Book Reviews: The Tears of Gethsemane by Deborah Faulks ISBN: 978-1-9736-0786-1

Watch on YouTube

The Tears of Gethsemane by Deborah Faulks was a difficult book for me to read and review.  It is very different from most books regarding Christianity.

When I first started reading this book, it was difficult for me to concentrate on it.  I started it over several times because I just wasn’t getting it.

I started to just set it aside for later, but then a prompting told me I really needed to get into this book.  I said multiple prayers and then dug into it.

Once I was able to quiet my mind, I was able to really understand what the author is trying to say.

Suzanne and I are from a charismatic, fundamentalist background.  This being said, we a have a few fundamental theological differences, but the overall feel and message of the book is completely in keeping with our beliefs.

This is not the kind of book one should just plow right through,  It is the kind of book that one should read with a lot of prayer and reflection.  One should keep their favorite translation of the Holy Bible handy and probably another translation to help when one has questions.

The Tears of Gethsemane would make a great small group Bible study. This would probably be the best way to approach it.  

Perhaps a group of Christians should take one chapter at a time and spend a week reading and re-reading it as well as prayerfully considering it.  Then, they could come together and discuss it in more detail.

If you miss this book, you have probably missed a blessing.

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 Now From Amazon: https://amzn.to/2AQBESJ
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

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

Watch on YouTube

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?

Ready to Pull the Retirement Trigger?: Your Strategic Guide to Retire With Confidence by Mary Sterk will help you find the answers and strike a happy medium.

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

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

Watch on YouTube

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

Book Review: The One Year Daily Insights with Zig Ziglar by Zig Ziglar and Dwight "Ike" Reighard

Watch on YouTube

For some time now, The One Year Daily Insights with Zig Ziglar by Zig Ziglar and Dwight "Ike" Reighard has been a part of our lives here at McClendon Villa.  We would love to tell you that we read it every day, but that would not be the case; we do slip up from time to time.

We love the way this devotion has a different devotion for every day of the year, except February 29.  On leap day, we just have to read the devotion for a different day twice that year. That also makes it a good day to catch up on any that got missed due to life’s challenges.

We believe this devotion written, in part, by the inspirational Zig Ziglar, makes a great source for daily devotions to be read together by the whole family, including pets.

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

Mark 16:15 KJV

He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.

Mark 16:15 NIV

These devotions, like most others, are short and to the point.  This makes it good for reading to the family since those young ones with short attention spans aren’t apt to lose focus during the reading.

We have been big fans of the late Zig Ziglar for many years and are glad that he put his time, along with that of Dwight "Ike" Reighard, into creating this book for us.

This would make a lovely gift for anyone, especially in the imitation leather binding.

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

Book Review: Who Are You? by Russell Wetherington ISBN: 9781575500706

Watch On YouTube

When the world lost Zig Ziglar, we lost a great inspirational character. His spirit sort of lives on in works like Who Are You? by Russell Wetherington.

In this book, Wetherington quotes multiple scriptures, top inspirational leaders, and others to guide his readers on a 31 day journey to bettering themselves.

Readers are instructed to read one chapter per day for a month.  There are a total of 31 chapters. Readers will want to read one extra chapter on one day during months with only 30 days. February provides multiple opportunities during the month to double up on readings.

This book is designed to take readers through the 31 chapters of Proverbs along the way.  Each month readers are encouraged to re-read the book with the belief that they will gain some new insight on each reading.

Along the way, readers will read stories they have heard before and some very new ones.  They will read stories of inspiration and hope.

Five Star Review

Who Are You? is very well-written and very uplifting.  We give it all five stars.

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/2q7s0VR

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

Book Review: The Employee Millionaire - Personal Workbook: How to Use Your Day Job to Become a Millionaire with Rental Properties by H J Chammas ASIN: B07J3DXB7D

Watch on YouTube

There are so many books out there on “The Only One Way to Invest” that it will make your head spin.  Almost all of the books we read on investing start out by telling you what is wrong with all other forms of investing and why theirs is the one and only way to invest your money to earn an income.

The Employee Millionaire - Personal Workbook: How to Use Your Day Job to Become a Millionaire with Rental Properties by H J Chammas  is different.  He does give a little comparison and contrast between investing in rental property and investing in stocks and bonds.  In this case, he actually gives the pros and cons for both.

Nowhere in the book does Mr. Chammas tell his readers it is going to be easy.  He does not tell you that checks will pour in while you sip on umbrella drinks.

This book tells you how to get started on a fairly moderate income and then roll it into owning and renting out multiple properties.  

He takes his readers through the whole enchilada.  He tells readers about the process of getting pre-approval for a loan and then finding properties and making an offer.

