Book Review: No More Boring Bible Study

No more Boring Bible Study by Faith Womack

Introduction

I read this book in order to preview what Faith had to say before suggesting it to others who struggle with knowing how to study their Bible. I myself have a blog post about this over at my Bible journal blog (www.mywritelifeblog.com).  I've been watching Faith on her YouTube channel for several years, off and on, so I was already familiar with her and her view of scripture. She's a young wife and mother of 2 young children and a teacher of the Bible at that. She went to a Bible college and later even completed seminary school for her own continued study of the Bible. Her husband is a Pastor. Her YouTube channel has a lot of information and deals a lot with how she does Bible journaling which her book also addresses though not a main focus. 

When Your Elderly Pet Is Sick

Have you been the sole caretaker of a senior pet? Have you struggled in knowing what to do or how? No doubt at a certain point in a pet's life they will contract some kind of illness. As they become elderly these tend to be chronic conditions and sometimes can be managed and sometimes they can't. This of course happens to any pet at any age so not just seniors, but I find people are more willing to go the mile for a younger animal. Well I haven't had a pet reach senior status in years as unfortunately most of mine have died far too young for illnesses that could not be managed. 

Review 90s classic Quantum Leap

March 26, 1989 : I was 12 years old on this, the date, that the pilot for Quantum Leap aired.  My sister was 11 and we were hooked. Each week we tuned in to watch where the show was taking us next through the eyes of the main character Sam Beckett. That was nearly 37 years ago. I can hardly believe that myself. The show, sadly, had only a 5 season run. The last episode aired in May of 1993 and by then I was 16. I haven't seen the show since. Just a few weeks ago I decided to see if this was on any streaming network anywhere. I subscribe to a few after all. The only place I found was Amazon Prime Video and it's extremely over priced as you pay per episode or buy an entire season at a time. I wondered why a beloved 37 year old show was nowhere to be found. Apparently Netflix used to have it, Hulu perhaps and maybe Roku channel...but today..nada. Well the fans are out there and I found out the reason potentially is because of music licensing. Many of the episodes have 50s and 60s and other music integral to the episode. Perhaps the cost of getting licensing is too great for these streaming networks. I don't know. I do know that back in the early 2000s Universal put out dvds, however, they replaced all the music with public domain music which fans have said ruined many of the episodes. If you want more information on media that was released go here. In 2017 a bluray set was released said to contain all the original music plus improved video as it is 1080p. That said, the Mill Creek Entertainment set of DVDs released in 2017 claims to contain MOST of the original music; however it is only in 480p and a small aspect ratio. Still, this is the set I chose to buy as it can be played on my modern laptop with my 16 year old external disc drive using the VLC player. So, I've been rewatching this beloved show after 30+ years and loving every minute even though it can't fill my screen size and it looks like watching a VHS tape. 

Types of Art Pencils

Drawing and sketching for realism is much more involved then picking up a yellow number 2 pencil, the same as those that were required throughout your elementary and high school career. There are several types of pencils, from graphite, to charcoal to colored and watercolor. All have different uses and provide different shades and tones as well as texture.

So you think you’re ready to start drawing, so let’s make sure you have all the tools you need, or at least the essentials. I am going to assume you already know the proper techniques for drawing, but perhaps are just lost when you look at the array of pencils when you visit the arts and crafts store, so here I will help you in choosing the tools you need. 

Less Stressful Holiday Gatherings

 Top 5 ways to make your holiday gathering less stressful and budget friendly

So you were informed that you will be hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year at your house because everyone else is too busy, or will be out of town, or just doesn’t have the room. Maybe this is your first Thanksgiving meal you’ve ever prepared. Whatever the reason, here you are, planning for what tends to be a large meal with many people. Where do you begin? How do you make it easier on yourself so that maybe you’re not spending all day in the kitchen and not socializing on the day of the event? How do you keep the budget within your means and make less overall work for you? Here is a list of some of the top ways to achieve a nice family (or friends) Thanksgiving meal that won’t break your bank account as well as ways to keep the meal a little less stressful for you and easier cleanup as well.

