Friday, May 18, 2012

Suggested Book Titles -- What's YOUR favorite?


Thank you for your book title suggestions. I'm going to list them here. Tell me which one(s) you like the best:

1) The Crux in the Road
2) Crossroads
3) God Wanted Me in the Red Light Zone
4) Forever Changed
5) Journey
6) Linda -- Lived and written by Linda Bello-Ruiz
7) My Life's Journey to Jesus
8) Hard Knocks to Harmony
9) Rebellis to Caritis
10) Journey from the Redwoods
11) Finding My Way Home
12) Faith Brought Me Back
13) Am I Leaving My Mark on the World?
14) Up from the Street
15) Different: My Journey of Choices, Consequences and Change
16) Against the Wind
17) Now and Forever
18) Dear Mom and Dad
19) Misplaced Love
20) A Spiritual Journey Down The Path of Life Choices
21) A Spiritual Journey Through Life Choices
22) Journey Through Life Choices
23) A Touch of Kindness in the Underworld
24) A small seed moves mountains
24) Light in a dark place
25) Seed planted in drought time
26) Love Beyond Boundaries
27) Love Without Bounderies

28) Many of you suggested I keep "Dear Mom and Dad, Please Send Money

If YOUR suggested title is not listed, please resubmit via a comment here, a post on my Facebook page or via email at: lmbelloruiz@yahoo.com

Thank you everybody!

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

NAME THE BOOK CONTEST

Synopsis
DEAR MOM AND DAD, PLEASE SEND MONEY
by
Linda Bello-Ruiz

I grew up among vineyards and green rolling hills in Northern California. On high school graduation night, June 1969, I moved to San Francisco to work for the summer. There, I met Raymond. My life changed forever. Misplaced love and lust turned into drugs and degradation. In June, 1971, I was again in San Francisco. This time I was hiding from Raymond, deeply depressed, fearing for my life and contemplating suicide.
Chance, or divine intervention, brought me together with a group of young Christians. I didn’t like Jesus people, so I resisted their message of hope and redemption. However, five hours later I became a new person with a new name and a new family -- the revolutionary Children of God. Some called us radical and evil. Parents stormed our communes to kidnap their children. Blind obedience to my leaders propelled me to Mexico and then Central America. There, I awoke from a spiritual sleep and began to question the dictates of our leader, Moses David Berg. I planned my escape and, with help from my parents, returned home to California.
            God had different plans for me. Months later I was back in Costa Rica, and had joined forces with a Catholic Priest and an American Missionary. Together, we established Costa Rica’s first Christian halfway house for street girls and under-aged prostitutes.  At the age of twenty-three I found myself playing mother, teacher and counselor to rebellious teenage girls just a few years younger than I was.  Our hearts became entwined. All of my bad life choices became meaningful. I understood these girls. God's Spirit was at work. Their lives and mine were forever changed.