My Review of "Daring to Hope"

Katie Davis Majors' Daring to Hope: Find God's Goodness in the Broken and the Beautiful tells beautiful stories about the triumphs and tragedies Majors faced as an adoptive mom and missionary in Uganda.

After her adopted daughter's biological mother took the child back, Majors questioned God as she pleaded for him to bring her daughter home. God did not give her the answer she desired, and for the first time in her life, she wondered whether God was good.

From there, Majors embarked on a journey of doubt and loss that brought her to a place of hope and understanding. While serving a disease- and poverty-stricken community in Uganda by volunteering at a hospital and eventually starting Amazima Ministries, Majors felt helpless watching many of the people she cared for -- including friends and their children -- suffer and sometimes die in her home.

Pondering these events, she comes to the realization that God is good, gracious, near, faithful, and strong. The book is both filled with sadness while simultaneously written with the faithful courage that itself encourages readers, with love as the driving force behind hope. Majors tackles her doubt about her faith boldly, and her thoughts can serve as a reminder that God "breathed life into us so that we could breathe life into others".

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review here.

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My Review of "Come as You Aren't"

Come as You Aren't: A Role-Playing Game for Adventurous Couples is a simple role-playing kit for couples who want to explore and experiment in ways to seduce one another that they simply wouldn't have imagined otherwise. The set is meant to offer one partner who draws a Who, a What, and a Where card at random and places them in an envelope for the other partner. From there, it's up to them to enact the scenarios as they see fit. The instructions are printed on the back cover of the box and the deck comes with a few blank cards for couples to customize. This is a fun little gift for couples -- and just in time for the holidays. I received a free copy of this game from the Blogging for Books review program in exchange for my honest review here.

tasting rome -- a book review

Parla and Gill's Tasting Rome: Fresh Flavors and Forgotten Recipes from an Ancient City contains more than 85 recipes that bring some of Rome's characteristic cuisines to the home cook in our own kitchens. These recipes reflect some of the "spirit of Roman flavors" that have been part of historical dishes and community-specific recipes that make this collection a real treat itself. I particularly love the section on traditional Roman pasta dishes -- which gives us cacio e pepe, amatriciana, and two methods for preparing pasta alla carbonara. There are multiple twists on bread and pizza, and the vegetable section champions local favorites such as artichokes, fava beans, and greens. This is a solid introduction to Roman cooking that every kitchen needs. I received a free copy of this book as part of the Blogging for Books program in exchange for my honest review here.

My Review of "Roadfood"

Jane & Michael Stern's Roadfood gives us another (this is the 10th edition!) gastro road trip across the US. Roadfood is like a road map through backroads and interstates for some of the best food in each state and region in the US. Roadfood celebrates venues most travelers would never venture near, let alone enter. Most of the state-by-state listed restaurants are, however, for dining on the cheap. Like Litton's in Knoville, TN -- which really does have amazing burgers. While one could hardly map a road trip by the Sterns' restaurant finds -- some cities, like Chicago, are overrepresented, while the rest of Illinois is all but ignored -- this fun and fanciful volume is pure pleasure. I received a free copy of this book as part of the Blogging for Books program in exchange for my honest review here.

The Mrs. & the Minister

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