Whirlwind

UPDATED: Last Edited in 2025 WHIRLWIND By Holly Stoner

There I was, sitting on the counter in that sterile room, staring at the sparkling clean floor. In fact, it was so clean you could eat off it, if you really wanted to bring food into the bathroom that is. I hopped down off the counter and planted my bare feet onto the floor, which was surprisingly warm despite how icy it appeared. I slipped my feet into the sandals that were sitting beside the tub and glanced at the shiny pink nail polish on my toes. The time had come. I took a deep breath and turned around and looked at myself in the mirror before looking down at the counter at the thin white stick which was showing two distinct pink lines.

My heart started racing, and I reached for the box which previously housed the plastic white stick. The purple box read “Pregnancy Test” on the front and showed the logo of the one-dollar store where I had purchased the test last week. I flipped the box over in a panic and read my worst fear. I was pregnant. I wondered if the test could be wrong. How could this have happened? We were careful, and it only happened one time.

Twilight saga in my own words

Original publication Feb 22, 2012 

Updates made June 19, 2025

With the upcoming release of the last installment of Stephanie Meyer's best selling vampire drama series, Twilight, I thought I'd take today to post a summery, in case you need a refresher. The Twilight Saga was written by Stephanie Meyer and published by Little Brown between the years 2005 and 2008 (for the original 4 book series). The following is in my own words. No copyright infringement is intended with this summary.

There was a girl named Bella Swan who moved from the dry heat of Arizona to the wet cold of Washington to live with her dad and let her mother have some time with her new baseball player husband. Bella never really felt like she fit in anywhere and it was never more apparent than when she attended Forks Highschool. The teens in the small town were a little strange and one family in particular, the Cullens. The Cullens were pale, with golden brown eyes, which sometimes looked black, and kept to themselves and they missed school whenever the sun was shining. Edward Cullen intrigued Bella with his sparkling good looks. She soon began to crush on him. When she learned of his interest in her, they quickly became an item, but Edward had secrets, secrets that he started to share with Bella. Most people would have been afraid of the things he told her, but not Bella. She never felt more alive. Falling in love with a vampire isn't without problems of course, you know, the whole I want to bite you thing. Edwards protectiveness of Bella also became an obstacle and something the other vampires didn't understand.

15 Years Later

 I was doing some blog work on this and my other blog today and my post from May, 2010 came up with the image of my now 15 year old cat. We named her Daisy. You can see that post here. Sadly her brother seen with her in that photo is no longer with us. He died just this past month. In that post I wasn't sure where he was going to end up, well, he ended up with my brother and his family. They named him Dakota. Dakota than lived near me for a few years, moved to Montana and than moved to North Carolina where he spent the rest of his life. As with any aging animal health issues came up and his quality of life suffered, so they let him go. My cat, Daisy, too has had her share of health problems. To be expected at the advanced age of 15. Last summer (7-2-24) she had a sudden decline and I thought we were going to lose her. Aside from arthritis she'd been doing well to then. But in June my young adult son brought home a kitten to live with us. They were kept apart even after he'd had a vet check 2 days after his arrival. But the kitten had fleas and thus began the nightmare of getting rid of fleas. If you've ever had them, you know. We haven't had fleas in this house for over 15 years. All my previous cats were indoor only and our dog never got fleas as she was primarily indoor also (and would be treated during bad summer months). 

Revival time?

