 A favorite family tradition throughout my growing up years was to make cut-out holiday cookies at least 2-3 times per year. I remember making these for Christmas and Easter, although there may have been other times during the year that we enjoyed these homemade treats. Of course, I had to do the same with my own children, right? We have followed in a similar pattern with my own girls, except that we usually make autumn cookies, like you see above in the photo, sometimes Christmas cookies, and sometimes, Resurrection Sunday crosses. I must admit that I LOVE making cut-out cookies and helping the girls frost them. Yes, it makes a messy kitchen and dining room, and the clean-up takes me longer than with some other projects we do around the house, but I enjoy this time with the girls very much! I've always used one particular recipe for the cut-out cookies, because my definition of a wonderful cut-out cookie is a bit on the thicker side, soft and chewy on the inside, and firm enough to handle to frost with icing. Yesterday, while my husband and oldest daughter went hunting, Brittany and I mixed up the dough for the cut-out cookies.  We didn't have enough white flour to make the larger batch of dough, so we combined regular white flour and whole wheat pastry flour together to make a healthier dough, albeit unplanned. It is my understanding that whole wheat pastry flour is just as healthy as regular whole wheat flour; it is a different variety of wheat which, when milled, produces a lighter variety of flour. I'm not sure it's good to make yeast breads or cakes with whole wheat pastry flour; I'd have to do some research into that. However, we have enjoyed using whole wheat pastry flour for:
I wasn't sure how the cookies would turn out, as I didn't want to give up the texture and flavor of my original recipe. Guess what? They were delicious! They baked up soft and chewy and wonderful. Even though they aren't made completely with whole wheat pastry flour, they are delightful. I might add a bit more flour the next time I make these, just to see how they turn out with 3/4 whole wheat pastry flour, and 1/4 white flour. Maybe I'll be brave enough to try them with 100% whole wheat pastry flour? Hmmm. Maybe not. Here is the recipe I use for the "healthier" version of my cut-out cookies: Roll-Out Cookies 1-1/4 cups butter, softened 2 cups sugar (or organic evap. cane juice sugar) 2 eggs 1 tsp. vanilla extract 3 cups whole wheat pastry flour 2-3 cups regular flour (if dough is sticky, add the extra cup of flour) 2 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. salt 1/2 cup milk Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until fluffy. Sift dry ingredients together and add alternately to creamed mixture with milk. If mixture is too sticky, add flour, a little at a time, until the dough is easy to handle. Roll dough 1/8 to 1/4" thick. Cut out cookies, dipping cutter in flour before each use, if necessary. Bake for 6-8 minutes, or until edges are set and golden. Makes 36-42 average sized cookies.  After the cookies had cooled on cooling racks, and the hunters had arrived back home, we ate dinner...and then it was time to make frosting. I almost always make homemade frosting when we need it. I really don't care for the taste of the processed store-bought frosting. There's some odd taste in there that just isn't right! Here is my favorite recipe for making homemade frosting. If you prefer to use coconut oil (in its cool room temperature form) instead of the shortening, feel free. The icing won't set up and harden on the decorated cookies, so it will stick to layers of waxed paper if you are layering these cookies in a box. If you are planning on shipping these cookies somewhere, you'll want to use shortening instead of coconut oil. If the weather is hot, I don't think you'll want to use the coconut oil, because it will turn to a liquid state. That might make quite a mess on your cookies! You could also try to use 100% butter and no shortening altogether. I decided to use a combination of butter, shortening, and coconut oil: Buttery Frosting
And, of course, frost cookies and add sprinkles, if desired! I usually buy seasonal sprinkles the day or week after a particular holiday, getting them for 50-75% off...and I save them for the following year. 
