Book Review and Giveaway!

Now for something completely different. Not only am I reviewing this amazing book, but I'm also hosting my first giveaway! Amy Lathrop at LitFuse has provided not only the book I read, but another to give to one of my readers. I'm also including information about another giveaway. This review is being cross-posted on The Bulging Bookbag, so if you go there and enter the book giveaway, you'll get two entries. First, the review:

About The Life Ready Woman:

Are you a ‘Doing it all’ or ‘Do what matters’ woman?

Whether a stay at home; or working mom, an airplane-hopping executive, an empty-nester caring for multiple generations or a single juggling high demands of career and personal life, today's fast-paced modern world leaves women gasping for balance. We as modern Christian women want to look to the Bible for guidance on how to manage our lives -- but because the world of women looks so different today than it did when the Bible was written, it is hard to find chapter and verse that seems to apply to our situation today.

Thankfully, God has given us exactly that timeless, unchanging guidance for how to find peace, clarity, and God's best for our lives once we know where to look! The Life Ready Woman: Thriving in a Do-It-All World, reveals a profound biblical roadmap for how each of us can find the abundant life we are longing for, rather than the stressful, torn, how-do-I-balance-it-all life we often feel like we are trying to keep up with today. Actually being a LifeReady Woman means that you are clear about your life, bold in your faith, and able to find God’s best for you, and the end result will be that you not only survive but thrive in our do-it-all world.

God has given every wonderfully unique woman different skills and abilities, different desires, and different temperaments -- and every woman around the planet and through the ages is certainly living in different circumstances. But no matter what a woman’s life looks like, the Bible says that God has an individual mission and plan that He’s carefully designed for each of us. And He wants us to find it. Starting January 2011, The Life Ready Woman and the Life Ready Woman Video Series will help every wonderfully unique woman to thrive as she identifies and courageously pursues God's unique design and callings for her. LifeReady Woman puts you on a roadmap to make decisions that will lead to relief, delight, and fulfillment instead of regret.

Contents: 


Introduction: Being Life Ready
Part 1: God’s Plan and Purposes for All of Us
Chapter 1: I Am Woman
Chapter 2: A Satisfied Life
Chapter 3: What the Issues Actually Are
Chapter 4: A Biblical Definition of Womanhood, Marriage, and Family
Chapter 5: Where It All Comes Together: Discovering Our Design and Callings

Part 2: Getting to God’s Best for You
Chapter 6: Live from the Inside Out
Chapter 7: Embrace a Big-Picture Understanding of Life, Part One
Chapter 8: Embrace a Big-Picture Understanding of Life, Part Two
Chapter 9: Use Wisdom with a Man
Chapter 10: Steward Your Gifts from an Eternal Perspective
Chapter 11: Believe God, Not Your Fear
Chapter 12: Being God’s Servant
Notes

Copyright © 2011 by Shaunti Feldhahn and Robert Lewis. All rights reserved.



About Shaunti Feldhahn:

Shaunti Feldhahn is a former Wall Street analyst, best-selling author of the book For Women Only, national speaker, and regular commentator in the media. She has been featured on The Today Show, PBS, TNT and Fox News- to name a few. You can learn more about her many activities by visiting her website Shaunti.com or get some great mom advice from her at MomLifeToday.com. She and her husband live with their two young children in Atlanta, Georgia and enjoy every minute of living at warp speed.



In celebration of Shaunti Feldhahn’s Life Ready Woman, MomLife Today is giving away 2 Weekend To Remember Gift Packs and much more!

Not only, is MomLife Today helping promote Life Ready Woman, but they are thrilled to announce that Shaunti will be joining MomLife Today as a regular contributor!!!

Weekend To Remember Get-Aways offer marriage-changing principles that you can take home and apply to your daily lives to strengthen your marriage. Whether you are newly engaged or have been married for 50 years, you will find value in the tools provided at the getaway.

Don’t miss this opportunity to receive a conference registration for you and your spouse … and more! MomLife Today will be randomly selecting NINE lucky recipients to receive one of these great gifts:

1. 2 Weekend To Remember Get Away conference registrations for two. $259 value each pair (Two couples will receive this.)
2. 2 Life Ready Woman DVD packs. $149 value each (Two different people will receive this gift.)
3. 5 The Life Ready Woman books. (Book will go to 5 people.)

To enter click one of the icons below then tell your friends. Winner will be announced on March 2nd on the MomLife Today website.

MomLife Today provides encouragement, advice and resources to help YOU with your daily Momlife! Because…every MOMent counts!

 My Take:


To tell you the truth I was a little concerned when I started to read the book. I thought it was going to be one of those so-called "Christian feminist" books that tell you that women can and should do and have it all. I couldn't have been more wrong. Shaunti won a firm place in my heart when she said "You can have it all, but not at the same time." Women today have been sold a bill of goods that they can climb the corporate ladder, raise and nurture their family, keep an immaculate home, cook gourmet meals every night and still look and feel ravishing for our husbands after the kids are in bed. No wonder we're disillusioned! Ask almost any woman how she feels and 9 times out of 10 she'll say "tired".


