(I wrote this over a year ago, but forgot to publish it here. Since this is on my 2014 top ten list, I felt I needed to post it.)
Buy
it Here
Description:
What do
Brigadoon, saris, epic laser tag games, and Jesus have in common? Hope. She’s a
Christian with a passion for life and a fascination with Jay’s heritage. He’s
an Indian with a fledgling interest in learning about the Hope within Hope.
After reading Noble Pursuits with my friend Jessica, I was more than happy to
agree that Discovering Hope be our next book to read together. Neither of us
were disappointed with this second installment of the Rockland Chronicles.
One of my favorite things about Havig’s
books is that they are down to earth. Her stories are about ordinary people
with their everyday problems. She has a talent for making the mundane, everyday
things seem very interesting.
This book is about Hope, a girl with a
strong faith in God despite the fact that she lost her brother in a car
accident the year before. While at college, she meets Jay, a young man from
India. So begins a wonderful friendship.
One of the things I most appreciated
about this book was Jay’s struggle to accept Hope’s faith. It wasn’t easy for
him, and it wasn’t quick. Too many books make it sound so easy, but often it is
a long struggle.
The romance in this book, like all of
Havig’s books, is sweet and based on friendship, not just gushy feelings. I
love the way she balances the friendship and the romance so well in her
stories.
There were some sad parts to this book,
but it made it really, really good. I don’t have a single complaint about this
story.
I highly recommend this book to those
who like romance that is based on something more than feelings, stories about
everyday people, and authors who are not afraid to let their faith take center
stage.
There are times that I look back and smile. I see the lessons I have learned and the ways God has taught me and how I have grown and changed for the better. There are other times I shake my head and wonder how I have gone so long without mastering something that seems so basic to our faith.
Right now, I am shaking my head.
There are some people hurting in my life, and God has used them to show me that I often carry burdens that He never intended me to. I see people I care about about struggling with their faith, and I want to say the right things to make it all right. I want to take away the pain I see in so many of the others around me. I see my sister who wants to be married, struggling to wait for the right guy and I want to find a way to make her happy. All of these I feel weigh me down and become burdens.
This month, some hard things have happened (on an emotional level), and I have been sick. Both of those things have caused me to stay away from blogging and to spend a lot of time at the feet of Jesus. God has been reminding me both in my time with Him and the people around me that I am not supposed to carry the weight of the world on my shoulders, that is God's task.
I wish I had some great suggestions on how to do this, but I am in the middle of the lesson. I am spending a lot of time praying, and I am making sure I am sharing what is going on in my heart with at least my Mom as sharing does help.
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7
