VBS 2024 - Hometown Nazareth by Group Publishing

Please share this with the Children's Leaders in your church - 

Today I'm happy to look at "Hometown Nazareth" from Group Publishing - which equips you to take the children in your church and community on a visit to Jesus' hometown, Nazareth, where they will be able to experience village life as Jesus might have lived it when He was a boy! 

Celebrate Dr. Seuss' Birthday with a "There's a Wocket in My Pocket Rhyming Scavenger Hunt"

In a less than a week it will be Dr. Seuss' birthday so if you would like a fun idea for something you could to do with the children you love to "celebrate", check out this idea. When my grandsons were younger I browsed on  Pinterest  and found an idea I absolutely LOVE . . . a "There’s a Wocket in My Pocket- A Rhyming Scavenger Hunt" - we did this and it was SO much fun!

Today is National Chocolate Covered Nut Day

I personally LOVE dark chocolate covered almonds! I eat a few each day because they are good for me, and because I LOVE them! So, when I saw today is National Chocolate Covered Nut Day, I thought I'd share this tasty day with you! Did you know . . .

Fun with Grandsons - Making S'more Pops!

Today I am remembering ten years ago when I was blessed to spend a couple days with two, too-sweet-for-words grandsons (although I never am truly at a loss for words when it comes to telling how sweet they are :-)!) We had so much fun! One of the things we did was make s'more pops (you'll find how to make these at this link).

Dr. Seuss Quotes - Just for the Fun of It!

The month of March is Dr. Seuss Month, so, I thought I'd share a few quotes to get us ready for my Month of Dr Seuss Quotes!

grandma's cookbook - Today is National Banana Bread Day!

My family enjoys banana bread . . . for good reason; banana  bread tends to be moist, soft, and flavorful . . . in short, it is a tasty treat for sure! So, when I discovered it is "National Banana Bread Day", I had to share this bit of news with you! Days of the Year (dot) com says, "Banana bread first started to become popular back in the 1930′s, during the Great Depression. Cultural historians suggest resourceful and creative housewives of the era created the recipe as a way of not wasting over-ripe bananas. In fact, the riper the bananas, the better the taste of the banana bread, so it ended up being a very clever creation! It is traditionally known as a 'quick bread', but is actually more like a cake in both texture and flavor."

Yes! VBS Does Make Solid Dollars & Cents for Your Ministry!

Please share this post with the Children's Ministry Leaders in your church . . .

There was a time, not too long ago, when nearly all churches budgeted for VBS. Most considered it (and rightly so) a part of their evangelism budget as VBS was one of their biggest evangelism outreaches of the year. In many churches it was their biggest outreach of the year. Then in the years leading up to COVID more and more churches stopped using VBS - far, far too many stopped any ministry opportunities to children in the Summertime. Then COVID hit and pretty much all churches stopped offering VBS - and everything in person for two years. Last year some churches were starting to plan for VBS again, and this year even more churches are taking a serious look at VBS. I am very happy to see this as VBS is a fantastic way to reach into your community - it is one of the best and most effective ways you are able to make use of the money you budget for evangelism. Why is this? Consider the following . . . 

Today is National California Day

Today is National California Day - my husband is from California, we met on an active volcano in California - yes, there is an active volcano in California . . . Mount Lassen - and we lived there a few years when our children were young, so I personally find the silly laws and interesting information about California to be, well, interesting! Whether you live in, or have lived in California or not, I hope you find this post interesting, too. Let's start with the silly laws, did you know . . . 

VBS 2024 - SCUBA from Group Publishing

Yesterday I wrote about how it is the time of year where I post my VBS reviews on my other blog - today I posted my review of SCUBA from Group - it is, in my opinion, the best VBS of 2024. Please share this post with the Children's Ministry leaders in your church.

crafting with grandma - Purple Minions

Several years ago when my grandsons were younger I crocheted purple minions for them - the previous year I crocheted Perry the Platypus' for each of them. I thought I'd show you a photo and give you a link to the pattern in case you want to make one . . . maybe for a birthday, Easter, or even Children's Day - which is a real holiday and is the second Sunday in June; you have plenty of time to make them by then if you want to!

grandma's cookbook . . . Strawberries & Cream Pie!

February is the Great American Pie Month, so if you are looking for a tasty pie to try this month, consider making a strawberries & cream pie - this is a family favorite so I'm sharing the recipe for the pie with you today!

It is Time for VBS 2024

It is the time of year where I share my VBS reviews. I used to write my reviews for this blog and for  Christianity Today's Your Church Magazine  - I'd typically review about 16 kits each year. Now, especially after COVID, there are not 16 publishers still producing VBS, but there are some. I no longer review them all - I choose the VBS kits which I believe are the best based on my years of reviewing curriculum and then share my reviews with you. This year I am reviewing VBS from Group Publishing. You will find my full post at this link - please share it with the Children's Ministry leaders in your church.

Today is National Cherry Pie Day

Today is National Cherry Pie Day - if you are like many people, when you think of cherry pie, you picture a baked crust filled with tasty cherries - and topped with a scoop of ice cream, of course! At my house cherry pie looks a little different . . . I take a half block of cream cheese and let it soften to room temperature, whip 1/4 cup sugar with the softened cream cheese so it is fluffy, set aside, and whip heavy cream to a nice, creamy whipped cream, mix with the cream cheese, fill a graham cracker crust, and top with cherries. Keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve and then, of course, enjoy!

Now for some fun facts about pie - did you know . . .

just for fun . . . Today is Love Your Pet Day!

Yesterday I wrote about how today is Love Your Pet Day . . . and wrote about my cat, Candy - and shared her photo, today I want to share photos about a very sweet Basset Hound my daughter rescued named Rosie and our son/daughter-in-law/grandsons' two terriers named Gimli and Roxi.