From out of the heart, the mouth speaks

Here are a few more excerpts from the book, When Crickets Cry.

Tme main character and his wife are praying together before bed,

Husband: "...if you're all out of options, then let's give Emma my heart. It's a good strong one."
After the prayer, Emma (his wife): "You can't give what you don't have."
Husband: "But--,"
Emma: "You already gave it to me."

So sweet!

This one is a little longer. The husband is talking to a kid who is looking at porn magazines.

Husband: "Your mind imprints images, especially that kind, on the heart, so that ten and fifteen years down the road, when you're married and trying to make something out of your life, thye come drifting back, bubbling up and reminding you how much greener the grass is outside your own bed. I have loved one woman in my lifetime...she's been gone five years, but, I've got enough memories to last a lifetime, and I wouldn't sell you a single one for every picture in every magazine around the world. And you know something-the ones where she has her clothes on are worth just as much as the ones without," "Love is no tool; neither is a woman's heart."

Kid: "I think you need to test drive a few cars before you buy one."

Husband: "You can buy that lie if you want, but if you're working for a bank, you don't study the counterfeit to know the real thing. You study the real thing to know the counterfeit," "From out of the heart, you speak. You put that crap in your heart, and you can't help but find it coming out your mouth. It'll color and flavor your whole person. Pretty soon, it'll eat you up."

I finished this book and absolutely loved it and can't wait to read more by this author, Charles Martin. So good!

When Crickets Cry

I'm currently reading this book. It's Christian fiction, and really good so far. It's about this guy who had a wife who had heart problems and died. It centers around his life and this little girl he helped who got hit by a truck, and also has heart problems. In his town, there's a guy, Davis, who owns this bar and grill type of place. Davis went to a monastery for five years. The outside of his bar has signs that promise "cold beer," "naked women," and "adult toys." However, when you get inside, there's nothing like that. His beer is watered down, and he serves underage people with fake id's non-alcoholic beer without them realizing it until they notice they aren't getting drunk like they're expecting to. His bar is covered with chalkboards with the Ten Commandments and Bible Verses. His cocktail napkins have Bible Verses printed on them. He holds Bible Studies every Tue/Thur/Sun. The main character talks about how he isn't sure if Davis' way of drawing people in is right or wrong. I was thinking about it. I also can't decide if it's right or wrong. I mean, it seems like he's tricking people into coming to his bar. But, he has successful results. Do the results make it right to trick people? I'll have to think on that one.

A few excerpts from the book that I really like:

Davis: "The people who are really thirsty aren't going to church on Sunday. they're driving around this lake, running from their secrets, looking for a good, quiet, fill-your- stomach place to eat. Trying to fill that God shaped hole with a bigger house, another boat, a second mistress, whatever. So let's take the bucket to them. Speak to the heart, and the head will follow. And the fastest way to the heart is through the stomach. I want to get in the business of making God-shaped cheeseburgers."

Right before that, the main character was talking about the woman at the well, "Yet, He spoke to her and loved her despite all the baggage she brought with her. Something about how he treated her was magnetic, because she wanted to be there. Like all of us, she was thirsty, and when He pulled that bucket up just spilling over with clear, cool water, she shoved her whole face in it and sucked it dry."

A little later on, the main character and a few other guys are in Davis' bar talking to a stranger who's having a hard time believing he's been tricked into drinking non-alcoholic beer. He goes to the bathroom and Davis says to the guys, "People dying of thirst in a desert will do just about anything for even one sip of water, And that kid"-he pointed toward the bathroom-"is parched."

It's easy to see that Davis is really passionate about leading people to Christ. I'm just not sure if I agree with the way he does it. People eventually find out his tricks, and they still come to his Bible Studies and bar. I dunno. Anyone got any thoughts?