Dog Gone It Vinnie! – Adventures With Vinnie, By: Donna Winters

Having adopted my own shelter dog, Max, seven years ago, Fred and Donna Winters’ story was one close to my heart. The retired couple from Michigan obviously cares a great deal about giving shelter animals a chance. After the loss of one of their dogs they decide to give an older dog a chance to have a ‘forever’ home and chose Vinnie from the Upper Peninsula Animal Welfare Shelter, or U.P.A.W.S. for short. Donna’s book, Adventures With Vinnie, is the true story of the Winters’ life with their Doberman Lab mix named Vinnie.

Because of everything I went through with Max, I could really relate to Donna’s telling of Vinnie’s antics during her own obedience training. But unlike me, she didn’t get nearly as frustrated as I sometimes did, even though Vinnie did some things that would really scare a pet owner.

The book deals with real life situations that every pet parent must go through. The good, the bad and even the very sad. I will mention that I was put off at some parts when the author describes her dog pooping and puking…yuck! On the other hand, the reader is allowed an even closer glimpse at Vinnie’s life, since there are 12 color pictures of him in the book.

It’s a short read at only 60 pages long and could easily be finished in one or two sittings. I loved the book and would recommend it to young and old alike. After all, it’s about a dog, and who doesn’t like dogs? But in reality, Vinnie’s story is a very real, raw, telling of what it’s like to love a hard to love animal.

Note: I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own and no monetary compensation was received for my review.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

There once was an old country song leader from Lufkin, Texas who served at the church I attend. Every year at Vacation Bible School time he would teach the kids the ABC song. The lyrics say:


A-Admit, tell God you are a sinner, and ask Him to help you become a winner!

B-Believe, that Christ Jesus is God’s Son and that God sent Jesus to save everyone!

C-Commit, give your life to the Lord, and ask Him to be your (clap) Savior!

The cool thing about this song is that it really is that simple to become a Christian. Here’s my version of the ABC’s (Plus a P) of becoming a Christian.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

ADMIT – A person must ADMIT that he is a sinner and that the penalty for sin is death. If he can do that, then he is ready to accept God’s free gift.

FOR ALL HAVE SINNED AND FALL SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD. ROMANS 3:23

FOR THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH, BUT THE GIFT OF GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD. ROMANS 6:23

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

BELIEVE – One must BELIEVE that Jesus Christ is the true Son of God and died on a cross to pay the price for their sins.

FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONE AND ONLY SON, THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM SHALL NOT PERISH BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE. JOHN 3:16

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

COMMIT – Once a person ADMITS they are a sinner and BELIEVES in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, the next step it to COMMIT their life to the Lord. That means to let God be the boss of your life.

IF YOU DECLARE WITH YOUR MOUTH, “JESUS IS LORD,” AND BELIEVE IN YOUR HEART THAT GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD, YOU WILL BE SAVED. ROMANS 10:9

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

PRAY – Pray a simple prayer asking Jesus to be your Savior and Lord.

Dear God, I ADMIT that I am a sinner and that I am in need of your forgiveness. Lord, I BELIEVE that Jesus Christ is Your Son and that You sent Jesus to die on the cross in payment of my sin debt. Lord I COMMIT my life to You and give You complete authority over my life. In Jesus name I pray, AMEN!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!



Homeschooling Can Be Murder – By: Susan Lyttek

To be honest, I stole this book from my girlfriend who won it at a writer's meeting. Just kidding, she gave it to me because I told her I liked the bull dog on the cover so much. Well, turns out that bulldog, named Jelly, have a pretty big role in the story.

Main character, Jeanine Talbott, has two young kids she homeschools and a husband who's a career military man. When her husband receives orders to re-locate, Jeanine let's him pick out and buy their new house. She’s reluctant to leave where they currently live because she feels bad for her kids having to move from the home and friends.

When she arrives at the new house she sees that her husband has bought a house next to a Civil War graveyard. As soon as the husband is called to leave on an army mission, strange noises are heard coming from the cemetery. This is upsetting for Jelly dog who manages to escape his yard, goes to the cemetery only to find a body...a fresh one.

Jeanine and the kids find themselves in the midst of a great mystery involving treasure hunters and town secrets. This was a fun read that any mom or even a young person would enjoy. I could really relate to the main character's feelings towards her kids and her husband and how familiar her life was to mine, except that I don't homeschool. Looking forward to more from this author!

