Ministry Does Begin in the Home
September 9, 2010 by jillnovak
Filed under The Girlhood Blog
Dear Girlhood Home Companion,
We are so sorry that your family is having a difficult time. We are praying for you… As a new subscriber, I had never seen an issue…The magazine exceeds my expectations!
May God richly bless you as you continue this endeavor.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Elizabeth Nicholson
I hate to hear about the delay in production, but family comes first! Hope everything works out soon for you all. I am praying for your family. Thanks for the tea cozy. I had all the past magazines but one and was so excited to be able to print it out and add it to my collection. Your magazines are such a blessing to my family and I pray that God will bless your family during this time of transition.
Shelia
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
…I am so sorry to hear about your father’s health. My husband and I are living with and caring for his aging parents. His Mom was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer just 7 weeks ago. Life has been absolutely turned upside down for us as well.
Please let me encourage you, as I’m certain that you would me…..if given the opportunity. Our Heavenly Father is not surprised by the trials that you are now facing…He knows exactly where you are, What you need as well as When you have need of it. He loves you with an everlasting love and NOTHING can ever change that. This evening, I’m praying for you for divine wisdom and direction. I don’t have to know all that you’re going through….but my Jesus knows…and HE wants you to know that I, as so many others are… praying for you and your family…
Again, THANK YOU for the ministry provided to me and my granddaughters through your lovely magazine…. Our prayer is that the Lord will continue to allow you to minister as you have been…BUT…truth be told…Ministry does begin in the home…THANK YOU for living that example…
Blessings and my sincere prayer goes out to you today!
Debbie Fletcher
May The Lord bless you and your family for your selfless deeds. My family and I took care of my grandfather until he passed away three years ago. Caring for him was a blessing, especially for my children to get to know him so well. I hope everything works out well for your family and situation. My family enjoys your magazine very much.
Mary Barela
Thank you for letting us know about the delay. I appreciate your offer of the past issues. We will enjoy those. I will pray that you can bless your father in his care and that you can be where God wants your family to be.
Faye Miller
Thank you, Novak family. You have the most beautiful publication which I know is a reflection of your family’s beauty. We appreciate your generosity for this.Blessings,
Esther Beal
Dear Novak family,
Thank you for your creative way of fulfilling my subscription. I am looking forward to reading all the issues as I have time. I pray that you will sense the comfort of the Lord, live in the grace God gives for this special time of testing and that His leading will be very clear.
Sincerely,
Holly
Psalm 92:1,2,4 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty, I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in Him will I trust. He shall cover thee with His feathers and under His wings shalt thou trust.
Time for The Summer Girlhood Home Companion Giveaway,
July 13, 2010 by jillnovak
Filed under The Girlhood Blog
Yes, it’s time for The Summer Girlhood Home Companion Giveaway! To celebrate summer and friendship, we’re giving away “seven” issues of our beautiful (and very popular) “Between Friends” summer issue.
Here’s what you have to do to win. Tell us what you appreciate most about your dearest friend (or friends). Is there someone who has helped you through a tough time in the past? Tell us what she did to support you. Or do you have a special friend who draws you to Christ? What about a special friendship with a grandmother, mother, daughter or sister? Tell us what qualities you appreciate most in your friend and pay a tribute here. We’d love to hear your story.
This contest runs through midnight, July 23rd, so enter now to win – and don’t forget to tell your friends!
Blessings,
Jill Novak
The Eye of a Naturalist ~ Teaching Your Child to Observe by Jill Novak
A few years ago, I was awakened by the gentle flapping of the shade on my bedroom window. After a particularly cold and rainy spring, a warm summer breeze beckoned me to go exploring–first thing, while the children were still asleep. Slinging my digital camera over one shoulder and tucking the video camera and tripod under my arm, I tiptoed to the back door and quietly let myself out. My mission? To photograph and video tape the wildflowers on the hill by our house.As a natural journalist and homeschool mom, I’ve learned to take advantage of “divine appointments” with God’s creation. Even though I’m accustomed to the landscape of my own backyard, I try not to let a season pass without capturing some of the same specimens anew in the pages of my journal and sharing my observations with my children. Little did I know that this morning was to be especially rewarding.
