Lola Goetz

As the new year progresses, I’m trying to read more. One thing that has been encouraging me in that endeavor is participating in book tours. This week it’s Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris and I’m actually pretty glad that I went for this one.

As someone who was raised in church without really being sure I knew what I believed or why, I identified with Joshua Harris. I’ve questioned whether I believed because I’d been in church all my life, because it was all I knew, or because it was just expected of me.

And as an adult I’ve gone a long way from my church roots. So Harris’ book was a nice refresher for me. In it, he explains how orthodoxy and theology and doctrine aren’t just for scholars. They are for everyone who believes. If you don’t have a good foundation, where are you then?

Harris’ writing is very approachable – it’s a conversational style that’s easy to read and understand. His book is by no means a deep theological study, but he does give reference to many scholars he has read and learned from, which gives me many more things to add to my reading list.

This book gave me a lot to think about. If you’re returning to the church or want to delve deeper into what theology and doctrine mean to your spiritual journey, I think this is a good place to start.

This book was provided for review by the publisher, WaterBrook Multnomah.

When I first heard about The Male Factor, I was a bit skeptical. It kinda bugged me to think that there’s something holding women back in business. We’re in 2010 and we should be past that, right? Well, we should be but we’re really not.

Feldhahn interviewed a large number of men and created a pretty comprehensive survey to find out how women are perceived in the workplace. The results may just surprise you.

A lot of men and women just have different ways of working. That’s not to say that every man does the same thing or every woman does. But over time you start to notice patterns. And those patterns are what Feldhahn addresses.

The author emphasizes that women should just be aware of how they are being perceived in the workplace — especially when you work with a large group of men. For instance, if you show any emotion, you will most likely be seen as irrational (unable to think clearly at that point). That was tough for me to read, because I sometimes have an emotional reaction whether I want to or not. As in, I have no control over it no matter how hard I try. I know it has hindered me a time or two.

The advice in the book is not telling women to change who they are or to try and act more like they think a man would. The bigger point is to be aware of your actions in the workplace and how they are perceived.

The version of the book I read also had advice for women of faith, with advice from other women who already have experience with these questions (especially if you work in a faith-based company, which can actually be a little more understanding of the work-style differences between men and women, according to the author).

If you’ve ever wondered why the workplace “rules” seem frustrating or are holding you back, I actually think you can learn a few things from this book. Again, the emphasis isn’t to change yourself, but to just be more aware of how others perceive you. I’ve learned myself how empowering it can be just to be “in the know.”

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

I recently took a look at a new devotional book, Jesus Lives by Sarah Young. This devotional is written as if Jesus is talking directly to you. The author includes Bible verses that support each devotional and they do fit right in with each theme. I even think she does a good job with her writing – it’s intimate, easy-to-read, and understandable. That said, it does make me a wee bit uncomfortable to have things written as if God is speaking. It’s not that I feel God can’t inspire modern-day text. I think that’s entirely possible. It just seems to me that the author interjects a bit more of her personal thoughts and beliefs than I would like. Some people will probably really enjoy this style of writing. It makes you feel as if you are being spoken directly to, which can make you think a lot about the topics. And having the inspiring verses right there are quite helpful. In fact, I noticed that the pieces of verses that are quoted in the devotional are in italics – which makes it easier to cross-reference what she’s referring to. I give this 3 out of 5 stars. A good read, but not exactly what I personally want for a devotional. I received a copy of this book as part of the Thomas Nelson book review bloggers program. You can get a copy at Amazon or from Thomas Nelson publishers.

Okay, here we go. It’s time to choose a winner of our holiday meal contest. I used random.org to generate a winning number. The first 3 comments on the post were just pingbacks, so I’m disregarding them and starting with the first post after that.

And our winner is….

Comment # 1 was jboyd – Jennifer Boyd. Congrats!

When I think of Thanksgiving, I think of sharing a meal with family and friends. In years past, we’ve done a potluck-style dinner where we get together with friends and each of us take care of part of the meal. Up until now, I’ve never done the entire dinner. But this year, with a Thanksgiving package provided by Golden SHARE Foods, we decided to give hosting a whirl.

