Winning Families: Thanksgiving in Early America

Thanksgiving in Early America

by Elaine Marie Cooper

When we sit down at our Thanksgiving meal this month, we’ll be recreating a celebration that is as old as our country: sharing food with loved ones while thanking the God Who has provided the abundance.

While we understand that the First Thanksgiving was celebrated here by the Mayflower survivors along with the Indians that had helped them, the first official proclamation that was decreed to celebrate such a holiday was in 1777. It was a recommendation to the thirteen states by the Continental Congress to set aside December 18^th that year as a “solemn thanksgiving” to celebrate the first major victory for the Continental troops in the American Revolution: the Battle of Saratoga.

The Battle of Saratoga has significant interest for my own family since one of my ancestors was a soldier there. But he was not on the American side—he was a British Redcoat. After surrendering to the Americans, he escaped the line of prisoners and somehow made his way to Massachusetts and into the life and heart of my fourth great-grandmother. *SIGH* L’amour!

This family story was the inspiration for my Deer Run Saga that begins in 1777 with The Road to Deer Run. There is an elaborate Thanksgiving meal scene in this novel as well as in the sequel, The Promise of Deer Run.

Some may wonder why such detail was afforded this holiday in my novels set in Massachusetts, while Christmas is barely mentioned. The reason is simple: Thanksgiving was the major holiday in the northern colonies, with Christmas considered nothing more special than a workday. According to Jack Larkin in his book, The Reshaping of Everyday Life, “The Puritan founders of New England and the Quaker settlers of Pennsylvania had deliberately abolished (holidays) as unscriptural.”

But Thanksgiving was begun as a way to give thanks to God for His provision. It usually began with attending church services in the morning, followed by an elaborate feast in the afternoon. The food for this meal was prepared for weeks in advance.

Since the individual state governors chose their own date to celebrate the holiday, it was theoretically possible for some family members—if they lived in close proximity—to celebrate multiple Thanksgiving meals with family and friends across state borders. The dates chosen could be anywhere from October to December, according to Dennis Picard, Director of the Storrowton Village Museum in West Springfield, Massachusetts.

Chicken was most commonly served, said Picard, as it was readily available in the barnyard. And the oldest woman in the home had the honor of slicing the fowl for dinner.

Pies were made well in advance of the holiday and stored and became frozen in dresser drawers in unheated rooms.

“I like the idea of pulling out a dresser drawer for, say, a clean pair of socks, and finding mince pies,” said Picard, tongue in cheek.

Indeed!

Have a BLESSED Thanksgiving!

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Elaine Marie Cooper grew up in Massachusetts but now lives in the Midwest with her husband, her three dogs and one huge cat. She has two married sons and triplet grandchildren who are now one years old. The Promise of Deer Run is dedicated to the triplets and to veterans who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.Elaine has been a magazine freelance writer for many years, and is a regular contributor to a blog on the Midwest called The Barn Door (www.thebarndoor.net) and a blog on Christian living called Reflections In Hindsight (ReflectionsInHindsight.wordpress.com). She is the author of The Road to Deer Run and the sequel, The Promise of Deer Run. Prior to becoming an author, Elaine worked as a registered nurse.
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Winning Families: Soul Surfer

Soul Surfer Hope movie event

We've been watching Soul Surfer, the true story of teen surfer Bethany Hamilton, who lost her arm in a shark attack.  Even my 4yo found it "awesome - except for the shark part wasn't awesome."

I would certainly use discretion in showing the shark scene to young kids, but for our family and our daughter, it was just fine.

Anyway, this is the kind of inspirational film we've already shared with friends.  And now you can share it with your congregation and community for FREE when you partner with World Vision to get children sponsored through a Soul Surfer Hope event. 

Two terrific opportunities - definitely a win-win choice!

For more information, see:  https://worldvisionhope.org/soulsurfer/

Be blessed!
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Winning Families: Text Back The Romance

Text The Romance Back

Relationship Coach Michael Fiore wants to help the cell phone nation get plugged back in to their relationships. Fiore urges clients to use the powerful immediacy of heartfelt text messages to become love letters 2.0.

