No More Braces!

Today our Meggie

got her braces off

after two years!

And just in time

for picture day at school!

Doesn't she look lovely?!

I'm Not CRAZY, but i might be a carrier

Charles Marshall’s book, I’m not CRAZY, but I might be a carrier, is my first ever 'free book' to read and review; as such I had high hopes. Sadly, the book did not live up to my great expectations. It’s obvious Marshall is writing as a man's man. His humor is never off-color but is most definitely targeted to the guys, in particular married men with families. It is collection of very short chapters on a variety of subjects, most with humorous titles. Several of these chapters are grouped together in 'parts' or major categories, similiarly bedecked with titilating names. All of this effort to amuse me and yet, story after story I was only mildly amused. Not to mention I was also mildly irritated although I couldn't say why. However, given that I'm not "the funny one" in our marriage and in the effort of fairness for a review, I asked my husband for his take on it.

He did a fast read and provided the following: “OK, there is some light humor in here. It appears to me Charles is a Dave Barry fan, as he writes in much the same vein. Here, however, is the pitfall. He’s trying to include religion as a tag ending to each story. I would find these better off if he would incorporate the Lord’s message instead of making each anecdote a lead-in to a mini-sermon. I tend to stop when I see a “This is how we can tie in to God’s word” preamble to a sentence. God, I believe, has a serious sense of humor, and probably likes to be included in the party, not thrown in as an afterthought. After all, God created us humans and the Duckbill Platypus… and you don’t see the former trying to tart itself up with clothes and bling like humans do; only we are embarrassed over our appearance, which could either be offensive or funny to God depending on your point of view. (“What’s the matter? Your thighs looked good to me when I gave them to you… it was only when you overindulge in fried chicken and eat the entire bag of chocolates at one sitting day after day that you start to have a problem…”). I found the chapter on the dentist and the “fear journal” rather amusing; I also related to the Vicks Vap-0-rub ® stories, because all we 1960’s kids were subject to the poison of the medical hobby shop owners of that age. As a book, it’s a read, but not one I personally would have spent cash on. Humor is a good thing, best delivered, in my opinion, by someone who is good at it in an audio forum. I DO enjoy Dave Barry, but my comments apply to him as well... I save most of my reading time for substance, “meat” if you will, not potato crisps. This book was what I would consider a time passer, good for the waiting room, paid for by someone else…”

And so you can see what my husband thought. Personally I think Bear's review is better than Marshall's book, but then I might be a bit biased! ☺

**

The Shack

The Shack is a book you will thank yourself for reading. While it can be didactic at times, it is not overtly so. It’s more a story of journey and relationship—discovering who you are through learning more about who God is to you. I’m no theologian, but I do like to imagine myself as the Theophilus Luke is writing to in the Book of Acts. So I read the book as a God-Lover and I write this review in the same way.

It begins with an unspeakably horrible tragedy happening to a loving father. (By way of explanation, I cannot write this review without at least giving that much away.) It’s the sort of nightmare every devoted parent dreads and secretly fears. In the aftermath of the disaster, the main character, Mack, attempts to put his life back together but finds he cannot. The devastation is too great; the chasm created by his loss is so unfathomable, his faith in a loving God is shattered.

Mack receives a strange and seemingly preposterous invitation to meet God at the very site – the shack – the scene where the unspeakable crime against his loved one occurred. The rest of the story is about Mack’s meeting with God which is unlike any other fictional description I've read of a Divine encounter. If you have ever longed to see God you will certainly appreciate this book. If you have experienced – or are going through – your own Agony in the Garden time in your life this book may be a very cathartic aid. It is my belief that is its real purpose. As such, God is presented most beautifully as 'relationship-in-love'. God is three distinct persons whose love for each other is one and yet extends to each and every one of us, His creatures. Mack heals as we may also heal, if we need any spiritual healing, through opening to God’s love.

As I mentioned early on, I am no expert in Theology and I have no doubt there are probably theological errors in The Shack. God as God, the Almighty, Our Creator, Savior, Redeemer, the Holy Spirit, etc. who has been worshipped, studied, prayed to, fought over and died for – for millennium – was not just suddenly figured out in 2007 by William P. Young and explained in 248 pages of fiction. This book is by no means definitive or the last word on God. It is, however, wonderful. It is a moving and a loving tribute to getting to know Him better. It is a helpful way to look at how God views the tragedies that happen in our lives. He does not inflict them on us. He suffers right along with us . . . just as He did 2000 years ago.

