Butterfly Genes

And the Winner is...

noreply@blogger.com (Heathahlee) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 07:31:00 +0000

Bonnie! You've won the One Year Uncommon Life Daily Challenge by Tony Dungy. Yay! I'll be sending your certificate for your free copy soon!

Thanks for entering, girls! I wanted to give each one of you a copy! MUAH!

Music Inspired by The Story

noreply@blogger.com (Heathahlee) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 21:46:00 +0000

I'm not sure I would necessarily call this a review. I'm just going to tell you to go buy it. HA!

No, really. Go buy it.

I found out about Music Inspired by The Story a few months ago. The Story is a Scripture-based "experience" of the Bible (not a translation, not really a paraphrase), written as one sweeping story that tells about God's love for His people.

Each song, written by Nicole Nordeman (lyrics) and Bernie Herms (music - and who happens to be married to Natalie Grant) takes you through one "chapter" of the Story on a very personal level. Adam and Eve's story, for example, gives the listener a glimpse into what it must have felt like to know they've broken the Creator's heart.

"If I could, I'd rewrite history
I'd choose differently
If I could, I would
I'd leave out the part
Where I broke Your heart
In the garden's shade
Fix the mess I've made
If I could, I would..."

So heartbreaking, but it makes the coming of Hope that much more wondrous!

The songs that move my soul are "Good (Adam and Eve)," sung by Matthew West and Leigh Nash of Sixpence None the Richer; "Be Born in Me (Mary)," sung by Francesca Battistelli; and "Alive (Mary Magdelene)," sung by Natalie Grant.

But my favorite songs to listen to just for ear candy are "Born for This (Esther)," sung by Mandisa (man, she kicks tail on this song!); "Bring Us Home (Joshua)," sung by Michael Tait from Newsboys, Bianca Callahan from Group 1 Crew, and Lecrae; and "Move in Me (Paul)," by Jeremy Camp.

One of the more poignant moments is when Todd Smith of Selah sings "Broken Praise (Job)." My son was the first to connect the dots. After the tragedy of losing their newborn daughter, Todd and his wife Angie have gone on to minister to thousands (Angie is a blogger, author, and past speaker at the Relevant Conference). While listening to the song and reading over the CD cover, Kiddo said, "Wow...Todd Smith is singing Job's song. How fitting." I love those moments when he gets it. I hadn't even thought about that connection.

For the price of a regular CD, you get two discs with a total of 17 songs on it, all of them taking you from Creation to the Second Coming, and not a bad song in the bunch.

If you haven't gotten the message, I highly recommend it.

Freeset: Redeeming Lives by Giving Purpose

noreply@blogger.com (Heathahlee) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:16:00 +0000

There are times I liken myself to an ostrich with my head in the sand. If I don't know the bad stuff that's going on in the world, it's really not happening, right?

No. It's not right. It's irresponsible. If I'm not aware of issues that need my attention, how else am I supposed to do anything to help?

Did you know last Wednesday was National Human Trafficking Awareness Day? I couldn't believe this issue was being brought to my attention yet again; I was first confronted with it at the Relevant Conference.

Freeset, one of the sponsors at the conference, gave out keychains signed by the women working at their India-based company. Because I was so busy getting stuck in the elevator, enjoying the snow, and talking to my roommates until the wee hours of the morning, I didn't really get what Freeset was about. When I got home, looked up who signed my keychain, and watched this video, I finally GOT IT. And was shocked. I never knew the numbers of women just in Kolkata who were victims of the sex trade until I watched this. But that's not the end of the story, if Freeset has anything to say about it. Please take a few minutes to watch. It will break your heart; it will give you hope.

The last scene with the crayon-box array of saris makes me tear up every time I watch it.

Back in December, Kristi Griem, a blogger who works with Freeset contacted me and wanted to know if I'd be willing to do a review of a Freeset bag. Hmm, let's see...a bag of my choice, made by a woman whose life has been given back to her and her family, designed to be as unique as she is? Yes, please! (Please forgive the awful lighting...it was nighttime and this was the best shot!) I chose a Farmhouse Jute Bag in Earth Brown, and I love it! I compared it with another jute bag I have and this one came out the winner in my opinion. The Farmhouse Bags are made from a sturdy laminated jute material, meaning they have a kind of plastic backing on the inside of the bag, keeping it much sturdier than if it was regular jute. They each have two gusset pockets on the inside of the bag, one on each end, as well as an internal purse with velcro closure. Have I said I love it?

My favorite thing about these bags, though, is the recycled sari material they use for the front of the bag as well as the inside of the handles. Isn't that gorgeous? Each bag is unique...just like the woman who made it. No, I don't know who sewed this bag together, but I know that her life will never be the same since coming to work for this company.

If you didn't watch the video, PLEASE watch it now and find out more about Freeset. YOU can make a difference by purchasing a bag or a Freeset t-shirt.

You know, Valentine's Day is right around the corner. Why not send a little birdie to your husband or boyfriend and let him know you'd like one of the many (did I say many? I mean MANY) bags to choose from in Freeset's line, or maybe a unique tee. You will be giving purpose to women's lives, aiding them in their flight from the most heinous trade there is...human life.

Review Week - The One Year Uncommon Life Daily Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Heathahlee) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Today starts a whole week of reviews on Butterfly Genes. I had so many to do I thought this would be a fun way to do it. Some of them have giveaways, some don't. Even if it doesn't come with a giveaway, I either think you ABSOLUTELY need to know about the product or I'm completely enamored with it. Or both.

