Books with author B. Murray

In his newest book, Fr. Murray Bodo, OFM, brings to life seven teachings from the life and writings of St. Francis of Assisi in the prayerful, lyrical style his readers will recognize. These seven teachings are both a way and a destination, the way being transformation and the destination being the love of God. St Francis invites us to go on a journey from love through love into love. The seven teachings outlined here—plus an eighth teaching on love, the teaching behind all teachings—define a spirituality for our own time that anyone can learn to practice in his or her own life, anyone who has an attitude of reverence for others and for the earth and all of nature, and who acknowledges the existence of a higher power that is beyond what one can perceive with the senses. St. Francis was not a medieval theologian but a teacher of wisdom who used sayings, stories, and rituals to show us how we can allow God to transform our lives. In this, as in everything else, he was following in the footsteps of Jesus, who is the mystery of the fullness of God among us. You, too, can follow in Jesus’ footsteps with these teachings:The First Teaching: The Wonder of the IncarnationThe Second Teaching: The Paradox of Evangelical PovertyThe Third Teaching: Live the GospelThe Fourth Teaching: Go and Repair God’s HouseThe Fifth Teaching: Making PeaceThe Sixth Teaching: All Creatures Are Our Brothers and SistersThe Seventh Teaching: The Joy of Humble Praise and Service of GodThe Teaching of Teachings: LoveThis simple map for living is why St. Francis is still admired today in our fractious and divided world. What he teaches, if lived, brings joy, which is the result of union with God, who lives with us and within all of creation. Meditating on these teachings from St. Francis will give you hope; for hope is the grace to imagine a future more positive, more loving, and more joyful than the world we now find ourselves in. As St. Francis used to say to his brothers, “Let us begin to do good, for up to now we have done nothing.”

In his newest book, Fr. Murray Bodo, OFM, brings to life seven teachings from the life and writings of St. Francis of Assisi in the prayerful, lyrical style his readers will recognize. These seven teachings are both a way and a destination, the way being transformation and the destination being the love of God. St Francis invites us to go on a journey from love through love into love.The seven teachings outlined here—plus an eighth teaching on love, the teaching behind all teachings—define a spirituality for our own time that anyone can learn to practice in his or her own life, anyone who has an attitude of reverence for others and for the earth and all of nature, and who acknowledges the existence of a higher power that is beyond what one can perceive with the senses. St. Francis was not a medieval theologian but a teacher of wisdom who used sayings, stories, and rituals to show us how we can allow God to transform our lives. In this, as in everything else, he was following in the footsteps of Jesus, who is the mystery of the fullness of God among us. You, too, can follow in Jesus’ footsteps with these teachings:The First Teaching: The Wonder of the IncarnationThe Second Teaching: The Paradox of Evangelical PovertyThe Third Teaching: Live the GospelThe Fourth Teaching: Go and Repair God’s HouseThe Fifth Teaching: Making PeaceThe Sixth Teaching: All Creatures Are Our Brothers and SistersThe Seventh Teaching: The Joy of Humble Praise and Service of GodThe Teaching of Teachings: LoveThis simple map for living is why St. Francis is still admired today in our fractious and divided world. What he teaches, if lived, brings joy, which is the result of union with God, who lives with us and within all of creation.Meditating on these teachings from St. Francis will give you hope; for hope is the grace to imagine a future more positive, more loving, and more joyful than the world we now find ourselves in. As St. Francis used to say to his brothers, “Let us begin to do good, for up to now we have done nothing.”

At nine and a half, Arabella Parker is a quite extraordinary girl. For one thing she can fly, an ability that she seems to have inherited from her Great Aunt Agatha. Her parents, being terrible snobs, are more concerned with what the neighbours might think. Ghastly Lady Gilbert-Thomas, Chairperson of the School Governors, and her equally untrustworthy husband, Sir Sidney Gilbert-Thomas, Chairman of the County Council, want to sell the school so that a megastore can be built.But they haven’t taken into account Arabella who calls on the children of Primrose Primary to fight back and save it. Her mother is appalled; her father is devastated: What on earth will his bank chairman think?“We’re revolting,” Arabella tells Mrs Brown, who supports the revolt.“Oh, I wouldn’t say that,” says Mrs Brown with a huge grin.“We are,” insists Arabella. “My Aunt Agatha told me how to do it.”And do it she certainly does.

