Faith and the Mafia

This Thing of Ours: How Faith Save My Mafia Marriage, by Cammy Franzese caught my attention. Unlike similar books, it also kept my attention. Cammy was a dancer and had an opportunity to dance for a movie production. Along the way she met and fell in love with Michael Franzese. Being naïve and not picking up on hints from friends, she married Michael despite his past as a member of the mob. This book tells the story of Cammy’s life raising three of their four children mostly alone while Michael served time. Despite the hardship, she and her husband remained devoted to each other. Along the way, Michael found God and his new mission in life. Cammy, although raised by a Christian Mom, took her time in following Michael’s pursuit and testimonies. She eventually did, however, find a calling talking with other young women who were dealing with similar issues in their married lives.

This is a story of faith as both Cammy and Michael, along with their four children, go through the trials of prison life and the fairness and unfairness of arrests and red tape. Despite some very difficult times, the family that nearly collapsed from time to time, has come together and continues quite intact.

Cammy Franzese’s This Thing of Ours is a quick read. It’s entertaining, educational, inspiring, and, yes, I admit it – a real tear jerker.

Happy Holidays

Merry Christmas to you and your family. And may you have a healthy and happy 2012!

Nearing Home!

Billy Graham’s book Nearing Home: Life, Faith, and Finishing Well has a simple message. It’s a message we’ve all heard – accept Jesus Christ – yet it’s delivered in such a simple and non-preachy manner that we can read it without getting our backs up. You know what I mean because we’ve all been preached to. And that preaching doesn’t always win over our hearts. Billy Graham doesn’t do that in this book. He delivers his message in a gentle manner. He speaks honestly about aging and we all (some more than others) can relate to this. But his message comes through and yet we can read that Billy Graham is at peace in his life and in his future.

Nearing Home is an honest look at Billy’s end-of-life journey with his simple but definite suggestions for us all. No matter how you feel about the subject, this book is worth a read.

William G. Bentrim Does It Again!

The Wicked Good Stepmother, by William G. Bentrim, is a nice story that will help ease the fears many children face these days. With divorce common, many children are faced with the insecurities and fears that go along with a new stepmother or stepfather. This fear may be worse in the case of a parent’s death and a remarriage by the remaining parent. In this book, Bentrim shows how Bonnie and Bradley face their fears of a new stepmother. They know all the scary stories of wicked stepmothers but don’t know any about good ones. They definitely expect the worse when Dad returns from his deployment with a new wife.

The story allows Bonnie and Bradley to express their fears but also shows how their Dad demonstrates his love for each of them. And the new “wicked” stepmother handles the situation perfectly so that they can all face the unknown days ahead as a great new adventure.

If a child you know is dealing with similar fears, they may be comforted to see how Bonnie and Bradley can now face their future together with love and hope. This is also a good book for those who are not facing this situation so that they can better understand friends who may be going through a similar scary times.

Read The Wicked Good Stepmother to your child and help ease their fears. Well done, Mr. Bentrim!

American Politics and Global History

America The Last Best Hope Volume III, by William J. Bennett is a book describing America through its politics and world relationship during the past 30 years. It touches on the Presidents and their administrations from the end of the Cold War through a close inspection of the years since 1998 and our present-day difficulties in Iraq and Afghanistan. Surprisingly, it was an easy read despite the heaviness of the subject. It was totally unbiased, which is like a breath of fresh air these days. So many publications are extremely conservation or extremely liberal. I found Bennett’s unbiased handling of this history both fair and informative. If you’re interested in global events and the political world, Bennett’s America The Last Best Hope Volume III is a good, informative book to read.

Where Has Oprah Taken Us?

Where Has Oprah Taken Us? by Stephen Mansfield will be a magnet for many. With Oprah being a household word, readers will flock to this book. Most who have watched Oprah’s show over the years love her. They may agree with some of her topics and disagree with others. But the general consensus is they like her and like her guests and topics of discussion. Some of those discussions have been difficult to watch, such as child and spouse abuse, murder and rape. Others have been enlightening. This book covers her personal life, her rise to fame, and her TV show and acts of charity and generosity. But the main thrust of the book is her faith journey and where it has led her.

Raised as a Baptist, Oprah has made a 180-degree turn, and then another turn and another turn. She’s studied many religions including most Eastern ones. And, according to Mansfield, Oprah has created her own “religion of self” based on the aspects of each religion she prefers. It was an interesting book about Oprah’s life but I disagreed with the Mansfield attempt to blame her for leading her fans astray. If a fan is moved to the point that he or she abandons his or her own religion then that person was searching for something different anyway. If a fan is so wishy-washy that he or she changes each time Oprah features a new guest and new religion, then anyone could have changed that person’s beliefs. If someone is strong in his or her faith, watching and listening to Oprah would have been interesting but not earth shattering.

If you are searching, read this book – it may lead you somewhere new. If you are strong in your faith, read this book – it will be interesting but won’t affect your beliefs. If you have no faith, then the book will still be interesting but have little or no effect on you. Me? It didn’t affect me in any way other than to learn a bit about Oprah’s childhood, climb to the top of her career, and her beliefs.

Mansfield’s Where Has Oprah Taken Us? is a quick read but only if you’re an Oprah fan. If not, move on to read something with more substance.

A Quirky Christmas – Not just for Christmas

Bentrim has done it again! A Quirky Christmas: A Tale of Christmas Spirit, by William G. Bentrim, is a delightful story for any time of year – not just for Christmas. But it would make a great gift for under the tree. It’s a story about four squirrels who display the same traits we find in people. Three of them, Quirky, Stubby and Art, are good friends. Each one has his own little idiosyncrasies but they are still good friends and overlook each other’s “issues.” And then there’s Reggie who seems to have an attitude and considers himself “above” the other normal squirrels.

The squirrels manage to co-exist despite the underlying friction caused by Reggie’s aloofness and greed. Then it happens. A “giant” comes along and cuts down Reggie’s tree, takes it into the house and decorates it for Christmas. It’s beautiful but Reggie is beside himself. Quirky, Stubby and Art show compassion and offer a helping hand. Reggie is surprised they’d be so nice to him after he treated them so poorly. He softens and learns a great lesson.

This story is a fun read for young children, while it subtly teaches them to be kind to others. It’s advertised for ages 9 to 12 but I feel the book is for younger children. My 5-year-old granddaughter loves it! It’s a great book for reading to young children yet still fun for the older self-reader. Put Bentrim’s A Quirky Christmas under the Christmas tree for your favorite child. It will delight him or her for years to come.