Deal of the Week

I got an awesome deal last week before we headed out for our mini-vacation to Disney World and I thought I'd share it with you!  I was looking for some good walking shoes as I knew I would be doing a lot of walking around Disney.  It's usually hard for me to find a shoe that doesn't make my feet hurt at some point but this time I think I happened onto some really good shoes at an even better price.  I went to Walmart to get a few last minute items for our trip and decided to check out their shoe department.  I found these Danskin sneakers and decided to try them on.  They were definitely comfortable in the store but would they stand up to hours of walking?  Well, at a price of only $20 I figured it wouldn't be too bad if they didn't work out.  I got them in the charcoal gray color with some small dark purple accents so they actually blend in well with dark-washed jeans.  You won't have that "mommy" look with the bright white sneakers and dark, bootcut jeans.  Anyway, we walked and walked and walked for 5 days and I can honestly say my feet never hurt once!  This is an amazing "feet" for me!  haha...

The great thing is they also make little girl's sneakers so I got a pair for my 4-year old and they were only $10.  She loved them and wore them all over Disney and didn't have any complaints either. 

I don't get paid for endorsing Danskin but I definitely will be going back for another pair when these wear out.  Good deal...almost a steal!  Let me know if you bump into any good deals this week. 

Firefly Lane

When I started reading "Firefly Lane" by Kristin Hannah I had no idea that it would draw me in the way it did and cause me to neglect my usual household chores to steal a few minutes here and there reading it.  The book explores the lifelong friendship between the 2 main characters, Tully and Kate.  They couldn't be more opposite in their backgrounds or personality but the circumstances of life that draw them together make the reader cling to the story line to find out what happens to them next.  At moments the reader might identify more with Katie and then you'll waver and think maybe you are really more like Tully in some way.  You get to follow these two from adolescence well into their later life.  The author covers a lot of ground...after all you've got 479 pages to read in the paperback edition, but somehow when it all ends you will find yourself wanting just a few more pages to tell you a little more. 

In the interest of full disclosure, there are definitely some adult themes in the book but it's not gratuitous or frequent.  There are aspects of their lives that you would not emulate nor would you condone but these aspects are part of the story and help to build the main characters.  The book is well-written and if you want something that's a little heavier than say a "beach read" or a romance tale then this is a book you'll enjoy. 

Who Will I Rescue?

Have you ever walked out of church on Sunday morning and felt like the sermon had hit you like a hammer right between the eyes? Well, that’s what happened to me last week. It was as if the Holy Spirit was saying, rather loudly, “Are you listening? Are you listening? I’ve been trying to tell you this for a while now…”

Our pastor spoke on the importance and I mean the life and death kind of praying for those in your family, circle of friends, acquaintances etc. who are not Christians. He spoke of the role we have of rescuing people who are lost. The aspect of the sermon that spoke to me the most was when he said that many of us have people in our immediate family who are not saved and yet we rarely petition God to save them. He said we should be so concerned for their salvation that we would get on our knees and beg God to save them. Wow…that hit a little close to home. Sure I’ve offered up prayers for the salvation of my unsaved loved ones but it’s more or less when I remember and it’s not every consistent and I wouldn’t classify it as “begging” either.

The eternal destiny of my loved ones and friends and really anyone I come in contact with should be of utmost importance to me yet how often is it just that lingering thought that comes up every so often when I hear a sermon about salvation.

You see the Holy Spirit has been talking to me about this for a while. He’s been asking me to not only pray a little more fervently but to maybe take some steps and these require ACTION to bring some people to Him. Hmmm…this sounds a little scary and hey, these people have heard it all before. Some of them even grew up in church…gasp! What could I possibly have to offer that’s different? Well, there’s this little thing called my testimony and there are some really great things happening in my life that have come directly from God. Maybe I could tell someone about it and it might just be the thing that brings them back to God.

And then there’s the matter of prayer…this one really jumped all over me because I have a tendency to do a lot of things in my so-called busy life but my prayer time can be relatively small in comparison to other things…say like watching TV, or reading, or answering emails. Not really bad things in and of themselves but just things that take up time.

So here I am and I’m going to really try to dedicate A LOT more time in 2010 to asking dare I say even begging God to save some people. How could I do any less?

What is a Kindle?

Ever since I started telling people I received a Kindle for Christmas, I’ve gotten a lot of mixed responses. The most common response is, “what is a Kindle?” Let me try to explain it briefly…

A Kindle is basically an IPod for books in the way it works but it is about 6 times larger than an IPod. The screen is built bigger so you can read on it for hours and not damage your eyesight. It is very lightweight…about 1 lb.

One of the big advantages I’ve found so far is that you can get almost any book instantly. The Kindle automatically connects to Amazon.com. If you have a book you want to read, you conduct a search on Amazon, find the book and then look for the “Kindle price.” It’s usually $9.99 or less to download a book. You can even download a preview chapter of the book to determine if you want to read it or not before you purchase it. If you decide to purchase it, the book is downloaded to the Kindle and you can start reading right away.

The other advantage is that you don’t have to store the books once you finish reading them. Everything is stored conveniently on the Kindle and you can go back and read a book again any time you want.

I know in the long run it will be a savings for me too since the cost to download is a lot less than the cost of the printed version of the book. Usually I buy a trade paperback at $14.99, read it once, and then either keep it on a bookshelf or pass it on to a friend. When I have tried to resell books, the most I have ever gotten is about one-quarter of what I paid for the book originally.

It’s definitely been an adjustment since I’m so used to the printed word and I love to peruse bookstores and purchase books. I think I will still occasionally purchase a “real” book but I love the convenience of the Kindle.