Self Help Book for Life: Ordering Your Private World Review

Into Self Help Books?

Handlebar Marketing gave me a copy of this book for review; all opinions are my own.

Are you living in chaos? Do you perpetuate chaos? This blog is titled, Kids Creative Chaos, but several years ago, I was able to squash most of the chaos. I learned to say 'No' and not to overextend myself. I forgave myself for not attending every event or argument that crossed my path.

Amazon Affiliate: I get a small commission if you make a purchase from a link.

Some people need routines to organize the chaos. For me, the routines bred the chaos. Now, I take one day at a time and try to live every day to its fullest potential. Of course, on some days, life's fullest potential is just relaxing and watching a movie on Amazon- not something I felt comfortable doing in the past. How could I sit idle when so much needed done? If you are looking for a self help book for life, Ordering Your Private World is the perfect choice. Enjoy!

 

The first thing you need to know about Ordering Your Private World by Gordon MacDonald, is that it is a Christian book written by a pastor. It references scripture. For some that will be a win, but for others it may be a turn off - don't let it be. MacDonald's personal journey may be different from your own, but it is worth the read. Written in a conversational style, this self help book on life is a quick and easy read.

Book Blurb: One of the great battlegrounds is within the private world of the individual. The values of our Western culture would have us believe the busy, publicly active person in ministry is also the most spiritual. Tempted to give imbalanced attention to the public world at the expense of the private, we become involved in more programs, more meetings. Our massive responsibilities at home, work, and church have resulted in many good people on the verge of collapse.

In this updated classic, Ordering Your Private World, Gordon MacDonald equips a new generation to live life from the inside out, cultivating the inner victory necessary for public effectiveness.

The author shares his personal journey of a Pastor spread too thin. He shares a turning point that gave him insight and helped him realize the time had come to organize and take control of his own life. With a study guide to help you on your own organizational journey, in no time, you'll be on your way to a life led by your own spirituality focusing on what's really important and matters most to you.


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Get my book, Circle Time Handbook (Games and Activities for all ages.)

Corn on the Cob Recipe with Cheese

Easy Recipes: Cheesy Corn on the Cob

This cheesy corn on the cob recipe is so simple, it's ridiculous! Inspired by a menu picture at a steak restaurant, I knew it'd taste yummy. The picture showed corn on the cob with red and black seasoning oozing with what looked like cheese. It turned out to be butter, but I decided to try to recreate what I thought I saw: corn on the cob with cheese. Enjoy!

This post contains affiliate links.

How to Make Cheesy Corn on the Cob Recipe

Ingredients:

4 fresh ears of corn

1/2 t. salt

Salt, red pepper, and black pepper to taste

4 slices Havarti cheese

2 T butter, divided

Directions:

1. Shuck the corn, and clear away the silks. In a large pot, add enough water to cover the ears. Remove the corn. Add 1/2 t. salt and 1 T butter. Heat the water to boiling. Add the ears of corn. Boil 6 minutes. Remove the ears and let them cool 5 minutes.  

2. Season the corn with salt, red pepper, and black pepper to taste. Melt 1 T butter. Coat the ears with the melted butter. Top with the Havarti cheese slices, tearing each slice so that the entire length of corn is covered in cheese.

3. Broil the ears on high approx. 2 minutes, or until the cheese browns slightly.

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What is FFA? Future Farmers of America_ Get Involved

Get Involved with National FFA

This is a sponsored post for Mom it Forward. All opinions are my own.

What is FFA? Growing up in the Midwest, I was very familiar with the corduroy navy blue FFA jackets. Not a lot of kids at my school wore them, but attend an event at a rural school and everyone seemed to have one. What did they mean? How was I not a member of this elite club? I felt left out. Flash forward thirty years later, and head to downtown Indianapolis during the National FFA convention and you'll wonder what you're missing too!

FFA Jacket from FFA.org

Every fall, the Indiana Convention Center is filled to the brim with navy jacket wearing youth from all over the country. So, what is FFA? FFA stands for Future Farmers of America. You might already know that, but do you know what they do?

The letters “FFA”  are a part of their heritage that will never change. But FFA is not just for students who want to be production farmers; FFA also welcomes members who aspire to careers as teachers, doctors, scientists, business owners and more. For this reason, the name of the organization was updated in 1988 after a vote of national convention delegates to reflect the growing diversity and new opportunities in the industry of agriculture.

The National FFA Organization remains committed to the individual student, providing a path to achievement in premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education. National FFA Convention is held at the Indiana Convention Center.

Farmland, a leading brand of bacon, sausage, and ham, is proud to partner with the National FFA Organization, formerly known as Future Farmers of America, to support the future of agriculture by donating $0.10 to FFA for every Farmland item purchased now through September 30, 2017, up to $75,000.

These donations will help FFA continue to further its mission of making a positive difference in the lives of students and shine a light on the agricultural industry.

In addition to the donation, Farmland will provide grants to select Midwestern FFA chapters later this year, providing financial support to high school students working on animal care projects.

