“Sweet Mercy” by Ann Tatlock (Review)

In my last book review (Revealing Jesus: a 365 Day Devotional) I mentioned that there were two types of books that I don’t like very much. The first was the “tie-in” book and the second was what my mother always called the “name exchange” book. That’s when an author, usually of romance novels, tells basically the same story, but simply changes the names of the lead characters.  When I picked up “Sweet Mercy” by Ann Tatlock to read and review from Graf-Martin, I suspected it might be another “name exchange” book. I am rarely so happy to be so wrong.

In the Prologue this story creates it’s foundation. An elderly lady entering an abandoned old country lodge with her young grandson, goes rummaging through the attic in search of a mysterious box. It appears like their task will take quite some time, so Eve’s grandson talks her into telling the story of the last time she was in the old lodge and why it’s so important for her to come back to retrieve an old box. That’s our cue to settle in for a trip to the past via the small town of Mercy, where Eve first came to live as a 17 year old in the early 1930’s.

Suddenly the cobwebs melt, the dust disappears, a breeze stirs her memories and all is fresh and new again as Eve remembers the summer she first came with her parents to live at  the “Marryat Island Ballroom and Lodge” owned by her father’s brother, Cyrus Marryat.

Eve’s father, in the midst of the depression and laid off work, accepts his brother’s offer of a job at the Marryat Lodge on the outskirts of the town of Mercy. For Eve it is a safe haven to escape the gangsters and corruption that had taken over the streets of St. Paul Minnesota which were also responsible for Eve having witnessed a brutal murder that continued to haunt her. Thinking she has found the next best thing to the garden of Eden, Eve settles in to her job and new life in paradise unaware that her past, her fears, first love and adulthood are all just around the corner and completely inescapable.

With the scene set, Ann Tatlock breathes life into a period of history that few of us know much about by making it as familiar as our own neighbourhood and as current as our own teen years. And Tatlock doesn’t hesitate for a moment from inundating us with words and references that went out of use and style decades ago, but jump off the page with potency at the merest touch of her story telling talents.

A time when men wore pomade on their hair, fedoras on their heads, lived in Podunk towns, rowed punts, drove a jitney, shantytowns prevalent, the poor were willing to do a days labour for a plate of food, Rudolph Valentino was the big movie heart throb and people were fox trotting to “Keep a Song in Your Soul” by Duke Ellington with "some kind of dynamism"(*1).

The plot moves along at a steady clip, we get to know characters both interesting and recognizable and are educated about a time in history where prohibition was the law, the Volstead act was enforced and politicians’ pockets were lined with money from gangsters and rum runners.

But the best thing about Ann Tatlock is the way she seamlessly weaves history and fiction together, describes scenery so vividly that you know you’ve been there and does it without wasting a single word. She doesn’t subject us to long descriptive paragraphs when she can simply interject, “ a small steel bridge humped like the back of a frightened cat”(*2) to instantly draw a mental picture. Or a quick reference like, “ that life seemed far away like the torn edges of an early morning dream”(*3) to allow us immediate access into the heart of our heroine.

But Ann Tatlock’s techniques and talent aside, at it’s core “Sweet Mercy” is the quintessential coming-of-age story told at it’s best. We meet Eve when she is  vulnerable yet passionate and about to cross the line from carefree childhood to the adult life of difficult choices and joyous sorrows. 

But what Ann Tatlock truly excels at is all the feelings we have when we are first in love. The feelings of inadequacy, worry about never seeing the object of our affection again, a attraction so electric you can barely speak, floating instead of merely walking, those happy sighs and "this sense of connectedness, however fragile and brief, a blessed reprieve from solitude."(*4) and to be "lovelier than I might have imagined."(*5)
 
But if I could describe “Sweet Mercy” with one word it would be “infectious”. (Infectious as Eve's new friend, Marlene). But this is the kind of infection you will want to catch. It is the perfect book for a summer read. You will relate to the hot days by the water, the warm tender evenings, games, laughter, family vacations, barbecues and new summertime friends. But you’ll want to keep this book handy, because right about the time the cold winds come, when the snow is piled high, you have to dig out your car and you keep checking your furnace to see if it’s still working, the town of Mercy will be a wonderful place to visit again for your winter holiday.

