Join the #FamilyEasterOpenHouse
You’re Invited!
Easter is one of my favorite times of the year. I love celebrating Jesus and His resurrected life. I appreciate how—symbolic of Jesus’ rebirth—the whole earth breaks forth in life, budding fresh and new from a frozen world stripped bare. Since most of us will not be celebrating Easter at church this year, I thought we could ALL celebrate together through a Family Easter Open House. No matter your age–or how many people are in your family–I’d love for YOU to join us! All you do is post your photos on Facebook or Instagram starting Sunday, April 5th. Invite us into your home … and enjoy seeing how others are celebrating this season.Use the hashtag #FamilyEasterOpenHouse on all your posts … and then click on the hashtag to see what others are doing.
Join the #FamilyEasterOpenHouse
Here are the Prompts1. Palm Sunday Celebrations – April 5th 2. Favorite Easter Books (your favorites or make your own) – April 6th 3. Easter Crafts – April 7th 4. Easter Egg Extravaganza – April 8th 5. Easter “Service” (caring and sharing with a family member or neighbor) – April 9th 6. Good Friday Prayers (share your prayer journal!) – April 10th 7. Easter Edibles – April 11th 8. Family Celebrations and Easter Baskets – April 12th Here are some fun, creative ideas to help you celebrate…Adorable Easter Story Stones And a 2 Corinthians 5:17 Color Sheet that I created!
Our family also always enjoys doing Resurrection Eggs 👆
You might also like to check out my post 9 Perfect Easter Books for Your Little Ones as well as Meaningful Easter Basket Books for Your Kids. This is a time that you can help your child focus on prayer. Practicing a life long fellowship with the Lord through prayer is something I hope to foster in my children and grandchildren. That’s why I created the Mommy and Me Prayer Journals!
Check out the whole series: Here’s a sample of what the inside looks like:
You might notice I have not mentioned anything about the Easter bunny, that’s because I made the decision long ago to ban the Easter Bunny, you can read why here. Our Easter is so full of fun no one missed it. And click here to see one of our favorite fun DVDs to add to your child’s Easter basket.
Join the #FamilyEasterOpenHouse
Don’t forget this holiday is not just for your kids but also for you. Especially during this time of global crisis, use this time to dive into prayer and seek God’s face. Praying Through the Bible in One Year is a helpful resource to assist you.
And lastly, enjoy this post 3 Ways to Improve Your Prayers and Find Freedom in the Process– along with this downloadable PDF.
Join the #FamilyEasterOpenHouse
I cannot WAIT to see all of your photos and submissions as you take part in our #FamilyEasterOpenHouse! Let’s enjoy this season as we find creative ways to share it TOGETHER! Many Blessings,
Follow Tricia on:Facebook Bookbub P.S. I also wanted to remind you about TWO amazing resources right now: First, Teach Them Diligently is having an AMAZING online conference with 71 speakers AND a virtual exhibit where you can chat face to face with ME and other exhibitors! And I’ll be a part of two panels, too! You can sign up for only $25 for EVERYTHING. Click HERE for more details.
Second, I’m part of an amazing InfoStak bundle. $1,015.29 of homeschool materials. Yours today for only $49. Right now, you can access exactly these things with the premium tools and resources in The Ultimate Homeschooling Super Stack. It’s currently available until 11:59 pm EST on Tuesday, April 7th.A host of workshops, courses, planners and ebooks will help you:
And much more. Click HERE for more information! I hope these resources are a blessing to you!
Join the #FamilyEasterOpenHouse |
celebrate
Celebrate National Adoption Month with Beth Guckenberger
November is National Adoption Month, and I’ve invited some experts to guest post on my blog throughout the month! Today, please give a warm welcome to Beth Guckenberger!
Sometimes I have the great privilege of sharing with the NASCAR community in their pre-race chapels. I first met them through their chaplain, and then started going to a couple of races a year and sharing with them about orphan care and how I have seen God go to bat for kids around the world. Last month, I was at the Kentucky Speedway, and I brought two of my sons with me, one being my adopted fifteen-year-old son, Evan. We spent the hours before chapel talking to the community—drivers, mechanics, media personnel—hearing about the hard stuff they were experiencing, even in the glamorous lifestyle they enjoyed. We are not immune, no matter who we are and what we do. With all of that swirling around my heart and head, I leaned over and whispered to Evan, “Can I share our story in chapel with the drivers? Can we tell them that nothing is impossible?” He smiled and nodded, nervous a bit.
I took the stage, just an hour before the checkered flag, and began to share with the drivers and crew chiefs, family members, and teams about the day when God asked us to adopt a special-needs baby. I shared how overwhelmed I was, how inexperienced, how there were nights I questioned God, our future, and his goodness. I told them we eventually received a diagnosis of severe cerebral palsy, and the news of Evan’s never being able to walk was devastating.
Then I shared of one afternoon, of a normal moment that turned miraculous, not because I woke up and did or prayed anything different, not because we earned or deserved what happened, but because God is sovereign and at the end of the day, we either submit to it or fight against it.
Evan didn’t even army crawl; he was at that time a-year-and-a-half and couldn’t even move. We had daily therapies and were seeing no real progress, and yet . . . that one afternoon, frustrated with his sister and desiring the toy she had taken from him, he pushed himself across the floor (the start of the miracle!), pulled himself up on a couch (the tears started here!), cruised across the full-length couch (this started the phone call to my husband!) and walked across the room (hallelujah!).
