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A MILLION BLESSINGS - Various Author Urban Books/Christian March 2010 |
SYNOPSIS:
INSPIRATIONAL FICTION |4| Darlene Mitchell
REVIEW: Showers of Blessings (3+) by Angela Benson: Assistant Pastor Andrew has a shameful secret: he’s a compulsive gambler, and just when it seems he’s run out of luck, he finds salvation in a miraculous win. But nothing can keep Andrew from recklessly betting his family’s future. His only way out is through renewed faith – and a desperate act of redemption.
Love, marriage, family, indebtedness, lying, blackmail, addiction, trust or lack thereof, prayer and forgiveness creates a compelling and enlightening story. Andrew Gooden is a husband, father, and the charismatic Assistant Pastor of Praise City Ministry suffering with a gambling addiction. Believing without his wife Sandra and two sons that his life is nothing, he battles against yet fails to overcome his addiction. His faith abounds and through prayer he believes God has given him the winning numbers for the Lottery. Placing his family’s life in the hands of his bookie and the repo man for the third time in his marriage, Andrew resorts to stealing from the church. Sandra no longer wanting to cope with his lying ways, gambling addiction, and embarrassment of losing everything yet again, faces the reality that without help he will never change…ultimately losing everything, including his family. Angela Benson pens a very poignant story using real life vices and strong characters to show that addiction has no status, class or color preference, whereas LOVE is forgiving and covers a multitude of sins. Seeing how easy it was for Andrew to smooth talk everyone and manipulate his way around what he wanted as well as his belief that regardless of his sins, God would always deliver him, rendered a strong feeling that this should have been more than a novella.
Second Chance Blessings (4) by Marilynn Griffith: Pro football player Craig Richards has it all, from the trophy wife to the lavish mansion – until an injury costs him everything. Defeated, he returns to the community and church he left behind – discovers his loss just might be a blessing in disguise. But will a second shot at fame and fortune lead him astray once more?
Penning “It’s a thin line between love and hate” epitomizes Craig and Briana Richards on again off again marriage. Craig, a pro football player recovering from a career ending knee injury faces the reality that life as he knows it, is all but over. Dreaming to walk again without a cane supersedes all other dreams except loving his wife. Brianna, his beautiful materialistic wife, is very much in love with him, but hates him in the same breath. Feeling hurt and angry because of his current situation reminds her of another time he left her in a desperate moment of need, and she wants vengeance. Purchasing a lottery ticket for a friend and willing to risk his life to prove his love for Brianna, Craig takes on the ultimate challenge. Marilynn Griffith writes a very complex, yet romantic story of a couple who loves one another beyond belief, but only realizes that love after all fame and fortune as they knew it was lost. Her underlying message shows how forgiveness opens the door to God’s many blessings as they will abound beyond measure when we freely and unselfishly give to others. Love reaches deeper than what money can buy, but faith and trust in God and his Word will always net plenty. Using the lottery ticket as the catalyst that becomes a blessing more than a curse, in the end makes this story one to love and cherish for all time.
A Knight in Pink Armor (4) by Tia McCollors: Dara Knight’s dream goes far beyond the multimillion-dollar lottery she just won. Her real desire is to build a poverty-stricken Atlanta community. But when a vicious gang sets out to destroy her project, will she have enough courage to prove that investing in people, against all odds, yields heaven-sent rewards?
Dara Knight is the young and successful owner of the On Point Concierge Company. Growing up as a Pastor’s kid, Dara has no shame in denouncing the sin and waste of money playing the lottery. Her cousin India Lanier on the other hand, rebelling as easy as breathing found it exciting, tempting Dara by purchasing a lottery ticket for her. Loving motorcycles with a passion and wanting to make a difference in her community, Dara and other motorcycle riders from the church forms the Kingdom Knights. Riding into gang infested areas and witnessing became one of their greatest joys that also fed her desire for making a difference. Telling no one about their lottery winnings while believing this money would assist her in building up the gang infested neighborhood, she falls prey to the evils of poverty and hatred. Tia McCollors writes a smooth and impacting story about a young women who will let nothing except death keep her from using all that she has to make a difference in the lives of those in need. Her underlying tone reveals that where there is good, there is also evil; however, blessing abound when the investment multiplies into a better life.
A Million Blessings is a delightful and encouraging book that not only focuses on relationships, unconditional love and forgiveness, but also on the many blessings that may come from a source many condemn as sin “The Lottery.”
reviewer@romanceincolor.com | 6th March 2010