This blog has existed since 2009. In the years to today, now in 2025, I have developed several blogs and creative ideas and stopped blogging here since 2016. My new adventure began in 2017 and with that an entirely new blog. That journey has now come to an end as well. However that blog will remain for the foreseeable future. So the question is now, do I revive this here my old blog? I've reviewed several of my posts...some good, some not great. I didn't have a large audience, but could I get more if I changed my content? Or could I attract more if I write more often? My primary blog since 2017 was not hosted here with blogger as I tried somewhere else. I had some interest there but it's a very specific blog dealing with a very specific topic. I was lot more focused. I've updated The Write Planet because as it turns out some widget was preventing my blog from loading and in doing so I am attempting to link my 2 blogs together. Maybe they will, or should, become one entity I thought. You'll see it linked upwards and sideways. I did in fact briefly have another blog that was going to be the future home for my wire wrapped jewelry making business, but after several years of trying to get people to actually buy and not just want donations, I gave it up. I guess people just wanted me to spend a ton of money so they could get something for free. That business model was never going to work. Yeah I enjoyed making the stuff but I also fully intended to sell the items. I did sell some but then all the requests for donations or placing orders but never sending me the money (which they didn't get the items then). I'm currently 48 years old...it's been a long time this blog has been online. I am "retired" as a homeschool supervisor/teacher and finding my way in my new life of just being Holly. My kids are grown and I need a new identity. (figuratively speaking) Here is where I'm at, do I revive this blog and add new content, let it sit as it is, delete it from existence? If I do revive it will I change the name? Will I remove my old content? Perhaps only the things I no longer agree with myself on! Do I have anything to say that's worth reading? A lot of questions, no answers. 

Happy New Year!

NOTE: I wrote this post in 2016 and I never completed it, but I wanted to post now (in 2018)what I wrote to show some growth since the loss of my mother.

It's been one year since I posted on the blog...a YEAR! How did that much time go by? The last year had many ups and downs. Grief, illness and so many other things that I am sure each of us deal with as well. Now it's 2016 and I say this all the time, I will post more often. I WANT to post more often and I want to post things that are helpful, or entertaining. I've been thinking a lot about what I am supposed to be doing with my life. I pray about it a lot, asking God to open my mind and show me where I fit, what I should be doing, what he wants me to be doing because I feel like I am not doing anything. Being a mom of two children is itself, doing something; being a homemaker is itself doing something, but I want to do more, to feel useful, but what? This is something I have really been praying about and giving a lot of thought on because I also want to find that place in my church where I am needed and can serve to the best of my abilities...whatever those are. I guess I have always wanted to help people, and I do when I get the opportunity, but even that seems like it's not enough. So it's a new year and I am hoping this is my year to figure out where God wants me to serve. Those of you who might happen upon my little blog, please if you would, say a prayer that my mind will be open, my heart will receive whatever it is that God wants me to do. I hope I haven't ignored it. 

GoodReads Review of New Moon

The summary inside the paper-back cover says – “When the Cullens, including her beloved Edward, leave Forks rather than risk revealing that they are vampires, it is almost too much for eighteen-year-old Bella to bear, but she finds solace in her friend Jacob until he is drawn into a “cult” and changes in terrible ways. “
New Moon is the second book in Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga and was also on the NY Times Bestseller list. If you’re looking into reading New Moon, you have to read Twilight first. New Moon picks up the story from the end of Twilight, after Bella’s near death experience and Edward coming to her rescue, again. They’ve been to prom and declared their love for one another and their relationship at the start of this book couldn’t be more perfect, aside from the fact he’s a vampire, and she a human.

GoodReads Review Twilight

Looking at the book’s cover, it’s hard to really get a sense of what the book is about, but as you read, and understand, you do get a sense of the symbolism. It is just 2 hands cradling an apple, but as you open the book, flip through the first few pages beyond the table of contents, there is a scripture reference that the author felt applied to the story. It’s a reference to the Bible story about Adam and Eve and the forbidden fruit and the consequence of partaking in that fruit.

This is a work of fiction, for young-adult readers. The title Twilight may not be immediately understood as to why the book was called that. The preface of the book does give you a glimpse of what might be coming later in the story. It’s somewhat of a spoiler if you read the table of contents, something I could have done without, however, it’s not overly revealing in this first book.

