Posted January 29, 2017 in Faith, Reading, Review / 0 Comments
Walk in Her Sandals by
Kelly Wahlquist Publisher: Ave Maria Press (2016)
eARC (160 pages)
Via: NetGalley Rating: Reading Challenges: Read 2016 Synopsis
Pray in a new and creative way this Lent by joining the women of WINE: Women In the New Evangelization on a journey through Christ's passion, death, and resurrection. What if you could have been a witness to the events of the last days of Jesus life walking with him as he entered Jerusalem, observing his crucifixion, and embracing him on Easter?
Walk in Her Sandals, edited by popular Catholic author and speaker Kelly M. Wahlquist, takes you deeper into your relationship with Jesus by helping you relate to him in a profoundly intimate way. Looking at six universal gifts of women through the eyes of women in the gospels, the book guides you on a prayerful and creative journey through the days of Holy Week, Easter, and Pentecost.
As you imagine the experience of the women who met Jesus, you will discover how each of them expressed one of six, distinctive, feminine gifts identified in the writings of St. John Paul II. Through the eyes of an imagined woman who watched Jesus entry into Jerusalem, you will understand how she conveyed the gift of receptivity. Through the hands of Veronica, who reached out to wipe the face of Jesus, you will discover how sensitivity is present and can grow in your own life. These gifts, along with generosity, prayer, maternity, and the Holy Spirit, come to life through the vivid portrayal of women who walked with Jesus. Their imagined stories are complemented by the real accounts of contemporary women who share their own stories of receiving and cultivating these gifts.
Walk in Her Sandalsis a collaborative effort, edited by Wahlquist with contributions from twelve leading Catholic women writers, all of whom are associated with the organization she founded WINE: Women In the New Evangelization. The contributors will help you break open the scripture, reflect upon it and apply it to your own life, and share those insights in a small-group setting through the use of questions and challenges. Each chapter unfolds in eight movements:
A Moment to Ponder Wahlquist sets the stage for the theme of that chapter.
Entering the Scripture Sarah Christmyer, codeveloper of The Great Adventure Catholic Bible Study, reveals the riches of the scripture that corresponds with the day, both in the biblical narrative and in the liturgical year.
Walk in Her Sandals Stephanie Landsem, author of the biblical fiction series The Living Water, draws you into the story and allows you to experience what it may have been like for women who lived and walked with Jesus.
Unwrapping the Gift Catholic author, speaker, and faith-formation leader Pat Gohn shows how each woman demonstrates a particular feminine gift and invites you to nurture that gift in yourself and understand anew the beauty of your dignity and vocation.
Reflect on the Meaning Writers including CatholicMom.com founder Lisa M. Hendey and popular media personality Teresa Tomeo offer insight, encouragement, and inspiration for your own journey through their personal stories.
Lectio and Meditatio A prayerful reading of the scripture and a guided meditation to draw you more deeply into an intimate relationship with Jesus.
Questions for Group Discussion Carol Younger, senior fellow at the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, offers a helpful tool to share your experience with other women.
Walking in the New Evangelization Wahlquist offers two ways to contribute to the New Evangelization first by growing in your contemplative spiritual life and then by giving you practical suggestions to enhance your active spiritual life.
Walk in Her Sandals will allow you to enter more fully into life in Christ by praying over his passion, death, and resurrection. It will help you experience a conversion of heart and recognize your own giftedness.
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Tagged as 4 star, Read 2016
Posted January 27, 2017 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments
We Are Still Tornadoes by
Michael Kun,
Susan Mullen Publisher: St Martin's Griffin (2016)
eARC (304 pages)
Via: NetGalley Rating: Reading Challenges: Read 2016 Synopsis
It’s the summer of 1982, and for Scott and Cath, everything is about to change.
Growing up across the street from each other, Scott and Cath have been best friends for most of their lives. Now they’ve graduated high school, and Cath is off to college while Scott stays at home trying to get his band off the ground. Neither of them realized that their first year after high school would be so hard.
Fortunately, Scott and Cath still have each other, and it’s through their letters that they survive heartache, annoying roommates, family dramas, and the pressure of figuring out what to do with the rest of their lives. And through it all, they realize that the only person they’ve ever wanted to turn to is each other. But does that mean they should think about being more than friends? One thing is clear: Change is an inescapable part of growing up, and we share unbreakable bonds with the friends who help us navigate it.
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Tagged as 2 star, Read 2016
Posted November 3, 2016 in Faith, Reading, Review / 0 Comments
Fearless by
Sonja Corbitt Publisher: Ave Maria Press (2016 - November 4)
eARC (256 pages)
Via: NetGalley Rating: Reading Challenges: Read 2016 Synopsis
What are the sources of anxiety, stress, and fear you experience in your life? Popular Catholic speaker and author Sonja Corbitt believes that these often-paralyzing emotions are the direct result of our everyday battles against sin and temptation. In Fearless, she equips us with the spiritual tools we need to restore our spiritual well-being.