Fiore, creator of the site Text Back The Romance, said, “In some ways, electronic love mail is more romantic than love letters of the past because the contact is much more frequent so when you’re crazy-in-love you might be texting every five minutes, you’re constantly checking your phone for a text.” It’s the rush of immediacy that makes this effective.

America has become a textaholic nation :

• Over two-thirds of Americans sleep with their cell phones on, tucked up right next to their pillow.
• The latest U.S. Census figures tell us that 44% of American adults are single, or in round numbers, 100 million American singles.

TIPS Sent from Women to Men:

It’s much more than “I love you.” It’s I’m thinking about you right now.

1. Your Man’s cell phone is the closest thing to “telepathy” that you can get.  Rather than trying to force him to pay attention to you and “put the phone down,” texting him lets you do a little bit of “relationship judo” and get him to do what you really want him to do without ever coming across as nagging or unreasonable at all.
2. Guys respond to visual stimuli. Guys are not always as emotionally complex as women and are a lot more blunt in their communication. If you want your guy to give you the romance and attention you crave, you’ve got to speak his language first. That means using visual language in our texts.
3. Romantically, men need to feel like they are able to win you over all over again. The thrill of the flirt, the chase and feeling like he’s “still got it.” The “it” being the ability to capture your full attention. You stopped what you were doing to send him a note that addressed his interest to be your one and only focus of attention. It isn’t about control. It’s about feeling special and singular in your busy life.

TIPS Sent from Men to Women:

1. Your woman’s cell phone is a “magic portal” to her deepest, most intimate mind. Women are already used to sharing their most intimate and private thoughts on the phone, through text and (less and less) through phone calls.
2. A woman is passionate at every age. The vast majority of women see their passions increase as they get into their 30’s, 40’s and 50’s.
3. Women respond to verbal, descriptive and emotional stimuli. Women are hard wired to respond to more cerebral material.

Michael has used his texting methods to help men and women in all 50 states and over 12 countries around the world and has received raves reviews.

 

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Michael Fiore has magic thumbs.


At least that’s what his thousands of customers and devotees have to say.

Since early 2010, Michael’s been teaching men and women around the world how to use simple text messages sent from your average cell phone to dramatically improve the romance, passion and connection in their relationships, no matter how “dull” things feel like they’ve gotten so far.
 
Get a free copy of the 3 Magic Texts Report from his website:  Text The Romance Back
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Winning Families: YouTube Teen Brawls

YouTube Teen Brawls Makes Me Ask Parents:
What's Going On?
by Mary Jo Rapini, MEd, LPC

I read a disturbing article in the Houston Chronicle recently, and I am hearing about it from other psychotherapists, psychologists and pediatricians. Girls are acting out, filming it and putting it up on YouTube. Oh yes, and it is getting a lot of attention.

The girls are punching, hitting, cursing, pinching, and slapping each other to the ground. The crowd is cheering them on. The crowd is mostly made up of teens, but there are also adults. The health care community understands these girls come from homes where they feel neglected, isolated, abused, and the treatment they receive in these brawls is most likely not any worse than what they receive at home.

According to Lashea Sowell, a probation officer in Beaumont, TX, parents are being urged to monitor their children's online postings since these brawls have become an epidemic of sorts. Sowell went on to say that the fights are the girls' way of getting someone to notice and love them and they don't care if it's positive or negative.

What are we doing to our girls? Clothing companies are making padded bras for eight year olds; parents are buying girls shirts that expose their midriff; parents are allowing girls to talk to them in abusive language. When the schools say that the majority of the classroom time is used to deal with children who haven't been properly parented, what do the parents think? Do parents understand that society is trying to sexualize our youth (especially our girls)?

We all grew up with "bad TV," but neither I nor anyone I know grew up with shows like MTV's Skins. A British writer-producer, Bryan Elsley, who is 49 years of age, and his son Jamie Brittain, who is 25, are the masterminds behind this show depicting sex as a mechanical activity. As Sabitha Pillai-Friedman, director of the Institute for Sex Therapy notes, the attitude in the show equates sex with skateboarding. The sex is casual and never once addresses the emotional aspect of sex, nor the consequences of hurting someone, or being hurt with sex.

