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Sunday, December 30, 2018

Book Review: Is Heaven a Place?: Making Sense of Biblical Stories in the Twenty-first Century by Richard B. Fratianne, MD ISBN: 978-1-4808-6002-5



We typically pray about how to write a proper review of any book before we start to write the review, no matter what the subject of the book.  When we read Is Heaven a Place?: Making Sense of Biblical Stories in the Twenty-first Century by Richard B. Fratianne, MD, and started to write this review, we prayed even more and harder.

It appears that when Fratianne started out to write this book, his intentions were to suggest that his church, the Catholic Church, needed to change the way they presented certain parts of the Bible to make them more relevant to our modern society.

We, David and Suzanne, are both Protestant, from Protestant backgrounds. I, David, was raised as a Southern Baptist in a Bible-believing church.  That is, every word of the Holy Bible is literally true.

Suzanne is from a Holiness background.  The holiness church is also Bible-believing.  For us, every word of the Bible is literally true.  The parables that Jesus used to teach were not based upon any particular person or event, just meant as illustrations.

We have read our Bibles all the way through several times over.  We have read different translations in order to have a better understanding.  At no point did we believe that Adam and Eve did not actually eat the fruit of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden. It appears that whatever translation of the Bible Fratianne uses only calls it the Tree of Knowledge and leaves off the part of Good and Evil.

It just so happens that this time around in reading the Bible, I am using our oldest daughter’s Saint Joseph Edition of the New American Bible, which is a Catholic Bible.  We looked back at the account of Adam and Eve in this version and it refers to the tree as the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Bad. The author makes his case based upon the name of the tree as the Tree of Knowledge. He then bases his narrative of the fruit ingestion on this name.  

Our big problem in reviewing this book is that we are Protestant and he is Catholic speaking about things within the Catholic Church.  When he speaks of Moses, he speaks of things that we have never heard of. How can we judge him based upon things that aren’t in our Bible and we have not yet read them in the Catholic Bible, when they may be taught as part of the Catholic faith?

Our reading of all the versions of the Bible we have encountered show that Moses fled Egypt as a young man because he had killed an Egyptian who was physically mistreating a Hebrew slave.  Pharaoh found out about this killing and was going to kill Moses because of it.

When Fratianne tells us about Moses leaving Egypt, he tells the story differently from how we learned it in Sunday School and also differently from how it is in any of the Bibles we have consulted.  He tells us that Moses was kicked out of Egypt for proclaiming his Jewish heritage. He was supposedly cast out into the desert with one day’s worth of water and a walking stick.

He tells us that the Burning Bush was not an actual event, but how Moses told Sarah that when we was there,  he saw the bush “As if” it was burning and not being consumed. We have no idea who this particular Sarah is because Moses’ wife at the time was Zipporah.  Moses may or may not have married again later on, but we are not told this. The author does not say this Sarah is Moses’ wife, but then, who is she? Abraham’s wife was Sarah, but she lived over 400 years earlier.  It is not likely that this is the Sarah Moses was talking to.

If nothing else, Fratianne caused us to have some in depth discussions about the Bible and sent us back to study the scriptures even harder.

After reading the take that Fratianne has on the feeding of the 5,000, I began to see that perhaps he meant that things that did actually occur were ALSO metaphors for other things.  That things did actually happen, but the telling of the story is also meant to tell us something else.

Overall, it appears that the author paints a picture of the Catholic church that has adopted practices that would be very much like that of the Pharisees from Jesus’ time on earth.  By that I mean that the church has added things that are not in the Bible. Nowhere in our reading of the Bible do we find that sexual relations between a husband and a wife are a sin. In fact, there are a few places in the Bible where we are told not to withhold that type of intimacy from our spouse.  We are told that sex outside of wedlock is a sin.

From what I gather from reading this book, Catholics are taught that they are born as the result of a sinful act and therefore a baby must be baptised to atone for a sinful life.  Perhaps this is one of the things Dr. Fratianne believes should be adjusted in the Catholic teaching.

I learned a lot while reading Is Heaven a Place?  I don’t agree with some of the ideas of the author, but I would have to say he presents his case well for what he does believe.  The book is very readable and easy to understand what the author is trying to say. I would like to see more scripture reference with a note about what version of the Bible the author used.


Overall, we would recommend this book with the caveat that the reader should be very well grounded in their faith before reading this book.  

This author is a medical doctor. It would seem that if one were unfortunate enough to need the medical services this doctor provides (he deals in critical burn cases),one could not find a better doctor to have.  We all need to know that our medical care team leader is a Christian who has learned the true meaning of servant leadership. Our hats are off to Dr. Fratianne.



We were sent a complimentary copy of this book.  We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.

Manian Debil Productions is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.