The tale of a uterus with two horns

Drawing simulating Bicornuate Uterus 

NOTE: This was originally written for Yahoo Contributor Network (Formally Associated Content) which has since been shut down. I wrote this in March, 2009.



The day I found out I was pregnant was one of the happiest days of my life. It was my very first pregnancy, and it had taken us only four months to get there. When that urine test showed positive I immediately informed my husband and then it wasn't long after that we told our families. It was the natural thing to do, after all, you get pregnant, and you tell everyone you know that you’re having a baby because you’re excited about it, as it should be.

I was about five weeks pregnant when I showed the first signs of trouble, which I informed my doctor of right away. I was spotting. It was very scary and my doctor had me come in right away to check things out. When I told them the spotting had only been brown blood they weren’t really very concerned, but decided it was best to do an ultrasound. The pregnancy was still very early so they needed to do a vaginal ultrasound, and in a few seconds, there on the monitor they could see my uterus, and my little grain of rice -my baby. The pregnancy was confirmed and they actually were able to see the baby’s heartbeat, and the machine told them that I was six weeks along.

After I left the doctor’s office I felt much better about things. The next week, I started spotting again. This time the spotting was pink and they still weren't too concerned and just said to call if it became bright red. I will never forget that morning, about 4 A.M. when I saw the bright red blood. I put a frantic call into my doctors answering service and then he called back soon after. He said it could be a miscarriage but wanted me to come in to the office first thing. I did and by that time the bleeding had lessened. Unfortunately that baby was not meant to be and an ultrasound confirmed my worst nightmare.

Hello? Are you even listening??

     

We're talking about friendships in my ladies Bible study and today the topic of listening came up. Do we really listen to our friends when they are talking or are we hearing, but not taking the time to really take it in? You can ask yourself that in any of your relationships. Are you too pre-occupied? Is your phone always in your hand and you're looking at it while a friend, or spouse, whomever, is trying to tell you something or reach out to you? Put the phone down! The phone thing is one of my BIGGEST things I despise. I don't own a smart phone and I never will. I have a cell phone that is never in my hand and always in my purse and half the time I have no idea it buzzed or rang. My phone isn't part of me. I have one for emergency contact reasons since I have small children. But let's move on.

     Are you guilty of hearing, but not listening? Are you guilty of listening, but maybe not to everything, and then jumping in with a response? Are you guilty of responding by telling the other person the same thing happened to you and than turning it into all about you? Do you give judgement or advice? Do you give advice that isn't asked for? Sometimes you just need to zip it and listen. I am not going to pat myself on the back, because I have been guilty of some of those things, but I have always been told I was a good listener. My friends and family have always come to me when they need to talk it out, or looking for advice. I may not have any, but I can listen. I think everyone can think back through their relationships and remember a time that maybe they didn't listen, they weren't focused on the person and their words, or they gave advice where none was asked for, or even needed. Or maybe you even jumped to conclusions or became accusatory or judgmental before even hearing what the person said.

James 1:19 - Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger

Reviewing 1989

Its been a while since I wrote any sort of review. Today I am gonna put words to my thoughts on Taylor Swift's move from country to pop-country to all pop. Taylor's 5th album (not including her Christmas one) is titled 1989 - after the year of her birth I presume. If you have her other albums and you know anything about her songs - her writing, her words, her letters to you - than you will quickly see that aspect of her hasn't changed when you read her album insert and listen to the songs. What you will hear different is the sound of her music. There's no country here anymore. The girl from Reading, PA...the girl who sang of Tim McGraw and teardrops on guitars....is a woman of New York City now, but who still has a lot to say. If you pay attention and you buy the actual CD's and read the inserts you will also notice that there is only ONE song on the album that she is solely credited for writing; this is a departure from other albums. There is no doubt in my mind that Taylor is talented. If I didn't think so I wouldn't have bought every single one of her CD's. I did had reservations about purchasing this one as I knew the Taylor of old was now new. I won't post her letter to us, her fans, her listeners, but I will post this excerpt because it sums up the entire album and the change in style:

" I've told you my stories for years now. Some have been about coming of age, some have about coming undone. This is a story about coming into your own, and as a result....coming alive."  