*****

This book was recommended to me by my dear friend and spiritual mentor Rosemary. Thank you dear one and God bless you! ~~booklady

The July Book Blowout Wrap-up

Sadly folks, booklady did not make her goal of 8 books. In fact, she did not even come close! However, I did manage to finish 4 adult books and 2 young adult books, plus a whole bunch of little kid's books. And I've been working on some pretty tough non-fiction for my two on-line Catholic book clubs, one of which I'm moderator for. So, maybe . . . it's not as bad as it sounds?

Anyway, here are some questions Mrs. S posted that we could answer about the Book Blowout. I've put her questions in red and my answers in black.

1. Did you discover a new author? Yes, I did as a matter of fact! Her name is Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch and she writes excellent young adult historical fiction! She also happens to be my friend on goodreads!!! How lucky can a booklady be?!

2. Where was the most unusual place you found yourself reading? Can't really say I read anywhere unusual...just all the same places: in bed, sitting in chairs, waiting in my car, at the kitchen table and well, of course in the official "Reading Room"!

3. Did you read more than usual? Yes! I found the challenge of having a deadline helped keep me a little more focused. Not a lot--but a little.

4. Did you give up anything in order to read more? Housework?! Does that count as something to 'give up'? LOL!

5. If you won the Amazon voucher what would you spend it on? Silly question! Books...is there anything else?!

6. Would you like to see a 2009 Book Blowout? Absolutely!

Loved it! Thanks Mrs. S! Call me or stop by next time you're having another book challenge of any kind!

Happy Birthday Joy!

As you can see

the rosebush

is doing very well!

love and ((hugs))

'Children and War' Books

When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. ~~African proverb

Children and war? Surely not?! Sadly, yes! When we think of war, we want to think of ‘over there’, men and machines, not children and certainly not our children. But the reality is just the opposite. Children are war’s first and most devastated victims. They are used as barter, soldiers, and human bombs. They are tortured, raped, killed, and left homeless, orphaned, and dead. Children are the greatest sufferers when adults ‘play’ war.

What can we do? Many things certainly, but most of them are beyond the scope of this blog article. Here I would just like to point out some excellent books I have recently run across which deal very sensitively and poignantly with the subject of children and war. By reading these books ourselves and to our children, we can raise the level of awareness of the destructiveness of war—what it does to individuals, families, communities and nations. We can educate our children about the seriousness and the reality of war. Wars are not just somewhere else, happening to people we don’t care about and will never meet. When people kill each other, it affects all of us. When whole cities are burned down and great works of art destroyed, all of humanity suffers the loss.

Also I would like to put out a call for others to let me know when they find other books about children dealing with the effects of war by posting comments here.

I will be listing the four books I have selected in age appropriate order.

The first book is The Librarian of Basra by Jeanette Winter. In this book – suitable for even the youngest child –a very enterprising librarian saved most of her city’s books from utter destruction when the invasion of Iraq reached Basra on April 6, 2003. This is a very gentle introduction to the realities of a current war which can be safely read to even toddlers without too much fear of nightmares. (Parental discretion still advised!) The pictures are bright and colorful and there is usually no more than a sentence or two per page. It teaches the lesson about respect for personal property, something every two year old is very interested in.



Silent Music, A story of Baghdad by James Rumford doesn’t seem at first glance to be a story about war and that may be the best approach to take in reading to our children about difficult subjects. In Silent Music, the little boy, Ali, who lives in Baghdad, loves to write his letters. He seems to love to write as much as yours truly likes to read. Perhaps my readers have some personal passion they can relate to? Ali describes the feel and beauty he experiences when he draws his Arabic script; sometimes the letters are flowing easily, other times they are stiff and awkward. But always, he has the sense that he is making ‘silent music’ with his letters. Then one night he uses his writing to get himself through the bombing of his city. He notes how easy it is to write the word ‘war’ and how difficult to write the word ‘peace’, shalom. How ironic.

The third book I chose, Aram’s Choice is a book for older children, due to its length and text; it is twelve chapters and sixty-nine pages. It deals with the aftermath of the World War I. Aram and his grandmother are the sole survivors from his family of the Armenian genocide by the Turks. The story begins in Corfu, Greece in 1923 and Aram is twelve; he and his grandmother have already fled Anatolia, Turkey and taken shelter here. Now Aram has been offered the opportunity for a new life in Canada, but he doesn’t want to leave his grandmother to go so far away. The book is about beginning again, but not forgetting, learning to let go, but to treasure what was good and is now good. It's a beautiful story—both in the text and the illustrations. Not many books that I'm familiar with have dealt with this first atrocity of the twentieth century and certainly there are few for children. Most highly recommended!

