Cookbook review: Third Thursday Community Potluck Cookbook

Third Thursday Community Potluck Cookbook is an amazing collection of seasonal recipes put together by Nancy Vienneau and Gigi Gaskins.

These recipes look amazing.  I can’t wait to try them.  A lot of them.  One of the main thing I love about the collection of recipes is that none of the recipes use cream of…, or any other premade concoction.  The recipes are organized by months and what is in season at that time.  Summer recipes are cooler and lighter.  Winter recipes are heartier and warmer.

This cookbook includes all kinds of recipes.  Main courses, sides, veggies, dips, soups, desserts, etc.  There is also a special cocktail or mixed drink for each month highlighting some ingredient in season.  And in December’s chapter they include a few gift ideas – bath salt soaks, spice mixes, etc.

Some of the recipes call for finer/pricier/harder to come by ingredients.  I’m okay with that considering this book is not meant to be a everyday use cookbook but more of a special occasion cookbook.

I am very excited about adding this to my library collection of cookbooks.  As soon as my pears and figs are ripe in our orchard, I will be completing many recipes on my want to try list from this book. 

Note: I did receive a copy of this book for free to read and review.  The opinions above are my own and I was not compensated for a positive review.

Book Review: NIV integrated study bible.

The NIV integrated study bible “written”/edited by John R. Kohlenberger III, published by Zondervan is a chronologically ordered study bible to help the reader understand where all the parts of the bible fall in a timeline.  The old testament is divided into 5 sections; creation through the patriarchs, exodus to conquest, conquest through united kingdom, divided kingdom to exile, and return to the land.  The New Testament is divided into two sections; the life of Jesus and the early church.

I really enjoy the setup of this study bible.  The editor did an amazing job of easily setting out the writings in order; showing parallel stories recorded in multiple books, showing references in place of quoted scripture from Old Testament in the New Testament, etc.  One of my favorite additions is the timeline on the bottom of each page showing the historical section the passages are from overall timeline. 

I am really looking forward to read more of this as a study bible to better understand how the individual books of the bible fit together in a cohesive timeline of God’s amazing story.  This book is a great addition to my devotional library. 

Note: I was given a copy of this book for free to read and review.  The opinions above are my own and I was not compensated for a positive review.

Book Review: Where the Wind Leads

Where the Wind Leads: A Refugee Family’s story of loss, rescue, and redemption by Vinh Chung is the story of Vinh’s family journey from Vietnam to America.  The Chung family had a good life in Vietnam.  Everything changed with the communism overtook the country.  His family fled on a boat that floated aimlessly in the South China Sea left for dead from pirate attacks.  Miraculously they were found by the World Vision Mercy ship and relocated to a small town in Arkansas in the United States.  They spoke no English, they no one in America and had no distinct skill to rely on.  Through much adversity they family came together and made a home. They succeeded far beyond what they ever believe with children graduating from top colleges and having successful careers.

This story is an amazing tale of the strength of family, determination, faith, and overcoming any obstacle.  The book is very easy to read and hard to put down.  I enjoyed it immensely.  This is the kind of book that after reading you look around at your life and you realize the small obstacles in life are nothing and should not stop you from pushing through and succeeding.

 Note: I did receive a copy of this book for free from the publisher to read and review.  I was not compensated for a positive review and the opinions above are my own.

Book Review: The loving kitchen

The loving Kitchen by Leann Rice is a wonderful collection of homemade (from scratch) Southern cooking just like the ones she blogs about.  The cookbook covers every course and meal possible.

This book also contains a great discussion with the cook about where her passion from cooking comes from and why she enjoys spending all her time in the kitchen.  There are many pictures in the book.  Probably 50% of the recipes have a picture.  They pictures are beautiful.  I do wish all the pictures would have been labeled. Some were not and it was hard to tell if it was a picture of the recipe before or after it.