A solidly written; thoroughly enjoyable read. I happily give it an 8 out of 10 Golden Christian Fishes.



BOOK QUOTES PAGE REFERENCES:
(*1)- page 59
(*2)- page 24
(*3)- page 54
(*4)- page 102
(*5)- page 102

Laura-Lee's Special Treats LINKS:

CBD Link below - $9.99 - lots in stock

Sweet Mercy By Ann Tatlock

Sweet Mercy (First 28 pages) in PDF file

"Keep a Song in Your Soul" by Duke Ellington at YouTube


More Information LINKS:

ANN TATLOCK Official Website

SWEET MERCY Profile at Baker Publishing Website

Graf-Martin Communications (Promotion)

Ann Tatlock

    

The "CHURCH LADY Private Eye" Strikes Again

Parts 4 & 5 of the "Church Lady P.I." Series are posted and running at the "Master's Peace Theatre" Blog.

Getting lots of hits but not many comments.

I suspect that will change round about Part 5,  where "the plot thickens" as they say.

And I like to say, "Truth, is stranger than anything I could think up and write on my own."
I'm starting to be very grateful Mai made me a part of this.

Love Laura-Lee

CHURCH LADY P.I. (Part 4)

CHURCH LADY P.I. (Part 5) the plot thickens


REMEMBER: It's a MYSTERY so it has to read in order and you can't leave any part out. So start at the "Introduction" and proceed to Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and so on. (you know how to count).

For those who haven't started the series at all, use the link below to go to the introduction.

Introduction to CHURCH LADY Private Eye

From my window ...

 
… you can see a large part of a residential area which is my neighbourhood. My bed is right next to the window, so when I look out I can see lots of trees. Many years ago my city decided to actively plant and preserve trees, so some of them are very tall by now.

Between two houses I can see a house that is three stories high. And next to it is a large tree that is almost twice the height of the house itself. An old grand-daddy tree. It is a deciduous tree, which means it’s the kind that has leaves all over it.

I’ve seen it turn bright red in autumn and eventually lose it’s leaves. I’ve watched it naked and covered with ice and snow through a long Canadian winter. But now the winter is over and it is full of new, green leaves. But the leaves are still small enough right now that I can even see the squirrels running along it’s countless branches.

This morning I woke very early, but the sun was already up, even though my neighbours were still sleeping. I pulled the blind up high so I could see my entire view while I lay in bed.

I closed my eyes to pray for a while and when I opened them I saw that a bird was perched on a branch in this particular big tree. But instead of sitting on a large, firm branch, this bird had chose a tiny branch near the very top of the tree. A branch that could obviously not adequately hold the bird, because the branch was bent very low from the bird’s weight.

My first thought was: “Stupid bird. It’s got no sense. Doesn’t even know how to pick an adequate branch. Maybe it’s a ‘cuckoo’ bird?”

It was also very windy in my neighbourhood this morning and the trees were waving all over the place. But the harder the wind blew, the tighter this bird gripped his small branch.
It reminded me of that tree scene from the movie: “Crouching Tiger; Hidden Dragon”.

  At one point the wind became so fierce that it spun bird and branch together so dramatically that the bird was hanging upside down from the branch. Sometimes it would lose it’s grip with one foot. That foot would wave around wildly, flailing in an attempt to grab the branch again. The bird would continue to spin, teeter and almost fall, but then regain it’s foothold at the last possible second. 

 
At one point, as the wind was spinning him around and around on his tiny wedge of a branch, another, much bigger branch smacked him in the head and he lost his grip.
At this point I actually sat up in bed thinking this was the end of him. But again he regained his grip and balance at the last possible second.