McClendon Villa     McClendon Villa's Reviews 
From the Kitchen of McClendon Villa   McClendon Villa at Blogger
P. S. Annie  P S Annie at WordPress
P. S. Annie 2
Random Thoughts and Observations   Redneck MBA
How to Manage Your Monkey at Blogger   How To Manage Your Monkey at WordPress
Reviews By David and Suzanne
Book Reviews By Bird     Book Reviews By Bird 2
Book Reviews by Bird at WordPress

Thursday, December 27, 2018

Book Review: Kid Chef Every Day: The Easy Cookbook for Foodie Kids by Colleen Kennedy ISBN: 978-1-64152-222-9



If you are a preteen and want to learn how to impress your friends by feeding them fancy dishes, you can learn how to do that with the book Kid Chef Every Day: The Easy Cookbook for Foodie Kids by Colleen Kennedy.

Even if you don’t know how to boil water, you can learn how to make amazing food with this book.

Kid Chef Every Day is really a course in pretty much everything you need to know when it comes to cooking.  If you don’t know a saucepan from a spatula, this book will teach you.

There are some great instructions for any beginning cook.  No one wants those early failures most of us had when we were learning how to cook. The first time I tried to make gravy, even the dog wouldn’t eat it. The first time Suzanne made it, you could slice it.

But, you can avoid those problems if you follow these directions step-by-step.  There are even directions on how to follow the directions for making the perfect dish every time.

Parents, you can help your older kids take some of the work off of you when you buy your kids the Kid Chef line of books.  You can be sure your kids have the skills they need to handle themselves in the kitchen and make you a wonderful meal.

Kid Chef Every Day makes the perfect gift for any time of the year.  


We were sent a complimentary copy of this book.  We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.

Manian Debil Productions is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

McClendon Villa     McClendon Villa's Reviews 
From the Kitchen of McClendon Villa   McClendon Villa at Blogger
P. S. Annie  P S Annie at WordPress
P. S. Annie 2
Random Thoughts and Observations   Redneck MBA
How to Manage Your Monkey at Blogger   How To Manage Your Monkey at WordPress
Reviews By David and Suzanne
Book Reviews By Bird     Book Reviews By Bird 2
Book Reviews by Bird at WordPress

Sunday, December 16, 2018

Book Review: Trump and the Jews by David Rubin ISBN: 978-0-9829067-7-4



I thought that by now we had read and reviewed just about every type of book there is here at McClendon Villa.  

Then, we are sent a book like Trump and the Jews by David Rubin that is so different in nature, I don’t even know how to categorize it.

Author David Rubin tells us so many things that I never knew that I never knew.  I had heard of the Six Days War. I did not know how amazing it actually was.

This is not your typical “Pro-Trump” book.  And it isn’t anti-Trump by a long shot. What we learn is about many Presidents of the United States and how they opposed Israel.  Any real Christian knows that any enemy of Israel is an enemy of God. No questions asked. Just read your Bible.

Trump and the Jews taught me so many things I did not know about Trump, Jews, former presidents, and Islam.  The writing is engaging and very well presented. The story told about the history of the United States and the history of Israel is an education in and of itself.

For instance, I knew Carter was our worst President without any question.  I knew that Obama was a failed President who had nothing but contempt for the United States of America.  I didn’t know anything about where the other presidents fit in with Israel, but I do now.

No matter what your religion is, you need to read Trump and the Jews.  No matter which side of the political spectrum you are on, you need to read this book.  You will be well rewarded with knowledge for the time spent.



We were sent a complimentary copy of this book.  We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.

Manian Debil Productions is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
 
McClendon Villa     McClendon Villa's Reviews 
From the Kitchen of McClendon Villa   McClendon Villa at Blogger
P. S. Annie  P S Annie at WordPress
P. S. Annie 2
Random Thoughts and Observations   Redneck MBA
How to Manage Your Monkey at Blogger   How To Manage Your Monkey at WordPress
Reviews By David and Suzanne
Book Reviews By Bird     Book Reviews By Bird 2
Book Reviews by Bird at WordPress

Saturday, December 15, 2018

Book Reviews: Ready to Pull the Retirement Trigger?: Your Strategic Guide to Retire With Confidence by Mary Sterk ASIN: B06WVGXWNQ



If you are a parent of any child who is old enough to talk, you have probably heard that age-old question, “Are we there, yet?”  By now you have probably contemplated your retirement and want to know for yourself, “Are we there yet?”

What if you and your spouse have different ideas about retirement?  What if you want to keep working and your significant other wants to cruise around the world?


Most people as they approach retirement age are faced with the question about whether or not they will outlive their money.  There are ways to answer that question. This book will help you.