As I stepped into the sunlight, I was greeted by a cherished, seasonal event–the sight and sound of barn swallows performing aerial acrobatics above the long stretch of grass between the house and the silo. As in years past, I stood in awe, marveling at their agility as they swooped and flew at an alarming rate of speed, just inches above the ground. After watching their maneuvers for a few minutes, I continued walking up the hill to where the wildflowers grow. As I followed a trail through the tall grass and past the entrance of the silo, I heard a loud, insistent chirping coming from inside. Peering into the dim interior, to my utter astonishment, I saw six baby barn swallows on the floor, flapping their wings excitedly as their mother circled low and flew back up to the top of the silo. Every time she circled, they opened their mouths to be fed.
I quickly set up the digital camera and began recording this unusual happening. Suddenly, I remembered our four cats and how they’re prone to follow me on my jaunts into the field. Right then and there, I decided to rescue the baby barn swallows before they were found out. I ran down to the house and woke up the kids. They were excited about my discovery and after rounding up the birds, they carried them down to the kitchen table where they held them in their hands and drew from life. I even set up the video camera in the living room and sketched one little fellow from different angles. They were all very docile and obliging.
Remembering how the babies opened their mouths when their mother flew by, we took them outside and set them on the lawn to be fed (after locking the cats in the garage, of course). To our surprise, not only did their mother swoop down to feed them, but other barn swallows did as well. Later that day, we tossed them gently into the air, hoping they would take off. When it became evident that they weren’t quite getting the hang of flying, we placed them in an aquarium with a lid for safe keeping. The next day we repeated the process again.
Over the next few days, the kids and I seemed to inhale information about barn swallows. From books on backyard birds to Midwest field guides and the encyclopedia, we learned all we could about our new feathered friends. What did barn swallows eat? Did they build a new nest every year or would they return to the one in the rafters of the grain barn? How many times a year did they reproduce? Where did they migrate to and when would they return? As we found the answers to our questions, we began to understand God’s design for these highly social creatures.
Finally, on the third day, their wings grew strong enough to carry them to the roof of the garage. At last, the confident youngsters flew into the branches of the buckthorn tree next to the garage, and eventually we witnessed them join the rest of the community on the roof of the grain barn where the older, more experienced barn swallows took turns pushing them off, encouraging them to fly. We all rejoiced when at last our dear little clown-faced friends graduated from “junior aviation school” and took to the sky.
Intentional Observation
Making the most of spontaneous encounters with nature requires the skill of observation. The Modern Oxford English dictionary describes the word observation as “the action or process of observing something or someone carefully or in order to gain information.” Observing nature close up and first hand should be a goal for any student who is passionate about drawing. Whether making a quick sketch or a more sustained drawing in great detail, observing a specimen involves more than giving it a brief glance and letting it go. It requires time to observe with the intention of getting the most out of the experience that you possibly can.
One of most intentionally observant naturalists I have come to adore is children’s author-illustrator Beatrix Potter. How I wish I could have tagged along behind Beatrix and her brother Bertram as they explored the Lake District of England during their family’s holidays there. No stone was left unturned in the path of these child naturalists. A friend of Beatrix’s father, the English painter and illustrator Sir John Millais, told Beatrix, “Plenty of people can draw, but you and my son John have observation.”
From an early age, Beatrix was deliberate in her quest to gain knowledge of the subject matter she chose to draw. She was gifted with an intense curiosity and need to understand; she didn’t just “appreciate” nature, she “recreated” it as well. And the originality in which she expressed her observations set Beatrix Potter far above the crowd of aspiring artists of her time. “It is all the same,” she said, “drawing, painting, modeling, the irresistible desire to copy any beautiful object which strikes the eye. Why cannot one be content to look at it? I cannot rest, I must draw, however poor the result.”
