Lots of Helpers

Our family's life in New Zealand

Book Review–Fire in the Feedmill

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We were excited to receive Book 6 in the Brady Street Boys series. We’ve been looking forward to this! The entire series has been good, and the books seem to even be getting better. I have only read the first few chapters of Fire in the Feed Mill to the children so far, but I read the entire book myself so I could write this review. I’ll have to admit, I was secretly delighted to “have“ to read ahead! I had a hard time putting it down.

The boys from Brady Street have just arrived in a small town in Illinois. When they were in Iowa, they found a forwarding address for Dr. Jefferson in Bitterroot, Illinois, so decided to follow the trail there. Upon arrival, the three boys and their uncle found a small apartment to rent for a few days that even overlooked and chocolate shop/restaurant. The next morning when they looked out the window before going to the chocolate shop for their breakfast, they were shocked to see an ambulance in front of it, and a man being carried out on a stretcher. Then, it began to appear as if Dr. Jefferson was involved in a scandal that had to do with the man, who had apparently been poisoned at the restaurant. What was the truth? 

This week’s Fruit of the Spirit study is supposed to focus on goodness. However, Terry, Gary and Larry are not seeing much goodness; instead, with a suspected poisoning, they seem to be seeing its opposite. Of course, they have to do their best to solve the mystery of whether the man was actually poisoned, and who did it, as well as find Dr. Jefferson. Their search takes them all over town and they get to meet many interesting people as well as learn a lot about animal feed and architecture.

As I’ve said with each of the other books in the series,  I love the way Katrina Hoover Lee has woven an engaging story with Christian values and a clever whodunit together. I have to admit that I was misled several times. I thought I had things figured out, only to come to an unexpected twist, and something else happened that I didn’t anticipate.  Now, I am eagerly waiting for book 7. She managed to end Fire in the Feedmill on quite a cliffhanger! 

Purchase your copy here. I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author (although I will also be purchasing a hard copy), and these are my honest thoughts about it.

September 2023 Photos

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Here are the rest of the random photos from last month. I don’t remember what the occasion was for the pie, but I took this picture because we made the ice cream from a recipe that my sister-in-law gave me. It was delicious!

Simon spent a few of his days off fixing the old ute to make it able to pass its inspection. We were thankful not to have to junk it, too–the gray van couldn’t pass, so we have just replaced it.

James started building a sleepout for himself. Here he is setting up the joists and building the floor. It hasn’t gotten past that yet.

There are lots of Lego creations around. I thought these were pretty nice.

Mr. Sweetie requested a chocolate pizza for his birthday cake. (If you don’t understand, read The Candymakers by Wendy Mass. Esther baked a base from sweet roll dough, and we spread it with Nutella, then topped it with M&Ms and miniature marshmallows. Next time, we’ll make the dough thinner–it was too thick.

Our little lime tree produced a lot of fruit this year! I fermented some, and juiced the rest to freeze for later use.

Somehow, I don’t think Princess appreciated having a pillow on top of her.

Mr. Sweetie made these moccasins for himself.

Book Review–The Two-Cent Piece Audiobook

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About the Book:

Book: The Two-Cent Piece Audiobook

Author: Dennis Conrad

Genre: Christian 1800s Historical Fiction

Release Date: August 2, 2023

Anne wonders what secret her three older brothers are hiding. When she finds out they joined to fight with the Union Army and would leave the next day, she give them each one of her favorite two-cent pieces, and says, “I want you to take one of my new two-cent pieces. I learned these coins are the first with the word ‘In God We Trust.’ I just memorized Psalm 91:2. ‘I will say to the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: My God, in him will I trust.’”

Out of a heart of love, Ann gives six of her special coins away, hoping the message on the two-cent piece will strengthen each person’s faith.

My Thoughts:

I love the pictures in this book. They are beautiful! I also like the historical aspect of it; I had never heard of American two-cent pieces before. I remember two dollar bills when I was young, but never these coins, and I found it really interesting to learn that they were the first to contain the words “In God We Trust.” However, I did not appreciate that this book seems to promote Christians going to war. According to Matthew 5:39, Christians are not to resist evil, not to mention not going to war. For this reason, even though I like the portrayal of generosity, and the history included, I can’t recommend this book.