Golden SHARE Foods is the largest and oldest grocery cooperative in SoCal – and they have things down to a science. If you’re not familiar with a cooperative, it’s a buying organization that pools resources to to buy in large quantities — and in doing that they save money. Golden SHARE Foods is run by volunteers – another way they keep costs down.

What I found really great is there’s no membership fee or requirement to work in order to purchase food from the cooperative. All you need to do is volunteer in your community (it doesn’t have to be at GSF, but you could volunteer there).

We sampled the Thanksgiving meal box. It included a LOT of food:

• Frozen turkey (ours was 17 pounds!)
• Box of stuffing
• 3# russet potatoes
• 3# sweet potatoes
• Broccoli bunch
• Bag of apples (ours were little washington apples – perfect for our kiddo)
• Bag of onions
• Baby carrots (peeled)
• Bunch of celery
• 1 can cranberry sauce
• 1 doz dinner rolls (ours were potato rolls & they were super fresh & soft)
• 10 inch pumpkin pie

And if you had bought all of that food for Thanksgiving, you would have paid exactly $36 at GSF. Now we could have made our entire meal just from these items, but there are other things we like to make, too. So this was our family’s Thanksgiving menu, supplemented with some things we had on hand, and a few things from the grocery store:

• Roasted turkey
• Dressing (made in my crockpot with a couple other boxes, too – I really like dressing)
• Mashed potatoes
• Candied sweet potatoes (yes, the ones with marshmallows on top. YUM.)
• Glazed baby carrots
• Green bean casserole
• Organic yellow corn (we had this on hand in the freezer)
• Homemade gravy
• Dinner rolls (we did need more than 1 dozen for 6 adults & 1 kid – we really like our bread)
• Pumpkin pie w/whipped topping

We used the broccoli as an appetizer & chopped it up for dipping in dressing, along with some grape tomatoes and more baby carrots we had on hand.

So how was the food quality? We got rave reviews on the turkey. I think this is the second time we’ve roasted a turkey (we’ve deep fried them in the past). We just watched the temp very closely and pulled it out as soon as it was near the temp we wanted (so it could rest while we made the gravy & finished things).

We did have one bad potato in the russets. But I recently bought a bag of reds at a big name warehouse store and it had a couple of bad ones in there, too. It just happens sometimes. The broccoli and celery were excellent. The baby carrots were the same ones you would buy at the grocery store.

When you buy a package from Golden SHARE Foods, you do have to pick it up at their central warehouse or a nearby distribution location. We had a pick-up point a few miles from us, so we went there. Pick up was to start at 9:30 am, but they were running a little bit late. Turns out they had a lot of orders the day we were there. It was a small delay and no big deal for us. As soon as the trucks arrived with the food, we just jumped in and helped unload. It was all unloaded and sorted in less than 10 minutes.

Getting our items took very little time as well. I swear it was easier than going to my local grocery store – everything is packed in boxes and ready to go. You can see the types of packages that you can buy on the Golden SHARE web site. And definitely check out the sell-off days (where they sell leftover items as even greater savings).

And now the fun part – we get to give away a Christmas meal package!

Here’s what the Holiday Meal package includes:

• (1)7-9 lbs. Spiral Cut Honey Ham w/ Glaze Packet
• 1 bag Fresh Yukon Gold Potatoes
• 3 lbs. Fresh Sweet Potatoes
• 3 lbs. Fresh Apples
• 2 lbs. Fresh Onions
• 1 lbs. Fresh Green Beans
• 1 ea. Fresh Celery Sleeved
• 1 can Pineapple Chunks in Natural Juice
• 1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
• 1 can Apple Sauce
• 1 doz Dinner Rolls
• 1 Whole Pumpkin Pie (10 inch/ 40 oz)

This package is valued at $36. How would you like to have your Christmas or Holiday meal paid for? Enter this contest to win by leaving a comment on this post.

To be eligible to win, you need to live near a pickup location in Southern California.

