My Experience: A Walk in Her Sandals

I was blessed to receive a copy of A Walk in Her Sandals: Experiencing Christ's Passion through the Eyes of Women in exchange for my honest reaction and review.

As the month of January comes to a close, I have been contemplating some resolutions I made for myself this year. Reading more, creating fellowship through my parish and striving to improve my relationship with God were among these resolutions. I came across a book that touched all areas that were important to me and I am happy and honored to share what I have learned in hopes that you will take the chance of reading and sharing your experience as well. This book is a special devotion created especially for women to follow through the Lenten season.

Christ's Passion has always been an emotional topic for me. In high school I participated in a Youth Group that hosted the Stations of the Cross during Lent and no matter what I did, I would weep as I read the station I was assigned to share. As a women, I often hear the words empathetic, loving and emotional as a description of my experiences in life. Sometimes it can seem as if these words are thrown at us in a negative manner but I am here to tell you that they are special qualities that we, as women, have been blessed with by God. A Walk in Her Sandals not only explains these amazing gifts in descriptive detail but will make you proud to embrace these qualities while opening your eyes to a new perception of our Savior's Passion that will touch your heart in a very unique way.

Suffering is a part of life. It will touch every person on this earth at some point, multiple times throughout their life. Men and women experience and deal with pain and suffering in different ways, it is how God created us. The Passion of Jesus is an experience of suffering and pain that is so deeply touching that it can reach anyone receptive to its true message on some level. It reveals itself to us in our own sufferings as daughters, mothers and women. It is time for us to come together in a fellowship of womanhood and embrace each other as we grow in faith by sharing our stories of suffering, love and enlightenment. 

This book is not just a book, it is an adventure. An adventure that you can chose to take alone or in the sweet embrace of a group.On this adventure, you will be introduced to Anah, Huldah, Miriam, Veronica, and Zilpah and experience these special women and their encounters with Jesus. There are special, intimate stories shared from the author and a deep look into the scripture. As if these inspiring factors weren't enough, there are Questions for Group Discussion that you could discuss with a group or answer within your prayer journal.

I honestly felt a change within me while I read this book each evening and I am looking forward to opening this book again during the Lenten Season. I was amazed by the perception and detail and of the stories and I am not afraid to admit that I cried through every chapter. I cried tears of love, joy and understanding and loved every minute of it.

I am often guilty of losing focus of myself, as most women are, and focusing on my children and husband most of the time. Use this Lenten season to grow your faith with this truly amazing book. I would love to hear about your experience as you start your adventure too.

Interested in learning more? I am working with some extraordinary women that took on this book and all the touching stories are being shared at the CWBN Blog Hop. Make sure to hop over and see what other women learned during their reflections.

Start planning how to host your own Lenten Book Club or join Between the Wines: Lenten Book Club hosted on WINE (Women in the New Evangelization) online featuring Walk in Her Sandals. Since I completed this book alone the first time, I am looking forward to starting a book club or joining one for my second experience.

{SQT}: Fall Sports & Back-to-School Edition

It has been a crazy week as predicted and things will only get crazier as we move into the school year. Trust me when I say, I will have tons of picture and videos to share so follow me on Instagram and Facebook if you want more frequent updates or just a laugh or two from social media. For the SQT linkup at This Ain't the Lyceum here are my seven quick takes for this week:

{ONE}

Back-to-work for me! I had to take some time off from working a couple months ago due to some problems with my back but I am feeling better and taking it easy as I transition back into the work force. Until I am 100% sure my back is better I will only be working part-time but it is a start. It's also a relief to be getting more adult time. With the start of school next week, I won't have to be at home alone.

{TWO}

Fall Football 2016 is underway for Little Man and the family! I am sorry to admit that I am one of those crazy football mommies that loves to get loud during football season. I have always been a competitive person and I am vocal. I am glad that I have instilled the desire to work hard and reach for the stars into my children and they love sports so that is where it really shows. This equation of love, sports, hard work and desire is the equation for a crazy football mom. My husband quite enjoys watching me wear eye blackout and my homemade team shirt while I am jumping up and down as our team plays. I still have to make my shirt for this season. Don't worry, I'll make sure to post plenty of embarrassing pictures of myself and my family as the season progresses.

We also just completed our first 4 day week of practice and learned that Little Man will be the back-up quarterback and will be learning some new positions this season. I have to admit that I am so proud that Little Man is stepping up to the challenge and grasping this opportunity with both hands. He has been practicing so hard this week and when we are at home he has really been focused on increasing his protein intake, to gain mass and weight. He has a lot of experience but very tall and skinny. He weighs only 65 lbs right now (He's dropped 3 lbs since last season) and he is playing with boys that have upwards of 20 lbs more weight on them. He is continuously asking to practice outside by himself, with his brother and his friends. If you don't mind, please say a little prayer for Little Man to keep him healthy and uninjured throughout this season.