0 Comments
 This page contains affiliate links. In "real life", on March 31, 2000, Randy Simpkins came home early from the office to help his wife, Christal, pack for a vacation to the beach. Christal asked Randy to load their two year-old, Joe, into his car seat. Instead, Randy left Joe riding his tricycle in the driveway while he went inside to turn off the lights and lock up. They lived on a rural farm in a safe area. Their kids played outside all the time. Randy didn’t give it a second thought to leave Joe for a couple of minutes, figuring he’d be cooped up long enough on the drive to the beach. When Randy returned outside, Joe was gone. His tricycle was laying on its side, motionless. Randy called for Joe and looked around the yard. He was greeted with an eerie silence. A sudden feeling of panic rushed over him like a wave. Randy did not realize it at the time, but the next eight hours would put him through a life-altering roller coaster of emotions that would challenge his priorities regarding God, his family and community.  The 'real' Randy Simpkins Family Ten years later, this has now been made into a feature-length film starring Dean Cain (Superman in Lois and Clark - The New Adventures of Superman). Interestingly, the film was made in the same location as where the real event took place.  Dean Cain My family was able to enjoy watching The Way Home a couple of weeks ago, thanks to Lionsgate Studio. I cannot even imagine the horror and pain of having a child lost for more than a few minutes. I pray that you and I never have to go through this kind of pain. In our community, a 12-year-old girl was babysitting her twin nephew and niece almost exactly 10 years ago, and she ended up missing while babysitting that evening, on October 30. She had been abducted by a man who was known by her aunt. While the police suspected the man, they couldn't find any evidence of a crime, nor could they find her body. It took almost ten years to find the evidence for the person they suspected of committing the crime, and he will go to trial soon. I used to see this girl's mother almost weekly at an office supply store in our town, and it was painful to see her going through the grieving process. I have prayed for her many times over the years. I'm not going to give away the ending of The Way Home. You'll have to view it for yourself. I will tell you that we all enjoyed watching The Way Home. The acting was professional, although we did notice that there were a few slower spots in the movie. The Way Home is an excellent family film that has no inappropriate scenes, language, nudity, or anything else that would be objectionable. It is the kind of movie that will promote and enhance your faith and your relationships with the members of your own family. I would say that this film is appropriate for ages 10 and  Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the 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.
|
 2007 Chevy Impala |  1997 Ford F-150 |
Both vehicles have decent safety records for collisions and impacts, so we're comfortable with that. We usually drive our "previously owned" vehicles for about 14-17 years before upgrading them, so I'll start praying now that even with a young driver behind the wheel, we won't need to upgrade sooner than what we normally do!
We've decided to begin teaching her some of the rules of the road now, before she turns 15, so that when she begins to learn how to drive behind the wheel, maybe it won't be quite so stressful. We also already know that she has excellent vision, so she is one step ahead of me with that, thankfully. However, she still loves to read books in the car, so now we're going to occasionally have her focus on 1-2 new skills or driving laws for her to observe while we're driving out and about, around town.
Here are some materials and links to websites and other driver education options for you to consider. I've already picked up a "hard copy" of the Driver Manual for our state, and we'll begin working through this together.
An excellent parent-teen driving agreement is available from AAA below:
AAA also has a parent-teen driving program called "Teaching Your Teen To Drive" that is available for under $30. I haven't used this yet, but we may consider it in the future.
You'll also see some driving games online to help teach a few skills. Of course, this isn't as useful as getting out on the road and practicing the real thing, but it may help your young adult to visualize the technique that is being learned.
There also seem to be some educational and useful driving practice games from www.DriversEd.com, but please note that some features of this website are not free.
How do you intend to begin teaching your young adult to drive?
What kinds of things have you done with your young adult children to help them become better drivers?
What kinds of things have you done with your young adult children to help them become better drivers?
Lanschool is an educational computer software program that enables the teacher or parent to monitor, well, monitors!
Lanschool software gives home education parents and classroom teachers the ability to keep close tabs on what the children are doing on computers during the school day. LanSchool is not an antivirus program, nor is it filtering software to prevent children from accessing inappropriate material on the internet.
When I first received the download from LanSchool, I wasn't sure how this particular piece of software was going to work for my family. It was easy to download, and when I did have a question, customer service was only a phone call away and was very helpful. The main computer that I use most of the time (our desktop) was enabled as the "teacher computer", and the laptop was enabled as the "student computer" for LanSchool purposes.
After having LanSchool installed on my computer for over a month now, we have found that for our particular family, we have barely used it. I'll tell you why, and I'll show you some situations where LanSchool could be very helpful for families who educate their children at home.