My first review is one I've been excited about since before Christmas. I am a reviewer for Tyndale House Publishers, and was excited to get the chance to review Tony Dungy's new devotional, The One Year Uncommon Life Daily Challenge.
Here's what the Tyndale Blog Network (for whom I review books and other media) had to say about Mr. Dungy's new book:

"The coach's newly-released book, The One Year Uncommon Life Daily Challenge is a devotional specifically designed to challenge and encourage you on your own path to living an uncommon life. It's difficult and takes integrity, honor, and commitment. However, Tony and his coauthor Nathan Whitaker both know that accepting the challenge to live with meaning and purpose is worth the effort. Including 365 reflections from these #1 New York Times bestselling authors and the chance to join the growing online community of those who are already taking the challenge, this book is your invitation to spend regular time with the Lord and dare to be uncommon every day."

I ended up not being the only one reviewing it in my household. Because it's written by my son's favorite former NFL coach, I decided to give it to him for Christmas and get his opinion. I'll give you my first impressions then his take on it.

When I first received it, I was immediately impressed with the format. The book takes you through seven themes, repeated each week: Core, Family, Friends, Potential, Mission, Influence, and Faith. Each day of the week fits into one of these themes, but you don't have to have read the previous days to step into the devotional whatever day you start reading.

Flipping through the devotional I stopped at random days to read, and enjoyed each day that I read. Tony and Nathan aren't afraid to take on hard topics. There are devotions on keeping your guard up against the enemy's attacks, failed leadership in our lives, and standing strong on sexual purity. Lessons that I want my son to learn early on...not to learn from his own mistakes. Of course, he has his daddy and me to learn from and lean on, but let's face it, it sounds a lot cooler coming from his favorite coach.

So, what does Kiddo say about it? When I asked him, he immediately said, "Best devotional ever!" He's used several over the past few years, but as a young man about to enter some of the hardest he will experience, I think this one will prepare him well. It's the most consistent he's been with any devotional he's had, reading nearly every day since January 1.

Kiddo says Tony's style of writing is like he's having a conversation with the reader. To him, this makes it more personal than the other devotionals he's read. He also likes the fact that sports stories and characters are woven into some of the devotionals. Not to the point that people who are not die-hard sports fans would be turned off, just enough to make Kiddo want to read more. The fact that each devotional is only one page long is also a plus for my I-get-bored-with-too-much-serious-stuff son.

Personally, I believe this devotional is a relevant devotional for anyone, from young teenagers to men and women of any age. Would you like to hear from the author himself? Watch this video:

Thanks to the gracious people at Tyndale, I am giving a copy of The One year Uncommon Life Daily Challenge away to one of my readers! I will send one of you a certificate for a free copy to redeem at your favorite Christian bookstore (or you can send it in to Tyndale if you don't have a bookstore near you).

All you have to do to enter the giveaway is leave a comment letting me know you'd like it. That's it! Please make sure I have a way to contact you if you are the winner.

Now, I'd love it if you followed me on Twitter, or liked my Facebook page, or subscribed to my blog, too, but you don't have to. It won't give you extra chances. It will just give me a chance to get to know you. I'd love that!

For more information about Tony Dungy (his other books, his coaching experience, his blog, etc.), visit coachdungy.com. And for more information about Tyndale House Publishers, you can visit them at tyndale.com.

This giveaway will be open until 11:59 p.m. (CST) on January 22, 2012 and a winner will be chosen at random.

Tyndale provided me with a free copy of The One year Uncommon Life Daily Challenge in exchange for an honest, objective review. My opinions (and those of my son) are not influenced by anything but the book itself.

Didja See It?

noreply@blogger.com (Heathahlee) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 19:40:00 +0000

I loved seeing this commercial Saturday night while Sound Man and I watched the Broncos/Patriots game:

Focus on the Family is offering resources for men and women interested in developing a deeper relationship with God. They are also offering a free Adventures in Odyssey Episode, a Radio Theatre episode and more.

Click here to download these and read more.

You can also enter to win an NFL jersey of your favorite player by entering a Facebook contest! Who would you pick if you won? I'd either get DeAngelo Williams' or Tim Tebow's. DeAngelo played for the University of Memphis and Tim Tebow is...well, Tim Tebow! I can't help it!

And now that NONE of the teams I was rooting for will be in the Superbowl (Broncos, Saints, Packers), this seems like it's the only football thing I might have to look forward to!

Joining a Community Together

noreply@blogger.com (Heathahlee) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 13:28:00 +0000

I mentioned in a past post I had been busy with our Women's Ministry Christmas party. That makes it sound like it was just our church, when in actuality it wasn't. This past Christmas marked the first (hopefully annual) community-wide women's Christmas event. I can't remember how many churches were represented (something like 15, maybe?), but it was a lot more than I expected.

Our local community arena miraculously had an opening on December 6th, and it was the perfect size. A sea of tables was set up where later six hundred women would gather for what our theme was: "One Night, One Church, One Jesus."

I'm sure some of these churches had never done a women's Christmas party, so even though we were the main ones who organized this year's, I hope in years to come I hope it's more of a collaborative effort. We did have a few churches decorating tables (the ones in the foreground of the picture above were done by a Missionary Baptist Church in our town...don't you LOVE the chairs?), so that took some of the burden off our ladies. Of course, you KNOW I decorated one. Or two. But NOT three. I didn't want to kill myself this year.
I wish I had been able to get a better picture of my tables with the candles lit, but I'm thankful for the ones I did get. I should say the ones that Kiddo got. He was my table photographer. He and Sound Man were also there for another reason:Waiters! We were politically correct and called the guys "servers," and that's exactly what they were. As the ladies were eating a delicious meal of chicken, asparagus, and scalloped potatoes, the men were scurrying around with tea and water glasses, among other dinner-related requests. Kiddo hung pretty closely to Sound Man for the first part of the evening, but as he got accustomed to what he was supposed to do, he got more independent. By the end of the night, he was carrying a huge tray full of desserts around like he had been at it his whole life. I was one proud Momma as I watched him from the stage.

I mention I was on stage because I was privileged to help lead this community of women in worship. As worship leaders, I always say we have the best seat in the house! Watching and hearing six hundred women lift their voices in worship...simply amazing.

