Warning: Longish post. You might need to refresh your coffee before reading.

Okay, I’m practicing my being honest approach, so I’m just going to get this out there: I want to duct tape Casey Anthony’s mouth and nose, then throw her in a swimming pool.

I’m not proud of thinking that, but I’ll own it.

I wasn’t going to write about this case because it has obsessed the collective consciousness of our nation, and I didn’t want to become part of the social feeding frenzy. But (there’s always a but…) I read a few items that propelled me to the head of the class for anger management therapy.

Ready? Here they are:

1. Casey was found not guilty of first-degree murder, child abuse, and manslaughter, much to the shock of prosecutors and the majority of the public.

2. Heading off for victory drinks mid-afternoon at a local restaurant across the street from the courthouse, the defense attorneys celebrated unabashedly, popping champagne and dancing, ironically after attorney Jose Baez had just stated there were no winners in the case because Caylee was dead.

3. But it is being reported that book publishers in New York are in a bidding war to land Anthony’s tell-all book. The price tag is up to $3 million, according to ABC News.Publishing agents also told ABC News that Anthony could make upwards of $750,000 with a book deal just a month after being released from jail. It’s likely that television and movie producers will also compete to score the rights to her life story.

4  Anthony wrote a letter to a friend not too long ago while in the Florida prison saying she dreamt of writing a book. She described it as a “partial memoir/comedy/relationship advice book for those not in the know.” She said that it would be a way to settle many rumors and to share insight about love, life, and God. Public records show Anthony has already purchased more than 20 pens in the jail commissary.

5. Analysts say a total figure on the cost to the state and to the taxpayers has not been totaled, but the figure could be topping out at some $4.5 million.

6. Before being declared indigent, Anthony’s private sources totaled:$275,000, including $200,000 paid by ABC News
Of that, $121,954.83 went to attorneys and a media consultant.

7. Defense lawyers had argued for a maximum of one year because the four lies were told on the same day, July 16, 2008.

8.Just one day after her not guilty verdict for murdering her young daughter Caylee Anthony reports have been highlighting Anthony’s expression of wanting to get pregnant again on her release.

(all from The Christian Post)

I’m not going to gnaw into these individually because I’m on deadline for another book (more about that happy news to come!), and I would wear my fingers to the knuckles.

In processing all of the above and the news that keeps assaulting us like rocks from 18-wheelers, I realized how much I wrestled with my faith. I didn’t want to be a Christian listening to the verdict and the everything else. I didn’t want to hear Jesus loves us all or that my sin of dishonesty is on the same level as Casey Anthony’s (well, only in the way I see her because she doesn’t think she killed her daughter). I didn’t care about mercy and forgiveness.

I wanted someone to take responsibility for the death of  that precious little girl. And when that person did, I wanted him or her to suffer. To suffer like she did. Or more. Until my hypocrisy slapped me in the face like a wet fish.

I’ve been chanting this mantra since The Edge of Grace, my second book, released: God calls us to love. Period. No comma. No question mark. Period.

Sometimes I really irk myself. Hoisted with my own petard. Once again, God reminded me that I am not the boss of Him.  I stopped looking for more to become angry about and started looking for more to pray about. And I found:

• If Casey Anthony did murder her daughter, our hearts can rest because justice either already has been done (at the cross) or will be done in the future (hell). Christian forgiveness isn’t a cheap “Ahhh, that’s no big deal, buddy!” forgiveness.  It’s a deep and grave forgiveness based on a just God who forgives at the cost of his own Son’s life.  Because God is just, all wrongs will be recompensed.  If the murderer of Caylee Anthony trusts Christ, then God’s wrath for this murder was poured out on Jesus at The Cross and justice was done.  Or if the murderer of Caylee Anthony resists God in unbelief, God’s wrath for this murder will be poured out in the eternal, conscious torment of hell.  A deep faith in this God of Justice should give us hearts that can forgive others and rest. ———-Josh Howerton

And this:

The system in which we place our trust found her not guilty.
So then.
What to do now?
What to do after all the tweets and blogs about how she should pay. What do we do when she walks into your church this Sunday?
What do we do with someone who claims one thing yet the world believes another?
Who is seeking refuge from the world in the arms of our body?
How do you respond?
How should the church respond?
How do you think a church ACTUALLY would respond?——-from The Ragamuffin Soul

So, ultimately, I decided to: “Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the floor in the morning, the devil says, ‘Oh, crap. She’s up.’”