Musings of a Snickerdoodle

Hosanna in Excelsis by David and Barbara Leeman is a nicely bound book of Christmas carols with individual short histories of their composition and  contemplations of the message of the carols themselves.  There are many familiar carols, O Holy Night, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, Away In A Manger…etc.  And some new ones.  The summarized biographies of the authors and composers were quite interesting too.  Sometimes the information was quite tantalizing, leaving you wanting to know more about the author, and for others it was more disappointing to hear the background, though in some cases discouraging.  "O Holy Night" has been a favorite carol of my family, but the background behind it was anything but inspiring ," Written by a man with little belief in the Christmas story, put to music by a nonbelieving Jewish musician, and translated by a liberal theologian….".   We of course, still really like the song, I suppose it just goes to show that you can h...

Having trouble finding a present for a book lover in your family? Or are you a book lover yourself and trying to answer someone's question to you, "what would you like for Christmas?" For me, that is often a hard question to answer. Good, interesting books just seem to get harder and harder to find. Sometimes I'll come across an interesting quotation or excerpt from a book, and that will answer my question.  I've compiled a list of some of my favorite books, with summaries and a quotation from each one. Perhaps one of them will spark your interest and give you an idea of what you'd like to read next. History/Biography Free Grace and Dying Love:  The Life of Susannah Surgeon - By Charles Ray and Susannah Spurgeon This is a rather short biography of Mrs. Spurgeon, but still very interesting and inspiring. Susannah Spurgeon is another example of living for God in whatever circumstances and with whatever limitations He has given you, making the most...

Having trouble finding a present for a book lover in your family? Or are you a book lover yourself and trying to answer someone's question to you, "what would you like for Christmas?" For me, that is often a hard question to answer. Good, interesting books just seem to get harder and harder to find. Sometimes I'll come across an interesting quotation or excerpt from a book, and that will answer my question.  I've compiled a list of some of my favorite books, with summaries and a quotation from each one. Perhaps one of them will spark your interest and give you an idea of what you'd like to read next. Biography Free Grace and Dying Love:  The Life of Susannah Surgeon - By Charles Ray and Susannah Spurgeon This is a rather short biography of Mrs. Spurgeon, but still very interesting and inspiring. Susannah Spurgeon is another example of living for God in whatever circumstances and with whatever limitations He has given you, making the most of the ...