THICKER THAN BLOOD--It All Comes Back to Relationships

Today is the last day of a week long blog tour for C. J. Darlington's award-winning novel Thicker Than Blood, and I found myself still thinking about the book. In particular, I've been thinking about the themes, the spiritual content, the major issues and just what it is that appeals to me. By and large, it seems to come around to relationships.  The more I ruminated, the more I realized that it's all about relationships--various and sundry relationships--and God's way of running them.

In the review posted earlier I dealt with other, more exciting matters, but I also brought up this issue a bit. How could I ignore it with that title? In most novels, authors tend to gravitate to the easiest relationship to write about, a romantic or dating relationship. C. J. starts her story with one of these, but it doesn't lead to the usual path. In fact, Christy's unhealthy relationship with Vince serves as a cautionary tale: this is NOT God's will for your life! While there are some undertones of other possible romantic interests, I applaud the author's decision to steer away from the easy and often-trod trail, instead focusing on other types of relationships.

What relationships? Let's start with the less obvious.First, there are right and wrong examples of how an employer-employee relationship should be. Vince and his employer = wrong. Vince is a cheating, lying person with no loyalty to his boss. The hired hand at the ranch and May and her partner = a healthy business relationship. He takes nothing from them beyond his wage, shows proper respect and gives much more than a minimum amount of work. Christy has some from both sides, but she wants to be a good and trustworthy employee. In her we see the struggle. Relationship two: partnership. May and Ruth have a healthy partnership at the ranch, based on God's principles. It doesn't mean that they have no problems, but their consciences are clear and they know God will meet their needs one way or another. Some of the practices of certain booksellers contrast with them. Third is friendship, mainly represented by May and the vet. This is an example of "a friend who sticks closer than a brother," er, sister (Proverbs 18:24).

Then there are the blood relationships. Vince and his father had a very unhealthy relationship; the bookstore owner and his son are strained (the father prefers Vince's company to his loyal son). May grew up with her aunt in a very loving relationship in a house where God was honored. Before they died, Christy and May's parents provided a loving home for the girls, although there were some problems. And of course, the big one is the relationship between Christy and May. May has yearned for a reconnection to her sister, never understanding why she had abandoned her. Christy just knows that something is missing.

Of course the biggest relationship is the one that gave rise to the title. What could be thicker than blood? A relationship with God, a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. This is the relationship that can turn all others right. If a person seeks God first, all else shall be added. Now, this novel doesn't suggest that once a person turns her life over to Christ all her troubles disappear. No, it is obvious that the trials and struggles are still there, even worse sometimes. But following God's path is the only way to get all the relationships straight. Blood means a lot, but Jesus' blood means everything.

You can read the first chapter here.

For more about C. J. Darlington and her writing, check out her website.

 Thicker Than Blood is available at many Christian and regular bookstores. Online, you can purchase it from Christianbook, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon.


Paperback: 400 pages

Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers (Dec. 3, 2009)
ISBN-10: 1414334486
ISBN-13: 978-1414334486 



My thanks to Tyndale House for sending me a review copy of Thicker Than Blood. My opinions and thoughts are my own and not influenced by anyone else.

A Life That Spanned a Century and a Continent

Have you ever thought about all the changes that took place in the twentieth century? Now imagine living through them. Nearly one hundred years old, Rina Litz had indeed seen and experienced incredible things that she would have never dreamed possible when she was young. In her childhood, she lived without electricity, cars, or even a phone to call her mother when her brother fell out of a tree and broke his leg. Along the way she met and married the love of her life, experienced numerous home births, felt the grief of losing her husband and the joy of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

In Not Far from the Tree, Ruth Smith Meyer takes readers down memory lane with Rina, an 99-year-old Canadian lady with a sharp mind and quick sense of humor, still active and involved in life. Although this is a work of fiction, it is heavily based on the true story of Freda Litt and her family who Ruth came to know quite well through the accounts of family members. She was also able to draw from the stories of the people she interacted with in her job at a senior day care. As Ruth discovered, there is a wealth of wisdom and experience to learn from our elders if we will only listen.

