I was given the chance by My Blog Spark to try the new Simply cookies by Pillsbury. The great thing about these cookies is I didn't have to mix anything. All I had to do was put them in the pan and bake them. My family loved them! The cookies were nice and chewy. They were so good they were gone within a few minutes.


What's wonderful about them is they have no trans fat, no high fructose corn syrup, no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. What they do have in them is flour, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla. They also come in two great flavors. The kind we tried was chocolate chip, but they also come in peanut butter.

Would you like to try them too? My Blog Spark is letting me give away a Pillsbury Simply Prize Pack which includes a coupon for a free pack of Simply cookies, a cookie jar, and a grocery tote bag. You can also print a coupon for Simply cookies here.

5 chances to win
For your first entry leave a comment on this post telling me what you do to simplify your cooking.
Get one extra entry for each of these:
-follow my blog (if you already follow, leave a comment saying so)
-follow @NancysBlessings on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway (leave username)
-mention this giveaway on one of your blog posts (leave link to post)
-put my button on your sidebar (leave link to blog)

Be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry you are doing.
US residents only. Giveaway ends Tuesday August 4 at midnight. Once winner is announced, you will have 48 hours to get back to me with your address.
Good Luck!

This is week 7 of our True Woman Tuesday Bible study. This week Nancy Leigh DeMoss is joined by Holly Elliff who is a preacher's wife and mother of 8.

Holly, talking about the church, says "If we're a growing Body, we're always going to be made of believers at different levels of maturity. We need to teach our kids to allow for that even in the youth group, which is tough, but to allow for those differences, not changing their own beliefs but being thankful to the Lord for what they've already been taught."

She's saying that those who aren't dressing modestly may be in a different season of life than you. They may be a new believer, and not understand that what they are wearing could be offensive to other people. A lot of times we tend to judge these people. We shouldn't judge them, but maybe we should pray for them. She also says this could be a great time to ask your children what they thought of the way that particular person was dressed. It's a great way to open the doors of communication with our children.

She also talks about dressing to please your husband. For example if I have some clothes that I don't really like, but he finds me attractive in, I should wear them sometime for his benefit. Also, if I have something that he doesn't like me in, I could wear it other times when he isn't around. That way we both are happy.

In the next lesson Nancy shares letters from listeners. I would like to share a few excerpts from those letters. One man wrote "We’re fighting to maintain our purity for Christ. If our sisters can help in a small way by dressing modestly, that would assist half the church (that is the men in the church), and God would honor it."

Another lady wrote "I took about half my clothes from my wardrobe and tossed them out. My husband thought I was crazy at first, especially since we have no money to replace them. But when I explained why I was doing this and how I wanted to save my body only for him, he was in total agreement."

A young mother wrote about her clothing "Does it say that I’m a Christian woman who is raising her children in a Christian home, or is my clothing saying that I have no respect for myself or my husband? I want to teach my children what is appropriate and to respect themselves and the opposite sex. Clothing is a basic way of expressing this important value. Thank you so much for helping me to change my attire and change the way the world looks at me."

It seems this series has touched a lot of people, not just women, but men also. It has definitely changed my way of thinking.

The next part of this series is on having sound doctrine. Titus 2 verse 1 : But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine.

Nancy says "We need to be especially careful today. You can’t assume that because you pick something up in a Christian bookstore or because you hear it on Christian media—radio or television—or even necessarily because you hear it in a church today that it’s healthy, sound, doctrinal teaching."

This is something that has concerned me for sometime. I am always wary about the preachers on tv, but maybe not so much as to what I read. I need to be cautious of that too. The reason sound doctrine is so important is so we know when we are being deceived.

There’s no more powerful tool of evangelism. There’s no more powerful tool of social and structural change in our world than for Christians to believe and live out the doctrine and the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Living our lives according to doctrine is what makes Jesus believable. We can make a difference if we live our lives so the world can see Jesus in us!

Stop by Tammi's site and see what others thought of this weeks lesson.

Our vacation Bible school is now over! Yay! It was fun, but I am tired, lol! We have a small church, but we still had at least 20 children every night. Our theme was Studio Go! It involved different game shows for the kids to star in and learn more about God.


I helped with crafts and also was the official "photographer". I say it like that cause I'm not a great picture taker, but that's what they called me.


We learned some great songs, one of which I shared with y'all last week. A lot of the songs were really catchy and easy to learn.


We had 4 days of VBS and then what they call Survivor Weekend. Saturday we got there bright and early at 8 am and ate breakfast and finished up our lessons for the week. Then, since we were learning about serving others the kids washed the cars of some of the older church members.


Saturday was a day of water fun. Everyone had a water gun or a bucket to throw water on people.


The highlight for everyone was the huge slip 'n slide made of tarps. They also put dishwashing liquid on it to make it especially slippery. Yes, we are THAT redneck, people!



I was surprised they did this again since last year my cousin fell and hit her head and lost her memory for a couple days. She said it's because she was walking on it and shouldn't have been. She wasn't brave enough to get on it again this year, and neither was I. But, my son sure loved it!


