five things I'm currently reading

Not everyone may know this about me, but I really love reading. If I could, I would sit in coffee shops for hours and hours sipping on some bad-for-you latte or extra-iced tea and read books all day long. I definitely don't read as much as I would like to, but I'm hoping to change that! I've set goals for myself for the new year so that I could encourage myself to read more of the books I've purchased through the years. I have quite a collection actually (we're gonna be buying another bookshelf soon, we're running out of shelf space) and some books are still in the plastic wrapper.... so shameful!

I vow to (try my best) not to buy any more books for the time being.. emphasis on *try*.

I'm also really ambitious when it comes to reading and I usually starting 3-4 books at one time because I can never decide which one to read first! Unfortunately, I'm a really slow reader and I get discouraged pretty easily so I rarely get to the end. (Such a bad habit, I know!) To alleviate this bad habit of mine, one of my New Years resolutions is to read 12 books from cover to cover (one book a month!) Hopefully this blog will keep me accountable... but, more on that later.


I've been reading a few books for the past few weeks and thought I'd share with you!
Here are five things I'm currently reading:

The Smitten Kitchen is a really fun read with lots of great recipes. The recipes are fancy but the writer makes it so simple and approachable. She shares funny stories, lots of helpful tips and great ideas for make-aheads. 

 

The Keys to the Kitchen is probably my favorite kitchen-related, food-related cook book EVER. It teaches you everything you need to know about the food you're cooking with and the kitchen you're cooking it in. The book talks about how to cook different cuts of meat, what types of spices are good to use in stews vs pastas, different types/consistencies of cheese and which ones to melt vs grate. It also teaches you how to stores/freeze your food, how to sanitize your kitchen goodies, what to stock your pantry with, what vegetables and fruits are in season-- the list goes on! The book ends with 300+ recipes of simple yet AMAZING food.  I'm telling you, the best book EVER.

I randomly grabbed this book off the shelf last week when I had a few hours to kill at Starbucks. I love all Jerry Bridges books because of how clearly he's able to explain the fundamental truths of the Christian faith. The Transforming Power of the Gospel helps us to understand God's grace in our every day lives and how we still need the gospel each and every day. An encouraging read!

These next two are books that I'm always reading.  These books are devotional/prayer books that are great if you're low on time due to busy work seasons, super mom life with kids, etc.. 

The Valley of Vision is a collection of prayers of people who loved God and knew how to deeply commune with Him in prayer. I am always so blessed and strengthened whenever I read pages from this book. This book always leads my heart to worship. I highly encourage you to get this book. ASAP :)

"If" is a really small book that at first glance appears to be a small collection of poems. Amy Carmichael is one of my favorite female authors and one of my heroes of the faith. These are much-needed, honest reminders of how Christ's sacrifice for us on Calvary ought to transform us mind, body and soul. There are no words to really describe what the book is so here are some excerpts.

If I cannot in honest happiness take the second place (or the twentieth); 

if I cannot take the first without making a fuss about my unworthiness, 

then I know nothing of Calvary love

If the praise of others elates me and their blame depresses me; 

if I cannot rest under misunderstanding without defending myself; 

if I love to be loved more than to love, to be served more than to serve, 

then I know nothing of Calvary love.

f I refuse to allow one who is dear to me to suffer for the sake of Christ, 

if I do not see such suffering as the greatest honor that can be offered 

to any follower of the Crucified, then I know nothing of Calvary love.

Happy Reading!

Have a great week, everyone!

XOXO,

sharon

My top 6 iPhone apps

My iPhone was the first thing Eugene bought me after we got engaged and even though its a little outdated now, I love it! It's my little companion throughout the day and I do almost everything with it. My planner, shopping lists, budgeting programs, etc  are all conveniently packaged in my little electronic partner in crime. There's been so much hype about the iPhone 5 nowadays but I just wanted to break the ice and share my top 6 iphone apps.

Of course this excludes the usual necessities like Mail, Calenders, Weather, Instagram (hahaah) but these are the 6 most used applications on my iPhone on a day-to-day basis.

So here they are... in no particular order:

1) Avocado
 This is a messaging app for couples, and its been really fun and helpful for us so far. It's exclusive to just you and your partner (mine is password protected, hehe) and you can send each other pictures, emotions (you can take pictures of yourself as the emotions i.e. smiling, lol-ing, <3-ing, etc) and you can also create lists together. This has been helpful when I'm making a target run or going to the groceries because Eugene can just add things that he needs me to buy onto the list throughout the day. Pretty sweet.

 

2. Waze

This is a navigation application that works more like a GPS. It reads the directions out to you while your driving (unlike the Maps App on iPhone). The great thing about this App is that other "wazers" report if there's been an accident or if there's heavy traffic on the road, and you can choose (via waze) to go on a faster route. You can also contribute to this by reporting if you're in traffic, or if you see an accident/cop/foreign object on the road, etc. You'd be surprised how many wazers there are out there!

3. Flipboard

For all my fellow blog-lovers, this is will seriously be one of the best Apps you've ever downloaded. Even if you're just a huge news reader (like my husband), this is a really cool place you can store all your favorite websites and read it on the go. You can even import your google reader here and read all your favorite blogs anywhere you are!

4. ESV Study +

I love this App for its convenience and its accessibility. It's a lot more pricey than it was when I first downloaded it, but if you don't hauling around your huge study bible everywhere this is definitely worth it.

5. Sleep Cycle

The best alarm clock application ever created  (Thanks Alex O for the rec!) This App has changed my life in more ways than one. It's kind of confusing and hard to explain on how it works exactly, but it's basically a "smart" alarm clock that tries to wake you up when you're in your lightest sleep so that you wake up feeling most refreshed. Especially when I was only sleep 3-4 hours before my night shifts, this App really saved me. :) 

6. Songza

I will always love my pandora, but Songza has alot of cool features, too! The cool thing about songza, is you can pick your music based on what mood you're in or what kind of things you're doing. They have a huge list of playlists you can choose from and you can "like" or "dislike" songs to personalize the playlists to your taste. But, please beware: Songza doesn't censor profanity for some reason. Just click dislike on every song with profanity (like I did) and eventually it'll go away. haha! :)

My favorite list these days has been "Acoustic versions of Pop Songs" per my husband's recommendation. :) Super cooool

Happy Sabbath, my friends!

Love,

Sharon