{"id":3791,"date":"2024-11-24T18:15:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-25T00:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.steveblaising.com\/content\/?p=3791"},"modified":"2026-01-31T10:37:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T16:37:19","slug":"two-must-read-books-make-perfect-holiday-gifts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.steveblaising.com\/content\/two-must-read-books-make-perfect-holiday-gifts\/","title":{"rendered":"Two must-read books make perfect holiday gifts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Inspire yourself, family, or friends with two must-read books over the holiday season.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"books
Ron Hall and Denver Moore, #1 N.Y. Times bestselling authors<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

They are written by a wealthy art dealer and a homeless ex-con.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ron Hall and Denver Moore shared their remarkable story at my wife\u2019s book club 2007.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I will never forget it, nor will you if you join their magical ride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Triumph in a mess of tragedy<\/mark><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Whether it\u2019s Denver Moore’s Louisiana slave background or Ron Hall’s worldwide art dealings, the first book is a rolling drama about surviving and thriving through suffering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSame Kind of Different as Me\u201d invites us to taste the sweet smell of deliverance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Ron and Debbie Hall are enjoying great success in the 70s.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Ron is selling Georgia O\u2019Keefe\u2019s and Renoirs like hamburgers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Debbie is passionate about her Christian faith and loves the homeless.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • But Ron has a mid-life crisis crushing his sweet Debbie.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • He confesses his transgression and asks her for forgiveness.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Debbie does, but she insists both commit time to serving the homeless.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n
    \n
    \"supercharge
    Debbie Hall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    How much drama can love really stand?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • Can love withstand lies?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Can love withstand anger?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Can love withstand repentance?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      The book shows how the folks you love and love you back are the keys to triumph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Love and faithfulness trump failures<\/mark><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      Debbie took Ron to the Mission in South Fort Worth every week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      That’s when Denver Moore stomps into their lives like a pissed-off cougar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      His nickname, \u201cSuicide,\u201d matched his violent temper with his violent past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n

      \u201cWe heard the crash of metal and a man roaring in anger near the chapel door.  Alarmed, we turned to see about twenty people scatter as a huge angry black man hurled another chair across the dining hall floor.  \u2018I\u2019m gon\u2019 kill whoever stole my shoes!\u2019\u201d <\/strong>Denver Moore, “Same Kind of Different as Me”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cThat\u2019s the man I saw in my dream,\u201d says Debbie.<\/p>\n\n\n

      \n
      \"supercharge
      Ron and Denver<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

      She told Ron that God had given her a vision of Denver based on a verse in the Bible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n

      \u201cNow there lived in that city a man poor but wise, and he saved the city by his wisdom. But nobody remembered that poor man. So I said, \u201cWisdom is better than strength.\u201d But the poor man\u2019s wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded. The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouts of a ruler of fools.\u201d <\/strong> Ecclesiastes 9:15-17<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

      Denver\u2019s conversion to love and faithfulness through \u201cMs. Debbie\u201d is the remarkable story of the book, not to mention the suffering and rebuilding of Ron’s life after her death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Love is not \u201ccatch and release\u201d <\/mark><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      Debbie never let go of Ron.  Ron didn\u2019t let go of Debbie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      And Debbie overwhelmed Denver with love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      When Ron asked Denver to be his friend, Denver responded with a parable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n

      \u201cI heard that when white folks go fishin they do something called \u2018catch and release.\u2019  When colored folks go fishin, we really proud of what we catch, and we take it and show it off.  So it really bothers me that white folks would go to all that trouble to catch a fish, then when they done caught it, just throw it back in the water.  If you goin\u2019 catch and release, then I ain\u2019t got no desire to be your friend.  But, if you is lookin for a real friend, then I\u2019ll be one.  Forever.\u201d <\/strong> Selected excerpts from Same Kind of Different as Me<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

      Sequel: Workin’ Our Way Home<\/mark><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
      \n

      The second book for an ideal holiday gift is the sequel, Workin’ our way Home.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The book picks up with Ron and Denver grieving over Debbie’s death and . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      • Denver’s moods living with Ron<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Ron’s patience with Denver<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Denver’s behavior in society<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Ron surviving a business loss<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>
        \"Great<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

        <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Denver dictums from Workin\u2019 Our Way Home<\/em><\/mark><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

        \u201cIf a man tells it all, he ain\u2019t got nothin else to say.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \u201cThank God for nothin’!  When you can do that, he\u2019ll give you everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \u201cLike I always say, if the Devil ain\u2019t messin’ with you, he\u2019s already got you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \u201cEverybody\u2019s bidness ain\u2019t nobody\u2019s bidness, and if everybody know your bidness, you ain\u2019t gots no bidness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \u201cWhether we is rich or whether we is poor or somethin in between, this earth ain\u2019t no final restin place.  So, in a way we is all homeless, ever last one of us, just workin our way home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Enjoy this brief but amusing story of Ron and Denver at The White House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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