Behold your Mother edited by Stephen J. Rossetti

I am not normally lucky. I actually won this book in a giveaway through catholicmom.com. If you commented on one of the Marian Novena prayers, you were eligible. A novena is a prayer or a set of prayers that are said for 9 days. I have a big devotion to Mary so I was trying to complete the Novena. My comment was how Mary has brought me closer to Jesus. I received this book in the fall and finished it at the beginning of January.

The book speaks to the great role of Mary in history and our life today. It is a compilation of essays from 10 priests. Each wrote about how Mary has helped them and what she has meant to them. Their discussions included: the Mysteries of the Rosary; Blessed John Paul II's devotion to Mary; how she has helped them in their day to day parish ministry; their devotion to her, as well as, the Church’s; and her role in the Church today. This small article does not encompass everything.

Mary is our Spiritual Mother and brings us closer to her Son, Jesus; as we pray to her, she intercedes for us. Although written by priests, there are many applications to laity spirituality.

Stephen Rossetti is also the author two other books: The Joy of Priesthood and When the Lion Roars.

A Book of Saints for Catholic Moms -
Lisa M. Hendey

I bought this book before Christmas. I began to read it during the first week of January. This book was written by the Creator of CatholicMom.com. There are 52 saints highlighted, one for each week. There is a scripture reading for each day and a prayer that is read each day pertaining to the saint of the week. Also each week there is an activity for you (Mother) and your family. There is also a question for the week to reflect on. I am not much of a Journal-er but this would be something good to do while reading this book.

I am enjoying this book 3 weeks in; and hope to grow with this book. I will keep you posted.

Bringing Up Girls – James C. Dobson

I finished this book about a month ago. It was full of great information about today's culture and how the culture shapes girls. This is a conservative christian book but really highlights some real issues in society. I would recommend this to anyone who is raising a girl. The issues in this book aren't really discussed in main stream media. In fact, most media would dismiss most of the information in this book. Television and modern music objectify women and want girls to be older than they are.

The author James Dobson is psychologist and host of Focus on the Family.