Books, Bedlam, and A Lively Hope

Book Review: Feeding Your Family On Less

Let's have a book fair!

You know I occasionally share a good book that I'm reading on here. In fact, it's hard to escape sharing good books with other people. Sometimes I tell myself to just face it, I am doomed to walk the earth suggesting reading ideas to people. And then all too frequently people ask me for reading ideas when I am least prepared for it, and embarrassingly, draw a blank. Well, I thought it would be fun just to show you a few books I've either recently read, am currently exploring, or just found out about. Enjoy!

Food From an American Farm: Three Generations of Family Recipe Secrets
This book just jumped out at me one day while I was walking through the stacks at work. It contains three generations of a family's best recipes, and plenty of anecdotes about growing up on their family farm. So homey and so full of neat ideas, I am planning on making the fried cabbage and the made-from-scratch banana cream pie. I may even have to go pick the bananas myself (just kidding). As a bonus, this is an older book from way back in 1991, so used copies in good condition are selling for around twenty cents. It's a wonderful and affordable addition to your cookbook library.

Don't Throw It Out: Recycle, Renew and Reuse to Make Things Last
Another book that found me, I never saw so many money-saving domestic ideas in one place. It covers every room in your house (and the outside, too) and shows you ways to better organize, clean, extend the life of, or reuse things you plan to throw out. This book is really astounding.

Committed to the Covenant
The first couple years of their marriage were great. Then her husband started seeing other women. Then he found a girlfriend. Then he left. And finally, he divorced her, leaving her to raise their children. This is Elizabeth Lapp's true story of tears, struggle, and forgiveness. She also has wonderful advice for anyone who has ever wanted to help those who are grieving and suffering through a long winter. Available from Anabaptistbooks.com

How to Break An Egg: 1,453 Kitchen Tips, Food Fixes, Emergency Substitutions, and Handy Techniques
This awesome resource was originally going to go on a book display at the library, but in the end, I couldn't do it. It had to come home with me! I have already used a dozen of the wonderful ideas dispensed in this tome to help preserve food longer, chop vegetables like a chef, better organize my kitchen, bake better muffins, and just generally improve my kitchen skills. A truly impressive collection of tips and tricks. Who doesn't want information on how to do things better and easier?

So That's Why! Bible (NKJV)
I saw this colorful Bible and study guide at work and thought it was for children- but it's not. It's for adults, and so very interesting to read. It's the Bible arranged chronologically, in the true order it was written, with historical notations that explain the obscure practices and give context to the ancient cultures of Biblical times. Imagine, something written so long ago by people from all different cultures, who lived so differently than we do today, were guided by God to create His Word. And that Word still holds true today, for us, here and now.

Cooking and reading and thinking