REVIEW OF NATURE'S SLEEP MEMORY FOAM SLIPPERS

Thanks to Nature's Sleep I had the opportunity to try a pair of their Memory Foam slippers and boy am I glad that I did.

They come in two styles open and closed and come in a variety of sizes and colors. I chose the closed toe slippers in pale blue. I have tried other bargain slippers and they never lasted and were poorly made. the seams would fall apart and I had to throw them out very quickly. The memory foam slippers are well made and cradle your feet in softness and comfort. They also have a slip resistant sole and fit perfect. I have wide feet and have a tough time finding comfortable slippers. The slippers retail for $25-$30 and are definitely worth the investment. I recommended them to all of my friends.

So if you would like to purchase a pair of these great slippers, head on over to the site and you can order your own pair. They are offering a 50% off coupon to use on their website. Please use BEARS50 when you to receive the discount. 

So stop by the site and check out all of the other products that Nature's Sleep has to offer.

Disclaimer: 

I was sent a free pair of Nature's Sleep Memory foam slippers for my honest review and was not compensated in any way for my review.

PEARL GIRLS MOTHER OF PEARL BLOG SERIES DAY 2

Welcome to Pearl Girls™ Mother of Pearl Mother's Day blog series - a week long celebration of moms and mothering. Each day will feature a new post by some of today's best writer's (Tricia Goyer, Sheila Walsh, Suzanne Woods Fisher, Bonnie St. John, and more). I hope you'll join us each day for another unique perspective on Mother's Day.

AND ... do enter the contest for a chance to win a beautiful hand crafted pearl necklace. To enter, just {CLICK THIS LINK} and fill out the short form. Contest runs 5/6-5/13 and the winner will on 5/14. Contest is only open to US and Canadian residents.

If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we're all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls™ products (all GREAT Mother's Day gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.
And to all you MOMS out there, Happy Mother's Day!

Joy Comes from Perseverance by Sheila Walsh

One of the most important lessons I have learned in my own life is the joy that comes from perseverance. Eugene Peterson, borrowing a phrase from Friedrich Nietzsche, wrote his book  “A Long Obedience in the Same Direction …Discipleship in an Instant Society.” He points to the Psalms as the way believers have always learned to pray what they live and live what they pray but it is not a short journey. It is an intentional commitment to keep walking even when you are worn out.

*If we want to see lasting results in any area of life it’s important to keep walking in that direction.

*If we want to have a better understanding of the Gospel of John then it takes time and commitment to dig deeper day after day.

*If we want to be thinner this summer than last summer then the work begins now not then.

So too in our relationship with Christ…..

*If we want to know Him at a more profoundly intimate level, that also takes an intentional seeking after Him every day.

As a grown woman I have come to love the beauty of this gift. Passing this “mined treasure” onto my son on the other hand has been an interesting challenge.  We live in such a fast paced, attention-challenged culture where the latest thing can be delivered to your doorstep by tomorrow for a few dollars more. But, as you know, by the time it is delivered it has already been replaced or updated!

How do we speak then into the lives of our children to help them understand and value perseverance?

For me…part of the puzzle meant a large piece of poster board, scissors, some photos and a bottle of Elmer’s glue. My son, Christian and I spread everything out on a sheet in the game room as I explained our project. “We’re going to make a family faith-tree,” I said. “These are photos of family on your dad’s side and on mine. Many of them have gone on to be with Jesus but the seeds they planted into our family continue to grow.” Then we wrote down their names and when they came to faith in Christ (as many as I knew).  It was quite something to see when we were finished.

“Your life matters Christian. Running your race well matters.”

That night we read these words from the writer to the Hebrews,

“We are surrounded by a great cloud of people whose lives tell us what faith means. So let us run the race that is before us and never give up.”

Hebrews 12:1 (NCV)

###

Sheila Walsh is a Bible teacher, speaker, singer, and best-selling author with more than 4 million books sold. Sheila Walsh is the creator of the award-winning Gigi, God’s Little Princess® and her new series, Gabby, God's Little Angel. Meet Gabby in Gabby's Stick-to-It-Day. As a featured speaker with Women of Faith®, Sheila has reached more than 3.5 million women by artistically combining honesty, vulnerability and humor with God’s Word. She resides in Dallas with her husband Barry and son Christian. Visit www.sheilawalsh.com for more information about Sheila, her other books or Women of Faith.