I became so involved watching this big, dumb bird taking this wild ride on this tiny branch, so high in the tree, while he gripped at that branch with all his might, that I just sat there and watched him. Mesmerized by the drama. But I continued to think, “You’re gonna get yourself killed. You’re gonna get yourself killed.”

Suddenly, as if God interpreted my worry as a prayer, all the wind suddenly died down. It just completely stopped.
I flopped back down on my bed with a “Thank goodness.”

As I lay there in my bed, I turned back toward the window to look out. The bird sat there just staring back at me. It looked like he was smiling at me. It ACTUALLY looked like he was smiling at me!
Then with the wind calm and the whole neighbourhood in complete silence … it opened it’s wings and gently flew away, soaring on a wind current.

I sighed and thought, “Of course. A bird can fly. It was never in any danger or jeopardy no matter how high up it was. Now who’s the stupid one? It’s not the bird.”

In my anxiety of watching him ride the storm, I had completely forgot the basics:
That-He-Could-FLY!

Then I remembered what I was praying about just before I opened my eyes and saw the bird.
I was asking Jesus to help me continue to know and believe that in my grief and in my pain, no matter how bad things get, he won’t let me fall so hard that I can’t get back up.

And now, thanks to that bird, I know and believe … again.

In fact, that’s probably what that bird was smiling about. You see, not only was he not afraid of falling, he was so certain that his Creator would not let him be in real danger, that he was actually enjoying his ride on the wind. No matter how wild it got. Because that’s what birds are created to do. Ride the wind. It’s not their enemy or something to be afraid of. It’s their source of power.

By the way, do you want to know the last thing I read before I fell asleep last night?

“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear it’s sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

                 John 3:8

And if that stupid bird can learn to ride the wind, maybe stupid Laura-Lee can too. Who knows. Maybe it’s what I was created to do?

It’s quite amazing the things I see from my window.

*It's time for my Sunday Technology fast and get away from computers and cell phones for a day.
 Have a wonderful Sabbath. Thanks taking the time to come here.

Love Laura-Lee

Darlene Zschech: REVEALING JESUS DEVOTIONAL (Review)

 Darlene Zschech

 

 

Once again that lovely publishing company “Graf-Martin” has asked me to review a book, which I am always happy to do.

As you know by now, I am an avid reader. Going way beyond the “Bookenitus Wormochious” classification. I love to get a new book with it’s clean, smooth white pages (which I will immediately change when my pencil and highlighters come out). Then I get the joy of finding out how another human being thinks. Feels. Processes their world. [sigh] It makes me feel so privileged.

However, … there are a few exceptions. And one of them is the “tie-in”. You know what that is. When one thing makes money and everyone at Corporate Headquarters gets together in a big board room and tries to figure out how to milk more money out of the first idea that already made a bunch of money. In most cases it works for them. They make a bunch more money. But the next item they “crank out” is merely a pale image of the original.

Being a Christian for many (many) years, I already know about Darlene Zschech. The Australian singer who brought us one of the most famous worship songs ever: “Shout to the Lord”. (I’ve sung and worshipped by it very often).

But for those of you not “in the know”, as I am, let me give you a quick idea who Darlene Zschech is.
She is an Australian singer/song writer/ worship leader who has been involved with the Hillsong Church in Sydney for many years. She has travelled all over the world singing many songs, giving many concerts, winning many awards, making many Cd's, meeting and helping many people and now lives in lovely New South Wales with her handsome husband, Mark, as they minister as Senior Pastors at the Hope Unlimited Church and live out their happy life together.

And since her in-concert CD/DVD called “Revealing Jesus” did so well, the 'Corporates' got together and said, “how do we make more money from this?” The Darlene Zschech T-Shirt? Handbag? Paperweight? I know. Darlene Zschech action figure. Then some Board Member got the brilliant idea that Darlene could maybe ‘whip off’ a 365 Day Devotional. That way people would think about Darlene Zschech every day of the year. Who ever had that bright idea … [pause], I think I will owe a lot some day.

