning even though their names had been selected randomly as winners, because they said that they had signed up for email subscriptions but had not completed the process, which includes clicking on an email you will receive to confirm your subscription. An email subscription to Joy In Our Journey.com is not a requirement to enter our giveaways, but if you do use an email subscription option to enter to win, please make sure that you click on the confirmation email that you will receive. That will validate your entry. Thank you! :)
I will be verifying the winning entrant's giveaway entry options to make sure they are valid. In the past several months, multiple potential winners were excluded from winning even though their names had been selected randomly as winners, because they said that they had signed up for email subscriptions but had not completed the process, which includes clicking on an email you will receive to confirm your subscription. An email subscription to Joy In Our Journey.com is not a requirement to enter our giveaways, but if you do use an email subscription option to enter to win, please make sure that you click on the confirmation email that you will receive. That will validate your entry. Thank you! :)
I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
Hi! I'm Julieanne!
You'll find me in the kitchen
trying new Trim Healthy Mama recipes, loving God, and carrying out that love as I bless my husband and teen daughters.
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