The kids and some of the adults spent the night Saturday night in campers, tents, or even some in the church. My son did and said he had a blast! Not me, I told them I was too old for that. I think all the kids had a wonderful time of fellowship and learned more about Jesus too!

How was your Bible school?

Hey y'all! Welcome to Southern Blessings! I am participating in Blog Hop '09 since I can't afford to go to Blogher in Chicago.


My name is Nancy and I am a stay at home wife and mom to two boys ages 12 and almost 2. We are a homeschool family who live in the country. I have lots of chickens whom I love and a couple guineas. We have dogs, cats, fish, crayfish, and a rabbit. I think I included everything, lol!


I named my blog Southern Blessings because I live in the south, specifically South Carolina and it reminds me to count my blessings every day. I love to talk about my kids and our homeschool. I am currently doing an online women's Bible study that I post on. I also post book and product reviews. Lastly, I like to host giveaways. I'll be having one next week, if you'd like to stop back by.


Thanks for visiting! I would love it if you'd leave a comment so I could stop by your place and say hello! If you want to read more blog hop '09 posts you can see them here.

If y'all will remember I am helping Tipper at Blind Pig and the Acorn with her corn experiment. Something dug up most of her corn, so for her, the experiment isn't going so well. But, my corn seems to be doing good, so far. It's been planted about a month now. In the picture below the corn on the right was planted on the good day and the corn on the left on the bad day. They were planted 3 days apart. The corn on the right is taller, but so far that is the only difference.


Not all of the corn came up, but there are about 8 good and 8 bad that did come up. So, as long as the nothing messes it up, hopefully my corn will keep growing and I'll have some corn to eat! Ignore all the grass you see in the pictures. We didn't have our own tiller and had been borrowing my cousins to do the garden. They had been busy with the tiller so we haven't been able to use it in a long time. But, recently we got our own used one we found on craigslist. This is it in the picture below. Since everything else in the garden is dead, my husband can now plow it up. So, it should look better soon!

It's week 6 of our True Woman Tuesday study. This weeks lessons started talking about training our daughters. So, I thought, I didn't even need to listen at first since I only have boys. But, I was pleasantly surprised to find out it contained helpful information for boys and girls.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss says that "one of the killers of the faith of young people who grow up in Christian circles, is that they did not see that their parents’ faith had joy in it."

We as parents need to show our children the joy in living a godly life. We can't let them get bogged down in rules. Because, rules are no fun for children, or adults really. We should live by example. Our children need to see that the way we live our lives for Jesus is the greatest way to live.

Now, I know this isn't new for you to know that our children are "bombarded with messages of sexuality." Everyone knows that is all over TV and magazines. As parents, we are responsible for knowing what our children are viewing.

Modesty should be a way of life. We should dress appropriately and surround ourselves with appropriate things. Things like the magazines we allow into our homes and the movies and TV shows we watch. I should do a better job with what we watch on TV. It's not cable, but still there are some shows which are questionable that we watch. I will have to remember that I am to be an example. Not just say, you can't watch it, but I can. That's not the way to teach my son what is right and wrong.

Deuteronomy 6 verses 6-7: ⁶"These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. ⁷"You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.

In these verses we are commanded to teach our children the way in which to live. We are to teach them the Bible and share God's word with them. Any time can be a teaching time. If we see ourselves in a situation that we feel they can learn from, we are to use that opportunity to teach them. To teach our children to think about what God would have them do.

As with anything, we are not to get too caught up in rules because, this too, is a matter of the heart. Like with us, if we teach our children well, their heart will lead them to the right choices.

If you would like to read what others have thought of this weeks lessons, please visit Valley Girl.

I recently had the opportunity to review Jesus Calling by Sarah Young. This book is a collection of writings from her time spent as a missionary. Sarah started writing down what she believed God was saying to her. As a result of this she created this devotional. It contains a devotion for every day of the year.

The book is titled Jesus calling because each devotion is written as though Jesus is speaking to you. The devotions are short and easy to read. Sarah also lists the verses in the Bible which relate to that days devotion.

I have enjoyed reading through these daily devotions. It seems as though each reading relates to me or is something I needed to hear. When I start the day reading a devotional and the accompanying Bible verses, my day seems to go so much better!

This is the first devotional I have ever used aside from those they give me at church. However, if you are looking for a devotional, this would be a great choice. I think this book would also make a great gift for someone.

We are in the middle of Vacation Bible School at our church. I'm helping out with crafts this year and we are right beside the kids who are learning songs. So, this particular song has been stuck in my head. Sometimes I sing myself to sleep with it, lol! Anyway, I thought I would share a video I found on youtube, so y'all could hear it too. It's really catchy! I hope everyone has a blessed Sunday!

My youngest son will be two in just a few weeks. He has one toy he still loves today that he loved last year. That toy is his cow. This is him last year doing his baby bull riding.


His brother loves to push him on the cow, only these days he can do it all his own. I can't believe how much bigger he is since just last July.


He even does wild tricks on his cow, like in the picture below. Sometimes the cow gets rocking so much it flips him off. But, he just rubs his head, or whatever gets bumped, and gets right back on!


I like this one, even though it's blurry. He's rocking it like a hurricane!