Exciting News – the latest Pearl Girls book, Mother of Pearl: Luminous Legacies and Iridescent Faith will be released this month! Please visit the Pearl Girls Facebook Page (and LIKE us!) for more information! Thanks so much for your support!

WELCOME TO THE MOTHER OF PEARL MOTHER'S DAY BLOG SERIES

Welcome to Pearl Girls™ Mother of Pearl Mother's Day blog series - a week long celebration of moms and mothering. Each day will feature a new post by some of today's best writer's (Tricia Goyer, Sheila Walsh, Suzanne Woods Fisher, Bonnie St. John, and more). I hope you'll join us each day for another unique perspective on Mother's Day.

AND ... do enter the contest for a chance to win a beautiful hand crafted pearl necklace. To enter, just {CLICK THIS LINK} and fill out the short form. Contest runs 5/6-5/13 and the winner will on 5/14. Contest is only open to US and Canadian residents.


If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we're all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls™ products (all GREAT Mother's Day gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.

And to all you MOMS out there, Happy Mother's Day!

Priceless Treasure by Cindy K. Stiverson

We've heard it said and often find it true:

You don't know the value of a treasure until you're without it. 

We take for granted the things in life that seem so readily available.

   A paperclip or rubber band, to hold things together.

   A tissue or napkin, to wipe our nose to clean our face, to absorb our tears.

   A Bible to speak words of wisdom and instruction and life and love.


And a Mother, who is all these things and more.

   She is readily available.

   She holds things together.

   She wipes our nose, cleans our face (and our fingers, and, well…everything else!)

   She absorbs our tears and calms our fears.

  "She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue." (Proverbs 31:26)

   She loves.

Within hours after my mother passed into the gates of our heavenly home, I was missing her. Her quick wit…humor…charm. Her warm smile and melodious laughter, which served her well to the very end, as did our Lord Jesus Christ, who so graciously allowed her to slip quietly and peacefully into His arms.


She simply stopped breathing.

As I stood at her bedside in those priceless moments after her passing, I wanted to touch her skin as much as possible while there was still warmth in her body; to nuzzle my nose against her head and breathe in the scent of her hair while she was still there. Priceless treasures I was guilty of taking for granted, clouded by unmet needs. I was so consumed with what she was not, that I never fully appreciated who she was. It’s like I was blind, but now I see!

I see her strength, her commitment. Her perseverance…sacrifice…her unspoken love. I see how much she meant to me, how much she did for me, how much she taught me, and how much of the good in me was modeled by her.

She was a virtuous woman, as described in Proverbs 31 of the Bible.

“Her children stand and bless her… a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised. Reward her for all she has done. Let her deeds publicly declare her praise (vs. 31).”

This last verse of the poem serves as an epitaph for the woman of virtue. It speaks of the legacy she leaves in her passing. It spurred me to write a personal epitaph for my mother, which I read at her funeral.

We publicly declare your praise today, 

and in the days to come,

for you deserve to be praised and blessed,

"We honor you, Mom, for all you have done!"

In my earliest of memories, 

You worked so hard, striving for the rest.

You persevered through great trials

and did your very best.

I know you are being rewarded

in ways far beyond our reach.

We honor you now by practicing what you've taught,

and even what you preached!

You've stood for us for all these years,

Today, we stand for you!

I pray that our applause on earth

will reach your heavenly ears.

With the reading of this poem, I asked everyone to stand. We clapped our hands in celebration and praise of the life of my mother, Margaret Alice Stiltner.

Imagine our surprise to discover that she had left a poetic epitaph for us! She had clipped it from an old magazine and framed it. I found it when I was cleaning her home, on a nightstand by her bed. My mother was never versed at expressing emotion. This was her sweet way of kissing us good-bye: a priceless treasure to remember her by.

