Book review: Madness, Miracles, Millions by Joseph Semprevivo and Larry Semprevivo

This review contains affiliate links.

As someone who grew up in a home where my parents owned not one but two small businesses, I have always enjoyed books where people discuss where the journey of business owners.  So when I had a chance to review  Madness, Miracles, Millions I expected it to be a good book.  It is short
, at 140 pages, and it captured my interest so much I only put it down once -- and then picked it up again the next day.

This books starts out with a tragedy.  In fact, much of the lives of the Semprevivo family is one bad thing after another.  This is a story about how hard work can turn your circumstances around -- and how what you worked for can be reduced to ashes quickly -- and how hard work will turn your circumstances around again.

When Larry Semprevivo gets his arm hurt in a printing press, things look hopeless.  In addition, many of their family and friends have nothing to do with them anymore.   I was in a similar situation in my life last year, but I loved how the book put it -- it gets rid of everyone in your life who isn't someone you can depend on -- basically helps clean house of your relationships.  That one paragraph of the book was, to me, worth reading the entire book!

You can watch the book trailer here:

Book Review: Angels and Saints by Dr. Scott Hahn

FTC disclaimer:  I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.  All Opinions are my own.  This post does contain affiliate links.

Angels and Saints: A Biblical Guide to Friendship with God's Holy Ones by Scott Hahn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When I went through RCIA, the one topic that we didn’t get to cover well was saints.  I was excited to find out that Scott Hahn has a book called Angels and Saints, A Biblical Guide to Friendship with God’s Holy Ones.

I am a big fan of Scott Hahn, and I highly recommend his books and this one is no exception.  As someone who grew up Protestant, this was one of the more difficult teachings in Catholicism for me.   As is true of all of Dr. Hahn’s work, he explains so well the teachings of the Church that you either agree with him or at least understand where the Church is coming from and why they do the things they do.

One thing I really liked about this book is how Dr. Hahn talked about how we honor our loved ones who have passed away and then relates it to how we view saints.  Too many people I have cared about have passed away this year.  When I visited my mother’s freshly covered grave, I talked to her as if she was right there and could hear me.  Therapeutic?  Yes, but also who is to say she isn’t able to listen.  If we reverence the place where our parents are buried, shouldn’t we also reverence relics of the saints as they have faith we can only pray to have.

Dr. Hahn also discusses angels and their place in the world.  So many people in my life have passed away this year and with every person I have heard “Heaven gained another angel”, yet that isn’t scriptural although it may be a good thought.  People don’t become angels when they die.  In this book, angels are discussed and their role in the heavenly realm.

I feel like I lost so many people this year, but at the end of this book Dr. Hahn discusses when he met his (then) soon to be wife’s extended family and realized they would become his family as well.  He compares that to the saints.  We are part of the family of God, and St. Francis is part of our family of God just the same as our brother in law is part of our earthly family.  By realizing the richness of those who have gone before us, it can encourage us to live our lives in the way that we should.

I really enjoyed this book.  As I always say with Dr. Hahn’s books, it took me a while to get through because there was so much I wanted to consider and ponder.  I recommend this book for any Catholic, as well as anyone who wants to understand why Catholics believe as they do.


You can purchase this book here:

Observing Advent -- for the first time

In the non-denominational church I grew up in, Advent was never mentioned.  When I started going to a Nazarene Church, the Advent candles were lit by people who attended the church.

But I never realized it was a time of longing for hope.

Yet O Come, O Come Emmanuel is my favorite Christmas Carol.  Or is it?  It's an Advent song.

I haven't been able to put up a Christmas tree this year.  There is come remodeling being done on the house.  So it's been a forced waiting on Christmas.  Advent.  Waiting.

O come, Thou Day-Spring from on high

And cheer us by thy drawing nigh

Disperse the gloomy clouds of night

And death's dark shadows put to flight.

Rejoice! Rejoice!  Emmanuel

Shall come to thee O Israel.

