I'm a stay-at-home-mom freelance graphics designer wife and mommy. I have one sweet little girl whom was born in May of 2008! My daughter was diagnosed with Congenital Hypothyroidism three days after she was born. I'm looking to meet and discuss that condition with others whom have Congenital Hypothyroidism themselves or have children with this condition.
I enjoy designing graphics, blogging, photography, reading, jewelry making, scrap booking, and more. If you are looking for a personalized wordpress theme, send me an email at ellybean (at) connected2christ.com and I can help you out for not to huge a price!
You can find me at the following sites:
I'll kindly take a donation if you'd like to buy me a cup of coffee or two. :)
Groups I'm in:
Yahoo! Group Congenital Hypothyroidism.
$25.00 Kroger gift card winner!
March 11th, 2010
Kroger and General Mills are teaming up through My Blog Spark to give one of my blog readers a $25.00 gift card to spend on groceries…. and the winner is #50 Angie- She wrote: I am always looking for meat substitutes and organic foods on sale and when I find them at a good price, I buy all I can afford!
( all winners have been chosen using a random.org)
Congratulations to you all! Please reply back to the email I send with your full name and address.
NO PO Boxes allowed! Winners have 48 hrs to contact me or another winner will be chosen.
FIRST: The Twilight Gospel: The Spiritual Roots of the Stephenie Meyer Vampire Saga
March 11th, 2010
It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old…or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!
You never know when I might play a wild card on you!
and the book:
The Twilight Gospel: The Spiritual Roots of the Stephenie Meyer Vampire Saga
Monarch Books (December 23, 2009)
***Special thanks to Cat Hoort, Trade Marketing Manager, of Kregel Publications for sending me a review copy.***
Dave Roberts is the author of the best-selling The Toronto Blessing and Red Moon Rising with joint sales in excess of 100,000. He is a former editor of Christianity and won awards for his work on Renewal magazine. He is a local church pastor and conference director for three major annual conferences on worship, children’s ministry, and women’s ministry.
Visit The Twilight Gospel book page on Kregal’s website to download a free discussion guide for youth leaders.
Product Details:
List Price: $12.99
Paperback: 160 pages
Publisher: Monarch Books (December 23, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1854249762
ISBN-13: 978-1854249760
AND NOW…THE FIRST CHAPTER:
In an age when the art of reading is thought to be in decline, the success of a book series with over 2,450 pages and a character count exceeding 3.5 million may be a surprise to some.
The appetite of readers old and young for romance, drama and the thrill of the long-running saga remains undimmed, however. The success of the Harry Potter series was just one indicator. The advent of the Internet has also made it possible to build strong fan cultures around niche television series such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer or The West Wing. At the heart of this fan culture activity is an identification with the characters in a storyline, and a desire to explore both the story and the point of view that lies behind it.
A young boy, Harry Potter, captured the imagination of many as he grew up with his audience. It seems fitting that the next mass-market mystical morality tale capturing the imaginations of children and young adults should feature a slightly awkward, self-conscious girl, teetering on the brink of womanhood.
While some may be tempted to dismiss these stories as Mills & Boon style romances for the young teen reader, at their heart they explore issues of identity, sexuality and spirituality. They reflect on material aspiration, prejudice and stereotyping, family breakdown, self-control and human dignity. They invoke the Bible and one of the characters speaks of the perspective of the Creator. They explore ancient myths and mystical practices that are entering the mainstream culture of the West.
Regardless of literary merit, the saga’s cold, hard sales facts are staggering. The series is made up of five books. Four have been published, but an unpublished fragment – Midnight Sun – tells the story found in the original Twilight series from the perspective of Edward, the main male character in the books. The fragment is over 260 pages long and further fills in both the romantic and the spiritual roots of the story.
