I Am Hutterite

Book Review -I Am Hutterite by Mary -Ann Kirby

The fascinating true story of a young woman’s journey to reclaim her heritage.

I thoroughly enjoyed this memoir of growing up in the Hutterite faith. The author tells her stories in simple, yet colorful language  and shares the faith, love and family ties that bound her to her heritage.  The  author recounts stories of the heartache of losing her baby brother and leaving her relatives and best friend behind as strife tears them apart from the community.  She  speaks off the struggles of moving to an English community and striving to fit in and be accepted by her peers.

The book is a fast read, I would compare somewhere between Angela’s Ashes and The Little House series. There is a glossary in the back of the book of Hutterite words and even a recipe for Hutterite Sucre Pie.

You will enjy this book, as Mary-Ann Kirby is a most talented, enthusiatic writer.

This book provided free by Thomas Nelson publishing in exchange for an honest, thoughtful book review.

Book Review- Captivating

Captivating – Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman’s Soul  Revised and Expanded  by John and Stasi  Eldredge

If  you are a woman, then you are “captivating”.  All women want to feel they are beautiful, loved and offer some purpose to life.  This book will do for women what  “Wild at Heart” did for men. The  book, co-written by John and Stasi Eldredge,  explains what is at the core of every woman’s soul; beauty and romance and adventure.   Women are born with an innate sense of beauty and the need to be loved, often though, through the actions of others, that right is stripped away and sadly, women are cheated out of what should be their “lot in life.”

Through stories and a lot of pop culture references, John and Stasi Eldredge show a way of healing by pulling closer to God and letting him be the “romancer” of your soul.  Stasi Eldredge shares painful stories about her past  and her healing, her words are kind  and never preachy, making this book and great witnessing tool for anyone who is hurting and needs understanding.

This is a short read and is very cathartic.

This book was provided to me, at no charge by Thomas Nelson Publishing in exchange for an honest and thoughtful review.

Book Review – Essentials for Life

Essentials for Life : Your Back-to-Basics Guide to What Matters Most

By Marcia Ford

This has been, by far, my favorite book that I have reviewed.  Essentials For Life is a great easy to read devotional.  The chapters are short enough to be read in about 15 minutes making this either a great weekly or daily devotional suitable for any age.  Although, it could be used in a group setting, I think that you’d get more out of mediating on it on a personal level. While t is a christian book and use scriptures from the NCV bible, it is not preachy.  It does offer a helpful do and don’t list for each topic.

If you are looking to scale back and get to the “heart” of life and what really matters to you, then this is the book.  It would be a great journaling exercise to gather introspection on your thoughts and feelings. With chapters on healing your past, forgiveness, family, generosity and building good friendships, this book covers it all.

This great book was provided, at no charge, by Thomas Nelson Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review -Kaleidescope

Kaleidescope: Seeing God’s Wit and Wisdom  in  a Whole New Light by Patsy Clairmont.

This is simply a great book, well written and humorous, by Pasty Clairmont who is a Women of Faith Speaker and a fantastic funny gal as well.  Kaleidescope delves deep into the book of Proverbs, which also happens to be my favorite book in the Bible.  Patsy explains these proverbs, always with a sense of humour and a spirit of love and widom. Even a non- religous person could appreciate Patsy kind counsel and sweet anecdotes that will stay with you long after you put this book down.

Perfect for the teen girl, it’s like getting advice from a wise aunt. Perfect also for older ladies, it’s like hearing from an old friend.  I really don’t know who would not benefit from this book. It would also be a great devotional or bible study for various women’s groups.

What I enjoyed most about this book, were the questions at the end of each chapter.  It is a quick read, but also could be a great one to read and journal along.  Pasty Clairmont is a shining example of a Titus 2 lady and this book will not be  soon forgotten.

This book was provide free of charge by Thomas Nelson publishing and reviewed free of charge by me.

Book Review: The Vertical Self

The Vertical Self by Mark Sayers.

You can be whatever you want vs you can be who you are meant to be. This is a great little read for anyone who is questioning their path in life. You’ve heard all your life that you can do whatever you want, you have unlimited potential!!! And while this may be true, this book talks about working with what God gave you. And living up to your potential in him. Biblically based and with hard truths present in the Bible, this book is well written and intense.

That being said, I’m not a fan. I don’t believe that the Bible is the absolute final word in what God has planned for us. I believe that things happen that shape us into who we are today and that we can do somethings that will help us be successful people , such as work on our characters and improve our lives through education. I do agree with the author, that our “pop” culture has a large negative influence on us. Someone told me once, that the best way to get through life is not to rely on what others would say or do, but what the best, brightest, most loving “insert your name here” would do. aka do unto others…

This book provided by Thomas Nelson, free of charge for review.