Other readers have commented:

This book was different from most that I read...a little mystery, some suspense, and a dash of romance. Very unique and definitely worth the time!

I loved this mystery that twisted its way through a cemetery, underground tunnels and peoples lives and histories. We are "homeschooled" on how we can use knowledge, our own talents, love for family and friends and a commitment to God and following Him, to find the solutions for many problems, mysterious and otherwise. A good read for the entire family. I'm a grandmother and I loved it.

The Mountain Mover

I love the New Year! Don’t get me wrong, I can’t stand winter, but I adore the promise that a new year brings. Nothing really changes between December 31, 2013 and January 1, 2014, but there’s just something wonderful about a new start.

One thing I do every year, personally and corporately, along with my church family is read the Bible. For me, this all began two years ago reading through the Bible, from beginning to end. And it’s true, no matter how many times you read stories from the Bible, you can always glean new information you never noticed before. Last year was a chronological reading of the Bible. This year, 2014, is something completely different. We are going to read through the four Gospels, four times. In addition, I’ve added the reading of Psalms four times too.

On January 17^th I read Matthew, chapter 17. This is the chapter when Jesus led Peter, James and John up the mountain of transfiguration. After that amazing experience, Jesus finds out from a father that the disciples failed to heal his demon-possessed son. Jesus got mad at his disciples and then healed the boy. The disciples wanted to know why they couldn’t drive out the demon…

“Because of your little faith,” He told them. “For I assure you: If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Matthew 17:20

Sometimes I feel just like those poor old disciples must have. If all that’s needed is a mustard seed amount of faith, then I must have faith the size of a… (Wait, need to look something up) Then I must have faith the size of a quark! I’m always praying for more faith. Like the song says, ‘oh for faith to trust Him more.’ It’s not that I don’t have faith in God. I believe completely that nothing is impossible with Him. But why can’t I believe this truth concerning myself?

Move a mountain, Lord? I’ll get right on that. Have faith and be patient until my books are published? Got it, Lord…being totally patient over here!

Then God spoke.

I prayed for my talent to be used more. Boy did He answer my prayer and what a blessing it’s been. The last quarter of 2013 was filled with so many dramatic performances, articles and writing, writing, writing. When my minister handed me what appeared to be a huge stack of work to be edited and re-worked for Easter I said, “Great, I’ll get right on this!” But as soon as he was out of sight, I looked at the papers in my hand, my jaw dropped open, I groaned loudly and the first thing that came to mind was…this is like a flippin mountain of work.

A mountain, where did that even come from? Oh, I see what you did there Lord! This is one of those lessons You’re so good at. So to say the least, I’ve been doing a lot of praying and I actually have faith that God is going to move that mountain. Thank You, Lord for reminding me of the mountain…the mustard seed…and to a lesser extent, the quark.

Creative Commons Photo Compliments of:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gigi62

My One Word

When I first saw a friend’s Facebook post on her “One Word” I had no idea what she was talking about so I did some investigation. Apparently this has been going on for several years without me knowing. Who knew! Being the bandwagon jumper that I am, of course I had to participate.

The premise of “One Word” is sort of like a New Year’s resolution. But unlike a laundry list of resolutions that are here and quickly forgotten, you choose one word to focus on all year long. What kind of word? A word that motivates you, a word you can strive toward, a word that gives you vision, a word that urges you on toward a specific goal. If you can’t think of one, ask God where He’s leading you and He will provide the word for you.

My one word is:  ENCOURAGE, ENCOURAGED, ENCOURAGER, ENCOURAGING

I chose a Bible verse to go along with my one word:

That is, that you and I may be mutually ENCOURAGED by each other’s faith. Romans 1:12

Why encourage? Because, I need encouragement every day to do what God has placed before me. I need encouragement:

1.     To study my Bible

2.     To be a good wife

3.     To raise my son

4.     In my writing life

5.     In leading FBC’s drama group

I need to encourage:

1.     My husband

2.     My children

3.     My sisters and brothers in Christ

4.     My pastors and church leaders

5.     My Christian writing community

The list could go on and on!

Lord, I pray that 2014 would be a year of encouragement. Let me be encouraged to do everything you would have me to do and give me the opportunity to be an encouragement to someone who needs it. Amen!