Category: Kindred Grace

Shauna Niequist Book Reviews

~ Emily ~ 3 Comments

Shauna NiequistIt’s no secret how much I love Shauna Niequist.

I’ve written multiple posts (see below) about her latest book, Bread and Wine, but haven’t mentioned her first two very much. That’s about to change.

I’m weighing in on all three of Shauna’s wonderful books at Kindred Grace today!

My cousin introduced me to Shauna Niequist (pronounced KNEE-quist. I’ve been saying it wrong for the past six years…) while we were in college. Shauna’s debut memoir, Cold Tangerines, had hit her campus by storm. I, having migrated to the Midwest for school, which has a two-year delay on anything popular, was still in the dark about this engaging author/speaker. I devoured Cold Tangerines and then was one of the multitude who waited impatiently for all of her subsequent work. Her style is easy to digest (though the message is chewy) and addicting like chocolate – you’ll always want just one more bite.

Read the rest of the post here.

If you’re a Shauna fan (or want to learn more), read these posts!

Recipes from Bread and Wine:

When Transition Becomes a Tradition

~ Emily ~ Leave a comment

transition and tradition

I haven’t had a normal Christmas in a few years.

By normal, I mean waking up at my parent’s house, waking up my brother who I’ve convinced to stay the night at our parents’ place (mostly so I can wake him up at my leisure), opening stockings, having a special breakfast, distributing presents and opening them around the circle one at a time, hanging out with various members of the family, enjoying dinner, then reading one of my Christmas presents (because I invariably get at least one book) the rest of the evening.

The last Christmas I had like that was three years ago. Dating, marriage, and moving have all disturbed my normal when it comes to holiday traditions. Before that, college and loss created their own unique transitions. This year is no different. Baby James’ due date made flying to New York for Christmas (the plan before I became pregnant) a bit iffy. My parent’s travel schedule, which included Coeur d’Alene in November and then again in January, made it impractical for them to come out in December too. So, Tim and I will be spending this Christmas alone.

Alone. Initially that held all the bad connotation you might imagine. But the longer I sat with those plans as reality, the more I realized God had my best in mind.

You can read more about how transitions have permeated my holiday traditions over on Kindred Grace today. Bonus: the post includes the recipe for one of my favorite holiday foods!

What Dogs Taught Me About Love Languages

~ Emily ~ Leave a comment

I learned many things house/dog sitting for my siblings-in-law last month. Among these epiphanies were:

I love Crispix.

I don’t do well with dog vomit. (PS – I have the BEST husband!)

Green carpet, small TV, and a lumpy bed, but there’s still nothing like my own house.

Dogs and I express affection in drastically different ways.

Hana and Maile

That last nugget of truth got me thinking about love languages. I’m sharing my conclusions about dogs and love languages over on Kindred Grace today!

You can read the post here.

Some other thoughts on love languages:

Photo Credit: Hepburn Creative (Hana and Maile, the sources of my epiphany)