A crazy stalker is turning forty year old Stella's beach vacation in the Hamptons into a nightmare. But a handsome older actor she meets walking her dogs says he can help protect her...This is a slice of life short novel (62 pages) filled with strong emotions, suspense, and romance set in a legendary seaside resort town in Long Island.(Please note: This is not a steamy romance. Much like a PG movie the focus is on emotions & feelings in this story & the romantic scenes although they are sensual only include kissing.)

An inspired tale of high adventure, Out in the Cold is Bill Murray’s vivid portrait of adventure across the vast Northern Atlantic from the Arctic north of Norway to Nova Scotia. Murray begins in pursuit of a total solar eclipse in Svalbard, 800 miles from the North Pole. He tests the culinary appeal of wind-dried sheep in the tiny Faroe Islands, befriends Inuit bone carvers in Greenland and camps with an itinerant Italian musician who dreams of building Greenland’s first luxury resort. He stands naked and freezing on an Icelandic glacier and later (with his clothes on), on the wind-battered Canadian bog where the first European stood 500 years before Columbus. With a light touch, wry analysis and remarkable depth of reportage, Bill Murray weaves high adventure with practical science and absorbing history, taking the pulse of an under-explored, fragile region on the precipice of change. By turns evocative, astonishing and always a jolly good ride, Out in the Cold is a sprawling and rewarding tour of the Atlantic northlands today.

"A Good Man earns a place at the top of the to-be-read pile." --USA TodaySonya Richardson can't resist starring on a hit reality dating show to give America a taste of what a real black woman is like. The former celebrity pro athlete is breaking all of "Hunk Or Punk's" rules, refusing to bling-up like a diva, and tackling whatever drama her suitors have in store. But one contestant is throwing Sonya off her game. He's kind, way too easy to spill her secrets to--and giving her the type of hope she hasn't felt in a long time. . .Widowed former pastor John Bond knows he's the show's "designated white guy," expected to fail every challenge and be gone in a month. He also knows he has to take risks to find love again. Now Sonya is inspiring him to do whatever it takes to stay in the running, win her heart. . .and prove their dreams can be a reality. "Readers will be cheering for all of Murray's characters to find their joy." --RT Book Reviews (A TOP PICK) "Murray's wonderful characters, caring perspective, humor, and the story's fabulous ending make this a winning read." --Booklist"Deceptively light but ocean-deep. . .readers should brace for a three-hanky finale." –Publishers Weekly

With drop dead gorgeous Jasmine from Laguna Beach you never know what will happen next and every date is truly an adventure. Colin finds himself madly in love with Jasmine, believes he has met "the one" and experiences agony and ecstasy. An absorbing teen romance that is a roller coaster ride of ups and downs. What readers are saying:"Colin falls for the incredibly beautiful, but flawed Jasmine, and can hardly believe his luck when his feelings are reciprocated. As in life though, things don't necessarily go smoothly, but throughout the tale my attention was held and I was bound in, by the well drawn characters I cared for deeply...I was with Colin every step of his journey, feeling all of the highs and lows with him. It is a story told from the male perspective, but I suspect this romantic drama will appeal to both sexes. College life is described so well, so that the reader gets an authentic feel for student life." "I love the author's natural, conversational writing style. The story is very well written and the pace is excellent, it held my rapt attention right to the very end. I like the way the story made me feel as if I were actually an observer, watching events unfold as they happened, rather than merely reading about them after the fact. The story-line and characters are so utterly realistic and believable that I kept forgetting this book is a work of fiction." "From the first page, I was drawn into Colin Preston's world and completely immersed in it. I needed to know what happened to Colin and his friends. They are real people instead of characters in a book. I have known them. The story takes place in a college setting, but the conflict is ageless. Most of us have been in this situation or a similar one. We are fascinated by love and its power to fill us with ecstasy or to make us miserable. I enjoy movies because I am in the scene, seeing the actors and listening to their words all at once. Somehow, Bert Murray is able to convey the same feeling. With perfect clarity, the best choice of words, and a little pixie dust, he created a world so real to me that I was surprised when I realized I'd just been reading my Kindle in my favorite chair. I highly recommend this book to everyone, especially if you're older and sometimes wish to be young again."

