"One of the most important things my mom taught me--
or really, is teaching me over and over even now--is that
the best is yet to come.
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"She teaches me, through her words and her actions, that if you take the next right step,
if you live a life of radical and honest prayer,
if you allow yourself to be led by God's Spirit,
no matter how far from home and familiarity it takes you,
you won't have to worry about what you want to be when you grow up.
Why?
Because you'll be too busy living a life of passion and daring."
boy was i excited to get the newest shauna niequist book!
considering how much i loved her other two books
i knew i was in for a treat.
so i began reading.
when there were lulls in the carpool to 4K
when i had some moments to myself in a special room of the house
when i was waiting for a tardy piano student...
during the kiddo's read/rest time
and at the mcdonald's playland over spring break.
the thing i appreciate about shauna's writing is her vulnerability.
she writes some things i'll bet a lot of us think and never admit to.
each chapter is short,
making it perfect for a mama who only gets brief moments of peace.
each chapter is a little treasure of a story,
a tale from her adventure of a life.
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one of the challenges placed before us early readers of her book
was to blog about a food that we prepared from her newest book,
bread and wine.
(most of the chapters end with a recipe,
many of them being GF. can i get a wootwoot from my GF peeps!)
i'm always up for a challenge.
i've tried quinoa before and was inspired by it's uniqueness.
so one morning when the kids were least expecting mom to break out
a breakfast that didn't include cereal or poptarts...
a morning when my nephew was added to the bunch at the table
(does that count as a gathering?!)
i made shauna's breakfast quinoa.
{ i assembled the following: }
quinoa (1 c quinoa and 2 c water) cook acc'd to pkg
chicken apple sausage, sliced and heated with minced onion
eggs, cooked until yoke is only slightly liquidy and lay on top quinoa
{ are you jealous of my awesomesauce egg circles? }
salt and pepper to taste.
*as the author suggests, i made this recipe "my own"
so please see her book for the original version
the quinoa was eaten.
and elements were traded among the brothers
and charity, in her hot morning mess,
was slightly confused by her mama's craycray messy kitchen...
{ given that anything more exciting than instant oatmeal for breakfast
is really only to be had when daddy's home in the A.M. }
but breakfast quinoa was made, served, consumed,
and a lively breakfast table was created.
{ i really want to try her breakfast cookies next......}
in her book, shauna urges us to gather those we love around
our table. or our living room.
to "throw open your front door
and welcome the people you love
into the inevitable mess with hugs and laugher."
i do that.
i love doing that.
do you?
i read a comic recently that said,
'just add an egg to my floor
and you can make a casserole with the crumbs you find'
yep. i'm pretty much in that season.
i've had friends come over and comment how
clean my house was
and i've had friends come over and trip over toys,
clean off some items at my kitchen table to have a seat,
and ask where i kept the toilet paper as it was missing from the roll.
here's the thing:
in shauna's new book, bread & wine,
she shares stories of gatherings in all kinds of settings.
and it was all sweet in some way.
because of the people and the life that is shared.
i love that.
i love her stories and the artistically crafted way she writes.
i found, as with her other books
special nuggets of truth found in God's Word
lived out in practical ways.
the book challenged me and encouraged me to live life
fully connected to others.
that's how God created us to live.
thanks, shauna, for another treasure of a book!
the book is now released
{ eeep! }
check it out HERE
and make sure you check out shauna's blog HERE
have a wonderful day, ya'll!
