Tag Archive | Baker Publishing

The Roads We Follow by Nicole Deese

Apr27

Freedom & Peace

The Roads We Follow by Nicole Deese is a perfectly charming contemporary Christian novel that I adored. It is part of A Fog Harbor Romance series and can be read as a stand-alone.

The story is seen through two alternating points of view as a famous singer mother re-enacts a road trip of thirty years ago but now, she is with her daughters. It is a trip of enlightenment where hearts heal, relationships are restored and lives turn to God. Each day of the journey is dedicated to God. “We’re not to start any day of this special journey without a prayer asking God for protection, guidance, and some good, honest fun.”

We all need God in our lives. We need Him in every area. Songs open our hearts to Him when our eyes are fixed on Him. “Stage fright means I’m focusing too much on myself and not enough on who we’re singing to – God.”

Prayer is important. “It felt like an answer to a prayer I didn’t even know how to pray.” God hears the cries of our hearts even when we have no words.

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Hearts In Circulation by Sarah Monzon

Mar26

So Delightful

Hearts In Circulation by Sarah Monzon is a very charming Christian contemporary novel that I absolutely loved and savoured every minute.

Sarah Monzon has a wonderfully fun style as her lead character Hayley has a joi de vivre about life. Her enthusiasm is infectious, spreading not only to the characters but to the reader too. Hayley’s casual, fun outlook on life helps others to relax, especially mechanic Levi who finds mixing with people hard – he has a sensory disorder. The kindness of Hayley sees Levi coming out of his shell. “He’d never thought it would happen, but Levi had… found… someone who quietened his spirit and calmed the chaos inside him.” We all need that one person who ‘gets’ us.

Having had a liver transplant at age twelve, Hayley lives every day as if it were her last. “You simply cannot repay someone for saving your life… especially when that person had to die to do it.” We hear how she wants her life to “make it count.” She does not want the sacrifice of another to be in vain.

Every day is the opportunity to ‘pay-it-forward.’ “Intentionally trying to bless someone with a random act of kindness.” Hayley has been given the gift of life and tries to do good deeds daily. She is trying to repay what was given as a gift. She wants to think herself worthy of that gift – but it was a gift and she can never work her way to payment. “It’s a blessing I feel the weight of responsibility for every single day.”

Hayley learns about the gift of salvation. “You can’t earn the gift of salvation by good works.” Jesus paid for our sins by His blood. We can never repay Him. It was a free gift to us that cost Jesus everything. Jesus was motivated by His love for us.

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Meet Me At The Starlight by Rachel Hauck

Mar8

Immanuel God With Us

Meet Me At The Starlight by Rachel Hauck is a powerful and beautiful Christian dual timeline novel that I adored from the start.

The novel is set during the Depression of the 1930’s and in 1987 in Sea Blue Beach as we follow lead character Tuesday Knight in both periods – as a young mother, and then an old grandmother. She is the owner of the Starlight skating rink.

The Starlight skating rink is very much a character in its’ own right. It is the place where life happens from the 1880’s when Prince Blue encountered Immanuel after a shipwreck on Sea Blue Beach. Prince Blue had the rink built and had a giant mural of Immanuel painted on a wall, looking down over the people.

Immanuel is not just a painting. He meets people just when they need Him. “He was more alive than anyone she’d ever known.” He breaks bread, cooks fish, and imparts His Presence into hearts. “You saw God and He left you a piece of heaven.”

Lead character, Tuesday, was shown kindness by Prince Blue when she was down on her luck. She now helps others in need, with the one request – that they pay-it-forward when they can.

When the Starlight is threatened with demolition, people step forward as they want to save it. Tuesday believes “I know I can trust Him [God]. If He doesn’t save us, He must have a better plan.” Sometimes we have to trust God in the dark. Hold on, hope is coming. “We’ve seen what man can do, now let’s see what God can do.” God’s best is more than we could ever hope for.

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What Happens Next by Christina Suzann Nelson

Feb20

Heartbreakingly Beautiful

What Happens Next by Christina Suzann Nelson is a most beautiful and heartbreaking Christian dual timeline novel that consumed me from the start. I never wanted it to end.

The action is set in 1987 and then thirty-five years later. We hear the events in the third person from several different points of view. We get to know the characters intimately from ten-year-old Heather in 1987 to her best friend and her mother thirty-five years later. It is love and memories which link the lives.

Since 1987 Heather has been missing. Her mother has been unable to grieve as she is keeping hope alive. “Hope was life-giving… Could she survive without hope?”

The loss has torn the family apart. The love of God and each other is the glue needed to help them all to live again. We hear “she’d turned her back on God… But that didn’t stop Him from being there, still waiting on His lost child.” God, our Father lovingly awaits the prodigal returning home.

Heather’s mother, Dora, held everyone at arm’s length since her daughter’s disappearance. “Her heart battled to keep a barrier between herself and the kind of love that could end in devastating loss.” To love and to lose hurts too much to do again, so it is easier to wall up a heart. “The world kept spinning, no matter how much Dora needed it to stop.” We can never fathom why life continues when our hearts are broken.

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