We can be and do so much and God has an incredible plan for our lives that utilizes the gifts He gave us. We just have to work within His calling, His timing, and His strength. This book would have saved me a lot of tears if I would have had it years ago. The Life Ready Woman was encouraging and affirming enough that I'm planning to have all my older daughters read it. There is much out there that heads into one ditch or the other, but I loved the balanced approach. I won't say I 100% agreed with every point, but, again, it was enough that I'm buying them for others.



About the book giveaway:
Leave a comment on this blog and/or The Bulging Bookbag and tell me why you think you'd like to read this book. I will pick one winner from the entries on the two blogs combined and post the winner February 28th. Please leave me some way to contact you or you'll have to come back here to see if you won. If the book isn't claimed in 7 days, I'll pick someone new.

Reboot Camp

Image by liftarn via FlickrThere are times in your life when you look at your life and realize a few minor tweaks will make everything better. Then there are times when you need much, much more. I'm in the second time right now. I'm looking around and thinking things could be so much better. I had all these great ideas and plans for the new year. Alas, almost nothing has been done with any of them. At a time like this, minor tweaking isn't going to cut it. You need a complete reboot, hence my new Reboot Camp. It is almost 10 weeks long and runs from Valentine's Day to Easter, one "love" holiday to another, so to speak.

My daughter Spitfire and I are embarking on this plan to make positive changes in our lives over the next ten weeks that will hopefully carry over into the rest of the year. We are each setting our own goals, because we have different things that need fixing. At the bottom of the post, I'll tell you how you can play along.

I'm working on five different areas:

Spiritual
These are the things I'm doing to do to help my spiritual growth.
1. I'm going to attempt to read the bible over the next 10 weeks. This is ambitious considering time constraints and the other reading I have to do, but I'm going to attempt it.
2. I'm going to start a prayer journal. I've been meaning to do this for some time, but instead have been relying on my own overtaxed memory to keep lists of prayer requests and answers to prayer. It's time to write things down.
3. Complete at least one bible study.

Physical
This includes, diet, fitness and physical appearance.
1. Follow a modified version of the No-S Diet. I'm kicking it up a notch by eating healthier foods during the non-S days and increasing fruit and vegetable consumption.
2. Exercise at least four days a week. I've been doing Zumba with Bookaddict, but it's been pretty hit-or-miss. Now it's time to do something more consistently, whether it's Zumba, interval walking or T-Tapp.
3. Take vitamins and other supplements. I have them but they aren't doing me a bit of good sitting in the bottle. 'Nuff said.
4. Drink more water and less other stuff. I already drink very little in the way of soda but I drink a lot of iced tea. I'm switching to more water and more herb tea and less iced tea.
5. Simplify my beauty routine. For a season, I'm packing up the daytime moisturizer, the nighttime moisturizer, the undereye cream, and the rest and using rosa mosqueta oil instead. I'll let you know what effect this has on my skin. I'm also paring down my makeup options in hopes that having a quick routine will ensure it actually gets done.

Household
This is about the cleanliness, organization, and systems of the house.
1. I'm instituting certain changes in the way chores, both the kids' and mine, are done. I'll post more details about this later.
2. We are working towards simplifying meal preparation and shopping. I have created a master menu and am working on a master shopping list. I'm also making changes to my pantry, refrigerators, and freezer to accommodate and aid this endeavor. Again, I'll be posting more about this as it unfolds.
3. Starting in March, I want to keep up with the Home Sanctuary challenges. When I was doing them before, my house looked better. This Company Girl has been seriously falling down on the job.

Creative
This encompasses writing and sewing and, well, creative stuff.
1. I'm going to attempt to finish my first novel. I started it several years ago during NaNoWriMo, and have played with it a little, but never seriously. I want to get it finished.
2. I'm going to work my way through at least one of my creative writing books.
3. A massive clean out of my crafting area is in order. Once again, I am simplifying. I'm narrowing down my stuff to needed supplies and basics, a few choice projects and the fabric and patterns for the upcoming season, along with a couple of reference books.
4. I'd like to complete half a dozen or so projects by the Easter. More would be even better.
5. Be more attentive to this blog. I plan to post regular updates on this project as well as other stuff. Stay tuned!

Other
This is a mishmash of other goals in various areas.
1. Keep up with church jobs. I'm working on the church blog, the church Facebook page and going through Care Pastor training. I would like to be more faithful about keeping up.
2. My reading challenges have been neglected while I was working my way through a pile of ARC's. I need to update my reading lists and see where I am.
3. I plan to read at least 12 books.
4. I'm revamping my homeschooling in several ways. We are trying some new curriculum and I'm carving out time to spend with the younger ones to shore up some areas they are lagging in.

