Mercy Triumps

Christian persecution.

Refugees.

Muslims.

Any of these three terms, most people on earth are aware of one or more of them. Did you realize how difficult it is for Muslims who convert from their faith to embrace the salvation of Jesus Christ instead? If they are immediately killed by their family members in order to retain the families honor in their own country, then they are immediate sought after by those who now have labeled them as "infidels" by their own religious standards.

I have had the distinct pleasure to read all the novels by Jana Kelley, based on the true life events of three distinct women who now have to face the foundations of the Christian faith, even if it means being killed. From an American missionary wife and mother, Mia, to one Muslim sister, Halimah, on the run for her very life, and the other Rania, trying to keep her own faith from being discovered by her family, all the while trying to figure out how to get out of the rapidly approaching arranged marriage to a Muslim man. The stakes have never been higher as each of these women will have to face just how strong their Christian faith is while living in a Muslim population where there is no tolerance for those who are trying to convert others to the Christian beliefs.

From Side by Side and then to Door to Freedom, Mercy Triumps is the third novel that has documented the lifestyles of each of these women. From Mia who longs for someone to share her faith with, while trying to share her own testimony with those around her, without subjecting her family to violence, jail or being killed. She and her family are awaiting the approval of their passports to return home for a short while but they remain in the hands of one man who believes that Islam is the only religion. Halimah is faced with working in Nairobi after flying from her family who wanted to kill her. She desperately misses them and loves them but knows she can never return. She must be discreet if she contacts her sister Rania, who has been hiding her own newly found faith in Jesus. Perhaps the greatest reminder of what Christians in other countries face is the opening verse, "Mercy triumphs over judgement." James 2:13. This is the central theme of this novel.

I received Mercy Triumphs by Jana Kelley compliments of New Hope Publishers and Litfuse Publicity. This is so eye opening to those of us that live in America where we still have the freedom to practice our own religious faiths and persecution for us, just might be harassment from co-workers, family or friends who don't agree with our own beliefs. This will not always be the case as we watch the slow erosion of our freedoms beginning to slip away without noticing it is happening. Meanwhile things like persecution of Christians in other countries remains a segment on the news if even they care to report it, but we know it is happening on a daily basis without anyone knowing it is happening. I have LOVED this entire series because it highlights just what it might mean to those who are willing to die for their beliefs might just be the ones we want to embrace the most, including those 12 disciples of Jesus Christ who while spreading God's messages to the world, suddenly found themselves being the first of those who would die for their faith in Jesus Christ. For me, I give this book a 5 out of 5 stars and hope others will find the message of hope, faith and mercy in this book.

For more information about Mercy Triumphs, Jana Kelley or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

Mercy Triumphs by Jana Kelley

You can find Jana Kelley on Facebook to stay up to date on all her latest books.

To read more reviews on Mercy Triumphs, please visit Litfuse Publicity's book tour page. 

Door To Freedom

"A great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me." 1 Corinthians 16:9.

This quote sums up the entire theme behind Jana Kelley's latest novel Door to Freedom, her sequel to Side by Side in which the Weston's,  a missionary family working for the Keller Hope Foundation in Sudan. For Michael and Mia along with their three children, they truly believe it is God's calling on their life to spend their next two years working for the foundation and offering hope to the Muslim community who wants to know more about Jesus, whom they refer to as Isa. It's not as simple as simply accepting Christ.

For a Muslim to deny their faith often means death, especially when that faith leads them to Jesus. For one family it meant the beating of their oldest daughter Halimah who fled from her family and has no contact with them any longer. They don't even recognize her as being their daughter and any word of her whereabouts would most certainly lead to her death. Now her sister Rania has faced growing up without her sister and now struggles with the Muslim customs of an arranged marriage with any man her father chooses. She finds hope in the New Testament that Halimah left her and told her that this book contained all the answers she would ever need in her life. Could it be so simple that one book held all the answers to whatever she faced in life? If that is the case, then why would so many people be opposed to reading it?

Michael and Mia face their own opposition at work where they can be investigated by the local authorities for even speaking about their Christian faith. It is a death sentence for anyone to attend to convert a Muslim to Christianity. During the Bible Study through Acts, they both believe that whatever the opposition in the community or at work is worth the price to tell others about Jesus, even if it would cost them their very lives.

I received Door To Freedom by Jana Kelley compliments of Litfuse Publicity and New Hope Publishers. This is a remarkable story based on true events that shows readers that the life of a missionary isn't as always as easy as we might think it is. It is dangerous and often times results in the deaths of those simply trying to share the message of hope to those lost in Islam and all the restrictions that family members, especially women face. The best part is the message of hope and salvation that comes to those who find the true light and truth in Jesus Christ. I easily give this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars.

For more information about Door To Freedom, Jana Kelley or where you can pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

Door to Freedom by Jana Kelley

You can find Jana Kelley on Facebook to stay up to date with all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on Door To Freedom, please visit Litfuse Publicity's Book Tour page. 