My favorite part of any Christmas-themed night is the candle lighting. Each lady was given a candle and holder, and as the women raised their flickering candles the room was bathed in the sweet, soft glow of candlelight. The sight always makes me cry.

Even though each candle was held aloft by one individual woman, together they all created enough light to brighten the room. It reminded me that even though we belong to individual churches, together we could bring the Light to our community if we work together. No matter our skin color, denomination, or church membership, we are all daughters of the King. We need to get over ourselves and our insecurities and our fears and band together to reach others for Him. Our women's ministry has organized a prayer night for the entire community of ladies to come and pray for our area. Someone also created a Facebook page for all of us to share what God is doing within our churches. It makes us feel more like a true community to know that God is working not just in our church, but in the others across our area.

If the world would see us all band together for one purpose, maybe they'd take Christianity more seriously...and take the message of Christ to heart.

What can you do in your community to bring churches together? Are you willing to work with someone of a different skin color? Of a different denomination?

Don't think I've got all this down...I don't. I'm never the first to volunteer outside my comfort zone. But the more we do, the more comfortable we'll become with the idea.

This year would be a good year for us to open our hearts and minds to see how God can use us.

The Case of the Exploding Potato

noreply@blogger.com (Heathahlee) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Remember this pic?
I was baking sweet potatoes for dinner one night and had an extra regular potato, so I thought I'd just throw that one in, too. Well, sweet potatoes normally take longer to bake than regular ones (for me, anyway), and I didn't take that into consideration.

As I was checking them, I had just barely touched my oven-mitt clad hand to this one when suddenly, "KA-BLOOM!" the crazy thing EXPLODED. Got potato all over the inside of the front of the oven and around the door.

I was so shocked I just stood there for a minute. Sound Man heard the noise, came in and saw the mess and immediately went into clean mode. I knew I had a choice to make. Cry about it (it had been an AWFUL day), or laugh. I decided I had had enough to cry about that day so I laughed. I mean I LAUGHED. One of those loud, make you cry and nearly pee your pants laughs. I was bent over laughing while Sound Man was grumbling and cleaning up the mess. I told him to lighten up. It was quite funny. For me, anyway. Hee hee.

I'll be checking the potatoes a little earlier from now on. *snicker*

I'm BAA-AAACK!

noreply@blogger.com (Heathahlee) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 03:42:00 +0000

It's been a month. A MONTH since I posted last. Truly, I needed the break. December was crazy busy, and I needed time to rest and regroup. And browse Pinterest. Most of these I'll post about later, but I did want to give you a glimpse of what's been going on around our place.

Some of this:And working on some of this (you know I had to get on the bandwagon at some point, right?):
And learning about this company (review coming soon!):And working on these pretties:And listening to this:Get. This. CD. Especially if you are a Bible in 90 Days graduate. The stories come so much more alive. Post forthcoming.

And I'm still reading this:Are you a good girl? You need this book! (As a disclosure, if you click the picture above and make a purchase I will get a small percentage of the sale. This does not influence my opinion of this book. I'd love it even if I didn't make a dime off of it.)

I've enjoyed spending time with these guys (pictured here serving at the Women's Christmas Party I was singing at in the top pic):Who, by the way, have been quite busy themselves: Yes, yes that would be an antler sticking out from the bottom of the freezer shelf. It's attached to more (I'll leave out the gory details), but when your husband kills an 11-point deer, you have to reserve some room in the freezer for it until he can get it mounted. I mean, I don't. Sound man and Kiddo did all this by themselves. All I do is cook it. All those white packages? Money in the bank, as far as I'm concerned. What's in here is what I'm NOT having to buy at the store. Ground meat, sausage, roasts, steaks, tenderloin...we're not a bunch of rednecks that kill animals for sport. My guys hunt to provide food for their family.

Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to get on a soapbox there.

I've also started keeping a little boy on Thursdays. He is 19 months old, and is so precious. Kiddo loves playing with him, too. Jonathan...well, he tolerates him. I'm sure his thoughts go along the lines of, "Who are you and why are you hanging on to MY Momma?" But I caught a rare moment of quiet for the both of them:Each of them looking out the window, waiting for their Daddies. I love this picture!

And I wouldn't be Heathahlee without some pandemonium around here. You know, the moments when you have two choices...cry or laugh...I chose to laugh at this one:Yes, that is an exploded potato.

Then there's this:This would be my dryer. Oh, me.

And finally, I have to share this pic. I took it just the other day and it cracked me up. I love this dog!

It's good to be back!

P.S. Oh! I also had my first International Etsy sale! And it was to my beloved Australia! I squealed!

New Living Translation Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Heathahlee) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 03:09:00 +0000

I've been AWOL lately. I know this. But as the year winds down, my schedule cranks up. Tuesday night was our first community wide women's Christmas party, and oh, my, it was wonderful. But more about that later.

Right now I want to let you know about a giveaway going on at the NLT Facebook page. I love my New Living Translation Life Application Study Bible. It's pictured in my banner and the first time I read through the Bible in 90 Days I used my NLT. It was so amazing to be able to answer questions I had just by looking at the bottom of the page I was on. That's just scratching the surface of this study Bible. Maps, character profiles, cross-references...I could tell you more of what all is in it, but I'd rather get to the fun stuff.

Head over to their Facebook page to enter the HUGE giveaway:

One random person each day will win a Life Application Study Bible Family Pack (Guys Life Application Study Bible hc, Girls Life Application Study Bible hc, Student's Life Application Study Bible hc, Life Application Study Bible hc, Life Application Study Bible Large Print hc).
One Random person each week will win an Apple iPad 2!

Now wouldn't any of those make a wonderful Christmas present? The giveaway runs until December 24, 2011, so get on over there and maybe you'll have some extra goodies under the tree!

Winner of the Glow Glove Giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (Heathahlee) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 13:58:00 +0000

I am so excited to announce the winner of the Glow Crazy Glow Glove! Drum roll, please...

