TRADITIONAL BAKING (THE FOSFIRE AMERICANA LIBRARY)

You only have to read one American  FOXFIRE series to become addicted, if you love the history of everyday Americans. I read TRADITIONAL BAKING (eBook) and I am looking for more. Apparently, there are all kinds of ways to obtain the knowledge in the series TRADITIONAL BAKING is part of a topical breakdown of these works.

Foxfire was/ is a high school program in Georgia dedicated to collecting the wisdom and knowledge of the elder members of the Appalachian culture. First published in 1970, the original series of books included 15 volumes. The topics include everything from cooking, natural health remedies, hunting, crafting, and other everyday activities.

I purchased this book because I have always been curious about the American culture as it pertains to everyday living. In addition, I want to learn how they cooked. 

The recipes are as detailed as you can get them if you were asking your grandmother or great grandmother: How do you make that? You get the ingredients but not oven temperatures or length of time to cook. 

This book dedicates a lot of space to the art of churning butter. Anyone who knows me knows that I see this as a challenge. I now want an old fashioned churner. 

FOXFIRE- TRADITIONAL BAKING barely took an hour for me to read. I spent a lot of time appreciating the pictures and imagining myself churning butter. 

                                      Written by Marsh L F Randolph

This book is part of my personal reading library. The review is my honest unsolicited opinion.

DANGEROUS PRAYERS Published by Thomas Nelson

DANGEROUS PRAYERS 50 POWERFUL PRAYERS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD is not what I expected, it is better. As I read through the book I thought of the latter portion of James 5:16: “ The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” (New King James Version) This is truly a great collection of prayers.

But, DANGEROUS PRAYERS is more than a collection of prayers it is a tribute to men and women who influenced history throughout Christian times. Prior to each prayer is a mini-biography of the author of the prayer. People such as: Polycarp (69-156) the first person recorded as being killed for his faith; Aimee Semple McPherson a well known revivalist of her time, a divorced evangelist;andeven John Newton author of the song Amazing Grace. A prayer of Abraham Lincoln can also be found. Jarena Lee (1783-1864) the first Black female to publicly preach, a free woman has one of the shortest prayers, if not they shortest. And of course the prayer of our, at least my, Lord and Savior Jesus Christ- guess which one that is!

Published by Thomas Nelson, the spectrum of prayers range from simple to formal from individuals from all walks of life representing various centuries. It is an excellent collection of prayers. Dangerous prayers? I don’t know. Powerful prayers? I don’t know. Effective prayers? Absolutely! Written by Marsha L F Randolph


I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

A MORNING and EVENING PRAYER BOOK by Jeanie and DAvid Gushee

The following is a review of A MORNING and EVENING PRAYERBOOK by Jeanie and David Gushee. It is a collection of prayers from Protestant, Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox individuals from all over the world. There are two prayers for each day- a morning prayer and an evening prayer.

The mini-bios of the authors explains why I feel about this book as I do. (I will share in a minute.) Jeanie Gushee is a poet and has a BA in English Literature. David Gushee, PhD is a Christian ethicist (whatever that is) and serves as “distinguished university professor of Christian ethics and director of the Center for Theology and Public Life at Mercer University. A credentialed couple.

Aside from the historical nature of the works found within the book I cannot think of a reason to purchase it. Take away the dates at the top of the pages and you have a collection of prayers. The idea of mixing Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant prayers, organizations that have different understanding of Scripture, and using it as a spring board for prayer makes no sense to me.

Many of the complimentary books for review that I receive I give away, not this one. I don’t give away books in which I hesitate because of potential doctrinal errors, the authors just presented a group of prayers the writer of the prayers may not have had the understanding of GOD that most people today have. And again, the mixture of Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox prayers would not be received well by many people I know.

A MORNING and EVENING PRAYER BOOK is actually a collection of prayers. I would not recommend it be used as one would use a daily devotional.      written by Marsha L F Randolph


I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. 

THE DAWN OF CHRISTIANITY by Robert J Hutchinson

If a docudrama was going to be a movie THE DAWN OF CHRISTIANITY How God Used Simple Fisherman, Soldiers, and Prostitutes to Transform the World would be it.  Written by Robert J Hutchinson it is an interesting book to say the least. I kept having to remind myself that the book was not fiction.

Perhaps it is because I am accustomed to boring information being presented regarding the history of Christianity- facts just facts. This was like reading the Message Bible, very every dayish.

There is nothing inherently wrong with THE DAWN OF CHRISTIANITY by Robert J Hutchinson. It’s 242 pages, not including appendixes, notes and further reading recommendations qualify the book to be not a docudrama but a history book.

For anyone wanting to learn more about what was going on during the time of Jesus, this is a good book. The narration of the ministry of our Lord Jesus is simplistic enough as to help us understand the events of the day and detailed enough to make Christian history buffs use THE DAWN OF CHRISTIANITY as a reference tool. It is definitely worth the read so grab yourself some popcorn and enjoy! Yes I recommend this book. — Marsha L F Randolph


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”