Participating Farmland products include everything from Farmland bacon and breakfast sausage to boneless ham and lunch meats.

FarmlandFoods.com, Facebook.com/FarmlandFoods or @FarmlandFoods on Twitter.

Support the Future Farmers of America by going to Kroger and
purchasing Farmland products now through Sept. 30, 2017.


With every Farmland item purchased now through September 30, Farmland will donate $0.10 to FFA, up to $75,000.

Since 1959, Farmland has been passionate about making high-quality foods, working alongside American farm families to offer the best quality products such as bacon, ham, and sausage. So, it makes sense that they support FFA.

More than 50 years later, Farmland’s unsurpassed passion and pride are stronger than ever, serving retail and foodservice customers across the United States. Farmland’s great tasting products – bacon, sausage, specialty cut ham, and more – are tender, flavorful, and made with quality ingredients. All Farmland products are products of the USA and are free of hormones and MSG.

For more product information or recipe inspiration, visit FarmlandFoods.

As hobby farmers, my kids have been active members of 4H and now, as they move into middle school and high school, they are interested in the FFA. So, we've been looking into options for homeschoolers. Want to join? Find out more here: How to join FFA.



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Math for Homeschoolers Online

Homeschool Math Classes Online

If you're looking for math for homeschoolers online, you'll want to check out Make Math More Fun by Shenek Altson. She teaches homeschool math classes online. Check out her guest post to make math more fun by playing simple math games. Enjoy!

This post contains affiliate links.

Make Math More Fun by Playing Simple Math Games

Keep It Simple Mommy

As a homeschool mom, if I don’t get anything else done in a day, I like to get some type of reading and math done, because I know those two subjects form the foundation of so many other things.  For me, I’ve seen just how beneficial being good in math is, particularly as a homeschooling mom who sometimes needs to help out financially.  There’s always someone who needs a math tutor! But many times our kids don’t see the benefit of being a Math Ninja, and they need a lot of convincing that this subject is worth spending tons of time on.  So, what can we do to help them learn a subject that has gotten a bad wrap for being boring and tough at the same time? Play simple math games with your kids. Make math fun through games! And you don’t have to come up with these complex, mind blowing games.  You’ll be amazed at how much fun you can have with your kids playing simple games.

I find that one of the best ways to make math more fun is by using games.  It’s amazing that our young children love spending time with us.  I’ve heard that one day this may change, but for right now, one of the number one things my kids like to do, is to spend time with me.  And they really enjoy it when we are able to play a fun game together during this time.  A huge tip though is to keep things simple.  As a homeschooling mommy who has other subjects to cover, lunch to fix, dinner to start prepping, errands to run, bills to send off, appointments to make, you already have a lot of things on your plate.  So having simple go-to games that you can play with your kids on a regular basis, can help you to make math more fun while not having to re-invent the wheel (because no one has time for that.)

How to Play Simple Math Coloring Game

I made up a simple Math coloring game that uses dice.  My kids are not the type of kids who generally like to color, but they enjoyed playing this fast paced game.  What I did was take two coloring pages, and numbered different portions of the pages with the numbers 1 thru 6.  Then each child was given a die.  They were given the instructions of rolling their dice, and whatever number came up, they were to color one section of their picture with that number.  The first child to finish coloring his or her entire picture would be the winner.  Boy, oh, boy, my “non-coloring children” became coloring machines.  They were throwing those dice and coloring up a storm trying to be the first person finished.  We used large dice that I purchased at a dollar store.  The next time, to add more learning to the activity, I am going to give each child two dice, and then have them sum the numbers on their dice.  Then they’ll color the number on their page that is the sum of the dice.

So step 1 is to take any random coloring page, and number it from 1 thru 6 in the different sections of the picture.  If you are going to have them work with sums, number the sections 2 thru 12.   For each child, make sure that you number the same number of sections on each child’s coloring page to make the game as fair as possible.  It’s not necessary to use the same picture for each child.  Just make sure you have numbered the same number of sections on each child’s coloring page.  So for example, pick 15 different sections to number in each child’s picture.  Below is an example of me numbering a coloring page.

Then give each child a die.  If you were going to be letting them figure out sums, give each child 2 dice, so that they can roll up to a sum of 12.  Then let the race begin.  Each time they roll the die, they color one section that has that number in it.  My two children who played did not use the same coloring pages, but again, I numbered the same number of sections in each of their pictures.

So, there you go.  A pretty simple way to have your kids practice number recognition or addition.  My kids had fun racing to see who was going to be the first one finished. My son ended up winning this simple math game!

About Shenek Alston

Now, let me tell you a little about me.  I’m a homeschooling mom to three kids ages 9, 5 and 2, and I have a PhD in Statistics.  Before I met my husband, I planned to be a College Professor. Now I’m a homeschooling mom who blogs about ways to make math more fun.  I also teach math for homeschoolers online. In my FREE ONLINE LIVE MATH lessons, I help kids with topics such a fractions, decimals, percents, and integers.  If you are interested in learning more about these lessons please visit Make Math More Fun and have a great time making math more fun with your kids!

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