The tale bounces back and forth between Rina in the present, maneuvering her "Cadillac" walker and riding with Mack, her volunteer driver, and Rina's memories of times gone by. The memories mostly come in chronological order. This may not be customary for memories in real life, but it makes it a lot easier for readers to follow. The first memory is back when she was four and brother George fell from the tree imitating the squirrels. No 911 back then--not even a phone to call their mother, so little Rina had to trot way down the street to fetch Mother from work. The doctor actually came to the house then to set George's broken leg! Another childhood memory had to do with school bullies--a problem that still plagues children today. We get a peek at the things teenagers did for fun in the early part of the century, Rina's "courting" days, and a bit of teenage rebelliousness (and we thought we invented it). When the Big War starts, there is a glimpse of it as Rina's first love goes off to fight. A summer train trip takes her and some friends across country for an Alberta-bound adventure, a trip that changes her life forever as she falls in love with David Litz. With an unconventional wedding far from home, she enters the next chapter of her life. As the family grows to include ten children, Rina rolls with the punches, celebrating the joys and enduring the hardships as they come. Like many of us today, she faces poverty, pain, sickness, mother-in-law trouble, losses and frequent moves. Her husband is a mama's boy and a dreamer who keeps changing jobs, a dad who misses a great deal of quality time with his children, yet he is always the great love of Rina's life. It seems to me that Rina puts up with a lot that most women today wouldn't take, but this is part of her character: divorce is never an option; marriage and family land at the top of her priority list. She puts up with living with her in-laws for a time and in another season living in little more than a barn. It was never easy, yet she was maintained a constant force in her family, a great example for the children as she turned things over to God in prayer and did her best to persevere. Her memories of life with David are not romanticized or fuzzy with the passing of time, yet she doesn't seem to feel resentment or anger. Instead, she thinks again and again of how she misses him.

While the story never preaches, in giving an account of the woman's life it demonstrates true Christianity at work. The lessons she learned from life and from her parents play in the background of this quiet life. She taught her children to "let the Lord look after" things, saying, "if there's nothing we can do, then it's not ours to do." The constant lessons of prayer and handing the situation over to God impressed upon me as I read this book. The nebulous "family values" were also evident as a theme. With ten children and the necessity of living with various extended family members, the need for maintaining good (or as good as possible) relationships was overwhelming.

This is not an action-adventure type story, but it is a historical near-biography that may hit close to home for many of us, may inspire at times, and may elicit thoughtfulness at other times. I recommend it for all, whether Christian or not.



Not Far from the Tree by Ruth Smith Meyer
Publisher: Word Alive (October 14, 2008)
ISBN-10: 1897373597
ISBN-13: 978-1897373590
260 pages, softcover


About the Author:

Ruth Smith Meyer is an Inspirational/Motivational speaker, a regular contributor for Rejoice Magazine, a daily devotional resource, the editor of Marriage Encounter Newsletter and has had her poetry published in Purpose and Christian Living Magazine.

You can learn more about Ruth Smith Meyer and her books at her website, www.ruthsmithmeyer.com.

Purchase Not Far from the Tree at Barnes and Noble or Amazon.

Check out these other member blogs this week for more info.

READY-MADE FAMILY by Cheryl Wyatt

Book Three in Cheryl Wyatt's Wings of Refuge series continues to carry out her winning ways. While all of her books are very family oriented, this one has all kinds of family situations that need resolution.

Amelia North is a proud young woman whose life was changed forever by one slip-up in high school, a slip-up that meant pregnancy and estrangement from her father. Her "mistake" brought about a precious little girl, though, who became the most important thing in her life. Amelia finds herself down and out with no money, poor health, and now her car is totaled. She's stuck in the little town of Refuge, on her way to St. Louis for a job she desperately needs.

Enter pararescue jumper Ben Dillinger to the rescue. His heart breaks over the sad state of Amelia and her little girl Reece, and he knows he needs to help them. He feels God nudging him. But Amelia has been let down and shunned so much, even by her own parents, that she is determined that she has to refuse any offers of help from anyone, including God. Besides, she doesn't believe that anyone could really be as nice as Ben or the other people she meets in Refuge. There must be a catch, right?

Cheryl Wyatt has created a novel that will bring tears to your eyes at times, but in the end it will leave you feeling good and praising God for His provisions. She says that her characters are based on people in her own church and on her own life, having been far from God herself until she was an adult. She credits the church she belongs to with being God's instrument to change her. There is a lot in the novel to make us realize how important it is for us to let Jesus and His love shine through us, how living out our salvation and showing real love to others can change lives.

The author has done a lot of research to learn about the pararescue jumpers, research which makes a difference in the authenticity of this tale. This is a special group of people who deserve our respect and admiration, in my opinion, and I'm glad that this series has shone a spotlight on them. I didn't think much about these heroes before, but I certainly do now.

I heartily recommend Ready-Made Family to readers in general, as well as the other books in the series. It is a romance but much more than that. A fairly easy and quick read, it's hard to put down until you're finished.

The book is available at most Christian book stores, on Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and Christianbook.com. For more information on all her books and about Cheryl Wyatt, visit her website at Cherylwyatt.com .