"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness."
Matthew 23:27-28 (NIV)
Five of the most unusual things in my life . . . (all before meeting the Lord Jesus Christ)
Father, only you know our hearts. Thank you so much for rescuing me and changing mine. I'm always desperate for you, Lord, and grateful for all you've done in my life. Apart from you, I can do nothing. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
(Originally posted on May 24th, 2012; "Goin' to the . . . Blue Hole Back Home")
Back in 2008 David C. Cook published the Christy Award winner Blue Hole Back Home by Joy Jordan-Lake. For some the story, voice, and theme are reminiscent of the classic To Kill A Mockingbird. Blue Hole Back Home takes place in a fictional small town in North Carolina where the local kids spend their sweaty summers cooling off at what they call the "Blue Hole". The boys do calisthenics off the rope swing, and the girls swim and sun themselves in the hot Carolina heat.
In 1979 a new girl appears at school and one day Shelby Lenoir insists her older brother Emerson stop along the roadside and invite the girl to jump in the bed of his pickup with her and the three more boys who comprise their ragtag group. "Turtle", as Shelby is affectionately called, introduces Farsanna to Emerson, her brother's and her best friend Jimbo, her cousin who speaks like an English professor, and another sulky boy they call "Welp". Since Farsanna comes from Sri Lanka, her color creates a stir in their small town and introduces these young people to vile behaviors, prejudice, hatred, and violence beyond anything they could anticipate. Attempting to ignore the agitation and increasing unrest the arrival of Farsanna's family causes, there comes a point where it can no longer be set aside or left alone.
Joy Jordan-Lake portrays the fear, ugliness, and incredible tension produced by the entrance of a young black girl into the lives of a community where a group of kids struggle with welcoming her while others of all ages choose to hate her and her family because of their skin color. The story is told as a memory when the adult narrator sees an individual that reminds her of the one summer in her past which changed everything about her coming of age – where normal and naïve transformed into a terrifying realization of what hate could do if left unchallenged. Remembering the experiences of the swimming hole that wasn't blue where it all seemed to begin, the reader is transported to the southern summer days and nights spent with a group of kids who attempt to do right by forming a friendship with a girl from a different land only to find there are far more who desire to do wrong.
With truly striking writing that captures the insecurity and emotionalism of the teen years, the cost of taking a stand against terrible wrong, and the actions and thoughts of the faithful and the faithless, Blue Hole Back Home presents a bittersweet reading experience. The underlying tension is relentless from the moment these unsuspecting kids pick up Farsanna and induct her into their "mangy" grouping. Mostly we hear the story from Turtle's perspective, her unbelieving heart, the peer pressure she never confronts, her jealousy of this lovely girl she can't quite fully embrace, and her paralyzing fear when bad things turn worse. We learn from her adult conclusions the toll of this particular summer at the Blue Hole Back Home and the steep price of regret.
Ultimately the story is hard reading because of its basis in reality. But worth it. Listen to a sample of this amazing novel here:
Oh, Father, how much it hurts to see man's inhumanities to each other and all living things. We are full of sin and need your cleansing daily. God, forgive us. I pray your blessings for Joy, for her heart to create meaningful literature, to insert the honesty and travesty of those things of which we're all capable. May she continue to seek you in all she does. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
Two of my most favorite characters ever. Love them. Look forward to the new NCIS-LA season.
Father, only you save souls. May there be many! In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
Tribute to the late great Glenn Campbell, my favorite of his many tunes.
Father, you took Glenn home. Thank you for sharing his talent and life with us for so many years. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
Karin Kaufman is back in Juniper Grove with another cozy mystery in Book 3 At Death's Door.
The elderly longtime friend of mystery writer Rachel Stowe's neighbor Julia is having a Thanksgiving feast at her elegant home. Her guests are familiar with Nora's "Documents Room" which is filled with Colorado paraphernalia being authenticated by one of her guests (Kendra) hopeful to place them in a future museum, mostly insured by another guest (Dominic), used for a dissertation to become a professor by another guest (Kendra's husband Ben), with an attempt to protect certain pieces from theft by another (Anne), and cleverly concealed to extract by yet another. Rachel is invited upstairs to see the new discovery which Kendra has just declared as the real deal and per her recommendation has been insured by someone other than Dominic.
At the conclusion of their time upstairs, Rachel observes a guest discreetly taking the new discovery. As all of them gather for dinner, an argument breaks out between Dominic and Ben. Nora is upset by their spat and then there is a shrill scream. Rachel's quick to respond and finds one of the guests at the bottom of the steep stairs down the hall dead.
Chief Gilroy is called and the determination of whether or not the woman was murdered or merely fell down the stairs is on. Well, of course she was pushed – this is a mystery after all. The gang of Rachel, Julia, and Holly are all over this as the hostess of the event is heartbroken over her friend's death and wants Rachel to find out who did this.
Since Gilroy has been more attentive to Rachel, she doesn't want to overstep her investigating, but she knows she's got to question the guests who were in attendance and find out why certain evidence turned up where least expected. Creating a little friction in the process does seem to be her MO, but with that bold questioning she observes certain behaviors and indicators which lead her to specific conclusions. And this time she shares most of what she learns with Gilroy.
Another good "whodunit" by Karin Kaufman who allows Rachel and Chief Gilroy to take tiny steps forward with less conflict and real concern for Rachel's safety. You gotta love this series of cozy mysteries by Queen Karin.
Father, again I pray you meet all of Karin's needs, provide her with the inspiration to continue her work, watch over her, and keep her safe from all harm. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.
"Then he sent some more servants and said, 'Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.'
"But they paid no attention and went off – one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
"Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you can find. So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
"But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless.
