Reading, Writing & Pondering

The right relationships in your life will make the difference between happiness and misery, according to Van Moody, author of The People Factor. Van Moody writes a comprehensive book on relationships that I found to be a treasure chest full of relationship wisdom. Van Moody is a pastor in Birmingham, Alabama. He shares what he has learned through his life, his work as a pastor, and from Biblical relationships to help the reader gain a higher relationship IQ. The book is divided into 3 parts: The critical laws of relationships, How to make difficult choices in letting people go or changing relationships, and the essentials of great relationships. At the end of each chapter, he also includes relationship reminders summarizing the highlights of each chapter and several questions to answer to assess your relationships in your life. I would highly recommend this book to everyone I meet. I can see it will be one that I re-read and continue to learn and grow from. I have had a few ...

Honoring God Through the Daniel Fast is a smallish book about partaking in a Daniel Fast. If you are new to the Daniel Fast, this little book might be just what you are looking for. It covers all of the basics that you need. This book is just the right size to give you the information that you need to begin the fasting journey. The author helps you through Scripture to understand the fast and the spiritual aspects of this fast. He then offers lists of foods to eat on the fast and foods to avoid. He shares his and his wife's journey and how they benefited from doing this fast. He shares recipes for such dishes as Cranberry Spinach Salad Frenzy, Mexican Style Black Bean Fiesta, 15 Bean Soup and Emergency Snack Mix, as well as more recipes. I haven't yet tried any but they seem to be easy to follow and prepare and there were a few that looked good for my family. He also offers devotions to read at the beginning of each week, along with questions to ponder while you fast. I d...

Packing Light by Allison Vesterfelt is a travel adventure for the armchair adventurer. I enjoyed this memoir of 2 single women traveling to all 50 states on their own. One with dreams of being a singer and the other with dreams of becoming a writer. As they go into the adventure and living their dreams, they sell almost everything to do so. . and along the way, they decide what to keep and what to get rid of to continue to journey without getting bogged down. . .both physically and in their spiritual and relational lives. I enjoyed this book but I like memoirs and biographical books with a spiritual slant. I come from the background that you can always learn something from reading someone else's story. I could especially relate well to Allison's story because I have a similar personality.  . .I don't take risks easily. . .and I would need a nudge to go on this type of journey myself without chickening out. Then the adventure itself was fun to read about as the girls f...