We found that LanSchool, at least at this time in our lives, is not really a necessary component to our homeschooling, because:
1. Our house, while being around 1750 square feet, is designed around a central living area. Our hallway is only about six feet long. I'm only a few footsteps away from anyone in our home, at any given time, no matter where they are inside. (We only have a two-bedroom house.)
2. Our children have been taught to follow first-time obedience. When they are assigned a school task on the computer, they follow through with that. We don't have difficulty with them chatting online with friends, playing games on the internet, or doing other "unassigned" activities while they are supposed to be working on school projects.
3. Most of my daughters' schoolwork isn't done online or on the computer, although a little bit of it is.
4. I don't mind getting up frequently to assist one of the girls on the laptop (we currently have two computers). The two computers are only about 10 feet away from each other, so I don't mind walking to them to help them out with something.
However, I can think of some really great scenarios where some home educating families would find LanSchool software to be a big blessing.
Here are some examples:
1. Some or all of your children participate in online schooling or use CDs and DVDs for a considerable portion of their school day (Switched-On Schoolhouse, etc.).
2. You have multiple computers being used all at the same time in your household, and you would like to more easily monitor their use while you are working on your own computer.
3. Your house is multi-storied or spread out or contains multiple hallways.
4. You have a baby who is nursing, or you are very ill or on bedrest, and it isn't as easy to get up and check on everyone around the house who is working on a computer.
5. Or, just possibly, your children aren't yet trustworthy to be doing what they need to be doing for their schoolwork, or they are accessing forbidden places on the internet.
6. You want to keep close tabs on your children's use of the internet, so that they will know you are watching closely and they won't feel tempted to access forbidden sites or waste time when they are assigned particular projects or schoolwork.
Neat features of LanSchool:
1. Take control of the child's mouse:
Take control of the mouse on each of the computers in your household using LanSchool's Remote Control feature. You can actually show them - from a distance - how to do something that they may not be understanding. With a single button click, you can take control of the student’s video, keyboard and mouse. The teacher can optionally lock out the student or give them control.
2. View each child's computer monitor/screen simultaneously on your teacher screen.
View a thumbnail of your child's computer monitor while you are using your parent computer/monitor to do other tasks during the school day.
3. Lock out various features and applications of your home computers that you don't want accessed at that time: internet, Facebook, online chatting, USB uses, online or offline gaming, etc.
4. Blank out a child's monitor and send the child a message, like "It's time to get back to work," or a note of encouragement from Mom or Dad.
5. Children can send a message to Mom's computer screen, "Mom, there's a problem," or "Mom, I need help with something", or even chat back and forth with Mom from monitor to monitor without needing to use an internet feature.
6. If your family is using a multi-level history program like Tapestry of Grace or Illuminations, all of the children can read an eBook selection all at once instead of having multiple eReaders or needing to make a schedule for reading times on the computer.
7. View a YouTube video on more than one monitor at a time, simultaneously, especially if you have a larger family.
You as the parent can send your child's computer/ monitor viewing over to a YouTube video to address specific concerns or learning needs he has without your child needing to wade through a multitude of "bad" things on YouTube. Multicast video distribution and playback is the most efficient way of playing videos in the classroom. The video file is only sent out once over the network and then teachers can control the playback.
If you would like to learn more about LanSchool's features, you can take a guided tour here:
If you would like to learn more about LanSchool's features, you can take a guided tour here:
You may also look at additional features of LanSchool here:
The home license version costs $99 for up to 3 monitored computers and is a perpetual license. Tech support and software updates are good for 3 years.
For the last several years, our girls have been getting their "school photos" taken at a friend's home during the first couple of weeks of school. Marcie Yoder comes out to my friend's home and does such a wonderful job as a photographer!
My website/blog provider, Weebly.com, has just developed an amazing slide show feature for our websites. This is my first attempt to use it, so here goes. It would probably look better on a regular webpage where the side columns aren't so cramped for space, but that's okay. I just wanted to share with you my daughters' new photos, and the new slideshow feature from Weebly.