Death.   We often don't think of it in relation to Christmas.  Yet, that's what I associate with all of this year.  My mother passed away, my grandfather-in-law passed away, 3 church leaders of mine from the past, two neighbors, and yesterday I lost another friend, making it three people I went to school with who passed away this year.

Everyone who is born will die.  Including Jesus.  In this season we are waiting for our Redemption and our Hope to arrive, because as our Hope, we had to suffer for us.

Right now I'm waiting.  For Hope.  Maybe for the first time this year, Easter will be the time I recognize that hope.  My grandmother passed away on Easter 1995.  Easter has always been wrapped up in death for me.  Maybe I can turn that focus to Christmas.  It's more appropriate with the Slaughter of the Innocents.  

Waiting on hope.   And waiting.  And waiting.  Come, Lord Jesus.

Book Review: Chocolate Covered Cashews

Most of my posts contain affiliate links.  What this means is that I receive a small commission for you starting your shopping here at NO cost to you!  Thank you for your continued support.

Chocolate-Covered Cashews caught my eye because I thought it was going to be about the big surprise that Wiley Baxter had one day.  He received a phone call finding out he was the father of twins who were in their 30s.  With a story like that, I expected it to be focused mainly on this huge revelation and how it changed his life.  However,  this took up only the first few chapters and a mention of the end.

This book was more like sitting down with someone and them telling you their life story.  It could have used a lot more editing, because even with this being a mere 66 pages, there could have been several pages less if there were unnecessary words left out, examples being "The next day in the evening" instead of "the next evening" and "someplace called Kings Dominion" where "someplace called" is not needed -- it seems to diminish the experience instead of just using the proper noun.   He stated that he was very sad the day his brother died.  That is a common emotion when a family member dies, and I didn't feel it needed to be told.  Because I love English and grammar, the writing style bothered me.  While for a personal letter it would be fine, I expect a book to be a bit more polished.

There were a number of stories that I think could have been left out entirely.  His sister having a Beatles wig when they were kids was irrelevant.  Also, the mention at the end of his daughters, he says that one of his daughters quit having contact with him.  There was no explanation of why.   Since his daughter is living and has children, I feel like this should have not been included or this book should have only been available to people who know him.  As a stranger, I felt like I was being given information that should be reserved for family.

This book could have been interesting.  If the final book would have been a rough draft, I would have said it has potential (except for the most interesting part being at the beginning.  That might work for Frantz Kafka but not for Wiley Baxter.) I would have recommended this book either be a memoir in a bit more chronological order or been a book about learning he had twin daughters.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.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 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html; : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Tightening the Belt Financially

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I know it's unusual to see a post about frugality this close to Christmas.  Most people wait until after the holidays to start saving money and trying to cut back.  Possibly we would be the same, but right now it's a time of high spending for us and we're trying to save all we can.

Photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

It is less than six months until the wedding.  (Talk about expenses.)   Plus I decided it was time to do some major renovations on the house.  When I won a bad kitchen sink contest, I don't think that's being wasteful.  The living room carpet is about 60 years old.  The entire house is paneled.  I would like to get the house looking a little more 2000s and a lot lets mid-century retro.  (Which would be cool if it was the neat designs of mid-century!)

My fiance and I have started reading The Total Money Makeover: Classic Edition: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness.  In a way this feels odd to me because I've always been good at managing money.  But I also know it's time to cut back.

I'm going to have to be a "spending saver" for a while.  Flooring for the house.  Drywall.  Wedding expenses.  But I'm going to try and cut back in other areas.

One thing that I'm cutting out is my rather regular fill up of my soda mug.  I found a 100 ounce refillable mug a while back.  For under $1.50 I can get it filled with Diet Pepsi.  (Love that stuff.)  But if I did that every day for a month, it would cost over $40.  I need to get myself used to drinking water, but for now I'm making iced tea.  A five pack container of generic Crystal Light costs about $2.50.  Because it makes five mugs, that's about $15 a month.  I'm still spending money, but less than I would be otherwise.  And that $25 I save?  Two months of that and I have saved enough for a high end can of paint for the house.