Kelli @ Adventurez in Child Rearing!

I had Kiddo give me a random number and he came up with Kelli's number! I'm so excited for her because with three boys, they will definitely have fun with the Glow Glove!

Thank you to everyone who entered! For those who didn't win, you can purchase your Glow Glove (or any of Glow Crazy's great toys) by heading over to Glow Crazy's website and calling their customer service number. Any of their toys would make awesomely fun Christmas presents!

Relevant '11 Video. Oh, yeah. I'm in it.

noreply@blogger.com (Heathahlee) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 20:42:00 +0000

All Is Grace from Relevant Conference on Vimeo.

Jendi did a wonderful job!

Grace for the Good Girl, chapters 2 and 3

noreply@blogger.com (Heathahlee) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 15:29:00 +0000

I'm late writing this. This post was supposed to be last week's post. I stewed and worried about it because I committed to writing every week, and because I'm a good girl, my thoughts immediately went to, "What will they think of me if I don't post?"

Can you relate? Then you need to read this book.

These two chapters were so hard to get through for me...never before had I read a book that so deeply resonated with me. I could have written these pages. No, I don't mean with the beauty of words and fluidity of thought, but I could have told the same stories. Some almost exactly like Emily does.

One particular passage in chapter two struck me so that I sat in my car, waiting on Kiddo to finish his piano lesson, and wept. I mean sobbed. To understand why I acted in a particular situation the way I did because she wrote my story out as word for word as if she had been in college with me...at once it was painful as well as freeing.

Chapter three, again, sounded like she was retelling my story. In a sense, she was. She was saved as a young girl. My first profession of faith was at age seven. Because we were so young we didn't have any sordid pasts to repent of...our testimonies were a bit bland compared to those who had been saved from drugs or an immoral lifestyle. We were good. So, what happened after salvation?

"And so it was that I continued with my good way of life, giving myself credit for all of my own goodness. There was a sense that Jesus had something to do with it...But I didn't understand the middle-of-a-Tuesday Jesus. I only knew him as a when-I-get-to-heaven Jesus. Salvation was my ticket to heaven and not much else. "At thirteen I rededicated my life to the Lord because I was scared to death that perhaps it didn't take the first time." (Grace for the Good Girl, Revel Publishing, copyright 2011, pp 40-41)

When I was eleven I made my second profession of faith (for those uninitiated ones to the way Southern Baptists talk, that just means I walked the aisle and said I wanted to be saved) for the exact same reason Emily did...I was afraid the first one didn't take. For me, I didn't feel saved. (Side note - It wasn't until I was twenty-eight years old that I finally nailed down my salvation. I can't even tell you if I truly was saved then or when I was seven. I only know I am now.)

She then goes on in this chapter to talk about her high school experiences with boys. Familiarity here, too.

"I didn't realize it at the time, but I was a good girl desperate for male attention." (pg 43)

She isn't sure why that was, but I think I do in my situation. She had an alcoholic father that could have been her reason, but I had an absent father. He came to pick us up every so often, but to this day I don't have a close relationship with Daddy. Oh, I love him dearly, but I don't know him very well.

About the need for male attention, she says,

"We were created with a deep need for love, acceptance, worth, and security. The need is overwhelming and must be satisfied. In the same way some girls wear the mask of promiscuity to grasp for connection and acceptance, good girls can depend on their good reputation to meet their desperate need for love." (pg 43)

Her first boyfriend relationship was "good and healthy on the outside," but "began an unhealthy pattern of looking to men to affirm my identity." (pg 43) I'm not sure when mine began, but I get embarrassed now thinking about the things I did to get the attention of "good" boys. Oh, nothing "bad"...only what would have been acceptable for a good girl. Talking too much, playing with my hair, going out of my way to run into certain guys...ugh...so embarrassing. It's funny, though. I ended up marrying the one man I never chased. God has a way of letting us know we don't have to strive to end up with the best. He's got it all worked out.

I'm going to end this post here because the rest of chapter three needs its own post. I think it's something we as good girls struggle with a lot, so I want to focus on it later. Maybe next week, maybe sooner.

If you have realized you are a "good girl," I hope you buy this book. If you do purchase the book from clicking the picture at the top of the post, I receive a small percentage in commission, but that's not the only way to get it. Even if you check it out from your library, PLEASE read it.

Be a recovering good girl like me.

Got Boys Who Love Sci-Fi?

noreply@blogger.com (Heathahlee) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 19:57:00 +0000

The Glow Glove giveaway is still ongoing, and right now you have an AWESOME chance to win this cool toy. My son LOVES it.This toy would be amazing to any child (I'm thinking particularly boys simply because I have one) who loves science, spy gear, light sabers, dogs, cats, horses, etc, etc. Okay, the last three I just made up. My point is that it's a great toy for kids who lean more toward sci-fi. I mean, it DOES make Kiddo feel like he has the force:

It would be a fab gift to open up on Christmas morning. Of course, I hope you don't need your bathroom the rest of the day. In our house, our hall bathroom is the only room in the house with no window, therefore is the only room that can get pitch black during the day. And seeing as how this thing works by glow-in-the-dark technology, you kind of need pitch black.

Make sure you go here to enter the giveaway. There are several chances to win, and the more you do, the better your chance to win!

This post is not the giveaway post, so if you comment here you won't be entered! Now go forth and enter!

Grace for the Good Girl Winner!

noreply@blogger.com (Heathahlee) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 15:53:00 +0000

ACK! It's Wednesday and I haven't told you who won Grace for the Good Girl OR written my post on chapter two! This stresses me out because I'm a good girl!

I'll get to chapter two eventually, but right now I need to tell you the winner of the book.

And the winner is.... April!

Thank you to those who entered. You can purchase Emily's book at Dayspring (and if you follow that link and make a purchase I make a bit off of it. Only full disclosure here, people. HA!) or Amazon.