That is the nature of Taylor's albums - they were her stories. She puts her writing, her stories, to music.

when suffering, don't run

My mother's birthday is coming up in two days. Of course she no longer has birthday's. Thursday will be a hard day for me and my family. My mom would have been just 64. I am certainly not the only person in the world who's lost a parent, in fact my husband lost his mother to cancer after a 14 month battle on Jan 25, 2006. That was 8 years ago and though the pain may have lessened, its still there and I am sure much more so for him and his family. Her birthday was just one day after mine. She was 60 when she passed away. I know they say it gets easier - maybe it does - I really don't have a read on how my husband and his brother deal with their mother being gone. I had become close with their Dad following that and I do know how badly he suffered. He has since re-married and celebrated his one year anniversary this year. Its fantastic to see him so happy and I know his wife wanted that too. 

We are studying Job in Sunday school right now. There were two different classes to choose from and I was torn on what I wanted to study, but now that we are in it, I think this is probably where I need to be right now. When you talk about suffering, Job suffered. Its interesting to hear my pastor talk about this man and his life. I know my pastor gets that many of us are also suffering in some way and he knows how that makes many of us feel - our human nature. We are only in the 3rd week of the study and sadly I will be missing week 4, but we have already learned that Job was a good man and believer and trusted in his Heavenly Father. The Bible suggests that Satan came to God and asked to test Job, thinking that he would surely falter once life wasn't so easy for him. After everything was taken from him ; his wealth, his lands, his farmhands, his animals, his children, his wife's trust, his health ; Job responded by worshiping the Creator. He didn't sit there and wallow in self pity or give up hope and wish to die. Those trials, those tests, that I talked about in my last post, Job went through that, and God knew he would not falter. 

trials that change you

I'm not sure if anyone reads this blog or has a care about what I post on it. Perhaps if you do, you are tired of hearing about the loss of my mother; as has been the focus for the past several months. Death of someone close to you is not an easy thing to go through. One questions their very existence and possibly even the world as they know it; their faith, their beliefs, their life. Is it how my mother died that is so hard to get over? Is it that she was only 63? Is it that I had only 3 short months to deal with the idea of her possible death to cancer? My mother, as we now know, knew something was amiss, she had to know it was likely cancer, and she knew this for at least 8 months before a doctor saw what was going on and she got diagnosed. Three months, and a horribly painful three months, later and my mother was gone. We had so little time to deal with her diagnosis or to even try and figure out her best options for treatment. We were led to believe it was caught at an early stage where she would have a least a year to fight it. It became apparent to us that was not the case when in May she landed in the hospital for 2 straight weeks with a very diminished cognitive state and weak body. She had suffered multiple infections, blood infections, due to the chemotherapy killing off everything that was left to fight disease; and it didn't make a dent in the cancer. She wasn't going to give up though I know she felt like it. She knew it was grave but she so badly wanted to stay and get things done; she knew we still needed her. As those days past, we didn't want to diminish her hopes but we did have to eventually tell her that we would be okay. She needed to focus on herself and not us. We would take care of what needed to be done.

Fight to live

Robin Williams 1951-2014

Yesterday Facebook and TV exploded with the news of Robin Williams (actor) being found dead of apparent suicide. Since then, everyone and their brother has an opinion. I am no different so I decided to take to the blog world to speak my mind. Its been reported that Williams may have been depressed and if anyone knows anything about the actor, they know he's suffered from drug and alcohol problems. Nobody yet knows all the details and nobody will ever know why he did what he did. It is very shocking to hear the news of such a comedic, well-loved actor to something as horrific as self strangulation...as has been alleged.