I read this book in January for a review, and now was asked to review the audiobook. It was well-done and easy to listen to. Each page turn is indicated by a “ding,” so this would be a great audiobook for little children who also have the hard copy. I know my little girl loves audiobooks like this when she also has the physical book to follow along in!

I received a review copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it. Links may be affiliate links, which will benefit Esther’s website if purchases are made through them.

About the Author:

A former coin collector for over fifty years, Dennis combines his love for the Bible, children’s literature, and sharing stories about the history behind coins.

He retired as a professor of Speech Communications from Barstow Community College. He and his wife served as English and public speaking teachers ten summers overseas.

He became a life member of the Numismatic Association of Southern California in 1973. He is also a life member of the American Numismatic Association.

Dennis is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and a Fellow of the National Writing Project.

Learn more about coin collecting. Dennis offers free resources for children on his website about coin collecting: https://dennisconradauthor.com/coincollecting4/

More from Dennis:

Collecting Coins Can Change Your Life! It Did Mine…

As a child, my friends and I wanted to know everything about coins.

We learned about coins through stories: Who was on each coin? What were coins made of? How were coins made? Where were they made? Why were some more valuable than others? and How could I start collecting on my limited budget?

Coin collecting is a hobby where collectors never stop learning! For example, when I started to watch coin prices, without realizing it, I was learning basic economics.

Over the years, I kept adding to my collection. Decades passed. I attended coin conventions, read books and articles about coins, and remembered where I had found and/or acquired each coin.

One day, my wife looked at me. “Will you ever sell your coins?”

“No.”

That is when I heard God’s still small voice.

God pointed out to me that my coins had become more important than Him. Without my realizing it, my coins had become an idol.

At that time, at the top of the market, I sold my collection without regrets, and used the money to pay off my home mortgage.

Now, God has given me the privilege of writing stories about coins, and encouraging others to embrace a hobby that has given me a lifetime of joy.

Blessings to you and yours,

Dennis Conrad

To purchase your copy, click here.

To visit more of the blog stops on this tour, click here.

To enter a fun giveaway, click here.

More Birds!

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Every so often, when I look at the camera, I find evidence that someone has been using it besides me. Some of the pictures are nice, some get deleted. Here are a few of the ones I found this time. Apparently, Jo-Jo wasn’t interested in the mirror, but Kea was!

Miss Joy loves the birds! We can’t touch Kea, but Jo-Jo will sometimes be persuaded to sit on a shoulder.

I took this one. One of the children was sure that the yellow-headed bird he saw in the empty section beside our house was a budgie–I took the picture, then zoomed in to show him what it really was.

I also took these two pictures when I was at Arthur’s Pass on the way home from HEART South. First one kea was considering eating Esther’s car, and then another joined it. They didn’t get any bites, though!

Gayle took this picture one day when he was down in the paddock with the children. These are the chicks I hatched in the incubator in May.

Lyttleton

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Near the beginning of September, I had the privilege of going to the HEART South retreat for homeschooling mothers. It was a very special experience to be with around a hundred other mothers who all share similar goals. This year, it was held at the Living Springs camp near Lyttleton, just outside of Christchurch. During the free time on the Saturday afternoon, I went for a walk with some friends. That “walk” turned out to be quite an adventure, as we tried to blaze a trail to a particular destination! The trail we thought we were on turned out to be a dead end, and trying to get back to where we needed to be was a bit challenging. It was a lot of fun, though, and I loved the time reconnecting with old friends.

This is the view up the hill from the camp.

Looking down over the camp buildings toward Lyttleton Harbor. Banks Peninsula is on the other side of the water, to the right.

We walked out past the camp to their outdoor camping area, and enjoyed this view of the harbor.

That evening after dark, I walked outside by myself for a little while to enjoy the warm night. This was the harbor in the dark–except it was much more beautiful in reality.

And, the harbor again in morning light! It was so beautiful!

