It starts out in a grocery store, as Virginia sees her ex-boyfriend walk in. She's in a panic - trying to look natural, hoping she looks good, wondering if he's seen her. Eventually, she manages to walk out without being seen. But as she walks to her car, she sees his Jeep. And for some unknown reason, she gets in his car! As she sits there thinking of him - Surprise! He walks out of the store, and heads for his car! Not knowing what to do, she covers herself up and hides in the back seat!
We spend the entire day under the sweaters in the backseat with Virginia. She wonders how she's gonna get out of her predicament. She ponders their relationship from start to finish. She recounts their break up on New Year's Eve, and how she's coped miserably without him for the past nine months. She imagines what he felt while they were together; what he's been doing since they've been apart; what she should have said when he broke up with her; what she'd say to him now - all the while, going back and forth between her thoughts of the past and wondering how she'll escape. And you really feel like you're in her head, feeling her memories, thinking her thoughts. The writing style was sometimes choppy and scattered - but it's great because she speaks her thoughts just like we think our thoughts - choppy and scattered!
You get a whole picture of what's in her heart and mind as she thinks - and over thinks - the whole thing. I sometimes felt she was selfish and self absorbed, and sometimes I thought she was absolutely right about him. We wonder - will she finally show herself and shock him? Will she be able to escape without being seen? She considers the various things she should do. If you've ever been dumped and been left wondering what in the world happened, you will most undoubtedly relate. In the end, I believe she finds closure. Throughout the book we feel that we've gotten to know her so well, that we think we can predict what she'll finally do...but she surprises us.
This was kinda like reading someone's diary!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Sunday, May 25, 2008
SOUL CATCHER By Michael White
Just finished the last page of this book.
Wow.
I just don't even know where to begin to review this book.
One thing I kept thinking as I was reading it - this should be a movie. What a beautiful, terrible, complicated, deeply emotional, violent, romantic, and sad story. The inside jacket says : "a profoundly moving story of love, freedom and a country on the brink of war". Yes, it was profoundly moving in the stories of the characters as well as the condition of our country, as it headed towards the Civil War.
Our main character, Cain, is from Virginia, and has made a career of catching runaway slaves. A "soul catcher" is what his profession is called. As he contemplates giving it up and starting a new life, a gambling debt caches up with him. But since he doesn't have the money to pay it, the man he owes, Mr. Eberly, makes him a deal: If Cain can find and return his two runaway slaves, Henry and Rosetta, he will consider the debt paid. But Eberly says he especially wants Rosetta back. So he hooks Cain up with three of his own men and off they go to find the pair. The tale that ensues is one of the most riveting I've ever read.
To begin with, tension mounts between Cain and one of Eberly's men, called Preacher, who keeps promising Cain that when this is all said and done, they have a score to settle between them. Then there's the difficulty they have once they cross to the North, with Abolitionists looking down at them because they are "Southerners". They also encounter hostility with "blackbirders", who are groups who steal slaves and re-sell them. These in particular eye Rosetta, wanting to steal her at every opportunity. At every turn, Cain needs to watch his back. In addition, throughout the journey, Cain is haunted by memories of his past - of his estranged family and his lost love.
Cain, having been raised in the South, views owning slaves as a southern way of life. He has been taught his whole life that blacks and whites are different. And while he doesn't mistreat or despise slaves, he does see them as property. Of course, he's been taught to respect and take care of his property, such as cleaning his guns, resting his horse, and treating the slaves well. Still, once he left his home, he never owned any of his own. But he understands his fellow southerner's view of having the right to own them.
That's why he feels tormented and conflicted when he meets the beautiful Rosetta. Once the two slaves are captured, Cain, who has always kept a "professional" distance between himself and the slaves he's brought back, begins to know Rosetta as a person, and he discovers the shocking secret that Rosetta hides regarding Mr. Eberly. He understands why she would risk beatings and even death to run away. Now he sees her more than just some man's "property". But Cain isn't the only one who has been raised with a particular outlook on life. Rosetta, who was raised a slave and endured so much under her master, also undergoes a change in what she feels towards white men. But can something so deeply rooted in a person be changed? The epilogue reveals that.
On his website, the author says:
"Soul Catcher came to me several years ago when I was reading Russell Banks’ novel Cloudsplitter, in which he mentions slave catchers going north to capture fugitive slaves. I think we are all fascinated by the nature of evil, and slavery, arguably, has beenAmerica
I have to say that it is pretty violent in a few places - although the violence was warranted. And there is some bad language - which I can usually tolerate - But I HATE seeing God' name taken in vain.