I am not speaking today about Robin Williams, but I want to speak about the opinions, and the feelings I am seeing bursting onto Facebook and media reports and that is about the idea of ending ones life. I think the most shocking comment I saw today was that of someone I do not know saying they felt everyone should be allowed to choose when their life can be over, thus saying that suicide is a good way to go. Saying that suicide is an option if you just feel it's time your life was over is beyond comprehensible for me. Suicide is not something to take lightly. Suicide is generally done by people who are desperate and destitute. Sure, accidental suicides seem to occur by those who just don't know when too many drugs, or too much alcohol is too much, but for those who consciously decide their life is no longer worth living that they are capable of ending their life - just imagine for a moment how these people are feeling inside. They aren't thinking clearly. They might think they are, but they are not. When you get to that point you are no longer thinking about anything except ending your pain. Your friends and family do not come into the picture at all. Sure one might have a moment where they convince themselves they are doing their loved ones a favor by ending it, but that just shows how not in the right mind they have become.

Oh those dysfunctional glands

Have you ever had a stye? You know, a small pimple like thing on your lash line of your eye. I'm sure many people have. I went my entire childhood and young adult life never suffering one. I have more than made up for it after I turned 30. For reasons unknown to me, or my eye doctor's, I continue to get these cysts in my eyelids. I wish they were only stye's as they are self limiting. Stye's generally hurt, swell, and form head before bursting and vanishing in about a week or two. No, stye's are not what I am plagued with. The first time I got one of these bumps my son was an infant. It started as what I thought was a stye. It seemed after a long while to go away but then it left a painless ugly lump that I could see pushing out from under my eyelid on the outside. This is what is called a chalazion cyst and they can be formed after stye. It's kinda like scar tissue. Its not an infection but it does contain a thick substance. You see, my lumps aren't infections like stye's generally are. My lumps begin and form from the meibomian glands inside your eyelids. Everybody has them. Those glands are what secrete the fluid to keep your eyes from drying out. For some unknown reason, my eyelids have rebelled and chosen not to function properly and cause this most annoying and painful recurring problem.

'A chalazion also known as a meibomian gland lipogranuloma, is a cyst in the eyelid that is caused by inflammation of a blocked meibomian gland'

Curve balls...

Mom's favorite flower

Matthew 5:4 - "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."

Life tends to throw you a curve ball now and then. It just takes you for surprise, out of nowhere. When something hits you and hits you hard it changes your whole perspective about everything. Your priorities change; pretty much everything changes. As a Christian, I know its bigger than 'life' - it's God. He knows what He is doing and it's all for a purpose. He throws us these things, or so I think to be so, and then leaves up to us how we handle it. He wants us to rely on him for strength and the help we need to get through. Or that's what I tell myself. Having to lose so many of my loved ones so close together was hard enough, but having one of them be my 63 year old mother, to cancer, has felt like hell on earth, frankly.

My Grandfather passed away in 2011, I wasn't very close with him, but it was still sad to lose him. Then in Dec 2012 (Christmas time) my Grandmother passed away after a series of health issues. She was in a nursing home at the time. We buried her in January 2013. Those were both of my Mother's parents. That year, May 2013 we put our 14 year old dog to sleep due to heart problems she'd been fighting for over a year. That was hard not just for me and my husband but my kids too. That was the first pet they really knew and loved that we lost. My grandparents and my dog were all elderly, not that it makes it easier, but you knew one day it was coming. Nobody lives forever, not on Earth. Sometime in February 2014 is when I noticed my 9 year old cat's mouth was smelly. I hadn't thought too much about it as he was prone to chronic gingivitis/stomatitis. A recurring problem for him. So when I took him to the vet I was expecting the same diagnosis and same treatment. Before I made the appointment I looked in his mouth, something he hated me for, and noticed a strange ulcer. Okay, stomatitis can cause that. The vet wasn't overly worried either. Antibiotics were given and schedule for a tooth removal and cleaning.