Mariano Rivera's Story: The Closer

The guys at my house love baseball. They are not New York fans, but when I got the opportunity to review The Closer, My Story by Mariano Rivera with Wayne Coffey, I jumped on it.

I have the impression that the lives of major league baseball players are easy and have always been easy. I picture these men as golden children who were naturally talented and landed in the major leagues without much effort.

Mariano Rivera's story burst a bubble in the fairy tale in my mind about major league baseball players.

He grew up a kid in a poor country without a proper baseball anything. No baseball diamond. A glove made from a milk carton. A stick for a bat. Who would ever dream that a boy's accuracy in killing iguanas  with rocks to put food on the table would translate into a young man's ability to throw a baseball with that same accuracy?

His life plan was to be a mechanic. He retired as the best relief pitcher in baseball and one of the most popular MLB players in history. (His is the most popular jersey sold today.)

The story of how Mariano Rivera made it from a fishing town in Panama to Yankee Stadium is captivating. Rivera experienced a lot of what I call God-incidences in his life, and he is quick to reveal his his own awe and his own faith to readers and he reminds us that his success and blessings come from God. Rivera gives us glimpses into what he was thinking every step of the way and that insight and perspective draws me deeper and deeper into his story. (I have to admit that I would like to read a companion book by Rivera's wife, Clara, the story from her perspective, too!)

My son, the baseball nut and Detroit Tigers fan, read the book first. He said Rivera's story is humbling. Rivera started with very little compared to what we have. My son calls Rivera an inspiration after reading the book.

The Closer is a 288 page hardback list priced at $28. I highly recommend it for all the baseball fans and non-fans in your life. Barnabas Agency gave me a copy of The Closer at no charge to review here on my blog. I was not paid for this review and am not obligated to provide a positive review.

The 3-Minute Difference

I didn't have time or energy to review books, yet when "The 3-Minute Difference" popped up as a review opportunity, I couldn't turn it down after I read the book description.   I'm disorganized and overweight, for starters, and attempts to address those challenges are overwhelming to me.  I sometimes wonder what is wrong with me that I cannot fix myself.

Wayne Nance's life was out of control once. He smoked. He was obese. His marriage was a mess and he was in debt. And he found a way out. He says he can help others out, too.

I was interested.

First is the 3-Minute Survey. I described myself by choosing from lists of adjectives and sent my choices off to be assessed. The whole thing seemed a little bit hokey to me, a little "cootie catcher" to me, but I was willing to see what Nance says the choices I made describing myself say about me.

I was not ready for the results. Well, in some ways I was ready. In others, not. I'm not sure how choosing a few adjectives while ignoring other adjectives gives Nance that much insight into a person.

He *nailed* me. And he opened a door to insight and perspective about myself that I recognize is there that will help me move forward. 

Let me give you an excerpt from the book, from page 87: "This means that 40% of the population is not predisposed to what we call 'responsibility.' ... Practically speaking, your wiring puts you at risk for lifestyle problems like obesity and debt."  That insight is power.  If I am not predisposed to responsibility, I have to work harder at being responsible and I need to KNOW that I have to work harder at it.

"3-Minute Difference" walks the reader through finding his or her pattern and in families, how individual patterns work together in a family unit.

And Nance takes me through the challenging steps that will change me for the better.  I have to change my attitude.  And I can change my life. 

You'll have to stay tuned because I am a work in progress. Nance's words make sense and he breaks things down in a way that I can begin to apply. I still feel like a bit of a failure because I don't seem to be moving fast enough for me. I can't let my own thoughts bring me down, and Nance reminds me to concentrate on the successes, even when they are few or small.

The survey is HERE.

http://www.reallifeattitude.com/the-3-minute-difference.html

The book is priced at $16.99 and Nance includes the survey in the book and he walks you through interpreting your "score" (your pattern).  Or you may choose to take the survey online and choose from report options there.

I like the insight into myself.  I like the encouragement.  I like the way Nance walks me through steps and goal setting.  It seems doable and within my reach, and practical.  Thumbs up.