My website/blog provider, Weebly.com, has just developed an amazing slide show feature for our websites. This is my first attempt to use it, so here goes. It would probably look better on a regular webpage where the side columns aren't so cramped for space, but that's okay. I just wanted to share with you my daughters' new photos, and the new slideshow feature from Weebly.
I have been so thrilled with using Weebly.com as my chosen location to build my website/blog. Weebly.com's free version of building websites is amazing; even using this new slideshow they've just developed (see above, the photos of my girls) is part of the free version. If you've been considering designing your own website or having your own blog, or a combination of both (like mine is), I highly recommend using Weebly.com to build your site. The customer service is excellent, and the features are very easy to use. I have NO complaints!
Weebly.com would also be a very safe and easy location for your children to learn how to build their own websites. No knowledge of HTML code or CSS language is necessary to be able to design your own website using Weebly.com. Everything you see here on my site was designed without any knowledge of HTML or CSS code. I did copy and paste (with permission) a little bit of code, but I don't understand it at all, nor do I pretend to. Enjoy!
Weebly.com would also be a very safe and easy location for your children to learn how to build their own websites. No knowledge of HTML code or CSS language is necessary to be able to design your own website using Weebly.com. Everything you see here on my site was designed without any knowledge of HTML or CSS code. I did copy and paste (with permission) a little bit of code, but I don't understand it at all, nor do I pretend to. Enjoy!
This blog post contains affiliate links.
What do you get when you combine goofy humor, an eldest child who has brought up the rest of his siblings due to their parents' death, a burned-out druggie who promises he's clean, a selfish and greedy shopaholic, a teenage boy who is struggling to find himself, another teen boy whose mother is an alcoholic, a beautiful lawyer, a new girl at school who wants to live a pure life, and silly physical comedy?
You get, "Bringing Up Bobby."
You get, "Bringing Up Bobby."
When I first viewed the trailer for this DVD, I wasn't convinced that I'd like it. There have been some great comedies done over the years which involve physical comedy, and I'm not the biggest fan of that style of entertainment. Sorry! I love humor and love to laugh, but I guess I'm just a bit on the particular side when it comes to watching humorous movies.
Well, we watched this DVD last night, and while it won't be one that we will watch over and over again, we did laugh and enjoy it. I just knew that my husband would like some parts of this movie...and I was right.
When my husband and I were first married, he used to tease me by jokingly smoothing down his eyebrows in a funny way. I would laugh and giggle, but it also made me shudder. He did this often, to see my reactions! I'm just not a huge fan of that style of physical humor. Well, they actually do a funny rendition of "smoothin' down those eyebrows" more than once in this movie, and I just knew that my husband would think this was hilarious! I was right. He laughed and laughed, and when the movie was finished, he imitated this part of the movie several times until I was ready to gag. Ha!
If you enjoy the physical humor of Jim Carey (he's not really my style), and you also appreciate movies with a godly message and theme that are family friendly, you will probably really enjoy Bringing Up Bobbie. I actually liked the movie better than I liked the trailer.
Well, we watched this DVD last night, and while it won't be one that we will watch over and over again, we did laugh and enjoy it. I just knew that my husband would like some parts of this movie...and I was right.
When my husband and I were first married, he used to tease me by jokingly smoothing down his eyebrows in a funny way. I would laugh and giggle, but it also made me shudder. He did this often, to see my reactions! I'm just not a huge fan of that style of physical humor. Well, they actually do a funny rendition of "smoothin' down those eyebrows" more than once in this movie, and I just knew that my husband would think this was hilarious! I was right. He laughed and laughed, and when the movie was finished, he imitated this part of the movie several times until I was ready to gag. Ha!
If you enjoy the physical humor of Jim Carey (he's not really my style), and you also appreciate movies with a godly message and theme that are family friendly, you will probably really enjoy Bringing Up Bobbie. I actually liked the movie better than I liked the trailer.
