Love in a Broken Vessel by Mesu Andrews

This book is a beautiful picture of redemption and of how God brings something absolutely beautiful from something that seems like such a mess.  A biblical fiction novel, this book focuses on Hosea, a minor prophet in Scripture, and his harlot wife, Gomer.

God called Hosea to do some hard things, and this was one of them.  To imagine what he was thinking when God told him to marry Gomer!  I'm sure my first thought would have been, "Seriously?!" 

It took me some time to relate to Gomer but I was able to feel compassion for her as I thought about what she must have experienced in her life and what had led her to prostitution.  And how beautiful that God chose Hosea, a man of God, to pour out love on her, to look past her faults, and to help her see the God he loved and worshipped.

As you read through Hosea, you see this beautiful picture of us, His children, and how we are the harlots.  God still loves us and pursues us thought and longs for us to come to him, but we tend to give our attentions and love to anyone and anything but Him.

Mesu Andrews has painted a beautiful picture in my mind that I will always remember and think about as I read through Hosea.  She has such a gift to bring to life a book in the Bible that we think is sometimes hard to relate to.

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I received this book free from Revell Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

The Chance by Karen Kingsbury

Karen Kingsbury never fails to write a good story!  I don't think I have ever been disappointed by one of her books and highly doubt that I ever will be.  I was hooked on this book from the first page and couldn't put it down.  Any time I could sneak in a chapter to read, I did.

 

I love how Kingsbury can take such tragedies and show the good in them and how God could possibly bring beauty from what seems like ashes.  Who would think that an old oak tree would be the center of such a great story.

 

I loved both Ellie and Nolan and my heart broke for both of them as they both experienced their own tragedies in life.  They both made two different choices out of the tragedy, but God still brought something good out of each person.  I think it shows how even our messes can still be redeemed by the love of God.  It also reminds of us how much judgment hurts and how it can cut to the core and devastate people.

 

I am very much looking forward to her next novel which is supposed to be out in October.  I'm glad that I never have to wait too long to read one of her books!

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I received this book free from Howard Books in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Privilege of Persecution by Dr. Carl A. Moeller & David W. Hegg

The title of this book attracted me to this book.  I was startled when I had read a quote in the VOM magazine when one man asked for the readers to not pray for their persecution to end but to pray for the strength to endure.  They talked about how persecution was growing the global church and they didn't want the persecution to end, but for their focus to remain centered on God.  The whole time I was reading this book, I thought of that man.

This book is divided into 6 different chapters: God and His Word; Worship and the Church; Prayer and Dependence; Community, Culture, and Evangelism; Leadership, Authority, and Power; Generosity and Stewardship.

I liked a lot in the book, but I was deeply challenged by the Prayer and Dependence chapter.  I think the way that American depend on God and how those in the persecuted church depend on God are totally different, due to persecution.  When you are depending on God for your life or those of your family, you have a certain level of knowing God is the only one who can keep you alive.  I'm not minimizing what Americans face, but it is different from those in persecuted countries.

I also liked the Community, Culture, and Evangelism chapter.  All of the statements about time are so true.  Sometimes our time is so filled up that we can't hear God or we don't have a deep relationship with Him because we don't give Him much time unless we are in a bind.  However, those being persecuted are forced to put their attentions on God and rely on Him for everything.

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I received this book free from Moody Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

One Glorious Ambition by Jane Kirkpatrick

I can only begin to imagine how much time this book took to research and write.  Jane Kirkpatrick had to have spent countless hours pouring over much information and trying her hardest to condense it into an interesting fiction book that is full of correct, historical facts.  I like that about her.  I love to learn, but sometimes I don't like reading textbook facts from books.  It's much more fun to learn great historical records from a fiction book and then to go back later and research it some more.

Being a music therapist and working a lot with the mentally ill, I found Dorothea Dix to be an amazing woman in her advocacy for the mentally ill patients and their care.  You can see that through her life, God had prepared her to be used for this cause.  He gave her all the knowledge that she would need and placed her at the right places at the right times to be a voice for the mentally ill patients.

