Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and Me by Ian Cron

Who can resist the intriging title and that cute little boy on the cover of this book?  Not me! He's even waving at me. What a doll! :)

Cron’s prose reminds me of old black and white family TV shows where it has a voice narrator telling you what the boy is thinking.

At Cron’s first Catholic Holy Communion he describes it as: “It’s the liturgical equivalent of becoming a “made man” in the Mafia.” I’m thinking, “Wow! A religious ceremony where you associate it to being inducted into the mob? Really?”

How does Cron really know for sure that his dad worked for the CIA? His dad’s work was a big secret, and no one knew who all those men in suits were at his dad’s funeral. Maybe his dad actually was a member of the mob, and maybe as a boy Cron invented the CIA job story for his dad so he would have something to tell his friends when they asked what his dad did for a living. The CIA sounds better than the Mafia. Right?

Basically, all Cron wanted to hear his father say before he died was a simple, “I’m sorry, Son, and I love you.”, but unfortunately Cron’s father never gave him that. All he said was, “Nothing’s perfect, Son.”  Okay, so later in the chapters when Cron says he heard a voice say “Forgive me, Son”, was that actually God’s voice whispering in his ear telling him what he needed to hear from his own father many years earlier? Because we all know that God doesn’t need OUR forgiveness.

I think Cron is an excellent writer and story teller. He’s very good at interweaving stories. I thought it was a good read, and I would recommend this book to anyone.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

http://www.DatabaseDesigns4U.blogspot.com

Book Review: Money Secrets of the Amish by Lorilee Craker

I downloaded the Kindle edition. It was easy to download right away to my Kindle, so I could start reading it almost immediately. I don’t know why there isn’t a cover page on the Kindle edition just like the book, but there’s not. I found a couple of typos, too.

Putting that aside I did like the book. It was a short, easy read. I wasn’t sure if I was turning the pages so fast because it was on a Kindle or because it was just that good. It was alright. The stories, I think, are the best part because— hey let’s face it—some of the secrets she describes everyone already knows, but not everyone practices: live below your means, pay on time, don’t use credit cards, and pay yourself first.

I would have liked to have seen a special Amish recipe or two.

I think over-all the book was okay, but if I was going to lay down some hard-earned bucks for it, I’d want a bit more meat and potatoes.

HERE'S THE SECRET I WANT TO KNOW!
I was shocked to learn that one Amish man paid $400,000 down on a $1,000,000 dollar house. I did the math and found that to be on average he saved $20,000 a year—that’s $1,667/month, or $385/week, or $9.62/hr. Now THAT’s the “secret” I’d like to uncover! Because I’m thinking, in order to SAVE $20,000/yr then he had to be EARNING about $40,000/yr—surely!

Now rewrite the book, Lorilee Craker, and tell us about THAT secret!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

http://www.DatabaseDesigns4U.blogspot.com

Book Review: The Final Summit by Andy Andrews

The Final Summit is a sequel to the Traveler’s Gift. David Ponder is a common man who applied the Seven Decisions in his life that he discovered in the Traveler’s Gift and it brought him much personal and professional success. Now 28 years later he is asked to head up a summit to discover in two words what is the most important principle that will save mankind. Even if you haven’t read the Traveler’s Gift this book will make sense, but if you have read the Traveler’s Gift you really want to read this!

I have yet to be disappointed with a book written by Andy Andrews. He makes history so interesting! He takes true things or obscure stories that no one has heard about that he finds through research, discovery, and his own lessons learned in life and builds wonderful stories that teach life lessons and principles for success.

The Final Summit takes lessons from history and great leaders in the past and applies those ideas and principles in today’s world. This story itself is fantastic, but the principle in this book will change everything for the person who is searching or looking for answers about family situations or financial situations in their personal life.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

http://www.DatabaseDesigns4U.blogspot.com

Book Review: A Power Based Life by Mike Flynt

I loved Mike Flynt’s book titled The Power Based Life! This book is power-packed to the max with extreme wisdom and inspiration! Basically, he says if you’re good at something, that’s your niche; Make yourself even better at it. Focus on that and be the best you can be at it.