But all in all, I would highly recommend this book - it's a story that will stay with you for a long time.
Wow.
I just don't even know where to begin to review this book.
One thing I kept thinking as I was reading it - this should be a movie. What a beautiful, terrible, complicated, deeply emotional, violent, romantic, and sad story. The inside jacket says : "a profoundly moving story of love, freedom and a country on the brink of war". Yes, it was profoundly moving in the stories of the characters as well as the condition of our country, as it headed towards the Civil War.
Our main character, Cain, is from Virginia, and has made a career of catching runaway slaves. A "soul catcher" is what his profession is called. As he contemplates giving it up and starting a new life, a gambling debt caches up with him. But since he doesn't have the money to pay it, the man he owes, Mr. Eberly, makes him a deal: If Cain can find and return his two runaway slaves, Henry and Rosetta, he will consider the debt paid. But Eberly says he especially wants Rosetta back. So he hooks Cain up with three of his own men and off they go to find the pair. The tale that ensues is one of the most riveting I've ever read.
To begin with, tension mounts between Cain and one of Eberly's men, called Preacher, who keeps promising Cain that when this is all said and done, they have a score to settle between them. Then there's the difficulty they have once they cross to the North, with Abolitionists looking down at them because they are "Southerners". They also encounter hostility with "blackbirders", who are groups who steal slaves and re-sell them. These in particular eye Rosetta, wanting to steal her at every opportunity. At every turn, Cain needs to watch his back. In addition, throughout the journey, Cain is haunted by memories of his past - of his estranged family and his lost love.
Cain, having been raised in the South, views owning slaves as a southern way of life. He has been taught his whole life that blacks and whites are different. And while he doesn't mistreat or despise slaves, he does see them as property. Of course, he's been taught to respect and take care of his property, such as cleaning his guns, resting his horse, and treating the slaves well. Still, once he left his home, he never owned any of his own. But he understands his fellow southerner's view of having the right to own them.
That's why he feels tormented and conflicted when he meets the beautiful Rosetta. Once the two slaves are captured, Cain, who has always kept a "professional" distance between himself and the slaves he's brought back, begins to know Rosetta as a person, and he discovers the shocking secret that Rosetta hides regarding Mr. Eberly. He understands why she would risk beatings and even death to run away. Now he sees her more than just some man's "property". But Cain isn't the only one who has been raised with a particular outlook on life. Rosetta, who was raised a slave and endured so much under her master, also undergoes a change in what she feels towards white men. But can something so deeply rooted in a person be changed? The epilogue reveals that.
On his website, the author says:
"Soul Catcher came to me several years ago when I was reading Russell Banks’ novel Cloudsplitter, in which he mentions slave catchers going north to capture fugitive slaves. I think we are all fascinated by the nature of evil, and slavery, arguably, has been
I have to say that it is pretty violent in a few places - although the violence was warranted. And there is some bad language - which I can usually tolerate - But I HATE seeing God' name taken in vain.
But all in all, I would highly recommend this book - it's a story that will stay with you for a long time.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
LADY IN THE WATER & other M. Night Shyamalan stuff
This is one of those reviews that isn't really a review since I've seen the movie a few times. I caught LADY IN THE WATER tonight and just wanted to write something on it.
It's a story...a bedtime story that comes to life for an apartment complex manager, Cleveland Heep, played by Paul Giamatti. I gotta add here that Paul Giamatti is one of the finest actors around right now. Love him. Anyway, his character was a doctor who's family was tragically killed. And so he has come to be the building superintendent as a sort of escape from his life. One night, he finds a young lady, Story, that has been living in the swimming pool. As it turns out, she is a mystical character from a story, and according to the story, she has come from her world to "inspire" someone specific - she only has to look at him to impart the inspiration. After this, she must wait for the big eagle to come take her to safety. However, there are evil, vicious creatures, called scrunts, who live in the grass and who want to devour her. The story also says that various people have been drawn to this place at this time to accomplish the task of getting Story to safety. The catch is, these humans don't know who they are yet. The roles they must fill are: the Guardian, the Healer, the Guild, and the Interpreter. Cleveland enlists the help of various people in the building to try to figure out who fits these roles. Once they think they have it figured out, they find that things are still not falling into place. And time is running out, for if the eagle comes and they can't deliver Story safely to him, he will not come again. This is quite a scary bedtime story for younger kids, but it is an awesome story. Each character is so different that you get caught up trying to figure out who fits which role. It's definitely a movie that you have to watch again once you know who's who. My favorite part is in the end when they realize that one of the roles is actually someone they never dreamed it would be! It was funny and scary and dramatic and sad all in one movie. There's one particular scene where I felt like sobbing...it was where Story tells the one whom she came to inspire, what his future holds.