You have heard of low load funds, no load funds, and other types of funds.  It is enough to make one want to get loaded. But, you don’t have to. You just need to know what questions to ask and whom to ask.

Ready to Pull the Retirement Trigger? Isn’t one of those one trick ponies that trumpets one financial plan in a one-size-fits-all format.  Readers are given some basic information and questions to ask themselves to lead them to ways to find a solution.

Once you read Ready to Pull the Retirement Trigger?, you will have a better grasp of what you need to know before you retire.  We think it is very important for anyone who is contemplating retirement.




We were sent a complimentary copy of this book in the Kindle Format.  We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.

Manian Debil Productions is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.



McClendon Villa     McClendon Villa's Reviews 
From the Kitchen of McClendon Villa   McClendon Villa at Blogger
P. S. Annie  P S Annie at WordPress
P. S. Annie 2
Random Thoughts and Observations   Redneck MBA
How to Manage Your Monkey at Blogger   How To Manage Your Monkey at WordPress
Reviews By David and Suzanne
Book Reviews By Bird     Book Reviews By Bird 2
Book Reviews by Bird at WordPress

Friday, December 14, 2018

Book Review: Giving It All Away…and Getting It All Back Again: The Way of Living Generously by David Green and Bill High ISBN: 978-0-310-34794-1

 


By now you have heard countless times that, “You can’t outgive God.”  This is the story of how David Green and Hobby Lobby tried to out give God and failed.  Maybe you should try it sometime.

Giving It All Away…and Getting It All Back Again: The Way of Living Generously by David Green and Bill High takes readers through Green’s early years as a child all the way up to where he is now.

One great thing about Giving it All Away is that it fits on almost all of the blogs and YouTube Channels we have.  It is a book about business, so it fits on Redneck MBA. It is a book about religion and especially tithing, so it fits all kind of ways on How to Manage Your Monkey.  It is a book so, of course, it fits on Book Reviews by Bird. And everything fits on Random Thoughts and Observations so, it fits there.

This book is a wonderful story of how Hobby Lobby took on the “guvment”, as we rednecks say, and won. But it is mostly a story about giving back.  It shares how a large Pentecostal Holiness family gave much more than their due and inspired their children to do the same.

Hobby Lobby makes such a great juxtaposition to Walmart it is uncanny.  A comparison and contrast between the two companies would make a great case study, thesis, or dissertation.  

Walmart is all about the mighty dollar.  They squeeze every vendor to get a better deal and leave the vendor with less. Hobby Lobby make sure everyone gets a fair deal.

Walmart runs all over their employees. Walmart employees have to work Thanksgiving or be fired.  Hobby Lobby is closed on Sunday. Walmart is open 24/7/364. Hobby Lobby closes at 8 PM so their employees can spend time with their families.

Hobby Lobby is so supportive of a person’s right to life that they took on the U. S. Government, and WON. Walmart sells the “morning after pill” on their sales floor.  The Walton family is/was allegedly Christian, but the stores Sam left behind don’t reflect it in any way.

What would the world look like if EVERY company displayed true Christian values like Hobby Lobby?

Giving it All Away would make a great small group Bible study for your church.  It would make a great book for your chamber of commerce to distribute to all its members so that members could read it and see that it works to put God in control of your business, large or small.

We really cannot say enough about Giving it All Away.


We purchased Giving it All Away for our personal library.  We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.

Manian Debil Productions is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.


McClendon Villa     McClendon Villa's Reviews 
From the Kitchen of McClendon Villa   McClendon Villa at Blogger
P. S. Annie  P S Annie at WordPress
P. S. Annie 2
Random Thoughts and Observations   Redneck MBA
How to Manage Your Monkey at Blogger   How To Manage Your Monkey at WordPress
Reviews By David and Suzanne
Book Reviews By Bird     Book Reviews By Bird 2
Book Reviews by Bird at WordPress

Thursday, December 13, 2018

Book Review: Innercise: The New Science to Unlock Your Brain's Hidden Power by John Assaraf



If you have ever wondered why you break your New Year’s Resolutions very early, drop your diet, or stop exercising regularly, Innercise: The New Science to Unlock Your Brain's Hidden Power by John Assaraf may help you to answer those questions.

In this book, Assaraf explains the inner workings of the mind and why our brains override our plans.  He also gives us answers to how we can overcome this problem.

You aren’t broken, just human, which sometimes is the same thing.

The author uses a hybrid of NLP, LOA, Self-Hypnosis, Mindfulness, and other disciplines to help his readers learn ways to change the patterns of self-sabotage.

Innercise is well written and takes the time to explain the science and psychology behind his methods. We like this book because it is compatible with the Christian faith.

You will want to read this book before you make your New Year’s Resolutions.  Order your copy today and feel better, soon.



We were sent a complimentary copy of this book.  We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.