He even tells his readers what they need to take to the closing on a sale of property.  He attempts to make this “white-knuckle” event much less stressful.

Readers are given links to online forms that help with the whole process from start to finish.  He even takes his readers through getting their budget in line before they start.

Five Star Review

We truly believe The Employee Millionaire is a must read for anyone attempting to find a way to add to their income in the least stressful way. This book will make a great gift for that would-be investor on your gift giving list.  We give it all five stars.

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 fromyour transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support. 

Manian Debil Productions is a participant in the  AmazonServices LLC Associates Program, an affiliate  advertisingprogram designed to provide a means for sites to earnadvertising 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

Book Review: The Lion of God Archangel Ari'El by Carol P. Vaccariello ISBN: 978-1-5043-7519-1

Watch On YouTube

We really don’t know how to categorize  The Lion of God Archangel Ari'El by Carol P. Vaccariello.  It is a different take on spirituality.

The odd thing is, we have thousands of books waiting to be read.  Most of these are on the Kindle but there are still many print books waiting their turn to be read. For whatever reason this book kept popping up to in odd places.  It should have stayed on its designated pile, but it didn’t. We took this as a sign to read it.

If you are comfortable with the concept of spirit guides or spirit animals, you will like this book.  If you are uncomfortable with the concept of these, you may wish to avoid this book.

We all know there are angels among us.  We think it is wonderful to believe that there are many out there who are unemployed because we fail to use them.

Five Star Review

The Lion of God Archangel Ari'El is very well-written.  We give it all five stars. It is a short book but very impactful and uplifting.

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 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

https://amzn.to/2CL5QRz

Book Review: ForbesBooks: Master Your Cash Flow: The Key To Grow And Retain Wealth by Albert J. Zdenek Jr CPA/PFS ISBN: 978-1-59932-713-6

Watch On YouTube

Master Your Cash Flow by Albert J. Zdenek, Jr., CPA/PFS is geared more for a higher income level audience than we normally address via our How to Manage Your Monkey blog.

That being said, we think it is an important read for anyone who hopes to someday get out of the level of hardcore poor and get up to the level of needing a financial advisor.

Let’s face it, our target audience is not made up of the type of people who go out and buy cases of wine that they never open.  Hopefully, our normal audience abstains from any type of intoxicating beverage.

If you are this level of poor, chances are good you are more likely to encounter Wine in a Box than you are any type of wine that actually comes with a cork.

The Author, Albert J. Zdenek, Jr., does give us some insight we can use as we get out of the level of hardcore poor and up to the level of The Millionaire next door.

Mr.  Zdenek implies in some of his lead up to Master Your Cash Flow that he is going to give us some comparisons regarding the choice to purchase or lease a new vehicle.  We were interested to learn what he had to say about this comparison. We were looking for it, but never saw it.

There are some very interesting differences of opinion in the book from what you have heard and will hear on How to Manage Your Monkey.  We take more of a Dave Ramsey approach in that it makes more sense to pay off your mortgage and not have to have the interest payments.

However, Mr. Zdenek makes a compelling case to take out a mortgage and invest the proceeds from said mortgage.  We don’t agree with his philosophy but, let’s face it, he has more money than we have. It might be good to read Master Your Cash Flow and make up your own mind.

Five Star Review

On our scale of zero to five stars with zero being terrible and five being outstanding and a must read, we give Master Your Cash Flow all five stars.

Master Your Cash Flow is very well written.  It is easy to follow and the numbers make sense.

We do, however, suggest that you also read The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley and William D Danko, The Wealthy Barber by David Chilton, Hardcore Poor by Kelly Sangree, and Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey.  All of these books have a slightly different approach to the same question of handling your finances.

One of the best pieces of advice offered in the book, and is repeated often throughout Master Your Cash Flow, is to work with the experts.  No one can be an expert in all areas.

It is very sound to suggest working with your CPA, estate planning attorney, financial planner, and others as you see the need.  Just stay away from taking advice from your brother-in-law Bud.

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.

Please Visit My Child Bride Suzanne's Blog

Please be advised that all  information in the How to Manage Your Monkey Course is provided to educate, enlighten, and broaden your views in life.  The information provided is not a substitute for medical, legal, dietary, financial/accounting, or religious professionals.   Always consult a professional before you act on any of the information you find in this course.

Disclaimer: The opinions or advice listed in this blog or website should be used as a place to start only. It is not a substitute for the use of a professional.

Please be sure to consult your attorney, accountant, and/or other professionals with any specific questions. There is no one right answer to any business question that will cover all circumstances.

Notice: This post may contain 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 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