Over the next few months, I will be spending more money than it cost me to get through college back in the 1980s/1990s.  But I want to make wise decisions about how I spend my money.  I feel like so many of these house repairs are needed. This was a fixer-upper when my parents bought it and while they put $10,000 into it in the mid-1980s, not too much has been done since.  It's also been difficult living in the same house after both my parents passed away.  (I helped Mom out the last few years of her life.)  By painting the rooms, making things more "mine" will help me realize it's now my house and I can let my personality show through.

I'm excited about fixing up the house -- and terrified of the cost of it.  But I know it will be worth it in the end.

How To Prepare Your Cell Phone For Winter

FTC disclaimer:  I am part of the U.S. Cellular Better Moments Blogger Brigade.  This is a sponsored post but all opinions are my own.

U.S. Cellular offers a FREE PRINTABLE Parent Child agreement to help you discuss safety of the Internet, cell phone usage, limits, and courtesy with your teen or tween.  You don't even need to be a U.S. Cellular customer to access this, although I have been for 10 years and highly recommend them.

I live in an area where the majority of our severe weather happens in the winter months.  From the time I was little, I learned winter preparedness.  In the late summer or early fall until winter hit, my mother used to stick a couple extra non-perishable groceries in her cart every time we went to the store so there would be extra food in the house in the winter in case we couldn't make it to the store.  There were a number of rituals we had in getting ready for winter.  In fact, my future mother in law was visiting this weekend, and I had to explain the boxed meals to her.  During Hurricane Sandy, we were hit with a blizzard from that storm, and my mother and I were stuck in the house with no electric (which meant no heat) for three days.

Review and Giveaway: Jesus Daily Devotional Ends 12/12

It's the 12 Days of Christmas promotion with Hachette Book Group, and I'm excited to be a part of it today.  I get to tell you about the Jesus Daily devotional book and then host a giveaway!  This item would make a great gift to yourself or someone who is a Christian who really enjoys Facebook!

The Jesus Daily: 365 Interactive Devotions is a new twist on devotionals.  It is inspired by the 27 million fans on Facebook, and this book gives you a devotional in book form and an idea on how to take your faith on the Web and social media for each day of the year!  What a fantastic idea to help combine private devotions and reaching out to others via the web.

A few examples are:

Posting a favorite verse on a certain topic
Letting others know how much you enjoy their photos
Visiting a website of another faith and praying for those people
Exploring sites that minister to the poor (One of my favorites is  Nuru International )
Cleaning out your e-mail and responding to as many messages as possible
Writing a note to a hurting friend

I've heard things about how faith doesn't really extend to social media.  While overpowering others with the Gospel is not always the best way to go, gently reminding others of God's love can make a huge difference in their lives.  I'm excited to see a devotional that integrates our personal walk with God to reaching out to others.  We live in such a cyber connected world, I'm happy to see this great resource being utilized.  I have some Facebook friends that offer to pray for people every week.  They have a day they have designated as a prayer day and post something like "How can I pray for you today?" While you can message them anytime, sometimes I don't think to ask my Facebook friends for prayer.  Or sometimes it doesn't seem like "that big of a deal" to post a status update about it -- so this is a great way to know that someone is praying for you, and I admire their commitment to do this every week.  Other Christians I know call Facebook a waste of time.  I see it as a tool that can be used either way.

For giveaway I have one copy of the Jesus Daily devotional and a t-shirt for one lucky reader who is 18 or older and lives in the United States.  This giveaway will run until December 12th.  Winner has 48 hours to e-mail me or a new winner will be chosen.

FTC disclaimer:  In exchange for this post i received a copy of the Jesus Daily devotional and one to give to a friend.

