An Order of Shallow with a Side of Cliche

Today's second post is a book review of Dinner with a Perfect Stranger by David Gregory as a part of the Blogging for Books program. Enjoy!

Sometimes you pick up a book and you're excited to read it. You're excited to dive in and see what the author has concocted. And sometimes, you pick up a book and rejoice that it's only around 100 pages because you know it'll be over with soon enough. Unfortunately, David Gregory's Dinner with a Perfect Stranger falls under the latter category.

I was initially wary of this book because of its premise of having dinner with Jesus. I figured that the author was some lunatic who truly believed that he had encountered Jesus at McDonald's and that the book would be a detailed recollection of said insanity. Fortunately, Gregory's book is fiction, with a capital F.

You enter the conversation between Gregory and Jesus excited. Who wouldn't be excited to hear what Jesus would have to say over a nice meal at a restaurant that most can't afford? Unfortunately, the most interesting part of the dinner is the meal, as Gregory goes to great lengths to give us a vivid picture of the food he partakes in and the details concerning the restaurant. I suppose something needs to fill our minds, as the dinner conversation is rather shallow, cliche, and leaves something to be desired.

I knew from the moment I opened the book that what I was getting into would be rather brief and shallow - after all, how much can truly be said in 100 pages? Length is not the concern here, though. The topic of dinner conversation is rather uninspired, as if Jesus had simply read the first paragraph in each chapter of Lee Strobel's Case for Christ and failed to study the evidence behind the claims. Something tells me, though, that Jesus would have been a bit more thorough in his research. Sadly, I cannot say the same for Gregory.

If you're looking for a book that reminds you of the rich (though fictional) conversation that William P. Young's The Shack provides, look elsewhere .All you're going to find here is an order of shallow conversation with a side of cliche retorts. Nothing too fancy and nothing too earth shattering. Simply another book to line the bookshelf.

(I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.)

Deja Vu

I know, I know. You missed me yesterday. I'm contemplating posting twice today to make it up to you.

Last Saturday, I posted a video of my sister rocking out on her guitar. I claimed that she was awesome, and a few of you agreed!

Well, folks, I'm here to shamelessly plug my sister one more time. The contest she entered with her song, "Impossible Dream," just began. She needs about a million votes (just to be safe), so would you be willing to help her out?

Just visit this link, register (it takes about 2 minutes), and then vote for my sister's video! If she wins first place, she gets $1,000 and promised to take me out to dinner... just kidding!

But I'm betting if you helped catapult her to first place, she'd be willing to donate money toward an Amazon gift card giveaway. And I'm betting I could match that. So whaddya say?

Check out my sister's video, vote, and share it with your friends. Together, we could all win something from this!

Full

My grandma had brain surgery last night and the doctor said it went as well as could have possibly been expected. Whew. 

I've made it.

You've made it.

We've all made it...

to Friday!

I don't know what kind of week you've had, but personally, I'm glad the end is here. A little Friday is just what the doctor ordered, along with a side dish of...

Five Minute Friday!

Here's the 4-1-1 on Five Minute Friday (per The Gypsy Mama), in case you're new to it:

The 4: Write for five minutes flat with no editing or critiquing. 

The 1: Link back to The Gypsy Mama, as I just did.

The 1: Hunt down the person who linked up for F.m.F. before you and give them some comment love.

The prompt this week is...

Full.

(eek.)

Ready... Set... Go!

Goal Overload?

Hola, Bucketeers! Today, I have the pleasure of featuring another great guest poster! Today, we have Amy from Non-Stop Mom! She has a great post for you, so show her some love through the comments and give her blog a visit and a follow! 

Goal Overload? 

If you have been following my blog (first of all, thank you) then you probably already know about our upcoming road trip. If you haven’t been (you should), then here’s a little bit of background information.

I am a 40 year old single mother of 5 kids. Yes, F-I-V-E. My daughters are 11 and 9, and my sons are 7, 5, and 4. We are leaving our home in central Kansas and driving through 10 states and the District of Columbia on what has now been dubbed “The Mother of All Road Trips: 2011 Edition” or TMOART:2011 for semi-short. 

There are so many goals that are wrapped up into this trip – and this trip is going to be so much more than just a “road trip”.

The main goal, the main reason for why we are even undertaking this is so that the kids and I can see my parents. I grew up in Pennsylvania, and my parents are still there along with a few of my siblings. My parents had me later in their lives, and so they are now in their 80s. The last time that we saw them was 2 years ago, and my youngest son does not remember that trip. Now, at 4 years old, he will remember at least bits and pieces of it – and if, God forbid, something were to happen to my parents, he would at least have a few memories of his grandparents. My parents are for all intents and purposes the only grandparents that he has – his paternal grandparents are not involved in his life at all (read my blog for that story as well).

My Feathers Have Been Ruffled

This post is part of my weekly Time for Honesty. I do my best to share something that's on my heart that is honest, sincere, and transparent - something that will get you thinking and get you to be honest with yourself.

The other day I was perusing my infinite list of blogs, reading, enjoying myself, and probably drinking coffee, though I can't be sure (so don't quote me on that). Nothing too earth shattering arose, and I was okay with that. Until I read through K. Syrah's latest post over at Shoes Never Worn: "The Indie Writer/Indie Author."

Darn you, K, for ruffling my feathers.

(She does that sometimes, so if you're into that sort of writing, you should really check out her blog.)

Anyway, K was writing about being an Indie author, and ended her post with a quip that made a lot of sense to me, but made me kind of mad:

Of course, I say that because at this moment, money isn’t an issue, and if one has a full belly, and all the bills are paid, it’s easier to be righteous.

Now when I say that K made me mad, I really just mean she rattled my cage. Because frankly, I'm dealing with this right now, and I was mad that she brought it up and threw it in my face, as if it were no big deal. Don't mind the fact that it's completely illogical for me to be mad at her - after all, she has no clue that this is something I'm wrestling with right now.