I like how this book focuses on the different years of her life.  I feel like our younger years define much of us and to leave that information out would have been a disservice.  She learned a lot from her earlier years, which led to her being used as she grew older.  Her home life was not one to be desired, but she is a huge example of someone who turned it around and let God do something amazing with her life.  What a testimony!

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I received this book from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion of this book. 

Moonlight Masquerade by Ruth Axtell

This book had so many twists and turns in it that I found myself staying up quite late just to finish it!  Just when I thought I knew something would happen to one of the characters, I was wrong.  I kept thinking that their masks would be revealed earlier than when they were because they kept finding themselves in predicaments.  I liked how she kept certain main details out of the beginning of the book.  It lead to the suspense and intrigue.

 

I had a hard time figuring out the cook and lady's maid.  I knew they were somehow involved with Lady Celine Wexham's side, but wasn't really for sure how or to what extent.  I liked that their relationship with her wasn't immediately clear and that there was an air of mystery around her relationship with her late husband.

 

I think if I had to sum up the style of this book, it would be mystery, romance, denial, and setting aside hierarchy.  If you like Downton Abbey, then you would most definitely like this book.  It is set in 1813, but has the whole idea of the estates and Countesses and butlers. 

 

This book is a Regency Romance novel and is set to have her next novel out in the Spring of 2014.  I am anxiously awaiting her book.  She has a wonderful style of writing that makes you feel like you're caught in the middle of two people who are socially forbidden from each other because of circumstances.

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I received this book free from Revell Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

Goodbye to Yesterday by Wanda E. Brunstetter

I'll admit that when I first got this book, I looked up the pages online to make sure that I had all of the book!  It was a little, compact book that I wasn't for sure could hold a lot of information!  However, it held a lot of story within those pages and I was delighted to find that the suspense level I had the end made me want to grab the next book right away to see what happened to Luke Stoltzfus.

Luke and Meridith seemed to have a wonderful relationship, but it tries every marriage when a husband is out of a job.  He was meant to provide and I was glad to see this as part of the storyline, especially with today's economy.  I think this book is very easy to relate to for people today because of so many people without jobs and living off their savings.

I am anxiously awaiting to read the rest of the books in this new series.  This is the first book in Wanda E. Brunstetter's series, The Discovery.

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I received this book free from Barbour Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

Unbreakale by Nancy Mehl

The cover of this book is very intriguing.  I have to say that was what first drew me to read this book.  At first I thought it would be a scary suspense book, but I was glad to realize that it was indeed suspenseful but not scary.  Once I got into the first couple of chapters, I understood the cover and it helped to add some imagery to the story.

 

The story itself is unlike one I've read before.  I was gripped during the first chapter and couldn't put this book down.  I really like Amish/Mennonite stories, so the fact that it was based on a Mennonite community also made me want to read this book.

 

I found it very interesting to consider the concept of self-protection among the Mennonite community.  That is one issue that I've often wondered about.  I liked the conflicting thoughts between different members where some thought it was okay to protect their families and others in the community though that they should only rely on God.

 

I was glad that Hope followed her heart.  I originally liked Jonathan the most because he had rescued her from a certain death situation.  However,  I think that Ebbie won major points with me with his selflessness and how he wanted Hope to follow her heart and explore her heart.

 

This book is the second book in the Road to Kingdom series.  I haven't read the first book, but I'm now searching for it!

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You can buy this book at http://ow.ly/huFtI 

 

Meet Nancy:

Nancy Mehl lives in Wichita, Kansas, with her husband Norman and her very active puggle, Watson. She's authored fourteen books and is currently at work on a new series for Bethany House Publishing. All of Nancy's novels have an added touch - something for your spirit as well as your soul. "I welcome the opportunity to share my faith through my writing," Nancy says. "God is number one in my life. I wouldn't be writing at all if I didn't believe that this is what He's called me to do. I hope everyone who reads my books will walk away with the most important message I can give them: God is good, and He loves you more than you can imagine. He has a good plan for your life, and there is nothing you can't overcome with His help." Readers can learn more about Nancy through her Web site: www.nancymehl.com. She is also active on Facebook.

 

To read more reviews on this book, go to http://litfusegroup.com/author/nmehl

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I received this book free from Bethany House Publishers and Litfuse Publicity Group in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.