Here are the characters:
James  | James Wyler is a responsible, intelligent man who happens to enjoy dancing and cooking pancakes ... at the same time. He's spent the last twelve years raising his siblings, which meant skipping college and staying away from the ladies. From boxing matches to serious talks while dressed in costume, he knows how to make parenting fun. A goofball around women, nobody knows what will happen now that he has a crush on his sister's lawyer. |
| Bobby Wyler is about to celebrate his sixteenth birthday. Around his friends, he's comfortable, but in challenging situations, he's shy and willing to change his image to impress. Much like his older brother, Bobby is awkward around girls. That could be because Bobby is unsure of who he is and what he believes about God. But if James has anything to say about it, Bobby is going to make the time to figure that out. |
Dennis  | Dennis Wyler is a happy-go-lucky, hairy, extremely friendly wanderer who is never content to stay in one place for long. On the lamb from a pack of anarchists (don't ask), he finds himself back at home to settle matters with his parents' estate so he can pay off his debt to ... the anarchists. His on-going love affairs with flannel shirts, cammo pants, and all things dairy have served him well in his travels around the world. Though he is generally fearless, he's never been able to "shed" his fear of the family storage area. |
Andrea  | Andrea Wyler is a shopaholic who delights in pushing around the men in her life. She uses her charm, whit, and legal power to wrap people around her fingers. Her taste in gaudy clothing and the finer things in life make her hard to miss. Not given to manual labor, she happily pushes work onto her husband, Walter. Andrea will stop at nothing to get everything she wants. |
| Walter is married to Andrea. 'Nuff said. A quiet, soft-spoken man, he'd be happy to be able to finish a sentence. Although he's been stifled by his overpowering wife, Walter still has his moments in the sun. Some speculate that beneath his many sweaters is a wild man waiting to escape. |
Eric  | Eric, Bobby's best friend, is a Goth teenager with a tough life. Taking responsibility for his alcoholic mother often keeps him up late at night, which means he is falling behind at school. But Eric's sense of humor allows him to fit in well with James and Bobby, even as he looks toward an uncertain future. |
Terry  | Terry Lucht is a smart, beautiful young lawyer with a quick wit and a ready smile. Though hired by Andrea, she has a less-than-secret crush on James. Terry enjoys caramel apples and the finest pantsuits in town. |
Liz  | Liz is the new girl in town. Just a few days in school and already the boys are making their moves. But Liz is cautious, not willing to become friends with the fellas until they prove that they want more than just her looks. A strong Christian, Liz believes in encouraging others to follow after the Lord. Busy between school and work, she's a smart, honest young woman who is always ready with a smile and an encouraging word. |
This is a family-friendly film that is appropriate for all ages. There is nothing inappropriate in this film for families who enjoy watching God-honoring movies.
“Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the 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.”
Top Ten List:
How to Help Your Child Permanently Leave the Church
by Alan Melton
Between 75% and 94% of children from Christian homes are leaving the church shortly after they graduate from high school.
99.5% of young adults between the age of 18 and 23 do not have a biblical worldview. What are the top ways that parents can keep this trend going?
We admit this is a rather negative and cynical list, and in some cases extreme. But believe it or not, this is the way that some children from church-going families are being raised.
The good news is that Jesus showed us how to do the very opposite of this top ten list!
99.5% of young adults between the age of 18 and 23 do not have a biblical worldview. What are the top ways that parents can keep this trend going?
We admit this is a rather negative and cynical list, and in some cases extreme. But believe it or not, this is the way that some children from church-going families are being raised.
The good news is that Jesus showed us how to do the very opposite of this top ten list!
10. Don’t develop a relationship with your children. Spend very little time with them. Take jobs that require travel and start hobbies and activities that allow you to take a break from your family. When you are with your children, stay busy with watching television, social networking… anything that keeps you from interacting with them. Don’t listen to your children or talk with them. Let your children solve their bothersome issues with their peers. Or half-listen to your children while you are doing other things. Whatever you do, don’t make eye contact.
9. Send your children to be taught and trained by unbelievers. Don’t bother to correct errors that are being taught to your children. Assume that the trained professionals will teach safe, non-threatening curriculum that is required by the school system.
