VENGEANCE, by Donna Dawson

Saturday - Come like a child. One the major stories, running in a parallel with the murder investigation aboard The Cormorant is that of a little girl named Cassandra. Cassandra was Special Agent James Benedict's last case, the one before he boarded this ill=fated vacation cruise liner. He found her, battered and abused, saved her life from certain death at the hands of someone trusted by Cassandra and the rest of the family. This little girl is now in the care of Dr. Julie Holding, a psychologist, trying desperately to help her put her life back together. For the longest time she doesn't speak, and when she finally does speak it is with a terrible stutter. Donna Dawson really makes us feel for this child, wondering how it must feel to be in her body, her mind, unable to trust anyone around her. It is only by the grace of God that she is set free.

Cassandra's story is important to the main story, although one has to wonder how it will mesh with it, like so many of the other threads and stories throughout the book. And yet it is possible that her story is more important than that of those involved in the main story. Threw her healing and her eyes we come to know things about what is going on in the main story that we would otherwise be cut out of. After she gets her voice back one of the first things she does is ask Jesus to come into her heart. This, for those of us who are Christians, is an awesome and beautiful moment. Later she asks her mother and father to forgive her. Can you imagine finding your little child so abused to the point where she cannot talk, and then when she does one of the first things she does is ask you to forgive her? Cassandra held everyone accountable for what was done to her, even herself. Once she is able to forgive herself she is able to forgive others and move on to true healing. I mentioned this in another post I believe. When you do not forgive yourself and those who have wronged you, both are kept in bondage. We see that here, and we see that release comes to both parties when forgiveness is given. To me, that is one of the great points of this book.

Jesus says a lot about children in the Gospels. Sometimes I think we go over it with an attitude of "Fine, but let's get to the real meat of the message." They didn't realize that this was the main course. " Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me." (Matthew 18:4,5) "Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein." (Mark 10:15 Luke 18:17) "A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world." (John 16:21) are only a few of the verses that come to mind. Children were and are very important to God. As adults I think we tend to forget that, and when we do we lose something of the closeness we once had with Jesus. May we be spared the trials Cassandra went through, but may we receive Him and cling to Him always with that same childlike faith that believes all things are possible in Him. Then shall we be able to truly grow and mature in Christ, and only then. - David Brollier

Check out the following CFRB places. Chances are you'll find out more than I'm giving you here. This is a "Tag Team Tour". For you new visitors to CFRB that means you just got tagged. It's up you you to hunt through the following links and find out who has posted for today. Even if you end up on someone's site who hasn't posted for today, I'm sure you'll enjoy the visit. And yes, there will be a new post somewhere every day among one of those listed, sometimes you may even find two posts.




Now that you have all those links, some of which may not have current information, but you'll enjoy them just the same, it's time to get out some important information.

First I bet you'd like to visit Donna's site. You can find that HERE

To purchase her book you can go to:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

or Target



Click on her picture to go to her blog.

VENGEANCE, by Donna Dawson

Friday - Betrayal. VENGEANCE is also a story about betrayal. It is, after all, the greatest motivator for vengeance. When someone feels betrayed, they normally feel they have the right to take revenge. Here we have a story about people who were not merely betrayed, but betrayed by the very country they fought for, served or held in high esteem. As I pointed out in an earlier post we are talking about men from the Vietnam War era who were deeply hurt by things the government did, or at least certain authorities within that government. It's not as though the President or Congress or the Senate did anything to them, but neither did they do anything to stop it. I'm really not sure these politicians knew what was going on. The military officials, however, did know. The truth of this came out in bits and drabs during the 1970s. So many young men gave their lives, were seriously wounded or carried emotional scars for things the military subjected them to. These brave young men truly believed they were acting in the best interest of their country. They willfully put their lives on the line for our freedom, only to find out they had been betrayed. What is the greatest betrayal? To not acknowledge all they had done, to treat them as commoners or worse when they came home. I've seen movie clips of the parades that were thrown for the military men and women when they returned at the end of World War II. No such celebration awaited these brave soldiers. They returned to find no one waiting for them, their benefits cut, their names spoken with disdain. How those men and women must have longed for revenge. How they must have wished they could get back at a people who had turned their backs on them when they had given so much for them. I truly hope and pray that when our people return from Iraq and other war zones we will throw them one very huge party, a parade that will start on the streets of Manhattan and walk all the way across the US until they get to San Diego, California. A celebration that every state in this union will heartily join in, welcoming back those who have taken the fight of terrorism to the terrorist against all odds that we might live safely.