Contest ends on December 4th at 6 pm (PST). I will choose a winner via random drawing. You must be able to pick up your meal package at one of the Golden SHARE Foods pickup locations or at the main warehouse. One comment per person, please.

Disclosure: We received a Thanksgiving meal package so we could try GSF’s services and review it.

It is so easy to be fearful these days. The news constantly reports the bad things. Fire, famine, earthquakes, flooding, tsunamis, volcanoes… it’s enough to make you fear walking outside your door. Add the human element of crime: robberies, shootings, terrorists, plane crashes, diseases and it’s a wonder any of us get out of bed. Throw in a little economic uncertainty and we could easily become recluses.

But we don’t IF we don’t let fear rule our lives. And that’s the message of Fearless by Max Lucado. Don’t let fear take control. Don’t let it paralyze you.

I tend to worry a lot. Not just a little, but a lot. Way more than any one person should. Reading this helps remind me that I can’t control everything. And that it’s okay if I don’t.

I really enjoy Lucado’s writing. I’ve read quite a few books of his over the years and they always have accessible language. He’s like a trusted friend, sitting and chatting with you instead of the well-known pastor and author that he is. I have yet to find a book of his that I didn’t enjoy or get something out of.

I like the study guide at the end. While I didn’t go through every exercise like you would in a group (by writing out my answers, etc.), I read it and like the discussion questions. I think it could be an interesting study for a church group.

When I mentioned to friends that I was reading the book, they asked me to let them know how it was. I will be recommending that they read it. We could all use a little more comfort – and a lot less fear – these days. 4 out of 5 stars.

You can buy Fearless from Amazon, or find out more information from the publisher by clicking here.

This review was not compensated beyond receiving a review copy of the book as part of Thomas Nelson’s Book Review Bloggers program.

Beautiful Mess is the story of the band Diamond Rio. If you’re familiar with country music, you’ve probably heard of this band. For twenty years they have kept the same core group of musicians. Through ups and downs, they have stuck together in a tough business.

As a fan of the group since their debut single, Meet in the Middle, I’ve always loved their sound and have a few of their cds. I really wanted to read this book and find out more about the band. If you’re a big country music fan, or interested in this group, you’ll probably like the book. At times, it gave some background and stories that I felt weren’t really relevant to either the chapter it was in, or just the book in general. It was nice to have a chapter devoted to each band member, so if you have a favorite you can read about that person.

I did feel the book was a little choppy in how the chapters were arranged. While the chapter about their charity work had some good points, I really just felt like skimming it. And it was placed in an awkward spot, interrupting the flow of the story about how Marty Roe had vocal problems. In fact, the vocal issues – which I hadn’t known about before this story – were used as a teaser throughout the book. The author kept hinting about it, finally revealing the story at the end. To me, while it was a big source of tension in the band, it felt drawn out a bit too much.

Overall, though, I did enjoy learning about how the band came together and managed to stay intact all of these years. I’d give it three out of five stars.

You can buy the book from Amazon, and find more information from the publisher by clicking here.

This review was not compensated beyond receiving a review copy of the book as part of Thomas Nelson’s Book Review Bloggers program.

I don’t know about you, but our family is really feeling the financial pinch. Giving up a full-time job just before an economic downturn will kinda do that to you. And as the holidays approach, I’ve been worried about gifts – how am I going to buy for family with such a limited budget?

Enter BlogHer and JCPenney. Or should I say, to the rescue? Armed with a $300 gift card courtesy of BlogHer and JCPenney, and a shopping list probably a little too big for my budget, I started my holiday shopping early.

And y’all, let me tell you, it was fabulous. JCPenney had some serious sales going on. Like 50% off a lot of things. And even more savings on clearance items. I got almost all of my holiday shopping done. Before Thanksgiving. Can you believe it? My family won’t – I never finish my shopping early.

Let me tell you how it went down. I was already planning on meeting my girlfriend for shopping and lunch. We both pushed our little boys around the store while we oooh’d and aaaah’d over the deals to be had.

