Recap Book Chat

‘The Brick’ is finally finished! Kate and Sheila discuss Les Miserables in its entirety… (spoiler alerts galore-avoid if  surprises you adore) …it has taken us a bit, but so totally worth it!Victor Hugo shows readers that, “Heroes come in all shapes” from the unbelievable bravery of young Gavroche to the mysterious motives of the misunderstood Jean Valjean. Hugo can bloviate like no other author, from Waterloo to the sewers of France! He can also pack quite a punch in  few words:“One cannot goad people into moving faster than they are prepared to go. Woe to him who tries to force their hands.” People will rise to the level of expectations but we must let them rise (like bread in the making) we cannot force anyone’s progress! Victor nailed it!“What is Progress? We have just said it. It is the permanent life of all people. But it sometimes happens that the momentary life of individuals is opposed to the eternal life of the human race.”Do we oft times put the pebbles in first? Do we worry and fret over the trivial? Eternal life is one that is lived in harmony with God❤️He is our Rock He must come first!“But a civilizing race must be a masculine race…Those who become effeminate bastardize themselves.” In our society young men are committing suicide 4 times the regular population! The war against toxic masculinity has wreaked havoc by giving young men false  identities, leaving our society with boys.Readers are taken on a journey starting with injustice and evil and falsity and darkness toward justice and goodness and truth and light! What an emotional roller coaster ride for determined readers! Warning: Not for the faint of heart! Let’s put on SCUBA gear before embarking on this deeper than deep dive! Thanks for joining us on our quest to read the best! May you have a day that is blessed with a book, a cuppa, and  friends! 

In this conversation, we delve into Brant Hansen's book 'Unoffendable', exploring themes of anger, forgiveness, humility, and the importance of love in personal growth and relationships. Mom and I share personal reflections and key takeaways from the book, emphasizing the need to practice an unoffendable mindset in everyday life. The discussion also touches on cultural Christianity and the call to redeem rather than condemn the world around us. We highly recommend it to everyone. It is in my “read once a year” list. Brant is a raw and authentic author as well as a nationally syndicated ⁠radio host⁠ and lover of toast. I love the way he breaks down misconceptions and inspires change in a beautiful and memorable way. Additionally Brant talks about how much more peaceful and fulfilling his life has been after implementing the major yet simple concept of being unoffendable.Correspondingly Unoffendable does not shy away from heavy issues such as trust, forgiveness, laziness, anger, grace and addiction but meets them head on and sheds light and hope where we need it the most.   If you have read Unoffendable we would love to hear from you and your big takeaways. You can leave a voice memo, contact us on our website or join in and share your thoughts on our Facebook group Recap Book Chat.

Andy Crouch gives readers a plethora of ways to put technology in its proper place in his book, The Tech-Wise Family. "To be a child, teenager, or young adult these days is to navigate a minefield of potentially life-altering choices." His daughter wrote in the forward explaining "...the best part of tech-wise parenting is focusing on something older and better than the newest thing. The key word is better." This better way involves choosing: Character, Shape Space, and Structuring Time.Character develops slowly, daily, as we painstakingly overcome problems. Shape spaces are places in our homes that are device free and packed with supplies to create or practice a skill which could include everything from books to board games and paints to a piano. Structuring time is intentionally setting time aside to rest from devices such as spending intentional time being grateful without instantly scrolling.Change is challenging but worthwhile. "We will have to teach our children, from early on, we're not here to make their lives easier but to make them better."Andy's Ten Tech-Wise Commitments1. We develop wisdom and courage together as a family.2. We want to create more than we consume. Fill the center of the home with things that reward skill and active engagement.3. We are designed for a rhythm of work and rest.4. We wake up before our devices do and they "go to bed" before we do.5. We aim for no screens before double digits. Avoid tethering to the glowing screen as long as you can.6. We use screens for a purpose and we use them together.7. Car time is conversation time. It takes 7 minutes to get a 'real' conversation going.8. Spouses have each other's passwords. Parents have total access to kids' devices.9. We learned to sing together. (Powerful picture book, Christmas in the Trenches, shows the power of song. A German soldier started singing Silent Night, and both sides sang together in different languages. They also shared what little treats they had been sent from home)10. We show up IN PERSON for big events in life. (weddings, births, & funerals)Interesting point, "...the quest to cure boredom with entertainment makes the problem worse, the more you entertain kids, the more bored they will get." When we choose the easy way, we miss cultivating patience. The first people to be bored were the first people who did not do manual labor. Frederick Douglass said, "Without struggle, there is no progress." The last thing learners need is for it to be too easy. Difficulty and resistance press learners forward and make the learning stick. We hope you glean much from the pages of this little jewel to bring your precious family closer together as routines are established and memories are made. Screens are probably here to stay, but our children are with us for but a season, may we live life well preparing them for the road ahead.