The Gospel Story Bible

Here's a book that I LOVE. Right up front I will tell you that this is one of my favorite review items *ever*!

The press release describes the Bible well:

The Gospel Story Bible contains "156 stories to present God’s plan of salvation in Christ from its opening narrative in Genesis to its finale in Revelation. This easy-to-read storybook written for children from preschool to high school introduces readers to many captivating people, places and events from the Bible’s Old and New Testaments. At the same time, Machowski skillfully connects the individual stories to the overall gospel narrative of how God redeemed a broken world through sending his son Jesus to save his people. Each story ends by connecting to Jesus and his gospel of grace. By sharing these Bible stories with each other, young and old will learn together the life-changing habit of recognizing the presence and workings of Christ in every moment of their day."

The book is bright and colorful and the illustrations are striking. The sturdy hardback is list priced at $29.99.

Author Marty Machowski is a Family Life Pastor at Covenant Fellowship Church, a Sovereign Grace Ministries church in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, where he has served on the pastoral staff for twenty-three years.

Machowski tells stories from the ESV Bible in a way that is inviting. Most stories are one page long with an illustration by A. E. Macha on the opposite page. A few stories are two pages long. Machowski has done an incredible job making each story fit the one-or-two page length without compromising details.

My daughter (who is on the autism spectrum) and I read these stories at bedtime. The visual of one story per page keeps her anxiety down; she knows she can enjoy the story with me as a read-aloud without being overwhelmed by too many pages. Sometimes "short" means "shallow". Not here. The story is deep enough to allow for some questions and some discussion afterwards, too. The Gospel Story Bible is a wonderful resource for engaged learning!

For my kid, a reluctant, anxious reader, this format is pretty much perfect. It's a book that is attractive enough for a large age-range to pick up as well. My one complaint is a small one: some stories use white text on a colored background and that contrast is more difficult for me to read.

The B&B Media Group sent me a review copy of The Gospel Story Bible at no charge to me. I get to keep the book. I was not paid for this review and am not obligated to provide a positive review.

Grandma's Attic

My husband's grandmother wrote stories about her childhood and early married years. A Southern girl who married and moved to an industrial state in the Midwest for work, she had interesting and humorous insights about events that happened to her. I've often thought about putting her words into stories for children.

Arleta Richardson has done just that, has taken her grandmother's stories and shared them with us in her Grandma's Attic series. She writes about Mabel, who is just slightly younger than my 12-year-old, and her best friend, Sarah Jane, and their adventures in a world before TV, computers, and video games.

We were given the third and fourth books in the series (pictured here), Still More Stories from Grandma’s Attic and Treasures from Grandma’s Attic.

I love these books. I would have adored them as a child. I loved to read anything from 'back in the olden days'. The Little House series was a favorite of mine and like that series, I would have read Richardson's books again and again.

The series is a bit too young for my high schooler.

With my homeschooler - if you are familiar with our story you know she has autism and developmental delays - these chapter books are a bit too advanced for her to read alone and we have been reading them - very slowly - together as read alouds. At first, I was upset about having to go so slowly, but I as we go through them, I see how slowly my child processes information and she gives me confirmation that slowly is better than not at all. Sometimes, we get through a couple of paragraphs; sometimes, a big chunk of a chapter. It all depends on how she is managing on that day and on how much new vocabulary and vernacular there is in the story at any given point.

Richardson uses a lot of old-timey vernacular, words, terms, expressions that we do not use today. Too many in one section, and my girl shuts down. She sometimes stops me to ask, "What does that mean?" or I'll ask her if she can guess what something means - and the more that happens, the more her anxiety rises. So, we make that our stopping point.

It is fun to imagine together what it might have been like without bookcases filled with books or without TV, and to imagine things in the book happening to us. What if a really old person came to live with us? What would that be like?

I like this series, and will probably order more of them. Your daughter may like them, too!

