Time To Link Up! Tuesdays with a Twist #236

Welcome to Tuesdays with a Twist #236!
Checkout the many great giveaways going on right now!

Click the button below to enter each Giveaway!!:

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Have a safe Halloween!
Enjoy the following collage of my Halloween outings from decades ago:

Good Morning and Welcome to another No Rules Party!

We're your hosts & co-hosts 

Mary @ Back to the Basics and Mary's Kitchen
Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures
Angie @ God's Growing Garden
Checkout my amazing "Featured" Pinterest Board

(click HERE to view & follow)

Features!

Each co-host will be sharing her own picks for Features. This gives everyone a better chance of being featured. Be sure to check all of our blogs to see if you were featured! 

My Features this Week are:

1. "Gingerbread Grain Free Granola" by Bites of Wellness

2. "Homemade Fabric Softener" by Clover House

3. "Crispy Roasted Sweet Potatoes"  by All That's Jas

If you've been featured we'd love for you to grab a button.

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The party starts every Tuesday at 7am EST and will continue until Saturday at 11:59pm.  Feel free to stop back any time and "like" your favorites.  Please visit other blogs if you have a moment. 

Share older posts as well as new ones.  No limit on links!

*Pictures should be your own* 

By linking up you give us permission to use these photos

 (with proper link backs) in our features.   And now for the party!

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Your monthly ad could be here!

Click the button to see how

You're the STAR - Week#1 GARDEN (November 2017)

I hope you are enjoying the glorious Autumn colors in your area!  I think that we are in prime color right now here in Michigan.

Thank you again for joining us!
There are many ways to follow me:

Angie @ God's Growing Garden

blog  |  facebook  |  pinterest  |  twitter  |  bloglovin  |  google+  |  instagram

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WELCOME to the November "You're the Star" Blog Hop!
Before we continue onto the Linky party I wanted to share from my blog:



My 1976 Native American Costume
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WELCOME to GARDEN feature week of the November "You're the STAR" blog hop!
Meet your GARDEN week Hosts 

This week is GARDEN feature week
Swing by the GARDEN Hosts blogs:
Angie @ God's Growing Garden
Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures

This is a month long Linky party featuring YOU!

There will be 4 different features each week and 4 different feature categories.  Just to be clear - this is NOT a themed party - you may link up ANY family-friendly blog posts any day of each month. 
The "theme" occurs in our weekly features:
WEEK#1 GARDEN - gardening, homesteading, recycling, outdoor activities &/or preserving (this can include any type of green living,  repurposed ideas, outdoor concerns, posts relating to farm animals etc all while remaining family friendly)




(All features were chosen from the October 2017 "You're the Star" blog hop)

6 Steps to Living Self-Sufficient by Our Simple Homestead


5 Things to Do Outside in November by The Usual Mayhem



  Freezing Chopped Veggies by Making a House a Home


Rifle Falls State Park by Mille Fiori Favoriti

If you've been featured then please grab a STAR button below:

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We are in need of more Cohosts (click HERE to view a list of our current hosts/cohosts).

If you are interested in joining us as a Cohost then please click HERE & fill out the form.

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All Hosts/CoHosts will post this blog hop on every Monday of each week.

Please link up your family friendly blog posts below!

It wouldn't be a linky party with YOU!

(IMPORTANT NOTE: by linking up you understand that you might be featured next month and if so, we will use some of your photos from your post - rest assured - we will always link back to your lovely blog.  We might also share your fantastic posts on social media.  Also, you may link up as many family-friendly posts as you like & YES - other blog hops &/or giveaways are welcome {giveaways and blog hops will NOT be featured though}  Thank You & ENJOY! )

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Click the button below to enter the Great Giveaways going on now!!:

PARABLES - The Son Who Stayed Home (The Prodigal Son)

PARABLES - The Son Stayed Home (The Prodigal Son)

I am more like the older son in this parable - not just because I am the oldest child but also because I have lived a conservative, loyal life.  Also, (I have to admit) that I am more like the oldest son in the negative way also.  Let's look at these verses a little closer:  What is the first response that the older son had when he found out about the party for his brother?  It was jealousy......and again I'm being honest but I think I would have responded in the exact same way.  It wasn't just a basic celebration - it was a party to end all parties, making that jealousy even stronger.  Instead of being thankful that his younger brother did not die of starvation (or worse) from his rebellion- this older brother only thinks of himself and becomes jealous. 

The next response that the older brother had was anger.  Again, I think that anger would have been my next response but I hope I differ from this older brother in that I think I would have gone into the party in the end.  Not only did this brother refuse to accept his brother's return: this brother also pouted and refused to go into the party!! - What a big baby! 

I'm not sure if this is a typical trait of the "oldest child syndrome" but as a child I always made sure that everything was even.  Just like this brother saying:  "You never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends" (here's where the sad violin starts playing) - The "poor me" attitude.  In actuality this older brother had been so blessed and protected for his entire life.   I would never want to go through what the younger brother went through and I'm sure that if this older brother had any compassion, he would have not have looked at his situation through selfish lenses.

It all boils down to forgiveness.  The older brother has to forgive & forget what his younger brother did and then be thankful that he still has a brother to love and cherish.  The father had forgiven the younger brother even before he came home.

Let us not compare ourselves to each other - we are all different.  Let's forgive, be compassionate and thankful.