M. Night Shyamalan always seems to make a cameo in his movies, but in this one, he was one of the lead roles, and did an excellent job.
If you don't recognize the name M. Night Shyamalan, I'm sure you'll know his movies: SIGNS, SIXTH SENSE, UNBREAKABLE, THE VILLAGE. He is a master of storytelling. I'm not really one for horror flicks, so it took me a long while before I got around to seeing SIXTH SENSE. when I finally did ..it was nothing that I expected. It was...shocking. After that one, I was hooked on Shyamalan
SIGNS is also one of my favorites. On the surface, a movie about aliens, but to me, it was a movie of loss of faith, sorrow, despair, hope...and yeah, about God.
I also loved THE VILLAGE. Just a scary movie...no, more than that. It's a story of man trying to escape evil, but he can't because it is his very nature.
In June, Shyamalan has a new movie coming out - THE HAPPENING with Mark Wahlberg. And you know I will be there on opening (M.) Night!
It's a story...a bedtime story that comes to life for an apartment complex manager, Cleveland Heep, played by Paul Giamatti. I gotta add here that Paul Giamatti is one of the finest actors around right now. Love him. Anyway, his character was a doctor who's family was tragically killed. And so he has come to be the building superintendent as a sort of escape from his life. One night, he finds a young lady, Story, that has been living in the swimming pool. As it turns out, she is a mystical character from a story, and according to the story, she has come from her world to "inspire" someone specific - she only has to look at him to impart the inspiration. After this, she must wait for the big eagle to come take her to safety. However, there are evil, vicious creatures, called scrunts, who live in the grass and who want to devour her. The story also says that various people have been drawn to this place at this time to accomplish the task of getting Story to safety. The catch is, these humans don't know who they are yet. The roles they must fill are: the Guardian, the Healer, the Guild, and the Interpreter. Cleveland enlists the help of various people in the building to try to figure out who fits these roles. Once they think they have it figured out, they find that things are still not falling into place. And time is running out, for if the eagle comes and they can't deliver Story safely to him, he will not come again. This is quite a scary bedtime story for younger kids, but it is an awesome story. Each character is so different that you get caught up trying to figure out who fits which role. It's definitely a movie that you have to watch again once you know who's who. My favorite part is in the end when they realize that one of the roles is actually someone they never dreamed it would be! It was funny and scary and dramatic and sad all in one movie. There's one particular scene where I felt like sobbing...it was where Story tells the one whom she came to inspire, what his future holds.
M. Night Shyamalan always seems to make a cameo in his movies, but in this one, he was one of the lead roles, and did an excellent job.
If you don't recognize the name M. Night Shyamalan, I'm sure you'll know his movies: SIGNS, SIXTH SENSE, UNBREAKABLE, THE VILLAGE. He is a master of storytelling. I'm not really one for horror flicks, so it took me a long while before I got around to seeing SIXTH SENSE. when I finally did ..it was nothing that I expected. It was...shocking. After that one, I was hooked on Shyamalan
SIGNS is also one of my favorites. On the surface, a movie about aliens, but to me, it was a movie of loss of faith, sorrow, despair, hope...and yeah, about God.
I also loved THE VILLAGE. Just a scary movie...no, more than that. It's a story of man trying to escape evil, but he can't because it is his very nature.
In June, Shyamalan has a new movie coming out - THE HAPPENING with Mark Wahlberg. And you know I will be there on opening (M.) Night!
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
THIRD DEGREE, By Greg Iles
This is my first time reading this author - and it was very good - very suspenseful. A real page-turner, if I may use that corny cliche! The story is about Dr. Warren Shields and his wife, Laurel. She has just found out she is pregnant. However, since she's been having an affair, she's not sure who the father is. Warren's medical practice is being investigated for medical fraud by the IRS and the FBI - due to his partner's shady practices. That storyline is a whole drama to itself, but it is connected to what's happening in the Sheilds' household, because someone has tipped Warren off that there is something incriminating hidden in his house. So when he tears the place apart trying to find this mysterious evidence, he discovers a love note from Laurel's anonymous lover. Thinking that he's found what he was supposed to, he stops looking and takes his wife and kids hostage at gunpoint. However, that's not what the tip is about, which is where the drama at the office comes in. But Warren won't be convinced that there's more, because now he is insanely obsessed with finding out just who's been his wife's adulterous lover. And the more that is revealed, the more you understand why Warren has fallen to this depth.