When it comes to drawing and recording observations, some artists like to work slowly. Watercolorist Patsy McNamara says, “I produce more of a sustained sketch. I’m uncomfortable trying to work quickly…My sketchbook is made up of slow, steady pages where I focus completely on my subject and lose myself in the process. My pages are about intense observation and gradual understanding, not about speed or an end product. It is a recorded form of active meditation, meant more to give me understanding than anything else.”
There is no method for nature journaling other than gaining understanding through one’s personal observations. The way I approach a subject depends on how it catches my eye, whether I will sketch it or draw it, what tools I will use, and even what effect I am trying to achieve. What nature journaling looks like for each of your children will be as unique and individual as their fingerprints.
We should never rush a child who wants to spend hours drawing in their journal. On the other hand, we should never demand a prolonged journaling session from a child who is not wired to be an artist. Not all children will gain understanding in the same manner–namely recording it in the pages of a journal. Auditory or kinesthetic children may need different avenues for “recording” their experiences, ones that heighten their sense of understanding and will be just as memorable.
More than One Way to Observe
Because of differing learning styles, not all children possess the gift of visual observation, but it is a skill that can be strengthened by giving them different avenues of exploration. Using our experience with the barn swallows as an example, the auditory child might want to imitate the sound of the chirping babies and practice his “bird call” for dad when he comes home from work. He could take the video camera out into the field and make a short documentary about the habits and habitat of barn swallows. The kinesthetic child could gain understanding of the anatomy of a barn swallow by modeling it out of clay or running around the yard waving her arms, swooping and diving and imitating the social behavior of barn swallows. All of these observations could be preserved through writing, drawing, and taking photographs of your child’s experiences to include in their nature journals.
Start Young, Observe for a Lifetime
We don’t have to limit a child’s nature experience by setting a coloring page in front of him or having him copy someone else’s lines – not when there is so much to gain by letting him handle and draw a specimen from life. As in the case of Beatrix Potter, English children traditionally begin nature study around the ages of five or six. We, too, can give our children the eye of a naturalist from an early age. When it comes to understanding the design of God’s creation, a bird in the hand will always be better than two in the bush.
Jill Novak and her husband Robert have been married for 29 years. They are the parents of five children, ages 23 to10. Together their family has produced The Gift of Family Writing, Becoming God’s Naturalist, Drawing is Life, The Sketch with Me DVD Series, and The Girlhood Home Companion Magazine. Jill is a frequent speaker and contributor to the homeschool community. Visit the Novak’s website at www.remembrancepress.com and their new ministry for families with children with special needs at www.hopefulfarmfoundation.org. Contact Jill at jillnovak@dls.net.
Thank You for The Tea Cozy Club and Horse Club…
May 29, 2010 by jillnovak
Filed under The Girlhood Blog, Uncategorized
I just wanted to say THANK YOU for the tea cozy’s that you put out as we use them as part of our homeschool lessons. As they are full of wonderful information. I have learned a lot as well. And then I want to say THANK YOU to your daughter for writing the happy trail horse club. We have a 12 yr. old morgan. That we just LOVE! Both my daughter & I have really enjoyed each one. And again as a homeschool mom it turns into more learning. Her first one was about Sparks & Dr. Lew. Well after reading the lesson we went to his website to learn more about him & his ministry. Well come to find out a friend of mine is on his board for Sermon on the mount. Of which I did not know until we were talking one day about our lesson. Then we checked his calendar & found out he was going to be here in Oklahoma on 5-13 of which was my daughter 11th birthday. So she and I went to see his awesome show and we even got a chance to meet him in person which really made her birthday. THANK YOU THANK YOU for touching our lives!
Susan Devine
Yes, We Are Filling Orders Daily!
May 26, 2010 by jillnovak
Filed under The Girlhood Blog
Thank you for all your kind comments and prayers concerning our situation with my father. As posted earlier, we have become my father’s full-time caregivers. Dad is 89 with Parkinson’s, limited mobility and other issues that demand daily love and care. It has not been easy taking on these new responsibilities, but in the context of family, we’re making it.
We love taking care of Dad, and for the most part it has been a very positive experience. Sometimes it is mentally challenging, though. Dad has periods of dementia, and his episodes are tough on everyone’s moral, but he generally is in good spirits because of His beautiful relationship with the Lord.