If you're a recovering good girl, I highly recommend you buy it!

Glow Crazy Glow Glove and Giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (Heathahlee) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 18:00:00 +0000

Several weeks ago I was contacted by Glow Crazy to review a new product they were unrolling just in time for Christmas. Since it seemed like a "cool enough" product for an 11-year old boy, I told them I'd love to.

It was a good call.
The Glow Glove is a new product that uses the same technology as their previously released Glow Wand and all the products that go with it. In a nutshell, it uses light to draw on glow-in-the-dark canvases. Here is what Glow Crazy has to say about the Glow Glove:"The Glow Glove is Glow Crazy’s flashiest toy yet! The Glow Glove has cool lights on each finger to make glowin’ the dark more fun than ever! The wall clings included, made from our super glow material, will stick to the wall without damaging it and will give kids an awesome canvas to design on. The glove's unique design will fit right or left hands, and the 4 settings mean there is no end to the cool glow-designs you can make!"

After opening the package and pulling out the instructions,We put the two included Glow Canvases on the wall side by side (removable and reusable) and Kiddo strapped the Glow Glove on. Here's a picture (badly lit) of just one of the canvases before turning out the bathroom light (hey, it was daytime and that's the only room with no window. Don't judge).Then went to town on them!And of course we had to make a video:

Is that not COOL? I mean, anything that makes Kiddo feel like he has "the force" has GOT to be at the top of his "this is too cool" list. He told me he wants all their products now! Just now as he was coming to give me a hug goodnight he saw me writing this and said, "I want the Distance Doodler!" and proceeded to explain how far away he could be from the Glow Canvas and draw. He's hooked.

The Glow Glove is $19.99 and can be ordered directly by contacting Glow Crazy's customer service department (phone number and email can both be found at the bottom of Glow Crazy's website)

Not only do they have these "glowin' the dark" products, they also offer free stencils on their Facebook page. These stencils can be used with the Glow Canvases and wands and are so cute! They offer a line of Christian stencils including the praying hands, cross, loaf of bread, Noah's ark, and even Jonah and the whale! Not all of these products are available yet, so if you like their page you can get updates on when they will introduce each new set. Right now, however, you can get holiday themed stencils like a pumpkin and turkey. Just "like" their page and it will tell you how to get them.

Also on their Facebook page is a link to Glow Crazy's Activity Center. Just look on the left hand side of the page and click "Play Online!" where your kids (or you!) can draw to their heart's content.

And now for the giveaway! One Butterfly Genes reader will win a Glow Glove from Glow Crazy! All you have to do to enter the giveaway is leave a comment letting me know how and where you'd use the Glow Glove.

Note: Please make sure you leave an email address where I can contact you should you win. The initial winner of my last giveaway didn't leave me any way of contacting her so I had to choose another.

For extra entries that are not mandatory, just leave a SEPARATE comment for EACH one of these that you complete:

Like Glow Crazy on Facebook

Follow Glow Crazy on Twitter

Follow Butterfly Genes on Twitter

Subscribe to Butterfly Genes blog (click the link to take you to my subscribe page, or join by Friend Connect on the lower right hand side of the page - if you already subscribe, thank you! Just let me know in your comment.)

That's FIVE chances to cross a name off your Christmas list! Any child will be happy to receive this, if my Kiddo's reaction is any indication. This will make a WONDERFUL Christmas present for any child age 3 and older.

The giveaway will last until November 25, 11:59 P.M. I will

Disclosure: I was contacted by Glow Crazy and offered a free Glow Glove in exchange for a fair review. The opinion stated here is mine (well, and my son's) and was not in any way influenced by Glow Crazy.

A Fall Wreath Repost

noreply@blogger.com (Heathahlee) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 12:00:00 +0000

I originally published this post on November 24, 2008...a little late to be doing a fall project post. But I'm on the ball (sort of) this year! I hope you are having as spectacular a year of fall color as we are this year. We just so happened to have a similar display in 2008, too. So here you go!

Okay, so I'm a little late on the bandwagon. And these pictures are not the best in the world. But hey, at least I tried.

Here's a little project that you can have done in about an hour, depending on how many leaves you can catch before they all blow away. Now, this is best done with pressed leaves, but if you're only going to leave it up until after your Thanksgiving guests leave, flat leaves will be fine. It's a Fall/Harvest/Thanksgiving Wreath. About time, don'tcha think?

I was inspired by this picture:

It's in Better Homes and Gardens November issue (2008). I immediately made plans to hunt down some leaves. It wasn't that hard, since this year we've had a particularly spectacular color display for some reason. I heard or read somewhere that if you get a cold spell and then a warm spell (what we call Indian Summer, maybe?), you will get some really great colors. Well, that happened and we got 'em. So I was really excited about grabbing up some great colors.

My kiddo and I headed out to find some in our neighbors' yards since our poor oak tree is not the kind that changes to beautiful red...the leaves just turn dead and fall off. However, for the first time in the 12 years we've been here, our leaves did turn a shade of yellow, which made me very happy since I could use some of my very own leaves in my wreath.

Then I was just hit with a fever...finding all kinds of leaves in all different colors. There was no telling when or where I'd yank the van over to the side of the road (no easy task, I tell you) and hop out to grab a particularly striking leaf. I even crossed traffic to stretch out over a ditch to get a color I hadn't been able to find yet.

Then, when I had enough leaves to make my own forest, I took two really heavy books...

(I like the classics the best...they seem the heaviest) and put the leaves in between the pages and left them like that for a couple of days. Like I said, if you do this now, you can just find some flat leaves for this next step.

Then, take a plate, platter, or whatever you have a plate hanger big enough for, and begin hot gluing the leaves around the platter. I got a $1.25 platter from Old Time Pottery just for this project, but when I'm done, I can just peel all the leaves and glue off and use it for what it was intended for.

Note: make sure you put your plate hanger on your platter before you start gluing. You will end up ripping favorite leaves if you don't. Not that I have any experience in that area. None whatsoever. Nope. Not me.

