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Leslie Flynn, a widow who moves to rural Nevada after her husband dies, has a mystical experience through which she is given three mandates by God, setting into motion a series of events that plummet her into the worlds of the Native American casino industry, a high tech business magnate, and the Vatican hierarchy. Leslies experience begins when her duties as a travel writer take her to Bishop, California, to visit the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Trees, the oldest living things on Earth. She is drawn to the Matriarch, the largest of the Bristlecones alive today. As she approaches the tree, she is aware that she is on holy ground. She is drawn into the tree where she traces her entire matriarchal lineage, witnesses the strength and power of her ancestors and develops a great appreciation for the gifts she has received from each of them.
What Readers are Saying:
The Matriarch—A Must Read!
Linda Lysakowski is known in international and national fundraising circles as “an expert.” She holds the highest accreditation of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), the Advanced Certified Fundraising Executive (ACFRE) which there are only 110 in North America.
This first entry of Linda’s into fiction is astounding! She tells a griping story that makes the book difficult to stop reading. Her interplay between the Catholic faith and Native American lore is beautifully woven. At the end of the book, you will never look at a tree in the same way again. I recommend reading The Matriarch now!
Anne
A riveting spiritual tale of business, intrigue, and... joy reborn in surrender to the divine path.
This beautiful tree story has many branches entwined around a central core that compelled me to read, until I knew all of the secrets it had to tell. The feeling of joy permeated my encounters with the characters in this book.Ithas had a bonus effect of enhancing my own spiritual renaissance. A happy heart read, especially for women of faith.
Janet
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What do you see when you see the face of Jesus?
Some see the historical Semitic Jesus, other perhaps a Jesus with blond hair and blue eyes, or a Jesus with skin that is black, brown, red, white, or yellow. We see Jesus in our own cultural context because he speaks to all languages, all cultures, all times. Beyond the cultural context, we, at different times, see the happy Jesus, the sad Jesus, the angry Jesus, the disappointed Jesus, the suffering Jesus, the triumphant Jesus, because he is all these things. I invite you to enter this book from the eyes of those who encountered the historical Jesus up close and personal, and to let it guide you into your own encounter with the face of Jesus.What Readers Are Saying:Linda makes Jesus both faithful to his times and relevant for ours. I think this book would be especially helpful for people trying to find ways of praying with Jesus' life.
Janet
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Study Guide
This Study Guide is meant to be used along with the book, The Face of Jesus. This study guide is for churches, book clubs, and others who want to study and discuss the encounters in The Face of Jesus, and more deeply understand their own personal encounters with Christ. The book is written, more or less, in chronological order. This guide has broken down the chapters by category; therefore, does not follow the book, chapter by chapter. It’s meant to help readers put themselves in various roles when encountering Jesus. Whether you are male or female, I ask you to put yourself in the position of the disciples and of the women who encountered Jesus. Whether you consider yourself rich and powerful, or one of the marginalized, or perhaps even both, I ask you to consider what those who saw the Face of Jesus felt. To get the most out of this study guide, I suggest you read the entire book first, and then go back and read the chapters in the groups shown in the study guide. Answer the questions on your own, and then discuss in a group your answers. And listen with an open heart to the views of the others in your group. Discussion at this level is best help in groups of from four to eight, so if you have a large group, you may want to form breakout groups and then have each group summarize their discussion for the entire group. You can switch the breakout groups for each lesson, affording each member of the larger group a wide array of thoughts and insights. Of course, you can use the guide for self-study as well.
More information on the Study Group here.
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A thoughtful read of a Christ who is present and approachable in our daily lives.
It's easy to read with a pondering and deliberate style of drawing forth images to aid in our reflection on the Laughing Christ, the Teaching Christ, The Angry Christ, the Healing Christ, the Servant Christ, the Dying Christ, the Risen Christ, and the Loving Christ.
It's the perfect book for churches, Christian book clubs, ministries, schools, and all who wish to better understand Jesus.
The book is based on a poem written by the author more than four decades ago:
See This Christ
See this Christ who is laughing,
and dancing with the children in the streets.
See this Christ who is teaching,
and longing for all people to be free.
See this Christ who is angry
at the way we have denied our Creator’s love.
See this Christ who is touching,
healing broken bodies, broken souls.
See this Christ who kneels before you
washing feet of sinful people.
See this Christ who hangs here bleeding,
weeping, dying for your sins.
See this Christ in all His glory,
risen now triumphantly.
See this Christ who loves you,
and wants you to be with Him every day.
Yes, he wants you to be with Him in all ways.
Every day.
What Readers Are Saying
Linda Lysakowski’s See This Christ is a wonderful sequel to her earlier book,The Face of Jesus. Through each of the reflections, I found myself seeing, and even more importantly encountering, Jesus in new and even surprising ways. I hope you will find it helpful as I did, not only for your reflection, but for your prayer.
—Fr. Ron Zanoni, Pastor, St Andrew Catholic Community
I love that Linda starts See This Christ with a chapter called “The Laughing Christ” because it reminds me of so many times that Linda and I, having worked together for years and years, have cracked each other up even when talking about weighty spiritual things. Looking back, I have no doubt that Christ was right there with us, cracking up, too. And this is just one facet of Christ so masterfully revealed by my friend in this remarkable book.
—Stephen C. Nill, JD, CEO of CharityChannel
See This Christ is a thoughtful, pensive read of a Christ who is present and approachable in our daily lives. Linda's work makes for an easy sharing with a pondering and deliberate style of drawingforth images to aid in our reflection.
