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Best this month Big Miracle


By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat


This wonderful feel-good movie is based on a real-life incident in Alaska during the Cold War in 1988. A local reporter spots three California gray whales trapped in the ice. The story is picked up by NBC Nightly News and then aired across the country. More than 150 journalists from around the world show up in Barrow, Alaska. The plight of the whales touches people’s hearts as they watch the combined efforts to save the ani- mals. Among those involved are a passionate Greenpeace activist, a leader in the Alaska National Guard, an Eskimo elder and some Russians manning a huge icebreaker. Ken Kwapis directs this rescue drama with a keen sense of its multiple messages about whales, the media circus, the threat to traditional Eskimo life, and the pos-


Animals … and


Their Families Welcome to the ani- mal kingdom where families try to sur- vive in a variety of habitats, including tundra, rainforest and savannah. Children aged 2 to 4 will enjoy this up-close and personal look by


Barbara Nascimbeni at nearly three dozen land, sea and tree dwelling creatures (penguin, goat, owl, pea-


The Brussats pub- lish the website www. SpiritualityandPractice. com where you can find more information about the items reviewed in this column.


cock, fish, tiger, wolf, snail and many others). We thought of the hymn by Cecil Frances Alex- ander as we paged through this colorful book: “All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small, all things wise and wonder- ful, the Lord God made them all” (Owlkids Book, www. owlkidsbooks.com).


42 The Lutheran • www.thelutheran.org


Drew Barrymore stars as Rachel Kramer in Big Miracle.


itive things that can happen when opposing individ- uals and groups band together for a common cause. It proves that good can rise to the surface even when everyone seems to only be concerned about self- interest (Universal Studios, PG—language).


Marvelously Made:


Gratefulness and the Body Sadly many Christians throughout the centuries haven’t had a positive view of their bodies. This, in turn, has been picked up by American culture to such an extent that theologian Sallie McFague wrote: “The most prevalent spiritual disease of our time is not wanting to be here, not wanting to be in a physical body.” This author of this book, Mary C. Earle, is a min- ister, retreat leader and writer who has courageously and patiently battled a pancreatic condition for years. She sees the body as the temple of God and a worthy vehicle for divine revelation and spiritual transformation. Earle begins with a paean of praise for all the mira- cles and marvels of the body. Then she gives thanks for “the life of God (that) creates, sustains, and renews our cells day by day.” The hub of this paperback is a series of meditations on the major organs of the body along with prayers and practices to deepen and enrich explo- rations and dialogue (Morehouse Publishing, www. churchpublishing.org).


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