The 40-Day Feast

I signed up to be on the pre-read launch team with (perhaps) hundreds of others - in anticipation of Wendy Speake's newest book The 40-Day Feast. (The 40-Day Sugar Fast and The 40-Day Social Media Fast are the other two books in the series.)

I first heard of Wendy Speake years ago on Focus on the Family radio, really early one morning, while driving to Starbucks.  She was being interviewed with Amber Lia  while promoting their book Parenting Scripts and only recently did I put two and two together that that girl was also the author of The 40-Day Sugar Fast.

OK first I will begin with what I do NOT like about this book:

I don't know if it is because I am reading this after reading excerpts from some really old books, but at first pass this book is so fluffy that I cannot get behind it like I hoped to.  There is very, very little meat in this book, you don't have to think or chew on any truths, the work is basically done for you.  It is sweet and light and I don't have to invest myself or put forth any effort to read it.  I realize there is a place for devotions, but I approached this book with a different expectation than ease.  So maybe that sums up my struggle with this book - my expectations were for something deeper, something that would equip me to finally conquer the 40-day sugar fast (which I am attempting again come January 9th).  

(incidentally: I am currently wrapping up my study in Taste for Truth by Barb Raveling and, for me personally, Barb Raveling's book is doing more to equip me for the 40-day fast than Wendy's newest book.)

What I DO like about this book:

I plan to teach this in the new year.  Once the actual book comes out, I am going to use this as a replacement for our Advent devotional (we have LOVED LOVED LOVED our Advent devotional this year).  Since our days are long, hard, and often complicated by appointments, meltdowns, and struggles and since there is a spattering of learning disabilities thrown into the mix...this book will be perfect to replace the Advent devotional we have been using.  

The short and sweet sentences lend itself to capturing attention without overwhelming the mind.  That in and of itself makes this book perfect for a classroom setting (homeschool, school, and/or Sunday school) of varying ages and abilities or for seasons where your mind is so overwhelmed / burdened that you cannot add something heavy into the mix.  This 40 day devotional is light and sweet enough that it will not become the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.

This book releases in January, but there are pre-order bonuses if you order before the release date.