Parents don't want to talk to their children about sex, or aren't comfortable talking about it, so the kids turn to TV and media on the Internet to learn. Our kids are learning, but they are not learning intimacy, bonding or responsibility. Kids are turning to "virtual friends" to talk over issues that they aren't comfortable talking about with their parents. These issues range from suicide to bullying. Children no longer feel safe in their home and many of them are not.

We have gone from a generation of parents trying to be their child's friend, to a generation of parents who are unaware of what their children are being exposed to in their own home while the parents are working or sleeping. This issue is not going to go away, unless parents change their parenting style.

According to True Care, a provider of Internet monitoring for parents,Teenager online2 the word "HATE" was the word that generated the most parental alerts. This word became powerful after several bullying incidences as well as suicides. There were other words that the monitoring system alerted parents to, mostly due to the consequences of teens acting out after these words were written.

Here are the top 22 Internet alert words identified by True Care:

1. HATE (bullying/racism)
2. PARTY (alcohol/drugs)
3. STUPID (bullying) 
4. UGLY (bullying)
5. X (alcohol/drugs)
6. DAMN (bullying)
7. KILL (bullying/racism)
8. FIRE (drugs)
9. A** (bullying/racism)
10. TREES (drugs)
11. SH*T (drugs/bullying/racism)
12. BUSTED (drugs)
13. FREAK (bullying)
14. POSER (bullying)
15. DRINK (alcohol/drugs)
16. ICE (drugs)
17. LOVE (sex)
18. BITCH (bullying)
19. LOSER (bullying)
20. MONKEY (sex/bullying)
21. HOMO (bullying)
22. SEX (sex)

It is sad to think we live in a time where you need to have your child's computer, phone, Twitter account and social network page monitored. Sadder to imagine something happening to your child because you didn't have them monitored and you weren't aware of what was going on in their life.

I believe the best approach is talking with your children. Not once a week, but every day. Have them share their passwords with you, as well as show you the sites they visit.

Talk to your kids about sex. The best sex educator is you. Don't leave it to shows like MTV's Skins to teach your child what sex is. Watch a movie or show with your child and talk about what you think and feel, and listen to them when they tell you how they feel. I don't remember a time when I have known so many great kids. They are our future and our hope. Keep them safe, keep them engaged in your family, let them know that they are essential to the world becoming a better place.

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Mary Jo Rapini, MEd, LPC, is a licensed psychotherapist and co-author with Janine J. Sherman, of Start Talking: A Girl's Guide for You and Your Mom About Health, Sex or Whatever. Read more about the book at www.StartTalkingBook.com and more about Rapini at http://www.maryjorapini.com/.
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Winning Families: Reaching Out to Older Adults

Reaching Out to Older Adults
Q&A with Missy Buchanan

Even when age creeps up on the body and mind, and life changes from what it once was, is it still possible to have a purpose in life? When it is no longer possible to venture out and do the things you once loved, can you still find a reason to look forward to each day? Missy Buchanan, a leading expert and advocate for senior adults, believes that you can. Buchanan wants to encourage older adults to find their purpose, share their stories, and make an impact on those around them.

Q: What made you decide to start ministering to and writing books for older adults?

Well, as a middle-aged adult, I never had any intention of becoming an author of books for older adults. But because of the journey that my own aging parents were on, I realized how they had become disconnected from their church as their lives changed. They started off as active older adults and then that circle got smaller as they had more needs and physical limitations. As I would visit them at their retirement community, I would also see so many others that were just like them. They needed spiritual encouragement. And so that’s why I got started. The first book began as a project just for my own parents. I wrote devotions and kept them in a loose-leaf notebook. But others started asking for them and things just spiraled from there.

Q: What do you think children need to know about their aging parents?

What I realized personally was that I had been so caught up in my parents’ physical needs that I had neglected their spiritual needs. They were no longer connected to their church, at least in regular worship attendance, and that had been such a huge part of their lives. I almost made that mistake of just totally missing that, and that was the point where I began to write. I looked and there were other books written about older adults but not very many that were written to them and for them. So the first thing I would tell their children is to pay attention not only to their physical needs but also to their spiritual needs.

