February Book Club Selection

Our February selection will be The practice of the presence OF GOD by brother Lawrence. This book is Inspirational and has been voted one of the top 10 books for Christians to read. It only has 96 pages but by no means should be taken as a quick read. Here is a description from the back of the book:

Brother Lawrence was a man of humble beginnings who discovered the greatest secret of living in the Kingdom of God here on earth. It is the art of "practicing the presence of God in one single act that does not end." He often stated that it is God who paints Himself in the depths of our soul. We must merely open our hearts to receive Him and His loving presence, where ever we are, be it in a bustling kitchen or on our knees in prayer. A classic in Christian literature. This edition is abridged and updated, while keeping the essence of the message intact. It contains 4 parts: Conversations, Letters, Spiritual Maxims, and The Life of Brother Lawrence. For nearly 300 years this unparalleled classic has given both blessing and instruction to those who can be content with nothing less than knowing God in all His majesty and feeling His loving presence throughout each simple day. (End quote)


If interested you can check out other extensive descriptions and reviews of the book here at Amazon. Jody Beth let me borrow this book to read and after reading I decided it deserves selection status. Even though it's small I think it's worth taking a look at by everyone. I always like to do a book like this at the start of the new year and this one has lots of great wisdom for today from a man who lived over 300 years ago. Please don't rush through it but take time to absorb the advice he gives.

Our February meeting will be Saturday February 26th at 8:30am-10:00am in Swift's new building. Thanks so much for your participation!!! Remember I LOVE book suggestions and am here if you have any questions or need some other book ideas to read when you finish the monthly book. You can also check out the blog and see what other books I read and review as I try to find books for the club and for my own enjoyment.

***Reminder the January Meeting for The Help is this upcoming Saturday the 29th at 8:30-10:00AM. ***


Happy Reading!

It's Better to Build Boys than Mend Men by S. Truett Cathy

Recently I read a book by S. Truett Cathy, the founder of Chick-Fil-A. I myself have a son and I am always on the lookout for good christian perspective books on raising children. This is a quick read at only 111 pages but offered some wisdom that I hope I don't forget for a while. It was also interesting learning about Mr. Cathy's work with foster children and young boys. I commend him for the work that he has done and continues to do and reach out to others. And yes it makes me love Chick-fil-a even more. :) Here is a description of the book I found online:

Children have plenty of buddies. In an age when kids all around us are growing up without strong, positive guidance from their parents (who are busy, distracted, gone, or choose to be buddies instead of parents) children need someone they can look to with respect to help them build their lives. When he was thirteen years old, Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-A, had such a man step into his life: a Sunday school teacher who modeled love, respect, hard work, and discipline. Cathy decided to follow that model, and today he has some 130 foster grandchildren, many of whom have broken their family’s generational cycle of neglect through the encouragement of Cathy and other adults who reached out to them. In It’s Better to Build Boys Than Mend Men, Truett Cathy lays out a simple model for adults desiring to reach out to youth and challenges readers to allow God to work through them to change the life of a child. His book is filled with stories illustrating the principles of discipline, trust, reputation, generosity, common sense, peer pressure, and family stability. Readers who follow their hearts into children’s lives will find that their own lives are enriched as well. (End quote)

I enjoyed reading this book and the advice is not for those with boys alone. The advice can be applied to girls as well. I especially liked his take on teenagers and cars .....but you will have to read the book to get the full story. Let's just say after sharing Mr. Cathy's method with my husband, we both agreed at what a wonderful idea. Hopefully we can hold on to it for when our children are sixteen! This is by no means a selection for our book club but since I'm sharing with you what other books I read, this one is by no means exempt. I would recommend this book if you are a parent, grandparent, mentor to children, etc. Mr. Cathy has a realistic and caring approach to children that I hope you enjoy reading as well. Happy Reading!

Courting Trouble

If you notice the difference in the blog, I decided that we had the previous background up long enough and wanted a change for the new year... Hope you like it!

Back to business.....Recently I read the book, Courting Trouble by Deeanne Gist. This is a Christian Historical Fiction novel and we had previously read a book by her last year (Info. found here). Here is what the book is about from the author's site:

Whether it's riding bikes, catching snakes, or sliding down banisters, Essie Spreckelmeyer just can't quite make herself into the ideal woman her

hometown--and her mother--expect her to be. It's going to take an extraordinary man to appreciate her joy and spontaneity--or so says her doting oil-man father.Unfortunately such a man doesn't appear to reside in Corsicana, Texas. It's 1894, the year of Essie's thirtieth birthday, and she decides the Lord has more important things to do than provide her a husband. If she wants one, she needs to catch him herself. So, she writes down the names of all the eligible bachelors in her small Texas town, makes a list of their attributes and drawbacks, closes her eyes, twirls her finger, and ... picks one. But convincing the lucky "husband-to-be" is going to a bit more of a problem. Join Deeanne Gist for another unforgettable tale and find out whether Essie's plan to catch a husband succeeds or if she's just Courting Trouble. (end quote)

The book is about 330 pages and the author kept me turning the pages pretty fast. And I have to tell you that I enjoyed the previous book we read more than this one. It was entertaining reading and has a good message about Jesus being all we need in life but it didn't have enough wow factor for me to make it a book club selection for our group. But don't get me wrong, even after saying all that I am still interested in the sequel I just learned about. If you choose a Deeanne Gist book to read, be sure to check out her site as she does have lots of great resources. That is one thing I love about this author, she does research on her writing and doesn't forget about book clubs. I look forward to reading more from her so be sure to let me know if you have read one of hers that was a good pick. Happy reading!

January 2011 Book Club Selection

Happy New Year 2011!! I pray that there are great things in store for you and yours as we move into another year. This will be the start of the 3rd year of our book club. Two years of so many wonderful books, great conversation and company! Just in case you want to look over all the books we read over the past two years, click here for a list on the blog.

Our January Selection will be The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Here is a description of the book from her site:

Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step. Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women--mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends--view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don't. (end quote)

After several recommendations I read the book and thoroughly enjoyed it. I also recommend listening to it on CD as the actors reading the book did a terrific job.

Our January meeting will be Saturday January 29th at 8:30am-10:00am in Swift's new building. Thanks so much for your participation!!! Remember I LOVE book suggestions and am here if you have any questions or need some other book ideas to read when you finish the monthly book. You can also check back at the blog and see what other books I read and review as I try to find books for the club and for my own enjoyment.

Happy Reading!