--Sister Janet Ackerman, OP
Very Sweet and earnest! Touches on truths often lost in the complicated Christian religion.
--Justin Bortz
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Study Guide
This study guide is for churches, book clubs, and others who want to study and discuss the author's book, See This Christ, and more deeply understand their own personal encounters with Christ and his people. Be sure to pick up the book, since this study guide is intended to supplement it.The main book consists of eight chapters. This study guide is likewise organized for an eight-week discussion group, following the book, chapter by chapter. It’s meant to help readers understand the role of Christ intoday’s world and in their daily lives. It looks at the many sides of Jesus and helps us relate his life to our own.To get the most out of this study guide, the author suggests you read the entire book first, and then go back and read each chapter, as you work through this study guide. Answer the questions on your own, and then discuss in a group your answers. And listen with an open heart to the views of the others in your group.Discussion at this level is best held in groups of from four to eight, so if you have a large group, you may want to form breakout groups and then have each group summarize their discussions for the entire group. You can switch the breakout groups for each lesson, affording each member of the larger group a wide array of thoughtsand insights.You can also use this guide for your own personal study.
Buy it on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/2OMRDHV
If you’re coming to Las Vegas, but don’t really like gambling, what is there to do?
If you live in Las Vegas and want to treat your visiting friends and relatives to something besides a buffet on the Strip, an expensive show, or a stroll through tourist town, here’s your answer. Or, if you’re just curious about history and beautiful natural wonders of our state and the surrounding states, this book was written for you.
It covers some of my favorite places I’ve visited over my 16-year time living in Las Vegas. And the book includes more than two hundred color photos, so it makes an excellent coffee table book.
Unlike the song made famous by Johnny Cash, I haven’t been everywhere, but I’ve been to almost every city and town in Nevada and have visited forty-eight other states and seven countries. But I love my “beautiful brown Nevada” and its surrounding states best.
If, when hearing the song, “I’ve Been Everywhere,” you’ve wondered, “where on earth is Winnemucca?” you’ll find out in this book, along with manysmall towns and remote destinations many people haven’t visited, or even heard of.
The chapters start with Alamo, Nevada and end with Zzyzxx, California. In between you’ll find a few familiar places like the Grand Canyon (all three rims) and Death Valley,but mostly you’ll find less well-known places like Goodsprings, Ursine, Blue Diamond, Pioche, and one my favorite teeny tiny places, Baker NV, population about 25.
So, what is there to see in these places? Plenty! You’ll learn where to visit some of the oldest trees on earth (within easy driving distance of Las Vegas), where to have sarsaparilla in an old saloon, and where to see the cigar burn in the bar where Clark Gable waited for crews to recover the body of Carole Lombard. And you’ll find out where you can climb on beehives, and where you can see the sky while inside caverns. You can even take an X-Rated tour of brothels in Nevada and you can read about Area 51, although I wouldn’t suggest storming it!
And, you’ll get to meet some of the interesting people I’ve met during these trips—for example, a prize winning rodeo star, a Japanese person wearing a Kimono in an Old West saloon, and a cowboy whose favorite song on the jukebox was Edith Piaf’s “La Vie En Rose” in French. And a singer-songwriter who loves Nevada as much as I do. You’ll learn about the Loneliest Highway in the USA and you’ll find out where you can set your car on cruise control and climb out and drink coffee on the roof of your car without the fear of hitting anything. You’ll even find out where you can see the curvature of the earth and one of the darkest night skies in the country.
While most of the destinations in this book are an easy drive from Las Vegas, many are off the beaten track, some are outside Nevada, and many of those in rural Nevada will require at least an overnight stay. Nevada is a BIG state.
This book has some interesting historical facts, and some personal anecdotes, and of course hundreds of pictures. I hope you’ll enjoy traveling along with me and that the next time work or pleasure brings you to Las Vegas, you’ll tack on several extra days, or even weeks, to see some of the beauty that surrounds us every day, if we take time to enjoy God’s creation.
The appendices offer some ideas for seeing several locations in a week, or a weekend, as well as some day trips. And for those with a special interest such as visiting mining towns, old cemeteries, or trains, I’ve listed some of those too.
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I hesitated writing this book because it may seem presumptuous to put thoughts into the mind of Jesus; but these words I write are the results of my prayerful conversations with Jesus. We each, in our own way, converse with him—if we listen. These are simply the thoughts I have on how Jesus may have felt during his final hours. Your thoughts and imaginings may be very different from mine. I invite you to open your heart, your mind, and your imagination to see what words and feelings he speaks to you. He may speak to you in very different ways, about different aspects of your life, about his love for you. Do not be afraid to listen to the thoughts and feelings he shares with you. A very wise spiritual guide told me that while the gospels tell us of Jesus’ actions and his words, they do not tell of us of his feelings. Perhaps this is for a reason. Perhaps even his closest friends didn’t know his feelings. No matter how well we know someone, we may never know their innermost feelings. But the more we know someone, the more we can sense their unspoken feelings. I believe that Jesus shares his feelings with us on a personal level if we get to know him and if we listen closely.
It is my intent that this book will help you to recognize the thorns humankind inflicted on Jesus and still inflict on each other today. And I hope that reading this book will help you remove the thorns you may have inflicted on yourself or others and do your part to remove the thorns of our global society.
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