Q: What is your opinion about role reversal with children and their aging parents?

I hear the whole idea of role reversal where the older parent becomes a child and the grown children become the parent, and I understand what they are talking about because my own parents became more dependent on me. But I think that when we refer to it as a role reversal, and we begin to think of our aging parents as children, we strip away their dignity. We rob them of respect and we overlook the fact that they are not children. They have had a lifetime of experiences that a child has not had. And I think that is an important difference that grown children need to think about and pay attention to. It’s more of a role shift in responsibilities and not a role reversal. I know how much it hurts an aging parent to feel like they are being treated like a baby or like a child.

Q: Other than aging adults, who else has benefited from your writing?

A friend of mine in an assisted living facility asked me to bring some books for one of her tablemates. Her tablemate explained that these books were for her adult children. “They don’t understand what it feels like to grow old, and I can’t seem to make them understand, but your books say it better than I ever could.” My books are all written in the first person as if an older adult is speaking directly to God. There are a lot of adult children that are buying them for themselves and older adults buying them for their grown children.

And I’ve heard of different youth groups that have been reading my books in order to better understand what it’s like to grow old. Instead of just mocking their older peers, they are learning that they share a lot of the same feelings—feelings of insecurity, feelings of fear. As a result of reading the books, one youth group in Tennessee has even adopted the residents of the senior living center across from their church.

Q: How can faith change our idea of growing older?

So many see aging as a punishment, and they dread it so much. But even though it is difficult to be limited by an aging body, they need to look at it as a gift that God has given them. They still have so much to give. They have great wisdom to share and stories to share. I always tell my older friends that their story is not yet over.

Missy Buchanan is the author of Talking with God in Old Age: Meditations and Psalms and Living with Purpose in a Worn-Out Body: Spiritual Encouragement for Older Adults (Upper Room Books).

Click here to watch Missy Buchanan’s recent interview with Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts and Roberts’ 86-year-old mother.

Visit Missy Buchanan’s website, www.missybuchanan.com, and blog, http://missybu.wordpress.com/.  Become a friend on Facebook (Aging and Faith) and follow on Twitter (MissyBuchanan).

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Winning Families: Enjoy Valentine's Day

Enjoy Valentine's Day - Avoid the Blues

Fred R. Lybrand

Jeremy visited a florist’s shop which showed a large sign that read, “Say It With Flowers.” “Wrap up one rose, please,” Jeremy demanded of the florist’s assistant. “Only one?” she enquired frowning. “Ah yes just the one,” Jeremy replied. “I’m a man of very few words.”

Market researchers deduced from their survey that eight million Americans send Valentine’s Day gifts to themselves.

Valentine’s Day is a day of amazing impact. Almost everyone who plays up the day experiences the “Blues,” you know, feeling sad about a loss or failure. Blues music grew up as a way to cope with the plight of such feelings and literally tries helping the Blues listener to “feel good about feeling bad.” Unfortunately, nothing takes the Valentine’s Blues away except time and the hope that next year will be better.

So, what are the Valentine’s Blues and how can we avoid them? The Valentine’s Blues come because of disappointment in one of two ways.

The first kind of blues comes when you don’t have a Valentine on Valentine’s Day. It starts in early February, building up to the “big day”—hitting rock bottom on February 14.

No matter how you pitch it, it makes you feel left out and unloved on some level if everyone else is getting flowers, going out for the evening, or being treated special. It stinks to feel left out. No wonder eight million Americans send themselves a Valentine’s Day gift. However, it doesn’t seem so bad on February 15th once the stores move on to Easter decorations.

The second kind of blues comes to those who celebrated Valentine’s in a big way, only to start clutching the disappointment the very next day (and the days to come) because it’s back to life as usual. When it comes to love and romance, “usual” is not what we want.

The blues can be worse for the second group because they’re long-term. We’ve all experienced it in some way or another: the excitement of Valentine’s Day, the romance, and the presents, similar to Christmas, but all about romantic love.

We humans like to feel special, and on that special day there is nothing more exciting than the build-up to the event—one incredible evening, just you and that one person. The two of you in love and enraptured with all that special day could offer.

