Hello my lovely book bees!
So I started reading this book for my small group at church that my pastor's wife leads on Wednesday nights. And I deeply appreciated this study. First of all, I love Beth Moore, she truly is a gifted writer and has such an anointing from God. I really look up to her. To Live is Christ is basically a study of Paul's missionary journeys. And as my pastor's wife says (I'll paraphrase), 'When we read the New Testament we speed through it and we don't recognize that the space between some of the verses or chapters took months or years. We don't slow down to realize that, and we get to slow down and examine that with this book.' Plus....we also get to recognize that Paul is a mere mortal, a human, who made mistakes just like us. He wasn't perfect even though we (the church) tries to put him on that pedestal. Honestly this book helped me to grow so much in my faith. Coupled with the video series, Drive Thru History: Acts to Revelations (on TBN), you get to visually see where Paul traveled and learn the histories of these places that affected Paul's ministry. You get to delve deep into who Paul was as an individual person, and the struggles and triumphs that he had on his journeys. It's highly educational, spiritual, and realistic. Beth Moore doesn't just help you connect to Paul and his missionary journeys on a deeper level, she also helps you take the lessons that Paul may have learned and gives you ways to apply them to your daily life. It's a revelation! I honestly cannot emphasize how important this book is to my growth. I think that any Christian looking to seriously go deeper in their faith should read this book. Anyone who wants to know Paul (who I personally place second to Jesus), the man who wrote most of the New Testament, on a more human level, should read this book. It's a great book. Use it as your devotional, for a small group, or read it with your family! There's no wrong way, just read it. Extra Links:
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June's Book of the MonthI finally decided to do something a little different for my book reviews from now on and do a little photo shoot! Photo credit goes to my amazing sister Rebecca. She has a great photography account on Instagram, so go follow her here.
Confession time: I got this as an ARC (Advanced Readers Copy) from Shadow Mountain Publishing, and for those of you who have hung out long enough you know that I love them!!!! But.....I've been bad about writing the actual review. I'll read the book but then I find myself procrastinating on actually writing the review. It's time consuming and I guess I give myself all of these excuses as to why I can't write the review even though I'm not technically that busy. Also...I waste so much time reading stories on Wattpad that it detracts from my reading of actual books. Sometimes I forget that the stories on Wattpad aren't actual books because they are so well written. So I've been doing a lot of reading, but not the kind that I can log into my Goodreads account. Anyways, onward. Hello my lovely book bees! Let's discuss The Milkman's Son. Firstly, the title!!! If you think you can discern what the book is going to be about by the title you are absolutely right. I personally love family histories and genealogies, which is what originally got my attention with this book. And let me say ya'll, this is a read you won't regret. The author interweaves comedic moments all throughout the book. It's humorous really, which aids the story in its telling and makes it easy and fun to read. I was constantly laughing while my family gave me funny looks. I read this book pretty quickly because I enjoyed it so much. But it does have some serious themes. The Milkman's Son begins with a guy named Randy, who has both adult children and kids still at home, who decides to help his dad with a family genealogy project. He gets as far as he can get with records and stuff that he can find on Ancestry.com, so he decides to do a DNA test to see if that can help him further connect to his ancestors. Long story short, and without too many spoilers, that's how he finds out that his dad is not his biological father. Which is a SURPRISE and shock for someone in their 50's. Randy has what I equate to a midlife crisis over this new revelation and hence the humor comes in, but so does a more serious theme of family, belonging, and love. Randy questions his place in the family he was raised in, if his father loves him less because he doesn't share genetic material with him, and who his other half of his real family is. So he goes on this journey of self discovery to figure all of this out, and man going along for the ride was a real treat. It's a great book!!!!! Anyone who loves genealogies, memoirs, comedy, or just fun stories in general should read this. Honestly it's just amazing and I don't think there's anyone who shouldn't read it. If you have the time, and you like to read, this book is for you! Would you like the publisher's synopsis? Okay, here it is (but I like mine better): Raised in a family he bore little resemblance to, Randy was jokingly referred to as "the milkman’s son." This warm and candid memoir chronicles the unraveling of a family secret, which begins with Randy’s dad having dreams about deceased relatives urging him to complete their family tree. Randy agrees to help with the genealogy, but after his searching leads to a dead end, he takes a commercially available DNA test. The results reveal a possible genetic match to a sister, which begins a familial quest that forever changes the author’s life. Featuring a cast of vivid characters, richly drawn from two distinct families, The Milkman’s Son reveals one man’s family tree, pulling back layers of new information as he gets closer to the truth—a biological father, siblings, and family members he never knew about. This is a story of accepting, forgiving, reuniting, and, most importantly, it’s about the bonds that connect us and the unconditional love that makes us feel like we belong. Extra Links: Hello my beautiful bees. It's Rachel here and it's time for another book review. Before we really dive in, I'll preface this with letting y'all know that it's an art biography and it's the first of it's kind that I've ever read.
So when I go to my college library it's usually to study in a quiet environment. The desk that I usually sit at has a beautiful view of the woods and man made stream that passes the outside of the library. Right behind my usual spot is the art book section. I've always loved art but I've never studied it, its history, or know much about artists in general besides what you typically learn about in school. So I decided I was going to read the first art book on the shelf behind me, and Georgia O'Keeffe: An Eternal Spirit by Susan Wright was the lucky winner! I also want to preface by saying that I am in no way an art critic or an expert in this field at all. These views are simply from an art loving (aka someone who likes any kind of art that she sees that she can vibe with) book worm. ART!!!! I love looking at it. I got to see some amazing, beautiful, and inspiring art work of Georgia O'Keeffe printed in the book. Her art visually spanned from abstract, flowers, New York, and southwestern scenes. My favorites were definitely her abstracts, sky scenes, and flowers. I enjoyed the back stories and learning about her journey through life and then subsequently looking at the art that correlated with that part of her journey. The book is separated by the stages of O'Keeffe's art journey/life journey, which I really appreciated. It was cool to see which pieces of art correlated with whatever she was going through or the area that she was living at during that time. The book also discusses her relationship with her husband, who was a photographer and had his own art studio (spoiler alert: her art debuted in his art studio and their relationship continued slowly from there). It was honestly an educational experience and a fun introduction to a new genre that I had never previously delved into before. I definitely want to read another book from this genre next semester. Maybe I'll grab the second book from that shelf and see what I come across. Overall, Georgia O'Keeffe: An Eternal Spirit was an easy read, and I give it 5/5 stars. If you are a creative or enjoy the arts, or simply want to explore a new genre and educate yourself on a little known artist, this book is definitely for you. Give it a try!!! Links: |
About the AuthorHi, I'm Rachel, and I'm here to share reviews of books with you so you can know what to read next! Archives
October 2021
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