Blue's Clues Handy Dandy Notebook

This is a rather random post. It has nothing to do with church, theology, the Bible, or anything of interest in my life other than my kids. And my desire to help others like me. So Easton is into Blue's Clues. I know, it is a 10 year old show that is no longer on television. But somehow he found one of our vhs tapes (we call them our DVR tapes just to make ourselves feel cool) and he discovered Blues Clues. His second birthday is coming up and we are doing a Blues Clues theme. By the way, put your leftover Wonder Pets cups, napkins and party favors in a big box, and write on it, "sell on ebay in 2021." Seriously, some crazy parent of an about-to-be-two year old will pay big money for it. No, seriously . . . I know they will. (At least I don't think I am that weird).

So anyways, my contribution to the Blues Clues themed birthday party is to buy or create the Handy Dandy notebooks for each partygoer. Since I am not into paying $10 each on ebay, I figured I would create my own. The cover is the hardest part. Image searches on Google produced nothing much, so I had to create one the hard way. So I figured I would share them. And this is the only way I know how to do it.

So if you are a dad who does not own photoshop and you find Microsoft Paint incredibly difficult to use, join the club! And enjoy. (And if you feel like it, send a few dollars via paypal to jmatters@juno.com) No just kidding, unless you really want to, in which case I am not kidding at all.

A Ridiculously Good Life

I tend to complain. Usually not about big things, but just little things. Lights not turned off. Slow drivers in front of me. Early mornings. But I have never complained about not having arms or legs. And now that I have read his story, I am not sure Nick Vujicic has either. By the way, his name is pronounced Voy-a-chich. Nick has reason to complain- he has no arms or legs. Yet he has surfed in the ocean, scuba dived a reef, beat up the school bully, and toured South Africa. I haven't even tried.

Nick's story and encouragement is found in his book, Life Without Limits: Inspiration For a Ridiculously Good Life. Nick was born without arms or legs, yet worked hard to keep up with his friends. He is an entrepreneur, motivational speaker, and evangelist. And motivational he is. He mixes his thoughts and inspiration with his life story.

I really enjoyed his chapter on fear. He describes Chucky, the biggest bully in his grade school, and tells about the day he took on Chucky on the schoolyard during lunch. He describes the fight, including his post-fight apology, and then talks about fear. Nick relates the acronym, False Evidence Appearing Real, and talks about how when we focus on our fears, they become real and then control us. His solution: rather than denying or discounting fears, we should let them motivate us. This is good stuff.

I tend to be a complainer. I think I need to read one chapter of this book every day. I could read it twice in one month. And I would be better for it.

Required Disclaimer: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

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