Saint The Books

While reading The Innkeeper's Wife, the Christmas story that I have heard my whole life seemed to come alive. This beautifully written story made me feel like I was right there seeing the birth of our Savior through the eyes of a dear sister. It is so exciting to me that this book tells how it may very well have happened! The author's description of the details and moments of the event brings the reality of our Savior's birth closer to home and not "out there" in the distance. I truly love this book!!! It is simple yet heart stirring and I believe the author was inspired. I shall be reading it to my grandchildren for many years to come and I predict that it shall be a classic.

I absolutely loved this different perspective of the Christmas story! Of course, Mary would've needed help in childbirth and of course, it could've been the innkeeper's wife. Yet, why do we not read about her in the Bible? This very well written book answers that question. The author made the story very real and I really connected with it! It is a great Christmas gift and I have given it to many friends.

I loved this book. Lately I've been passing along to other people my Christmas books and decorations that are not Christ-centered, and whittling down my collection to things that seem to me to be more germane to the season. This lovely book certainly will take a prominant place in my reworked collection. The story is beautifully told, and very plausible. If events didn't happen exactly like Ms Wilson imagines, well, they certainly could have!

The illustrations are also lovely, although I wish the Holy family had been more middle-Eastern looking. Oh well.

This book is so wonderful and it brought tears to my eyes! It made the events of the Christmas story real for me in a way nothing else ever had. The skillfull writing and inspired story will touch your heart and make you say a prayer of gratitude that that joyous event took place. A must have for any Christmas Book collection! I'm buying it for everyone I know for Christmas. :)

De uno poner atención en las fechas de las clases dadas por el Maestro Saint Germain que aparecen en este libro y en el libro "Pláticas del YO SOY" (Libro de Oro) cae fácilmente en la cuenta que la primera instrucción transcrita de este Maestro está aquí, en "Instrucción de un Maestro Ascendido".

Luego de conocer este material he concluido que la cronología no es algo menor. En especial cuando se estudia el segundo capítulo. Aquí el amado Saint Germian da la instrucción sobre lo qué hay que hacer en cada situación del diario vivir y por eso la descarga de primero. Esa instrucción es... mejor dejo que la descubras por ti mismo.

Este libro me ha dado una claridad tan especial para vivir en el momento presente que es mi recomendacion para aquel que desee una orientación inequivoca para ser verdaderamente libre.

Este maravilloso libro nos muestra de manera sencilla la forma de encontrar lo que debemos hacer ante cualquier dificultad que tengamos. Es un libro de cabecera cuya enseñanza debemos poner en práctica para comprobarla.
Nos enseña el Poder de la atención elevada a lo más alto y Perfecto: la Presencia individualizada de Dios "YO SOY" anclada en cada corazón humano como el método infalible para elevarnos permanentemente sobre cualquier apariencia discordante.

Este fue el primer libro descargado por Saint Germain a Mr. Ballard a través del "Rayo de Luz y Sonido". Se aprecia aquí la famosa 'página 7' ("El verdadero consejero") que debería constituir el modus operandi de todo buscador honesto de la Luz. Qué bueno que finalmente esté apareciendo ampliamente esta enseñanza en castellano.

You are rotten, you are crummy
nasty, smelly, and a dummy
you are absolutely awful
and your breath should be unlawful.

You are ugly, you are simple,
and your brain is like a pimple,
you should soak your head in brine....
WON'T YOU BE MY VALENTINE?

The above is titled VALENTINE FOR A FRIEND and it's from this excellent book for early readers. It's true my son is a little too young (almost three) to understand all the words, but he likes the poetic sounds. Maybe he'll grow up into a poet. Of course, most of the poems are not about rotten, crummy dummies, the one above just happens to be my favorite.

Mr. Prelutsky has penned a nice little book that is perfect for reading to a two-year-old child before he or she falls off to sleep. I used to read this one sometimes at naptime. The soothing sounds of the rhymes would put Devon to sleep. Of course now, nothing does. He just plain hates naps. Something about being almost three.

