Reading, Writing & Pondering

Every Day Matters in the life of a Christian. . .With the Every Day Matters Bible, Christian women can get extra helps in putting spiritual practices in place as they read their Bible. This beautifully bound Bible, with its turquoise and pink cover, features over 300 articles focusing on 24 spiritual practices that particularly relate to women such as service, submission, worship, faith and Bible study among others.  I personally love this whole Bible package. The New Living Translation brings the Bible to life for me. I read words that I can readily apply to my life in both the Bible translation and in the helps. Scattered throughout the Bible, the short articles, based on near-by Scripture offer encouragement and direction on the spiritual practices we all need help with. I also appreciated the Question and Answer articles as they helped me to reflect on my Christian walk and take note on how to apply the Bible where I need it. The articles are all written by Christian leaders ...

I picked up Prayers of a Stranger by Davis Bunn and couldn't put it down. . .It has been awhile since I've read a book by Davis Bunn and I forgot how easily it was to get caught up in his stories and want to stay there. In face, my one complaint about this book is that it ended all too quickly when I wanted to keep going with the characters. Amanda and Chris Vance have had a challenging year. They lost their baby through a stillborn birth, they have struggled with jobs, and with family conflict. Yet, it is the struggle with their grief in the loss of their infant that Amanda struggles most with. Their older neighbors, Frank and Emily, face their own struggles. Frank needs a hip transplant and can not go with Emily to the Holy Land as they planned. At the last minute, Emily asks Amanda to join her on the trip. Amanda and Emily visit many of the sights of Israel.  Bunn's descriptions bring the senses alive as you read.  I've never been there but I felt like I coul...

Share The Bounty: Finding God's Grace through the Spirit of Hospitality by Benita Long is a beautifully illustrated cookbook. The photographs themselves are truly enticing. I love my cookbooks to have photos of the recipes so I can see how mine should look. However, Share the Bounty is more than a cookbook--it is inspiration to host a gathering. Scripture, prayers and quotes are scattered among the recipes.  These little snippets offer uplifting thoughts and encouragement as you open your home to others to share meals and the love of Christ. The recipes themselves are encompassed in complete menus. If you have trouble putting a complete meal together, this takes all of the guesswork out of accompaniments.The book also shares ideas for ways to celebrate certain life events such as baptisms as well as holiday gatherings and informal get-togethers. Included in the book are recipes for Fireside Soup, Easy Brunswick Stew, Grilled Chicken and Wild Rice Salad, Aunt Emma's Te...

 Would you live your life differently if you knew that it had a good ending? In the book Heaven Is For Real, 4-year old Colton Burpo made a trip to Heaven and his story is told. In their latest book, Heaven Changes Everything by Todd and Sonja Burpo, the Burpo's share daily readings based on that book. This book has 42 inspirational readings based on excerpts from their first book. The readings share more personal experiences and thoughts based on their story and their lives since sharing Heaven Is For Real. In this book, Sonja shares her perspective as a Mom for the first time. These readings offer more comfort and encouragement for everyday life such as financial difficulty, stress and parenting. However, I especially appreciated their stories on losing a child to miscarriage, since I struggled with the loss of our own child through miscarriage. Even if you've experienced an abortion, the Burpo's offer hope for your loss and the reunion you will one day have with tha...