###

Cynthia (Cindy) Stiverson is a speaker, writer, and artist.  In 1998, she founded Woven: Women of Virtue Network, a spiritual formation and friendship ministry. She pastors the women at Newark Church of the Nazarene in Ohio. She is currently working on her fourth Woven Workbook, and also a book for mothers and daughters on the subject of sexual abuse. Cindy considers raising her daughter, speaker/author Nicole Braddock Bromley, to be her greatest achievement. She loves the men in her life, hubby Mark, grandbabes Jude and Isaac, and son-in-law Matthew. You can find more of Cindy at www.WovenWomen.blogspot.com and www.CynthiaStiverson.com



Exciting News – the latest Pearl Girls book, Mother of Pearl: Luminous Legacies and Iridescent Faith will be released this month! Please visit the Pearl Girls Facebook Page (and LIKE us!) for more information! Thanks so much for your support!

When To Plant Tender Annuals In Your Garden

I love to work in the garden and plant annuals and many varieties of vegetables but is it the right time to plant them. I found this great article that can help us determine the best time to plant them.

When To Plant Tender Annuals In Your Garden

By Glory Lennon

As soon as the garden centers fill to bursting with tiny pots, large hanging baskets and endless flats of annuals the winter-weary gardening enthusiast can barely keep from grabbing all within sight whether or not it is the correct time to plant these out in the garden. Flowers bring the hope of spring and with that the end of cabin fever. Who doesn’t crave that after a long, cold winter?

Alas, many a time do these folks regret rushing out as soon as they feel a warm spell to gather their favorite annuals for planting outside. When they plant these tender annuals too soon in their gardens there is a very good chance the frost will come back without warning to bite them in the bud. Mother Nature, after all, is fickle and we all know she likes to flirt with that rascal Jack Frost which in turn brings havoc to our gardens. Woe be the impatient gardener!

Don’t deny it. You know you’ve done it. Even the most experienced among us have. We want the earliest tomatoes in the neighborhood. We wish to get a jump on a way-too-short growing season. We want to think spring and the warm weather will stay if we cross our fingers and beg pretty-please. But wanting and wishing isn’t going to help you here. What you must do is learn the Last Frost Date for your area if you want to know when to plant annuals safely in the garden.

The Last Frost Date is just the date when your particular area is relatively safe from a killing frost, relatively being the operative word. Here we come to the tricky spot because even knowing this magical Last Frost Date does not guarantee it will not frost nor get cold enough to harm our fragile annual plants during the night-time hours between sunset and sunrise.

So, what good is knowing it? Just like knowing in which Hardiness Zone you reside and garden will enable you to grow plants suited to your area, the Last Frost Date will give you a general idea of when it is safe for the planting of tender annuals. Within each Hardiness Zone, however, there can be several different Last Frost Dates due to differences in elevation, the proximity to large cities and/or large bodies of water and how much rainfall or snow your region may get in the spring.

To know for certain what is your Last Frost Date and also in which Hardiness Zone you live go to http://www.almanac.com/garden/frostus.php and enter your city, town, village or the nearest one to you. This should give you the safest time for the earliest planting of the tenderest of annuals.

Now, a bit of friendly advice from one who knows through achingly harsh experience. Once you know your Last Frost Date do yourself a favor and add two weeks before you plant. Why? Jack Frost is a bit of a renegade and often cheats on Mother Nature. He tells her all is wonderful and safe, but as soon as she becomes complacent, he can turn nasty and spurn her without remorse. Once you’ve gardened long enough you will know this to be quite true.

So, take heed, be safe, learn your Last Frost Date and you’ll know for certain exactly when is the best time to plant tender annuals out in your garden without risking damage to them. You are now allowed to breath easy.

Author Glory Lennon Resource: For more fun gardening facts and amusing stories come visit  http://www.helium.com/users/32782

Article Source: When To Plant Tender Annuals In Your Garden

Article From: Organic Gardening Articles

INTERVIEW BY M. SUSSMAN AUTHOR OF CRASHING EDEN

I would like to welcome Michael  Sussman to Books R Us. Michael is the author of Crashing Eden. Thanks for stopping by.

Interview

Can you tell me who or what was the inspiration for the book?

The novel stems in part from experiences I had with meditation as a teenager and young adult. I’ve also been interested in world mythology for many years, and am especially intrigued by the widespread myths suggesting that humans have degenerated from an ancient state of grace, symbolized by Paradise or the Golden Age.

