Whispers of the Bayou by Mindy Starns Clark

This is a story about the truth found in an old Cajun folktale.  For Miranda Miller, this truth changes the entire course of her life.  Upon returning to the state of her birth, Louisianna, Miranda finds out about her family and the history she never knew.  While making connections to the family around her, she is also discovering answers to questions she never dreamed she’d even have to ask.

This story has wonderful mystery and suspense…but if you’re looking for a spiritually uplifting novel, this is not it.  Although found in the Christian genre, I felt like the author just inserted a few religious sentences here and there.  The spirituality of the main characters wasn’t explored much at all.  There wasn’t a development of Miranda’s spirit.  I was disappointed in the spiritual aspect of the novel, but enjoyed the mystery!

Mississippi Weddings
by Janet Lee Barton

This is a book set up in three different stories.  The main characters of each story are mentioned in the next…this way you get to see more of the previous story continued while you identify with the current characters.

Unforgettable

Meagan is going to open up a shop in Magnolia Bay to try to help revive the small Mississippi town that’s being threatened by the big casinos.  She is originally from this small town and is excited to be able to help and to get to see her old high school friends again.

When she arrives in town her heart is struggling because her boyfriend Thad proposed to her before she left Dallas.  She told him she would have to think about it and she begins praying for God’s will for her life, and her romantic life.

She wasn’t counting on Nick Chamber’s being back in town.  Back in high school they’d dated and Nick broke it off and disappeared.  Now, with him back in town, Meagan begins trying to work through all the old anger, mistrust, and other feelings that he brings back into her life.

Meagan has to sort out her feelings toward two men:

Thad is a good christian man who loves her the way any christian woman would want to be loved.  He has proclaimed his feelings and is waiting on her to reciprocate in some way.  She knows that he would make a wonderful husband…

Nick has become a christian and has been working hard to make a reputable name for himself.  Meagan is trying not to judge him, but when she looks at him she can see the young man that he was in high school.  Could she trust that he has really changed?  Would Nick make a wonderful husband?…

Which man is God choosing for her very own “unforgettable” romance?

To Love Again

Ronni has been a widow now for a year.  She’s been living with her mother-in-law at the family mansion.  She is determined to never let another man close enough to hurt her the way Brian, her husband, did before he died.

Claudia, Ronni’s mother-in-law, is in a difficult situation and she calls her nephew, Cole, to see if he can help her fix it.  As the situation begins to be reveald, the family discovers what kind of man Brian truly was.   Ronni struggles to forgive Brian, and to open her heart to all of the possibilities of her future.

With Open Arms

Dani is hired as the city manager just as the city is beginning to brainstorm for creative ways to bring income to their small town.  Dani wants to bring in people who will love and appreciate the town and all the charm it has to offer.  She grew up in Magnolia Bay and doesn’t want it to turn into just another tourist attraction.

Thad receives a call from his once upon a time “almost” fiance, Meagan, wanting him to do an ad campaign for Magnolia Bay.  He’s never tried to sell a town before, but he agrees to come and have a look.  He meets with Dani and she shows him around the town and introduces him to new business owners and townspeople.

As Dani begins to realize that they share the same vision for her town, she starts to loosen the tight grip she has kept on her heart.  Will Thad see her for the loving, shy woman that she is?   Living in Mississippi, Dani has little time to concentrate on her feelings as a growing hurricane approaches.

Will Dani discover how she feels?  Will she get a chance to talk her feelings over with Thad?  Will Magnolia Bay survive the storm?

Kansas Weddings by Kim Vogel Sawyer

This book is written in three different stories with the characters from each interwoven into one another’s lives.

“Dear John”-  In this story the responsibility of taking care of John, her brother who has down syndrome, falls on Marin’s shoulders.  She struggles while trying to keep her independence and integrate John into her life.  Marin discovers the blessing that her brother truly is, while discovering God’s blessings in other areas of her life also.  It’s a story about acceptance, forgiveness, and love.

“That Wilder Boy”-  Carrie has always prayed that God would send her a man who cared for her, and didn’t just want to take her trust fund.   God answers her prayers and brings Rocky into her life, and he isn’t interested at all in her money.  So much so that he can’t get past the fact that she has so much of it.  Carrie strives to help Rocky see that she is not just her trust fund, and once again she prays to be loved for who she is.  Rocky grew up poor and has a hard time feeling equal when around Carrie.  This story is about accepting the blessings that God gives you and being thankful for them, no matter how big or small they may be.

“Promising Angela”-  Angela leaves drug rehab with a light heart.  Not only is she clean and comitted to staying that way, but she also developed a relationship with God while in rehab.  Angela goes to New Beginnings to finish the remaining ten months of probation from her drug charge, and she is determined to become the woman that God created her to be.  While struggling to stay out of her old life and away from her old friends, she develops a friendship with Ben.  Ben helps her stay on track, but never has faith that she is going to stay clean.  Bens doubt is very discouraging.  Distancing himself from Angela, Ben creates the need for her to find friends because she is so lonely.  While attending a singles retreat camp a situation arrises that could make or break the life Angela has created.  Will Ben have faith in her?  Will she be the woman God wants her to be?

