Luv'N Lambert Life

A blog about living with Epilepsy, IBHS, Homeschooling and so much more

2018

Purposeful Planning {Review}

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Purposeful Planningby Phyllis Sather

I’m not a planner by any means.  I’m generally a fly-by-my-pants type of girl, who doesn’t do a lot of work ahead prep.  I generally do my planning that month of the event and hope to get it all done by the day the event happens.  I’ve been like this my entire life.
When I’ve thought of planning in the past, I’ve often wished for a weekend away where I could focus on what I needed to and really dig in and plan whatever we needed to at the time.  I’ve had this vision of that in my head for many years but no idea of where to begin.  Purposeful Planning by Phyllis Sather was a great help with that.  Honestly, this eBook was just what I was looking for.
I loved this eBook so much that I actually purchased the Purposeful Planning Handbook to go along with it.  I wanted the extra handbook to really focus in on what I was needing help to plan for in our lives.  It is such a wonderful addition to the eBook itself.
Purposeful Planning isn’t a planner at all.  It is an encouraging eBook that guides you into better planning for your family.  It focuses on just what the title states: Purposeful Planning which means to plan for your future with a purpose.
Phyllis and her husband began to purposefully plan their lives together many years ago, including their children in those plans as they grew and developed them.  They’d plan a weekend, which eventually led to a week, of just planning and being together as a family.  They used this time (and still use it from my understanding) to plan for their family’s future.  They set goals together for each individual in the family, as well as for the family as a whole.  Goals to develop character, financial goals, family unity goals, church goals: whatever goals they needed were set at this time, and even some they didn’t know they needed at that time.
Each year, they’d reflect on their past goals and set new ones.  They’d add to previous goals or develop a plan for new ones as they saw fit.  Planning led them to meet the goals they wished to complete for their lives and for the lives of their children.
I was so completely impressed by the simple, yet encouraging ideals shared throughout Purposeful Planning.  As I mentioned above, I purchased the Purposeful Planning Handbook and immediately began going through it.  I set aside a weekend with my husband and we began to discuss some of the topics suggested in the eBook and handbook alike.  It’s a work in progress but it was definitely a start.   It’s my hope in the next month or two to plan for another weekend where we can complete our discussion and add to it as we see fit, using the Purposeful Planning system as a guide.
Purposeful Planning touches on everything: home life, children, finances, character development and much more.  It helps you to find focus for your family and get a better vision of where you’d like to be in life.  It’s designed to be used by an adult but shows ways to include your children so they also learn how to develop better planning skills for their own futures.  The methods are simple, yet you gain so much.

You can purchase Purposeful Planning as a bundle package which includes the eBook, the Handbook and the MP3 for $17.95 as an instant download.  You can also purchase each of these items separately.  Purposeful Planning is also available on Kindle for $3.99.
You can find Phyllis Sather online at https://phyllis-sather.com/.

Thank You To All Of Our Readers {Thoughts From Me}

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Thank you all for the recent messages and comments showing your appreciation for our blog.  I truly appreciate each and every one of you.  It warms my heart to know that we are reaching so many.

When I began this blog, I wasn’t sure what it’s purpose would be but I’ve found that it’s definitely been to share.  I know what it’s like to feel alone as an Epilepsy Momma.  This has lead me to share our life here so that you don’t feel alone as well.

I’m here if you need advice or just a listening ear.  Please send me a message any time or leave a comment with your contact info.  I screen all comments so no one sees those until they are released by me.

God bless each of you.