This was a nettle we saw on the walk on Saturday afternoon. I still haven’t gotten around to looking it up to see what kind it is, but I don’t think I want to touch it!

Then, a few weeks later, I saw Lyttleton from the other side. Simon and I went to Christchurch to buy a car, and the dealer told us to go through the Lyttleton Tunnel on our test drive.

Elijah’s Birthday

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Elijah had a birthday last week. Most of us went in on a high-lift jack to go along with his truck, and when it was delivered here, on his birthday, I decided to hide it in the truck. It has tinted windows, and we knew he wouldn’t be using it that evening. That gave us the idea to make him a treasure hunt to find it, so the other children all put their heads together and wrote up a trail of clues. It took them about five minutes to write and distribute all the clues! I got a video of the last two stops so that Simon could share in a little of the fun, since he couldn’t be here. The first clip shows him finding the clue for which he was given “Words in Red.” He found the last one there, which was, “Red Monster,” meaning his truck. Then, though it’s dark, you can see him finding the gift. After that, everyone came back inside and he was given a few other things. First, James challenged him to an arm wrestle–the winner could have the gifts! Unfortunately for James, Elijah is quite a lot stronger still! After that, James started a newspaper-ball fight with the gift wrapping. (Do you get the idea that James keeps things lively here?)

Helicopter Flight

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Last year, Elijah signed on to Land Search and Rescue. Since then, he has been doing training for searching for people, mostly in the wilderness but occasionally in urban settings. He has only had the opportunity to go on two searches so far, both in the last two months. The second of them turned out to be a false alarm, but he got a helicopter ride over beautiful terrain on a bright, sunny day, and got to spend time in the bush on that same bright, sunny day. I can’t identify the location or give any details about the incident, but I am allowed to share these scenery photos. Suffice it to say, the location is not too far from us, and the helicopter he rode in is one operated by a company based near us, which we see flying over frequently.

This is Elijah all decked out in his searching gear. He had just walked home after the helicopter ride back from the search and hadn’t taken it off yet. He was explaining here how they measure footprints and stride lengths with that stick to make sure they are still following the trail they think they are.

Here is a quick video of a little of what he saw from the helicopter. Wow!

Book Review–Powerful Whispers

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About the Book:

Book: Powerful Whispers: A 7-week Journey Discovering Who You Are To God

Author: Christa Joy Spaeth

Genre: Christian non-fiction, devotional

Release Date: February 22, 2023

Powerful Whispers gives you a glimpse of how awe-inspiring God’s whispers of His love are for you. He desires to capture your heart, to communicate personally with you, to encourage and strengthen you.

Each daily devotional offers God’s life-giving words, suggests powerful worship, and provides an activation step applying that day’s principe to your life. Let the Lord fill your cup to overflowing as you embark on this amazing 7-week journey.

Whether you’be been walking with the Lord for years or have been recently saved, you will discover in fresh new ways that: God Knows You – God Loves You – God Fights for You – God provides for You – God Chose You – God’s Peace is for You – God’s Powerful Whispers Can Change your Life

My Thoughts:

I have been reading this devotional for over six weeks now, and have appreciated a lot of the thoughts offered here. At the same time, I have been a bit disappointed. The main focus seems to be on what God does/can do for me, rather than on Who He is. While there is a place for talking about what God does for us, that tends to lead to a self-centered religion, rather than a God-centered religion. I would have preferred a devotional that pointed me more towards God rather than toward myself and what God says/does to/for me. There are some real gems in these pages, though. I appreciated the suggestion to transfer water from one glass to another, drop by drop, thanking God for a blessing from Him with each drop. Another day, I appreciated this quote: “Abundant life doesn’t mean it is an especially long life. Abundant life isn’t an easy, comfortable life. Abundant life is a life of satisfaction and contentment in Jesus.” I also liked the one about the glory of God, and one that talked about a way to study the Bible. However, in one place, the recommendation was made to have communion by yourself, and another day to say, “Holy Spirit” with an inhale and “Breathe on me” with the exhale. I am not comfortable with this kind of suggestion; I struggle to see it as Scriptural. So, while there is much good in this devotional, there are also a number of reasons that I am not interested in having a physical copy on my shelf.