Even Mike’s dad was an extraordinary man who was filled with mercy and compassion—even in war. Mike tells a story he learned about his dad who fought as a young man during World War II. He told about a decision his dad made when he was ordered to shoot a prisoner who surrendered. His dad had mercy and compassion toward him. Does that remind you of anything?

Mike has a great “Been There, Done That” attitude and tells us basically what he has learned in life. He shares great stuff with us in this book! His stories are encouraging, inspiring, and uplifting. Here’s a wonderful concept: He says, “You have to want it more”, but he says more importantly, “You have to want it longer.” What does that remind you of? Keep your eye on the prize. This is a great book and I would recommend it to anyone! I give it Five Stars!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

http://www.DatabaseDesigns4U.blogspot.com

Book Review: Living in the Zone by Kyle Rote Jr. and Dr. Joe Pettigrew

I loved this book—and I’m a woman!  This book is written by and for men—in particular sports orientated men—but most importantly—married men!  However, women may find it interesting too!

Here’s a line I thought was interesting:

“Often what you see in your wife as a weakness are really her strengths that have been taken to an extreme.”

Oh, and this one gave me a chuckle:

“It’s easy to find fault in your wives…and if the food tastes terrible, doesn’t she expect total honesty out of you?

Your answer will reveal how long you have been married!”

I might add to this—And your answer may indicate how long you STAY married, too!

I don’t think men have enough spiritual, leadership, and relationship books like this one and I greatly encourage more books like this to be written!  Please hurry!  I think this book is excellent!  We all have a story to tell.  Telling a story and listening to a story is the best way to teach, learn and relate with others.

These stories are not second-hand from a counselor and then the counselor’s comments; these stories are first-hand from the “players” point of view. I think this book has a good ratio of stories and bible thoughts and supporting verses, but it’s not overwhelming.  The 40-Day reading plan is very manageable: There are only 5-6 pages per day.  As you can already tell—I give this book a very high rating and I would definitely recommend it to any man to read individually or as a men’s bible study group! Thank you!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

http://www.DatabaseDesigns4U.blogspot.com

Book Review: Your Money God’s Way By Amie Streater

Amie’s 7 Money Myths are basically personality types and how each one views money, spends money, as well as saves money—or not. If you’re looking for a detailed, step-by-step how to get out of debt plan, this book is really not it. However, this book does take a close look at how most people get into debt in the first place—basically, reckless spending. This book is more of a “change your stinking thinking about money” type book. I did enjoy reading the countless entertaining stories of how people have gotten themselves deeply into debt—including hers. Now, don’t take that the wrong way; maybe I should rephrase that. I think Amie has counseled a lot of people and has a lot of interesting stories to tell. More importantly though Amie provides Christian based principles about how to deal with money and debt. At the end of the book Amie provides a short chapter of some tables and solid recommended budgeting strategies to get out of debt. I’ve read so many books though that I’ve read it before, so what really made this book enjoyable for me is her writing style.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

http://www.DatabaseDesigns4U.blogspot.com

Book Review: Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore

This book is about Ron Hall, his wife Deborah, and Denver Moore. The story tells about Deborah who feels a calling to help the homeless and she commissions her husband to help as well. Ron is reluctant at first but becomes a willing participant after a while, and he continues her ministry after she dies. Denver is such an inspiration to me! Denver has lived a life of oppression and yet has such a spirit-filled heart. He is full of empathy, forgiveness, and understanding. His thoughts, words, and actions touched my heart and brought me to tears many times. One such instance was where Ron asked Denver if they can be friends and Denver has to think on it a while. Denver finally agrees but he doesn’t take the duty of friendship lightly. I’d like to quote a portion out of the book where he compares friendship to the fishing analogy of “Catch and Release”.

