Book Review: PrayerWalk

Yes, another book review. I haven't read all these books at once, just am a bit tardy on posting the reviews.

Anyway, of the books I've read recently, this book by Janet Holm McHenry is my favorite. At first, I was skeptical of the book, title and all. Prayerwalking....who goes prayerwalking. How over-the-top! Yet, as I read it, I was interested and found many neat ideas and thoughts stimulated by the author.
   I like the straight-forwardness, simple talk, and practicality of this author's writing. She is a high school teacher out west, and has many down-to-earth stories and points to make in the book.
    Her main points are:

• Prayer is important
• We should make time to Pray
• Exercise is important
• We should take time to exercise
• Combining both CAN be an act of faith

The book does not force you to feel you have to Go walking and Pray, but she offers her experiences, reasons, and practical tips throughout the book.

I like one of the things she says about habits:

It should be 3 D's. It should be a daily, disciplined descision.

And I agree with the quip even on the back of the book: It's time to exercies your prayer life.

You can find a copy of this book on Amazon.com or CBD.com

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Waterbrook Press as part of their blogger book review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."*

Book Review: The Blessing

The Blessing, by John Trent and Gary Smalley, was a bit dissapointing to me.
 I received this book from BookSneeze, and was looking forward to reading it for some time. Yet, I had a hard time reading much at a time, and had to force myself to finish.
   The book follows the premise (for me) of the Five Love Languages. It does have lots of stories in it, which is helpful and maybe the most interesting part to myself.
   The overall premise feels a bit stretched to me....of emphasizing Big lessons from Small verses in the Bible. I struggled with that aspect, feeling like it was an okay opinion, but a bit shaky to persist in it's importance.
   The book deals with "blessing" or loving/accepting your children by words, action, touch, and tone. The vaild point of the book is, as children, we want our parents to love us unconditionally and accept us. That I agree with. Yet as far as needing to "Bless" our kids, I got a bit lost in the authors jargon.
   I suppose, overall, I am showing my "Minnesotaness" and would rate this book as a bit too "feely" or "froofroo" for my taste. I learned valuable input from the book, but am not likely to pass this on to any other parent.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."*

Book Review: The Sweetest Thing

The Sweetest Thing, by Elizabeth Musser, was the first fiction book I've read in a long time. (Well, reading through books has been kind of put on a back burner for a while). Still, I was pleasantly captivated....at least when I got past the first few chapters.
  The story line is set in the American Depression era, but focuses on the life of the rich more than the struggles of the poor during that time. I found this interesting, yet puzzling too. I have never (I think) read any books or information from that time period from this perspective. Therefore, while I found the story entertaining, I also found it hard to believe. It made me curious to dig up more information and biographies of the rich during that time. (Which I haven't done yet, so my review is still baised toward the unbelieveable...sorry).
   The writing is smooth, though I found it a bit wordy. This author was new to me, and I laughed when I read her acknowledgments where she mentioned "Thanks for helping me cut this book down to a readable length." Because, even though she cut it I guess, I would say there was still that feel of a lot of extra detailing and descriptions that I could've done without. Therefore, to actually get into the story plot took me about 3 chapters.
    So, in all, it was interesting, spurred my interest in studying some history, and was entertaining. But, it is not a book I will keep on my bookshelf long. There are others that I find more enduring and classic.

You can find a copy for yourself from Amazon.com if you'd like.

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Bethany House Publishers as part of their blogger book review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."*

Forest Honey

 So, I finally tried it.....Forest Honey that is. I've been talking about it for a long while, waiting for just the right season, and it finally came.

I should've known better.

Basically, I saw a recipe in a kid's cookbook two years ago, that you can make a type of honey from pine needles. So I was dying to try it. The basic recipe is as follows:

Gather new pine needles
Soak in water overnight
Drain and discard the needles
Add sugar to the water and boil till thick

Why should've I known better? Because I've made candy before. Because I've boiled sugar before. Of COURSE it gets thick like honey. ha. The longer you cook any sugar syrup, the harder it gets (like peanut brittle, caramel corn, popcorn balls, etc)

So, really, this was pine flavored sugar water. Because for 5 cups water I had to add 3 cups sugar. Besides, I was impatient so I used Balsam needles instead of waiting for white pine needles. Oh boy did it smell! (Balsam is the strong-smelling Christmas tree type)

Need-less to say, I am pleased I finally tried this experiment...but wish I had thought it through (you'd think 2 years was enough!) because it tasted horriblly bitter, and I threw the whole thing out, and only afterward did I remember the candying principle and why it would get sticky. :)

So here you go....you can look at this post and see how "Forest Honey" turns out, but you don't have to try it at home (which I don't recommend any way)!

...yes, they caught fish

Sunday, June 5th

Wows on our Walk

Different

I just needed to write this out, just to make it stick in my own head better (there's only so much I can tell myself in my head, then I either need to say it out loud or write it down :)

Is different bad? No. Different is just that.....different.

And goodness me, if I wasn't experiencing different things, I wouldn't be learning so much. Just like the little girl in the above picture. Her new fascination is "outdoors." She loves watching the branches sway, listening to the wind in the leaves, seeing colors of the sky and touching nature for herself. She is a very serious learner, and I could profit much from doing the same.

It just seems, there are days when I need a reminder. Different is just different. Take a breath. Relax. And don't take yourself so seriously Emily! Sometimes it's been really helpful to actually let out a laugh, and realize, there's more to life than my little box :)

So there you have it, thanks for listening. Now it's time to go out and enjoy the sunshine and my garden (I''ll try and share pictures soon).