Still More Stories from Grandma’s Attic and Treasures from Grandma’s Attic by Arleta Richardson

David C Cook/August 2011

160 pages/paperback/$6.99

ISBN: 978-0-7814-0381-8 and 978-0-7814-0382-5

www.davidccook.com

We were given the third and fourth books in the series (pictured here), Still More Stories from Grandma’s Attic and Treasures from Grandma’s Attic. I was not paid for this review and am not obligated to provide a positive review.

Greg Laurie: Let God Change Your Life

Pastor Greg Laurie brings us Let God Change Your Life, How to Know and Follow Jesus. The book is for anyone and everyone, believers and seekers alike, written in Laurie's down-to-earth and easy-to-follow style, about exactly what the title suggests.

I visited a church in recent months where I left the sermon frustrated that I didn't feel like I had anything to bring home with me to ponder and use in my day-to-day interactions. I still don't feel settled since our cross-country move in April. I feel disconnected from people and disconnected from God.

I view Greg Laurie as more of a teacher than a preacher, and his book teaches. Laurie's book is longer than a Sunday sermon and provides specific scriptures, "why bother", anecdotes, encouragement, and ideas for real-life application to believers, to seekers, to backsliding children.

After the introduction, Laurie divides the book into three sections Part One: How To Know God; Part Two: Discipleship; Part Three: Making Him Known; notes, and Bible resources.

Sometimes, Laurie's words are almost too challenging; he stretches me and grows me, and his words reveal my weaknesses as I read them. Other times, Laurie points out observations that I've noticed (some as a direct result of having a child with special needs) that I don't think a lot of people are aware of, and I appreciate the way he brings those observations into the light and challenges the way we think about God, church, the gospel. Pastor Laurie's words reach me at both the head level and the heart level, and I suspect that is exactly what he intended.

Let God Change Your Life is a 288 page paperback retail priced at $14.99.

Let God Change Your Life: How to Know and Follow Jesus by Greg Laurie

David C Cook/June 2011

ISBN: 978-1434-70207-4/208 pages/paperback

www.greglaurie.com

The B&B Media Group sent me a review copy of Let God Change Your Life. I was not paid for this review and am not obligated to provide a positive review.

The Blackberry Bush a novel by David Housholder

The Blackberry Bush by David Housholder is a novel that is a little bit historical fiction, a little bit current fiction, a little bit future fiction, that takes readers through the lives of distant cousins who are related in ways their families do not know, born on different continents on the same day in 1989 (the day, the actual moment that the Berlin Wall came down).

We follow Josh and Kati, their unknown connection to one another, even though they don't know one another, and we learn the back story that connects them. We see them grow as we learn what factors from the past play roles in who these individuals become.

The story makes me wonder about my back story.

I thought that this book would be a novel that I would read for the mere pleasure of it, the pleasure of being taken far away, a respite from recent challenges of moving across the country, settling into a new place with three children, including one w/ autism. It wasn't the easy pleasure read I was expecting, and honestly, for me, would have been better saved for another time, a time when I have more space and energy for a book with layers of symbolism and meaning, a book that prompts a deep look inside me at times.

I typically read magazines from back to front; not with books. I do wish I'd have looked at the back of this book first. Reading the interview with the author and the section of questions for reflection and/or book clubs would have helped me frame the story as I began it.

Housholder gives us a genealogy outline of the characters and he gives us maps that, quite frankly, are not useful for me until I have met the characters and can put them into some sort of context in my mind. I struggled to follow the story told out of order, switching chapter to chapter from recent past, to World War II past, to present, to future.

Having said that, the story is interesting and kept me coming back to learn what happens next when I had to put the book down to drive a child to camp or make a meal or do laundry. It is a book that I suspect that I would like to read again with my new perspective and insight now that I've read the author interview and book club study questions. I was challenged to process all the layers of meaning and symbols in just one reading as I tried to connect the back story to the story of the two main characters. (Perhaps I had too many interruptions.) I think I would enjoy discussing The Blackberry Bush in a group setting, which would allow me to process it aloud in relationship with others.