The series, which launched in 2005, has become a publishing phenomenon. With sales in excess of 70 million by 2009 and translations into 38 languages, the Twilight Saga has emerged as a strong competitor for hearts and minds alongside the Harry Potter series and the controversial Da Vinci Code. While originally published for ‘young readers’, the saga has attracted a much wider audience, including women looking for a different take on romantic fiction.
…
Many will perhaps read these books and barely remember them. They will be the books of the month, literally and emotionally. But some will look upon them as a window on the world. Bella’s emotions regarding her awkwardness will ring true for them. The astonishing intensity of first sexual experiences and the tentative discovery of trust at a profound level will seep out of the pages and into the thought patterns of many readers.
Learning from stories is an ancient aspect of our culture. Two thousand years ago Jesus held large crowds spellbound as he painted rich word-pictures with his parables and proverbs. As we encounter the stories that make up the Twilight Saga we will want to be aware, as Jesus was, that some will hear the story and hardly understand it, but others will deeply internalize the things that they hear.
Think for a moment of Jesus’ story of the Prodigal Son, which Edward ruefully mentions upon his return from exile. (He had sought to protect Bella from vampire attack by being away from her.) Jesus draws the crowd into the emotional drama of the story as he recounts the ungrateful demands of the errant son. The extent of his downfall is made clear when we discover that he is feeding pigs. The depth of the father’s mercy is planted as an idea in the imagination of the hearer as he or she pictures the father running to extend mercy, and to signal to the local population his protection of the son they had every reason to despise. The willingness of the father to forgive is clear, but the idea arises from the story rather than any explicit mention of the word. It is an example of skilful storytelling.
The skilful storyteller evokes emotion and encourages empathy with the characters. Many readers will feel as if they are spectators, hovering in the background of the dialogue that they read or the story they hear. They will picture the scenes as they play out on a backdrop in their imagination. This powerful connection with the emotions of a story will often connect people with a religion, a philosophy or a point of view.
Fiction, obviously, has power. But how much? Those who say that stories such as the Twilight Saga ‘make’ people undertake explorations of sexuality or the occult are overstating the case. Stories do not ‘make’ anybody do anything. They introduce the possibility and excite the imagination: that is all. By the same token, those who would say that these are merely stories and that people will not internalize the value systems they find in the saga may also be suffering from a form of cultural myopia. Some people will take up the possibilities that they find in the story and act them out in their own lives. Stories bring ideas to life.
As we journey into the Twilight lands around Seattle, where our story is set, let us bear in mind that there will be many other explorers. Some will be walking in Bella’s shoes, deeply identified with her emotional vulnerability and her questions over her own character and motivations. Others will be fascinated by the vampire mythology, with its rebellion against the moral norms of society. They will be drawn into the struggles of those vampires who are reluctant to embrace their killing machine destiny and hang on to shreds of humanity in the hope of redemption or as an antidote to guilt.
Some will simply be quietly thrilled with the erotic subtext that runs through all four books. Many are not the least bit interested in direct depictions of the sexual act but are happy to get lost in the erotic world of discovery that the young virgin and the 104-year-oldman (who doesn’t seem to have had a girlfriend since he was 18, if at all) embark upon.
Just as there is no typical Twilight reader, so there is no one message. The story has many layers, some of which we are going to explore. It weaves together ideas about material consumption, sexuality, spirituality, personal psychic power, self-image, friendship and social networks, the glamour of rebellion, folklore and even tribal conflict. No wonder it is potent stuff.
But in what sense, if any, is it true? I live my life according to a magnificent narrative handed down through the millennia by the apostles and prophets of the religion that honors God, his Son Jesus and his emissary to us today, the Holy Spirit. The Twilight Saga does not purport to be ‘truth’ but many will feel that it contains truth about their life. To determine what is true and praiseworthy, I will be examining the ideas at the heart of the Twilight Saga in the light of the ideas at the heart of the Christian faith.
