Saturday, August 15, 2015

What Keeps You Up at Night?: How to Find Peace While Chasing Your Dreams

Life is stressful, especially if you're trying to figure out exactly what you're supposed to be doing with your life. Many people are overcome with doubt and uncertainty, and they wonder if there is any way to make living by faith easier.

Pete Wilson's new book What Keeps You Up at Night? tackles these problems head on from the perspective of one who lives by faith and finds comfort in relationship with Jesus. Wilson's book acknowledges uncertainty as a reality all people have to face, even people of faith. In fact, we often don't see clearly ahead of us. It isn't until after an event or series of events that we see where God was working. In the midst of uncertainty, we're challenged to trust in God. That's what Jesus did and that's what we're called to do. Our situations may change, but God doesn't, and chasing after the dreams God has placed inside us requires a great deal of faith in God's provision, promises, and power.

What keeps you up at night? While uncertainty may be a staple of your journey, it doesn't have to be debillitating. We can find strength and courage as we pursue the heart of Jesus. Pete Wilson's writing is warm and refreshing, and his message is important for those who struggle with stress in their pursuit of living.

The Art of Mad Max: Fury Road

If you also left the theater in amazement after watching Mad Max: Fury Road then I'd definitely recommend getting this! The quality of the pages is great and it is filled with information. It's amazing to read about all that went into making the movie, the story line, the dedication, and all those awesome raw action scenes! The pages are thick and good quality and aren't easily smudgeable. The photography in it is also great and seeing the storyboards from years back when the movie was just an idea is awesome. All in all a great book to have if you're not only a fan of the movie but also enjoy all the behind the scenes stuff.  The movie was amazing and the book is even more amazing.

Clean Green Eats: 100+ Clean-Eating Recipes to Improve Your Whole Life

Candice spends the first part of the book explaining benefits of the key ingredients she uses in her recipes, as well as how to properly store them for maximum shelf life. A lot of the ingredients are new to me and aren't cheap since they come from specialty organic markets, so this book paid for itself with the first recipe when I finally started properly storing nuts, grains, seeds, etc. She has many great tips on making smoothies properly and choosing good produce as well. For a former junk food junkie like me who is now trying to get healthy as a result of an auto immune disorder, this book is a wealth of knowledge because I don't know a lot about the ingredients and what you don't know can hurt you if you try to cook with expensive, foreign ingredients that you've never used. I'm ashamed to say that I don't have much experience with Brussel sprouts, fennel, and quinoa, but no worries! Candice explains it all before diving into her well organized recipes! Another reason why I like this book is that she repeats ingredients.  So many great recipes in this book, I used so many of them for my family and friends.

Taking Charge of Your Fertility, 20th Anniversary Edition: The Definitive Guide to Natural Birth Control, Pregnancy Achievement, and Reproductive Health

I take my hat off to the author for creating and updating something packed with information, and yet infused with such humor and humanness as to make it all so relatable and digestible. To be sure, there is plenty of medical information, handy charts and graphics to explain issues. But i also love the cartoons, quotes, Fertile Myrtles and the page layout – a breeze to find what you want and to dive in and out.  Any woman (or her partner) diving in would feel not only equipped with vital tips and insights, but just as importantly, with a compassionate coach in her (their) corner. While any author seeks to inform/entertain, precious few can lay claim to actually helping to boost and create lives as this does.  I am sharing this book with a few of my friends who are trying to get pregnant and I know this book has all the info needed to help them start their family!

The Fall of Princes

The Fall of Princes is a dark, intoxicating morality tale of a bygone generation, a world of excess and decadence and the price paid by some--but by no means all--of those who partook in the bacchanal. Robert Goolrick deftly peels back the layers of the high life of high finance and, with his impeccable prose, focuses his unflinching eye on the grittiness beneath the sleek facade of nightclubs, fashion, and monied Manhattan extravagance.  I couldn't have read a better book, the author is one of the best authors I have ever read and I will recommend this book to everyone I know.

Unprocessed: My City-Dwelling Year of Reclaiming Real Food

This was a great book about food and figuring out what is healthy and unprocessed and what is just not good for you.  The author went on so many adventures and trips to figure this out.  The book was written very well and it was very detailed and I couldn't believe how much information someone could pack into one book.  I am looking forward to reading other books written by this author.