Eric, 19, is Dad’s morning caregiver and mornings are Dad’s toughest times. Eric is also your contact for orders. Sometimes the inconsistency of Dad’s behavior throws us all off schedule. Over the last 8 months, my mind has been totally befuddled by the enormity of our situation, so I apologize if you have talked with Eric or me and we forgot what we talked about. The stress of these circumstances shows up in the memory department.
Please don’t hesitate to contact Eric at publisher@remembrancepress.com if you are waiting for a past order or have a question. We are filling orders daily. Thank you ahead of time for your patience.
We still have two beautiful print issues of The Girlhood Home Companion still in stock (Between Friends – last year’s summer issue and Comfort and Joy – last year’s Christmas issue). If you ordered a subscription, we can fill part of that with these timeless issues or if you are new to our site and products, you can order them right from our store. Just email us at publisher@remembrancepress.com and let us know if you want your subscription partly filled in this way.
Also, don’t forget The Girlhood Back Issue Album ( 370 pages with Victorian black and white line art). The original Girlhood magazine was produced from 1998 to 2001. It is a delightful resource for building godly character that will bless both you and your daughter.
As far as the magazine goes, new production is still on hold, so please don’t hesitate to order back issues and audio workshops for mothers and daughters. We have many wonderful products in our store that are available and some new ones we hope to introduce as the Lord allows. If you are a new subscriber, we will be glad to fill part of your subscription with the two back issues we have in stock. They are timeless.
Don’t forget The Tea Cozy Club or Horse club or both! We have 12 completed installments of wonderful interviews and booklets that you can begin receiving in your email today!
Coming Soon: The Girlhood Home Companion on CD
I am going to be offering the seven beautiful color issues we have completed over the last two years in CD albums so you and your daughters can access this one-of-a-kind resource anytime. Hundreds of hours go into each magazine, and it would be shame for you to miss the opportunity to have this precious resource in your library because they sold out due to popular demand. Check back for availability.
Again, thank you for your patience. We will keep you posted on any new developments.
Blessings,
Jill
Spring Giveaway II~Forget-Me-Not Faith
April 26, 2010 by jillnovak
Filed under The Girlhood Blog
We are giving away three Forget-Me-Not Faith Cd’s by Jill Novak* and three beautifully designed Forget-Me-Not bracelets by Donna Jones.
To enter: Leave a comment telling us about a special time in your life when God met a need or answered a prayer and your faith grew as a result. Mothers, daughters and grandmothers are invited to leave a comment.
May God be glorified as we remember what He has done, what He is doing, and what He is going to do in the future.
Names will be drawn on May 7th. This is a very special giveaway, so tell your friends to join our facebook fan page and leave comments, too.

*Forget Me Not Faith Workshop on CD ~ God is writing “His” story every day, and its right at the end of your fingertips. This workshop by Jill Novak will inspire you to record your family’s spiritual journey with purpose and clarity. Reflections, observations, prayers, testimonies, tributes, poetry, and letters can all be preserved in a Book of Remembrance (Malachi 3:16) that will strengthen your faith and make an eternal impact for generations to come.
Blessings,
Jill
Update on The Spring 2010 Issue of The Girlhood Home Companion
April 8, 2010 by jillnovak
Filed under The Girlhood Blog, Uncategorized
This delay is due to our family taking care of my 89 year old father full-time since January. Grandpa has Parkinson’s and limited mobility, so we are moving at a much slower pace taking care of him. It has taken many months since first taking him out of the nursing home (October 2009) to adjust to our new responsibilities, but we thank God for the opportunity to care for him and bless him with the security and love he needs in his old age.
Last August, my father became ill and ended up in the hospital, over drugged and dehydrated. We really believe he wouldn’t be here today if my younger brother and I had not stepped in to bring him home for good.
We are very sorry for this delay in production, but as the saying goes, “Life is what happens when you are making other plans!” The Lord has been faithful and we are learning to take life one day at a time.