Examining popular culture through the eyes of Christian thought can sometimes be a painful process, which is why many Christians choose to turn their backs on that culture. It’s painful when the foundation we stand on is fear. Fear of what that culture might do to us. Fear of those who create that culture. Fear of what stain it might leave on our hearts or our minds. But I am not writing from a place of fear. I have no desire to plant seeds of fear in the lives of anyone who reads this book.
I want to write from a place of wisdom – not my own, but rather the wisdom I find throughout the pages of the Hebrew/Christian scriptures. In critiquing other worldviews, I desire to help people understand and respond and make good choices. I don’t want to tell them what to believe about contemporary vampire culture! I do want to hold up the ideas in the Twilight Saga to scrutiny, and help the reader to ask good, penetrating questions about those ideas.
In the book of Revelation, Jesus addresses the seven churches of Asia Minor, calling them to account for their behavior. He speaks very well of two of them and affirms something positive about every one of the other five. But he also says, ‘this I have against you’. As you read on you’ll discover that I affirm some of the story threads in the Twilight Saga. You’ll also discover very searching questions. They are offered in the spirit of the approach that Jesus took with the errant churches.
You and I are not Jesus and the Twilight Saga is not a church (although the www.twilightsaga.com website does have 183,000 members at the time of writing). The Twilight Saga does not affirm mainstream orthodox Christianity in its storylines or dialogue. But it does contain elements of what is good and wholesome. For instance, in Carlisle Cullen we find a man of peace. Bella is almost painfully humble, as well as being willing to sacrifice her life for others. Charlie Swan loves his daughter. Angela Weber personifies a quiet goodness. Esme Carlisle has the instinctive protective love of a mother, but towards children who are not her own. As you wander the Twilight lands, you’ll find grace, beauty and truth in the midst of moral complexity and spiritual promiscuity.
I want to acknowledge wisdom where we find it in the story, and to respect the fine storyteller who brings us the tale. We should be willing to stand in the shoes of other readers who come to this story with different expectations, backgrounds and experiences. But as we seek to understand why the story touches them, I hope we will also be willing to question and refute, and perhaps, when necessary, say ‘this I have against you’.
But first we need to go to Transylvania.
Loving Heart Designs: Olay Total Effects Body Wash Giveaway
March 9th, 2010
Loving Heart Designs: Olay Total Effects Body Wash Giveaway.
Check out this great giveaway! It ends on March 27th, so hurry on over ladies!
Spring as well as other Changes are well on the way…
March 6th, 2010
Lately, the weather here in Oregon has been nothing to complain about . We are having beautiful spring time weather that I am sure many people are wishing was coming their way. My family which resides in Georgia, have been getting pretty chilly weather which includes snow. Yes, snow in Georgia in March… I could hardly believe it myself.
2010 and already three months in, it’s hard to believe I know. In just a couple of months, my daughter Melody will be two years old. I no longer call her a baby because she is far from it. She’s a very smart independent little girl, a beam of sunshine to all that she knows. People tell you these years pass by ever so quickly and now I totally know what they meant by it, because it does.
Don’t sweat the little things and even the big ones, each day is a blessing in one way or another and it’s good for us to be reminded through it all that nothing is ever more than we can bear because we have God bigger and greater than all of our issues. A Bible verse that I commonly go back to and have hidden in my heart is 1 Peter 5:7 which reads ” Let the Lord have all your worries and cares, for He is always thinking about you and watches everything that concerns you”.
In just two weeks time, my family and I are relocating from a third story apartment into a duplex. I look forward to this next step in our journey. I know a huge stress will be lifted from me as I don’t have to worry about many issues that I’ve encountered living in an apartment. Another plus is that our new place is minutes from a park and librarythat my daughter and I can walk to daily if we so choose. I would’ve loved to rent a place with a yard but was willing to not be very picky. I was ready to get out of our current place in a very short amount of time because it’s been making me sick due to our new neighbors smoking. At our new place we won’t have to worry about smoking because there’s no smoking, which was my biggest concern.