8. Make sure your child is taught relativism, macro evolution and unbiblical lifestyles as normal. After all, children need to make their own choices. It is normal to believe that we are all here by random chance. What did God have to do with that? Don’t be concerned with any promotion of promiscuous (safe) sex between members of the same sex or opposite sex.
7. Don’t teach your children scripture and biblical principles. Don’t worry about obeying scripture to teach to your children the Bible. Allow clergy to do the job once or twice per week. After all, you are not a trained expert. Let the experts do their job! Just be sure your children make a profession of faith.
6. Immerse your children in popular television, movies, social networking and music. Don’t limit or monitor what your children engage in. Make sure they have their own television, cell phone, computer and boom box. Occult? No problem. Alternative lifestyles? Whatever. Take your children to see all the popular movies and make sure you listen to all the popular music. Get all the cable channels and let them watch it as much as possible!
5. Normalize promiscuous sex and violence with your children. Buy your son popular video games that include sex and violence. Allow your son to kill as many bad guys as he wants to, and what’s the harm with a little fantasy sex? Encourage your daughter to watch television and movies with lots of teen romance and sex. Buy her romance novels. Children need to have fun and take out their frustrations with media; after all it’s only “pretend.”
4. Allow your children to go alone wherever they want and with whomever they want. Don’t keep your children under your protection and don’t monitor what they are doing. Make sure your children are with unbelievers all day long so they can be “salt and light.” Forget about the fact that Jesus was always with His adult disciples when they were “salt and light.” The fact that He sent them out in twos with other Christian adults for protection is irrelevant. Your children should be able to choose their own friends; they will be a positive influence.
3. Make sure your children go off to the best secular college and sow their wild oats. You want to make sure your children can make lots of money so don’t worry about what your teens are being taught. Co-ed dorms are acceptable; your teens need to sow their wild oats. Just make sure no one gets pregnant, and make sure they keep their grades up.
2. Rather than involving your family in a ministry, be a spectator at church. Drop your children off at all the entertaining programs. Don’t worry about ministering to others in need; that’s the job of the pastors and ministers.
1. Don’t enthusiastically discuss the Lord with your family. Also don’t pray with and for your children. When you talk with your children, teach them about things that almost everyone is really interested in; sports, television, movie stars, athletes, movies, secular music, buying new things, and having fun. Help your children to see that thinking about God is for Sunday mornings; the rest of the week is for doing what really matters.
In doing the above, you will have ensured that your children have been fully discipled by the world (80 to 100 hours per week), and the minimal time that they have spent at church (1 to 5 hours per week) will make little difference. As statistics show, they will likely join the crowd of those permanently departing the church.
| Read the book: |  |
Written by Alan Melton, September 29, 2010: Disciple Like Jesus.com (Reprinted with permission).
This blog post contains affiliate links.
Do you think that children these days are no longer interested in church history? They might become more interested if they were to read a short book like this, including the following events and people:
- a slave trader who decided to no longer sell slaves, and wrote one of the best-loved hymns of Christians
- a teenage boy who was kidnapped by pirates, eventually escaped across the seas to his home, and later went back to Ireland to be a missionary to share the Gospel
- a young boy, even though he wasn't hungry, stole some pears just because he enjoyed being wicked. Later, he served God and wrote two very famous books.
- a little girl who taught herself Greek and Hebrew. Later, she was queen for only 9 days until she was placed into the Tower of London to eventually be martyred.
- a man who stood up for the Holy Bible and nailed his handwritten ideas about God's Holy Word onto his church's front door. The national leader of his church found out about it, and got very angry. But eventually, lots of people came to know Jesus Christ well because of what he had written on that piece of paper.
- a young man who loved sports and playing the flute, but he loved even more being able to write long books that taught people about God's power working in us.