Also read: "The Son Who Ran Away"

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Previous PARABLE posts:
PARABLE OF THE VINE - "The True Vine & the Father Gardener"
PARABLE OF THE VINE - "Be a Fruitful Branch Instead of a Withering Branch"
PARABLE OF THE VINE - "Producing Joyful Fruit - God's Love Remains Forever"
PARABLE OF THE VINE - "Everlasting Fruit & Everlasting Friends"

Linked to:
Happiness is Homemade
Over the Moon Link Party
Lou Lou Girls #187
Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop
Oh My Heartsie Girls Wonderful Wednesday
Pretty Pintastic Party #181
Friday Feature Linky Party
Paula's No Rules Weekend Blog Party
You're the STAR
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"Prayer Warriors United" is a google+ Community where Christians come together in prayer. 
click HERE to view or join this community

If you need prayer please fill out this

Prayer Request form

Amazing AUTUMN Colors from the Great Lakes Region

Photo by Angie Ouellette-Tower

Amazing AUTUMN Colors from the Great Lakes Region

There are many things that I love about my state Michigan but my favorite is the fact that there truly are four seasons - Autumn being my absolute favorite.

I have lived in Michigan now for more than half of my life.  I have heard Michigan referred to as the "midwest", the "northeast" and "middle America" and that got me to wondering about finding the correct geographical term for this area.  Actually, this is the "Great Lakes Region".  The verbiage doesn't matter - just take a look at these glorious colors!


All photos were taken by me (Angie Ouellette-Tower)  © (2017)
E N J O Y !



Photo by Angie Ouellette-Tower

'Its foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant, And in it was food for all The beasts of the field found shade under it, And the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches, And all living creatures fed themselves from it.
Daniel 4:12

Photo by Angie Ouellette-Tower

Photo by Angie Ouellette-Tower

Photo by Angie Ouellette-Tower

'Now on the first day you shall take for yourselves the foliage of beautiful trees, palm branches and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days.
Leviticus 23:40

Photo by Angie Ouellette-Tower

Photo by Angie Ouellette-Tower

Photo by Angie Ouellette-Tower

Photo by Angie Ouellette-Tower

Photo by Angie Ouellette-Tower

Photo by Angie Ouellette-Tower

Photo by Angie Ouellette-Tower

Photo by Angie Ouellette-Tower

Photo by Angie Ouellette-Tower

Photo by Angie Ouellette-Tower

"While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, And cold and heat, And summer and winter, And day and night Shall not cease."
Genesis 8:22

Photo by Angie Ouellette-Tower

Copyright, Permissions & Disclaimer



Shared with:
Pretty Pintastic Party 180
Home Matters Linky Party
Happiness is Homemade
Over the Moon Link Party
Lou Lou Girls #187
Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop
Oh My Heartsie Girls Wonderful Wednesday
Paula's No Rules Weekend Blog Party

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(Checkout this month's wonderful Sponsor!) 

Cynthia from "ShorelineDesigned"
Handmade one-of-a-kind jewelry & beads made from beautiful beach stones from the Great Lakes Shoreline.
Travel along the shoreline with Cynthia

(Please click on the ad above to view her shop)

Weekly Thankfulness & Growth Report #88

#88 - Weekly Thankfulness & Growth Report

If you were following this blog in 2015 then you will be familiar with my "365 Days of Being Thankful" challenge.  I have missed reporting on my thankfulness since I finished my challenge 2 years ago, so I decided to at least give a weekly Thankfulness Report & include a Growth Report also.  Growth in our Christian walk, growth in the garden & growth on this blog.  Finally, I am also including a "Posts From the Past" feature - ENJOY!


This week I have been thankful for forests, woods and glorious Autumn color.  I am thankful for cooler temperatures.  I am most thankful that God speaks to us through His Word (the Bible) and It is constantly relevant for whatever I am going through at that moment. 


"A happy heart makes the face cheerful." 
Proverbs 15:13


One of the ways that Jesus' love shines through us is by showing our happiness and through our laughter. 

Read: Healthy Laughter = Healthy Person


Our sweet potato crop is going to be a small one this year.  We had early critter destruction and after we put up a fence they just didn't have enough time to recover.  Almost everything else that we grew was a record breaking harvest year for us, so I'm not that sad about our sweet potatoes.  They will be better next year.

- Here are my Follower stats:

GFC (Google Friends Connect) - 2,264
Bloglovin - 4,410
Twitter - 6,850

Pinterest - 6,110
Google+ - 2,281
Facebook - 4,461
Instagram - 393
Linky Followers - 108
Networked Blog - 1,242
Activate - 574
That's a grand total of 28,693 followers in some form or another (which is up 48 from last week).

(click on the title to view the entire post)
About four years ago we had a bumper potato crop and I shared this easy side dish using newly harvested tiny potatoes:
Tiny Tender Tater Treats


 
This week is HOME feature week - click HERE to LINK UP & you might just be featured next month!


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Linked to:
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Take Up The THANKFULNESS Challenge!

I challenge you to thank God for something everyday for one year!  Either write it down in a diary OR share with us on a blog.  If you have a blog & would like to share your THANKFULNESS posts with us, then please fill out this form: 365 Days of Being THANKFUL form - click HERE and you will be added to the THANKFULNESS page.

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