Yet while vengeance may seem logical where betray is present, we must always remember that if we take revenge, then we commit the greater betrayal, for we not only betray those who have betrayed us, but we betray ourselves and our loved ones. That is why Scripture says, "Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." (Rom. 12:19) It is out of grace and mercy that God is also a God of vengeance, for He alone will administer it justly and bring healing to the land. - David Brollier

Check out the following CFRB places. Chances are you'll find out more than I'm giving you here. This is a "Tag Team Tour". For you new visitors to CFRB that means you just got tagged. It's up you you to hunt through the following links and find out who has posted for today. Even if you end up on someone's site who hasn't posted for today, I'm sure you'll enjoy the visit. And yes, there will be a new post somewhere every day among one of those listed, sometimes you may even find two posts.




Now that you have all those links, some of which may not have current information, but you'll enjoy them just the same, it's time to get out some important information.

First I bet you'd like to visit Donna's site. You can find that HERE

To purchase her book you can go to:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

or Target



Click on her picture to go to her blog.

VENGEANCE, by Donna Dawson

Thursday - Three kinds of people. On board The Cormorant, as in real life, there will always be 3 kinds of people. Simply put they are the evil, the good and the bystanders. The evil, are like everyone else, but feel they have some kind of right to inflict pain upon others, whether it be stealing a piece of jewelry or taking a life, whether it is speaking a "little white lie" to creating a complete conspiracy to cover up other evil plans. All are evil. The good, are those who are only good because God has called them so, because they have accepted His mercy. They try to live better lives, but since a single sin cannot enter Heaven, without God's mercy they would be as bad off as those we call evil. Then there are the bystanders. This group, also really just another group of those we call evil, are so self-centered that they become apathetic. As long as they aren't the ones dying on the ship it has nothing to do with them. As long as junk happens to other people, so what? As long as it doesn't happen to them. They may come over to the railings and peer out into the blackness of the sea, or onto the deck to get some story, but they don't want to get involved. Getting involved means getting hurt, and they did not pay good money to get hurt.

You see this most clearly when the dead bodies are airlifted from the ship. The people watch for a bit, and then go back to their lives as if nothing had happened. Placing myself on that ship I'd find myself in trying to figure out if there was a way I could help. No I'm not an FBI agent, but maybe by doing something, anything, he could find his job easier. I can't stand on the sidelines. I can't just be a bystander. It's not in my nature, nor should it be for anyone who is born of God.

How can I make such a statement? It's quite simple really. I know that I have talents and abilities, but I also know that they do not extend to the kind of investigation the FBI would do. I do know that if I get ice and water, towels, run different errands, I will be able to free these agents up to do what they are called upon to do. I must do this because since I became a child of God everyone matters, even those we would call evil. Jesus told us to love our enemies, to bless those who persecute us, as well as to love each other, which is a far broader command. Since I am a child of God because of Jesus, by His blood, I simply cannot sit back and watch the world slip off into the Lake of Fire. I must do something. It may be preaching. It may be getting ice or water for someone. It may be buying food for those less fortunate. It may even be participating in a blog that proclaims His Gospel. Whatever I can do, I must do that because of what He has done for me and in me. You see, He changed me. Jesus changed the way I think, the way I hear, the way I see. So when you're reading VENGEANCE, by Donna Dawson, ask yourself, "Who do I most identify with?" If you don't like the answer there are people here who can help you with that. People who love God and can show you that all you need to do is call upon the name of the Lord, and mean it of course, and He will bring you into His family. We can help you walk through those steps. After that, the Lord is the Special Agent in Charge. You listen to Him, not man, although keep your ears open to those who are speaking for Him. - David Brollier

Check out the following CFRB places. Chances are you'll find out more than I'm giving you here. This is a "Tag Team Tour". For you new visitors to CFRB that means you just got tagged. It's up you you to hunt through the following links and find out who has posted for today. Even if you end up on someone's site who hasn't posted for today, I'm sure you'll enjoy the visit. And yes, there will be a new post somewhere every day among one of those listed, sometimes you may even find two posts.




Now that you have all those links, some of which may not have current information, but you'll enjoy them just the same, it's time to get out some important information.

First I bet you'd like to visit Donna's site. You can find that HERE

To purchase her book you can go to:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

or Target



Click on her picture to go to her blog.

VENGEANCE, by Donna Dawson

Wednesday - In the initial chapters of her book Donna Dawson sets the stage for things to come. In one instance she takes us back in time where a young boy watches hopelessly as his father slowly withers away and dies. I should mention at this point, that VENGEANCE isn't a book for the faint of heart, and parents might want to think twice about young children reading it. It's not that the author over does the violence, but that when she does talk about certain things she gets very descriptive. We don't want your kids waking you up in the middle of the night with nightmares.

