Mailbox Monday - November 23

Mailbox Monday is a meme started by Marcia of To Be Continued. Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It now has a permanent home at the Mailbox Monday blog.

Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles, and humongous wish lists.

Happy Monday, everyone! Last week was simply crazy around here. Needed to get the house ready for the Lil' Princess' birthday party in between working and other fun stuff. We had a sleepover on Saturday, took the girls to church with us on Sunday, and then headed over to Nomads.

I manage the membership database for our local Friends of the Library organization. That means I am at the library even more than I was before. So, you can guess how much more time I spend browsing the shelves these days. Here are a couple of books I picked up while there on Friday.

Hailed by The Economist as the “the most influential pastor in America,” and by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the world, the bestselling author of The Purpose Driven Life expounds on the profound origins of Christmas, describing it as an opportune time to welcome peace into our lives.

In his powerful yet compassionate voice, Pastor Rick Warren sounds the clarion call to “remember the reason for the season,” taking readers back in time to the most wonderful story of all—the birth of the baby Jesus. When he was just a small boy, young Rick asked his parents if they could celebrate Christmas with a birthday party for Jesus—and the tradition began that the Warrens have upheld for over fifty years. Now through stirring imagery and compelling personal insights, The Purpose of Christmas honors the significance and promise of this cherished holiday. Pastor Warren encourages readers to identify and confront what drains peace from their lives. Warren explains that the way to respond to these peace robbers is to learn how to surrender to God’s will and not feel defeated or discouraged when life does not go as planned. True peace of mind is found by having an unshakeable faith in God—knowing that His empowering Spirit will guide His children through life’s challenges.

Beautifully written, The Purpose of Christmas will stir readers to honor the true significance of Christmas and to nurture God’s gifts of love and peace in this world.

Countless fans remember Michal Landon from his leading roles in the popular television series "Bonanza," "Little House on the Prairie," and "Highway to Heaven." Far fewer, perhaps, know Landon as a caring father who changed the course of his own life to save his daughter's. Cheryl, a motivational speaker who travels throughout the world to share her father's legacy, has combined the simple beliefs Michael Landon tried to exemplify - both at work and at home - with family stories, her own experience, and the loving touch of her father's spirit. This special book is guaranteed to charm "and" inspire. Includes a special introduction and photo section.

Anyone who knows me knows I can't resist seasonal reading, and this book about a man whose work I so admire was the perfect find.

Wishing all of you a blessed Thanksgiving.

TV Show Review: Father Murphy, Season 1

Father Murphy was created and produced by TV great, Michael Landon. It tells the story of frontiersman John Michael Murphy (Merlin Olsen), who partners up with prospector Moses Gage (Moses Gunn) to mine for gold. Having met orphan Will Adams (Timothy Gibbs), they take the boy on to handle domestic chores like cleaning and cooking while Murphy and Gage pan for gold.

Schoolmarm Mae Woodward (Katherine Cannon) came to the mining camp with a local priest to provide schooling for the children. When a large gold nugget is discovered, the man who owns most of the town, Mr. Garrett (Burr DeBenning), blows up the mining camp, leaving the priest dead and most of the children, orphaned. When Miss Woodward, Moses and Murphy attempt to set up an orphanage to care for the children, they soon find Mr. Rodman (Charles Tyner) and Miss Tuttle (Ivy Bethune) knocking on their door. If the church doesn't take over financial support of the orphanage, Rodman will see the children are sent to the workhouse. Unable to wait for word from the diocese, Murphy poses as a priest, which temporarily saves the day. But the worst troubles are still ahead of them.

Father Murphy ran for two seasons. Michael Landon, who made pioneering western era TV famous with his roles in Bonanza and Little House on the Prairie (LHOP), created and produced this series, which starred Merlin Olsen, who worked with him on LHOP. Anyone familiar with both series, will see many actors played roles in both.

While LHOP had a somewhat romanticized view of the pioneering era, focusing more on the love of family, how pulling together could make anything possible, and the importance of faith, Father Murphy portrayed an edgier side to the 1870s. While both shows had similar themes, it is how they approached them that made them different. Charles Ingalls didn't drink, but Murphy is seen visiting the saloon in the first episode. He's not opposed to the occasional beer for refreshment. Charles is a man of deep faith, but Murphy, who was orphaned as a child, is not one who will be quoting Bible verses left and right. The latter is also not opposed to using his brawn when it's helpful. When Charles got into a fight, it was usually to protect or defend a family member. Charles never seemed to have a problem expressing his feelings, but Murphy can't find the right words or wonders if he should pull up stakes when things get rough.

In addition, the towns are very different. Walnut Grove is this nice quiet place. There's no saloon. The townsfolk are happy. They all love their little town with the grove of trees that gave the town its name. Jackson, on the other hand, is a rough place. Not only does it have a saloon, night time there means, fights and guns. The number of good people in Jackson are definitely outnumbered by the not so nice ones. They don't even want a church in town, because then the saloon would need to be closed on Sundays.

I remember being more enamored with Father Murphy when it aired in the 80s, but it's still quality family television, which doesn't exist much today. I'm glad I purchased both seasons last year.

Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Language: English
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number of discs: 6
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Image Entertainment
DVD Release Date: October 26, 2004
Run Time: 1175 minutes
SRP:  $49.99

I purchased this DVD set from Amazon. I received no monetary compensation for my review.

Rest in Peace Patrick Swayze

It's not often I steer away from writing and books at this blog, but the passing of Patrick Swayze can't go unmentioned. I fell in love with him in Dirty Dancing, and I became a life-long fan after that.

No matter what he did, he was graceful and cool; the strong man whose beauty and grace flowed freely. Someone posted a video clip of Patrick dancing with his wife, Lisa to All the Man That I Need by Whitney Houston and I just about cried.

I think, too, that to lose such a talented and creative person so young, is very difficult. I remember when Michael Landon passed away, he was also working on a new project. Some people wonder if Michael Landon would have had a place in today's world of television, but I feel that now, more than ever, we need the touching family shows that Michael created. Landon was only 55 when he lost his battle with pancreatic cancer.

It amazes me when I think of how diverse Swayze's career was that he could pull off so many different roles and leave you satisfied in his portrayal 10 times out of 10.

While I am sad that Swayze is gone, it is good to know that he is no longer suffering the horrors of such a dreadful disease. My thoughts and prayers go out to his wife and family.