"Then the king told the attendants, "Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
"For many are invited, but few are chosen."
. . . . . . .
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."
Matthew 22:1-14 (NIV)
John 14:6-7 (NIV)
OR
The feel of a print book, turning the physical pages, or the tap of an e-reader with your finger or a stylus? The bulk of a paperback or the convenient size of a Kindle?
I prefer a print book, but unless it's a favorite author, I buy Kindle copies and only if they're reasonably priced. There are obvious reasons for both preferences. Space is important, especially if you don't have it, for the never ending supply of reading material. But if you do, ah the love of bookshelves filled with paperback and hardcover books . . .
The e-reader was a genius invention and set the print copies back for a time, but I think now the print books have bounced back due to their charm and their own kind of convenience. It's so much easier (at least for me) to find a particular place you want to recall with a print book – just flip back those pages and reread what you were looking for. But if you have to wait anywhere or are traveling, you can't beat an e-reader.
I'm all for both! What about you?
Lord, thank you for reading. Thank you for writing. Thank you for stories. Thank you for providing me with any inspiration I can capture. Apart from you, I can do nothing. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
(CFBA Tour Book Originally posted on May 6th, 2013 and featured again on March 23rd of this year)
If you've read some of my posts, you know one of my complaints about Christian fiction is that so often we get more of the same without much variety or imagination. This occurs primarily in the romance and romantic suspense genres, but predictability can show up anywhere. That's why it's so utterly enjoyable to review a novel which is written incredibly well with a fascinating plot that allows for immense satisfaction even if or when the dots can be connected early.
Alton Gansky's latest release aptly titled Wounds and published by B&H Publishing Group is an exceptional crime novel with well-defined characters, two of which are uniquely connected by a single tragedy which has severely altered their lives for nearly 30 years even though they aren't introduced until a murder unites them. Their still open wounds have been festering and healing seems incongruous but an absolute need.
Detective Carmen Rainmondi lost her sister to what she's convinced was a murder many years ago. She's never given up on finding out who took her sister's life although officially attributed to a car wreck. It's a cold case that simmers in her psyche and never cools off. She's walled up her heart to control the emotional breakage caused by the unresolved loss of her younger sister.
Dr. Ellis Poe is shocked and saddened to learn that a student at the seminary where he teaches has been murdered but equally shocking is the deliverer of this news. Recognizing the female detective from a distant past that haunts his everyday existence with guilt and remorse, Dr. Poe must find a way to reveal his secret to Detective Rainmondi and suffer the inevitable consequences.
A series of grotesque murders begins in the San Diego community while detectives attempt to figure out if, how, and why they're connected. A purposeful Dr. Poe visits the police department to see Detective Rainmondi and is literally sickened by the murder board pictures in the room where she agrees to talk with him. Distracted by the heinous photographs, the professor is able to see the one thing that ties the murders together and insinuates there are more to come.
Carmen is an intentionally lonely soul with a hard edge. Dr. Poe chooses his loneliness as a deserved punishment and allows depression to rule his soul. His faith is strong, but his practice of it is shallow and plagued with guilt. In different ways both are pitiable. Their connection proves to be intense and climactic.
The only enhancement to the story, for me, would've been some bona fide spiritual warfare at the end, but it would've been out of character for Dr. Poe's faith so the conclusion works perfectly.
Alton Gansky is a veteran writer of exciting and innovative adventure and mystery novels, and this story joins the mix with outstanding prose which gives his characters a clever combination of wit, sorrow, and tenacity. An interesting story with plenty of tension, Wounds gives lovers of crime novels a genuine treat to read. I loved this book.
Father, you've given Alton multi-talents. I pray you would continue to supply those stories and blessings you have just for him. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: Karin Kaufman is the contemporary Queen of Cozy Mysteries. Small town friends and amateur sleuths, a pre-Halloween scavenger hunt murder of a vindictive woman, old high school friends who've become enemies, and a frustrated sheriff trying to protect and keep the sleuths in order while finding the killer.
The woman was hated by many dating back to the old days in high school. Six old "friends" apparently shared some secret un-pleasantries and unrequited love back in the day and never graduated beyond those emotional experiences. One of them turns up dead after wreaking havoc on her old "friends" and those she viewed as enemies to her new business. One particular enemy turns out to be a friend (Holly of Holly's Sweets) of mystery writer Rachel Stowe and her older neighbor Julia. The lies the victim told to get her enemies investigated now threaten to frame Holly for her murder – along with the rest of the old friends. The scavenger hunt clue which implicates Holly because it's found in a pocket of her backpack causes her and her family grief. Rachel and Julia to the rescue much to Sheriff Gilroy's consternation – especially when Rachel loses her cool and berates him in her frustration!
Regretting her actions, she admits to herself that she's falling for him, and that makes her even more antagonized. Plus Julia and Holly relentlessly insist the sheriff is interested in her and compel her to do something about it. She's not convinced he even likes her and refuses to do anything except get flustered like a teenager in his presence.
The process is always entertaining and the crime finds its criminal although there seems to be more than one with these former "friends". The satisfying conclusion includes a leading conversation between Rachel and the sheriff and turns out just right.
Karin creates unique stories with good writing and solid characters. We're drawn to Rachel's self-deprecating thoughts of herself and her attraction to the sheriff, her former painful relationship stunting her actions and positive approach to any possibility with him. If you love cozy mysteries, you'll love Karin's work. A quick read, Death of A Scavenger is a good second novel in the Juniper Grove Mystery Series.
Father, you know every need Karin has, and I pray you would supply the provision and answers to them all. Please bless and protect her as only you can do. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