On the other hand, that's exactly what a thriller is supposed to do, bring you to the edge of your seat, make sweat bead up on your forehead, or chills race up and down your spine. Donna Dawson does this in a fabulous manner. Getting back to the young boy watching his father die, however, she begins to plant seeds needed later on in the story. There's a political statement made here that is just as strong as the spiritual statements made. Our military personnel in Vietnam went there, for the most part, out of a deep-seeded feeling of pride in our country. But our country, or at least certain people in authority, used this war to further their own private goals and line their own pockets. The same is true in Iraq. I happen to know some of the people who are probably over there. I worked with them and know how deeply they feel about this country. I also know that they are growing skeptical about some of the things they have been told. Vietnam taught them that. Recent elections taught them that. Anyone who has seen the movie "The Rock" watched a story about a commander trying to set the record straight.

That's what VENGEANCE is about too, setting the record straight. The trouble is that we can't do it. We are as guilty as the one we might want to point our fingers at. In order to set the record straight someone who is beyond reproach had to do it, someone who wasn't guilty of all the things or any of the things that we are. Jesus came down from Heaven and lived a pure and holy life as a man, then when it was according to His Father's will, He offered Himself up as a sacrifice for our sin. We don't want to think about that in terms of vengeance, because it takes our power to get back at others away. It even teaches us to forgive those who have wronged us. That's a bitter pill to swallow sometimes. Still, if we are going to set the record straight, then we must let God be the judge and let Him enact vengeance according to His own righteousness and mercy and compassion. Does this mean that everyone will, in the end, make it to Heaven? No, because the price to enter that place is far to high. What it does mean is that God's will is that all of us would repent of our sins and accept His mercy so we could spend our eternity with Him. God's will is that no one would perish. Vengeance in God's hands, is sometimes a way to forgiveness. "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (2Pe 3:9) May God forgive us for thinking that God might not keep His promises, and that we might wish harm on anyone.

Check out the following CFRB places. Chances are you'll find out more than I'm giving you here. This is a "Tag Team Tour". For you new visitors to CFRB that means you just got tagged. It's up you you to hunt through the following links and find out who has posted for today. Even if you end up on someone's site who hasn't posted for today, I'm sure you'll enjoy the visit. And yes, there will be a new post somewhere every day among one of those listed, sometimes you may even find two posts.




Now that you have all those links, some of which may not have current information, but you'll enjoy them just the same, it's time to get out some important information.

First I bet you'd like to visit Donna's site. You can find that HERE

To purchase her book you can go to:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

or Target



Click on her picture to go to her blog.

VENGEANCE, by Donna Dawson

Tuesday - A long distance romance. Woven throughout this incredible thriller is a romance, but don't expect to see Harlequin pounding down Donna Dawson's door to get the rights to publish it. Unlike those steam romances the underscore everything that is wrong in relationships, the romance here is pure, wholesome, respectable, and at the moment, long distance. Sure Special Agent James Benedict tried to get Dr. Julie Holden to come with him, but she wouldn't have it. As much as she wanted to be with him she realized that it wouldn't look right. When was the last time you heard of a couple not doing something because it wouldn't look right, not because it was really wrong? That's the beauty of this romance. It truly is wholesome. Then of course there is the case she is working on, which she couldn't do very well if she left. So she has two very valid reasons for not going, and one great desire to go, which she denies herself.

Now, I don't think she intended this, although I will ask her, but this is a lot like our relationship with Jesus. It seems like a long way between where we are and where He is in Heaven. Yet His love for us is so strong that it bridges that great chasm and we find He is right there with us. Daily Agent Benedict and Dr. Holding phone each other, talk about the cases they are working on, but more importantly, they talk about themselves as a couple. We should daily take time out to put in a call to our great Love, tell Him about our day, our problems, our victories, and of our love for Him. This is a very special time of prayer. While Scripture teaches us to pray without ceasing, it also teaches us of having a special time with God on a regular basis. We don't have to pick up the phone. We don't have to write an email. We only have to focus our thoughts and hearts upon Jesus and let our heart speak to Him. When we do this we find that His heart speaks to us, strengthens and encourages us. While it is true it may be many years before we actually see our Lord, we know that one day we will see Him. I like the way the apostle John put it, "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. " ( 1st John 3:2). Imagine seeing Jesus after all these years of trusting Him. Imagine seeing Him in all His splendor and glory. Now that's a homecoming I want to be part of. In 1st Cor. 13:12 the apostle Paul says something more, "For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known." We are going to know Jesus just as well as He knows us. What joy! What a blessed hope and assurance.