What else does our new place have to offer? (other than the Starbucks literally a skip away?) Well, I’ll have a much bigger kitchen, a dining area that doesn’t have carpet (w00t!), a larger living room with a wood burning fire place, two deck/patios, a huge garage that I’m planning to set up into a nice storage/workshop, 2 bedroom, and a bath. So, we did have to purchase our own washer and dryer, thankfully we have a nice sized tax refund back to contribute. We actually went washer and dryer shopping today and found exactly what we were looking for. I’ll blog more about my thoughts on them and experience later on!
I’ve still got a bit of packing to do. I had to slow down because I’ve been having some major sinus and possibly stress related headaches. Prayer are appreciated there. I did manage to pull something while moving boxes and I am sure that didn’t help either. It goes to show me how out of shape I am and how I should make it a must to find time to work out and stretch each and every day.
I’ll write more later but just wanted to post a little update 
Gourmet Gift Easter Basket Review & Giveaway
March 5th, 2010
Can you believe Easter is right around the corner! In fact, Easter will be upon us in less than a months time! It seems to me lately that it’s been sneaking up sooner every year that passes my way! Are you ready? I know I most certainly am not! I wanted to take the time to make my daughter a Easter basket but with moving in less than two weeks and the whole process of getting situated, I know I’m not going to have the time to do so.
The company Gourmet Gift Baskets has got my back, as they offer the most adorable Easter gift baskets that I’ve seen around! I was blessed with the opportunity to review the Hippity-Hoppity Easter Gift Stack. The Gift Stack I received varies from the one in the picture above. For instance my basket was instead a sweet little polka dotted tin pail that will most definitely be reused by my daughter long after all the Easter goodies are gone. In pointing this out, substitution may be made but I’m sure all baskets will come out looking adorable!
As I mentioned before in the Hippity-Hoppity Easter Gift Stack you’ll find well knows Easter candies such as PEEPS, M&M’s, Sour Patch Kids, Reeses, and a few others. My daughter loves plush dolls and animals so I know she’s going to love the 12′ Harry Hare Rabbit that is included! I can’t wait to see her face when I give it to her as I know she’ll love it and I like that the quality of this basket isn’t cheap either as some you might purchase elsewhere.
Purchasing premade gift baskets, save you time and money so that you can be investing in other important things. The Hippity-Hoppity Easter Gift Stack retails at 29.99, if you are interested! They have many other popular Easter Gifts to browse through as well on their site.
Win it!
One Connected2Christ.com reader will have the chance to win an Hippity-Hoppity Easter Gift Stack of their very own!
To enter: You must become a fan of Gourmet Gift Baskets on Facebook here. Please leave your Facebook name in your comment. And when you post on their Facebook wall, please let them know about another gift basket that they carry that you like! (this must be done or no other entry will count).
Extras:
1. Add me to your blogroll or add my button.
2. Blog it, link back to this post. (2 extra)
3. Favorite my blog on Technorati
4. Subscribe by email/RSS. (2 extra)
5. Follow on Twitter @erinlowmaster & Tweet (daily entries available)
6. Email a friend about this giveaway. (Leave name of friend)
Tweet: (copy/paste)
RT: Win an Easter Basket from Gourmet Gift Baskets! 3/15 @erinlowmaster (add url).
This Giveaway is only open to U.S and Canada, No PO Boxes.
Giveaway running till 03/15/10 . Winners will be notified shortly afterward by email. Please respond within 48 hours or you forfeit your prize to another participant.
**Disclaimer: I was given the Hippity-Hoppity Easter Gift Stack to review from Gourmet Gift Baskets. This review is 100% my opinion and has not been edited or reviewed by anyone. I was not compensated in any other way for this product review.**
Posted in Children, Give Aways, Product Reviews | 
Tags: basket, easter, gift, gift baket | 
140 Comments »
“Kroger Family of Stores’ Cart Buster Savings Event and $25.00 gift card Giveaway!