In the meantime until the new issue is done…
If you are a new customer and are ordering a subscription to The Girlhood Home Companion for the first time, you might want to receive the two current print back issues we have in stock right now to start your subscription (Between Friends-summer 2009 and Comfort and Joy-Christmas 2009 ). Or you can start your subscription with the Spring 2010 issue. Personally, I suggest getting the current print back issues while they’re in stock.
Contact Eric at publisher@remembrancepress.com if you decide you want the back issues to begin your subscription, otherwise we will begin your subscription with the Spring issue when it is becomes available .
Also Available:
Don’t forget we have all of our current back issues (seven since 2007) available in digital format. Plus you won’t want to miss our wonderful Tea Cozy and Horse Clubs and companion workshops for mothers and daughters on CD. We also have printed copies of The Girlhood Back Issue Album originally published from 1998-2001(13 delightful issues in one), so visit our store and see all the products to choose from to keep you busy until the Spring issue of The Girlhood Home Companion is available. http://www.remembrancepressbookstore.com/servlet/StoreFront
If you have any questions or comments email us at publisher@remembrancepress.com.
Blessings,
Jill and Eric Novak
Last Minute January Giveaway
January 27, 2010 by jillnovak
Filed under The Girlhood Blog
We are giving away 3 issues of the 2009 Spring Edition of The Girlhood Home Companion (Make It Lovely Issue) and the Mother/Daughter workshop cd’s that go with them.
To enter this giveaway tell us what you appreciate the most about your daughter(s).
Oh, and tell a friend to enter the giveaway too!
If you don’t have a blog, tell us how to get a hold of you.
Blessings to you,
Jill and Eric Novak
Getting Caught Up
January 2, 2010 by jillnovak
Filed under The Girlhood Blog
Happy New Year,
Jill Novak
Printable Girlhood Gift Certificate
December 22, 2009 by jillnovak
Filed under The Girlhood Blog
To use certificate at full size, click image and print.
Week Five Shopping Spree and Giveaway Results
December 21, 2009 by jillnovak
Filed under The Girlhood Blog
Well, I’m sure you’re anxious to know who won the contest. The winners are as follows:
The winners are Cinnamon, Kristen, Angela, Bernadette, Jen and Joan.
You said,
“I think my favorite Christmas memory is the year we were building our home. Our 8 children were small, all under 13. We needed a tree so our 8 yr old son went out on our 10 acres and chopped a tree down for us. He set it up in our living room which had no insulation, no carpeting, and electrical wires sticking out everywhere. It was an exact replica of Charlie Browns Tree and by far the most special tree we’ve ever had.” -Cinnamon
“My favorite Christmas experience … probably this year. The chaos of small children has settled into having a new 8 year old and new 5 year old, which means we get to be more purposeful in creating our holiday traditions. The kids’ favorite right now is our Lego Advent calendar. Another tradition we’ve adopted is assembling a (pre-made!) gingerbread house.
Also special … we’ve taken to marking ornaments that are tied to memories. We get lots of gift ornaments, for things like Christmas pageant participation and classes and random things, and it’s hard to remember from year to year what each one represents. THIS year I am trying to be handier with a pen, to mark (on the ornaments that can handle it) the date and event and child it is for. Very special! And someday the kids can have these memory ornaments for their own family trees.” – Kristen
“My most cherished memory is when my children were younger, and they memorized and acted out the birth of Jesus for extended family. It was precious!
Thanks for the contest!” – Angela“When I lived in Sweden in the 1990’s the family redecorated the house with everything. They even changed the curtains. It was cold and dark but the houses were filled with candle lights, red and greens and the most delicious food including spicy ginger bicuits, ginger bread houses and all kins of wonderful things. They celebrate on Christmas Eve which was so much fun with 4 little children in the house.” – Bernadette
“My favorite CHRISTmas memory is the when my husband FINALLY purposed to me. We had been courting for 2 years which to me seemed like a life time. But it was the events that happened after that are more important to us. In April of 05 my sister developed a brain infection (she was also 6 months pregnant), the chances of her surviving were slim to non. I was not a believer at the time nor was my fiancee. But my parents are very strong Christians. They rushed my sister into surgery. I remember my parent’s Pastor coming to the hospital and me being so full of anger I didn’t want to hear anything he had to say. My sister was brain dead when they started the surgery, but by the grace of God my sister survived, so did her unborn child who is now a very active 4 year old. Fast forward 5 months to September my husband was at work and we felt as if our world was crumbling in on us. We were in financial ruins and down as deep as we could go. He could not get any other radio station in at work except for a Christian station, after the speaker was done on there he gave an alter call and my husband accepted Christ as his Savior. My husband called me crying and told me what had happened. Growing up in a Christian home I knew what had happened. I fell to my knees in submission to Him. We were married in Novmber. That first CHRISTmas as Husband and Wife was also our first CHRISTmas as children of God!!! What a wonderful experience. I could go on and on.