I enjoyed flipping through this cook book.  There were many recipes very similar the ones I already make and a few I’ve been wanting to try.  I also love her emphasis on tasting the love in your cooing. She also gives some great tips on how to make recipe turn out great.

I am happy about adding this cookbook to my (virtual) self of recipes.  I already have a few ear marked to make soon.

Please note I was given a copy of the book to read and review by the publisher.  My opinions above are my own and I was not compensated for a positive review.

Book Review: Smart Money Smart Kids

Smart Money Smart Kids; Raising the next generation to win with money by Rachel Cruz and Dave Ramsey is a great book.

First off I love Dave Ramsey and his message on responsible stewardship of money.  Rachel, his daughter, has joined his team speaking across America to kids.  She is the preventative care to his emergency care approach.

Rachel was born the same year Dave and his wife had to file for bankruptcy.  As she grew she watched her parents struggle to rebuild their financial lives and learn along the way the steps he now teaches daily.  As her parents were embracing this new thinking of money, they taught their kids from a very young age how to manage money.  They allowed mistakes to be made small so they wouldn’t be made huge when they were older.

Rachel and Dave discuss how allowing children to understand how money works and its finiteness as a child is key.  They also discuss the importance of balancing gifts with overindulgence, teaching grace and compassion instead of self-centric worlds. 

One of my favorite sayings in this book is most of the lessons “are caught not taught.”  I love this reminder that children are always watching and learning from our lives every day.  I can’t teach giving if I don’t give.  I can’t teach compassion of if never show compassion. 

Overall I really enjoyed this book.  It is a wonderful encouraging book for parents to look at their lives and find the daily lesson on how to teach children how to grow up to become effective productive adults.

 

Note: I was given a copy of this book to read and review from the publisher.  The opinions above are my own and I was not compensated for a positive review.

Book Review: Moment Maker

Moment Makers by Carlos Whitaker discusses how taking advantage of specific moments in life can turn them into the best memories.  Some of his examples are play cards on the side of a deserted road when their car broke down, going up to a complete stranger and talking to them, and slowing down enough to take a moment with your children.

I enjoyed this book a lot.  Before reading this book I did not know Carlos Whitaker by name.  But since reading this book I have found a lot of videos on youtube and learned a lot more about him.  (FYI-not in a creepy stalker way either, he discusses his youtube videos in the book.  I just checked them out.)

I think Carlos makes a lot of great points about how we need to open our eyes and be ready for anything because 1) you never know what/who God is going to put in your path each day and 2) bad situations can turn into moment makers with the correct attitude (i.e. sitting on the side of a deserted road playing cards).  It has challenged me to look at every situation in a different way to see how we can turn the frustrating into fun and the bad into good.

Note: I did receive a copy of this book for free from the publisher.  The opinions above are my own and I was not compensated for a positive review.

Book Review: The Nesting Place

The Nesting Place: It doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful by Myquillyn Smith is a book about how to decorate and love your home.  She describes how to love the home you’re in now and how to love the journey of decorating on any budget and loving the imperfections in life.

At first I thought this book was going to be a coffee table style book with lots of pictures and a few helpful tips on how to decorate but it’s not.  It’s much much more.  The author takes your through her journey of being content and happy in your current home.  She describes how small changes and expressions of yourself/your family will turn any house into a home. 

I think she also hit the nail on the head when talking about our fear to fail in decorating.  A good attempt is better than nothing.  And worse case you remove it or repaint it.  What a great stress-free philosophy.  I have found many times I want to redecorate our house but I’m crippled by doubts.  I have never thought about treating decorating (my current home and envisioning my dream home) as a journey that will change as my family grows.

I really enjoyed this book.  I love the pictures of her home as inspiration of what a house can turn into with an adventurous spirit, a willingness to try, and freedom to fail and redo.  I will definitely keep this book around as a reminder to go for it.

Note: I did receive this book for free from the publisher to read and review.  The opinions above are my own and I was not compensated for a positive review.