The Dark Side

Note: I got this book for free from Blogging for books.

What does foster care, Satan worshippers, and the Vatican have to do with each other? In this book called, "The Canary List" by Sigmund Brouwer, EVERYTHING. Take a normal school teacher laden with grief with a dead daughter from cancer, divorced and has a five year old son and a twelve year old foster child, and you get a deep plot with the Cardinals and the whole "DaVinci Code" thing going on. This book is almost like the DaVinci Code with the whole Vatican cover-up deal, but in this book, there are unlikely characters that seem to make the plot more interesting as a whole. Not that many people can connect Cardinals with Satan worshippers at the same time as foster care children.

I don't want to spoil the book for other people, so I won't exactly say anything other than the fact that from the first word of the prologue, I was totally glued to my seat. It was a thriller that took readers to every nook and cranny, from America to Italy all in one wild ride.

I personally thought that there wasn't a straight ending, and it's more like the book had several endings that I didn't really get. I would advise readers not to read this at night, since the Satanic group mentioned gave me the chills, even in the morning. The author really knows how to describe things and the rituals and the chantings themselves gave me the creeps. Other than that, I would recommend this book.

Going Through the Narrow Path

Oftentimes, I will wonder why. Why do I have to wait? Why does everyone else around me have this, but I don't? When will it be my turn? I know God is telling me to wait, yet I don't have the patience. I guess sometimes we as humans have to experience it firsthand to be able to completely trust God and his timing.

Even my mom has told me to wait awhile. God will give you the perfect man in his own timing. I thought I was patient enough to wait for 21 years. Alright God, I waited long enough. I'm ready for a boyfriend.

So I took matters into my own hands. April Fool's, I fb the potential guy and ask him to go along with me in a fake relationship. It was all good, until the goodwill of my church friends back home did me in. They were all wishing my good luck and blessings about my relationship. It wasn't until I realized that I fooled a lot of people, and it wasn't a good prank. It was pretty funny at first. I made up a million things about the guy and so forth, but after awhile, my heart strings were pulled out by the people that really wished me well.

So instead of playing a prank like I thought, I actually damaged some trust I had going with various people. Not only did they wish me their blessings, since they thought it was my first relationship, they also sympathized with me when I went back to being single. I kind of regret doing this, since it was the first time I was in a relationship on the web.

So now, even though I have experienced a "short relationship", I will definitely not stray down the wider road following everyone, but making my way to the narrow path where God's open arms will be waiting for me at the finish line.

Appearances

Imagine what it would be like to change from Cinderella to a princess. Some people have this instant "luck", whereas others have to slave their way up the feudal system of society. Nowadays, anyone can "look" like a princess with a change of new clothes or a new hairstyle. A poor person can instantly look rich, if given a sports car, along with a new suit. A homey and plain woman when given a complete makeover can look like a model.

Although these changes are superficial, we as human beings still fall for the same old act each time. When I first got my haircut a few days ago, I was reminded that I was still the same person inside, even though my outer appearance has changed. I look different, but my heart is still the same. No matter how much I change myself on the outside, our heavenly father from above only looks at our hearts.

So to change ourselves, we should do it from the inside out, instead of the other way around.

God Gave Us the World, by: Lisa Tawn Bergren

This heartwarming story is about a mother and daughter pair of polar bears. The little cub questions all about her identity and why God didn't make every other bear just like her. She learns from her mother that God makes all bears differently because God is creative and it follows his plan to make special bears from all over too. Mother bear gives an example that even bears of the same kind are different inside. Some are quiet bears, whereas others are loud bears.

This book is especially for children, but the theme revolves around older folks too. Oftentimes, we are associated with different people from different cultures that do things differently than we are used to. Too often, we judge what we see based on what other people do. I often make the same mistake too. I have asked God to help me understand the people different than me, instead of acting way more superior than they are. We are all humans created in the likeness of God. To criticize someone different is like criticizing God. So in order to understand different cultures, we have to reach out with helping hands.

"I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review"