Now you know the attitude I have for tie-ins and the of frame of mind I had when I cracked open my copy of “Revealing Jesus: A 365 Day Devotional” by Darlene Zschech.

This is my first time reviewing a daily devotional and it presented me with a problem. I didn’t have 365 days to review it and a devotional is not meant to be “crammed” into my brain as fast as possible. You take it a little at a time and let it sit with you for the whole day. So what I decided to do was not worry if I got through the entire thing. I reached for it 3 times per day, reading from different times of the year. Then, even if I didn’t have an entire day, at least I would have several hours to mull things over. I didn’t make it all the way through, but I think I know enough to give you an adequate review.

Even though the book is called, “Revealing Jesus” it also reveals a great deal about Darlene (which is why I call her by her first name now). As most of you know, my mother died at the end of March, so I am still deep in the grieving process. Plus my mother lived a life of excessive suffering for which I had a front row seat. So the first things I realized about “Revealing Jesus” and what Darlene had to say is that she is familiar with suffering. The ‘up close and personal’ type of familiar. But also she is familiar with Jesus. The ‘up close and personal’ type of familiar.

The Devotional is designed that each day equals a page. And each page begins with a small portion of the Bible. One or two verses at most. Then Darlene tells us her thoughts and revelations about that portion of Scripture and at the bottom of the page you will find a prayer. These elements are meshed together to lead you to the Bible, to prayer time and ultimately, to Jesus.

This book is a bit of a misnomer because, although Darlene does reveal much about Jesus, what she does most is lead you to Jesus, where he reveals himself. It almost felt as if each day Darlene would show up, encourage me herself and then take my hand and lead me to the only person who can truly heal my wounds and guide my future. I suspect that was her intention all along.

I’m not sure if it’s her Australian heritage, but I’ve also noticed she approaches the Bible in a unique and interesting way. She uses Scripture verses that not many people talk about (who spends days delving into the book of Philemon?!) and she brings my attention to things I’ve never thought of before. When she quotes from the Scripture, she has deeply considered the frame of mind and circumstances the person writing was experiencing. It not only demonstrated her extensive knowledge of the Bible, but also added dimensions to the verses. It encouraged me to think beyond the page and outside the box. Which is usually when you begin to know the real Jesus. We can only begin to know him when we except that we will never know ALL of him while still on this earth in our limited state. But by “revealing Jesus” Darlene gives us the sense of how all encompassing Jesus is. A taste of the “splendor of his majesty”. People usually discover this truth through music and worship mostly, so it doesn’t surprise me that Darlene knows all about God’s ‘bigness’.

This book was not ‘whipped off’. It is the culmination of a lifetime. A life spent meditating on God's Word, living out her faith, learning through experience (much of it painful) and simply and deeply loving Jesus through it all. I’m grateful to Darlene for  sharing what she knows and sharing intimate parts of herself with the rest of us. She will indeed be with me throughout the year. Daily nudging me to go to Jesus, learn from his humble and loving ways and allowing him to be revealed through me as well. I believe that with the launch of this devotional, a crop will be planted that will see Jesus revealed in all sorts of places and circumstances. Wonderful things will happen when we take our faith “out of the box” and reveal Jesus to a desperate world that’s hungry, lonely and afraid.

And if all that isn’t enough for you, let me tell you this. Even though I also love Jesus dearly, this season of grief has left me much of the time in a lonely place where it feels like the oxygen has been sucked out of the room. But Jesus used this devotional to refresh me, comfort me and to speak to me. If He has given this book a “good review”, how can I do less?

It receives my highest. 10 out of 10 Golden Christian Fishes.

And by the way, if someone could get me the name and address of the person who suggested this book to Darlene, I owe him/her at least a “Thank You” card.

Keep scrolling down to get the LINKS you’ll need to discover more for yourself.