"Catch and release?" I nodded solemnly, suddenly nervous and curious at the same time.

“That really bothers me”, Denver went on. “I just can’t figure it out. ‘Cause when colored folks go fishin, we really proud of what we catch, and we take it and show it off to everybody that’ll look. Then we eat what we catch…in other words, we use it to sustain us. So it really bothers me that white folks would go to all that trouble to catch a fish, then when they done caught it, just throw it back in the water.”

He paused again, and the silence between us stretched a full minute. Then “Did you hear what I said?”

I nodded, afraid to speak, afraid to offend.

Denver looked away, searching the blue autumn sky, then locked onto me again with that drill-bit stare. “So, Mr. Ron, it occurred to me: If you is fishin for a friend you just gon’ catch and release, then I ain’t got no desire to be your friend.”

The world seemed to halt in midstride and fall silent around us like one of those freeze-frame scenes on TV. I could hear my heart pounding and imagined Denver could see it popping my breast pocket up and down. I returned Denver’s gaze with what I hoped was a receptive expression and hung on.

Suddenly his eyes gentled and he spoke more softly than before: “But if you is lookin for a real friend, then I’ll be one. Forever.”

This brought me to tears! There are so many places in this book where love, forgiveness, mending, and trust are described. Many times throughout the book I was brought to tears. This is a wonderful story of tremendous compassion and love, and it will touch your heart. I would definitely buy this book as well as recommend it to others!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

http://www.DatabaseDesigns4U.blogspot.com

Book Review: Love on a Dime by Carolyn James Slaughter

Overall, I enjoyed the novel Love on a Dime by Carolyn James Slaughter. Although it was well written and a very easy read, I don’t think it had a lot of meat to the story, and the ending to the plot was predictable. The force that keeps the reader turning pages is to find out how the true author named, Fannie Cole, is finally revealed, and also how Lilly and Jack finally reunite.

However, that being said, I do think Carolyn did a good job with her first novel. I also liked the cover picture with the beautiful young girl. I thought it was appropriate with the time period of the story. I even liked the cleverness of her own pen name—Cara Lynn James. The plot may have been predictable, but there were a couple of surprises towards the end that were revealed through Jack’s detective work. It got to be a little humorous that Jack showed up EVERY place Lilly went. I wanted Jack to reveal to Lilly what he overheard to make him run away years ago without ever telling her why—unfortunately that didn’t happen. It’s kind of ironic that Lilly herself overheard Jack in a conversation on the phone and she wrongfully thought he was talking about her.

In addition, I did like the Reading Group Guide at the end of the story. Carolyn provided a list of ten thought provoking questions which could be used to think about what you read or to use as a study guide in a reading group.

Typos found:

(1) Page 94: “Vanessa Westbrook strolled into the library as her daughter departed in a swirl of lace and jasmine scent [that was] most becoming.”

(2) Page 106: “Actually it wasn’t, but I wish you wouldn’t gossip about me with my brother. It’s true I’m out every nearly every night, but that’s primarily to please George and Irene—and Mama.” (The extra "every" should be removed...or possibly the author meant to say "late".)

(3) There were one or two more typos, but now I can’t find where I marked them.

I love to read! I read every word, and I'm fairly good at catching those typos that were missed during editing! :)

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

http://www.DatabaseDesigns4U.blogspot.com

Book Review and Giveaway: The Heart Mender by Andy Andrews

I absolutely LOVED this book! I thought it was very interesting that Andy actually found a tin can buried under the roots of a tree that he was digging up in his back yard. Inside the can he found what looked like buttons from a military uniform, a ring, a badge, and three pictures. One picture was of a man, woman, and a baby in a wagon. Another picture was of uniformed men on a boat with Adolf Hitler! Andy’s takes us along on his quest to figure out who the family was in the picture and how these items came to be buried in his back yard.

