BOOK REVIEW: Drawing Fire

I really enjoy getting in on the ground level of a new book series, and this one is no exception. Drawing Fire, by Janice Cantore, is the first in the "Cold Case Justice" series. Cantore, herself a 22-year law enforcement veteran, knows how to create an absolutely compelling landscape of characters and plot lines.

As a child, Abby Hart lost her parents in a fire that claimed not only their lives but the restaurant they owned. Devoting her life to police work in the secret hope that someday she will be able to find her parents' killer, Abby has distinguished herself as an investigator. When her life collides with that of Luke Murphy, a private investigator, the sparks fly...and the cold case of her parents' murders re-ignites.

This is not a predictable detective drama. You won't be able to figure out whodunit, and the plot will keep you guessing most of the way through the book. Cantore does a great job creating believable, complex characters who interact in a way that brings them off the pages and into your living room. In fact, you may not want to leave your living room (or wherever you most love to read a book) until you've turned the last page. One thing that is easy to predict: you will love this book.

I received this book free of charge from Tyndale Publishers in exchange for an impartial review.

For more about Janice Cantore, go here.

BOOK REVIEW

I read this book in about 24 hours. Having heard of this case in the news while it was happening, I was very curious to hear more about Rifqa's side of her compelling story.

Born in Sri Lanka, Rifqa's family moved to the United States when she was young. Brought up in strict adherence to Islam, Rifqa nevertheless sought a God who would understand the profound difficulties of her life and shower her with love. Through a school friend, she found Jesus as a teenager...and then the real battle began.

The very real danger Rifqa faced as she fled from her parents in Ohio to obtain safety in Florida increased as those harboring her were unable to keep her hidden. Journeying with her through a long dependency battle with social services, I scarcely caught a breath. And although Rifqa is now an adult, technically safe to practice her faith, she certainly must still remain hidden..but she is free in Jesus.

I highly recommend this book as an inspirational biography.

I received this book free of charge, in exchange for an impartial review, from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishers.

For more information about Rifqa, go here.

Sand-washin' surf

Can you see them? The footprints in the sand? No, this isn't a sappy re-rendering of the famous "Footprints in the Sand" poem, though I find that lovely and have drawn on its truth many times. 

When on my last writing retreat in April, I walked from my room to sit and pray on a bench above the shore. It was early morning. My attention was drawn to this tractor, which was going up and down the beach smoothing out the sand. However, it seemed that as soon as it would pass any particular point, some other early-morning walker/runner/prayer would have the nerve to mar the pristine section the machine left behind. I thought, how useless!  All that work and yet it gets messed up as soon as the tractor passes by! 

The voice of God then gently directed my attention to the area of shore where the sand met the sea. People walked there also, but the sand remained smooth. Why? Because the sea constantly washed their footprints away. 

Suddenly I had the message. 

See, I'm often on the tractor side of this whole picture. I often feel cluttered and fragmented in my head. I never get everything done that I'm supposed to do. I forget what God said to me in my morning reading and don't follow through with my resolves. I forget to pray (gasp! yes it's true). I ignore stuff on my to-do list, then kick myself for doing so. I get to the end of the day and feel like there are meandering footprints all over my desires to live like God wants me to live. Go to bed feeling defeated and like a complete failure. 

I wake up the next morning and rev up the tractor. I "clean up" yesterday's "footprints" on this beautiful shoreline called My Life on this Planet by resolving to do better, obey better. I read my Bible again, confess again, pray again, resolve again, and head out into my life...only to footprint all over it in no time. Call that tractor back! 

But God whispered to me, "Walk by the water." 

Water in the Bible usually represents a few different things: a fresh start from sin, the presence of the Holy Spirit, eternal life. 

When I walk surrendered to Jesus, knowing I belong to my heavenly Father FOREVER, allowing the Holy Spirit to wash my footprints and nudge me through the day, I can look back at the end of the day and see--clean sand. 

It's easier said than done, of course. But the visual above helps me to remember it. I can call the tractor back time after time all day long, or I can walk by the water. 

Later in the day, on a break from writing, I did just that. Kicked off my flip flops and walked down at the shore line for a couple of miles, feeling the breeze, smelling the salt water, hearing the crash of the waves clear out my head. I rolled up my pants and waded through the clean, clear surf as it fizzled over the sand and washed it clean. 

Yes, eventually I had to leave the beach and resume Life, and I can't say I've "walked by the water" every day since--many tractor tracks at this house, unfortunately--but that's just the point. As soon as I remember, and head for the shoreline, it's ok. Because the sea will continue flowing in to cover--and ebbing out to remove--the footprints for every minute of every hour of every day of every year until I go into eternity. 

 "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them." Ezekiel 36:27

"There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus,[a]who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit." Romans 8:1

"Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." Galatians 5:16

 "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." Galatians 5:25