Reading, Writing & Pondering

  Mind, Body, Spirit, Food by Nicki Sizemore is a beautiful holistic cookbook.  As the cover states, the recipes are adaptable and there are grounding meditations and there is encouragement for preparing meals with joy and intention. This book encourages the reader to focus on the process as they cook. I love that. I also like how flexible these recipes are. The recipes offer advice for making each recipe in your own way with ingredients you have on hand and in such a way that your family's likes and food intolerances are taken into consideration.  I see our bodies as holistic so this book is especially meaningful to me in that way. There is encouragement to have an attitude of gratitude as you work with ingredients, prepare your food and eat with family. There is also a spirit of meditation included. This is definitely a book for my keeper cookbook shelf.   The recipes themselves look to be flavorful. The instructions are easy to follow. There are full color p...

  Every day is full of emotional highs and lows. Do you know how to manage your emotions? Joyce Meyer has a new 90-day devotional book, Managing Your Emotions , that could help you do just that. At the start of Managing Your Emotions , Meyer has an introduction explaining why she wrote the book, her struggle with emotions in the past, and how the book could be helpful to you. Then there are 90 days worth of readings. Each day starts with a Bible verse, then has a short reading related to emotions, and ends with a prayer.  Managing Your Emotions is easy to read and understand. I always appreciate Meyer's down-to-earth approach in her books. They are easy to read and easy to relate to. She doesn't come off as someone who is "above you." Rather she is a human pastor struggling right alongside you. This book is a good size to stick in your purse, briefcase or book bag since it measures roughly 5 by 7 inches in size. I have to add that I like that cover with the mix of su...

  Are you a creative person who likes a paper planner? Maybe bullet journaling is your thing or you want it to be your thing? Draw Near: Your Creative Spiritual Journal by Sophie Killingley is a fun, basic journal that you can use to unleash your creativity and include your spiritual life. This basic journal is blank and could be started at any time. Killingley writes in the introduction that she used to be a compulsive doodler--but that was never a part of her spiritual life. Then she reached a point where she was struggling with her mental health and had to take Scripture in much smaller bites. She used that time to connect her creativity with her spiritual life. She began lettering and doodling verses. She has since moved on from that time, but then decided to merge her creativity with bullet journaling and her spiritual life. This book is a result of that.  Draw Near does have some basic organization to get your started. It starts with a "monthly" section. Killingley en...

  A Mindful Moment: 5-Minute Meditations and Devotions by Irene Kraegel is aimed at teenagers ages 13 and on up. It is a relatively lightweight, small book at about 7.75 inches by 5 1/2 inches and 190 pages long so it could easily fit into a backpack or nightstand to use regularly. A Mindful Moment includes 150 5-Minute Readings. The book starts out with an introduction explaining why Christians should meditate, what it is, how to do it, and how to use this book. Following the introduction are the 150 meditational devotions. Each devotional starts with a Bible verse, then moves on to a short devotional reading, and concludes with a section called, Practice. Practice offers practical ways to put the verse and the reading into action some way in life.  The book concludes withe a section on Mindfulness with information on various ways to meditate and pray using the book and keeping your mind on Christ. There is a also a section of questions and answers which I think is especially...

I previously read and reviewed Love Heals by Becca Stevens so I was already familiar with this author so happy to read her latest book. In Practically Divine, she invites readers to see the divine in everyday life. She shares how love can heal and how seeing the divine in our lives can help us to better connect and improve our lives and the lives around us, even in the midst of a pandemic, disagreements and strife. It was an uplifting book overall but there are places where she shares some stories about the abuse. While I didn’t find it triggering, some people might. One of the aspects that I like about this book is how down-to-earth and real the author is. There is, however, a few minor cuss words. The overall tone of the book is encouraging and uplifting in the midst of her realness. I received a copy of this book from Harper Horizon through TLC Tours. All opinions within this review are my own.