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Book Review: "A Billion Reasons Why"

A Billion Reasons Why
by Kristin Billerback
Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2011

Reading "A Billion Reasons Why" by Kristin Billerbeck is like enjoying a sweet piece of milk chocolate. It is a big helping of literary comfort food.

Katie McKenna thought she left her life as a singer and dancer in New Orleans behind her, along with the love of multimillionaire Luc Deforges. She is now a special needs teacher in California whose only singing is done in the Church choir. Dexter is the man in her life - a dull, but reliable man who serves the Lord. She plans to marry him and live a nice, quiet God-centered life raising a family.

It would seem, however, that God has other plans for her. When Luc walks back into her life to escort her back home for his brother's wedding, her life gets complicated in a hurry. Luc had publicly humiliated her eight years before and she is determined not to let it happen again. She is determined to fight her feelings for him if it is the last thing she does.

This is Christian chick lit perfect for curling up with when you just want to relax and enjoy a light romance.

"The Little Way of Lent: Meditations in the Spirit of St. Therese"

This is a Lenten Book for all of you who enjoy the writings and outlook of St. Therese. Father Gary Caster was inspired to write The Little Way of Lent: Meditations in the Spirit of St. Therese of Lisieux after reading her autobiography.

St. Therese transformed his experience of Lent from one of narrow concern over what to give up to one of joyful freedom to enter into the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ. "What struck me," he says, "was her insistence on the way we do things for God and not the things we do for him. It wasn't about what I was offering; it was about why."

The meditations in this book all colored by St. Therese's Little Way of Spiritual Childhood will transform you, too, helping you focus not so much on what you have done to offend God , but on what he has done to redeem you.

Fr. Gary Caster, Ph. L., a priest of the Diocese of Peoria, is the Catholic Chaplain at Williams College. He leads retreats and parish missions, has written and produced shows for EWTN and been a contributor to Magnificat magazine. He is the author of Mary, in Her Own Words: The Mother of God in Scripture and a contributor to "Praying with St. Paul: Daily Reflections on the Letters of the Apostle Paul." His thesis for a Master of Arts in Church History from Mt. St. Mary s University was on St. Therese of Lisieux.

Do You Value Your Dreams?

Dionna Sanchez wrote this beautiful post today: To Go Forward, Sometimes You Have to Go Back. I think the hardest part of being middle-aged is that realization that many of your dreams will never come true. Life is hard. God puts you on alternate paths (no doubt better for your eternal development). Sometimes, it hardly seems worth it to dream at all because it only leads to disappointment. Yet, even with that reality, I do feel it is still beneficial to dream and work for things (at least on my good days), even if they don't turn out quite the way one hopes.

Dionna offers a good reminder of the value of dreams:

Sometimes we sit on the turf God has given us, and we wonder why we can’t move forward. Why we can’t seem to catch a break. We get frustrated over our lack of progress, blessings, or adventures in life. Maybe it’s because we need to go backwards in our past a little bit and reclaim what we set aside along the way? Maybe it’s because we forgot that we already knew how to dream, take risks, believe in the impossible, and love the unloveable? Maybe we need to remember how it felt to pursue life with abandon?

If we want to go forward, we might just need to go backwards a little bit. It might be scary at first – but I think we will find the freedom we’ve been searching for all along as we rediscover how it feels to have the pure and genuine heart of a child.

Help Pick the Cover of Lisa Hendey's New Book

This is a fun way to have input in a publishing decision. Ave Maria Press is asking for input on the cover of Lisa Hendey's forthcoming book on saints for Catholic moms. Visit the survey here: Survey Monkey for Lisa Hendey and cast your vote.

A Valentine's Day Letter to Men

I don't know how many men read this blog, but I wish more did, if only so they could see the link to this letter: A Valentine's Day Letter to Men on the Catholic Pheonix blog. Perhaps some of you women can pass it along. This about sums it up, Gentlemen!

Movie Review: "Charlie St. Cloud"

Charlie St. Cloud, starring Zac Effron as the title character, is a moving story about a young man discovering his purpose in life, even as he struggles to deal with death. After his younger brother dies in a car crash, Charlie puts his life on hold. His heart may still be beating but he has given up all his dreams and works instead as a cemetery caretaker. His sole joy in life? He meets his (deceased) younger brother every day for a game of catch. He promised he would and he does not want to break his promise for fear that he will truly lose his brother forever. When a beautiful woman comes into his life, he is forced to make a choice between living or holding on to the past.

This is an incredibly moving, surprising, life-affirming story. I was riveted by it. It has some very Catholic themes, including a belief in the power of St. Jude and the knowledge that when we die, it is far from the end. It is rated PG-13 and there is the suggestion of an inappropriate sexual act (although nothing is shown). Overall, however, it is incredibly well-done. It will both entertain you and make you think.