The Help Meet Wife

I chose the book Come To The Family Table: Slowing Down to Enjoy Food, Each Other, and Jesus by Ted and Amy Cunningham because I love to cook (and eat!) and I'm always looking for books about food, faith, and family. This is a title published under Tyndale's NavPress imprint, which is the publishing arm of the Navigators. I liked the idea of making mealtimes intentional and a bonding and teaching time, rather than just a hurried "shovel down the food and run". I've had more mealtimes in my home than I care to admit where meals are rushed, the children are bickering, or the table is silent. I was hoping this book would give some tips and tools for making mealtimes better. The back cover says: "No more rushed meals and relationships Passing the casserole should be more than just eating so we can get up and move on. When we pass the food among those we love, we share laughter, allow transparency, and extend grace. The family table is where parents model Chr...

The Happiness Dare is Jennifer Dukes Lee's second book. I was super excited when I heard that she had a new book coming out, and knew I'd want to read it right away. I'd read her first book, Love Idol, when it came out and absolutely loved it. It really touched my heart and spoke to issues that I deal with. When I saw that her new book was called The Happiness Dare, I wasn't sure if it would speak to me as much as Love Idol did, but I still wanted to give it a chance because I'd enjoyed her first book so much. When I received the book, the first thing I noticed was the super cute cover and style throughout. The cover is brilliant, candy-themed and beautiful. Just looking at the cover makes me feel happy! Inside the book, there are pages sprinkled throughout with quotes pulled from the book on super-cute candy backgrounds. The book description reads: "Would you like to be happier? No matter who you are or how you feel, chances are you would answer yes. And J...

I picked up For Better or for Kids: A Vow to Love Your Spouse with Kids in the House by Patrick and Ruth Schwenk partly because of the cute and creative title, partly because of the appealing cover, and partly because I'm married and my husband and I have four kids. Juggling a marriage of 14 years along with four kids who range in age from 6 to 14 (almost the exact same age range as the kids of the authors, so I felt particularly like this book would be great for me), is not always simple and easy. I figured there would be a lot to learn from this book. I particularly liked the fact that it was co-written by a husband and wife team. I love marriage and family books that are written by a man and wife team because you get the perspective of both parties and I feel like the advice is usually more balanced and realistic. Subjects included in this book are expectations, our mission as parents, love, sex, unity, grace, time management, busyness, difficult seasons, communication, money, ...

John Piper's Taste And See is a followup book to his A Godward Life devotional, which I've read and enjoyed. Taste And See contains 150 in-depth but brief devotions. They cover a myriad of subjects, including current controversial topics. The book description says: "A Devotional Powerhouse! This revision of the follow-up to the popular A Godward Life adds twenty fresh entries to the original 120 daily meditations that are solid meat and sweet milk from God’s Word. The new entries broach current and controversial subject matter, such as partial-birth abortion and gay marriage. Piper asks the hardest questions and finds wonderfully poignant but practical and applicable truths from the Bible. These 350 pages of substantive spiritual nourishment will brace readers’ minds with truth and nourish their hearts with God’s sovereign grace. Pastors and lay leaders particularly will appreciate the three indexes included. They don’t need to look any further to find a pertinent ill...

What Matters Most is book four in Kellie Coates Gilbert's Texas Gold Collection. This collection of novels centers around strong women who live in Texas. They are standalone novels, but all based upon that common theme of women overcoming difficult circumstances in Texas. I was initially attracted to this book because of the pretty cover and the tension between Leta's job and her budding relationship with Nate. I also liked the element of Leta caring for her mother with Alzheimer's. The book description reads: "Deeply Emotional Writing Highlights the Complexities of Human Relationships Leta Breckenridge is forced to drop out of college to care for her dementia-ridden mother. After learning a severely delinquent account may force her mother into a less desirable facility, Leta steps out of her comfort zone and lands a high-paying job at an Austin public relations firm. But her dream job turns into a nightmare when she learns the firm is a front for a political oppo...

