Book Review

Book Review

"A Billion Reasons Why"
by Kristin Billerbeck

I have to say that this was not one of my favorite books.  Though a very quick read, and with a moderately entertaining romance, this book tended to hit all of my "Christian book" stereotypes. A somewhat cute story of a scorned love turning a nice and sweet girl into a closed-off, distrusting person who thinks that they are doing the "right" things in the name of God.  Katie, after being rejected by her first love, Luc, decides to swear off of romantic love and play it safe.  Eight years later, as she is about to settle down with a very safe Dexter, Luc enters back into her life and, Katie discovers, her heart.  Katie begins to face the possibility that Luc had never left her heart; and, as she travels with him back to her hometown for a wedding, begins to question the safe life she thought she had set up for herself in order to honor what she thought was God's plan for her.  Is she fulfilling God's plan by playing it safe?  Or is the passion for singing, dancing, and her fiery personality gifts that God gave her to use?

Though sweet, I had several problems with this book.  First, simply because the title of the book is "A Billion Reasons Why" doesn't mean you have to repeat that phrase throughout the book a billion times.  Second, Katie was completely over the top in her denial of Luc's intentions.  While I completely understand any hesitancy she would feel over trusting him, it HAS been eight years and the extent she goes to in order to hold fast to her conviction that Luc is not trustworthy is simply ridiculous.  Third, her almost-fiance Dexter was a completely accurate portrayal of many "marriageable age" single, conservative, super Christians.  Plain and simple, he just rubbed me the wrong way.  That Katie fell for him and kept trying to justify that the "marriage arrangement" she was entering with him was what God called her to was so horribly off-putting for me.  I think, of every characters' faith in this book, I liked Luc's the best.  He seemed to truly understand that God gave Katie the personality He did for a reason and that we are not meant to squeeze ourselves into some idea of a "good Christian", but trust that God leads us to use our gifts and talents to His glory.

Overall, a cute, sweet story, with no real zest to it.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson through BookSneeze for the free copy of this book.

daydreaming of tattoos.

i want to get another tattoo. several, really. and i have several ideas for them too. one of which is a quote of some kind. but the tricky part is, what quote? it can't be too long and some of my favorites are WAY too long to be branding myself with. so, i will start my list of possibilities here.

1. "you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart." jeremiah 29:13

2. something by e.e. cummings. the "i carry your heart" quote is my fav, but want to check for others.

3. some form of my girls' names. "em&ash" or something. perhaps with little tiny bees flying around...

4. Come to the edge, He said. They said, We are afraid. Come to the edge, He said. They came. He pushed them... and they flew.

Guillaume Apollinaire, 1880-1918
(what about breaking up this poem/part of this poem into a couple places on the body)

5. some part of:

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness that frightens us. We ask ourselves 'who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?'
Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us; its in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

Marianne Williamson

6. i am fearfully and wonderfully made,  psalm 139:14

7. i have found the one whom my soul loves (song of solomon 3:4)

8. symbols for "faith, hope, love" entwined somehow. cross, wishbone?, heart

9. No one else will ever know the strength of my love for you. after all, you're the only one who knows what my heart sounds like from the inside.

10. The windows of my soul i throw wide open to the sun. (from My Psalm by John green leaf whittier)