Book Review

Beautiful Things Happens When A Woman Trusts God By Sheila Walsh

This is a thoughtful, thought provoking book for any woman that has felt the grip of mental illness. This is Sheila Walsh’s journey from depression to relying and trusting God.  Transparent and with real life anecdotes, the authoress pulls you out of the dark and into the light of God’s word and truth. What happens when you let go of fear, pressures and stress? You let God in and beautiful things happen.

I enjoyed this book fully, because I feel I know where Sheila is coming from…from  my own experience and the experinces of others.  This is a great book for ladies study groups and really anyone who is coming to terms with how they can live life with out fear. We often don’t know what lies around the bend in life and it can cause us to feel fearful.  This book inspired me to let go of that fear, even though it is not easy and know that God is in control.  This book also includes a  great Bible study included to work  through in groups or independently. This book was provided at no charge to me by Thomas Nelson Publishing for review.

And The Results are In…

For my physical that is… My blood work came back and I am…HEALTHY!!! Cholestrol within normal limits, thyroid good, boderline anemic, blood sugar great!!! and My blood pressure was a chill 115/78.

BUT…My weight was (is) high!!!

No surprise, I knew I’d have to something about that soon…

My weight is 194:(

My waist is 45 in

My BMI is 33.3 ( This is the obese range)

Sooo…

Some Healthy Goals!!!

Waist < 32in

BMI <24.9 (Normal range for someone 5′ 4″)

And 4 mini goals for weight:

Goal# 1 170

Goal #2 145

Goal#3 130

Goal#4 120

The dr also suggested I go to the gym 3x week for 40 mins for cardio…I will start this tomorrow…

I’m also going to start cooking things to take to work

And no more soda…I will miss my mountain dew:(

Im a daily weigher so expect me to pop in here, hopefully daily…

Me…On Automation?

Chapter One in You On A Diet Talks why diets fail and working smarter, not harder.  Apparently, your body is a fine tuned instrument(mine is a tuba!:) and knows just what it needs to stay in shape.  What gets in the way of this is ourselves!!!  Left to its own devices, our bodies would get down to their ideal weights, when we are not assaulting them with high fructose corn syrup, fatty fast foods and inactivity.

The idea of automation comes into play…seriously, wouldn’t it be easier to eat the same thing at the same time and not worry about making choices? At least for a little while, to let our bodies get used to  being healthy again? I really like the idea of an auto pilot diet…

In other news…PHSYSICAL tomorrow!!! With blood work results!!! I’m hoping tomorrow to post some starting stats for our weight loss journey.

Getting Healthy

Busy weekend for sure… had family over this weekend and had a good time!

As much as I want to do a Fascinating Womanhood discussion, I may be putting that on hold for right now. however I’m thinking of doing a much  “funner” discussion/ challenge!!!

Over the past year,  I have gained weight…alot…40-50lbs…not good for the ticker…or the closet, lol. I’ve thought about things that have worked for me, albeit temporarly…things that haven’ worked… and realized that in all honesty, NOTHING has worked for me!!! Yes, I have done things that have caused me to lost weight, but if it was a good working idea, I wouldn’t be in this position now.

So, what I’ma going to do is some straight up lifestyle changes!!! I have the book “You On A Diet” by the always entertaining Dr Oz and Dr Roizen.  My goal for February is to put the ideas in this book in to practice.  And report here as I go along. This week will see some changes and ideas, feel free to follow along!

The very first thing on my list is a physical.  I will go to the dr’s tomorrow to have some blood work done and have a physical Wednesday. I want to make sure that I’m healthy enough to start exercising and have a baseline from which to start.

I have embarked on several diets before, what I need is a complete lifestyle change now.

Wish me luck!!!

Fascinating Womanhood- Possible Book Discussion?

I came across this gem of a book in early 2000.  It is written by Helen Andelin, who sadly, passed away last summer.  It is one of the books that kind of shaped who I am today.  Controversial, anti-feminist-tic, it talks about how, at least in the author’s mind, to have a glorious marriage.  I enjoyed it just for the fact, that at the age of 22, I had never read anything like it, ever.  In my mind, women weren’t to stay at home and enjoy the domestic arts!!! They weren’ t to be feminine and definitly weren’ t to accentuate the differences between themselves  and men!!!

That being said, I’d love to have a book discussion about this amazing book. I’d love to hear your thoughts, likes and dis-likes.  Maybe even some stories and ideas!!!

Who’s down?