Cara's Beach Party Disaster by Elaine Schulte

Cara’s Beach Party Disaster
By
Elaine L. Schulte
Series: The Twelve Candles Club #3
Published By: Bethany House Publishers
Copyrighted: 1993
Type of Book: Christian Fiction
Physical Description: Paperback, 5x7 inches
About the Book: Twelve-year-old Cara has problems at a beach party near her home in Santa Rosita Estates in California and she learns what true friends are like. Cara is a member of the Twelve Candles Club (they are all twelve) and they are all at her house for a movie and party. Cara's half-sister, Paige, picks out a movie and it turns out to be R rated so most of the club decides to leave, because it is not what God would want them to see. The next day at one of the club’s jobs they forgive each other; because Cara discovered Paige had done it on purpose. Cara's family doesn't attend church, so she decides to go with the members of the club. The youth pastor teaches them that God is there, we just need to answer and also the first five commandments. Cara is very eager to learn more and wants to apply it to her life. Paige is continuously mean and disrespectful to Cara, which damages Cara’s self-esteem. Cara continuously forgives her and tries to help her. At the beach party Cara has to wear Paige’s Bikini, and was approached by some college age men. She doubts her friends' compassion and decides to go on a date with one of them. When she meets the guy for a date there are other guys there to, her friends chase them off before something could happen. Paige comes to help Cara too. Paige and Cara talk and Cara learns her sister hurts and is mad, because Cara has a father who did not leave. Cara learns that her friends and Paige really do love, respect and forgive her as she does them. Cara also discovers how much God loves her.
What I liked: I liked how this book shows us that forgiveness can always be there for us and we need to remember to do it ourselves. Cara clearly shows what it feels like to forgive and need forgiveness. That is something we need to do daily.
What I disliked: I disliked how the author uses R rated movies and college age men to illustrated how much Cara's friends care about her.
Would I recommend: I would recommend this book to the older children in the age group (8-12). I would not want my eight year-old-reading this subject material.

People of the Way by Edith J. Agnew

People of the Way was written by Edith J. Agnew and illustrated by Johannes Troyer. The copyright is 1959 and was printed by Westminster Press. It is 50 pages. This is an easy reader, but it is for older children, as the subject matter is more difficult.

This story is about the disciples and how they continued Jesus’ ministry after he had been crucified. The main characters in this are Peter, Barnabas and Paul. I really enjoyed this story, because I relearned the story. I did not know that the Greeks called them Christians. It was also interesting to learn that after they had held many meetings in people’s houses the word church was used. There are important Bible verses (Matthew 28:19-20, John 13:35, and Acts 4:20) on in the inside cover to learn and memorize. There are also two prayers.

The illustrations are realistic and well drawn. In this book the colors are pastel. There are also black and white illustrations.

Since this book is so long it can be read with the chapters or straight through. My 4-year-old liked the story, but we needed to read it in chapters.

Prayer of the Week- Spring Storms

Dear Lord,

Thank You for the rain, sun and warmer temperatures. It is enjoyable to see the new flowers, green leaves on the trees and the new baby animals.

As spring progresses to summer and the rains fall, please protect those who are in the storms's paths. Help people to know when the storms are coming so they can get to their safe places. Constantly remind people to not drive in flash floods. Spring storms can be very dangerous, please everyone safe.

In Your name I pray, Amen.

5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE
4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
A small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug (MicroSafe)

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly.
Pour in the milk and oil and mix well..
Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again.
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts.
The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!
Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.
EAT ! (this can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous).
And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world?
Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night!

The Bare Cupboard Edition #2!!!

Welcome to the April 24, 2009 edition of the bare cupboard! Thank you so much for submitting. I really enjoyed reading all of these posts. Please remember to comment and socially bookmark.

Silicon Valley Blogger presents Cheap Meals and Easy Dinner Ideas: Recession Dining For Under $10 posted at The Digerati Life, saying, "Thanks!"

The Smarter Wallet presents Cheap Meals You Can Cook At Home To Save Money! posted at The Smarter Wallet, saying, "Thanks!"

MatthewPaulson presents The Cost of Healthy Eating: Is it More Expensive? posted at Fine-Tuned Finances.

Joseph presents How To Make A Pizza posted at Mom's Favorites.

main dishes

Local Nourishment presents Breakfast Casserole, Chicken and Sweet Peppers posted at Local Nourishment.

tips

Beno Varghese presents Hmmm?.life on tea posted at Beno Varghese dot-com.

FitBuff presents Top 10 Lower Cholesterol Foods posted at FitBuff.com's Total Mind and Body Fitness Blog, saying, "When filling up those bare cupboards, don't forget to include some of these excellent lower cholesterol foods..."

ZestyCook presents Super Easy Homemade Basil Pesto ZestyCook posted at ZestyCook, saying, "How to make homemade basil pesto"

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the bare cupboard using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: the bare cupboard, blog carnival.

Peace For You

I am not sure who wrote this, but I wanted to share this with you.
May today there be peace within.
May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others. May you use the gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content with yourself just the way you are.
Let this knowledge settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.
It is there for each and every one of us.

The Crazy Christmas Angel Mystery by Beverly Lewis

The Crazy Christmas Angel Mystery
By
Beverly Lewis
Illustrated By: Barbara Birch
Series: The Cul-de-sac Kids #3
Publisher: Star Song Publishing Group
Copyrighted: 1993
Number of Pages: 61
Age Group: 7-10 years old
Type of Book: Christian Fiction
Physical Nature: Paperback and 5x7 inches
Extras: Map of the neighborhood, synopsis of book four and extra information from the author
About the Book: It is Christmastime and Eric Hagel (8) is very curious about his new neighbor, Mr. Tressler. Eric thinks Mr. Tressler is scary. Eric decides to spy on Mr. Tressler when he sees angels flying around Mr. Tressler’s living room. Eric along with the rest of the kids in the neighborhood decides to make a friend of Mr. Tressler. They take a couple of days to learn songs, make cookies, and cards. The kids find out Mr. Tressler is very friendly and the angels are really doves. Eric learned that everything is not always as it seems. If something is scary it really might not be.
About Author and Illustrator: Beverly Lewis lives in Colorado with her family and has written many books and short stories. The Cul-de-sac Kids remind her of her friends when she was younger. Barbara Birch illustrated the book realistically, which goes well with the clear plot line and characters.
What I liked: I liked how Eric was brave enough to make friends with Mr. Tressler. We need to always remember that our friends may be those we least expect.
What I disliked: There was nothing to dislike.
Would I recommend: Yes I would. We need to remember new friends come when we least expect them.