It was an intense story - I was glued to the book. Mr. Iles writing gave me a great picture of each character and of each scene.
(WARNING: SPOILER AHEAD!)
But with all that happened, the ending seemed just a little too neat. I won't tell you what happened to Warren - you'll have to read to find out how this day ended. But in the end, the two adulterers live happily ever after - feeling that they had Warren's blessing. What about the kids? What about the trauma they endured? They'd never accept this guy after all they saw that day. Maybe it could happen, but what bugs me is that this feels like it was supposed to be a happy ending. Yuck.
I still think the book was great. I mean, you can't always have the ending you want, even in real life. That's what I love about reading (and watching movies). You can't always predict what's gonna happen. Excellent book anyway!
It was an intense story - I was glued to the book. Mr. Iles writing gave me a great picture of each character and of each scene.
(WARNING: SPOILER AHEAD!)
But with all that happened, the ending seemed just a little too neat. I won't tell you what happened to Warren - you'll have to read to find out how this day ended. But in the end, the two adulterers live happily ever after - feeling that they had Warren's blessing. What about the kids? What about the trauma they endured? They'd never accept this guy after all they saw that day. Maybe it could happen, but what bugs me is that this feels like it was supposed to be a happy ending. Yuck.
I still think the book was great. I mean, you can't always have the ending you want, even in real life. That's what I love about reading (and watching movies). You can't always predict what's gonna happen. Excellent book anyway!
THE ULTIMATE GIFT
The ULTIMATE GIFT is a movie about a rich, spoiled young man, Jason, played by Drew Fuller. His grandfather (James Garner), who was incredibly rich, just passed away, and the movie starts out at the death, funeral, and reading of the will. One by one, each family member is disappointed as they receive their inheritance. The last one there is Jason, who finds out that whatever he receives, he will get only after he completes a series of steps. This angers the spoiled Jason, but he reluctantly decides to go along with it. After completing each step, he is to return to his grandfather's lawyer, Mr. Hamilton (Bill Cobbs) and his secretary, played by Lee Meriwether (yes, I mean, CATWOMAN!) and report his experience. If they are satisfied with the results, he can move on to the next step.
Each gift is a specific task that sends him on a journey designed to help him figure out what is important in life. While I don't want to spoil it for you by telling you what all the steps are, I will tell you that the first one teaches him the value of hard work! And each gift that follows teaches him integrity, gratitude, friendship, giving, and more. He begins with the attitude that he's just going to get it over with so he can receive his inheritance. But something begins to change inside of him with every assignment. The experiences he has, both good and bad, alter his perspective on life.
Along the way he meets a young mom and her daughter, Emily, played by Abigail Breslin. Emily is a spunky little girl who befriends him, and soon he discovers that Emily has Leukemia. This is the beginning of his change.
It's an inspiring story. I laughed and cried while I watched it. It's rated PG, and it's simple enough for even young kids to follow, but adults will love it too. You'll want to share the story with others - especially teens and young adults. In fact, you can go the Ultimate Gift website and download discussion guides and tools for helping create family traditions to reinforce the importance of the "gifts". It's an important message and a very good movie!
Each gift is a specific task that sends him on a journey designed to help him figure out what is important in life. While I don't want to spoil it for you by telling you what all the steps are, I will tell you that the first one teaches him the value of hard work! And each gift that follows teaches him integrity, gratitude, friendship, giving, and more. He begins with the attitude that he's just going to get it over with so he can receive his inheritance. But something begins to change inside of him with every assignment. The experiences he has, both good and bad, alter his perspective on life.
Along the way he meets a young mom and her daughter, Emily, played by Abigail Breslin. Emily is a spunky little girl who befriends him, and soon he discovers that Emily has Leukemia. This is the beginning of his change.
It's an inspiring story. I laughed and cried while I watched it. It's rated PG, and it's simple enough for even young kids to follow, but adults will love it too. You'll want to share the story with others - especially teens and young adults. In fact, you can go the Ultimate Gift website and download discussion guides and tools for helping create family traditions to reinforce the importance of the "gifts". It's an important message and a very good movie!