Fast forward to the next day or two. How do you feel? The next day you are smiling for a moment at the memory of a day when his/her attention was only on you. But now, back to work, and a lurking feeling of sadness is peering over the fence at you. Will it be a whole year before you have another night like that?

You try to be logical and sober-minded, telling yourself that it was a good memory to bask in, and yet you know deep down something is amiss. Something is wrong. Finally, you scream inside (and try quickly to forget it), “Why can’t we be in love all year long?”

The Cure for the Valentine’s Blues

The blues you experience are invented, because the Day itself was invented. It’s marketing, that’s all. Yet, with Valentine’s Day there is something more—it is a day built on romance. Oddly enough, romance often works counter to true love.

Consider what romance is in reality. My friend Robert Fritz observed that, “Romance is the suspension of the norm.” Think about it this way: romance is where we clean up (don’t smell like ourselves), dress up (don’t look like ourselves), and go somewhere special (and don’t act like ourselves)! None of this is bad as long as you realize it is not real, that it is just a game. Okay, it’s a fun game, but it is still just a game. True love happens in the “norm.” It happens in the real world of your daily experiences.

In reality, I don’t believe there is much “real” about romance as it is commonly pitched. In truth, it damages both our dating relationships and our marriages to make romance itself the goal. The romantic standards can get so high that we can’t appreciate the real things right in front of us. Romance can be an equal opportunity destroyer—harmful for both men and women.

I’ve known men whose romantic standards were so high they would never go out on dates, or they wouldn’t ask the woman out again. I’ve also known women who live for the fairy tale wedding, but in time divorce to seek out the wedding-fantasy all over again.

The cure for the Valentine’s Blues is to simply recognize that it is a made up day. If you don’t have a special someone in your life on one particular day, why should it feel different than the day after? If you want to play the romance game, then play it, but remember it really is just a game. Pretending the Day itself proves or influences the love in your life, however, will really suck you into despair most of the time.

If you have a special someone, it is far better to find the love in every day. The day-to-day normal world is with you all the time in terms of work and laundry and colds and tragedies and funny moments. This is where true love grows and binds and matures. If you seek love in the suspension-of-normal world of romance, then you can only experience the diminishing return of, “But what have you done for me lately?” Each experience must top the last one when you fall into a quest to escape from life. True love is not an escape; it is nourishment to see us through the mundane parts that make up our daily lives.

Pause for a moment and notice that a love relationship is about building a life together. Tell the truth, both the good and bad, and work through it together. If you want to play the game, then dress up and go out! Pretend you are rich, or just met, or just got back from being a contestant on Survivor. It doesn’t much matter because you are playing a game that you take for what it is; it’s merely Valentine’s Day. A day brought to you by the card and candy industry…with some hope that you will find a special moment, made better by a special purchase! Make it great, but make it important! You’ll thank me in the morning.

Author Fred Lybrand takes an in-depth look into relationships and dating, plus offers a little common sense for the real day-to-day world, in his book, Glaen. Lybrand wants others to know the freedom that can be found in relating to others truthfully and without pretense. In his presentation of thought-provoking ideas, Lybrand first uncovers the lies of a secular world-view and then counters those lies with the truth of God’s design for the marriage relationship.


The life-changing principles found in Glaen are the gems Lybrand wants readers to take and experience in their own lives and relationships. The book serves as a great teaching tool for parents to use with their children as well as for church leaders guiding couples who are seeking a more satisfying marriage relationship. The Glaen Small Groups Study Guide is now available as a free download at http://www.glaen.com/.

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Winning Families: Cupid's Valentine's Day Message to Parents

Cupid's Valentine's Day Message to Parents:  L.O.V.E.

Gary M. Unruh MSW LCSW

Parents are constantly under the microscope. Whether they're being compared to Chinese mothers, or childless Aunt Susie is giving her two cents' worth of parenting advice, parents are all too often left shaking their heads in aggravation. "Isn't there a simpler, less frustrating way to raise my child?"