There you have it. That's the plan. Can I do all it? I don't know, but I'm sure going to try. I can sure use all the encouragement and prayers I can get though. If you have goals of your own thus far unrealized and want to play along, write your own post about your plans and goals and link to this post. Then come back here and leave me a comment saying you're participating in the Reboot Camp and leave a link to your post. Feel free to join in anytime during the camp.

Brand New Year, Brand New Me

It's that time of year again, when thoughts turn to the changes we would like to make in our lives and ourselves. I'm not a big fan of New Year's resolutions, which are as easily broken as they are made, but I am a big fan of goal-setting. One of the areas I particularly want to address in the coming year is Me. I have changes I want to make in both my physical appearance and overall health.

1. Weight
Some of my excess baggage has got to go and what's left needs to be less jiggly. My new exercise plan starts Monday.

I am not good as putting my life on hold to follow a diet. Therefore, I am invoking diet days. When it's easy and nothing conflicts, I will eat broiled chicken and salad and other healthy stuff. On other days, I will watch portions and try to make better choices, so eating better becomes less of a diet and more of my normal life.

More fruits and veggies, less sugary stuff. I've come to terms with the fact that I'm not going to give up cookies and chocolate, but I could eat less of both, enjoy what I do eat more, and eat healthier stuff in between.

2. Healthy habits
Why is it so hard to do the things we know we ought to do? I am so bad about remembering to take my vitamins. That needs to change. The vitamins are being put in a more obvious location so I'll see them.

I also know I need to drink less sweet tea and soda pop and more water and green tea with lemon. I'm going to start off drinking green tea and water. If I have consumed my daily quota of water and 3-4 cups of green tea (doing one month on and one month off), only then will I have something else like sweet tea or soda. With few exceptions. :)

Skin care products are of no benefit if you don't actually use them. The hit-or-miss use of moisturizer isn't cutting it. It's time to establish a routine and stick with it.

3. Appearance
I have too much of that "let-herself-go" look about me. I've been weeding out my wardrobe some, but it's time to get serious. I need to have a handful of go-to outfits to put on when I'm leaving the house. I have a couple of basic items that need to be added as well.

The layer underneath is important too, and not just to dh. The stretched out underwear and bras aren't pulling their weight. It's time to call in the replacements.

I also need to weed out my makeup. Some of it is ready for the girls' play makeup bag. I need to figure out the gaps and fill them and then streamline my routine.

I think a round of teeth-whitening is in order.

Something will be done with the hair. I'm not sure exactly what I want to do with it, but it seems to just be hanging there most of the time. A good cut and a styling product or two probably wouldn't hurt.

4. Accountability
This is the hardest one for me. I'm hanging it all out here on my blog so all of you can hold me accountable. I plan to post updates periodically and let you all know how I'm doing, but if you don't see anything for a while, feel free to ask. I need all the help I can get.

So how about you? What are you doing to improve your well-being and/or appearance in 2011?

Stocking Up For the New Year

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Ours was a bit chaotic, but turned out nice anyway. Now my thoughts are turned to the new year on the horizon. I've been thinking about things I can do to streamline my life. That got me thinking about the tools and supplies I use and need to have on hand.

After the pre-holiday cleaning frenzy, I'm sure some of my cleaning supplies need replaced. I know the baking supplies took a heavy hit as well. But the supplies I'm most thinking about are the ones that aid in relationships. This is an area I really want to work on this coming year.

Doesn't it make you feel good when you get a card in the mail in celebration of your birthday or anniversary? I love getting cards, but am terrible at sending them out. I'll remember the occasion and then have to wait to go to the store and get a card. Then I have to actually take the time to sit down and write in it and address the envelope. When that's accomplished I discover all my stamps have been used and now I have to wait until I have time to go to the post office. Three weeks later when I think of it again, it's embarrassingly late and doesn't get sent at all.

Baby and wedding gifts are almost that bad. If I finally manage to get a gift, then I wont have the right card or the right size bag or will be out of tissue paper. I've learned not to buy newborn sized clothes, because by the time I get the gift to them, they probably won't fit.

So, I'm thinking about the supplies of relationship. My shopping list includes birthday cards, anniversary and wedding cards, new baby cards, and a handful of assorted congratulatory, sympathy and get-well cards. I'm buying a roll of stamps and hiding them in my desk. I'm buying a small assortment of gift bags and tissue. All this, except the stamps, is going into a container in my office where I can find the supplies I need when I need them.

What are you working on in 2011? How are you fixed for relationship supplies?

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

Book reviews and other book-related posts have taken over this blog  crowding out other content. They are going. For those of you who wish to read the reviews, they are on my new blog The Bulging Bookbag. You will also find information about book challenges and reading lists on that blog as well. I will be migrating all previous book reviews leaving behind a link to the other blog where they may be found. From this point on, all new book reviews will be on that blog.

With that content in its own home, this blog will return to other things like decorating and food and family and fun. I hope that will be of benefit to everyone. I hope to get back to participating in a couple of memes, posting favorite quotes and talking about life in general.

In addition, be watching for information about the project I'm doing with two of my daughters. More details on that soon.