The book is a 204 page paperback list priced at $14.99. (A pet peeve: The edges of the pages are annoyingly, deliberately uneven and torn, making it difficult for me to turn just one page.)

The web site for the book is HERE. Be sure to check it out; the author has put a great deal of information there, including the author interview and study guide that I wish I'd read first.

David Housholder blogs HERE.

The Blackberry Bush has a facebook page HERE.

The B&B Media Group sent me a review copy of The Blackberry Bush. I was not paid for this review and am not obligated to provide a positive review.

fully engaged

"fully engaged, how to DO less and BE more" by John Busacker is book with a reminder to slow down and to be intentionally and, well, fully engaged.

I really thought this book would be an encouraging book about one man's story and that's it. It's not. The author provides incredible how-to within the pages.

If you, like me, want to look at yourself with a critical eye in order to make positive changes, fully engaged is both an encouragement and a teacher as Busacker guides the reader through a journey of recognizing first who you are and then who you want to be and advice about how one gets from one place to the other.

The small (slightly bigger than my hand), 164-page hardback takes the reader through steps of awareness, alignment, and action toward making our lives more intentional and helping us be engaged fully.

The chapter that speaks very loudly to me at the moment is under the "action" section, called "Celebrate Your Setbacks, Your engagement is fueled by failure". I feel myself failing at managing all the changes of a cross-country move as, at the same time, I look back at things I wish I'd done or wish I'd done better in the 15 years we were in that other place. Busacker's got me doing a little work, that's for sure.

I think that fully engaged would be a great gift for high school or college graduation and is one that would be (in my opinion) a great book to slip into your carry-on to read and work through on an airplane. It's small enough to fit in a purse or briefcase for time in waiting rooms, too.

fully engaged is for people who are ready to take a hard look at themselves in order to do the work to make positive changes. For me, I'm not sure which is more challenging, taking the honest look at self, or taking the risks I need to take for change and growth.

Do Less and Be More web site is here.

The B&B Media group sent me fully engaged for review purposes. I was given no financial compensation for this review and am not obligated to provide a positive review.

The GrandFathers

I was fascinated a few years ago at a Steven Curtis Chapman concert when Chapman introduced me to Steve Saint and the story of Steve's father, Nate. Nate Saint, along with four other American missionaries, were brutally murdered in Ecuador, on a mission trip to reach the Waodani tribe, a people with the reputation of being the most violent in the world. Nate's son, Steve, and Nate's sister, Rachel, went to live among the people who murdered Nate Saint.

Chapman not only introduced Steve Saint to the audience, but he also brought on stage one of the Waudoni people who had murdered Steve Saint's father, Nate.

The story is incredible. Murder. Forgiveness. Relationship.

What I didn't know is the rest of the story. I do now.

The GrandFathers is the story of what happened later. It is Jesse Saint's story. Jesse is Steve Saint's son; Nate Saint's grandson, a young man raised in the United States who lived in the shadow of the story of the grandfather he never knew, in the shadow of his dad's relationship with the tribe and people that he never knew.

Captured in approximately 45 minutes of video, Jesse and Steve Saint narrate most of the fast paced EthnoGraphic Media film that takes us through Jesse's journey as a teenager into the jungle and gives us glimpses into finding not one, but several grandfathers to fill the shoes of the one whose life was cut so short. Video footage includes peeks at Jesse's teenage years with his parents and sister in the jungle along with more recent footage.

The GrandFathers, the third in a series by writer/director Jim Hanon and producer Mart Green, is available for purchase for $19.95. The film is rated PG, and I suggest parents preview it before deciding whether to watch it with your children. There are brief, but violent images and descriptions that may not be suitable for children.

The story still fascinates me, that a trip to take Jesus to a remote tribe in Ecuador that seemed to end in murder in fact didn't end there at all. And it didn't end with the wives of the murdered men entering the jungle and living with the people who'd murdered their husbands. The story continues with grandchildren and is about living and relationships, God-followers, all of them.