{THREE}

Soccer season is on hold for Goalie. I was contacted just yesterday that the Sports and Recreation Center is having a hard time finding coaches to fill the need in the soccer leagues. They were calling to ask parents individually to coach teams. I felt so bad that I was unable to assist them and volunteer. I'll be honest, I have NO EXPERIENCE with soccer except what I've learned watching the boys and those rules are modified each season depending on the league and age group. In addition to my lack of knowledge, having one child playing football and the other soccer at the same time makes it just a little too much for me to juggle. I will already be running back and forth between practices and it wouldn't be fair to the kids on the soccer team. I am saying an extra prayer that they find someone able to take on the responsibility of coaching this soccer team. 

{FOUR}

We had a blast celebrating lots of Liturgical Celebrations this week! Saint Dominic, Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Saint Lawrence and Saint Clare. I am still finishing up my post on Saint Lawrence and Saint Clare so I'll link back to those when I finish them up. Saint Dominic is Little Man's Nameday Saint and he always watches the calendar once August hits. 

{FIVE}

*This contains affiliate links. I receive a small commission if you click the link and purchase something. This does not increase the amount of the product*

I finished my book The Blessings by Elise Juska and I so enjoyed it! In the upcoming week(s) I am hoping to finish The Happiness Project and Just Breathe: Weston Sisters Book 1 (ONLY 99 cents or FREE with Kindle Unlimited). 

I will be sharing my review of The Blessings later this week and I'll link back to this post so stay tuned. 

{SIX}

I have shared my love of autumn many times lately. In the spirit of my excitement for fall I decided to make some Pumpkin Pie Latte Overnight Oats! They were delicious... too much all spice but still delicious. For my first time creating these, I was impressed and I will be making more very soon! Heres the recipe if you are feeling adventurous to try it:

Pumpkin Pie Latte Overnight Oats

1/2 Cup Old Fashioned Oats

1/4 Cup Coffee (Double strength and chilled)

1/4 Cup Almond Milk

1/4 Cup Pumpkin Puree

2 Tbsp Sweetner (I used honey but I might try out brown sugar next time)

1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract

1 Tsp Cinnamon

1 Tsp Nutmeg

A pinch of All Spice (I added more than a pinch of Allspice the first time I prepared these overnight oats and it was a little too spiced for my taste so add at your discretion)

I think I might top this with some sliced almonds too!

Combine all the ingredients in a mason jar or container with a lid. Shake and place in the refrigerator at least overnight. Oats should be good for 3-4 days as long as you keep the lid or top on the container tight.

{SEVEN}

If you read my last {SQT}: The Anticipation of Autumn you read my little rant about the issue I am having getting Goalie registered for school. Since last week I have been able to get copies of Goalie's paperwork from the Preschool office (THANK YOU GOD!) and I submitted it to the School District office Tuesday. It only took 4 trips back and forth between the two offices in addition to the several previous trips discussed in the last post to get this done. I am waiting to get confirmation the forms have been accepted so I can register him at his school location this Monday. I am not happy that this process has been difficult but I am so grateful to know it's almost done.

That was my families crazy fun week. I hope everyone is enjoying their last few moments of summer or having a great time finishing back-to-school prep like us. If you are a special needs parent check out my post Back-to-School Essentials for the ADHD Student. The products discussed in the post are miracle workers and are great for children without special needs as well. Until next week.

God Bless!

Ghost: Book Review {Free My Catholic Faith Kindle Download}

This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase something through the links I will receive a small commission.

For my Mid Year Book Challenge I added the book Ghost: A Novel by Alan Lightman to my list. I have to admit that this is not the typical style of book that I normally read but I was pleasantly surprised.

This intriguing story really grabs you from the very start of the book. Alan Lightman does not waste any time presenting what the premise of the entire book is about.

"I saw something. I saw something out of the corner of my eye. It's been a week, but I still have that awful image in my mind. It burns. I close my eyes, and I see it. I open my eyes and I see it."

The existence of ghosts, the afterlife and God are very controversial topics. Throughout Ghost you are able to experience these controversies through a man named David. David is a simple man. He was comfortable in his lifestyle of being a banker and had no real ambitions to name. His entire life starts spinning after he loses his comfortable job and can only obtain a job working in a mortuary. After settling into a new routine with his job while dealing with his interesting relationships with his girlfriend, mother and ex-wife, David experiences something that he cannot put into words. David considered himself an intelligent person with a great understanding of things and is forced to question his sanity. In an effort to discover the truth, David starts researching what he can about religion, science and faith. As you can imagine these open questions cause a great deal of problems for David, his co-workers and his personal relationships. I promise you will be fascinated with the book until the very end.