And now for my favorite! Even though I enjoyed the other three books very much, this last one touched me most deeply. Perhaps it is because it is set in my own country, I do not know. It could be that, but I think it is the book itself and the author’s mystical writing style. For one thing, the text is written as if it were verse, which gives it an almost poetical feel. You will see what I mean when you open the cover. And then there is Kek, himself, the little Sudanese refugee who has come to America on the ‘flying boat’ but finds living here ‘hard work’ due to cold ‘like claws on skin’, sun that ‘burns your eyes’, dead trees, and no cows. Poor Kek is a fish out of water in our technological civilization. He is used to green, warmth, livestock and free movement; he has come to white, cold, metal and confinement. But Kek is known as a boy who ‘finds sun when the sky is dark’ and indeed he does find and make his way in this strange new world. As the story progresses you see the beauty and perfection in Applegate’s title, Home of the Brave.

Please do check out these books. In the war for the safety of our children, these are winners. I owe thanks for finding all these marvelous books to my favorite librarian friend from goodreads, Krista the Krazy Kataloguer! Thanks a million, Krista—keep those recommendations coming!

P.S. It only just dawned on me that this might be taken as a 'political statement' rather than as a blog post offering excellent books which gently introduce and teach our children about a difficult and yet very important subject. I am not trying to say or even imply that wars are never necessary; I served in the United States Air Force from 1979-1991 achieving the rank of major before I took an early retirement to stay home with my children. I know the value of our military forces and that wars can be just, valid and essential to world stability and overall peace. But as a mother, I'm also mindful of what happens to children during wartime.

Better even than a “Reading Mother” is a “Praying Mother”

I've always loved the poem, “The Reading Mother”. Although I don’t have any little boys, I’ve shared it with several mothers who do. As a booklady, obviously, I think reading is very important. But there are a few things more important than reading to our children and one of them is praying for and with our children.

Today my oldest daughter got her driver’s license. From my perspective, getting a license is a rite of passage; a momentous occasion. It means changes, such as: my daughter no longer needs me to get her places. I also won’t be there to ensure her safety.

But really, how often have I had to let her go already in her short sixteen year life? Plenty of times. From her birth, her life has been a constant process of letting go and moving on. It’s natural and right. I know it in my mind and heart. I’ve watched her crawl away, walk away, run away, ride her bike away and now drive away. Motherhood is constant surrender. We surrender our children back to Him and trust to His loving care.

While she was out on her first solo drive—after I said my rosary—I reread “The Reading Mother” and then I wrote this little poem which I call, “The Praying Mother”. It’s not as good as the original by Gillilan but it comes full from the heart and I dedicate with all my love to Meggie and to my own dear mother.

Here’s . . .

“THE READING MOTHER” by Strickland Gillilan

I had a mother who read to me
Sagas of pirates who scoured the sea,
Cutlasses clenched in their yellow teeth,
"Blackbirds" stowed in the hold beneath

I had a Mother who read me lays
Of ancient and gallant and golden days;
Stories of Marmion and Ivanhoe,
Which every boy has a right to know.

I had a Mother who read me tales
Of Celert the hound of the hills of Wales,
True to his trust till his tragic death,
Faithfulness blent with his final breath.

I had a Mother who read me the things

That wholesome life to the boy heart brings-
Stories that stir with an upward touch,
Oh, that each mother of boys were such.

You may have tangible wealth untold;
Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.
Richer than I you can never be --
I had a Mother who read to me.

And here’s . . .

“THE PRAYING MOTHER” by booklady

You have a mother who’s prayed for you

Since long before she laid eyes on you;

Prayed for your health and happiness too;

Prayed she’d know what a mother’s to do.

You had a mother who prayed for your birth

And welcomed the gift of your life on this earth.

Swaddled in blankets so helpless and dear,

She resolved to pray, rather than fear.

You had a mother who prayed most days;

Struggling to learn to ‘pray always’.

Prayers for your safety, your sanctity too,

But mostly just praying God’s Will for you.

You had a mother who prayed as you grew,

Loving you more than she thought she could do.

Watching you blossom from year to year,

Slowly her prayers for you have grown clear.

You have a mother who is praying still;

Stubborn, selfish, and with a strong will,

Yet this mother’s heart and mother’s touch

The years of prayer have softened so much.

Dearest one, ahead may be joys or sorrow

Despite the prayers, we cannot know tomorrow.

Praying is the richest gift though it be free

I, too, have a mother who prays for me.

All my love and prayers, your bookmom