Is Larry ever going to find a home? He has been sitting on a shelf waiting for Mr. Brayden to complete all the special gadgets he was adding to him. He knows his handle and wheels are all set to go, but for some reason Mr. Brayden stopped working on him, and now it seems he has been forgotten.Until Mr. Tyler and his daughter Addi come into the luggage shop and change his life forever! Join Larry on his first airplane ride! Who will he meet along the way and where is he going?

Giovanna Ferrari (age 42), an unmarried, svelte, savvy, and sable-haired African-Sicilian American, runs Ferrari Repair with her grandfather Franco in the colorful town of Kingstown (population 3,721) in Gray County, Virginia, a county trapped between the Blue Ridge and Appalachian Mountains and forgotten by time, interstate highways, cell phone companies, and high-speed Internet providers. While other Gray County girls were learning how to cook, smoke, drink, and gossip, Giovanna learned how to tune up engines, tear down transmissions, weld, rewire lamps, replace drive belts in dryers, and rebuild carburetors. Giovanna is also an expert markswoman and has to be because of the many critters (black bear, an elusive mountain lion, raccoons, and copperheads) that populate the mountains around her creek-side cabin home. She lives with Lovie, her Labrador-boxer wonder mutt who has ADHD (Angry Dog, Hyper Dog), and her nearest neighbor is a two-plus-ton buffalo named Big John who Giovanna speaks to in Italian to keep him calm.Lovie wakes Giovanna one night and leads her to the body of Harvin Morse, newly released thief and meth head, lying face down in Big John’s field, a half full bottle of Old Heaven Hill whiskey in his hand. Did Big John stomp Harvin to death? Or did someone leave Harvin’s body to frame Giovanna for the crime? Set during the buildup and aftermath of the Gray County Fair's annual demolition derby, Giovanna will solve a thirty-five-year-old missing child case and later arrive in jail and at the truth (in that order) as the body count rises, and accusations and a diabolical killer threaten to wreck her life forever.

"Fast, Fun, And Cautionary...I did enjoy the music that ran through the book and how the songs tied into the emotional moments and gave Colin depth as a thinking boy struggling to become a man" - a reader Dating, drama and first love! An absorbing teen romance that is a roller coaster ride of ups and downs. Colin finds himself madly in love with Jasmine, believes he has met "the one" and experiences agony and ecstasy. With drop dead gorgeous Jasmine from Laguna Beach you never know what will happen next and every date is truly an adventure.Perfect for young adults (18 and up) and adults who enjoy coming-of-age novels like The Perks of Being a Wallflower and the The Catcher in the Rye. You will both laugh and cry and are sure to be entertained. Readers give it enthusiastic reviews: "Authentic and Satisfying" "Rocks With Energy, Rolls With Laughter" "Captivating, Entertaining and Real!" "The book is often funny, sometimes poignant and always entertaining, a great read!" "Very worth the read." "Colin Preston" is a true coming of age story, ripe with fascinating characters and valuable life lessons." "Excellent, thought-provoking book that's set to become a classic""Murray draws Colin with immediate emotional pungency, and he doesn't lose the beat even when the situations turn slapstick...A coming-of-age story with plenty of sting, where love is not only blind, but it blindsides." - Kirkus Reviews

Jasminis lived a meager life growing up on the streets. Then one day a mysterious man hires her to follow someone. While completing the task, she witnesses an unusual murder. Fleeing the scene, Jasminis finds herself in Etherea, a parallel world from which mages get their magic. Not only does she learn that she is a mage, but she is a channeler, a rare type of mage that hasn't existed for hundreds of years. Her abilities make her invaluable to other mages, as she has the ability to change the flow of magic. Now both sides of an upcoming war take an interest in her. Jasminis is thrust into an amazing new world, but it comes at a price. As two factions pursue her favor for their cause, she will be lied to, controlled, manipulated, and even imprisoned along the way. This little girl will have to make difficult decisions as she grows into her new role in life.Cover Image Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Environments-08-Ishtar-alley.png