Also the pictures inked by Mr. Yossi have kept my son pointing at the pages and identifying things he knew or has just learned. That's important in a kid's book, illustrations they like. All in all you cannot go wrong with this book, not if you have a child. They'll love it. Devon does.

This is a great children's book. It is filled with Valentine's Day poems for kids of all ages. The poems are simple and easy to read, and theres pictures for each one, too. This book will surely bring happiness to your next Valentines Day.

I love this book. My mom used to read it to me when I was small, and it has always been one of my favorites. I lost my original book many years ago but now that I am an aunt I have searched high and low to relocate it as a gift for my nephew. The short stories in the book are touching as well as humorous and have a way of gripping readers both young and old!!

Jack Prelutsky has a talent for writing silly little poems about everyday things, bringing delight to young and old alike! In this book, he gives poetic justice to Valentine's Day in the most lighthearted way. My sons, now teenagers, were all fortunate enough to be introduced to this book, Jack Prelutsky, and poetry in general, by their first-grade teacher. They spent many happy moments reading these poems depicting a child's view of Valentine's Day...and I enjoyed them as well! Put this one on your list!

If Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, in the Left Behind series, give us a picture of how it might be after the rapture, D.S. Lliteras shows us how it might have been at the cross, through the eyes of the thieves in The Thieves of Golgotha, through the eyes of Judas in Judas the Gentile, and finally through the eyes of Peter in Jerusalem's Rain.
Not intended to be scripturally correct, these books use story to provide insight into the desperate conditions of life in first century Palestine. They also remind us of the terrible cost of salvation through the life and death of Jesus of Nazareth - believed by many to be the Christ or Holy One of God. The portrait of Peter, presented in Jerusalem's Rain, shows us the agony and despair he must have felt between the arrest of Jesus in the garden prior to the crucifixion and his first encounter with the risen Savior. Peter was so lost during this time that even the angel at the tomb in Mark's Gospel did not consider him to be one of Jesus' disciples. He said to Mary Magdaline, Mary the mother of James, and Solome to, "...go, tell his disciples and Peter..." (Mk 16:7 NIV)
The story also makes us painfully aware that before we can walk with Christ we must search our own souls, wrestle with our sinful natures, and acknowledge our dependence on God and our need for forgiveness. Only by coming to this point of despair and surrendering ourselves to the Master can we ever hear the words, "...feed my sheep...Follow me!" (John 21: 17-19 NIV)

In producing his controversial motion picture "The Passion" Mel Gibson would have benefitted greatly if he had read D.S. Lliteras' most recent work, Jerusalem's Rain, first. Using this incredible portrayal of the city, Gibson could have set his monumental story in a society that reaches a far more brutal reality than those cardboard Sunday school towns usually offered up in most "biblical" epics.
Lliteras employs unmatched literary abilities to take the reader back across two millennium to wallow in the spiritual, moral and political chaos that was strangling the ancient City of David during the cataclysmic events that would influence human history forever.
In the immediate aftermath of the crucifixion the storm-sweept streets of the city tremble with a supernatural terror that rips away self-control and leaves the individual morally naked covered only with the poisonous slime of un remitting guilt.
Peter, the beloved apostle, the "rock," ardent physical defender of Jesus, aimlessly roams the stinking, slime-filled night streets unable to comprehend the significance of the last twenty-four hours where his god has been murdered on the cross, and the golden promises of eternal salvation have been shattered. He and some of the other apostles meet furtively in the strange, deadly darkness that wraps Jerusalem seeking answers to unanswerable questions, struggling ofttimes violently to come to grips with a new grotesque reality, and each driven into near-insanity by the merciless daggers of guilt.
Few, if any authors have been able to lay out before the reader such a masterful expression of the guilt that can tear at the human soul. Jerusalem's Rain is easily one of the most powerful books ever written about the crucifixion. It takes the reader from the foot of the blood-stained cross, through the horrid night in the hellish streets of the city, and in his unique and poetic prose, Lliteras subtlely brings it all to a close pointing forward through the clouds of chaos to the slowly growing far off glow of redemption.