Saturday, May 10, 2008
SPEEDRACER
Maybe if I'd ever watched the original Speed Racer cartoons, I might have liked the movie. Instead, I was startled by the frantic, futuristic, sensory overload that was Speedracer, the movie. It was cartoony...which could have been charming, yet I felt was corny. And for the first 10 or so minutes, as they set up the scene for us, we get jostled back and forth between the past and the present while Speed has flashbacks to his childhood. I was totally confused. First we see Speed as a kid...then he's grown and driving...then he's a kid with his big brother, Rex....then we hear announcers saying that his brother was killed awhile ago...then he's a kid watching his brother leave home...then he's driving again, and we see his family in the stands...but wait, now there's another kid with the family...is he Speed's kid?...or maybe that's Speed and this isn't a flashback after all..And so it went until I finally figured out what was going on. Maybe devoted Speed Racer fans will like it..I did read that the cartoon was kinda like that - kinda quick and quirky. Or maybe it's just a guy thing, because my 8 year old son and my husband liked it.
It stars Emile Hirsch (Alpha Dog, Into the Wild) as "Speed"; John Goodman as Pops, Susan Sarandon as Mom, Christina Ricci at Trixie, and Matthew Fox as Racer X. It was directed by the Wachowski brothers, who directed the Matrix movies. Here's the plot in a nutshell...money hungry guy offers Speed a contract to join his team...Speed is tempted but turns him down...money hungry guy gets mad...We find out that the races are "fixed" by the guys with money and power....the final race will settle things. As Racer X said..."we may not change racing, but the important thing is..will racing change us?" Or something like that..I'm not sure, since I was visually overstimulated. (I thought I had read it was 1 hr 35 min running time, but I discovered I had misread that...it was actually 135 minutes!!! Thats' over two hours, people!!!)
It was rated PG - yet I heard the following words: Damn, Ass, Sh-t. There was also a scene where the bad guys are roughing up a driver, and they show his bloodied face. That wasn't so bad, but then some other guy gets his finger eaten by piranhas. While we don't see the actual finger-eating...we do see the guy from behind as it happens, and we get to see the water in the fish-tank turn swirly-red. Kinda harsh for PG, I think.
So, in the end, I can't figure out if this review is useless or not. I guess I can say I didn't like it...but maybe it did a good job of reproducing the original. So I'll just say this: if you remember and love the original...go see the movie. BUT...if you've never seen the original, and if your favorite childhood shows were Loony Tunes or Gilligan's Island, then you can probably skip it.
It stars Emile Hirsch (Alpha Dog, Into the Wild) as "Speed"; John Goodman as Pops, Susan Sarandon as Mom, Christina Ricci at Trixie, and Matthew Fox as Racer X. It was directed by the Wachowski brothers, who directed the Matrix movies. Here's the plot in a nutshell...money hungry guy offers Speed a contract to join his team...Speed is tempted but turns him down...money hungry guy gets mad...We find out that the races are "fixed" by the guys with money and power....the final race will settle things. As Racer X said..."we may not change racing, but the important thing is..will racing change us?" Or something like that..I'm not sure, since I was visually overstimulated. (I thought I had read it was 1 hr 35 min running time, but I discovered I had misread that...it was actually 135 minutes!!! Thats' over two hours, people!!!)
It was rated PG - yet I heard the following words: Damn, Ass, Sh-t. There was also a scene where the bad guys are roughing up a driver, and they show his bloodied face. That wasn't so bad, but then some other guy gets his finger eaten by piranhas. While we don't see the actual finger-eating...we do see the guy from behind as it happens, and we get to see the water in the fish-tank turn swirly-red. Kinda harsh for PG, I think.
So, in the end, I can't figure out if this review is useless or not. I guess I can say I didn't like it...but maybe it did a good job of reproducing the original. So I'll just say this: if you remember and love the original...go see the movie. BUT...if you've never seen the original, and if your favorite childhood shows were Loony Tunes or Gilligan's Island, then you can probably skip it.
Friday, May 09, 2008
ENCOUNTERS OF THE HEART: THERE'S MORE TO THE STORY THAN MEETS THE EYE, By Cathy Heiliger
This book takes a few stories from the Gospels and gives a more intimate account of some people who had encounters with Jesus. The stories include:
The first story was the woman with the issue of blood. This was my least favorite - one of the reasons being that it made me a little nervous to read "quotes" by Jesus that were not in the bible. The woman tells her story about suffering for many years. Then, she touches Jesus' hem and gets healed. When He asks who touched Him, she falls before Him, and begins to confess everything in her life, which included shameful things that were done to her in her past. It was interesting to consider that this woman could have had many more things that she suffered - it brought her story more to life. What I didn't like were things we were to imagine Jesus saying. He told her to go in peace. But then, he tells her, "Stop beating yourself up! Be made whole from the suffering plague of self hatred and shame for whatever you have done that has contributed to your condition." I'll just be up front and tell you that I don't think the current trend of feeling good about ourselves is what we should be focusing on as believers. The truth is, we are not good. I think a lack of self esteem is the least of our problems. So I guess I couldn't appreciate the "stop beating yourself up" line. However, I acknowledge that there are people who have been through abuse of many kinds that do need to be pulled out of that pit of despair, and they could benefit from this story.
