FANCY FRIDAY

Amidst a dinner conversation with some girlfriends the other night, a book was recommended that was relevant to the topic we were discussing. With our whirlwind summer trip just days away and no good book on the check-list of items to pack, I hurried over to Barnes and Noble today to pick up Shauna Niequist's "Cold Tangerines." Although intrigued by the title itself, I am anxious to learn how cold tangerines ties into the subtitle; "celebrating the extraordinary nature of everyday life."

Found in the "Religion/Spiritual" section of Barnes and Noble, "Cold Tangerines" is a shameless appeal for celebration. The chapters are her stories or "love letters" to her own quotidian life that she hopes might possibly unmask the tiny glimmers of hope and redemption masquerading as normal life if your own personal life. As the back of the books states, Shauna gives us room to breathe, to break down and break through, calling us to our best possible lives.

Although I am going to wait to start reading once I am lounging poolside without any kiddos or distractions around, I did skim through the Introduction. It was all I could do to put it down. I can already tell this book is going to speak to me in more ways than one. Amongst the busyness. The doom and gloom. The daily distractions of children. The internet. Our jobs. Everyday expectations, I am hopeful this book will remind me to slow down. To enjoy the people in my life. Stand in awe of God. Celebrate more. Be in the moment.

If you're looking for a good read this summer, I highly encourage you to read this book along with me. To give you a little taste before you rush out to buy, here is alittle snippet of the captivating Introduction that tickled my fancy this week:

"This book is a shameless appeal for celebration. I know that the world is several versions of mad right now. I know that pessimism and grimness sometimes seem like the only responsible choices. I wake up at night and think about pesticides and international politics and fundamentalism and disease and roadside bombs and the fact that one day my parents will die. I had a hard year this year, the hardest I've yet known. I worry about the world we're creating for my baby boy. I get the pessimism and the grimness.

And that's why I'm making a shameless appeal for celebration. Because I need to. I need optimism and celebration and hope in the face of violence and despair and anxiety. And because the other road is a dead end. Despair is a slow death, and a lifetime of anger is like a lifetime of hard drinking; it shows in your face and your eyes and your words even when you think it doesn't..."

Inspired already?? I am. Thanks Jodie and Marni for the recommendation!

Available at Barnes and Noble for $14.99 or Amazon has it on sale for $6.00. And if you like this book, I'm sure you'll love Shauna's most recent book, "Bittersweet; Thoughts on Change, Grace and Learning the Hard Way."