When Jesus breathed his last breath on the cross at Golgotha, the skies turned stormy and driving rain poured down on Palestine. Peter is drowning in self-contempt for denying his Rabbi three times before the rooster crowed. Philip, who like Peter did not witness the crucifixion, gets into a fight and is seriously injured. With the help of Andrew and Thaddeus, who were also afraid to show up at Golgotha because of the Roman soldiers, Peter is taken to Aaron's home where the families await the return of their men and will care for Peter..

The men are lost and afraid, starting to doubt Christ's teachings, while the women are firm believers who will risk death to spread their Rabbi's word. Peter's wife is leaving him and taking their son with her. Peter gets drunk at a cock fight awakening in a back alley where Christ appears to him and talks to him. He learns from Aaron and John that Thaddeus, Mary Magdalene, and Peter's mother also saw him rise. Peter now believes and intends to spread the word.

This fictionalized account of Peter's torment during the three days following Christ's crucifixion is believable. The disciple's angst as well as self-doubt now that the one they followed is gone is understandable as well. Amazingly the women remain steadfast and don't believe that his death will stop the message from being spread around the world. Their love for Christ is rooted in his treatment of them as equal to men. D.S. Lliteras has written a compelling and memorable tale that turn the aftermath of the first end days fascinating reading.

Harriet Klausner

D.S. Lliteras's Jerusalem's Rain is the third in a series of fine books that reexamine familiar stories involving the life and crucifixion of Jesus Christ. While it might well be helpful to have read the first two works (Thieves of Golgotha and Judas the Gentile), it is not necessary as the author skillfully places the reader inside the story, while concisely suggesting all that has gone on before.

The style is sparse, the dialogue written in a modern English that is more like a translation of how the people spoke than a recreation of the patterns of speech. The effect makes the reader more easily able to relate to characters that previously have not been flesh and blood.

The central figure in Jerusalem's Rain is Peter, one of Christ's disciples, a former fisherman, and the man who is destined to lead the early Christians after the master's death. But Peter is hardly a hero, and a more flawed protagonist has seldom been drawn in a novel before. Torn by guilt, he is a contentious man who thrice denied Jesus when the Romans came for him. Peter is seemingly fearful of his own shadow, and he proceeds to fight with and alienate fellow followers of Christ (Phillip and Andrew), and his own wife and family. He goes on a drinking binge, lashing out at those around him, but also at himself, the true target of his distain. The reader is ultimately rewarded by Peter's journey, as he begins to find himself and his calling at book's end.

Interestingly, Lliteras also brings to light the existence of female disciples of Jesus, women who, unlike the male disciples, stayed with the crucified Christ, instead of running for their lives. One of them, Naomi, testifies how for women in Palestine society who had no power and were barely visible, Jesus offered a message of equality and the opportunity to find their own place in the new religion. This is fascinating stuff (even if Christianity seemed to drop the ball regarding true inclusiveness for women).

The climatic scene is a masterful description of a cock-fight. Two fierce and determined birds battle and claw to the death, while greedy men around them cheer and bet on a winner. It was not hard for me to imagine the cockfight as metaphor for the present situation in the middle east. It's a powerful image no matter what inference the reader draws.

Which brings me to the point that Jerusalem's Rain is an incredibly timely piece of fiction. I believe we live in a period of crisis for Christianity. Its leaders seem to have lost direction, and followers seem to have lost interest. In my opinion D. S. Lliteras's goal is a rebirth in religious thinking. He is attempting to make Christianity relevant again by reexamining the past, and helping the reader to get back to the roots of one of man's oldest religions. For that reason alone, we owe the writer a debt of gratitude.

