Blink of an Eye by Ted Dekker

Cover Description

The future changes in the blink of an eye . . . or does it?

Miriam is a Saudi princess promised to another, a pawn in a political struggle that could shift the balance of power in the Middle East.

Seth is a certified genius with a head full of numbers, a life full of baggage, and an attitude born on the waves of the Pacific.

Cultures collide when they find themselves thrown together as fugitives in a high-stakes chase across Southern California. A growing attraction and a search for answers fuel their fight to survive . . . but with no sleep and a massive manhunt steadily closing in, their chances of surviving any future are razor thin.

My Review

I've had this book for a year and have been waiting for just the right time to read it. I have to say I am so glad I did! This books main focal point is about love and how it changes things; how it changes everything. That's not all I took away from this book though. About halfway or so through the book, Seth theorizes how God can't exist because of these visions he's having. So he sets out to prove to Miriam, who believes there is a God, by praying and asking God to change something in the immediate future. At first it seemed it hadn't worked, but less than minute into his boasting he had yet another vision that altered his course and shook him. 

What interested me and had me thinking was: I've had dreams before that have later come true. Sometimes not for months later sometimes only moments. I don't remember the dreams most of the time until they begin to come true and I get this deja vu affect. Now I'm not claiming I see the future or anything of the sort, but it made me wonder why God gives us those kinds of dreams. 

This one time when I was in the hospital I had a terrible nightmare, it was so real. When I woke up I remembered every detail of it. These two nurses came in to draw my blood and change my IV's but this one new nurse messed up and hit a vein and I began bleeding to death. It scared me and so I prayed to God that it wouldn't happen. Two days later the very nurse who I had yet to meet came into my room. It shook me up a little bit, I told my mom I had seen this woman in my dreams before. I also prayed to God again to not let anything go wrong while this woman was caring for me. Sure enough, that same day the woman came in to change my IV's and called in the other woman and there they both stood, just as they had in my dream. Even talking about some of the exact same things. I was concerned when they were having trouble with whatever they were doing, but I prayed the entire time and I even asked my mom to pray before they came in there and the Lord answered and changed that part of my dream from becoming a reality. 

So why did God send me that dream? Was it to turn to Him and ask for help? Did he send an angel down to show me so I could ask for his protection? God knows everything, but he also gave us free will and we choose whether to believe in Him, to trust Him, and to come to Him in our times of trouble too. Had I not prayed for God's protection I believe that dream would've been my reality. 

That's what I gained from this book. 

It's God's love for us that he does all these things: protects, shelters, warns us of pending danger. The reason I say pending is because anything can change in just a blink of an eye when we bring God into our lives and turn to him for everything in ours. 

 I give this book 4.5 out of 5! The reason it's not a full 5 is because I really felt Christianity wasn't pointed out clearly. Miriam wasn't a Christian but she believed in a God of love; Seth didn't believe in either but he knew the differences between them but didn't really speak beyond that. It could be slightly confusing, in my opinion. Otherwise, loved it!

Brave!

Let's face it, sometimes life just seems so crazy hard! One of my closest friends told me once "you are so brave, I've never seen anyone who could handle the things the way you do." That was one of the greatest complements I received, but I couldn't take the credit for it. It was Jesus that made it all possible. He made me strong though I was weak and couldn't breath, He caught every tear I spilled than dried my face and built me back up.

I think the word "brave" has has received a bit of bad reputation because people throughout history went from using it as a way of encouraging and building people up to a way of telling you to hide it all away. What is the true definition of brave?

Definition of Brave:

1. ready to face and endure danger or pain; showing courage

Jesus doesn't say to hide away but to not be afraid, to lean on him and take courage because He is with you! {Matthew 14:27 NLT}

Definition of Courage:

1.  the ability to do something that frightens one

God gives us the ability to be brave when we seek him in everything we do. In the joy and the sorrow of today and tomorrow. Don't think being brave means shoving the things you are afraid of in the closet, but take them before our Lord and He will take care of you {Psalms 55:22 NLT}. The struggles, the trials, the battles we face today are put before us to make our faith and trust stronger in HIM.

" These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world." --1 Peter 1:7 (NLT)

 How can Jesus make you brave today? Leave your comments below.

Boiling Pan of Spaghetti!

Ever just feel like taking a pan of Spaghetti sauce and dumping it on the top of your sisters head?

Yes, I truly felt like doing that yesterday afternoon! Ha ha. I went to bed much earlier than I usually do and woke up just as early. I was full of energy when I got up and decided it was a great time to clean the kitchen! It was spotless. However, people have to eat, which means cooking and messing up the kitchen, right? No biggie, I understand that. But 30 minutes before my sister is about to get ready to go work I come in the kitchen and her mess is still there after two hours! Okay, so no biggie, she still has thirty minutes before she leaves, but just in case I'll remind her and ask if she'll clean it up before she goes. 

Let's just say it didn't go over too well. She was on Skype with her BF and that meant "I can't be bothered" and "don't you dare bother me". My feelings were actually kind of hurt by her attitude and lack of consideration that she would be leaving me with her mess to clean up. 

I didn't get furious with her (like I used to) but my thoughts did turn to that pan of cold spaghetti sauce... No, I didn't actually do it. But she had just finished taking a shower and it was a tempting thought. If I wouldn't get in major trouble, I might have done it just for the laughs (I never get to do anything like that!) but instead I took a deep breath and just waited. Rather than getting upset I let God handle it, whether she washed them or not, I was going to stay calm and not let my crazy emotions get the better of me. But I also prayed that she would come wash them before she left because I really wasn't feeling well enough to cleaning another mess right then, which meant my other sister would have to clean up after it and that didn't seem fair to me either. 

About 10 minutes later she did come in and clean her mess before going to work! Praise Jesus! 

"Sensible people control their temper; they earn respect by overlooking wrongs." ~Proverbs 19:11

Though I've not always been good at keeping my temper in the past, since truly seeking God and trusting Him I've learned to stay calm despite the boiling pan of spaghetti on the stove!

How have you kept your cool in a heated kitchen?

Miss Tadoodles Daily Challenge Blog!

We had Chinese food the other night and I love eating fortune cookies. Not just because they are one of the most awesome cookies ever, but they also carry little notes inside that I find quite numerous, accurate, and sometime encouraging. Like these two right here!

"A healthy body will benefit you forever. :)"

"Good health will be yours for a long time. :)" 

Perfect timing for what I'm about to to tell you and having been planning the last couple of weeks!

I'm starting another blog!

"Miss Tadoodles Daily Challenge"

This one is purposefully for diet and exercise motivation journaling! Go on over and check it out! Follow if you're interested. I just launched it so there's only the welcome wagon to greet you, but I hope to share more with you in the days and weeks to come. 

You all have a blessed evening!