Thank you for the give-away and giving me a moment to reflect on the important times. I will post about your give a way on my blog. I have wanted to get some of your magazines but we just have not had the money. What a blessing this would be!!” – Jen
“Such a precious memory of sitting at the top of the stairs with two of my sisters with our Daddy and waiting for Mom to finish turning on the tree and the candles in the windows and then Daddy rushing down the stairs to await his little girls as they came down and saw the tree and the gifts they had had asked for under the tree. He died when I was almost 14 and that memory of a Father filled with love made it easy for me at age 37 to picture a Heavenly Father who loved me and would forgive me of my sins as the Pastor explained that Sunday morning so many years ago. As a Homeschooling Mom for 12 years now, many times I have failed and yet many times I have crawled back into the arms of my Heavenly Father and asked for His forgiveness and wisdom and He has never ever failed me.” – Joan
Angela, Bernadette, Jen and Joan will be receiving a Comfort and Joy issue.
Cinnamon and Kristen will be receiving the $50.00 shopping spree!
Blessings,
Jill and Eric Novak
Week Five Shopping Spree and Giveaway!
December 17, 2009 by jillnovak
Filed under The Girlhood Blog, Uncategorized
Eric and I were trying to decide what to give away when he said something about a shopping spree. I said, “Yes, that’s it!” So here we go again. We’re giving two “blessed” participants a $50.00 shopping spree each on Remembrance Press products, plus we’re giving away four more “Comfort and Joy” Christmas Issues.
The contest starts 12/17/2009, ends midnight 12/20/2009.
Here are the rules:
Leave a comment here about a favorite Christmas experience you’ve had (past or more recent) and tell a friend about this giveaway.
Blessings one and all,
Jill and Eric
Remember, leave us a way to get a hold of you if you don’t have a blog.
Thanksgiving with Grandpa
December 4, 2009 by jillnovak
Filed under The Girlhood Blog
On Thanksgiving day, my father wanted to carve the turkey, so Robert and Eric stood behind him and held him up while he gave it a valiant attempt. My father used to be a butcher. In fact, that’s where my mother met him, behind the butcher’s counter at the local grocery store in Chicago, in the 1940′s.
Robert and Eric spent about 15 minutes helping him get a sliver off the poor old bird.
We had a lovely time at my sister’s house. I treasure that moment in time.
Sunday, when we went to my dad’s for our second Thanksgiving, I was sitting next to him when he asked me for more cranberry sauce. “You already have seven pieces on your plate,” I said. I turned his plate so he could get a better look. He wasn’t convinced he had enough, though. The nursing home dining hall still lingers in his mind. Since we brought dad home, he can pretty much have what he wants, whenever he wants – within reason.
“Here, dad,” I said, “you can have another piece. Now you have eight.”
He looked at me with those big brown eyes and said, “They used to call me Cranberry Kid.”
“Right dad,” I said. “What they do? Name you that last week?”
Oh, Grandpa is a creative storyteller, for sure.

The Girlhood Home Companion Christmas Edition – Right on Schedule!
November 10, 2009 by jillnovak
Filed under The Girlhood Blog
Blessings,
Jill Novak
Trouble Placing Your Order?
November 7, 2009 by jillnovak
Filed under The Girlhood Blog
Contact information is at the top right hand side of the website.
Thank you,
Eric