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Holidays, Grief, and The Boar's Head

For more Seven Quick Takes head over to This Aint The Lyceum for the link up.

1.  This is the first holiday season without both my parents.  My fiance moved to the area last year at this time to help me take care of Mom as he realized it was getting too much for me to do myself, and he knew he wanted to move to this area before long anyway.  My family pretty much shattered thanks to someone who spread a number of lies about me.  Because of my fiance's work, he can't get away to spend time with his family, so it's just the two of us.  By this time next year we'll be married and we're starting to discuss new traditions.

2.  We have decided the tree will go up the first Sunday of Advent.  In future years, I'm hoping we make our personal gift exchange on St. Nicholas Day and reserve Christmas for celebration with extended family.  Since he is required to work a half shift on Thanksgiving, he offered to take a shift for up to two other people -- would make a 12 hour day for him, but since we aren't going anywhere, there is no reason he can't free up someone else's day and allow them to spend time with family.

3.  Even more than missing my parents at the holidays, I keep thinking how much I'm going to miss them at my wedding.  Mom always told me that she hoped to live long enough to see me married, but she passed away in February.  Our wedding is in May.  Fifteen months.  At least at this point, the thought of not having them at the wedding is overshadowing them missing at the holidays.  I am sure it will hit me at some point, even if it's next year.

4. The house I inherited is sturdy but was also built in the late 1800s. It was renovated in the 1920s, and some things were updated in the 1960s but not much since then.  My fiance and I decided that aside from Tinkertoys for his five year old brother we aren't purchasing any gifts this year.  I've been entering blog giveaways like a mad woman because gift giving was a huge part of Christmas for my family.  So I'm trying to see what I can come up with from blog winnings.  I'm also really focusing a lot of time to my eBay store because, well, there is a wedding and home repairs that need paid for!

5.  Last year I purchased the book The Greatest Gift: Unwrapping the Full Love Story of Christmas so that my fiance and I could start a tradition of a Jesse Tree.  I bought ornaments for us to paint, the whole nine yards.  A year later and the ornaments aren't made.  We'll go ahead and use the devotional again this year, but I'm considering having a craft table at the wedding reception and writing the verse on one side of the ornaments and allowing the children (or adults who want to) to create our Jesse tree ornaments for us.

6.  Just 31 minutes ago, a friend of mine posted a photo of her holding her new daughter.  She and her husband have a heart for special needs orphans, and this is their 4th daughter.  In the next few days they will be united with their 3rd son.  What a wonderful holiday gift.  (This doesn't fit with the theme of my post today, but it makes me want to cry for them, so maybe ending this on a happier note is a good thing.)  These toddlers are close in age and my friend has joked they have been expecting twins.

7.  I doubt I'll be listening to much Christmas music this year.  I do love the song O Come, O Come Emmanuel.  The haunting longing tune is why I love it.  My least favorite carol?  The Boar's Head!  And generously leave you with that this week!

Saving Christmas Review and Giveaway (ends 11/20/14)

Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas premiers on November 14th in select theaters.

I had the rare opportunity to be able to preview it before it hit theaters.

First:
About the movie:

This Christmas, have your family join with Kirk Cameron’s family and dive headfirst into all the joy, dancing, celebration, feasting, imagination, and traditions that glorify the true “reason for the season.” KIRK CAMERON’S SAVING CHRISTMAS is an engaging story that provides a biblical basis for our time-honored traditions and celebrations, and the inspiration to stand strongly against a culture that wants to trivialize and eliminate the faith elements of this holy season. So take in the splendor; take in the majesty; take in the story. Take it all in… and let’s put Christ back in Christmas! KIRK CAMERON’S SAVING CHRISTMAS is in theaters for a limited engagement beginning November 14 for two weeks only!

And second, I will be hosting a giveaway where one of the readers of The Radar Report will win a Saving Christmas swag bag.  This will include a SIGNED Kirk Cameron Saving Christmas poster, a car air freshener that is shaped like a Christmas ornament and smells like a pine tree, plus a CD of Christmas songs.