Or, what about this list? I know it would interest most children:- George Whitefield was cross-eyed
- Famous preacher Jonathan Edwards was fired
- Martin Luther married a nun
- Athanasius outfoxed Egyptian soldiers as they raced down the Nile
- John Wesley invented an electric shock machine and sent it to Ben Franklin
- Martin Luther named his dog "Tölpel," which is a German word for clumsy
- George Whitefield was cross-eyed
 | Steven J. Nichols has written twelve books, including Heaven on Earth and The Reformation. He is research professor of Christianity and Culture at Lancaster Bible College and Graduate School in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He wrote The Church History ABCs to help modern-day children see themselves as part of the family of faith along with many other famous heroes of the Christian faith. |
Twenty-six heroes of the Christian faith are brightly illustrated, and short, child-friendly excerpts from their lives are provided for the readers. The large page format of this hardbound book, combined with bright, vivid artwork that appeals to children, make this a treasure for Christian homes.
At the Gallery on their website, children may send in drawings of other heroes of the Christian faith as well as drawings of people they know personally who are heroes of the faith, to them, and they could be shared at the Gallery's webpage.
For those who want to dive deeper into church history with their children, you will also be able to find an "Activities" tab that has:
- coloring pages of some of the church history heroes
- cursive worksheets for each letter of the alphabet, corresponding with each church history hero of the faith
- word search using the 26 heroes' names
- "Pin the Beard on the Theologian" game, which would be fun for a family "Reformation Night" party
- Martin Luther maze
- Timeline figures of the 26 heroes of the Christian faith to cut out and place onto a matching timeline that contains clues to match the figure to the correct place on the timeline
I think that this book and its accompanying website has great potential for families who want to hand downward the torch of Christian faith to their children. The Church History ABCs brings to life the names of long-deceased men and women who made a big difference in their worlds for Jesus Christ. This kind of role modeling for our own children is very important! We've used materials like these with our children for several years now.
I highly recommend The Church History ABCs. It is an excellent resource to give small tidbits of church history to our children, and whet their appetites to add more studies and additional books to read as they grow.
I highly recommend The Church History ABCs. It is an excellent resource to give small tidbits of church history to our children, and whet their appetites to add more studies and additional books to read as they grow.
Disclaimer: Crossway Publishers provided me with a free copy of The Church History ABCs in exchange for my honest opinion of this book. No other compensation was provided.
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.
Find
Joy In Our Journey on:
Sign up to receive
Joy In Our Journey's
latest blog posts, freebies, and more!
Joy In Our Journey's
latest blog posts, freebies, and more!
I'd love to share your product with my readers. If you would like me to do a review and giveaway, just contact me via email and let me know how I can help.
Disclosure: Some content includes links to sponsors or affiliates, which
give me a small percentage of the sale without costing you anything
extra. You are not obligated to use these links when you make a
purchase, but when you do so, it helps to support this site, so thank
you!
Search
Joy In Our Journey
Loading
Archives
December 2016
August 2015
July 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
November 2014
October 2014
September 2014
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
April 2014
March 2014
February 2014
January 2014
December 2013
November 2013
October 2013
September 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
September 2012
August 2012
July 2012
June 2012
May 2012
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 2011
