For someone who has lost their job, it can be devastating. Deborah E. Levin was that person and has written a book about it called, Celebrating Unemployment: How to Avoid Becoming a Crunchy Couch Burrito.

I, like a lot of others, have found ourselves maybe not celebrating unemployment but instead drowning in a sea of tears. We don't know the first thing about being unemployed. How are we going to survive with no income?

Thank goodness for Celebrating Unemployment: How to Avoid Becoming a Crunchy Couch Burrito. Ms. Levin takes us through the process of learning how to make the best of it.

Keeping up a routine is one of them. Wake up at your normal time and don't go back to bed. Make a budget and stick to it until you can find other income.

Those are some of the many great ways to survive unemployment. 

But that's not all. The author has thought of it all. I remember when Covid hit, a lot of people were made to stay home and couldn't work. What about that car loan? Or any kind of loan? Ms. Levin gives you directions on what to do about that and it may surprise you.

There are lots of surprises in this book and I'll bet you that you wouldn't have known about it. 

People don't want to be unemployed. But it happens to the best of us. Grab a copy of Celebrating Unemployment: How to Avoid Becoming a Crunchy Couch Burrito. It's a step-by-step guide to surviving losing your job.

I give this a 5 star rating!

We all hurt. That's just one of the many feelings our bodies are programmed to feel. I'm sure God knew what He was doing when He made us. I mean, I know there has to be a really good reason; only, I just wish God had programmed us without that one extra feeling - pain. I know that would be ridiculous but sometimes we get to the bottom of the stairs and can't seem to get up and put that one foot in front of the other and begin to heal. This is where Come To Me: A Devotional for Healing From Hurt by Amy W. Vogel comes to our rescue.

At the beginning of the book, Vogel explains that for the sake of clarity she's going to refer to Jesus as He, but for God, since no one knows if God even has a gender, He will be referred to as They. Now, I'm all against this pronoun thing - a girl is a girl is a girl and a boy is a boy is a boy. But referring to God as 'They" just makes sense, so she headed me in the right direction with that one. 

So, this is a 30 day book and each chapter (day) ends with a prayer and a healing step which I thought was very innovative and helpful. Vogel is so on point. A beautiful devotional that will be timeless. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and give it 5 gold stars!

We've all come to a place in our journey through life where we wonder if this is where we're supposed to be or whether we are fulfilling everything we are meant to fulfill. Life is confusing at times. That's where Becoming Flawesome by Kristina Mand-Lakhiani really came in handy. Kristina does an excellent job helping us define ourselves. In all the self-help books I've read over the years, this one book has stood out as having grit in easy-to-understand language. If you ever feel lost in life, this is the book to read.

At the end of each chapter, Kristina adds "Reflection Points." It just gives the reader time to reflect on what they have read and ask themselves questions about themselves. Like "Why did you read this book?" or "What am I feeling right now?" Lovely touch. I can see how this all helps in the broad scheme of things to find  and understand yourself.

The whole book is enlightening but for some reason, this quote just jolted me out of the blue: "How would your life look if you put most of your effort into subjects that you loved the most, that you enjoyed doing, and that you were naturally good at?" Dang. Can you imagine that? Although other pursuits that we may not enjoy doing might or might not come in handy in life, can you imagine if you took something that you enjoyed and swallowed it whole and let it grow, let it balloon into gigantic proportions? Can you imagine that? Who knows how high you'd climb.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and give it 5 gold stars!

There are dozens of books out about how to deal with chronic pain I'm sure, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading Carla Cobbs' take on it in her new book, Coping and Thriving with a Chronic Condition.

Carla was born with a chronic condition herself - arthrogryposis and later, high blood pressure, arthritis and chronic pain. You might even call her an expert in the field having lived it firsthand. That's the reason why I wanted to read her book since it was coming from the horse's mouth so to speak. 

The first two chapters are more or less her explaining in detail about these diseases which I didn't find boring in the least. It was written in easy to understand language which I appreciated.

The next chapter, Chapter 3, she explains how to cope with these ailments which I found very informative should I ever be in that position myself - very uplifting.

The rest of the chapters are very uplifting as well. It's like a pep talk but not only that it offers encouragement to those who feel as if their life has come to an end once they have been diagnosed. 

Another powerful book. Mindfulness - keep that word in mind when reading Being Present: The Gift of Experiencing Life As It Happens by Keith Sykes because it's the point of what this book is about. I know our teachers and parents are always telling us to focus. Keith Sykes takes us on a journey - his journey - and through his experiences with his family and through travel, his journey becomes an inspirational tale of hope and sadness and experiencing life as it happens - at the time it happens. People go through life with blinders on sometimes, but not Keith Sykes.

The story begins in New Orleans in the St. Bernard housing projects. The youngest of eight siblings, Keith lived a normal family life filled with love. And Keith was a good kid. Always had friends. His mom was his rock but he knew he had to get out there and make a life for himself. He signed up for the Army and his mother died of cancer just before he was set to leave. His father died of diabetes when he was very young and his mother was all he had (besides his siblings). So when she died, he left for the Army to start a new life.

He loved the Army and loved traveling to new places. Egypt was his favorite. And because he loved to travel, that's exactly what he did after he left the Army. By then, Keith had been married three times.

It was at this point when Keith discovered what it was like to live in the moment. Here's a quote I loved:

"One thing I know is that people are always looking for an upgrade. The better car, the bigger house, the VIP ticket, or the deluxe meal because they want an experience that is memorable and above average. They want something that not everyone has access to. That is how I choose to live life, and that is what I choose to give to those closest to me - An experience that they will remember for the rest of their lives."