Dana

Carole P. Roman Books {Crew Review}

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Carole P. Roman is one of our absolute favorite authors.  We were introduced to the amazingly wonderful Carole P. Roman Books and Collections many years ago through the Homeschool Review Crew.  Every single book we’ve been blessed to read from Carole has been absolutely outstanding!
For this review, we were allowed to choose three of her many books.  I always try to choose things that go along with what we’re learning about or are specifically for Laycie and Jack since they are our youngest children.  This go round, I chose the following:
I chose If You Were Me And Lived In Scotland because I have been searching for titles that specifically teach about Scotland.  I have found that most books focus on Great Britain or Ireland but I wasn’t able to find as many as I hoped on Scotland specifically.   Recently, while tracing our family tree, I have found that we are heavily Scot on both my father’s and my mother’s sides so for me it’s very important that my children learn about this culture so they can learn more about the history of their ancestors.  I love relating our history to our real history.
We were not unfamiliar with the If You Were Me And Lived In series because we reviewed this series from Carole when she first developed and released the series several years ago.  I knew this series was simply awesome and would teach the kids a lot about Scotland and it’s people.  It didn’t let me down.
Through the book, we learned what we may have been named had we been born in Scotland.  We learned that Unicorns are the official animal of Scotland.  We learned a bit about Nessie and Loch Ness.  We learned about traditional foods served in Scotland, some of which we actually tried during the week of St. Patrick’s Day.  Golf was developed in Scotland and the Highland Games.  We look forward to visiting our local Scottish Festival this summer and will briefly review this book before we go.
We learned so much from If You Were Me And Lived In Scotland.  It was perfect for our short study on the culture.  Carole never let’s me down with this series.
Last year we reviewed Fribbet the Frog and the Tadpoles.  Jack absolutely LOVED Fribbet and his story so I knew this year I wanted to review another of Carole’s amazing Captain No Beard series.  I chose Pepper Parrot’s Problem with Patience because sometimes Jack has a little trouble with being patient.  As the baby of the family, you can bet he’s the most spoiled and loved little boy there is, so I thought this book would provide a great lesson for him.  And it has.
A few weeks before we received this book for review, Jack decided he wanted to makeover his bed with a Pirate theme.  I purchased a wooden wheel, a spy glass in a box, a large pirate flag and an a wooden anchor which we painted and hung with a rope on his bed frame.  I also got him his very own Parrot.  Jack loves it!  And he loved reading Pepper Parrot’s Problem with Patience while snuggling in his pirate bed with his Parrot.
Captain No Beard is the captain of the Flying Dragon.  He has one crazy crew of all kinds of characters that help him out, including Fribbet the Frog and his cousin, Hallie.  In this book, Captain No Beard adds Pepper to his crew, making Pepper the crew’s cook.  Maybe that wasn’t such a good idea considering the Parrot is named Pepper.  But maybe Pepper has her name for another reason.
Pepper has quite the temper.  She’s actually a little fire cracker and that temper isn’t the greatest thing ever.  But with the crew’s help, Pepper realizes she doesn’t need to get upset or angry and she can learn to have patience just like everyone else.
This story was so adorable.  Jack truly loved it and he talks about the characters all the time.  We look forward to reading more Captain No Beard stories like Pepper Parrot’s Problem with Patience in the future.

Oh Susannah is a relatively new series from Carole P. Roman.  Last year, Laycie and I read Oh Susannah: It’s In The Bag and we fell in love with Susannah and her crazy life.  Susannah is someone Laycie can really relate to so when this review came up, I knew I’d choose another book from this series for Laycie and I to read.
Oh Susannah: Things That Go Bump was just as silly and fun as the first book we read from the series.  Susannah is always having a rough time, usually of her own making.  This time around, Susannah is invited to a dear friend’s house for the friend’s birthday.  Susannah really wants to go but she’s afraid.  She just knows that her friend’s house is haunted.  Her friend’s little brother has told her so.  Susannah isn’t too sure she wants to see a ghost!
Susannah some how finds the courage to face her fear and finds that she has the BEST time at her friend’s house.  Friendship helps her overcome her fears and Susannah learns not to be afraid.  She also learns that little brothers are sometimes annoying and sometimes great.
Oh Susannah: Things That Go Bump is a new favorite of mine and Laycie’s.  She and I enjoyed reading this one together.  We look forward to reading more from this series.
Carole P. Roman is one of the best children’s authors I have reviewed for.  She truly loves the work she does and it shows greatly.  She’s an inspiration and blessing to all who know her.

The cost of these books is in a range between $5 and $10.  Nothing too expensive.  They are also available in Kindle versions.