The story began to take shape when I wondered what might happen if we were somehow able to recapture the state of mind experienced by people before the Fall. What if we built a device that altered our brains in such a way that we felt like we were back in the Garden of Eden?

To be honest, my son also provided much inspiration and also helped me enormously in coming up with the plot.

Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it?

Yes, I’ve definitely had periods when I couldn’t write a thing and had no ideas. It’s a terrible feeling. With other types of work you can just “phone it in”, but not with writing.

With mild writer’s block, I can overcome it by exercising, being in nature, taking a hot bath, or simply taking a break from writing. With more serious cases, it takes some psychological/emotional exploration. The blockage may be due to depression. It may stem from avoiding something that you need to write about. In one case, my writer’s block evaporated when I shifted from writing for adults to writing for children!

Can you tell me your experiences in finding a publisher for the book?

Currently it’s nearly impossible to sell a novel to one of the major publishing houses without an agent, so I initially focused on finding an agent. It was a tough sell, though, because the story is quite outlandish and may be considered blasphemous by some folks. Several agents loved the story, but felt the novel belonged with an indie publisher. Sure enough, it was the small independent publishers that were drawn to the story, and I went with Solstice Publishing.

How long did it take you to write the book and how long did it take to get the book

released?

I wrote the first draft in about five months. I then paid a freelance editor to do a developmental edit of the manuscript. Based on her critique, I spent another half year rewriting the novel. After getting further feedback, I spent several more months polishing the story.

One of the great thinks about working with a small publisher is that you don’t have to wait two or three years before your book is available. I signed a contract in February and the novel will be released in May.

Who is your favorite character in the book and why?

I especially like the protagonist’s best friend, Deon Jenks. He makes some great wisecracks and does his best to keep Joss honest with himself.

What are your current / future projects?

 

I’m working with a fabulous British illustrator on a comical adventure story in verse, titled The Great Gogglemog. I hope to start another novel this summer.

Do you have any tips for a young writer just starting out?

Definitely join a writer’s group. Your writing cannot progress in a vacuum, and you cannot rely on friends or family to give you the feedback you need.

If you’re writing for children or young adults, join the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (http://www.scbwi.org/). They hold great conferences and can help you find a critique group. Also check out Verla Kay’s chat site (http://www.verlakay.com/) which provides a wealth of information and emotional support.

If your book was to be made into a movie, who would you like the main character to be played by and why?

I have to admit, I’m not very familiar with teen actors! To go way back in cinematic history, I’d want someone like James Dean. Dark and brooding.

What do you like to do for fun when you’re not writing? Where do you like to vacation? Can you tell us briefly about this?

I’m a musician and dancer, and I love to read. Most of all, I like to spend time with my son, who is thirteen and a great guy.

Mostly, we like to vacation in Cape Cod or go skiing in New Hampshire or Vermont.

Can you tell me where we can purchase your book?

The novel is available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble, as well as at Solstice Publishing:

http://bit.ly/GEZGcz

Thanks so much for inviting me to do this interview and helping me spread the word about Crashing Eden!

ABOUT THE BOOK: 

For one boy and his friends, the path to Paradise comes at a cost—one they may not be prepared to pay.

When a biking accident leaves 17-year-old Joss Kazdan with the ability to hear things others can't, reality as he knows it begins to unravel.

A world of legends exists beyond the ordinary life he's always known, and he is transported to the same Paradise he's studying in World Mythology. But the strange gets even stranger when his new friends build a device that delivers people through the gates of the Garden of Eden.

Now Samael, the Creator God, is furious. As Samael rains down his apocalyptic devastation on the ecstasy-seeking teens, Joss and his companions must find a way to appease Samael—or the world will be destroyed forever.

Author Bio:

 

Michael Sussman is the author of Crashing Eden, a YA fantasy/paranormal novel, and Otto Grows Down, a children’s picture book featuring illustrations by Scott Magoon.

Dr. Sussman is a clinical psychologist and has also published two books for mental health professionals. He’s the author of A Curious Calling: Unconscious Motivations for Practicing Psychotherapy and the editor of A Perilous Calling: The Hazards of Psychotherapy Practice.

Dr. Sussman resides in the Boston area with his son, Ollie.