The B&B Media Group sent me a review copy of The GrandFathers. I am not paid for reviews and am not obligated to provide a postive review.

Flight Plan, your mission to become a man

I was given Flight Plan as a review opportunity; it is written for middle school and high school age boys. When it arrived, I handed it off to my middle schooler (my 11½ year old son). He read the whole book. Here's what he had to say about it:

Flight Plan Your Mission to Becoming a Man, is a great book. This book gives the reader great info that they will need in the long run. This book is also great to read with a dad/leader/trusted mentor. Lastly, this book helps the reader know what to do in life when bad, or scary things happen to them. This book covers a wide selection of things and what to do when it happens like drugs and sex. This book is great for a boy becoming a man.

A peek inside Flight Plan is available here.

Flight Plan, your mission to become a man, by Lee Burns and Braxton Brady, is a 194 page, 13 chapter paperback, priced around $15.

I'll start by saying I wish I'd read the book first and I wish my husband had gone through the book with my son. If you are buying this book for a young man in your family, I recommend purchasing two copies, one for parent, one for child.

Flight Plan comes from a Biblical, Christian perspective, uses multiple approaches, using scripture, anecdotes, quotes from movies and famous people, is part teacher, part Bible study, part self-help book...Flight Plan is a lot of information rolled into one paperback. It is written in a style that is easy to read without too much professional lingo, in a style that draws in the reader and keeps his (and her) attention.

Flight Plan covers friendships, sex (a lot more info about sex than I thought it would), drugs, girls, dating, mentors, peer pressure, making choices, stress - all of the topics my middle schooler had been asking me about. At the end of each chapter, authors Burns and Brady offer questions for thought and reflection.

Burns and Brady offer sons and their parents a gift by pre-viewing situations that could happen, allowing young men to think about them, rehearse in their minds, even role play, what they will do if a situation arises. It spotlights what to look for when choosing a wing-man (best friend).

I think that sometimes we parents warn our children to look out for this situation or that one, and our children become tone-deaf to our "preaching", and we get from our boy an attitude of "There she goes again!" with an eyeball roll. Flight Plan does the previewing, offers the caution, has the same concerns that I do, yet offers a "neutral" perspective because it doesn't come from Mom or Dad.

Flight Plan really opened up the lines of conversation between my son and me. He was able to use something he read in the book to come to me to ask more about it. I knew he had questions, even misconceptions. Talking to boys at school can create some interesting perceptions and misunderstandings, that's for sure! Flight Plan became a framework for the two of us, a place that created a base for him to feel safe sharing his questions with me. It continues to be a framework for our conversations as he continues to process information he read a couple of months ago and as he encounters new situations in his life. I suspect that Flight Plan will be a reference book of sorts for my son as he continues through middle and high school.

[Mom's note: I especially like Dr Tim Kimmel's list of ten ways to be a great member of their family on page 139; I think we'll post that on our refrigerator after we move (we are preparing to pack up and leave in less than a week as I type).]

I think that Flight Plan is a must have for young men and their parents. Parents, read the book first; order two copies and read/work through it with your boy.

B&B Media Group sent me a copy of Flight Plan for review purposes. I received no payment for this review and am not obligated to provide a positive review.

the life book

The B & B Media Group, Inc, introduces a new project and new tool from The Gideons International to get the gospel message into the hands of every high school students in the form of a cute little book called the life book. The book is slightly larger than the palm of my hand, and easily fits into my purse (or the pocket of a high schooler's backpack).

Here's a video that explains the project:

$1.00 = 1 Life from The Life Book Movement on Vimeo.

Designed to be given to high schoolers by their classmates, the book is cute in size (108 little pages) and layout, with handwritten notes squeezed among printed information. Amazingly, the little book begins with the beginning and Genesis and incorporates excerpts from scripture to tell the gospel message. the life book briefly addresses relationships and sex, depression/worry, friends/peer pressure, self image/self esteem, too.