Second Note: Make sure you have as much junk on your craft table as possible so that you barely have room for your glue gun, much less a whole platter:Recognize that bird, anyone?

Ahem...back to the project at hand...Start at the center (which you choose, by the way) and start gluing leaves up either side of the plate, layering as you go. Make sure you save your favorites for last ones you glue on, or they'll get covered up. Here's a couple of badly shot closeups of me with horrible fingernails gluing on top of an oak leaf for one of my favorite maple leaves:
and keep on going until you have enough to cover the outside rim of the platter. Then take your favorite of all favorite leaves and place it in the very center of where you started:Then, if you want it a little more frou-frou, hot glue a ribbon on the back under the plate rack until you get your desired look. Now, I have to leave a disclaimer here about this next picture. My husband, being the hunter that he is, took the camera to deer camp with him to make sure he had some way to document the massive 12-point he was sure to get. Hasn't happened yet, but he's still got the camera. That being said, I had to resort to my next fastest mode of photography...my cell phone. Sigh...please forgive the quality, but you get the idea...
And make sure when you hang it wherever you are going to hang it to have an $.80 clearance garland with the tag still on it underneath the wreath. That just screams HARVEST to me, doesn't it you?

Now, I have to confess that I do have pictures that are better quality than this in my external hard drive, but when I saw them I realized I reeeeeeeeally needed to paint my front door. So you will not get to see either the wreath in HD or my sadly painted door. I know you were just dying to, weren't you?

Anyway, it's really an easy, sweet project that I will repeat next year. And hang it on my freshly painted front door.

Okay, my sweet man just went out in the very c-c-c-old air and retrieved my camera for me just so I could take a couple of pictures. I love him. Anyway, here's a little better picture, albeit still with the "Minnie Pearl" garland (thanks Brandi, that made me LOL!).

And just for kicks, here's a turkey.

I'm a Good Girl

noreply@blogger.com (Heathahlee) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 03:31:00 +0000

As soon as I started reading Grace for the Good Girl, I knew this book was for me. I didn't know, however, how close to home it would hit. Within the first chapter and a half, I had already sobbed my way through several pages. Seeing my early childhood, youth, and young adult years in black and white was startling.

I have been a good girl ever since I can remember. It started with Momma. Because I loved her so much, I never, ever, ever wanted to disappoint her. So, when I thought I understood salvation, I made a profession of faith. But because my salvation was based (subconsciously) on how good a girl I was, I constantly doubted whether I was really saved or not. I always felt like there was something more I had to do to be saved. That Jesus wouldn't like me if I hadn't said exactly the right words when I prayed to accept Him. From the time I was seven years old until I was twenty-eight, I doubted my salvation. It was only then that I nailed down my salvation and have known ever since then that it's not about being good enough...that it's about the grace that God freely gives through Jesus His Son.

Emily explains how my mind was working in the first chapter, "Are You a Good Girl in Hiding?"

"For a long time, I believed I was searching for God and thought I had found him, this God who is order and control, distant and passive. I knew he so loved the world, but I didn't know his love for me...While I thought I was searching for him, he graciously, miraculously, and intentionally found me." (Grace For the Good Girl, by Emily P. Freeman, pg 22, Copyright 2011, Revell Publishing, emphasis mine)

Does this sound like you? Do you think you're the only one that grace looks over and says, "Nope, not good enough, this one." Then I think you would benefit from this book.

I look forward to the coming chapters and will be joining in with Christina at Momma Day By Day and other good girls as we learn how to become recovering good girls.

Because I believe this book will be life-changing for so many women, I'm giving an autographed copy away. Sweet Emily signed both my copy (that was sweetly given to me by my bff Kat) and a copy they gave away at the conference.You don't have to jump through hoops to enter. Just leave me a comment saying you're a good girl and would benefit from this book. That's it. I mean, I'd be grateful if you liked my Facebook page. I'd also love it if you bought a tassel, followed me on Twitter, and subscribed to my blog. But you don't have to to enter this giveaway. hee hee.

Just as a disclosure, Revell Publishing made free copies available to any one who attended the Relevant Conference, and Emily signed them because she's just sweet like that. I didn't have to promise to do a giveaway; I didn't have to promise to do a review. I just want to give this book away. All the opinions given are mine.

I will close this giveaway next Monday, November 14th, at 11:59 p.m. and will announce the winner in next week's Good Girl post.

I'm so looking forward to this journey. And I'm also so grateful to Christina who organized all us recovering good girls to join forces! Grab a copy and join us!

Disclosure: If you click on the "Grace for the Good Girl" picture and purchase a copy, I get a small percentage of the sale.

I have a story

noreply@blogger.com (Heathahlee) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 03:35:00 +0000

I'm not a world traveler like Lisa-Jo or Joy.

I don't write books like Ann, or Emily, or Serena.

I don't write music like Alle.I don't take pictures like Darcy.

But I need these women. I need the other women in this blogging community, too. Amy Lynn Andrews shared in one of the breakout sessions at Relevant that we need each other in community. Worry about someone else's blog does not allow me to do anything with what God has given ME. She encouraged us to fight through the comparison issues that threaten us fulfilling the Great Commission through our blogs. We all have the same story to tell in thousands of versions...what Christ has done in our lives.
I have a story to tell. One that is my very own, that no one else shares. And someone needs to hear me share my story the only way I can share it.This is why I blog. Do I wish I had thousands of followers and get to go on mission trips to blog about and get to be a "cool kid" at a blogger's conference? Well, honestly...sometimes, yes.But whose fame do I really, deep down, want to write about? Whose agenda do I want to promote? Why am I writing at all if it's not to gain fame and followers?

Jesus. It's all about Him.