Greetings dear reader! Please join us as we recap Leviticus and Numbers a.k.a. In the Wilderness (in Hebrew). The focus is God’s holiness and His desire for His people to be holy. It’s a bumpy road but we see the steadfast love of God through it all. Leviticus is mostly God talking to Moses. Lev. 11:44 -  “Be holy, for I am holy.”Sin is costly. We have many lessons and blessings in these books. Atonement with animal blood temporarily covered the sins of the people. Today, we are so blessed that Jesus’ blood continually cleanses us! Jesus’ death was foreshadowed when the snake bitten people had to look at the snake on a stick to live. These books aren’t all animal sacrifices, mold, and discharges. One of Jesus’ familiar quotes is found in Leviticus 19:18, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” Moses bridging the gap between the people and God is a foreshadowing of Jesus being our bridge to God today. What a beautiful picture of a holy sovereign God that refuses to give up on His people!Thank you for reading with us, in our quest to read the best! May you grow with God!

Join Kate and Sheila as they dive into the book of Exodus! God rescues His people from Egyptian bondage through 10 plagues defacing things the people of Egypt worshipped. Things get worse before they get better, as Pharaoh keeps saying no to letting God's people go. In this riveting book we meet Moses and follow him from the palace for 40 years, to desert for 40 years, where he encounters God who appoints him to free His people. Moses tries to talk God out of choosing him but God, the great I Am, knows best and He does not waver from Moses as leader for His people. To get a different look at Aaron, Moses’ brother who helped him check out Sons of Encouragement by Francine Rivers.As the people leave Egypt they take unleavened bread, leaven symbolizes sin. As we partake of the Lord’s Supper today unleavened bread represents Jesus’ sinless body. If you would like to make unleavened bread, check out the links below.  https://grainsandgrit.com/unleavenedbread/Unleavened Bread with 100% Freshly Milled Wheat | Passover | Lord's SupperAdditional resource on Exodus:Book of Exodus Summary: A Complete Animated Overview (Part 1)https://www.thebiblerecap.com/ https://bibleproject.com/guides/book-of-exodusDear readers, we hope you have a blissful day that allows you time to curl up with a great book!Check out our website for summaries of all the podcasts https://recapbookchat.com/

What an amazing journey from dysfunction to dynamic! Join Kate and Sheila as the recap Here Be Dragons (Treading the Deep Waters of Motherhood, Mean Girls, and Generational Trauma) by Melanie Shankle! There are SO many quotes! Here’s a sampling:“Sometimes the best teacher is the consequence of bad decisions.”“You can’t lead someone to a place that’s beyond where you’ve been able to go yourself.”“Our kids become who we allow them to be. If we choose to ignore bad behavior we’re condoning it.”“We can’t parent perfectly, but we can parent faithfully.”“Jesus is the one that holds fast despite human failings…Faith is not a riddle to be solved but rather a journey our hearts are on… God isn’t afraid of our questions or our doubts.”Melanie shares how her turbulent childhood haunted her as she entered motherhood. She knew she loved her baby in a way that she was never loved. She vowed to break the cycle of dysfunction and lean on God to guide her out of her brokenness into the mother her daughter needed. She realized by praying for her daughter to be resilient and strong that she had to go through tough times. Battles shape us and as her husband cleverly puts it, “You have to carry your own bucket.”Kate is always saying, “Choose your hard” and this book highlights that mantra. Change is hard. When we embrace changing our default it is challenging indeed but with God giving us strength and guidance it is possible. The world is not the boss of possible, God is!Thanks for joining us on this growth journey through one good book talk at a time. We are blessed to partner with you!  

Greetings Readers! Join Kate and Sheila as they share time-tested, foolproof reading practices!Marcel Proust penned, “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”Lets endeavor to have “new eyes” as we discover how we can up our reading game.True reading is active, we are conversing with the author, asking questions, and making meaning.This acrostic poem helps us to remember some important points:A - annotate by underlining, circles, starring sparingly, making connections, and creating your own personal indexC - choose wisely (Inspect the table of contents, index, preface…) Quickly get a feel for the Book, this survey can keep us from starting books that aren’t worth our timeT - time to read (what is easy to do, is also easy not to do. Daily time to read needs to be a priorityI - investigate, meet the characters, spot important words, notice patterns, make meaning, discover the author’s whyV - validate your reading journey, great habit that you will thank yourself for doingE - evaluate, did the author solve the problems,  answer the questions, make his point? Did I grow as a reader?We wanted to share practices that have helped us become better readers. We are so thankful you are a part of our reading journey! May we strive to be active in our reading and choose books that make us want to be a better person! Onward and upward once was said, let’s be daring and read over our head!Sources:How to Read a Book by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van DorenThe Art of Slow Reading by Thomas NewkirkCheck out our website for summaries of all the podcasts https://recapbookchat.com/

