My Mother's Wish

Ellee sets out to distinguish herself from everyone else in her small town. She does not want to settle for the proper life her mother envisions for her. She rebels in small ways: the backwards direction she writes in her diary, the way she writes across the lines, and shortening her name to Ellee from Eleanor. All of it fits the best word she knows, “contrariwise.”

In My Mother’s Wish her father accepts her the way she is yet her mother is disappointed in Ellee’s constant need to be different. Strife ensues and we find Ellee taking off for parts unknown. I felt like there were pages missing because in one chapter she is leaving Missouri in July and in the next we find her at a truck stop diner in Nebraska just before Christmas. She misses home. A waitress shows concern, a truck driver offers her a ride which she readily accepts, and lo and behold, drops her off at her home without her revealing any details about herself. She returns to find her mother accepts her at last, as demonstrated by the fact that she has written Ellee instead of Eleanor on the Christmas list tagged to the refrigerator, and her mother’s lone wish is to have her back.

A very quick read, I found this little book too cute. There was no meat to it. Assuming the author is using this short narrative to get across the idea of unconditional love that God gives to each of us, this does not cut it for me. Give me the real Christmas story any day.

Published by WaterBrook Press and written by Jerry Camery-Hoggatt.
If you are curious, I have three books to give away.

Books can also be purchased from:

www.Amazon.com
www.ChristianBook.com
www.FamilyChristian.com

Me, Myself, & I AM

Ever think about what your life was like before Christ? Ever wonder about your current focus? Ever think about where you are headed in the future? Want to understand your relationship with God in a deeper way? Me, Myself, & I AM is a tool you could use to help you as you sort through these questions and myriad others. It’s like a ready made journal, asking pointed questions to get you started thinking and giving you a place to log a concrete record of your journey in life.

Some of the questions assume a cultural literacy on the part of the reader, such as:

If your life before you became a Christian were a movie, its title would be:

Animal House

As Good As It Gets

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

It’s a Wonderful Life

The reader is encouraged to be transparent and answer questions honestly; not as you think they should be answered but your own current assessment of you.

You can go in order or skip around to whatever interests you at the particular time you choose to examine your thoughts and actions. Fun, serious, or thought-provoking, Me, Myself, & I AM can be a springboard for either your own spiritual walk or group discussions.

Co-authored by Matthew Peters and Elisa Stanford.
Published by Multnomah.
Available for purchase at www.Amazon.com, www.ChristianBook.com, or www.FamilyChristian.com.

I have two extra copies if you are interested.