Even when I write silly posts and talk gibberish (because I do love writing to make people laugh), I always want to make sure I'm pointing others to Christ and not away from Him.I was asked so many times at Relevant "What's your blog about?" and most of the time I hem-hawed around and said it was just about my life and nothing specific (meaning nothing special). But the more time I spent listening to the women God placed around me I learned that I DO have something special. I have a voice of my own that no one else has.Emily shared in another of the breakout sessions to not write for an audience. Write for one girl. If my story (or, as it normally is with me and my wordy self...stories) speaks to one girl, then I've met my goal.So...from here on out, my goal is to be more authentic, more transparent. Not to write to please people (I'm a good girl, after all), but to write to please HIM.

I can't wait for the journey to begin. Come with me?

Relevator '11

noreply@blogger.com (Heathahlee) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 11:00:00 +0000

Y'all didn't know I'm famous, did you? Well, actually a group of 9 of us (and a half if you want to count the baby) are famous. We even had the fire department at our beck and call. That's right. And when I say famous I mean relatively. Or Relevant...ly. Where was I?

Okay, seriously, Wednesday night as a couple of groups of us were done with our downstairs stuff we were chatting at the elevator, not paying attention to the sign that said "Please limit to 6 people" or something like that.

So...NINE (and a half including the baby) of us crammed into the elevator, hit the buttons for our floors, climbed up to floor 5 (mine and Aurie's floor), and stopped. Nothing happened. No door opened. No more movement. Nothing.

We. Were. Stuck. On an elevator.

For a while, it was okay. Some might say fun, even (some might not). We took pictures and laughed. Teri Lynne called to tell the hotel we were stuck. They sent someone supposedly to get us out, but to no avail.Then it started to get hot. Stifling, actually, with no air circulating. After thirty minutes Jamerrill called back, told them there was a baby on board and wanted to know the status (he was SO precious and couldn't have been a better stuck-on-an-elevator baby). They kept reminding us that the sign said no more than 6 people were supposed to have gotten on ("Yeah, yeah, we got it! But that doesn't help us now!" was the general consensus of the nine), and they told Jamerrill that at that time no one was there working on the situation...that they had to wait on a supervisor and no one could do anything until that person got there.

So, Jamerrill did what any of us moms would have done in the same position. She called 911. We tweeted to Alle (mine and Aurie's other roommate) to come tell us if we were between floors or if we were at a floor. She ran around trying to find us and finally we were able to hear her sweet voice outside the door. However, there was nothing she could do except give us moral support!

After waiting for over an hour, the doors suddenly flew open and we burst out of that tin can like Dr. Pepper out of a shaken 2-liter. I felt like I could actually drink the air it felt so good. As we sat recovering from our ordeal on the 5th floor landing, the stairwell door opened and a fireman came in, asked us if we were okay, and went back down to do some more investigating. Whatever the problem was, it got fixed, and yes, I did get back on the elevator. But not with that many people. How ironic is it that the sign we should have seen is in between the firemen in this picture...I'm smiling big looking at this: How tiny is that sign! And NO WHERE else in the hotel is this sign...a definite problem in our opinion. Oh, well...lesson learned.

Here are the videos we took while trapped. Pretty good, considering we were suffering from lack of oxygen. Here's Jendi's version (a fun 3 1/2 minutes):
I really was delirious...I had been up since 4:30 that morning and it was LATE.

Here's mine (a mere 30 seconds):
Since there was a Smilebooth set up the first night of the conference, we HAD to have our picture made together.Hmmm...that lack of oxygen may have gone to our heads... ; )

Front, left to right: Jendi, Liam (now known as the Relevator baby), Jamerril l, Stacy, Jessica
Back, left to right: Me, Aurie, Donna, Kristi, Teri Lynne

So there you have it. #Relevator11 ...the coolest hashtag around.

Relevant '11 - Hershey!

noreply@blogger.com (Heathahlee) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 17:00:00 +0000

Since the Relevant Conference didn't start until Thursday evening, those of us who had gotten there early didn't have anything to do until late afternoon. Aurie had driven over so we (meaning me, Aurie, Michelle, Kristi, Kristi's mom, and Christina) hopped in her car and headed to the chocolate capital of the world. Okay, maybe not, but it has to be one of the biggest chocolate attractions ever. Hershey!Since we really didn't have the time or money to do anything but the free tour, we just decided on that. It was enough, in my opinion. Very educational!

After walking through hallways with a timeline of how Milton Hershey started the business and town, how chocolate is harvested, etc, we headed down to the cart ride that would take us on the automated tour. We are waiting for our turn on the carts. Moving floors, moving carts, I'm surprised I didn't perform one of my classic falling down numbers!
Our tour guide. I don't remember his name. Kiddo would have said he was cheese-whiz. Get it? A cow? Cheese? Okay, technically he's a bull but work with me, people. Anyway, he was followed by these bovine beauties singing the most obnoxious song that's STILL stuck in my head..."♪♫ Hershey's Milk Chock-lit... ♫♪" (and how cool is it that I just figured out how to make musical notes???)From this point it got really interesting. The tour went from getting the cacao from tropical regions, through processing it into edible chocolate, to packaging. I wish I had a video of it all because it really was interesting.The famous kisses in production.

I had to take this picture, since this is my guys' favorite thing Hershey makes. They couldn't live without it. I think chocolate milk runs in their veins. One of these days they're going to turn into this guy...At least he's friendly.

After the tour we had a nice little guy hand us some cookies 'n cream white chocolate drops that were heavenly. It was worth it just for that chocolate!

Then we went shopping. We mostly stayed in the merchandise area, but look at all of this chocolate...As wonderful as it looked and smelled (oh, and it did smell divine in that place!), we knew we could get the same stuff at the store much cheaper. Heh.

I did get Kiddo a little something from the merchandise side, but he doesn't know it yet, so shhhhhh....

Now that I've told you about our days before the conference, I'll end the week with what happened to a group of us the night before. We were the talk of the weekend. Even got our own Twitter hashtag. You won't want to miss that!

