Reading, Writing & Pondering

 What is a Heart sister? According to Natalie, A heart sister is someone who isn't related "by blood but instead by the sisterly bond entwined between our hearts." Natalie Snapp addresses issues faced by women today as they make friendships in our modern world. She shares stories, information and advice about making a good heart sister friendship, forming good boundaries in friendships, friendships and internet etiquette, dealing with conflict in friendships, and what things a heart sister does and does not do to make a good relationship. This book is full of good information and real life stories that I think most women can relate to. I found it down-to-earth and easy to relate to. Each chapter also ends with questions to either ask yourself or to ask in a group.  I couldn't rush through reading this book as I move to a new town in 2 weeks and look to make new friendships. I hope to make a heart sister friend too. I think this book has given me ...

 Bread and Butter looks like a book that will become a "bread and butter" basic in my cookbook collection. As my son can not eat gluten and I am wheat intolerant, I found this book to be a sort of wish book of all the yummy food we haven't been able to eat but have been longing for. Erin McKenna is the founder of BabyCakes Bakery in New York City. She is also gluten sensitive and spent many years forced to"ignore the bread basket" at dinners at her favorite restaurant. Boy, do I relate to that! Honestly, I received this book in the mail and almost instantly started salivating. Practically every page is full of beautiful color pictures of the delicious gluten free goodies with recipes in this book. Recipes are included for basic breads, bagels, pizzas, tortillas, savory turnovers, crackers, sweet rolls, cookies and more. I honestly was amazed at the complete list of gluten free recipes in this book. I also like that McKenna included ideas on how to use what...

If you are looking for a new daily devotional, I would encourage you to try Shauna Niequist's new book, Savor. Shauna encourages you to use this book, with one devotion for every day of the year, to "sink deep into the everyday goodness of God and Savor every moment." Shauna offers a down-to-earth devotional with daily messages that are like little mini conversations with her about God and the Christian life. Each day's message starts with s Scripture verse, followed by her reading and concludes with two or three questions to ask yourself to think about the reading for the day. I liked that these readings to relate to every day life and that I could easily relate them to my life. I think most women could relate to them. In between the devotionals, there are recipes. Shauna says she believes that "spiritual living happens not just when we read and pray, but also when we gather with family and friends" over meals. She also says the recipes in Savo...

John Shaw's Guide to Digital Nature Photography is not only a great how-to photography book, but it is a beautiful book to look at as well. Beautiful examples of nature pictures abound in this book. If you are looking to take beautiful nature pictures as a hobby or for money, this book would be an asset. This photography guidebook offers advice on what gear to buy, how to get started taking pictures, using lenses in your photography, how to best showcase your subject in your pictures, a whole chapter on close-ups and information on how he works as a photographer in the field.  I found this book to be be full of helpful information presented in a way that I could learn and use it. I also appreciate that John Shaw shared in the preface that nature photography is a field that is always changing so he recommends that you take what you learn in this book and develop your own way of working and growing in this field. He also advises would-be nature photographers to "stud...