My friends, Bread & Wine was one of the first books I read this year, and this book is a favorite now – that’s for sure!

I’ve shared my love for Shauna Niequist’s writing before on social media, and I’m falling more and more in love with her words and writing with each of her books that I read. (Stay tuned for my thoughts on Present Over Perfect, too!) Shauna’s writing is warm and inviting… Whenever I start reading her words, I find myself deeply invested and yearning to kick up my feed, cozy up in a warm blanket, and enjoy a glass of wine. Her writing and words are proving to be so good for and fueling my soul!

Bread & Wine is such a feel good, encouraging, and soulful book. Shauna shares stories of fellowship, growing up, success and failure, seasons of loss and growth, food experiences, and so much more. I appreciated how almost every chapter of the book tied a story in her life to a recipe. This way of storytelling and connection blew me away! I can’t wait to try her recipes for Blueberry Crisp, Basic Risotto, White Chicken Chili, Annette’s Enchiladas, and Simplest Dark Chocolate Mousse… YUM!

My greatest takeaway and focus throughout this book was about how God nourishes our bodies and hearts as we gather and nourish those around our table. What a powerful realization. And my favorite sentence of the entire book that I keep going back to? It’s this… “My mom makes sixty look good, and she reminds me every day that honest prayers transform us, that the world is big and beautiful and waiting for us, and that the best is yet to come.”

Wow, what an example to live by!

This book was also eye-opening and encouraging to me as a young married woman that it doesn’t necessarily matter what you serve around your table, but what matters is gathering those you love for food and conversation and storytelling and fellowship and so much more. It’s more about hospitality and gathering and sharing stories and experiences rather than a 5-course meal. We need and yearn for connection, and we can have that around the table. Gather now has an entirely new meaning to me. When you think about it, too, so many amazing things can happen around your table if you’ll let them… I want to look back on our life and our marriage and see that gathering around our table nourished our bodies and our hearts and filled our cups up so that we could serve others.

And the icing on the cake? After reading this book and these rich stories and experiences and recipes, I feel like I have an inner confidence to a least TRY any recipe (yep, don’t those recipes above sound amazing?) I come across no matter the depth, steps, or fear of ruining it. Thanks for the encouragement, Shauna!

Friends, I wholeheartedly encourage you to 1) check out Shauna’s books + follow her on social media, and 2) take time to gather those you love – your people – around your table as often as you can. Hugs!