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
January 2011
December 2010
November 2010
October 2010
September 2010
August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010
Photos used under Creative Commons from jaakko.hakulinen, theglobalpanorama, Sarah Korf, jeffreyw, crayonmonkey, Joshua Singh, Sam Howzit, kimberlyac, miggslives, rust.bucket, Derick Leony, Big D2112, Violette79, Andrea.Pacheco, youngthousands, niiicedave, mommyknows, Dominic's pics, sleepyneko, madaise, Daquella manera, Arild Andersen, TounoTouji, jchapiewsky, dennis, cooper.gary, supersum (off), advisorymatters, Nomadic Lass, Effervescing Elephant, ralph and jenny, alubavin, brendan-c, ImNotQuiteJack, jeffreyw, iamlemonfilm, Colin_K, Andrew Michaels, ivoryelephantphotography, bennylin0724, Jo Naylor, daveoratox, f10n4, Bludgeoner86, Ack Ook, BiblioArchives / LibraryArchives, pylbug, limaoscarjuliet, Barbara L. Hanson, CapitalK buy design, Vibragiel, matthiasxc, Podknox, qnr, Sadie_Girl, ComputerHotline, pppspics, Anna Loverus, Joi, Rob.Bertholf, Sheyla Ruiz, nachans, ♥serendipity, IsaacMao, *cart-wheels*, TRFPhotography, vxla, lisaclarke, Missouri History Museum, doortoriver, sunshinecity, anna gutermuth, USCPSC, L. Allen Brewer, bluebirdsandteapots, ell brown, vestman, *PaysImaginaire*, mightyohm, Lars Plougmann, Alex_Lewis116, yoppy, HealthGauge, 401(K) 2013, aprilandrandy, Ben Sutherland, Mason Masteka, WillowGardeners, MStewartPhotography, “Caveman Chuck” Coker, kodomut, DanCentury, TrishaLyn, Katie@!, Looking Glass, Nicholas_T, Francis Storr, Allie_Caulfield, Creative Tools, Aidan Jones, Tim Brown Architecture, HerryLawford, Brett Levin Photography, Gudlyf, Chocolate Reviews, greggoconnell, EmilyWhitwam, Phú Thịnh Co, ilovememphis, cliff1066™, Chi King, erix!, Tony Fischer Photography, GlasgowAmateur, ktylerconk, cfourcalvin, David Locke, blhphotography, dominiqs, quinet, stevendepolo, surlygirl, guzzphoto, mikebaird, rich701, coolmikeol, procsilas, • Happy Batatinha •, pmarkham, Luz Adriana Villa A., LisaW123, fireballsedai, CJS*64, gagilas, Christian Haugen, freddie boy, tausend und eins, fotografik, roland, nedradio, makelessnoise, Salvation Army USA West, TheAlieness GiselaGiardino²³, Arenamontanus, 401(K) 2013, f_mafra, trippingbobcat, brooklyn, Viajar24h.com, yanajenn, jamieanne, hardworkinghippy, ccharmon, eofstr, Julia Manzerova, jhoc, Orin Zebest, battlecreekcvb, jmrodri, trekkyandy, timsnell, Salil Wadhavkar, ewen and donabel, Ted Van Pelt, David Paul Ohmer, Kevin May, CCAC North Library, I_Nneska, AlphaTangoBravo / Adam Baker, dwstucke, Bonnie B., elise.y, Bill Selak, sam_churchill, JD Hancock, olga.palma, cbr_case, acme, alyak, creating in the dark, TrishaLyn, jacilluch, hans s, cwwycoff1, Karen Roe, AlexiUeltzen, surrelmar, Jeff Kubina, rich701, adie reed, pacificbro, dwstucke, rharrison, avlxyz, Jim, the Photographer, Danndalf, storebukkebruse, rodaniel, dicktay2000, exfordy, torres21, Mr. T in DC, avlxyz, andrealindenberg, HarshLight, stevendepolo, publicenergy, Jan Tik, aechempati, ume-y, xfce, Pink Sherbet Photography, nlian, bittle, bradleygee, rs-foto, JamieDrakePhotos, SimonDoggett, slopjop, Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the BPL, BozDoz, GoRun26, prettyinprint, WTL photos, Minnesota Historical Society, www.bluewaikiki.com, stevendepolo, LibAmanda, jspatchwork, Jinx!, ncmichael2k3, Clevergrrl, michaelkmak, Generationbass.com, Dougtone, roger4336, slgckgc, twicepix, lisatozzi, Lee Nachtigal, Kevin Lawver, brianfuller6385, jamieanne, quinn.anya, SupremeCrete, StockMonkeys.com, OliverN5, jeffreyw, Muffet, krossbow, fdecomite, JeepersMedia, jimmiehomeschoolmom, Zanastardust, joyosity, frotzed2, szapucki, Vincent van der Pas, normalityrelief, Emily Carlin, Clevergrrl, allyrose18, sleepyneko, Jeff Kubina, efleming, Artman1122, notjustsquirrels, PhotoAtelier, roolrool, onnola, Charles Williams, greggoconnell, Highway Patrol Images, andrechinn, loop_oh, ayustety, toinerooijmans, vmiramontes, Claricethebakergardener, mind on fire, jimmiehomeschoolmom, Kat Johnston / Sanura Sakai, toinerooijmans, rfduck, stu_spivack, OmegaPoint, ingridtaylar, AdamSelwood, Gog Llundain, pbody
