Archive for the ‘book recommendations’ Category

Governor Mike Huckabee has a new book coming out in a few days. It is called

A Simple Christmas: Twelve Stories that Celebrate the True Holiday Spirit

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From the Publisher: Christmas has become synonymous with shopping, overindulging, competition, and stress. But according to Mike Huckabee (who was a pastor before getting into politics), that was never God’s intention. Going back to the Nativity, Christmas is supposed to be about simple things: faith, love, family, and hope. The hard part, in today’s crazy world, is remembering that those simple things are the most precious of all.

Now Huckabee recounts twelve Christmas memories–often funny, sometimes deeply moving–that range from his childhood in Arkansas to his years as a young husband and father to his time as a governor and then a presidential candidate. These true stories will help you smile, take a deep breath, and maybe slow down your own holiday treadmill. For instance:

As kids, Mike and his sister would sneak open their gifts before Christmas, play with them, then rewrap them so their parents wouldn’t notice. The plan worked great for several years until one Christmas morning when young Mike unwrapped a brand-new football…that was covered in mud. That led to a powerful lesson about patience.

In 1966, like millions of preteens, Mike was obsessed with the Beatles. He dug in his heels, telling his parents that if they wouldn’t buy him a guitar for Christmas, he didn’t want anything at all. He was selfish, stubborn, and obnoxious, with no idea what it would take for working-class parents to find an extra $99. It took many years for him to understand the sacrifice they made for that life-changing gift–or how it connected to the Lord’s own sacrifice.

Only a year after Mike and his wife, Janet, had gotten married, she was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer at the shocking age of twenty. That Christmas of 1975 was the most terrifying and upsetting they would ever know, as they wondered if they would ever get to share another one. But in retrospect, it’s a Christmas they will treasure forever.

If you’re looking for a little clarity, sanity, and inspiration at this insane time of year, you’re sure to enjoy A Simple Christmas.

We are really going to try to keep Christmas simple this year and to refocus our family on the real reason we even have Christmas. My children will be 5 and 9 at Christmas this year, so it is a little hard to completely give up Santa and Rudolph and presents and all the magic that comes with those wonderful things. But my husband and I have made a pledge to each other and to our Lord that we will do our best to keep the focus on the Christ part of Christmas this year.

Governor Huckabee has scheduled a book signing tour for A Simple Christmas.  You can see the full itinerary at http://www.mikehuckabee.com/?Page=SimpleChristmasBookTour.  He will be here in Greenville in November and I can’t wait. I’m hoping I can use my State Coordinator for Team Huck muscle (if there actually is any!) and bypass waiting in line. Hoping!!!

Do you have any ideas to share on how to simplify Christmas and make it more Christ-focused? I’d love to hear them!

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The Grits girl… if you’ve been in a store somewhere in the South, particularly one that sells to tourists, you’ll have seen a a T-shirt or some other product about being a GRIT girl. Girls Raised in the South.  I just love the book, The Grits Guide to Life. It’s a very funny & informative guide to being Southern and being a Grit. I particularly like when they point out that if you weren’t born in the South, you can still be a Grit… a Girl Refined in the South. I guess that’s me.

The book is full of Grit Wisdom. The first one deals with grits themselves… the food, not the women.

Grits Pearl of Wisdom #1

Grits are eaten with butter, gravy or cheese – never sugar.

I used to really, really dislike grits. I didn’t really understand the fascination with grits or anyone’s desire to consume them. They looked like, and tasted like, bland mush. I realize now that a Belle’s love of grits will definitely be influenced by the maker of the grits. I’ve had really bad grits, and I’ve had absolutely yummy grits. The yummy grits generally have tons of butter, cheese and probably garlic. For some reason when I was expecting (Magnolia absolutely does not approve of the word “pregnant”) my daughter, I began to crave grits. I don’t know why. Maybe being pregnant expecting a real, live Southern Belle influenced my taste buds. Whatever the reason, I now really like grits, if they are good.

Here’s a recipe from the Grits book.

Cheesy Grits Casserole

1 cup grits, quick or regular
1/2 cup margarine
3 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup sweet milk
1/2 pound cheddar cheese
1/2 pound fried bacon, crumbled

Cook grits according to package instructions. Add margarine to hot grits and stir until melted.  Add cheese and stir. Combine eggs with milk and stir into grits. Add crumbled bacon. Pout into greased 2-quart casserole dish. Sprinkle extra cheese on top if you desire. Bake 30 to 40 minutes at 325° until mixture is set and light browned. The center is the last to cook.  Yields 8-12 servings.

Sounds really low in calories, doesn’t it? But I guess the calories is what makes them taste good.

Do you have a family recipe for grits you’d like to share?  I’m on the search for the best grits recipe!

Two days ago I decided to read The Shack. I’m sure most of you have heard about it by now. I had heard people talking about it a few times over the past few months, but it never seemed like anyone said anything specific except “It’s good.” I understand that better now…. I think. I love to read and was looking for a book and there it was. So I started it. And now I’ve finished it.

This is one of those books that I will need to sit with and digest for a bit before making up my mind about it. It was definitely hard to put down. Very thought-provoking. Interesting and a bit strange. Beautiful in parts. There are several lines in this book that made me want to jump up and get a highlighter and that never happens to me unless I’m reading the bible or a bible study. Not just a “book” book. Of course I didn’t get up and get the highlighter (most likely because I was in the bubble bath where I do most of my reading) so now I’m going to have to go through the book again to find them. But it will be time well-spent.

Would I recommend this book? Absolutely. It’s an easy read and a fairly short book and is definitely worth taking the time to read it. I can’t talk much about it without spoiling the whole thing but I am interested in what others think of it. Especially my church friends. I will say that it has given me a lot to think about regarding my relationship with the Lord and any thing that gets me doing that gets a thumbs up from me!

Tell me what you thought of it if you’ve read it and want to share. I’ll be back to revisit this in a few days. And if you haven’t read it, get started!!!

I love to read. I mean, I LOVE to read. I especially love long books and I really love them if they are part of a series. I just adore living with the characters for awhile. They begin to feel familiar and you start to know them like family. The best books are the ones that you finish and are immediately engulfed in a sense of sadness because it’s done. There’s nothing like it.

I am currently working my way through a series that I have read five other times. I love it that much. Some of you know it but if you don’t, I can’t recommend it enough. It’s called the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. It is a love story, an historical romance, time travel, war, botany… it has it all. But the main thing is the love of the two main characters, Claire and Jamie. Jamie is a Scottish Highlander and…. seriously anything I say at this point makes it sound like something it’s not. I’ve tried to explain this series to people and always fall short. You just have to read it for yourselves. I love it so much, I even suggested Jamie as a name for our son, but my husband didn’t go along with that. I’m hoping hoping hoping that there is another book and I believe there is one coming soon. I just can’t wait! The people I have recommended this series to love it and I have other friends that have read it and are equally enamored.

If you’re looking for a good book, please start reading this series. The first book is called Outlander. Amazon has it for a great price and if you buy more of the series, you can probably get free shipping. Let me know if you like it!