Jerusalem's Rain is not an easy read. It's a challenging one, which makes me afraid it will not be as successful as it deserves to be. But if you are interested in religion, or history, or simply the art of writing, than please check out this impressive novel.

The Kind of Things Saints Do is a guided tour through the bars and streets of South Florida, where heartbreak and melancholy meet heady tropical breezes and dazzling sunshine. The characters in this collection are conduits for the many sides of South Florida--cruel, indifferent, chaotic, self-absorbed, unknowable, spicy, seductive, passionate and wonderful. The relationships depicted here contain all of these characteristics, making these stories unfailingly faithful to their setting. Reading these stories, I felt as if I were really hearing the din of conversations in a Miami cafeteria, or studying the "melancholy features of mismanaged buildings on Hollywood Beach" or strolling the cafes and art galleries of Lincoln Road . . . Buy this book, it's cheaper than a plane ticket. Besides, you'll get to see the real South Florida, a thrilling peek way, way below the surface.

"This book of short stories was an emotional tour through different dysfunctional relationships: a teenage girl coming to terms with her father's abusiveness and her own complicated sexual desires; a young woman caught in a triangle between a former love, a new one, and a safe one; an angry man confronting his father about having left him and his mother... In each and every one, the main character acknowledges some kind of deeper need that is at the root of their destructive behavior, but in the end there is always a tone of hope and redemption, a way of "seeing" that leaves the reader feeling like the characters' secular experiences have a spiritual resonance. Growth comes wiht pain, but it's Valeri's ability to dance subtly between hurt and hope that make these stories special and profound. The characters feel real and the situations both familiar and new. You will come at the end of the book feeling like you know these people, have known them all your life, and you may find yourself thinking about them long after you put the book down."

Valeri writes in lush yet precise sentences that vibrate with emotional honesty. Her willingness to explore even the darkest corners of the human psyche is matched by her near-prescient ability to understand--and accept--human behavior.

At its best The Kind of Things Saints Do got under my skin and wrapped itself around my soul holding me captive from sentence to sentence. At its worst i was simply engaged. This collection of short stories is worth the five or six hour investment of time it takes to finish the read. Throughout the book there is a wide range of psychologically charged characters. Valeri does a fine job depicting complex characters whether a young girl or an old man. The Miami setting in many of the stories also helps push the tales along for Miami is always a complicated and interesting set.

I have tried several of the appetizers and most are excellent. I recently fixed the artichoke squares and the lumpia appetizers for a party and they were a big hit. The easy shrimp newberg is excellent! There are a number of recipes I am anxious to try. I highly recommend this cookbook because the recipes are different. I expect before long, everyone in my family will have this cookbook.

I can say without hesitation that this cookbook will provide you with beaucoup examples of real New Orleans cuisine that you will enjoy to the fullest. This book started out as a labor of love in 1980 and has grown into one of New Orleans' most popular cookbooks. In fact, it was awarded the "Outstanding Community Cookbook Award" from the Tabasco/McIlhenny Company Cookbook Hall of Fame. It has also been mentioned in Town & Country and other magazines.

In addition to the large collection of original recipes, the book also includes 33 pages of recipes from famous New Orleans restaurants.

I use this cookbook on a regular basis. I'm glad to see that some good people from other parts of the country have reviewed it before me. But if you want one local man's opinion who loves to cook, trust me on this one! There are several other great cookbooks which capture the essence of New Orleans cuisine, and this one is a sleeper that ranks right at the top.

Order the book and laissez les bon temps rouler!

I've been using many of the recipes from this book since 1982 when it was given to me as a Chrismas present by a girl friend of mine. I've used close to half of the recipes and been rewarded for it. The only glitch I found was in the stuffed mushroom recipe. It calls for twice as much broth as needed. When the ex and I split, this is the one of the few cook books I insisted on keeping, with good reason.