My Trip to Relevant 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Heathahlee) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 23:12:00 +0000

Oh, my. I am fighting exhaustion still, and it's Wednesday! Thankfully, the only delay I had in getting home from Pennsylvania was when the flight crew of my flight out of Harrisburg couldn't get out of the Sheraton shuttle because the doors were frozen shut! Thankfully the one I got on was fine.

Before I delve into my Relevant notes, I want to share pictures of the day and a half before the conference started. I was not able to do any sightseeing last year, so this was a real treat!

First, I met one of my roomies, Aurie, at the hotel, then grabbed some lunch, then headed to the country.

Aurie!

We ended up in Intercourse, Pennsylvania, which we both loved just because when we said it we giggled. That's all I'm going to say about that. Hee hee.

Our sightseeing transportation, this Amish buggy. I told Aurie I didn't think the girl driving seemed very Amish with her sunglasses atop her head and tomboyish walk, but I was completely wrong. Elsie was her name and she was as Amish as the countryside. She had the prettiest Pennsylvania Dutch accent. Her long "o's" were "oo's" ("hoome" for "home" and "Octoober" for "October").

I have her speaking on video and got a picture of her accidentally, but because the Amish don't believe in having their pictures made, I'm respectfully leaving those off. Even though she will never know I didn't put it on here, I still want to respect their beliefs.
I love the juxtaposition of horse and buggy with modern cars on the same road. I don't have a problem taking these photos because you can't see the people in them. Man, this is a closeup shot! But oh, well...so happy to be there!
The covered bridge we crossed over. I loved hearing the clopity-clop of the horses' hooves on the wooden bridge. LOVE this shot! Wish it wasn't blurry. But when you're taking pictures out of the back of a moving horse and buggy, you take what you can get.

Another view of the countryside. Elsie explained so much to us as we rode along. It was really quite fascinating to hear all she said. The Amish people live in the same communities as modern-lifestyle people, but you can tell the difference between the houses because their houses will not have any power lines to them. Other than that (and the absence of cars in the driveway and laundry hanging on the line), they looked like any other house.

Aurie and I finished up our tour and after I petted the horses' noses a little we took some pictures of hot air balloons we had noticed on the tour.That has to be one of my favorite pictures of the weekend, along with this one: I'm going to make this my desktop wallpaper when I get done with this post. I just love those brilliant reds in the leaves and the dark horse and buggy underneath.

Later, I'll share with you our trip to Hershey...can you smell the chocolate?

Quiet, Heavy Grace

noreply@blogger.com (Heathahlee) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 11:00:00 +0000

Big, fat, fluffy flakes float silently down from the Pennsylvania sky and land with a plop on the already covered ground. These are the biggest snowflakes I've ever seen. They land lightly on the trees and bushes surrounding the hotel. As feathery as they seem, the branches of the evergreens are bowed over from their weight. It is beautiful. And relentless. The snow is so heavy there is a threat of it breaking tree branches and causing power outages. Already the power has flickered several times.

The trees that I notice the most are the evergreens, with their spiky needles and Christmas scent. The heavy snow covers those needles that would, if I grabbed a branch, stab and hurt and leave my skin burned. The snow buffers me from the pain.As I watch the flakes fall, I'm reminded of grace. The grace that I talked about when I first started Butterfly Genes. The reason I began blogging in the first place.

Grace that allows one who doesn't know if she will live or die raise her hands in praise of the One who holds her future.

Grace that conceives life deep within one who obeyed to worship, even though pain was strong.

Grace that allows over 200 women to gather in one place, not arguing over doctrine or theologies or denominations, but worshiping, serving, and sharing one Lord.

It is a heavy grace, one that falls no matter what I do. If I choose to stand under it, it will cover me. I could just stand under the awning and not get covered by the snow; I could just stand there and watch the beauty fall on others but not experience it myself.
But I want that grace...I long for that grace. Grace that protects me from the world's sharp spikes and jabs. Grace that is relentless in its pursuit of me.
Relevant 2011...a grace journey. I will share some of what I learned this week. Some fun, some informational, some from deep in my heart.

All from grace.

31 Days of Worship - Bringing It All Together

noreply@blogger.com (Heathahlee) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 11:00:00 +0000

I've so enjoyed these 31 days. It's been in the middle of me guest posting at other blogs, having guests at my own blog, finishing the Bible in 90 Days, The Relevant Conference, family reunions, and I can't remember everything else. What a journey. I hope the one thing you take from this series is that worship isn't singing pretty songs. I think the best way to sum up this month's posts is this song by Matt Redman..."The Heart of Worship."

You don't have to listen to the song, but please read the lyrics. They express what I've wanted to express in these posts.

Thank you for walking this journey with me.

When the music fades
And all is stripped away
And I simply come
Longing just to bring
Something that's of worth
That will bless your heart

I'll bring You more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You search much deeper within
Through the ways things appear
You're looking into my heart

I'm coming back to the heart of worship
And it's all about You
All about You, Jesus
I'm sorry Lord for the thing I've made it
When it's all about You
It's all about You Jesus

King of endless worth
No one could express
How much You deserve
Though I'm weak and poor
All I have is Yours
Every single breath

I'll bring You more than just a song
For a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You're looking into my heart

I'm coming back to the heart of worship
And it's all about You
All about You, Jesus
I'm sorry Lord for the thing I've made it
When it's all about You
It's all about You Jesus

Its all about you
Jesus

31 Days of Worship - Sunday Scripture

noreply@blogger.com (Heathahlee) — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 11:00:00 +0000

Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.

Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord,

always giving thanks to God the Father for everything,

in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 5:19-20

31 Days of Worship - Waiting Here For You

noreply@blogger.com (Heathahlee) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 11:00:00 +0000

I LOVE this song sung by Christy Nockels on the Passion 2011 recording Here for You. Love it, love it, love it! I thought it fitting to be our last video of the series.