Love Laura-Lee



P.S. FYI. If you wish to purchase either the book or the CD/DVD combo, click on these Christian Book Distributors (CBD)  Links below to get a wonderful bargain (just because you came to "Laura-Lee Was Here"). But I've also added the Links to the "Revealing Jesus" pages at Amazon (Canada) and Amazon (USA).

Revealing Jesus: A 365-Day Devotional By Darlene Zschech

Revealing Jesus (CD-DVD Combo) By Darlene Zschech From the original songwriter of dozens of today's most performed songs comes a live worship project that seeks to make Christ known to all! Featuring guest appearances from Michael W. Smith, Kari Jobe, Israel Houghton and others, Revealing Jesus includes "God Is Here," "All That We Are," "Best for Me," "Victor's Crown," and more. CD/DVD edition includes audio and video of the performance, captured at the Church of the Highlands in Birmingham, Alabama. DARLENE ZSCHECH Website Homepage DARLENE ZSCHECH at YouTube Baker Publishing: Info on Revealing Jesus Devotional Graf Martin Communications (Promotions) Revealing Jesus from Amazon Canada Revealing Jesus from Amazon (USA) "My Jesus, I Love Thee" from Darlene Zschech (featuring Michael W. Smith on keyboards)

In CHRIST Alone: Happy Sunday Everyone

About to shut down my computer for my Sabbath "Technology Fast". Leaving you with a great video I found.

See you after the weekend.  LOVE Always, Laura-Lee

JESUS LOVES YOU ... just as you are.

 

 

 

"AS HE STANDS IN VICTORY,

 DEATH'S CURSE HAS LOST IT'S GRIP ON ME!

FOR I AM HIS, AND HE IS MINE."

 

Bought with the precious blood of Christ. ~ Laura-Lee

More CHURCH LADY P.I.

Just wanted to give everyone a heads up. I've finished editing the next two installments of "CHURCH LADY P.I."

Part 2 and Part 3 are posted at the Story Telling Blog, so Follow the LINK below and see it.

MASTER'S PEACE THEATRE :Church Lady P.I.

REMEMBER: It's a Mystery, so you've got to read them in order. If you've forgotten some of the details in the "Introduction" and "Part 1" maybe go back and read them over. (There's stuff in there that you'll need to know).

Sorry to Mai as well for making her wait. She tells good stories and then I hold everyone up. Sorry, Dearie.
Love L-L

THE JUMP MANUAL: Increasing your vertical jump

This topic first showed up in a comment on one of my posts. As far as I could tell, it had nothing to do with the topic I was talking about. But the "commentor" was just including a link to his site (which I encourage people to do). But then somebody found that comment and commented again and then someone commented again after that and on and on. This "Jump" topic  is scattered all over my Blog within the comments, so I thought it was time I put things into just one place.

Now, I'm about to show my "girlie-ness" because I can't really understand why it's so important to increase your ability to jump. But my faithful readers have stumbled onto a topic that is quite hot right now, and it would be stupid and ungrateful of me NOT to look into it. So that's exactly what I did. Actually, one of the reasons I'm always badgering you to leave me feedback in the COMMENTS section is not only so I can hear about myself, but because I learn new things from you as well.

So keep those comments coming, don't forget  you can do it Anonymously and I don't mind at all if you put in a plug for your own website at the same time.

So you can follow this main link, which is from Jacob Hiller himself. He's the coach where this concept originally came from and, as they say, "accept no substitutes." Because as Coach Hiller also says, "if you don't jump properly, not only will you not reach your maximun ability, you may hurt yourself".

FOLLOW THE LINKS:

  The Jump Manual (Jump higher with comprehensive vertical jump training)

JACOB HILLER at YouTube

Now don't make a mistake and go to a channel that is telling you about Jacob Hiller. When you are dealing with something that is going to push your body to it's limits, you want to go to "the source".
He has a lot of Videos on his Channel and you can SUBSCRIBE to them there at his YouTube as well.