Today, April 15, takes us back to 1912, when the ‘unsinkable’ Titanic met its match and sank with only 705 souls surviving. Join Kate and Sheila as they recap Jennifer A. Nielsen’s gripping tale, Iceberg, told from the viewpoint of 12 year old Hazel who is forced to become a stowaway because she doesn’t have enough money to buy a ticket.One word describing Hazel would be curious. A wise passenger, Mrs. Abelman celebrates curiosity even though Hazel thinks it is miserable to have so many questions.  “It’s questions that keep us alive, Hazel, questions that keep us moving forward…It’s only miserable if you see it as a problem. I think curiosity is a gift…”Another great character is Charlie, the porter who gives Hazel wise advice when she’s worried about having dinner with her friend in first class and feeling out of place. “People are the same everywhere. Either they’ll accept you as you are or they won’t, but if they don’t, that says more about them as snobs than you as coming from poverty.”Curiosity and courage summarize Iceberg, but intrigue and mystery along with a couple of surprises add to the mix for a remarkable read! Hop aboard the Titanic with Hazel and company where the difference in the classes is felt not seen, learn about the fire aboard the ship when it set off and discover just as the iceberg aka frozen monster cannot be clearly seen from the surface neither can the fearlessness of people be seen on the outside, time and trouble expose the truth.Here is your ticket to board! Thank you dear listener, you are a blessing!

“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” This verse is not only on a  necklace but its meaning is woven throughout Charles Martin’s heartwarming novel, When Crickets Cry. God crosses two paths, Reese, the former heart surgeon, who is hiding from his painful past and seven year old Annie who is selling lemonade and giving away sunshine and smiles. She has a failing heart and has been praying for a surgeon!Charlie is Reese’s blind brother-in-law who lives next-door. The two rebuild old boats together. Both Charlie and Annie live life to the fullest! Charlie’s favorite quote is from Helen Keller, “I am only one, but I am still one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something.”“People marvel at the genius of Mozart because he supposedly wrote “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” at the age of three and composed his first symphony at the age of twelve. And yes, of course, he was a genius, but another way to look at it is that he just discovered early what God had made him to do…Of course he was brilliant, but that’s not the point. The point is he knew and then he got to work.” This wisdom came from Emma, Charlie’s sister and Reese’s late wife, who knew Reese was made to fix hearts.“If anything in the universe reflects the fingerprint of God, it is the human heart…It derives no benefit from the blood it pumps making it the most unselfish of organs…it is also the most courageous and faithful.” Can Reese get over the pain of the past? Will he be able to forgive himself? Will Annie get the surgery she desperately needs before her time runs out? Just like each piece of a puzzle is ‘critical to the whole’, each person in this story reminds us that we all have a part to play in this life. Please join us as we take a trip to rural Georgia and learn about love, loss, and redemption! 

Please join Kate and Sheila as they discuss parts 2 & 3 of Victor Hugo’s unforgettable tale of woe, Les Misérables. Today we meet the young girl, Cosette, who was left with the cruel innkeepers. The Thenardiers have taken money from Cosette’s young mother under false pretenses. They make Cosette work tirelessly, and use money sent from her mother for themselves. Jean Valjean is at last free to rescue Fantine’s daughter as he promised. Cosette was a “fly trembling in a spider’s web”. The Bible tells us in Exodus 22:23, “Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. If you do, they will cry out to Me, I will certainly hear their cry.” Cosette does just that, after her prayer the paths of Jean Valjean and Cosette meet and the poor waif is removed from the sinister selfish family at last!“The bishop had taught him (Jean Valjean) the meaning of virtue; Cosette had now taught him the meaning of love.” Life was briefly sweet for the pair, as a devoted grandfather with his grateful granddaughter, until the detective, Javert, relentlessly tracked them down. Danger popped their new found joy like a pin in a balloon. How will they escape this unmerciful fame-seeking man? Next, we meet Marius, whose grandfather raised him until he disinherited him. “The rigors of his present life gratified and pleased him.” Time has passed and the despicable Thenardiers end up as Marius’ next door neighbors. The showdown between the grafters along with their thugs-for-hire, kind-hearted Jean Valjean, and the unstoppable detective is viewed by an anything but calm Marius through a peephole in the wall connecting the rooms! Hugo challenges his readers, of yesterday and today, by addressing topics that many would   rather sweep under the rug than be exposed for all to see. Are you ready to jump into the fray?