 

My opinion of the movie:

There was nothing that was new to me in this movie.  My fiance, though, said it presented a very different view on the symbols of Christmas than he has ever been taught.  I did enjoy this movie, and I honestly cheered as Santa Claus was described as to how he fits into Christmas traditions.  If you didn't know, the real Santa was St. Nicholas.  I only learned last year what a defender of the faith he was.  At the council of Nicaea in 325, there was a man named Arius who was spreading heresy.  And St. Nicholas was so upset he punched him right in the kisser! (And who says church history is boring -- yet this was something I didn't learn in my history of Christianity class in high school!)  Saint Nicholas is one of my heroes of the faith.  I know I don't have the courage to speak up when I hear false teachings.  (Although it's probably a good thing that I don't defend my faith with my fists, but I still admire him!)

Even though there was nothing new to me (but I am also much more versed in the Bible and Christian history than the average person.) I still very much appreciated and enjoyed this movie. Swaddling clothes.  I remember asking about them when I was in my first Christmas pageant at Church.   "Just something they used back then"  (Yes, but what else is it used for?)  What are frankincense and myrrh?  As a child, I thought they were pretty lame gifts for a Baby.  But as I have learned more, I understand why they were given.

In 2006, I had the privilege of visiting Israel.  One day of the trip, we began in Bethlehem at the Church of the Nativity.  I was able to kneel at the spot where it is traditionally thought Jesus was born.  That afternoon, in Jerusalem, I walked the streets of Jerusalem where some Christians walk each Friday to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher  to commemorate the death of Christ.  I visited Christ's traditional burial spot, and where some Christians believe He was buried in the same day.  Christmas points towards Easter.

The movie was an interesting concept.  It begins and ends at a Christmas party, while the bulk of the movie is two men sitting in a vehicle, and as Christmas traditions are explained, the movie goes to that tradition.

There was only one part of the movie I didn't enjoy -- the hip hop dance at the end.  I felt it went on too long, and that it didn't really add to the movie -- I think any number of endings would have been just as good if not better.   I am not having dancing at my wedding reception, and yes, I've caught some flak about that.  I grew up in a church that taught dancing was wrong.  I don't agree with that by this point, but also I'm not a big fan of dancing -- even hip hop.  I was glad when that segment was over.

Overall this was a great movie, one that I enjoyed.   I would recommend it to any Christian to help them know about the meanings behind some of the symbols and traditions of Christmas.  It will be in theaters on November 14 and will only run for two weeks, so if you want to see this movie, don't wait.

Also, be sure and visit the site http://www.savingchristmas.com/ for more information and to download images you can use on Facebook like this one:

Also, you can watch the movie trailer right here:

"Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

 Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.”

And now for the giveaway:

One winner will be chosen from my blog to receive a prize pack of a Kirk Cameron signed movie poster, a Christmas CD, and a car air freshener that smells like a tree.  U.S. and Canada only.   Winner will have 48 hours to respond before another winner will be chosen.

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Shop like a Pro on Black Friday and Cyber Monday

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U.S. Cellular offers a FREE PRINTABLE Parent Child agreement to help you discuss safety of the Internet, cell phone usage, limits, and courtesy with your teen or tween.  You don't even need to be a U.S. Cellular customer to access this, although I have been for 10 years and highly recommend them. 

It's that time of year again to don your Santa hat or your elf suit and start buying gifts.  Can you believe next month it's Christmas?  I know I can't.  My gift closet is unusually sparse this year.  One year I started Christmas shopping BEFORE Christmas the year before.  That's how I have often been, but this year has had so many things going on that I haven't been able to stock the gift closet like I usually do.  So that means buying more like an "average" person.  I'll obviously be watching sales and shopping bargains, but this is certainly not like the year I had my Christmas shopping done before spring thaw!