When I first got this book from Celebrate Lit, I really didn't know what to expect. The title confused me, because I seriously thought it was a cooking book. However, I found this book to be delightful and thought provoking once I started reading.
Victoria Sponge is a mother in the throes of life. Surrounded by her teenagers, working at a preschool, she faces many challenges that I can totally relate to (and she has four kids; I just have one!) From lighthearted problems to the more serious problem of her teenager facing depression, Victoria handles most of the things thrown at her with grace. The book is written in the first person, told from Victoria's perspective, and is basically a prayer.
Yes, we're told to pray without ceasing in the Bible, and that is exactly what Victoria does. She uses life events, from the comical to the serious, to prompt her to pray... and then listens as God reveals things to her about her self and others.
This book helped me see how a conversation with God truly can be ongoing. I think we so often get hung up on formalities in prayer, but all God wants from us is just to turn to Him.
I enjoyed this book and would give it 4 stars.
About the Book
Victoria Sponge – a well-known cake? Maybe, but also a wife and mother of four children. Disorganized and chaotic, with obligations galore, sweet Victoria clings to God, her best friend who shares His amazing love with her. From tripping over a hoover left in the hallway to discovering her son’s desire to die because he is different, she journeys through her own Lent. Giving up is not an option, but saying ‘yes’ to God each day is. Tragedy and comical events follow Vicki through her week. Does Victoria Sponge rise through all the messiness that life offers or does she sink?
About the Author
Guest Post from Margaret Kazmierczak
For those that know me cooking is not a talent that I am famous for. I follow the recipes, but for some unknown reason my cakes remain flat, albeit cleverly disguised with chocolate. My friends were, quite understandably, shocked that I appeared to have written a cookery book.My friends let me introduce the Baker who inspired me to write, ‘How to Make Victoria Sponge’. His name is God the Father. This cook needs all the help she can get.
In 2010 God literally took me out of my comfort zone and allowed me to become vulnerable. He took away my health and job. An active middle aged woman reduced to a shell. For two years I struggled to come to terms with my condition. Then one night I prayed and asked what I was supposed to do now? The message was simple, “write a book”. Well I could think up a million and one reasons why not to write a book. I declared them one by one but God the Father was having none of it. He reminded me of WHO was commissioning me.
To say that my reading and writing skills were on a par with my cooking skills was an understatement. So I stopped questioning and listened to His answer. “I shall give you the ingredients and you provide the humour and story outline with your life experiences.” So Victoria Sponge was born. Not a cookery book per se but a recipe for a closer relationship with God the Father through story and petition.
This journey took two years, a long time to wait for a cake to rise! The proof, however, was in the tasting which for some time was bitter due to rejection. Then a sequence of events happened one after the other and ‘How to Make Victoria Sponge’ was cooked, oops, birthed. I have been blown away with the face to face reviews in England of the book. A Methodist minister used it to empower her congregation, to show them how even the simplest things in life can lead to a prayerful response.
Victoria known as Vicki, married to Bob, is a normal woman with four children. The book looks at a week in her life and compares it to Jesus’ Lent week. Many issues are explored through the pages. Vicki Sponge could be you or me and the response to each situation, a solution to your own challenges.
Without the Baker this book would end up like my cakes! The writing of it helped me to begin a new life and I hope it helps you to do so too if you read and journey through its pages.
Blog Stops
September 29: A Reader’s Brain
September 30: The Power of Words (spotlight)
October 1: History, Mystery & Faith
October 2: Bukwurmzzz
October 3: Artistic Nobody
October 4: Quiet Quilter
October 5: Daysong Reflections
October 6: Mary Hake
October 7: Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations
October 8: Simple Harvest Reads
October 9: Bibliophile Reviews
October 10: Petra’s Hope
October 11: His Grace is Sufficient
October 12: Onceuponatime
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Margaret is giving away a themed gift bag containing an apron, whisk, Bible, and a limited 1st edition paperback copy of How to Make Victoria Sponge! Click here to enter: https://promosimple.com/ps/a416
Youe review is excellent! It's definitely an intriguing title.
ReplyDeleteYoue review is excellent! It's definitely an intriguing title.
ReplyDelete