Below I will republish the comments that were about this topic but got rather scattered around my blog's other pages and topics.

I hope this information helps you and thank you again for teaching me something I didn't have a clue about. If this sweeps America and the world, there's going to be a lot of people jumping very high. It may actually change the game of basketball and other sports as well. (What will the Olympic Games look like in another 8 years?)

Sincerely, Laura-Lee Rahn

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So that's ALL the Vertical Jump info in one place and you won't have to be scanning through all my others blog posts to get at it.

 

 (Some were attached to my post with a stupid joke about me being a Spinster and the rest were attached to my post for my mother passing away 6 weeks ago. - it took me a LONG time to figure out what Mom's death had to do with jumping high. I thought the grief had made me go insane or something.)

 

**Remember you can still Comment at the bottom of this post if you have more to say on this topic.

I probably should have gathered this info for you a while ago, but I'm in a pretty big emotional mess right now. So I thank you for being patient with me at this time.

 

Love L-L

CHURCH LADY P.I.

I created another blog that is going to be solely as an outlet for my stories.

My first story: CHURCH LADY P. I. is a mystery and I hope I can stump you at least a little bit.

And both the "Introduction" and "Part 1" of it can be found on my new Story Telling blog:

Master's Peace Theatre

(DON'T FORGET TO READ THE "INTRODUCTION" FIRST - it's part of the story)

Love Laura-Lee

You Want MY Advice? Don't Say I Didn' t Warn 'Ya

I got a message from the website WizPert that they wanted me to join their site and give out "expert advice". They had read some of my blog posts and thought I might be able to help some people who had questions. Can you imagine that? Most of my life I've been forcing my advice on anybody that would listen and NOW, somebody is asking me to do it.

So, will I do it?
BOY HOWDY! Now you'll NEVER get me to shut up!

You will find a button on the right side bar of this blog. Click on it and go to MY Wispert page and lap up the many, many pearls of wisdom I will spread forth upon all of you who cannot make a move without my say-so.

Not that this will keep me from being humble. I'm am going to be the GREATEST and HUGEST humble person on this ENTIRE earth. You just watch me!!

 Love Laura-Lee Rahn,  R.S.P.  (Real Smart Person) 

"What are these 'poofy' things on my hat for?"

(Would you ask advice from this person?)

P.S. I promise not to forget the "little people" I had to step on and grind into the ground on my way to becoming "stupendously smart". (not to mention the trail of broken hearts I left behind). I can't forget you because I'll need to remember your name when I get a restraining order against you if you start bugging me too much for my autograph.

LAURA-LEE at Wizpert      (also see button on RIGHT SIDE BAR)

PS: Did you notice I spelled "Wizpert", "Wispert" somewhere in this blog. It was to test you.
 "Oh, Grasshopper. We have so far to go. And a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step ... to the bathroom before you leave, because there might not be one nearby on your journey."

UPDATE:  (May 18, 2013)

I've taken the "Wizpert" connection off my blog for the time being. At first it was technical issues, but now the people who IM me for advice through the Wizpert site are mentioning their own problems with them. I need to check into it more and when I get more information, I'll let you know. Thanks for your patience. Love L-L

Revealing Jesus & Sweet Mercy

Mom is not here with me anymore, but life on Earth continues. Fortunately for me, Jesus is making things exceedingly easy for me right now.

Next up, I have the pleasant job of reviewing two new books:

Sweet Mercy by Ann Tatlock    AND

Revealing Jesus by Darlene Zschech


"Sweet Mercy" is the latest book for Ann Tatlock and

"Revealing Jesus" is a Devotional by Darlene Zscech based on her best selling CD of the same name.


So while I get the enjoyment, enlightenment and edification of reading these books, and while you're waiting for my review, I leave you with a video of Darlene Zschech singing "Victor's Crown" from the "Revealing Jesus" CD.

STAY TUNED.
Thank you so much.
 Love Laura-Lee