Andy Andrews is an excellent writer and did a wonderful job of researching, talking with the few now old-timers who had firsthand knowledge of what happened in the Gulf of Mexico in 1942-43, and re-telling this amazing story! It's a true story of love, mystery, action, suspense, and forgiveness. What I find very intriguing is that through his research he uncovers a closely guarded secret in history that all American's should know but very few do.

This book has it all—history, mystery, action, adventure, love, sorrow, and forgiveness! I think anyone would love this book!

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ Free Book Giveaway! ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

I received a free copy of this book to give away on my blog. If you would like to win it, help spread the word (you can earn one entry in the drawing for each of the following):

(1) Follow my blog (publically),

(2) Tweet (include @CAMoore97 in the tweet),

(3) Blog about it (include my blog address),

(4) Post this blog to your Facebook wall.

All entries: Leave me a comment telling me that you want to be included in the giveaway and where your link is posted. If your email address is not visible or public in your profile, please leave it in your comment in a format like this: iwanttowin at aol dot com. If I can't reach you, you can't win!

Eligibility: US and Canada Only

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End date: Tuesday, May 25, 2010, at 11:59 PM CST

Notification: I will post the winner on this blog AND send an email to the email address used to enter. The winner will then have 48 hours to reply with their mailing information; otherwise, a new winner will be picked. The subject line in the email I send to you will be: "You WON Free Book on DatabaseDesigns4U blog!"

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Book Review: Walk Like You Have Somewhere to Go by Lucille O’Neal

This book is a brief summary of Lucille O’Neal’s life. She is the mother of the infamous NBA basketball superstar, Shaquille O’Neal. She is very honest about her life and her feelings, but I felt there were a lot of things she left unsaid. She tells about her parent’s divorce when she was only three and how her father took her and her two siblings to live with him at his parent's home in New Jersey. She talks about her grandparent's strict Christian upbringing and her desire for a little space and freedom.

Lucille became an unwed mother at the age of eighteen in 1972. She met and married Phillip Harrison two years later. He raised Shaquille as his own and they had three more children together. My heart broke along with hers when she retold an incident of Phil verbally berating her one day. Phil did a head count when he came home from work and the youngest was missing. She had snuck out the door while Lucille was trying to prepare dinner. She was found a short time later, but unfortunately, I believe that instance was the beginning of the end of their 28 year marriage.

In all, I enjoyed this book. It was a fast, easy read and it held my attention. It was written in dialog as if you were sitting next to Lucille listening to her telling her story personally. It was interesting enough that I wanted to know more. I wanted to hear some “words of wisdom” spoken to her by her grandparents. I wanted some actual dialog between her and her children, husband, and parents. I think Lucille will write a second book because I feel she has so much more to share!

As a side note: I found a typo on page 137.

It reads: "For those of who you haven’t experienced this, there’s nothing more numbing than your first child leaving home for college.”

It should read: " For those of you who haven’t experienced this, there’s nothing more numbing than your first child leaving home for college."

I like to proof-read, I read every word, and I could use a little side income! *wink, wink*

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

http://www.DatabaseDesigns4U.blogspot.com

Book Review: Kaleidoscope by Patsy Clairmont

Kaleidoscope by Patsy Clairmont is a light review of the book of Proverbs. Patsy is a Women of Faith author and speaker who has a heart for the Lord. Through humor and truth God has given her the amazing ability to reach out to millions of women.

The intended audience for this book is busy women, and she builds each chapter around a relevant verse in Proverbs. If you don’t have much time to read, but you’d like something light and entertaining that can be read quickly, then this book is for you! In that way, I think it fulfills its objective very well.

The book is small so it can be carried easily in a woman’s handbag or tote. The chapters are short, and the stories are relevant and entertaining--as is Patsy’s writing style that we’ve come to know and love.

At the end of each chapter are questions and supporting Bible verses. For a further in-depth study of the Proverbs, this book could easily be used either as a small group study or a personal devotion. I enjoyed Patsy’s stories and sense of humor, and I could relate so well with many of the stories!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

http://www.DatabaseDesigns4U.blogspot.com