March 5th, 2010
Not to miss out on!
I’m very excited to inform everyone about the Cart Savings Event Kroger is having! I don’t know about everyone else, but I know I could always use the extra savings when it comes to purchasing numerous things, especially my groceries! So now until March 14th you can save big when shopping at all Kroger and Kroger Family stores which include; Fred Meyer, Ralphs, King Soopers, Dillons, Smiths, Frys, Bakers, Owens, Food4less, to name just a few.
I bet you are wondering what brand products that are participating in the event! The brands participating include Honey Nut Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, Hamburger Helper, Yoplait, Progresso, Totino’s, Green Giant, Cascadian Farm, Tide, Charmin, Bounty, Pampers, Pantene, Crest, Iams, Febreze, Old Spice and many more!
Win!
Kroger and General Mills are teaming up through My Blog Spark to give one of my blog readers a $25.00 gift card to spend on groceries!
To Enter: Let me know what you are looking to stock up on when out grocery shopping!
Extras:
1. Add me to your blogroll or add my button.
2. Blog it, link back to this post. (2 extra)
3. Favorite my blog on Technorati
4. Subscribe by email/RSS. (2 extra)
5. Follow on Twitter @erinlowmaster & Tweet (daily entries available)
6. Email a friend about this giveaway. (Leave name of friend)
Tweet: (copy/paste)
RT: Win a $25.00 Gift Card to spend on groceries! 3/10 @erinlowmaster (add url).
This Giveaway is only open to U.S and Canada
Giveaway running till 03/10/10 . Winners will be notified shortly afterward by email. Please respond within 48 hours or you forfeit your prize to another participant.
**Disclosure: General Mills and My Blog Spark provided the above information and sent me a complimentary $25 Kroger gift card **
Love Your Pets – Pet Tag Review
March 4th, 2010
Protecting your pet is protecting a member of the family and one of the most reliable ways to ensure the safe return of any pet is a pet id tag. I learned after doing some research of my own that shelters have reported that 90 percent of tagged animals are returned to their owners, so I knew I had to start looking for the right tag for our cat.
While browsing the internet for personalized pet identification tags, I came across Love Your Pets. While on their site, I learned that Love Your Pets was established in 1981 and to this day is a family owned and operated business that promises affordable pet id tags with a lifetime guarantee.
I was given the opportunity to review several styles and colors of Love Your Pets ID Tags that are currently available on their site. I found the whole ordering process very easy to use! I first choose from the three available shapes which are a circle, heart, and bone that I wanted. I then choose what material I wanted the tags to be made of, which includes brass, plastic, and stainless. After deciding which type of tag, I was brought to a drop down menu which offers suggestions for the lines of text for the type of tag you are creating such as pet, medical, luggage, and custom to create whatever you so choose. Each tag can have up to six lines of text.
An added feature that I love is that I could preview what my ordered tags would possibly come to look like with text as I typed it out! This feature helped me know the limit of letters for each line and how it would possibly look like once engraved upon the tag! Once my order was placed in the system, I received my tags in just days! They weren’t kidding when they promised fast delivery!
Love Your Pets ID Tags are extremely durable! I was very impressed with quality of each of the tags I ordered. The tags are thick and durable and the the letters are perfectly stamped with no flaw at all. Note that with each tag you order, the jump ring you’ll need to attach it is also included.
Usually when you pay less for a product there’s a good chance it won’t last or stand up over time but that is not the case with Love Your Pets ID Tags at all! These tags will definitely stand up to time and for the price of $3.95 you won’t find a better id tag for your pet or for any other custom need you may have elsewhere!
**Disclaimer: I was given several id tags to review from Love Your Pets. This review is 100% my opinion and has not been edited or reviewed by anyone. I was not compensated in any other way for this product review.**
Just wanted to let everyone know that we are relocating into a new home around the end of March.
Brochures Printing and Business Cards with Online Printing Company UPrinting.com!