About a week ago I was reading another blog and there was a recipe for monkey bread. Now, I've ate it before, but never made it. Since I remembered how good it was last time, I wanted to make it. But, as it turns out, I didn't have a bundt pan, so I used a loaf pan instead.

It's so easy! Here are a few pictures of me making it. First, I dipped the biscuits in the mixture.


Then I layered them in the pan.


Then I poured the buttery mixture on top.


This is what it looked like when it was done baking. I think it would have done better in a bundt pan because it was still kind of doughy in the bottom. But, it was still as good as I remembered!


If you want the complete recipe, you can find it at A Mayberry State of Mind.

We are continuing this week with 1 Timothy 2:9-10.
9 Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments, 10 but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness.

Is modesty all about the way we dress, or is it more? In this lesson we learn that modesty is also a matter of the heart. Nancy says that "A woman's greatest loveliness comes through a modest heart; and a modest heart expresses itself in modest behavior, modest dress, modest reactions, and modest attitudes."

I don't believe I have a problem with dressing modestly. But, maybe I have become too accustomed to the way some people talk about things in mixed company. It says in this lesson, a modest woman knows how to blush and is embarrassed by such talk. I don't think that's always true for me. Maybe I don't get embarrassed enough by some of this talk. I need to work on being more reserved.

The next part is on self control. Y'all, they wrote this section just for me, lol! Nancy's talking about all kinds of self control. Can I hold my tongue? I'm working on this one now. Some days are so hard and I still fail at this, but I hope with practice, it'll be easier. Do I say everything that comes to mind? Usually I do, but, again I am trying to hold those thoughts captive in my head. That can be tough, but I'm trying.

She also talks about self control in relation to diet and exercise. That's another problem area for me. I'm extremely overweight. One area I definitely need to improve on is exercise, since I'm not doing any right now. I also could eat a little less and not eat ice cream. These things sound kinda easy right now, but for me, they are not.

Another thing she mentions is having self control over our schedules. I don't have this either. I don't plan and am always late for everything. This doesn't make anything any easier! I told you this lesson was all about me!

The last part of today's lesson focuses on reflecting God's glory. Nancy says the apostle is trying to tell us to “Clothe yourselves in a way that is becoming, fitting for your profession of godliness.” What is godliness? Being like God. You see, we’re giving the world an impression of God.

The scripture probably isn't saying you can't fix your hair for church or that you shouldn't dress nicely. It's saying your most important reason for coming should be to worship Jesus, not to be noticed. Because, if you think of it, most of the time people dress a certain way they are trying to impress someone. You can't impress Him by the way you look on the outside only by your heart.

If you want to read what other ladies thought of this weeks lesson go to Valley Girl. I am really enjoying reading everyone's thoughts on our studies. These ladies have been very encouraging to me!

About a month ago my friend Barb, from Victoria Hill Farm, gave me 2 bantam roosters. Now, I know you're thinking I'm crazy for taking them since I already have 4 grown roosters, and several more almost grown ones. But, they're bantams, and I didn't have any of those kinds of chickens. In case you don't know bantams are small, they don't get big like regular ones.


My son named the white rooster Elvis and my husband named the other rooster Will Smith. So, see, these are really their chickens, not mine. You believe me, right?


Anyway, my husband built the bantys that gorgeous pen at the top of the post. He did an awesome job! He's also building them a run so they can get down and scratch around on the ground. He split the pen in two, so each rooster has his own home.


Since we had 2 roosters, we had to go out and buy some hens for them. We didn't want them to be lonely. We ended up getting them some lovely cochin hens that are a couple months old.


Aren't they just the cutest?

This is a song that's been on my mind tonight. I hope you all have a blessed Sunday!

I Am Thine, O Lord

1. I am thine, O Lord, I have heard thy voice, 
 and it told thy love to me; 
 but I long to rise in the arms of faith 
 and be closer drawn to thee. 
Refrain:
 Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, 
 to the cross where thou hast died. 
 Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, 
 to thy precious, bleeding side. 

2. Consecrate me now to thy service, Lord, 
 by the power of grace divine; 
 let my soul look up with a steadfast hope, 
 and my will be lost in thine. 
 (Refrain) 

3. O the pure delight of a single hour 
 that before thy throne I spend, 
 when I kneel in prayer, and with thee, my God, 
 I commune as friend with friend! 
 (Refrain) 

4. There are depths of love that I cannot know 
 till I cross the narrow sea; 
 there are heights of joy that I may not reach 
 till I rest in peace with thee. 
 (Refrain) 

My youngest son is just a few weeks away from his second birthday. During the past few weeks he has been taking off his clothes and diaper all the time. Someone recommended putting his diaper on backwards to see if that would stop it, so we tried that day during nap time one day. When I got him up, the diaper was off and the bed was wet as was his shirt which he didn't take off.


Someone also said to duct tape his diaper on, but I was a little scared to do that, lol! So far, the only way I have found to keep his diaper on is to put him in a one-piece outfit. I don't remember having this problem with my other son. Anyone else have any ideas? I don't have that many one-pieces that he'll fit in right now, so I am having to wash clothes a lot more.