The term “spiritual warfare” conjures images of heavenly battles between archangels and demons, but Sonja Corbitt insists that there is a realm of spiritual warfare that is more domestic than it is cosmic—in the trenches of dirty bathrooms, fighting children, irritable spouses, the struggle to stop smoking or overeating, crazy schedules, and overwhelming workloads.
In her new book, the author of Unleashed takes us deep into scripture and the spiritual practices of the Church in order to show us how to resist the avalanche of temptations that can threaten us and lead to paralyzing anxiety and fear. Through her powerful personal story and teaching, Corbitt shows us how to put on the armor of Christ and learn to live fearlessly, love with abandon, and embrace life with confidence.
In Unleashed, Corbitt identified the spiritual wounds that reveal themselves through the harmful patterns and relationships in our lives.
In Fearless, she offers scriptural tools that help us understand and conquer the demons of sin, Satan, self, and sloth. She helps us recognize the methods the devil uses to keep us enslaved and she immerses us in a profound contemplation of love, which is the only possible weapon against the spirit of fear.
In this book you will come to understand
the spiritual roots of fear, depression, and anxiety;
ways to “abide” in Christ and find freedom from fear;
signs of negative spiritual suggestion and influence in your daily life;
the deep, personal lies we believe that keep us slaves to fear;
specific truths about the limitations of Satan’s power and character;
the “pieces” of spiritual armor that protect us from fear; and
how to rest fully in God’s goodness and love.
Each chapter contains features that will make it a popular resource for personal and group study: review notes, an invitation to prayer, and a series of probing questions (called God Prompts) that encourage you to explore the content in a deeply personal way.
Fearless offers encouragement to those who are anxious or fearful about the future and who seek a spiritual solution.
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Tagged as 4 star, Read 2016
Posted October 3, 2016 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments
Prayer in the Catholic Tradition by
Robert Wicks Publisher: Franciscan Media (2016 - October 7)
eARC (640 pages)
Via: NetGalley Rating: Reading Challenges: Read 2016 Synopsis
Within the Catholic tradition, there are many ways to pray. Yet, while there are smaller books, books on praying with saints and contemporary figures, volumes assembling groups of individual prayers, or prayer within one particular strand of Catholic spirituality, there is no truly comprehensive work available on how to learn, practice, and teach ways of prayer in the broad Roman Catholic tradition. This handbook breaks new ground, offering forty important voices on forty essential topics for a comprehensive look at the learning, practice, and teaching of all that it means to pray in the Catholic tradition. Topics include:
• Types of spirituality (including Carmelite, Franciscan, Ignatian, Dominican and other major schools) and how they frame prayer and prayerfulness
• Liturgical prayer
• New Testament scriptural approaches to prayer
• Praying with the Psalms
• Contemplation
• Liturgy of the Hours
• Conversational prayer
• Resistances to prayer
• Journaling as prayer
• Enhancing a spirit of prayerfulness
• Praying in Ordinary Time
• Praying through grief, suffering, loss and pain
• Dealing with distractions in prayer
• The essentials of Catholic prayer; and much more.
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Tagged as 4 star, Read 2016
Posted September 29, 2016 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments
Christmas in Paris by
Anita Hughes Publisher: St Martin's Griffin (2016 - October 4)
eARC (288 pages)
Via: NetGalley Rating: Reading Challenges: Read 2016 Synopsis
Hughes will fill your heart with the sights, sounds, and flavors of new love, glamorous fashion, and decadent holiday cuisine.
Isabel Lawson is standing on the balcony of her suite at the Hotel Crillon as she gazes at the twinkling lights of the Champs Elysee and wonders if she’s made a terrible mistake. She was supposed to be visiting the Christmas tree in the Place de la Concorde, and eating escargots and macaroons with her new husband on their honeymoon. But a week before the wedding, she called it off. Isabel is an ambitious Philadelphia finance woman, and Neil suddenly decided to take over his grandparents’ farm. Isabel wasn’t ready to trade her briefcase for a pair of rubber boots and a saddle.
When Neil suggested she use their honeymoon tickets for herself, she thought it would give her a chance to clear her head. That is until she locks herself out on the balcony in the middle of winter. Thankfully her neighbor Alec, a French children’s illustrator, comes to her rescue. He too is nursing a broken heart at the Crillon for the holidays. With a new friend by her side, Isabel is determined to use her time in the city of lights wisely. After a chance encounter with a fortune teller and a close call with a taxi, she starts to question everything she thought was important.
Christmas in Paris is a moving and heartwarming story about love, trust, and self-discovery. Set during the most magical week of the year, the glorious foods and fashions of the most romantic city in the world are sure to take your breath away.
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Tagged as 4 star, Read 2016