Sunday Words of Encouragment March 28, 2010

Our Pastor's message today was "Choose Your Attitude."  There are those who are hostile to Jesus; those who are bystanders and never really a part of the message of Christ; there are those who follow Him but do not give all their best; and then there are those who take off their coats to lay them at His feet and give Him the best that they have.  Interesting comment - the unridden colt allowed Jesus to ride it into Jerusalem - the colt was obedient and gave his best.  What is your attitude?

Here is a song of praise I found for the triumph of Palm Sunday.
Did you know that Hosanna means "Save us now"?

Verses for Today:
Luke 19: 35-38  NIV

[35] They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. [36] As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.

[37] When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:

[38] "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!"

"Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"

Today we dedicated knit hats and shawls made by ladies in the church. We prayed, and I pray, for healing and comfort to those who are blessed with the hats and shawls, and symbolically for others who need that healing and comforting touch.

Giveaway - Three Audio Books of Marriage and Other Acts of Charity

Thanks to Hachette there will be THREE  WINNERS of this Audio book.
MARRIAGE AND OTHER ACTS OF CHARITY by Kate Braestrup

Publisher: Hachette Audio; Unabridged edition (January 13, 2010)
Genre: memoir
ISBN-10: 1600247784
ISBN-13: 978-1600247781
Buy Link 
Price:  $22.78
Author website

Product Description
In her award-winning memoir Here If You Need Me, Kate Braestrup won the hearts of readers across the country with her deeply moving and deftly humorous stories of faith, hope and family. Now, with her inimitable voice and generous spirit, she turns her attention to the subjects of love and commitment in MARRIAGE AND OTHER ACTS OF CHARITY. As a minister, Kate Braestrup regularly performs weddings. She has also, at 44, been married twice and widowed once, and accordingly has much to say about life after the ceremony.

TO ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY for the AUDIO CD:

1. I'll give you a choice for the entry Comment: you can do any ONE or all if you wish - it will only count as ONE entry.
a) Tell me how you would fill in the blank:  "What matters most is ___________."  (See my review.) Since that may be too personal for some there are other choices.
b) Check out the Author's Website and tell me something you found interesting there. (You might find the link to her husband's art work.)
c) You can listen to an excerpt here and comment on it.  OR
d) You can just tell me why you are interested in winning this audio.

2. For an extra entry, become a follower or tell me if you are already a follower.

3. For another entry, blog, facebook, tweet (any of those networks!) about this giveaway and tell me where you did.

4. Comment on my Review for another entry.

It isn't necessary to use separate entries unless you want them in different chronological order.
(Four total entries possible.)  MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE YOUR E-MAIL!

THERE WILL BE THREE WINNERS!

THANKS ONCE AGAIN TO HACHETTE AND VALERIE!

* This contest is only open to residents of US and Canada.
* No P.O. Boxes Please - for shipping reasons
* This contest will close Midnight (Central) on April 16, 2010. The winners will be randomly selected from all entries.

Review - Marriage and Other Acts of Charity by Kate Braestrup

Title:  MARRIAGE AND OTHER ACTS OF CHARITY
Author:  Kate Braestrup
Publisher: Hachette Audio; Unabridged edition (January 13, 2010)
Genre: memoir
ISBN-10: 1600247784
ISBN-13: 978-1600247781
Buy Link 
Price:  $22.78
Author website

Rating: 4.0

Product Description
In her award-winning memoir Here If You Need Me, Kate Braestrup won the hearts of readers across the country with her deeply moving and deftly humorous stories of faith, hope and family. Now, with her inimitable voice and generous spirit, she turns her attention to the subjects of love and commitment in MARRIAGE AND OTHER ACTS OF CHARITY. As a minister, Kate Braestrup regularly performs weddings. She has also, at 44, been married twice and widowed once, and accordingly has much to say about life after the ceremony.

REVIEW: This is interesting, humorous and thought provoking.  Have you ever realized: 100% of marriages end?  All will end eventually by death or divorce.

In this memoir Ms. Braestrup uses good storytelling to tell about experiences of conflict and commitment in marriage; loss of a spouse and the resulting struggles and fears of further loss;  betrayal of relationships and finally the willingness to allow a second chance at love.  As a chaplain for the Maine Warden Service the author blends in work and scenery details that fit nicely in the flow of her message.  She incorporates counseling and wedding decisions of one of the young game wardens and the divorce dilemma of a fictionalized game warden to help describe the difficulties of love and marriage.

Underlying her narrative is the simple (or not so simple) question “What matters most is ___________.”  She encourages each person to fill in the blank.  The author fills in the blank with “love”.  Not eros (physical) love or philos (brotherly) love,  but agape love which she presents as God’s selfless loving of another as yourself, with sincere caring.

Although Ms. Braestrup is a minister, the book is not religious. She does briefly express some theologies, several of which I personally cannot agree with.  However I did appreciate her conviction of faith and her message of God’s love which was presented in the aspects of relationships and not through preaching.

I was a little disconcerted by her use of some “50 cent” words that even I didn’t know or had to stretch to remember. [I say that because as an undergrad journalist and graduate lawyer I have a pretty extensive vocabulary. I even read through the dictionary and encyclopedia in my early teens - not that I remember all of that! I used to love to do the Reader Digest word matching.]  Some of the words she uses are just not everyday language.  Fortunately most of that is in the first disc and does not fill the book.

This audio book is read by the author in a smooth and expressive manner.  It is laced with humor and pathos.  I really enjoyed the easy style and chuckled out loud several times.  It presents engaging storytelling that affirms love and marriage.

xxx

This book was provided by Hachette for review and Giveaway.  Thank you Hachette and Valerie.

Book Beginnings Friday March 26, 2010

This post is a bit late too but another I found and want to try!

Book Beginnings on Friday is a meme hosted by Becky at Page Turners.  Anyone can participate; just share the opening sentence of your current read, making sure that you include the title and author so others know what you're reading.  If you like, share with everyone why you do, or do not, like the sentence.

1.  Death Mill Mansion - A Lighthearted Comedy by Will Hartzell-Baird

Prologue 

The second strangest creature in the known universe is the almost unheard of Sliv Lizard.

That sentence did get my attention - I certainly had never heard of the Sliv Lizard.  And don't you wonder then what is THE strangest creature?  This story had me chuckling in the first page!

2.  Dead, Undead or Somewhere in Between by J.A. Saare

Rhiannon's Law #27:  When you're working in a gentlemen's club and one of your dancers takes off those heels, alert the big guns, an [butt] kicking is on the menu.

I changed the word [butt] as a milder word than what is used.  You still get the picture - trouble is about to start!!

Join The Book Blogger Hop - March 26, 2010

Okay - I am a bit late but I really wanted to do this and I had to hunt down the link after I got to visit some Monday Reading links and some new sites/blog friends I met this week

This is a new meme from Jennifer at Crazy-For-Books and it is pretty cool!

You link up at The Hop and make an effort to visit other blogs.  It's all about networking and finding new BOOK blogs that are of interest. At the time I am posting this there were already 151 153 (before I could post!) links to the meme which is very wonderful.  I am looking forward to visiting some more blogs.  (I know, I know.  I have no more time - but sometimes its more important to visit with friends than to write the reviews!)
I f you stop by from the Hop please comment and say HI!