I received a review copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it. Links may be affiliate links, which will benefit Esther’s website if purchases are made through them.

About the Author:

Christa Joy Spaeth is the founder of Christa Joy Ministries. It was in 2022 when Minnesota-based author Christa received a compelling message from God. In a prayer cabin called “Whisper,” He prompted her to write a seven-week devotional.

Since then, Christa’s eyes, heart, and ears were opened to more whispers, so that she may start fulfilling her new purpose of helping the hurting and share the love of Christ.

This blessed wife, mother of two, and businesswoman is passionate about living up to God’s plans for her every day. So much so that in 2022, she stepped down from her decades-long career as a Registered Dietitian at a large food manufacturing company to pursue the promptings of the Lord and encourage others in Christ.

Today, Christa owns and operates Christa Joy Ministries where she publishes her own books, writes daily encouragements and God whispers on her social media accounts. In addition, she does guest blog posts for various social media accounts.

More from Crista:

One morning while I was away at a prayer cabin, the Lord laid on my heart that I was to write a book. My first thought was, “Oh, my!  Lord, I have never written anything other than work-related documents.  Where do I begin? What do you want me to write?”

I am so honored and humbled that the Lord placed amazing book experts in my path over the next year to launch this unique devotional book in a mere 55 weeks. This feat is spectacular as I didn’t know anything about the publishing business.

Two components of Powerful Whispers that my readers love are the suggested worship and the activations. After each devotional was written I searched for the perfect worship song. You will find several suggested indie artist songs and a few popular worship songs too.  Daily you will find an activation which engages your entire body to be able to get the daily truth deeper in your soul.

The Bible verse I read before I starting to write Powerful Whispers is found in James 1:5, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.” God continually showed His faithfulness to me by providing wisdom to share with my readers.

My heart’s desire is that readers will soon learn through this daily devotional that God chose them, He loves them, and He wants to share His powerful whispers daily for their life.

To purchase your copy, click here.

To visit more of the blog stops on this tour, click here.

To enter a fun giveaway, click here.

More Children’s Fun

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Our children are always coming up with new and creative ways to have fun together. One Sunday afternoon on our way home from church we stopped and let the girls pick a few daffodils beside the road. Then, Esther took a selfie with her little sisters and their flowers.

Mr. Imagination built this contraption for Miss Joy. It’s supposed to be a tractor; it’s more like a go-kart. They have spent a lot of time pushing each other around in it.

One afternoon, I noticed the girls playing that they were going shopping with the book bags Grandma made while she was here. I didn’t want to distract them by going in the room to get my camera, so I grabbed the iPad to take a picture. It didn’t turn out very well, but it’s precious to me anyway.

Miss Joy loves Goofball! Goofball isn’t sure she loves Miss Joy, but she puts up with a lot. She’s a very gentle cat who keeps her claws in.

Gayle frequently walks “around the block” with the children. One time, he let them slide on piles of gravel at the bottom of the hill. They sure had fun–and they sure came home dirty!

Scenery

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Elijah has taken several work trips down south to the glacier area lately. He took these two pictures on one of the trips. What amazing views he gets to savor while he drives for work!

But then, I sometimes have amazing views while I work, too! This is the view from the top of the hill across the road, where we pasture our cows at times. They have spent the winter there, and I’ve been milking by hand up there for the past month. I didn’t have my camera along the morning that there was snow on top of that range of mountains, but talk about a spectacular view! Wow. These pictures were taken the morning we had a full moon–that’s a supermoon you can see there. The layer of fog lies over the Grey River; you can often easily see where a river is by looking at the fog in the mornings. Our house, by the way, is just to the left of the picture.

I took this one about 15 minutes later, after the sun was up higher, from a slightly different place on the hilltop. It is looking down to the right of the previous picture, down the hill to the north of our village. We use the paddock across the highway from the road that comes up from the bottom of the picture for our cattle, chickens and turkeys.