Daily Archives: April 17, 2011

Showdown By Ted Dekker

Showdown by Ted Dekker

Welcome to Paradise.

Epic battles of good and evil are happening all around us.

Today that battle comes to town with the sound of lone footsteps clacking down the blacktop on a hot, lazy summer afternoon. The black-cloaked man arrives in the sleepy town of Paradise and manages to become the talk of the town within the hour. Bearing the power to grant any unfulfilled dream, he is irresistible.

Seems like bliss . . . but is it?
Or is hell about to break loose in Paradise?

***This review has a few minor spoilers.

I decided to take a break from my normal reading material to read this Ted Dekker book that’s been sitting on my shelf for awhile. I purchased it from the discount rack at Booksamillion awhile ago.

Paradise is a small, sleepy, boring town…until the new preacher, Marsuvees Black, arrives. Once Black enscounces himself within the town, he puts the entire Paradise population under his spell, with the exception of a young boy named Johnny. Johnny has witnessed Black murdering another citizen, and he can see the true colors of Black’s haunted personality. Johnny is scared, and he wants to save Paradise from Black, whom he considers a devil-like creature.

Wait a second. Do you like inspiring books? You must read Southern Comfort. It’s a haunting faith-filled tale. Tell your friends and church buddies by sharing this link. Download today! On Kindle & KU! Now, back to Showdown.

Meanwhile, up in the hills, a monastery is performing an experiment: Project Showdown. If the monks and teachers can keep a group of orphans separated from society and evil, will those children only be destined for goodness once they are released into the world, therefore becoming citizens of strong faith which could be an advantage to the rest of mankind? These orphans are not supposed to go into the dungeons, but Billy, one of the orphans, decides to break that rule after he comes under Black’s influence. As other orphans follow Billy’s footsteps, you’re drawn into a story where child writers are mesmerized by worms, worm sludge, and fictional characters. Samuel, another orphan, finds himself in the unique position of trying to sway his peers to go against evil to attempt to find their way back to the way of goodness and light.

This story did draw me in, and I thought it had a phenomenal Christian message. It shows how easily one can be swayed into evil, and while in the Devil’s evil clutches, you’re brainwashed, no longer thinking that things like murder and violence against innocent people are wrong in God’s eyes.

However, some parts of the book were utterly gross. When the kids are in the dungeon, and their flesh is destroyed by an evil rash with sores, they use worm sludge to treat their afflicted skin. Huge worms haunt the dungeon, multiplying while providing sludge treatments for the children. When the children eat the sludge…just gross is all.

Great violence and harm comes to one of the monastery’s children. It was hard for me to read about this…it just was. Although the story comes together at the end, this part will probably be hard to get through if you’re a sensitive reader.

If you like a good read with lots of supernatural elements, then this book is for you.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Soap Operas – From The Blog Archives

Should Christians watch soap operas?

After hearing that All My Children and One Life To Live were canceled, I felt compelled to pull this old post from my blog archives. I’ve watched All My Children before, and I used to be somewhat of a fan. However, I’ll admit that I haven’t watched it in years – too time-consuming and the storylines get too weird. I’ve also watched One Life To Life occasionally. Leave a comment answering the following question: Should Christians watch soap operas?
The other day, my husband sent me this link to an article stating that the soap opera, The Guiding Light, will be canceled after 72 YEARS ON THE AIR…this soap opera pre-dates television (I’m assuming it started as a radio show)! He sent me the article because he knows that I used to watch soap operas – but I’ve never watched The Guiding Light.

A few years ago, I blogged about soap operas here.

After I wrote that blog post (I was mostly talking about The Young And The Restless on that post) I stopped watching soap operas. I got into a time crunch and the soap operas didn’t make my TO DO list.

I started watching soap operas in high school because I was bored. I lived in a remote rural area. During the summertime, there was really no place to go. My mom didn’t drive, my dad was at work all day, I had no money, and I had no car to drive. I spent my summer days walking around the neighborhood, reading books, and watching soap operas! Since I read books so quickly – I practically inhaled them, I got most of my titles from the bookmobile that came to town every two weeks. I also fondly remember watching General Hospital while Luke and Laura fell in love and out of love. I recall watching All My Children when Greg and Jenny fell in love and evil forces strove to keep them apart. I also remember Jessie Hubbard and Angie getting together and falling in love. I’d get freaked out when these storybook romances would end, but watching these stories gave me something to do during those boring hot summer days. To top it off, I’d spend the rest of my day reading romance novels. It’s hard for me to get into the soaps nowadays, I guess, because the stories never end. They go on and on…imagine, a 72-year-old story like The Guiding Light?

I’ve sometimes dreamed of having a Christian soap opera on the air where people can talk about finding faith and forgiving others.

Do any of you watch soap operas now, or did you used to watch them? If so, which ones did you watch? Why do you like them? How long have you been watching the soaps? Do you think Christians should watch soap operas? I’ll start by saying I don’t see anything wrong with watching them as long as you don’t get too carried away…it’s kind of like, reading a secular novel or watching a movie. It’s entertainment and overall, soaps aren’t any better or worse than a lot of the other secular entertainment out there.

I enjoyed the soaps because they were entertaining and I’d get caught up in the characters’ lives. Sometimes they were placed in perilous situations and I just wanted them to get rescued! If they were hurt and in the hospital, I wanted them to recuperate and get better! But, if they died, it’s possible they could come back from the dead later! LOL!

Feel free to answer these questions and to throw in any other opinions you have about soap operas. I’m kind of anxious to hear what others have to say!

~Cecelia Dowdy~