My one complaint as a 40-something (upper 40-something) adult is that the print is so tiny that I have trouble reading it while wearing my reading specs. Most high schoolers will have no trouble with the text and printing.

the life book costs a dollar if you'd like one for your tween or teen; you may make a monetary donation at www.thelifebook.com if you'd like to donate a number of books to the effort to get one into the hands of every high schooler.

You may also read a digital version of the life book at www.thelifebook.com.

The B & B Media Group sent me a copy of the life book for review purposes. I am not paid for reviews and am not obligated to provide a positive review.

"God Knows My Name" by Beth Redman

I have had my share of dark days since my child was diagnosed with autism nine years ago. The isolation of the parent of a child with autism can be depressing and lonely.

I am looking for someone who has walked a similar path of isolation, a someone who can encourage me.

Beth Redman does that in "God Knows My Name".

Redman is not an autism mom, but she knows what isolation is. She shares on page 89, "There have been so many times we have clung to both our sanity and our faith by our fingernails, but faith and trust in God Almight brought us through."

On a rough day with autism, I completely "get" that.

Redman reminds me in a relatable way of examples from her own life and Biblical examples that all of us have rough times, sometimes very rough and rocky times, and she reminds me, through scripture, that God indeed knows my name; He created me for a relationship with Him; and that I am not isolated and alone, that He is there with me, for me.

"God Knows My Name" comes with a study guide at the end, with a Bible reading, discussion questions, and a prayer. I think "God Knows My Name" would make an excellent study for a group of autism moms, although the discussion questions can be private journal questions, too, in an individual study. This book arrived at a good time for me. Thanks, Beth, for sharing your story and encouragement with me.

"God Knows My Name" is priced at $12.99, specially priced at CBD now for $9.99, and will be available in early August, 2010.

The B&B Media Group sent me a review copy of God Knows My Name, Never Forgotten, Forever Loved, by Beth Redman. I received no financial compensation for this review and am not obligated to provide a positive review.

Real World Parents from The B & B Media Group, Inc.

I sometimes have an assumption that I am the only parent on the face of the planet who thinks she is failing at a lot of aspects of parenting.

Mark Matlock understands me. He tells me to get over myself, that I am not the only parent who feels like a failure. He reminds me on page 10, "Nothing you read in this book will make God the Father love you and your family any more than He does right now, no matter what's going on with your family today."

Experiencing two different approaches to autism intervention (behavioral and developmental/relationship based) has taught me a lot about the kind of parent I want to be, and Matlock reminds me of that for all of my children: "What we don't want to generate are well-behaved kids who mindlessly follow our directions without ever fully owning the faith in Jesus that they see in us. In the long run, the goal of parenting isnot for our kids to be know for how well-behaved they are, but for how well they know and respond to God."

Real World Parents is a zoomed-out "big picture" book for parents. It's not a book to try to get you to start daily family devotions. ;) Matlock guides the reader to thoughtfully consider recent research, consider how we are storytelling via our life. Chapter Six, "Demonstrating Wisdom" spotlights the importance of a relationship approach, the stuff I've learned in autism intervention as "guided participation" and "mediated learning experience". " Chapter Seven gives me five steps for making great decisions and focuses on teaching decision making, and includes what I'd describe as verbalizing my own self-talk so that my kids can see my thinking process. Chapter Eight helps me redefine failure, and that includes resiliency and learning from failure. Each chapter ends with a few questions for the reader to think about and answer before moving to the next chapter.

In our autism intervention, we're zoomed in, looking closely at specific objectives within a developmental range. I often try to think about how to zoom out and apply basic principles to interaction outside of autism intervention, and Real World Parents is an excellent resource in helping me do that. It's not so much a "how to" book. It's a "why bother" book with some "how to" examples.

Real World Parents ($12.99) is 143 pages, and the type is not teeny, although I do need my readers for it. Matlock is engaging and provides practical illustrations and examples that hit his points home. I do like this one!

The B & B Media Group, Inc. sent me a complimentary review copy of "Real World Parents" by Mark Matlock. I received no financial compensation for this review and am not obligated to provide a positive review.