Take One by Karen Kingsbury

Well…Kingsbury has done it again!  For those of us who loved the Baxters, they are continued in this series as minor characters.  You get a view into what is going on in their lives now!

In this series two missionary friends decide to create a producing company and produce Christian focused films.  The story takes you through Chase and Keith’s family and what they go through while producing their first faith-based film.

Kingsbury does such a good job of getting the reader involved in all of the characters’ lives in Take One.

Andi is Keith’s daughter and it’s her first year of college life.  She’s always seen herself as a Missionary Kid and wants to experience every aspect of college life.

Bailey, from the Baxter series, is also beginning her first year of college life and she is Andi’s roommate.  She’s struggling with discovering her feelings for Cody and Tim.  Both are young men she cares for, but does she love either?

Chase, the co-producer of the film, struggles to keep his Christian example spotless as he resists the advances of the lead actress and tries to remain faithful to his wife.  At the same time, he tries to resist defeat as trials come up and upset the making of the movie.

Kieth, the steadfast person of faith in this book, struggles to encourage everyone and to give his daughter, Andi, the guidance she needs from him this year.  While keeping a strong faith, he solves issues that come up in the making of the film and grows as a father for his “little girl” who isn’t as naive as he hoped.

This story is a great look into the difficulty of creating a faith-focused film and the ramifications of that process on all involved.  This was a great read and I can’t wait for the next book in the series.  The sad news is that I’ll have to wait until this summer for that chance!

I just finished reading the Twilight Saga (Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn) by Stephenie Meyer for the fourth time.  I read through it this last time looking specifically at the religious implications of the story.  Have any of you looked at this aspect?

The first few times I read Twilight, I was so caught up in the story that I didn’t try to analyze any other ideas in the books.  It wasn’t until we were discussing the series in Sunday School that I really got to thinking about it.

I’m sure a lot of skeptics of the morality of the Twilight series.  But I read through the books looking for positive ideals that go along with the Christian Faith.

First, Edward struggles with the idea that he might not have a soul, and therefore might end up in Hell.  The fact that Heaven and Hell are even brought up in a mainstream fiction was very encouraging to me.  Also, Edward’s goal is to get Bella to the “better place” aka Heaven, even if he doesn’t get to go there.  A true evangelistic heart!  Edward demonstrates a very sincere, selfless kind of love, the kind of love a Christian should have.

The second thing that I found very encouraging for a mainstream fiction is the abstinence of the main characters.  Very rarely, if ever, is abstinence until marriage written about in a top selling fiction novel.  Even more rare is the fact that the motivation for that abstinence is the fate of the characters’ souls.

I loved being able to read this series the third and fourth time knowing that while immersed in Edward and Bella’s world, there would be a morality that would allow me to read with a clear conscious.  With some secular fiction you have to be very careful.  In this series of novels there are a few places where the characters use cursing to express themselves, but I would guess it is much less than many of us hear in our everyday lives.

Overall, I loved this saga.  I would encourage each of you to read it and form your own opinions about it.  Some Christian associates of mine have discredited the Twilight Saga because it is about mythical “monsters” that are supposed to be evil, yet these people haven’t read the books.  I’m one who likes to take in all the information and form my own opinions.  Let me know what you think!

Hey avid Kingsbury fans!  A new series has begun.  Karen Kingsbury is working on a new series and here are the titles and release dates!

Above the Line Series:

Book One- Above the Line:  Take One (In stores now!)

Book Two-Above the Line:  Take Two (summer 2009)

Book Three-Above the Line:  Take Three (spring 2010)

Book Four-Above the Line:  Take Four (summer 2010)

For those of us who like to read an entire series at once, we have a while to wait for all of the books to be completed!  I hope everyone enjoys this new series!

A New Promise by Julie Eller

I was very excited to receive this book in the mail.  I have to say, I was pleased with the writing.  Julie Eller holds the attention of the reader while developing a heartwarming story around a controversial issue.

The story centers around a farmer, Scott, who has two children, Tyler and Tawnya, and is facing the issue of having to take his wife, Rachel, off of life support.  She is suffering from Huntington’s.

Controversy begins when Scott begins to fall in love while his wife is still on life support.  What would you do?  How do you keep your faith intact and remain faithful to your wife while dealing with “inappropriate” feelings?  Julie Eller brings up so many questions and weaves the answers into the story in a way that leaves you feeling hopeful.

This story is thought provoking and an encouragement for faith.  Eller makes you struggle along with the main characters to develop your own view on so many deeper issues.  I really enjoyed this challenging read.