My family...sisters(2), and mother have used this cookbook and love it. It is easy to use and has some great New Orleans recipes. In fact, my mother bought one and then decided that it was so good we all needed one. If you are interested in La cuisine it has a wide variety of dishes which are really delicious. (I like the appetizers, my sister who has a sweet tooth loves the desserts) Good luck!!!

Wonderful book...inspiring telling of the story of Our Lady for all ages! I shared it with my Faith Formation class and parents and children alike were spellbound.

I like this story of Jaun Diego's vision. I read it over and over again. In choir, I learned the song Saddened Eyes. It's about Guadalope`, and one of my mom's favorite songs. I like the the picture of Guadalupe` on Juan Diego's touma. I love this book ever so much!

Ever seen the sun-shine-y Virgin on the back window of a pickup truck? Now you'll understand.

The first time I read this book to my daughter, I had to stop when I got to the page of Juan Diego kneeling with his tilma, as I swallowed back tears. It is a beautiful rendering of a beautiful story, that of the Mother of God appearing to an indigenous man to teach true peace. The Spaniards argued that the human sacrificing Aztecs and other Mexican religions must be destroyed, along with their culture, while the Franciscans who accompanied their journeys argued that the people need not change their language, traditions, etc. Our Lady of Guadalupe showed that culture need not be obliterated to bring the Christian faith to others. She showed her great love for the Mexican people, and the beauty of this love pierces DePaola's work. I love his iconic style of illustration and his children's books, but this is by far my favorite. The children love it.

Our Lady of Guadalupe is the apparition of Mary appearing to a Native American in Mexico dressed in the simple clothes of a pregnant Indian maiden. Other miracles accompany these visitations, the end result of which is that millions of people who were unable to accept the religion of their ruthless Spanish conquerors were able to embrace the religion of this maiden and became Christians. Tomie De Paola is well known among elementary school and children's librarians as a great author and illustrator and this book is just another reason that she has this reputation. Of course, the events involved in how the Mexicans were able to accept the religion of their conquerors were great! And when you combine a great author and illustrator together with great events you have a great story! This book is wonderfully illustrated on every page with an average of 6 lines of the story per page. This book is billed as "reading level" ages 4-8. I would say that a four year old would enjoy having it read to them, but the reading level is that of the 3rd grade.

This book is a slender, fully illustrated introduction to the Christianity and Christology of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The ten issues are:

1) Are Latter-day Saints Christian?
2) What do Latter-day Saints believe about God?
3) Do latter-day Saints believe in the Bible and biblical Christianity?
4) Does God speak to his children in ways other than through the Bible?
5) Do Latter-day Saints believe that men and women can become Gods?
6) What do latter-day Saints mean when they say that God was once a man?
7) What do Latter-day Saints believe a person must do to be saved?
8) Do the doctrines and practices of the LDS Church change?
9) Ho do latter-day Saints believe they should live their lives?
10) Why do Latter-day Saints try to convert others?

I hope this gets your interest whetted. Robert L. Millet, the Dean of Religion at Brigham Young University-Provo and Dr. Noel Reynolds, an academic vice president at Brigham young University--Provo, are the editors, with several contributors from the Religious Faculty at BYU.

This booklet allows us to speak for ourselves, unfiltered and undistorted. It serves as a great introduction, a guide map if you will, for several points of doctrine and theology that are important for the Church of Jesus Christ. It is written at the high school level, and has beautiful eye-catching pictures. It is a booklet written for everyone.

This is, for its size, an excellent little book that gives a solid, concise overview of Latter-day Saint belief on several issues that almost invariably come up when non-Mormons are asking questions about Mormonism. It's perfect for giving to curious neighbors, co-workers, etc. It makes no attempt to convert, but merely to explain. Very, very well done.

I'm not a Mormon (Evangelical Christian, actually) and I think this is a great intro to LDS doctrine for Christians curious about Mormonism.