I'll be honest - I selected Mommy Needs A Raise (Because Quitting's Not An Option) by Sarah Parshall Perry because of the super cool cover. In fact, the cover is so cute and clever that all four of my kids loved it and couldn't stop looking at it, and my six year old son asked if he could cut it off my book and hang it up on his bedroom wall (lol). I'd never heard of Sarah before, but the description sounded funny so I thought I'd give it a shot. The book description reads: "Goodbye, Board Room and Legal Briefs--Hello, Dimples, Diapers, and Destruction Women know that raising children will be different from climbing the corporate ladder. But nothing can truly prepare them for the mind-muddling world of motherhood. It doesn't take long for a new mom to question whether her tyrannical, diapered boss really understands her value to the organization. Because honestly? She's not always sure herself. With her signature wit, lawyer-turned-full-time-momm...

No Way Up is book one in Mary Connealy's new series, The Cimarron Legacy. This is the first book I've read by Mary Connealy so I wasn't sure what to expect. I was drawn in by the well-designed cover and the description, which reads: "New Western Romance Series from Bestselling Author Mary Connealy When Cimarron ranch patriarch Chance Boden is caught in an avalanche, the quick actions of hired hand Heath Kincaid save him. Badly injured, Chance demands that his will be read and its conditions be enforced immediately. Without anyone else to serve as a witness, Heath is pressed into reading the will. If Justin, Sadie, and Cole Boden don't live and work at home for the entire year, the ranch will go to their low-down cousin Mike. Then Heath discovers the avalanche was a murder attempt, and more danger might follow. Deeply involved with the family, Heath's desire to protect Sadie goes far beyond friendship. The danger keeps them close together, and their fee...

After reading The Feathered Bone by Julie Cantrell and being absolutely blown away by it, I knew I wanted to read her upcoming two-book series as soon as possible. When Mountains Move is the continuation of the story that began in Into The Free. We continue following Millie's story as she marries Bump Anderson. The book description reads: "In a few hours, Millie will say “I do” to Bump Anderson, a man who loves her through and through. But would he love her if he knew the secret she keeps? Millie’s mind is racing and there seems to be no clear line between right and wrong. Either path leads to pain, and she’ll do anything to protect the ones she loves. So she decides to bury the truth and begin again, helping Bump launch a ranch in the wilds of Colorado. But just when she thinks she’s left her old Mississippi life behind, the facts surface in the most challenging way. That’s when Millie’s grandmother, Oka, arrives to help. Relying on her age-old Choctaw traditions, Oka ...

Find Your Brave: Courage to Stand Strong When the Waves Crash In by Holly Wagner is an uplifting study of the Apostle Paul's shipwreck as related in Acts 27. It's a small hardcover, the bulk of the book being 160 pages. There are twelve inspirational chapters, including Rising in the Darkness, Brace Yourself, Let It Go, Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing, Get Your Hopes Up, Courage Is a Decision, Anchored, Don't Quit!, Stronger, The Other Side, When You Make Your Own Storm, and The Shore. Each short chapter begins with inspirational quotes. Included are also Scriptures to Speak over Your Situation and Questions for Personal Reflection and Group Discussion. The book description reads: "Navigate Life’s Storms and Discover a Courage Like No Other Have you ever found yourself in over your head, wondering how you would possibly get through with your faith and sanity intact? It can happen any time. Life seems good and then—BOOM!—out of nowhere comes a storm that thr...

I love a good Christian suspense novel, and it can be hard to find new authors in the genre that write quality books, so I was super excited to read Lisa Harris' new book, Missing. This is book two in The Nikki Boyd Files series. I hadn't read book one, Vendetta, yet, but I was hoping they'd be readable as standalone novels as well. The book description reads: "Nikki Boyd Enters the Deadly World of Counterfeit Drugs to Find a Missing Woman Nikki Boyd isn't usually called in on homicides; her forte is missing persons. But when a case with two murdered and two missing pops up on a quiet suburban street, she's ready to start the investigation and find missing homeowners Mac and Lucy Hudson. When the first clues lead her to the boat of her friend Tyler Grant--and another dead body--Nikki must untangle what ties Tyler to the Hudsons. The clues pull her into a deadly maze of counterfeit drugs and a killer who will stop at nothing to silence anyone who threatens ...