Now, with that said, let me tell you about the good parts...
First, I loved how she tied the stories together. As I said, the woman with the issue of blood tells her story, and when she tells of seeing Jesus, she mentions that she saw Jairus with Jesus, and it was odd that he looked like he had just gotten out of bed! Then, in the following chapter, when Jairus is telling his story, he tells us that when he is leading Jesus to his daughter, Jesus all of sudden stops and wants to know who touched him! That was beautifully done - I loved it!
But the stories I loved most, were those about Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. First we hear from Martha's point of view when Mary sat at Jesus' feet while Martha did all the work. Then we hear about how Lazarus fell ill and died. We hear about how they were desperate for Jesus to come and heal him, but Jesus delayed His coming! They felt so confused and abandoned! It was a beautiful, moving story that gave me chills and choked me up a bit. They wondered how He could leave them alone when they needed Him the most. Also woven into their story, was the story of Simon, the leper who Jesus healed (the 1 of 10 who returned to thank Him!). I was really able to imagine the scene as it may have been!
The book is short - 111 pages. It's sort of a "workbook" since every chapter has a "Reflections" section at the end, with questions to ponder. (I didn't linger over the questions very long, as I was anxious to keep reading) Encounters of the Heart was good food for thought, and drove me to my bible to double check the actual stories! I enjoyed it!
- The woman with an issue of blood who touched the hem of Jesus' garment
- Jairus, who's daughter died and was healed by Jesus
- Mary, Martha and Lazarus
- Mary anointing Jesus' feet with oil.
- The leper who Jesus healed
The first story was the woman with the issue of blood. This was my least favorite - one of the reasons being that it made me a little nervous to read "quotes" by Jesus that were not in the bible. The woman tells her story about suffering for many years. Then, she touches Jesus' hem and gets healed. When He asks who touched Him, she falls before Him, and begins to confess everything in her life, which included shameful things that were done to her in her past. It was interesting to consider that this woman could have had many more things that she suffered - it brought her story more to life. What I didn't like were things we were to imagine Jesus saying. He told her to go in peace. But then, he tells her, "Stop beating yourself up! Be made whole from the suffering plague of self hatred and shame for whatever you have done that has contributed to your condition." I'll just be up front and tell you that I don't think the current trend of feeling good about ourselves is what we should be focusing on as believers. The truth is, we are not good. I think a lack of self esteem is the least of our problems. So I guess I couldn't appreciate the "stop beating yourself up" line. However, I acknowledge that there are people who have been through abuse of many kinds that do need to be pulled out of that pit of despair, and they could benefit from this story.
Now, with that said, let me tell you about the good parts...
First, I loved how she tied the stories together. As I said, the woman with the issue of blood tells her story, and when she tells of seeing Jesus, she mentions that she saw Jairus with Jesus, and it was odd that he looked like he had just gotten out of bed! Then, in the following chapter, when Jairus is telling his story, he tells us that when he is leading Jesus to his daughter, Jesus all of sudden stops and wants to know who touched him! That was beautifully done - I loved it!
But the stories I loved most, were those about Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. First we hear from Martha's point of view when Mary sat at Jesus' feet while Martha did all the work. Then we hear about how Lazarus fell ill and died. We hear about how they were desperate for Jesus to come and heal him, but Jesus delayed His coming! They felt so confused and abandoned! It was a beautiful, moving story that gave me chills and choked me up a bit. They wondered how He could leave them alone when they needed Him the most. Also woven into their story, was the story of Simon, the leper who Jesus healed (the 1 of 10 who returned to thank Him!). I was really able to imagine the scene as it may have been!
The book is short - 111 pages. It's sort of a "workbook" since every chapter has a "Reflections" section at the end, with questions to ponder. (I didn't linger over the questions very long, as I was anxious to keep reading) Encounters of the Heart was good food for thought, and drove me to my bible to double check the actual stories! I enjoyed it!
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