Cold Tangerines

A month ago Sarah at ShortStop invited her readers to read a book that seemed to parallel quite with her life. But it didn't stop there, she (along with Zondervan) proceeded to GIVEAWAY the book to nearly 30 people! I was a fortunate recipient of the book Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist.

Cold Tangerines is a collection of stories about Shauna's life, thoughts, and reflections. It is uniquely put together in a series of random chapters. They are short, compelling, thought provoking, and easy to read. I really enjoyed reading this book because it was so easy to read. These days I am usually too tired to read anything beyond a magazine, but because she writes her thoughts in 2-3 pages, it was easy to either put down to attend to a child, or continue reading because of it's captivation.

I identified with many of Shauna's excerpts and found myself thinking, "I've been there," or "I've felt that way many times." She writes about many feelings I would love to write about but am too ambivalent to share with the entire world. She is honest, vulnerable, and ready to "wear her heart on her sleeve." She makes you feel like you are not alone in your thoughts. Shauna must also be a very visual person, because she has a gift in describing her thoughts through analogy or word pictures.

One of the chapters I best identified with was "old house." She describes coveting a friend's house and finding the imperfections in her own house, and how we are often like that house. That disease of comparison, jealousy, and coveting linger so deep through my veins as much as I hate to admit it. And it shows me how much I need God to reiterate that I am a child of God and uniquely His. It shows me, that I'm not alone. And it shows me I need to look for the positive things in life that God did give me. Shauna helps point out those positive things. She shows you that life is not hopeless, and that there are little everyday things that are beautiful and worth looking for.

I highly recommend this book. Now if you excuse me, I need to look out the window, feel the sunshine, and think of the wonders God has blessed me with.