Recap Book Chat

Please join Kate and Sheila as they continue discussing Created to Be His Help Meet by Debi Pearl.  Part 2 recaps how God encompasses all the kinds of men mentioned in part 1:  Mr. Command, Mr. Visionary, and Mr. Steady. We learn that our reactions define us because they are not premeditated so they show what is in our hearts. Luke 6:45…out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  2 Cor.10...

Probably the most impactful and challenging book we’ve read besides the Bible, CREATED TO BE HIS HELP MEET by Debi Pearl takes us back to God’s Word for a closer look on women’s role. To say this book is countercultural is stating the obvious. Society tells us (Happy wife, happy life)  women are above men and deserve to be served, however that robs us of our true God-given role. “A good help meet...

This nonfiction account of our nation's 20th president will knock your socks off.  Destiny of the Republic, A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard gives readers an amazing glimpse into the past. We get a front seat to the election of a man who did not want to be president but was willing to get out of his comfort zone for the good of the country, appealing to...

Greetings dear listeners! Please join Kate & Sheila as they review some of their favorite books from A to Z! A-All the Light You Cannot See & A Tree Grows in Brooklyn B-Brothers Karamazov  C-Count of Monte Cristo D-David Copperfield & Dracula E-Everything Sad Is Untrue F-Forest of Vanishing Stars & Frozen River  G-God’s Smuggler & Giver of the Stars H-House Rules & Habits o...

In this episode we discuss the awesome book Living Fearless by Jamie Winship! We delve into the exploration of themes such as fear, truth, identity, and the importance of confession. We discuss how fear can hinder creativity and relationships, and the transformative power of honesty and seeking God. Here are some of the key takeaways we found in Jamie's book... Fear shuts down creativity and the r...

“Reading is the act of listening and speaking at the same time, with someone you’ve never met, but love…” Join Kate and Sheila as they embark on Daniel Nayeri’s tale of an unbelievable but true journey, in Everything Sad is Untrue. The story describes how Daniel’s mother and her children had to flee Iran after  converting to Christianity. The miraculous and harrowing road to freedom is beautifully...

What do journaling, camaraderie, resilience, bravery, faith in God, and a cowboy from Texas have in common? Bram Stoker cleverly brought them all together in his masterpiece, Dracula , published in 1897. He uses journals, letters, news clippings, captain’s log, and telegrams (epistolary format) which invites the reader to join the characters on their journey. We become vampire hunters along with:...

”Memory is a wicked thing that warps and twists. But paper and ink receive the truth without emotion, and they read it back without partiality.” Please join Kate and Sheila as they recap,  The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon.  Martha Ballard, a midwife in Hallowell, Maine in 1789, was thrown into a murder investigation when a body was found in the river. She was called to do an autopsy and later disc...

“It’s not how much you have, but what you do with it that counts.” “Every challenge is an opportunity for growth.” “We find what we are looking for, if we look hard enough.” “In the face of adversity, never give up.” There are a plethora of inspiring quotes like these from Wilson Rawls’,  Summer of the Monkeys ! Join 14 year old Jay Berry in the Ozark Mountains of Oklahoma as he and his faithful h...

This amazing story is told through the eyes of Reuben Land (aka Rube), the middle child in a motherless family living in the cold Midwest. He suffers greatly from asthma, adores his older brother, Davy (16 years old) and his younger sister, Swede (8+ she has a birthday– definitely one of the coolest siblings we’ve ever met from the pages of a book). Jeremiah Land is a father raising three kids on...

“The world is yearning for men to show up, men who know who they are and why they are here.” We hear a lot about toxic masculinity, what about a masculine man of God? The ones who Grow Up and Show Up. They do not fall prey to the myth, “I’m not hurting anyone” as they fail to become the man God meant them to be choosing instead to engage in wasteful wiles that hijack their time. Ennui is a French...

Let’s journey through Kids’ Books from A to Z,  As we bookishly celebrate back to school with glee! As we endeavor to fertilize young minds we must be vigilant in exposing them to a plethora of books, priming the pump as one might say. Please join us as book suggestions are made that might ignite a love for reading in your little tike or emerging teen and all those in between. Resistant readers ar...

Twenty-two-year-old Emmy Lake, hopeful war correspondent, begins her new job at  Woman’s Friend is working under a bear of a woman, Mrs. Henrietta Bird. Mr. Collins writes stories for the magazine, he helps Emmy get adjusted to her position. Emmy types Mr. Collins's stories and helps with the advice column, Henrietta Helps, however, Mrs. Bird refuses to answer most of the letters because they are...