No I guess Donna didn't mean for this to come out, but there it is. The beauty of two who truly love one another and the great promises that love holds for them, even though they are apart. We have this in Christ. May we ever live for Him, for He is our One True Love. If we lose focus on Him, we will begin to lose focus on everything that is important. We will find ourselves in situations that we cannot bear. But if we keep our minds focused on Him, as we should if we really love Him, then no matter what life throws our way, He will be there to give us the strength to endure. Why? Because He loves us. Together we make up one body, His Bride, and He will do everything He can to ensure she is kept safe, clean and holy unto Him. - David Brollier

After reading a lot of fantasy and science fiction of late it felt good to get back to the mystery/suspense genre, especially when it was done so well. Check out the following CFRB places. Chances are you'll find out more than I'm giving you here. This is a "Tag Team Tour". For you new visitors to CFRB that means you just got tagged. It's up you you to hunt through the following links and find out who has posted for today. Even if you end up on someone's site who hasn't posted for today, I'm sure you'll enjoy the visit. And yes, there will be a new post somewhere every day among one of those listed, sometimes you may even find two posts.




Now that you have all those links, some of which may not have current information, but you'll enjoy them just the same, it's time to get out some important information.

First I bet you'd like to visit Donna's site. You can find that HERE

To purchase her book you can go to:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

or Target



Click on her picture to go to her blog.

VENGEANCE, by Donna Dawson

Monday - Some real characters. Donna has done a tremendous job in creating so many different and believable characters. The first time we meet FBI Special Agent James Kirk Benedict, well he's dropped the "Kirk", he's on the top deck of a cruise liner in very odd attire, which includes socks and sandals. Now I don't want to go through and show each different character as she presents them. She does a great job of doing this herself, and it's something you'll want to experience. It's not just the physical appearance of a character either. She delves into the emotions and sometimes spiritual part that makes up a person. It's almost as if you can hear them talking yourself, or expect to bump into them around the next corner. That's what good writers are supposed to do, and she does this very well in VENGEANCE.

The creation of characters is important to me as a writer, because this is a God-like ability. In fact in Hebrews 12:2 it says that Jesus is the Author. Of course it also says He is the Word, so you have an interesting connection with God when you write for Him. Just as Jesus put Himself into the story, so do we. And just as we need to create our characters before we can start writing our story, so did He. In Psalm 100:3 the Bible says that God has made us. In Ephesians 1:4 it says that He knew us before the world was made. In other words, before the story, which we call "The History of Mankind" began God created the characters. He knew what they would say and what they would do, and yet created us with the choice to choose between between the two.

As a writer I often find my characters doing and saying things that bend the story in a direction I hadn't foreseen. Well, that part of writing is different because God is not limited. Now don't get me wrong. God is not some evil force out there who created people so He could drive them nuts with all the worries of this world and then send them to Hell. No, it says that we were created to be holy and just, to be in the very image of His Son, Jesus. That was the intention of who God created us to be. He knows that many will never accept even a small portion of that promise, but will choose to follow their own desires. Let me put it in a way that makes sense to me and hopefully will make sense to you as well. When I write it's done in stages. The first stage is the rough draft. I get the story out. Then I hunt down some really wonderful people to help proofread what I have written and critique my work. When they get back to me I re-write the story over again, and again, and again, until hopefully it is good enough for publication. During this process there are gaps when I'm working on a different story. I'm just waiting to hear back from one of these friends. Then as I go through making the corrections I'm reading my story over again, and many times I am surprised at some of the things I find, in a positive way. Now understand, this is my story. I wrote it, then forgot about it and am working on it again. In some small way we can understand the difference between God's foreknowledge and our eternal destination. You see, He wrote us all in to live eternally with Him. Even after we sinned He made a way through the blood of His Son that we could live eternally with Him. Yet I have to wonder if while re-reading this perfect story over and seeing how His characters have twisted things and tried to twist His plot if He isn't surprised, shocked, appalled. That's the free choice barging in upon the perfect plan of God. Unlike us His story started out perfect, but as time goes one more and more of us mess things up and His story begins to look a bit shabby. In the end, however, God will set everything right. To do that those characters that have gone their own way and rebelled against who He had made them to be will find themselves on an eternal trip to the Lake of Fire. Those of us who accept God as Lord of our lives through Jesus are shown mercy. Not that we are better than the other group, only better off, as a friend of mine once put it. We choose, here and now, where we will spend eternity, for Vengeance really is the Lord's and He will most certainly repay.

