Ten Commandment Gourd Devotion

Good Monday morning!

The Showcase Pic today is of Josh, Austin and Roxie after the JSU game Saturday afternoon. It's silly, but I like it.

The Gallery Pics include a couple more JSU photos along with two or three from our Thanksgiving celebration at my Mom's house yesterday. I like to call it Thanksgiving #1, because we'll be celebrating Thanksgiving #2 on Thursday with Mike's family.

I WAS WONDERING - Was it just me, or did anyone else hear a story on The Today Show about a canned pumpkin shortage this year? News stories like this absolutely push me over the edge. I now have 48 cans of Libby's packed pumpkin... and I'll be selling them for a small profit between now and Thursday. I've even put a couple on e-bay. Let the bidding wars begin!

CONTEST! CONTEST! CONTEST! The Contest winners celebrating my 300th post of A Simple Life will be awarded their very own Mystery Bag Party. That's right! We had such a good time in October, I have decided to have another Mystery Bag Party in January... and the six women who will accompany me on this "journey" will be selected from the women who enter the contest.

Just leave your name under my Comment Section, on Facebook or my e-mail with the word "CONTEST" beside it, and I will put your name in the bowl. I will draw SIX NAMES December 18... the day of my 300th post. You have about three weeks to enter. It will be a very fun party! I've also changed things a little from the first party, so it will be an unique event. I'll be reminding you once a week or so until December 18, so go ahead and get your name in today! A good time will be had by all who win!

Monday Mayhem

I've tried very hard to think if anything changed from the original plans, but believe it or not, everything went according to the SCHEDULE! I'm loving that! I know better than to get used to the feeling though.

Friday night everyone went their own separate ways, but met back at the house in time for bed and a much-needed rest before our marathon Saturday began. Saturday morning was just beautiful, and we headed to the last JSU game of the season. The band was great (again), and I even saw some Gardendale friends visiting to catch a glimpse of the best college band in the state. (Hi, Faith!) Unfortunately, because of the exact location where I saw Faith, I didn't have my camera with me or she would have been in the Gallery Pics. (People tend to get a little nervous when you take a camera into the bathroom, and understandably so!)

Josh stayed behind and had supper with Austin before they packed up his "stuff" (Code for AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF DIRTY LAUNDRY), and headed to Trussville to pick up Roxie. Mike and I had plans to eat with friends at Ezell's in Trussville, and even that worked out perfectly time-wise. Austin and Josh arrived 15 minutes before we were to meet our friends. We actually had time to spare! Amazing! (And I ate fried pickles. I love fried pickles with ranch dressing. I couldn't eat them every day, but Saturday was a fried pickle kind of day, if you know what I mean.)

Sunday morning was spent cooking, going to church and heading over to my Mom's for Thanksgiving with my side of the family. We had a wonderful feast, read our Thankful Letters, and "hung out" for several hours before heading home to do laundry (me), have a dinner date with Melia (Austin), watch The Amazing Race (the Faulkner Five) and stay up incredibly late (Josh and Roxie) because some of us were able to sleep in! Yes! I love the holidays.

Ten Commandment Gourd Devotion

There is a small, round gourd with ten raised bumps on top going around the gourd in a circle. (It is very distinctive.) During the Thanksgiving season, you can use this gourd as a table centerpiece and after dinner one evening, as a devotion. Holding the gourd, ask the children to count the bumps. Talk about the number ten and ask the children if they can think of something in the Bible which uses that specific number. (Hopefully, they will come up with the Ten Commandments.)

Ask the children which book of the Bible they can find the Ten Commandments. Ask them to name as many of the commandments as they can from memory. Read Exodus 20 and discuss the ten commandments one by one. Be sure to be able to explain words such as "adultery," "covet," "idols," etc. in ways your children will understand. Use examples your children can relate to, also. You can plan on having this devotion with your family no matter what their ages in November. If the children are old enough, you can also give each family member a commandment to memorize before the next meal.

The idea for this devotion came from Tish Boyer many, many years ago. I'll try to find a gourd and add a picture to the Gallery this week, but once you see it, there is no mistaking it is the Ten Commandment Gourd. (And I've counted hundreds of bumps on these gourds... There are ALWAYS ten! It's pretty neat.)

Have a lovely Monday. No school for Josh and Roxie today! If you're out of school, I hope you have a well-deserved break. Tuesday I have a new recipe from a church friend you'll want to check out... And no, it isn't soup! There will be an Austin Update in the morning. I may have some good news to share. I'll also have a few hints about our Special Guest who will be making her appearance next Tuesday, and I've picked a topic for the week which will begin first thing tomorrow.

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting and Ever So Thankful Belinda