Reading, Writing & Pondering

Einkorn ginger cookies from the Einkorn cookbook The Einkorn cookbook is written by Carla Bartolucci, the founder of Jovial Foods. I am one of those people who cannot eat regular wheat and have had the sensitivity for years. . .before wheat sensitivity was being talked about. A couple of years ago, I found Jovial Foods cookies and pasta. They are some of my favorite cookies, especially the checkerboard and the ginger varieties. With that in mind, I had to give it a try to bake my own goodies at home. Bartolucci starts out explaining just what Einkorn flour is and how it is a much different form of wheat than is used most often in the US today. She also shares how her gluten-sensitive daughter fared so much better on this flour than our modern-day wheat. Einkorn isn't a gluten free flour but it is often well tolerated by gluten sensitive people. I found this to be interesting and helpful in understanding this ancient flour. Before starting in on the recipes, Barolucci a...

Win or Lose I Love You! shares the story of Lulu and Max, and their animal friends, as they compete in Field Day contests to decide who will be the leader of Lulu's forest. This storybook helps kids understand that not everyone can win. More importantly, if not everyone can win, how can they handle losing better. Lysa TerKeurst is the bestselling author of 19 books. According to Lysa, making up stories to illustrate biblical truths has been one of her favorite ways to teach her kids. At the end of the story in this book, there is a list of 10 Biblical words of Wisdom for whether you win or lose. In the forward of the book, Lysa shares why she wrote this book and also encourages families to use the list as verses to memorize so they can apply them in their own lives. This book is a good one to read and discuss as a family along with memorizing the verses TerKeurst suggests. I recommend this heartfelt children's book if you have children in this age group or as a gift...

Hands Free Life: Nine Habits for Overcoming distraction, living better, and loving more by Rachel Macy Stafford is one of the most heart-touching books I have read recently. Hands Free Life follows Rachel Macy Stafford's first New York Times bestselling book, Hands Free Mama. I need to confess that I have not read that book. However, this book stands alone in its ability to touch the reader so the first book isn't necessary to understand this one. Although, since this one was so good, I did purchase the first book so I am ready and excited to read it too. Hands Free Life offers up nine habits for readers to live a more fulfilled life. Stafford shares her personal journey on how these nine habits became a part of her life and how they could help yours as well. She shares personal stories from her life and the life of her daughters that just make me want to integrate these things in my life, knowing my life will be that much better. I also felt touched because I could rela...

I am coming out of a difficult season in my life. Well, at least, I hope I am coming out of it. . . Good Things by Kevin Gerald looked like an uplifting book to help me shift my focus to the good things in my own life and push past some discouragement from the hard things I just experienced. I was not disappointed. Coming from that point of view, I found Good Things to be an engaging read.When Kevin Gerald begins the book, he asks the reader two questions. One of them is "What do you think God thinks of you?" That question especially made me uncomfortable as I realized that I lived with the premise that God doesn't really think much of me and that I need to do all kinds of good things to earn God's favor. In fact, Kevin Gerald tells me in this book that God wants to provide me (and all of His children) with good things. Gerald uses Bible verses and life experiences to encourage the reader to look for favor in their own life. I found this book to be the bre...