Manian Debil Productions is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Buy From Amazon: https://amzn.to/2rt2NWD

McClendon Villa     McClendon Villa's Reviews 
From the Kitchen of McClendon Villa   McClendon Villa at Blogger
P. S. Annie  P S Annie at WordPress
P. S. Annie 2
Random Thoughts and Observations   Redneck MBA
How to Manage Your Monkey at Blogger   How To Manage Your Monkey at WordPress
Reviews By David and Suzanne
Book Reviews By Bird     Book Reviews By Bird 2
Book Reviews by Bird at WordPress

Wednesday, December 5, 2018

Book Review: Cult City: Jim Jones, Harvey Milk, and 10 Days That Shook San Francisco by Daniel J. Flynn



If someone accuses you of “Drinking the Kool-Aid”, the intention is to be saying that you are following along with an ideology blindly or that you are mindlessly buying into a what someone else wants you to believe.

When you read Cult City: Jim Jones, Harvey Milk, and 10 Days That Shook San Francisco by Daniel J. Flynn, you will understand why this is incorrect.  

Drinking the Kool-Aid is meant to refer to the mass suicide of over 900 people in Guyana, South America, back in November 1978.  But, no one at Jonestown drank any Kool-Aid.

That is just a very small part of the distorted information that we got from the news following this event.  The news media at that time wanted us to believe that no one saw this coming. If you believe that, you Drank the Kool-Aid.

Enquiring minds wanted to know back then.  In fact, The National Enquirer was one of the few media sources that got things right.

We are doomed to repeat this event because those who don’t know their history are doomed to repeat it.  Most of us don’t know the true history of the mass suicide. Most of us don’t know that our government had every reason to know what was going on.

Cult City is chock full of information about a series of events and a web of things that combined to make such a thing possible.  You will find how history was revised and we have all been forced to drink the Kool-Aid by the media and others.

This book is very eye-opening.  It does have multiple uses of The Lord’s Name in vain.  Readers are carpet bombed with the F-Bomb and we are exposed to the intimate private lives of Jim Jones and many B-rate politicians and celebrities. We disclose this because our readership is mostly Christian and they want to know this.


We were sent a complimentary copy of this book.  We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.

Manian Debil Productions is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

McClendon Villa     McClendon Villa's Reviews 
From the Kitchen of McClendon Villa   McClendon Villa at Blogger
P. S. Annie  P S Annie at WordPress
P. S. Annie 2
Random Thoughts and Observations   Redneck MBA
How to Manage Your Monkey at Blogger   How To Manage Your Monkey at WordPress
Reviews By David and Suzanne
Book Reviews By Bird     Book Reviews By Bird 2

Book Reviews by Bird at WordPress

Monday, December 3, 2018

Book Review: Flourish Financially: Values, Transitions, & Big Conversations by Kathy Longo CFP®




By now readers of our How to Manage Your Monkey blog know we read and review hundreds of books on personal finance and financial planning. We would have to say that
Flourish Financially: Values, Transitions, & Big Conversations by Kathy Longo CFP® is a very different book on the subject.

Whereas most books focus on the nuts and bolts, the undercarriage of your financial condition, this book is focused more on the person and their loved ones and not so much on the portfolio per se.

In this book, readers are treated to ideas about how to open up a dialogue with those involved in the financial planning and find out who they are and why they make financial decisions the way that they do.

You won’t be hammered in the head with such things as how to balance your portfolio.  Why should the author do this when she points out that every person is different and their needs and comfort levels with different investments must be considered?

Longo discusses how to teach children about finances at an early age, how to open conversations with adult children regarding the parents’ finances, and how those adult children should open a dialog with their parents before there is a crisis regarding key financial decisions, where the important papers are, what types of insurance are in place, and medical care decisions.

Our only problem when Longo discusses a spending plan, AKA budget, is that she does not mention tithe.  Giving to charity is completely different than paying a tithe. A tithe is ten percent of your gross income, given first.  It should be paid to your home church and only there.

The author does discuss giving and does a good job explaining different ways to give.

We really think that every adult should read  Flourish Financially.  You will want to give a copy of this to your parents and adult children.




We were sent a complimentary copy of this book.  We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.

Manian Debil Productions is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.


Buy From Amazon: https://amzn.to/2PbKnDa
McClendon Villa     McClendon Villa's Reviews 
From the Kitchen of McClendon Villa   McClendon Villa at Blogger
P. S. Annie  P S Annie at WordPress
P. S. Annie 2
Random Thoughts and Observations   Redneck MBA
How to Manage Your Monkey at Blogger   How To Manage Your Monkey at WordPress
Reviews By David and Suzanne
Book Reviews By Bird     Book Reviews By Bird 2
Book Reviews by Bird at WordPress