Be Still My Soul

Lonnie Sawyer is praying for the day she turns eighteen. Not like most girls who are hoping for potential marriage to the man she has loved and hopes to spend the rest of her life with. Lonnie's desperate to leave her home because of the abuse she has been suffering at the hands of her father for years. Her only escape has been to flee to her Aunt Sarah's house when things go wrong. While being comforted with love, her Aunt Sarah reads to her from the Book of Psalms, she's already been through them three times and is starting all over again.

"Where did we leave off?" Sarah asks her.

"We are on the 23rd Psalm." replies Lonnie with a sigh, and so Sarah begins to read.

When she walks home from a singing accompanied by Gideon O'Riley, a boy that seemed to attract all the wrong kinds of attention and mothers warned their daughters to stay away from, he pressures her for a kiss as payment. Feeling more than guilty for the hour long walk, she relents but that is when things change forever for the both of them. Gideon begins to take the kiss a bit farther than Lonnie wants and knocks him square in the jaw, and flees for the safety inside her home.

Only come morning, it seems like her father was watching and now thinks that Lonnie has been soiled. Her only consolation now is being forced to wed Gideon O'Riley by both sets of parents despite the arguments of both of them than nothing happened. At least in Lonnie's mind, she has escaped her father earlier than she expected, but how can she be married to a man who doesn't love her? Gideon seems determined to let Lonnie know that he's isn't thrilled to be forced to marry her and pushes her in ways her father didn't. It seems like Lonnie has traded in one form of abuse for another. Can her faith in God, change her circumstances or will she be forced to endure the breaking of her soul and spirit being tethered to a man who thinks only of himself?

In the new novel, Be Still My Soul by Joanne Bischof, readers are introduced to a brand new series, The Cadence of Grace in this first book. I believe this book takes readers through a unique series of circumstances and shows how no matter what our trials look like at the time, no matter how hopeless, if we maintain being persistent in our faith, God will work them all out for our good and His glory! I truly felt for poor Lonnie in this novel because it seems no matter how hard she tries, nothing ever seems to get better for her, but she never really complains about it. She keeps to herself and keeps reading those Psalms she has memorized in her head when her heart wants to give in!

I received Be Still My Soul compliments of WaterBrook Multnomah for my honest review and highly recommend this book to those that struggle with their faith during trying circumstances. It gives us hope that in the end our reward will be great if we are willing to finish the race with God! I rate this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars! This is available in paperback and eBook formats from your local book retailer in October of 2012, so make sure you preorder a copy of yours today! For more information on Be Still My Soul, Joanne Bischof, and where you can preorder a copy, please click on the links below:

Be Still My Soul by Joanne Bischof

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