If you want to know the true LDS beliefs you should get them from a person who believes in Mormonism, not from a person who thinks Mormonism is a terrible cult. This book quickly cuts to the chase on some of the more controversial issues. This way you can make your own opinion, not get railroaded into a sensational one.

This was a really good book

Reverend Deborah L. Johnson brings us messages from Spirit that talk to our hearts, minds, and souls to help us embrace our inherent wholeness. This book is a practical tool to use daily as a reminder of who we are and how to live in the world as "spiritual beings having a human experience." The letters are organized in sections to help us easily choose a topic for our current need or interest. Iyanla Vanzant recommended this book in her June 2004 column in Essence magazine. I recommend it for anyone who is interested in finding wisdom to live by and inspiration for daily life. If you liked Neale Donald Walsh's Conversations With God books, you'll love this one, too.

God spoke to Rev. Deborah Johnson in the form of letters. Here she shares this "correspondence," which she has organized and edited brilliantly. Every page and virtually every paragraph shimmer with revelations and wisdom, easily accessible and at the same time loving, profound and life-altering. I wish I could give this book to everyone on our planet. It would be a happier world. How fortunate we are that this book is the first of a series planned by the author.

I was fed up with religious dogma. I wanted to find a basis for spirituality that applied to the present as well as the past. "Letters from the Infinite" provides that basis and goes on to explain how to apply that spirituality to my everyday life by using its 'Tools for Living'. These are practical steps that anyone can take to open themselves to their God. It explains that God is good, all of the time and that we are perfect, whole, and complete right now. Then it explains why we can't stay that way. Why we must continue to open ourselves to more fully enjoy our selves, our relationships, and our lives.
I highly recommend this book. I believe that anyone who has a desire to find the higher meaning of life must read this book, regardless of where they are on their spiritual path.

The message this book delivers resonates totally with my belief system. While it supports that Jesus lived and brought a powerful message to mankind, it puts spirituality, religion and the church in proper perspective. Is also provides insight into the true meaning of life and the individual's relationship to the infinite...to God. I challenge other spiritually minded people to read this book and not be affected by the message. I cherish this book will keep it as a resource.

As an Irish dancer and long time competitor, it seems that there is finally a story that captures both the nervous energy of a feis and also provides a really good, sometimes on the edge scary mystery. Irish dancers will love this book and non-dancers will want to become Irish dancers after they read this book. But even without the dancing, it is a good story. I really hope there will be more Liffey Rivers books.

This story should appeal to both elementary and middle school girls with it's thirteen-year-old heroine and combination of mystery and Irish dance. I was nine when I first read a Nancy Drew mystery and enjoyed them for many years. Liffey may be following in Nancy's footsteps with her lawyer father, keen observation and fey sense of approaching danger.
Things Irish are popular now, especially the dance and Ms. Briggs has obviously had some experience in that competitive world.
There is a glossary of Irish dance terms plus historical and geographical tidbits fused into the story line for a little painless education. Even as an adult, I enjoyed and learned from this book and will be giving several as gifts this holiday season.

As the mother of a former Irish dancer (12 years of practices and competitions), as well as one who enjoyed Nancy Drew, Trixie Beldon and all of the those other wonderful mysteries, I found myself completely enthralled with this book. It was "memory lane" for me at times with the description of the feasana, needing to just win a first in a particular step, the overwhelming conviction that if Liffy only had a solo costume, she would take first in her competitions, etc. AND it was a really good mystery! I really loved it.

This book is great. It should be rated for all ages, not 9-13-year-olds. I read it before my daughters got hold of it. I picked it up from a feis vendor and finished it the same night in the hotel room! I especially liked the internal dialogue Liffey Rivers had going on in her head throughout the whole book. Sometimes I could not stop laughing. One of my daughters finished it on the way home in the car (a 12-hour drive!). That was the quietest car trip we ever took! I owe it all to Liffey Rivers and her solo dress quest.