Joyness Sparkles: Good Christian...Belles?

I thought I better not type the actual word of the original title as it has offended so many people. If there is one way someone can get me interested in a subject it is through controversy. For some reason I am attracted to subjects that large marjorities of people take issue over. With that said, I had to watch the show. Now, as I do not have cable, I had to wait for ABC to load the weekly episodes and then watch them later in the week. So needless to say, I was behind everyone else.

The book was at our library so I checked it out and read it all the way through as I thought that might be important in helping me form my opinion. It was. My conclusion? Everyone was making a big deal out of nothing. Those that railed against the book and the television show had obviously not read the book. They had made a judgement call based on a title and most likely the cover of the book which shows a small bit of cleavage. This does not speak highly for the intelligence of the people who were protesting and boycotting. Have we not all heard the phrase, "Never judge a book by it's..."

I do have another theory about the reason that GCB was fought against so hard. Here is my therory: the people, mainly women, that fought against this idea, were guilty of being exactly what the title of the book states and were in fear of being exposed for what they truly are. There is my theory. Very simplistic and to the point.

So what exactly does the book deal with that is so controversial? Envy and gossip. That is right, even Christian women deal with envy. I know...I had lost two ministry positions in the past due to Christian women and their envy problems. And yes, Christian women have very serious issues with gossip (before anyone gets angry, yes, there are always exceptions to the rule). I know this quite well as even my family members got on board with malicious church gossip directed at me after my mother passed away. Someday I may share about that story and the consequences that happened with my immediate family (husband and children) because of it.

The storyline plays out in a Dallas, Texas suburb (high class) and the local church. The main character has to attempt to put her life and her children's lives back together after a very ugly divorce. Her high school friends that have always been jealous of her do not see the hurt she is going through, rather envy takes over, as she might potentially hurt their love lives (in their minds). They make life very miserable for her and their actions even end up hurting her children. I think that is a very important aspect of the book as no one's actions only touch one person. Every action or word has a ripple effect.

Even in the face of controversy and at the risk of losing readers, I will say that yes, I support the author Kim Gatlin and the television show GCB. I loved the message of the book and I very much enjoyed the humor and down to earth issues that the television show had to offer. But even more than that, I support people being able to make their own choices on what they choose to read and what they choose to watch. I do not believe in controlled media.