You can read our previous reviews on Carole’s other books as well by clicking each of these links:
You can find Carole P. Roman online at:

Read more reviews from the Homeschool Review Crew:

Carole P. Roman books and collections {Carole P. Roman Reviews}
Disclaimer:

Crew Disclaimer

Veiled By Privilege by Anne Evans {Review}

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Veiled By Privilege (Radical Book 1)Veiled By Privilege by Anne Garboczi Evans
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I’ll be honest… when I first began reading this book I thought, this isn’t for me. It was far from what I usually read but I was determined to give it my best. I am amazed by this book. Anne Evan’s writing is just outstanding. She truly knows how to bring the characters to life! I was so impressed by the whole thing.

I don’t know a lot about life outside the US, as this is where I’ve always lived but this book brought about an interesting look at life in Saudi Arabia. The things those beautiful women go through is just shocking and truly upsetting. And they are taught that it’s okay.

This book tells the story of Kay, a naive girl who just wants to complete her PHD and Joe, a military expert who is nothing you’d expect. Kay uses a passport of a friend to get into a foreign country, completely unaware of the customs and danger she is walking into. Joe is there by military assignment and thank God for that since Kay puts herself into more danger than you can ever believe, just by being her American self. The two face danger after danger, life threatening circumstances and so much more.

You will have to read this one to find out what happens but I promise this is not a book you want to pass up. Anne Evans created an unforgettable story with this one.

View all my reviews

God Had Other Plans For Me Today {Thoughts From Me}

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I woke up this morning with a list of things to do that was a mile long.  I had ever single intention of getting it done.  I truly did.

But God had other plans for me.  Not one single thing on that list got done today.  Not one.

But you know what?  That’s okay!  God had better plans.

Three friends came to me with needs today.  They needed a friend and sometimes that’s just what we need to be.  A true friend to others in their times of need.

Today, I helped a Momma figure out how to start her journey with homeschooling.  To me, that’s just awesome!  I can hardly wait for her to start this journey.  She and her children are going to absolutely love it.

Today, I helped a friend who is heading for divorce.  Her heart is broken.  God is carrying her daily. 

Today, I helped a friend who is being harassed.  She’s upset that women would try to destroy her credibility and ruin her good name.  Bullying doesn’t stop with high school, y’all.

Today, I listened as a friend complained that their job is challenging and their life is in shambles.  They just needed a listening ear.  Someone to care for that moment.

This is the list God had planned for me today.  Nothing that was in my plans got done but everything in his is.  And I hope, I pray that I helped each one in the best way that I could.  I listened. I responded. I prayed. I was a friend.

How has God changed your plans recently?  What did you get done with His guidance that wasn’t on your list?

Behind the Scenes {Thoughts From Me}

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Behind the scenes, there’s been a lot going on here at Luv’N Lambert Life.  It takes a lot to keep a blog running and reviews available to share with you.  It takes a lot to create blog content as well.

Right now, I’m working on deleting old content, as well as reworking some posts.  I’ve removed some past details of our family life, as well as obsolete images.  I’ve also deleted unneeded posts we had.

In the future, I’m considering making the move to WordPress but I’m still undecided on that.  I will be adding in more affiliate posts for content that I truly enjoy.  I will also be adding separate tabs that I will share our posts on.  That will include our Epilepsy Awareness tab with updated posts from us.

I’m embracing being an Epilepsy and Breath Holding Spells Awareness blogger.  It’s a much needed genre for blogging and it’s something I really enjoy.  I know those posts aren’t always well designed from me but they are real and raw and I plan to keep writing them.

I recently purchased a blog planner from my dear friend, Katie Hornor and I will be sharing more about that later on.  It’s amazing and I really needed something that could help me stay on track.  Blogging has been a part of our life for almost 10 years now and I feel I want to become a little more serious and a little less hobby-like with it.

So that’s where we are for now.  I promise the posts I remove you won’t miss.  The ones I keep will be getting some changes as well: photos, rewrites, etc.  All will make Luv’N Lambert Life better in the end.

Thanks for sticking by us through it all.

God bless,
Dana