Yes, and it's called fully developed parental love -- the age-old Valentine's message shined up for twenty-first-century frustrated parents. After counseling over 2,500 children and parenting four of my own, it has become clear to me that tapping in to love's transforming power is the only way to go. Love covers all the essential parenting requirements:  L for Limit-setting, O for Openly communicating, V for Valuing, and E for Empathizing. One thing is certain: the more humans feel loved, the more they fully live life.

Here is a quick look at what fully developed parental love looks like.

L is for Limit-setting. Whoever invented the word love knew that the first letter needed to stand for limit-setting. Children are not born demonstrating good conduct; they need to learn acceptable behavior. Parents train their children best using two limit-setting activities: teaching good behavior and teaching a child how to stick with something until it is done (hard work pays off). Children need to learn the benefits of hard work, like giving up a fun weekend with friends to get a project done well. The right mix of fun and games with hard work will result in a responsible, resilient child.

O is for Open Communication. One of the most important needs of a child, or anybody for that matter, is to feel understood. That requires open communication. When a three-year-old hits his sister, the natural parental response is to yell and send him to his room. With open communication, understanding is the first step. Parents achieve this by calmly asking the child what made him so upset, then listening -- with no "buts." When children feel understood, they become more comfortable with themselves, more self-assured. Then, after understanding, the L comes back around -- limit-setting consistently.

V is for Valuing. At the heart of love is the letter V for valuing and validating. The need to feel valued is as important for children as their need for food. Telling children what they did right every day builds self-confidence. Children feel most valued when parents validate their feelings, especially during conflict. When Jared whines about chores, validate his frustration with "You are really frustrated and it's no fun to pick up," and then firmly set limits. He can stop whining and pick up his mess, or go to his room. A valued child is a child who wants to learn good behavior.

E is for Empathy. The learned ability to stand in another person's shoes ensures less risk for physical health problems and develops kindness, compassion, and quality intimacy. That's what happens when parents are successful in teaching their children all aspects of love, especially the valuing component. When children feel valued from the get-go, they know firsthand all about empathy. Over and over again I've seen these children become very empathetic individuals. The most gratifying success in life is enduring, close relationships -- one of the best results of developing empathy in our children.

Conclusion: When parents fully unleash their love, they can expect to raise responsible, loving, resilient children. Thank you, Cupid, for Valentine's Day -- a day devoted to experiencing the transforming power of love.

Gary M. Unruh, MSW LCSW, is a child and family mental health counselor with nearly forty years of experience. He is the author of the 2010 award-winning book Unleashing the Power of Parental Love: 4 Steps to Raising Joyful and Self-Confident Kids (www.unleashingparentallove.com).

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Winning Families: Suicide

About GodTest.com

Linda Evans Shepherd

http://www.godtest.com/

U.S. Suicide Statistics

(2005)

• 1.3% of all deaths are from suicide.
• On average, one suicide occurs every 16 minutes.
• Suicide is the second leading cause of death for 25-34 year olds, as well as college students.
• More people die from suicide than from homicide.
• There were over 800,000 suicide attempts in 2005.

Sometimes good things happen suddenly. It was New Year's Eve 2003 when I  considered all the people contemplating ending their life that very night. As a person who has also experienced a dark night of the soul, I understood how a crisis, circumstance or depression could create a state of hopelessness. It’s only by the grace of God that I survived my dark night to live a life of joy.

Sometimes all it takes to survive a dark time is a little hope and encouragement as well as a fresh perspective of God's love. That's when I decided to hook up my interactive website, GodTest.com, with the suicidal lanes of the Internet.

That night 20 people came to Christ. By Monday morning 100 people had escaped suicide and found faith. Two weeks later, we were at 12,000 hits and 2000 souls coming to faith.

I soon added other features to the site. With each improvement, we experienced greater statistics. More than that, we received personal reports to show the site served a purpose. A depressed pastor wrote, "Thank you. This was the worst ministry day of my life. Your site helped me feel better."

A dad of a disabled child wrote, "You saved two lives tonight. You see, I was going to kill both myself and my child, but your story has encouraged me. The two of us will live."

Since then, we have seen thousands of suicides prevented and over half a million people have come to faith. Millions have found the encouragement they need. We’ve recently redesigned the site and hope this will attract even more people to the site and encourage them to draw close to God.