After reading a lot of fantasy and science fiction of late it felt good to get back to the mystery/suspense genre, especially when it was done so well. Check out the following CFRB places. Chances are you'll find out more than I'm giving you here. This is a "Tag Team Tour". For you new visitors to CFRB that means you just got tagged. It's up you you to hunt through the following links and find out who has posted for today. Even if you end up on someone's site who hasn't posted for today, I'm sure you'll enjoy the visit. And yes, there will be a new post somewhere every day among one of those listed, sometimes you may even find two posts.




Now that you have all those links, some of which may not have current information, but you'll enjoy them just the same, it's time to get out some important information.

First I bet you'd like to visit Donna's site. You can find that HERE

To purchase her book you can go to:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

or Target



Click on her picture to go to her blog.

VENGEANCE, by Donna Dawson

Sunday - Donna Dawson takes all he elements that it takes to write a thriller and puts them together in a complex, spell-binding story that will keep you its prisoner until the final word is read. There are a couple of short background chapters that help to give you an inkling to the backstory of this book, but the book really begins with FBI Special Agent James Benedict on the cruise ship The Cormorant. This is the beginning of a long-awaited and much needed vacation. Before he lets himself settle into vacation mode he is putting the final touches on a case involving a young girl, who even now, is traumatized beyond belief. Then his vacation takes a U-turn and he finds himself smack dab in he middle of some evil plot.

Without going into this much further and spoil it for the rest of you, let me just say that Dawson adds one extra ingredient to the mix that isn't always found, even in thrillers, and that is the complexity of the story. Before the end of the second chapter we are aware of at least 4 separate stories running along together, weaving themselves into the dark fabric that makes VENGEANCE such a masterpiece. By the end of the book you'll be wondering, as I did, how she was able to keep track of each story and tie them together so neatly, and believably. You also see vengeance from two sides, from the side of those who feel they have the right to take action and right certain wrongs, and from the point of view of people who probably do have the right to take action, but don't because, "Vengeance is Mine, saith the Lord. I will repay." Where do you stand on this? It's really easy to say I'm not going to lie, steal, and all the rest, but it is very difficult to release consequences into the hands of the Almighty and let Him take care of things.

One of the reasons for this is that we suffer from a Jonah complex. You remember him, right? The guy who was told to preach God's wrath to the people of Nineveh, but took off the other direction, was swallowed by a big fish and ended up doing what God told him to do. You remember that guy, right? Well, did you know that the reason Jonah ran was not because he feared these people, but because he was afraid God would forgive them. Jonah 4:2 reads, "And he (Jonah) prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil." We want to have that feeling that those who wronged us have gotten what they deserve. This is absolutely normal, and common.

There's a real problem with this thinking through. First, it assumes that we are somehow worthy of God's grace apart from His forgiveness. Which of us can truthfully say that if it were not for the blood of Jesus Christ our eternal destination would be the Lake of Fire? So if none of us are worthy, then how can we possibly be in a position to judge and to call for vengeance without our own blood being called into account? Secondly when we do not forgive we hold both ourselves as well as the other hostage to unforgiveness. Matthew 6:12 says, "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." It is like asking God to forgive others in the same way that we forgive them. So if we do not forgive, then neither will we be forgiven. We are both held in bondage. The only thing that can set us free is to trust ourselves to the hand of God and forgive them, even as He has forgiven us. For Jesus looked down from the cross and saw you in your sin and said, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." There can be no place for vengeance if we are to forgive as He has forgiven, and we cannot be forgiven unless we forgive in that same manner. So this story is very powerful. It attacks some false truthes and tears down the high places in our hearts that we might see God alone as Holy and just. - David Brollier

After reading a lot of fantasy and science fiction of late it felt good to get back to the mystery/suspense genre, especially when it was done so well. Check out the following CFRB places. Chances are you'll find out more than I'm giving you here. This is a "Tag Team Tour". For you new visitors to CFRB that means you just got tagged. It's up you you to hunt through the following links and find out who has posted for today. Even if you end up on someone's site who hasn't posted for today, I'm sure you'll enjoy the visit. And yes, there will be a new post somewhere every day among one of those listed, sometimes you may even find two posts.




Now that you have all those links, some of which may not have current information, but you'll enjoy them just the same, it's time to get out some important information.

First I bet you'd like to visit Donna's site. You can find that HERE

To purchase her book you can go to:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

or Target



Click on her picture to go to her blog.