Reading, Writing & Pondering

I have to be honest, Lincee Ray is a new author for me. I wasn't familiar with her blog, but when I saw this book, I had to find out why she hates green beans--which I love. I am so glad I did! Why I Hate Green Beans made me laugh out loud a few times and was a great "curl up with my cup of tea" read. Why I Hate Green Beans shares Ray's story from her early school days until the present. Throughout the book, Ray shares her story and some of the challenges she has been through--just like she is talking with me and having tea right along with me. . .Wait make that a Dr. Pepper for Lincee. She shares both her good times and her hard stuff. Most importantly, she also shares how she overcame that hard stuff. Don't we all have hard stuff of one sort or another to overcome? She also reminds readers of how we need to look to God and trust Him to help us through the hard stuff. Yet, Ray isn't preachy. Instead, she truly seems to share from her heart. She also sh...

This Life I Live is the story of Rory and Joey Feek.  As the cover says, it is about "one man's extraordinary, ordinary life and the woman who changed it forever." I really like that subtitle.  Actually the first half of This Life I Live is primarily about Rory and his life's journey up until meeting Joey. He shares details of his family life growing up and the challenges he overcame to live a life for God as a new Christian before he met Joey. It isn't all a pretty story. Like most of our stories, it is painful to read about mistakes he made, but he also shares how God has used those life experiences to grow him and, ultimately, to make him a better person. Rory shares how he believes we are all doing the best we can with what we know and he doesn't hold grudges these days. I think there is a lot of truth to that. In the second half of This Life I Live , Rory shares about how he met Joey and about their life together. He shares the facts of their lif...