I really wanted to find some east5th brand blouses. After visiting my parents in September, and stealing a couple of my mom’s east5th blouses, I decided I liked their style. Unfortunately, it’s the wrong time of year for a short sleeved blouse, even in San Diego. Instead, I found a beautiful plum blouse with long sleeves. It’s almost like silk. I plan to wear it the next time I go out with a girlfriend – or hubby – sans rug rat.

But I quit after trying on a few blouses. My son absolutely did NOT like the dressing room. The door chime totally freaked him out and I seriously wanted to hulk-smash it. The dressing room was a popular place and the chime was constantly going off. You moms have been there – hurriedly trying on a few outfits while trying to keep your child from a meltdown.

It only partially worked. So I decided the clothing could wait for another day and I moved on to other things.

Let me say, I love Carter’s children’s clothes. And Okie Dokie. My son is rapidly outgrowing the clothes for his age group and we don’t have a lot of bigger clothes on hand. I was planning on getting him some clothing for Christmas – because he’s not going to remember it anyway and I might as well set the precedent now that clothing is an acceptable gift for Christmas. What?

I found some adorable footie pajamas that will be perfect for Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa’s house. And since we’ll be headed to colder weather, I had to get him a jacket. Tell me, could you resist this outfit? {pic coming}

I thought not.

Everything was on sale. From this point, I’m not going to tell you who the items are for, just in case family happens to read this. *Ahem.* Okay, except one thing for my husband, which he’ll figure out anyway.

I found a beautiful quilt. At first, I picked up a star-patterned quilt that reminded me of quilts my Granny used to make. My girlfriend pointed out another quilt. And while it was twice the price, it was much higher quality. The quilting was a closer pattern, and the entire thing was heavier than the first one. But the best part? It was $90 off. (My inner bargain shopper is doing a happy dance right now.) I think you have to see this quilt. You really should take a close look and compare the stitching on the various quilts available. I mean, look at this: {pic coming}

Meanwhile, my little guy was fighting sleep, since I woke him up as I put him in the stroller. I occasionally had to stop what I was doing and wander around to make him happy. Have you ever tried to shop with a stroller? Smaller items like clothing are fine, but once you add in things like a quilt and a couple of (super soft) throw blankets (50% off!) and it gets a little dicey. Fortunately, customer service was happy to hold the larger items for me until I was done. It’s a good thing, because I wanted to buy about ten of those soft blankets, but settled on two.

I also found a 3-tray buffet warmer (also 50% off), perfect for holiday meals. And a vintage leather jacket that was too good to pass up, too. Oh, and an outfit for my great niece (it’s obvious who it’s for, and she won’t see this anyway). Those little girl clothes are simply adorable!

{more pics coming}

At checkout, I got an extra 20% off, too. Over all, I got everything for half of what you’d pay without a sale. I paid under $20 out of pocket, which I wouldn’t have if I’d put back one of the kid’s outfits or one of the throw blankets. After all that time in the store, my little guy was done. I really should have planned to shop without him. But he loves getting out of the house, and I took him to lunch afterwards.

I didn’t think I’d complete pretty much all of my shopping for $300. I still have a couple of smaller things to get and that’s it. And I may go back for more of those throw blankets. I am so excited to get the chance to do this. I’ve been watching everyone doing the Linden Street shopping with just a wee bit of jealousy. *grin*

Would you like to have your own shopping spree? BlogHer and JCPenney are giving away a $300 gift card each week for the next five weeks. What are you waiting for? Go enter the drawing!

guess who?, originally uploaded by lola goetz.

That’s my mom, holding me when I was just a few months old at most. Mom is an amazing woman. She taught me how to be a strong woman without ever being pushy, bitchy, or anything less than a really nice lady. My dad treats her with such respect and love. They are partners in their marriage.

I admire my mom so much. She’s so smart. A voracious reader. Yes, she gave me my love of reading. And she’s kind. She really is one of the nicest women I’ve ever known. I’m so fortunate to have her as a mother, and a friend.

I’m thinking this may be my photo blog. Not sure yet!