My Reading Blog

Book Cover:  "Buckle your seat belts.  Metro Girl is a thrilling, high-octane misadventure with high stakes, hot nights, cold-blooded murder, sunken treasure, a woman with a chassis built for speed and one very good, very sexy NASCAR driver who's along for the ride. "Wild" Bill Barnaby's dropped off the face of the earth and big sister Alex heads for Miami, Bill's last known sighting, on a harrowing hunt to save her brother...and maybe the world.  Truth is, Alex has been bailing her brother out of trouble since they were kids.  Not that Bill's a bad sort, More that he acts first and thinks later.  Unfortunately, this time around, Wild Bill will be Dead Bill if Alex doesn't find him in time. Alex blasts through the bars of South Beach and points her search south of Key West and Cuba, laying waste to Miami hit men, dodging palmetto bugs big enough to eat her alive, and putting the pedal to the metal with NASCAR driver Sam Hooker. Engaged in a dead...

Book Cover:  "There's little love in eight-year-old Tom Bedford's life.  His parents are old and remote, and the boarding school they've sent him to bristles with bullies and sadistic staff.  The only comfort he gets is from his fantasy world of  cowboys and Indians.  But when his sister, Diane, a rising star of stage and screen, falls in love with one of his idols, the suave TV cowboy Ray Montane, Tom's existence is transformed.  They move to Hollywood and all his dreams seem to come true.  Soon, however, the sinister side of Tinseltown casts its shadow and a shocking act of violence changes their lives forever. What happened all those years ago remains a secret that corrodes Tom's life and wrecks his marriage.  Only when his estranged son, a US Marine, is charged with murder do the events resurface, forcing Tom to confront his demons.  As he struggles to save his son's life, he will learn the true meaning of bravery." Very good read. ...

Book cover:  "The Laws of our Fathers Scott Turow's most powerful novel to date, opens with a spectacular drive-by shooting in one of Kindle County's most notorious drug-plagued housing projects.  The victim is an aging white woman who has never been seen there before; within days her son, Nile Eddgar, a probation officer, is charged in connection with the crime - and the reader falls gratefully once more under the hypnotic spell that only Scott Turow can cast. Nile's trials is presided over - and narrated by - Judge Sonia "Sonny" Klonsky, whom Turow's fans will remember from his second novel, The Burden of Proof.  It brings together a vivid cast of characters from Sonny's student years during the turbulent sixties, among them Nile's father, Loyell Eddgar, once a leading campus revolutionary, and Sonny's old boyfriend Seth Weissman, who is now a renowned journalist.  All have been permanently marked by the heady iconoclasm of their youth; so...

Vacation time Going to new places Pull Mio out of the cabinet Now Mio is "several" years old And slightly out of date But still able to get us where we want to go, If only we could figure out how this thing works!! We feel "technologically" handicapped. Of course, the manual is on the computer (at home). They don't print manuals these days! So it's a hit or miss, retry and go back to home. So as we drive, I try to put in an address. Ha!  It's a new road and not to be found. What's the nearest intersection? Back to home. Pull out the trusty map - if only we had new ones. Stop and ask for directions??? Out of the question. Recalculating.  Turn around at the nearest intersection. My oh my does she get impatient with us. Ah, finally we reach our first destination. The second destination was easy - we had programmed it in at home. I think we're making headway.  I think I've got it figured out. Well, maybe not completely. By...

Book Cover:  "In a land of Tropical beauty, two very different families are shaken by forces that will test their bonds of love and loyalty... Thailand's pristine and remote Ko Phi Phi island attracts tourists from around the world, offering a haven to people from all walks of life.  Yet even paradise has its perils.  Struggling to make ends meet, resort owners Lek and Sarai are happy to give an American named Patch room and board in exchange for his help.  But trouble looms when Patch's brother, Ryan, arrives, accompanied by his beautiful girlfriend, Brooke.  Lek learns that Patch is running from the law, and his mere presence puts Lek's family at risk.  Meanwhile, Brooke begins to doubt her love for Ryan, while her feelings for Patch blossom.  The two brothers, once inseparable, clash over a choice that could alter their lives. In the glorious landscape of sea and sky, where nature's bounty seems endless, these two families are caught in the cros...

Gentle summer breeze Howling gusts Cold, northwesternly rushes Listen, What's it saying? Smell, What's the scent? Leaves blowing Branches bending, falling Michelle talking (our windchimes) Clouds floating across the sky Where does it come from? Where does it go to? And then, Quiet Nothing Until another day It will come back

Stephen Ministry has been a passion of mine since we joined Redeemer. Even before that, I attended a Stephen Ministry workshop while at St. Barnabas and developed "Christ Care" groups by area. I enjoy listening to people and sharing my faith with them. I feel God has worked thru me to help the care receivers I have had, to listen and care for those clients who come to the Food Pantry and now helping clients who come to the Center of Hope. I've been a Stephen Leader for eight years and am burned out and feeling that I'm not doing a good job as a leader to our Stephen Ministers. I still enjoy the ministering part, but not the leadership role. I've shared my concerns with the other leaders and Pastor. I've asked to have a brainstorming session with the leaders and pastors, but have yet to hear anything. We need to decide where Stephen Ministry is going at Redeemer, who is going to take the lead, after 22 years do we need to re-look at the program, is it d...