Alan Lightman is an internationally known best selling novelist and his accomplishments in Ghost illustrates his ability to pull the reader into the story. I would suggest that everyone should read this book because every reader will have a different experience based on their own faith and experiences with these provocative questions about life, death and what happens after.

I am linking this to Booknificent Thursday and The Book Nook At Create With Joy. Here is a list of several award winning novels by Alan Lightman:

Einstein's Dream

The Diagnosis

Ancient Light

I also came across a free kindle download of My Catholic Faith! this week

Rising Strong: Book Review

I have to thank my friend Amber, who suggested reading this book several months ago. I decided to include this book as part of my Mid Year 2016 Reading Challenge. I love to read and I especially love books that find a way to touch me in my life, experiences or heart. Rising Strong did all of this and more. I have shared my thoughts on this book as I read it with my husband and he is eager to read it, as I hope you will be too. Please be aware This post contains sponsored links from Amazon.

Rising Strong by Brené Brown is an amazing book that will make you question every significant event in your life. Her understanding of emotion is astounding and her ability to communicate her research to readers is direct and easy to comprehend. There is an exploration of shame, anger and fear that is prominent in our failings through life and her rising strong teaching and process can help you study and understand more thoroughly how to grow and recover from failing more quickly. Failing is something that every person can relate to and makes the topics discussed within this book more important to understand how to be better productive within our relationships and our daily lives.

I will warn you that the colorful Brené Brown does sometimes use strong language to get her point across. I did not find the language to be vulgar though, rather she used it as an exclamation point to highlight her important research. I also find that her presentation made her feel more relatable. I love that there is a direct conversation between Brené Brown and the reader. She does not hide her true ideals or intentions.

Another aspect that makes this book unique is that although Brené Brown is a researcher, she allows the discussion of faith and spirituality to be important in her research. She includes research and quotes from religious people. One of my favorite moments within the book is during a discussion where Brené Brown states, "I experienced a collection of holy and unholy moments that would eventually bring me face-to-face with one of my greatest fears and, in the process, teach me exactly what Saint Teresa of Avila meant when she said,"There are more tears shed over answered prayers than over unanswered prayers."" If only we could all have revelations that bring us to a closer connection to God.

I have not had the pleasure to read her book Daring Greatly yet but I can promise it is now on my book list. There are several references to it within Rising Strong and I think that the best understanding of both books would come from reading both. Daring Greatly discusses concepts of vulnerability and scarcity and pairs well with the overall topic of overcoming adversity in Rising Strong.

I will end this with another one of the great topics that is discussed throughout the entire book; "The irony is that we attempt to disown our difficult stories to appear more whole or more acceptable, but our wholeness, even our wholeheartedness, actually depends on the integration of all of our experiences, including the falls." This particular quote is written on the back cover of the book. Rising Strong is truly an amazing book and I hope you take the opportunity to read it.

I know I have several friends reading this book right now and I would love your opinions as well! I am sharing this at The Book Nook At Create With Joy. 

Style, Sex and Substance { My First Review}

I mentioned in my earlier post that I would be writing reviews for Tiber River. Well, here is my FIRST review! The book is called Style, Sex, & Substance. What an amazing book! Here is the review below.

Style, Sex, & Substance is a book that will help any Catholic woman take a meaningful look into her life and discusses the current issues that a twenty-first century Catholic woman may face. The book is divided into ten chapters that each has a separate focal point from women's lives, including single life, marriage and raising children. The focal points in each section are written in an easy to understand language by ten different women that convey their spiritual growth through their everyday experiences in a contemplative and humorous way. Although you are reading from a book, you are drawn in quickly with the personal stories and the intimacy and honesty will make you feel like you are having a heart-to- heart with a close friend.

For me personally, the subjects discussed are definitely topics that I ponder in my own heart. I could personally relate to the stories of struggle and faith. The insight I received from this book made me ask myself questions about aspects in my own spiritual journey and what I will do to progress. This book challenges the reader to grow mentally and spiritually while still incorporating your everyday life. The routine aspects of your life will be shown to you in a new light and you will realize that there is nothing ordinary about any woman or the journey God has personally chosen for you. The areas of reflection were my favorite part and I was quite surprised about what I learned about myself from each reflection. I know I will be reading this book again and I hope that every woman takes the chance to read this amazing book. Once you start reading you will not be able to put the book down and the knowledge gained will be priceless!

I wrote this review of  Sex, Style, & Substance for the Tiber River Catholic Book review program created by Aquinas and More Catholic Goods. Tiber River is the first Catholic book review site, started in 2000 to help you make informed decisions about Catholic book purchases. I receive free product samples as compensation for writing reviews for Tiber River