As the president of a tiny nonprofit, Right to the Heart, we are delighted to help and encourage so many. Please visit the site, link to it from your online presence, and spread the word.

Linda Evans Shepherd

http://www.godtest.com/

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Winning Families: Christmas Under the Overpass

Under the Overpass

WaterBrook Multnomah Release


A few years ago two college aged guys decided to do something a little different: they became homeless for five months in six American cities. They did this in order to test their faith, and to see whether or not they were the Christians they claimed to be. Under the Overpass is the chronicle of their journey on the streets.

Christmas Under the Overpass Action Plan

• Fast and pray for those who are homeless in our country
• Find your local homeless shelter and volunteer now and then again in the new year
• Cook a pancake breakfast with some friends for homeless people at a local city park
• Throw a Christmas Party at your church for the homeless in your area
• Download the complete "Christmas Under the Overpass" Action Plan

About the Book

The new updated and expanded edition contains added stories, an interview with the author, a "five years after" bonus chapter, and a new foreword from Francis Chan

Ever Wonder What it Would Be Like to Live Homeless?

Mike Yankoski did more than just wonder. By his own choice, Mike's life went from upper-middle class plush to scum-of-the-earth repulsive overnight. With only a backpack, a sleeping bag and a guitar, Mike and his traveling companion, Sam, set out to experience life on the streets in six different cities: Denver; Washington, D.C.; Portland; San Francisco; Phoenix; and San Diego.

For more than five months the pair experienced firsthand the extreme pains of hunger, the constant danger of living on the streets, exhaustion, depression, and social rejection—and all of this by their own choice. They wanted to find out if their faith was real, if they could actually be the Christians they said they were apart from the comforts they’d always known…to discover first hand what it means to be homeless in America.

"The Scriptures are filled with images of a God who is casting down the mighty and lifting up the lowly, of the last becoming first and the first last. In relentless nonconformity to the patterns of our culture, the Christian call is not to move away from suffering but to move toward it, so that we can bear some of the burdens carried by our brothers and sisters. Here is one story of the downward mobility of the Kingdom. It is a story that dares you to move closer to the margins, to the suffering, to the pain...and to meet Jesus there—in His many disguises." —SHANE CLAIBORNE, best-selling author, activist, and recovering sinner

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BULLETIN BOARD

Do you have a family-related book post - marriage, parenting, relationships, etc.?  Here's your place to link up!  Check the rules if you've got questions.

Winning Families: Have a "Radical" Christmas

Be Generous
An Action Plan for a Radical Christmas
Source:  Be Generous Radical Campaign

FOR INDIVIDUALS & FAMILIES

• Pray for the land of Jesus' birth.
• Put Jesus before gift giving.
• Bring Christmas cheer to the poor in your community.

Download the complete action plan here.

FOR SMALL GROUPS

• Go "scripturing" door to door.
• Hold a Christmas fundraiser.
• Deliver presents to overlooked children.

Download the complete action plan here.

FOR CHURCH LEADERS

• Put "prayer" ornaments on your Christmas tree.
• Give away your 2010 budget surplus.
• Adopt an unreached people group.

Download the complete action plan here.

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Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream by David Platt: 

With passionate storytelling and convicting biblical analysis, David Platt calls into question a host of comfortable notions that are common among Christ's followers today. Then he proposes a radical response: live the gospel in ways that are true, filled with promise, and ultimately world changing.

This holiday season, be radical. Let the Gospel be your guide.

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BULLETIN BOARD

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Winning Families: Thanksgiving Web Spotlight

Web Spotlight:  Thanksgiving

by Shannon


Thanksgiving is just around the corner and some great stuff is all over the internet for this holiday of giving thanks. Some of my favorite activities:

Little Nippers' post on Winning Readings with her top 10 Thanksgiving Books

Counting Coconuts' Button Turkey

Frugal Family Fun with a Gratitude Activity Jar

Little Page Turner's cute Paper Bag Turkey

Little Page Turner's adorable Pilgrim Pancakes

Silly Eagle Books' A Day without toys to teach Thankfulness - it's not only wonderful but something every house should do!