As I shared the sequence of events in those moments, I motioned for my strapping, high school football player, Evan, to walk forward and join me on stage, and as he stood there, everyone gasped. Ever the proud mama, I told of touchdowns and athletic accomplishments, trying to “prove” when God decides to heal, it’s complete.
As those drivers had their jaws hanging open, I told them, “No matter what brokenness you are facing, the story isn’t over yet.” God can and will use all things to display his glory, and all we are to do is testify to it. I whispered to Evan how much I love being his mama, how he is a signpost to me of God’s pursuit of us. At fifteen, he didn’t quite know what to say, seeing these professional athletes moved to tears by his story and still wrapping his adolescent brain around what a holy God did for him. “It’s OK,” I told him. “You don’t have to have words. God is working in you still, and the story isn’t over yet. . . .”
About Beth
Beth and her husband, Todd, live with their family in Monterrey, Mexico, where they serve with Back2Back Ministries, an international orphan care ministry headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. They both graduated from Indiana University with degrees in education and between biological, foster, and adopted, are raising nine children. Currently the ministry has operations on three different continents (Mexico, India, and Nigeria). The Guckenberger’s have lived in Monterrey since 1997 and in that time have hosted thousands of guests on the ministry campus.
Beth is the author of Reckless Faith (Zondervan, 2008), Relentless Hope (Standard Publishing, 2010), Tales of the Not Forgotten (Standard Publishing, 2012), and Tales of the Defended Ones (Standard Publishing, 2013). Beth is the recipient of the the 2013 International Network of Children’s Ministry Legacy Award and the Cincinnati Christian University’s 2012 Salute to Leaders Award for her and Back2Back’s impact on children internationally. She travels and speaks regularly at conferences, youth gatherings and church services. Beth is also a co-host on Real Life, Real Talk on Saturdays at 8am on Sirius-XM 131. Her topics include, but are not limited to, orphan care, missions, ministry, parenting, marriage/intimacy, and general faith. Her style is story-telling and she draws from her field experience as a missionary and parent of nine children for illustrations to biblical concepts. Connect with Beth at her website or via Facebook and Twitter.
Looking for a Christmas present to give to a reader this holiday season? Why not give a copy of Love Finds You in Glacier Bay, Alaska?
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You’re Invited to Host a Christmas Brunch Book Club Party!
I love Christmas. Always have. I love selecting the perfect gift for a special friend, looking for ways to bless a family member secretly, going over my Christmas card list, baking up some sweet holiday magic, and paying one of my children to do all the wrapping. (Hey, I can’t do it all!) When I sat down to write my latest novel, A Christmas Gift for Rose, I thought about the message I wanted my readers to take with them after turning the last page. What is that message? ”As we discover our true selves, we also begin to understand God’s plan for our lives.”
I’ve been living out this message for the last decade as I’ve written dozens of books. True stories inspire me—stories from World War II veterans, stories from Amish friends. In A Christmas Gift for Rose I was able to combine these stories. How wonderful is that?!
This Christmas novella takes place in 1946, right after the end of World War II. My grandma Dolores has told me a lot about those years. Many times she’s told me about what it was like living in a boxcar, only having one dress, and eating simple foods, yet still never feeling full. It was important for me to step back into this time in history and share about the struggle and sacrifice. Why? As we understand our past and the challenges of others, it helps us appreciate what we have even more. It also makes us consider what we can do to help those around us . . . just as the Yoder family helped Rose.
On Saturday, December 7th, in honor of the publication of A Christmas Gift for Rose—and Pearl Harbor Day!—I’m throwing a Christmas Brunch Book Club Party: 50 parties in one day! And you’re invited!
I won’t personally host all those parties, but my festive team at Zondervan and I have figured out a way to make it happen. And what’s a party without guests? This is where you come in. I’m inviting you to apply to host one of the 50 Christmas parties across the country so you can have fun sharing my books with your friends and celebrating the holiday season.
If you are selected to host a party in your home, you will receive a party kit loaded with all you’ll need, plus something JUST FOR YOU! Each party host will receive a copy of A Christmas Gift for Rose and pack of books. (Included will be The Memory Jar, The Promise Box, a sneak peek excerpt of forthcoming The Kissing Bridge, and Christmas Stories by Max Lucado!) You’ll also receive a leader kit complete with recipe cards, bookmarks, and signed bookplates from me to offer to your friends, as well as discussion questions and a Gathering & Giving handout.
But there’s more! (Yay more!) I will also send you some simple brunch recipes and A Christmas Gift for Rose trivia game to play during the party.
Could it get any better? Yes! The host’s kit will also contain details about the LIVE webcast message I’m putting together that will be broadcast on December 7th during your brunch. Connect with your friends, host a book discussion, play a little trivia, and then gather around your TV, laptops, or individual tablets or phones for a short Christmas greeting from my heart to yours.
Only 50 people will win a party, but I’m so blessed by your excitement for sharing my books and hope you’ll apply by the November 5th deadline. Visit this page to apply (scroll to the bottom to see the form).
Good luck, and may your Christmas be so very merry and bright!
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