Month: September 2022

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Honor Bound, by Hallee Bridgeman, 2022, Revell (Baker Publishing Group)

First in Honor series by Hallee Bridgeman
Honor Bound

Medical Missionary meets Captain

Medical missionary meets special forces captain in an African jungle. He kills to save her from a terrorizing warlord. That’s the mix.

Cynthia Myers, the missionary doctor, is first repeled by, then attracted to Captain Rick Norton. They’re on opposite sides of the fence; her side being love and mercy, his killing the enemy.

The author successfully explores the boundaries between the two. Must they stay on opposite sides, or is there a way they can meet in the middle? Is killing ever justified? Is there a place for Christian warriors to kill enemies?

Hallee Bridgeman, via the soul-searching heroine, clarifies these issues in the minds of readers. She speaks from first-hand knowledge as the wife and daughter of warriors. I personally found it helpful in sorting out my own stance.

Are they just too different?

Bridgeman also brings out the dichotomy between values and ways of thinking in different cultures and classes of people. The heroine struggles to find a place to fit in when she returns to America. Will this medical missionary resolve her own prejudices and acknowledge her love for Captain Rick Norton?

At the back of the book, the author provides a list of thought-provoking questions for a book club. This will surely lead to interesting discussions.

She also shares recipes for delicious-sounding home made hamburgers and potato chips, the favorite foods of the main characters.

I’m glad I chose this thought-provoking novel from the ones Revell offered me to review. Beautiful cover, too. Thank you, Revell.

Meet Hallee Bridgeman at HALLEEBRIDGEMAN.COM.

My Canadian friends can buy the book at indigo.ca. Click here.

See my review and others on GoodReads.

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when the morning glory blooms, by Cynthia Ruchti, 2013, Abingdon Press

when the morning glory blooms

when the morning glory blooms isn’t about morning glories. But they do thread through this novel. The morning glories represent life and seeds of life.

It’s about Single Mothers

The novel centres around unwed mothers from the 1890s to present times. Starting from the point of view of the mother of a teen mom in 2012, it jumps back and forth between that family and their friends, a young pregnant single woman in 1951, and an elderly woman telling her story of starting a home for unwed mothers in the 1890s. It’s interesting to see what has changed over time and what has stayed much the same.

The author

Cynthia Ruchti is an acclaimed author and speaker, and is now an agent with Books & Such Agency as well. I met her online a year ago when I attended the American Christian Fiction Writers Zoom conference, and I asked for an interview regarding the novel I’ve been working toward getting published. I didn’t know at the time that she had also written a novel centred around a teen mom. I’ve been meaning to read it ever since she told me about it. What a privilege and honour to have had that opportunity to communicate with her. Of course my first-time, as yet unpublished novel cannot compare with hers. But I so appreciate her feedback and tips, and am glad now to have read her novel along the same theme.

Sort of the same, but not exactly (as the saying goes)

when the morning glory blooms portrays lives of single mothers over three eras, whereas my novel sticks to the contemporary experiences of one particular teen mom. Both include the mother of the teen as one of the ‘pov’ (Point of View) characters, but in her novel the teen mother is not a pov character, whereas in my novel she is the Main Character. Both of our books portray the stress the family goes through, and the sometimes hypocritical reactions of the church.

While my novel begins with the Main Character as an adult reflecting back on her teen years, then goes back to tell her story, when the morning glory blooms jumps back and forth between three time periods and stories throughout the book.

I love desciption in a novel. Cynthia Ruchti uses many similes in this story to make the writing vivid. I’m not so adept at that; my description is pretty straightforward. Perhaps I need to use more similes, but they tend to throw my thoughts off the storyline.

We all got here through pregnancy

Since the beginning of time, pregnancy has been how the earth is populated, whether within the parameters of marriage or not. Every one of us has made mistakes and needs God’s grace. Unwed mothers and their babies particularly need the help and support of the church and their families. I recommend reading when the morning glory blooms to gain an inside view of such situations.

If you live here in Nanaimo and attend First Baptist Church, you can borrow when the morning glory blooms from the library. I asked if they had it, so they ordered it. Thank you Juanita.

To learn more about Cynthia Ruchti, visit www.cynthiaruchti.com.

Visit www.AbingdonPress.com to sign up for their fiction newsletter, read author interviews, and post a comment about when the morning glory blooms.

See my review and others on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4970713366.

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God’s Appointment

For followers of the Bible, there are a few pills that are hard to swallow. At least for strong-minded individuals. Romans 13 is one of them.

What? We must subject ourselves?

Written at a time in history when the countries around the Mediterranean were subject to the Roman Empire, many likely objected to their rule and the taxes they imposed.

Yet, the chapter goes on to say more. Since governments are actually appointed by God, we incur his wrath by not respectfully submitting to them.

Romans 13, The Amplified Bible

But the government is no good 😕

It may at times be hard to believe that God himself has appointed and put in place those in government who we find ourselves subject to. But it says here that we must respect their authority to avoid God’s wrath. Strong words. God wants us to live as principled people, because we represent him to the world.

We must follow the example of Jesus, who respected and honored the rulers of the day, even paying the taxes they demanded of him.

The Roman Empire was not a democracy. They had conquered the surrounding countries. People were treated unfairly, often cruelly, and taxed heavily.

Hey, what about my rights?

Things are different now, aren’t they? We now vote in governments and have ‘freedom of speech’. Yes, even an obligation to speak out for what is right.

So let’s exercise our rights, bearing in mind these verses. That governing authorities have been appointed by God, for his own reasons. And we, as his followers, represent him. Speak and act with respect and honor. Pray for our rulers. Not just for their sakes, but also for our own.

With all the things going on in today’s world, it certainly can’t be easy to be in government. Rather than respect and honor, they are subject to daily ridicule, even threats, in the name of ‘freedom of speech’. But this is not principled behavior for followers of the Bible. Bear in mind that whether or not we agree with them, the authorities are appointed by God.