Amazing Moms Mayflower craft - it would be a great table centerpiece or addition to homemade thanksgiving play set

Crafts By Amanda: click here to go to all her wonderful Thanksgiving crafts, including:

• Lightbulb Turkey
• Clay Pot Pilgrim
• Glove Turkey

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~Shannon, aka Gidget and Froggi's Mom, blogs over at Welcome To Our Wonderland, where you'll find lots of book-related activities and book reviews.

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BULLETIN BOARD

Do you have a family-related book post - marriage, parenting, relationships, etc.?  Here's your place to link up!  Check the rules if you've got questions.

Winning Families: Pumpkins and Gratitude

Pumpkins and Gratitude

by Shannon

P is for Pumpkin by Kathy Jo Wargin

Rhyming text presents each letter of the alphabet, and reminds the reader of God's blessings in autumn.

This book is such a great book that last through the whole autumn/fall season. We love it and read it so many times I really htink my 4 year old could read each page from memory :).

Gratitude Alphabet

Supplies:

• Posterboard
• Fall Colored Paint
• Fall Decorations
• Markers

1. Get a big posterboard and decorate it up with fall colors of paint and decorations.
2. Then, after everything is dry, write each letter and what your thankful for.
3. You might want to take turns so each person has a letter for themselves or each person thinks of something for each letter. Whichever works best for your family!

Thankful Jar

Supplies:

• Clean Plastic/Glass Jar
• Slips of paper
• Markers or Pens
• Basket

1. Get a jar and decorate it.
2. Add a slip of paper with something each member is thankful for (you can do this daily or weekly) and read them all at Thanksgiving Dinner

Family Pumpkin Patch

Supplies:

• Orange and brown paint
• Blue, green and yellow construction paper
• Glue
• Scissors
• Marker
• Paintbrushes
• Your hands

1. Paint the palms of each family member orange. Be sure to add some brown paint on the two middle fingers to make a stem and press hands onto construction paper.
2. Let it dry and then cut around the pumpkin (I used yellow so it looks like the pumpkin is shining!).
3. Glue to a big piece of green and blue construction paper (cut the blue construction paper in half and glue to the green so you have grass and a sky).
4. Optional:  Add the cloud Bible verse on top of the family pumpkin patch of pumpkins. Just cut out clouds and print the verse on them gluing them to the sky.  Bible Verse: "Let your light so shine before men." Matthew 5:16

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~Shannon, aka Gidget and Froggi's Mom, blogs over at Welcome To Our Wonderland, where you'll find lots of book-related activities and book reviews.

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BULLETIN BOARD

Do you have a family-related book post - marriage, parenting, relationships, etc.?  Here's your place to link up!  Check the rules if you've got questions.

Winning Families: Apples Web Spotlight

Apples Web Spotlight

by Shannon

Autumn is here, and the first things I think about are Apples and Pumpkins - more on pumpkins later, I promise. We did our annual apple picking, and let me tell you:  apples you pick taste so much better then store bought! :) We might even have to go back for some more before the first freeze or frost which is coming soon in our neck of the woods.

Our favorite Apple books:

• Amazing Apples by Consie Powell
• Ten Red Apples by Virginia Miller
• The Apple Bird by Brian Wildsmith

We had some Apple fun at our house:

Apple Trinity:  a neat way to explain the trinity to your younger kids and hey it doesn't use shamrocks!

Apples, Apples, Apples: they are all over the blogosphere!  I just have to spotlight a few.

• All About the Journey did some amazing and awesome activities.  We might have to revisit apple week just to try out all her great stuff! 
• No Time for Flashcards has some great Apple Crafts.
• 2 Teaching Mommies has a whole apple unit for you to try out.
• Growing Up Our Style did some neat Apple math and crafts.
• For the older kids or for some preschool science they can observe, try out Journey to Excellence's Mummified Apple.

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~Shannon, aka Gidget and Froggi's Mom, blogs over at Welcome To Our Wonderland, where you'll find lots of book-related activities and book reviews.

---------------

BULLETIN BOARD

Do you have a family-related book post - marriage, parenting, relationships, etc.?  Here's your place to link up!  Check the rules if you've got questions.