“You can see God from anywhere if your mind is set to love and obey Him.” Question: What is the chief End of man? Answer: Man’s chief End is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever! Written in one night on a train trip, Kate and Sheila recap A. W. Tozer’s powerfully written book, The Pursuit of God . This inspirational jewel was published in 1948 but timelessly impactful, challenging readers to look...

 Georgina Bassington-Hope is sent Maisie’s way because she thinks  Inspector Stratton and company did less than stellar work investigating the death of her twin brother. Georginia believes her brother, Nick, did not accidentally fall from the scaffold in the art gallery. She feels like he was murdered. Will Maisie and her trusty assistant, Billy, be able to uncover the truth? The suspects are many...

One of our favorite quotes from Haven by Megan Wagner Lloyd is… “You don’t have to be big to be brave.” This book has love, adventure, and a whole lot of grit from a little cat that does not quit. Haven is on this journey to help Ma Millie, her human, who is very sick. She summons all her courage to venture outside to find the nearest neighbor, Jacob Levan, unfortunately he’s not home. This forces...

Greetings Recapsters! Kate and Sheila dive into the Shakespearean comedy,  The Taming of the Shrew . Kate is the older sister that is as easy to get along with as a mama bear robbed of her cubs. Her sister, Bianca, draws suitors like bees to flowers. Here’s the rub, their father forbids Bianca to wed until Kate is married. No one is up for this arduous task until Petruchio comes on the scene. He h...

“And don’t you know that it is just when we are weakest that God can use us the most?” Wisdom from Mrs. Whestra, Andy’s neighbor in Witte, Holland.  While Andy’s family went to church he would go fishing and show up right when everyone was exiting the building and listen to their comments so he could talk about the sermon at home. Papa asked him when he was 17 years old, “What do you plan to do wi...

“Do you ever read any of the books you burn?”--young neighbor, Clarisse “That’s against the law.”--Guy Montag Join Kate and Sheila as they dive into Ray Bradbury’s classic, Fahrenheit 451. Guy Montag is a fireman in the future whose job is to burn books and houses in which the books are found. He begins to wonder how life got so empty after his wife, Mildred, emptied a bottle of sleeping pills. Th...

Do you hear the drum roll? We are on Rule #10 of House Rules by Jacob Hudgins! Today, Kate and Sheila recap… Just Because You’re Angry Doesn’t Mean You’re Right. Jacob starts with Cain, his anger was misinformed and misdirected. God told him, “If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at your door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.” Genes...

Lidia Zakrzewski’s real-life story of the Polish resistance fighters who struggled to force out the Nazi occupiers inspired Jennifer A. Nielsen to write, Uprising, an amazing novel about Poland falling into the hands of Germany. Lidia’s father went off to fight and she desperately wanted to go with him. The huge conflict of the occupation and the conflict on the homefront between Lidia and her mot...

“A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.” Proverbs 25:28 “To the ancient mind, a city without walls is ripe for the picking. It lacks any defenses. It is susceptible to any passing army or group of bandits…When we lack self-control, we are setting ourselves up for disaster.” Self-control is not natural, it doesn’t come easy. In fact, one of the hardest folks t...

“The women had a story to tell, even if the world wasn’t ready to hear it, and their story started with three simple words, ‘We were there.’” Are you ready for a challenge? The Women by Kristin Hannah was a tough read indeed! Sadly, Frankie McGrath’s wealthy California family communicated with each other less than people who don’t speak the same language. When her old brother was killed in action...

After you” “No, after you” Sounds a lot better than, “Me first!” Jacob Hudgins urges readers to break the pattern of getting, getting, getting to one of serving others instead. Join Kate and Sheila as they recap House Rules, Rule #8 We Lead By Serving. Let us make a shift from the “What’s in it for me?” mantra to “Here’s my opportunity to serve!” We want to emulate Jesus, the master of leading by...

We are hoping you can ‘squeeze’ The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davis into your reading this summer. Join Kate, Sheila, and their special guest, Titus, as they recap the Treski siblings' war over who can sell the most lemonade. Evan, the oldest, discovers that his younger sister, Jessie, is going to be promoted into his class the upcoming school year. He has a lot of feelings but doesn’t share any...