Category: Christian Faith

Encouraging Prayer

By: Hallee

Friday, I posted this on my Hallee the Homemaker Facebook page:

My washing machine died, my laptop crashed, my gps went missing, Gregg has National Guard this weekend – which is also my book signing weekend for Topaz Heat, and I have to enroll Scott into public school on Monday.

I’m kinda done. If it wasn’t 10AM, I’d be considering red wine and dark chocolate. But, since it’s 10AM, I’m drinking a strawberry smoothie and prepping to go to the laundromat.

≈sigh≈

I did it moderately tongue-in-cheek, partially mocking myself, partially complaining. I expected some similarly toned replies. Instead, among many wonderful and encouraging comments, I got these:

Best Laid Plans…

By: Hallee

I feel a little bit like a fraud. “Christian Homeschooling Mom Enrolls Special Needs Child in Public School.” I don’t know how a family so strongly homeschool minded could end up with not one, but two children in public school and a 4-year-old in a preschool. However, despite what WE thought was best, God has intervened and taken us on a different direction.

From Beginning to End

By: Hallee

Almost exactly four years ago, I determined I would read the Bible through – starting in Genesis and ending in Revelation, from Old Testament to New Testament, in order.

Despite being raised in the church and being a Christian for most of my adult life, I’d never done that before. I’ve read a lot of some of the books of the Bible, but some of them I’d never even opened. I’ve faithfully attended several services a week in churches all over the country most of my life, and heard sermons preached from several different books of the Bible, but, again, some books were never opened.

The Faith Element

By: Hallee

Oh, but the story is a GOOD story. GOOD. GOOD. This is the kind of story that a reader would totally devour.

At my book signing, we were all standing around talking about it. I explained that looked at it and looked at it and thought, it’s a good story, it can be cleaned up, but I honestly don’t know that a faith element would add to the book. So, maybe I’ll just make it a “clean” romance and publish it like that.

Everyone encouraged me and said it was a great idea.

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Menu Monday 11 JUN 2012 – Daniel Fast Week 1

By: Hallee

Here’s the menu for my family for the week of June 11th.

Gregg and I have felt the need to fast for several weeks now, but we were crazy around here with the end of school and getting books released. So, we’re starting the fast this week. The reason for the timing is this: this is seriously the only chunk of summer that isn’t rife with military training for the national guard or summer camps, etc., for our ministries. If we were going to fast this summer, it has to start now, and will unfortunately collide with the combination birthday party we’re throwing for the boys at the end of the month. But, it will be the end of the fast, so we’ll be in a good stride by then.

Yesterday, I started a 21-Day Daniel Fast. My blog post about that can be found here, but basically, it’s vegan extreme – and I’m throwing in my own personal restriction to unleavened bread only. Gregg is actually doing a juice fast during the day and eating vegan soups in the evening, so you’ll see pretty much only soups as our evening meals.

This week is also VBS at church. I’m working in the kitchen, so the temptation to eat foods not on the fast is going to be great — especially with this being the first week of the fast.

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My First Book Signing

By: Hallee

I had my first book signing on Saturday at Bethany Book Room for the paperback release of Sapphire Ice. It was so much fun. I was incredibly apprehensive leading up to it, but I am not a “small talk” kind of person. I’m great in a chat room or an instant message window – but not at networking and socializing. So, going into it was a little bit nerve wracking. Until that morning when I sought strength and found this verse:

I can do all things through Christ[a] who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13

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Easter and Eostre

By: Hallee

We aren’t going to judge or condemn what anyone else does anything different – from decorating Easter eggs to full blown gift giving bonanzas. Each family needs to make their own decisions and their own traditions for holidays. This is just how our family has decided to observe this, what is to us, the most holy and amazing of all holidays.

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Would You Let Your Child See the Hunger Games?

By: Hallee

Yesterday, on the Focus on the Family blog, the post title was “What Do You Think About The Hunger Games?” It posed the question, “Would you permit your son or daughter to watch if they wanted to? Why – or why not?”

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