Restoring Love

Sometimes the best renovation projects aren't the ones you watch on your Home Improvement channels. They are the ones you get to see in person involving life changing moments for those who need it the most. In the novel Restoring Love by Jennifer Slattery, there are 3 different sets of circumstances in which we get to see the power of God's restoration at work in the lives of the people we meet all in one neighborhood.

Angela is trying to find a way to start over again after living with her daughter Ainsley and her husband. Seems like family serves a useful purpose when you need help the most. Now it is time to begin as a new creation in Christ. She moves into a rental home owned by a missionary family away on a trip and with a handful of items of her own, Angela tries to resolve her past so she can find her future. Now all she needs to do is keep her job as a Teacher's Assistant and hope for a full-time teaching position to open up. But with her wardrobe, it is not likely. She is a 50-year-old divorcee dressing like an 18-year-old and soon rumors begin to fly from other teachers about her appearance. When Angela consults with her daughter, she has to kindly tell her that she might want to dress more modestly in hopes of not attracting the wrong kind of attention like she has in the past.

Bianca is struggling to keep her head above water while raising 3 kids while she deals with her husband who refuses to give up his criminal lifestyle. If she can't figure something out, she may lose everything she has including her kids if the police show up. While trying to work as a nursing care assistant, she relies on her teenage daughter C.J. to care for her younger brothers both who are failing at school. C.J. spends all her free time with a boyfriend who is only using her and clearly doesn't care what her mother thinks. For C.J. it is an possible escape route out of the family she doesn't want to be with, especially her mother's husband Reid who runs around with gangs and thugs.

Mitch is a partner in a renovation business with Dennis and they have flipped a couple of houses including the one Bianca is currently living in. Now with their new project to work on, a home right next door to Angela, he finds himself drawn in ways he can't explain to try to help her out on any projects she needs done around the house, but Angela has been burned in the past and is trying to keep any relationships with men at bay. Dennis and Mitch seems at odds in running their business when Bianca winds up more than 2 months behind in her rent and Mitch refuses to evict her. If things don't change, they might have to go their own separate ways. It seems Mitch is at a crossroads on what to do and what God has called him to do.

I received Restoring Love by Jennifer Slattery compliments of New Hope Publishers and Net Galley. I really love the interactions these three have in one another's lives as they attempt to reconcile their own past failings under the grace and mercy of God's restoring love. It shows how far they have to work at letting go of their pasts in order to find the future that awaits them if they are willing. This is such a great Christmas story because it conveys the very reason that Jesus was born to offer new hope, new beginnings and a new life to those who are willing to take it. I easily give this one a 4.5 out of 5 stars.

For more information about Restoring Love, Jennifer Slattery or where you can preorder a copy of this book which is due out in January 2017, please click on the links below:

Restoring Love by Jennifer Slattery

You can find Jennifer Slattery on Facebook to stay up to date on all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on Restoring Love, please visit New Hope Publisher's website.

Side by Side

Two women of two very different faiths will realize how great the saving power of Jesus can be when they have to work together to keep them both alive. Based on real events in the Sudan, author Jana Kelley uses her knowledge of missions work in other countries and the struggles Muslim women face when they convert to Christianity. For most it is a death sentence in keeping honor within the family and women are always considered lower than any male living in the family regardless of their age. It is an eye opening look at what is involved for Muslim women to walk away from the life they have always known to follow Jesus.

Mia and Michael have always wanted to live in another country and when the job offer opened for Michael with the Kellar Hope Foundation, in Sudan to aid in missionary work, they decide to pack up their family of five and leave the life they have known in Texas to make a new life in a small town of Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. While things are vastly different, Mia is hoping for an opportunity to share her faith of Jesus with some of the Arabic women living nearby, but she isn't quite certain how. A co-worker of Michael's, Beth offers a suggestion to meet the neighbors using their children as common grounds to get to know one another.

But Mia lacks a broader knowledge of the Arabic language and soon faces her own barriers as she tries to share her faith with her neighbor who becomes distant when it is first mentioned. Mia believes she isn't ready to hear the gospel just yet, and struggles to find a place to fit in, while being at home all day with the children. She wonders if this trip was really God's calling after all.

For Halimah, she is struggling to find time to know the Jesus she is learning about in her Arabic Bible, the truth seems to find a place in her heart where she wants to believe everything she is reading about him. It will take an answer to prayer for Halimah to finally accept that Jesus is real. But if she tells her family, it might mean the end of her life, but she is hoping her family might be open to at least hearing all that she is learning about the Jesus of the Bible.

I received Side by Side by Jana Kelley compliments of New Hope Publishers and Litfuse Publicity for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions contained in this review are strictly my own. What I loved most is how both Mia and Halimah discover God's divine purpose for both of them being precisely where they are despite the odds facing them both. It is difficult at times to fathom how violent a family can be against their own daughter when professing a faith in Jesus contrary to their Muslim upbringing and how degraded women are treated in that culture. Truly eye opening in that it showcases how truly blessed we are in the United States to have the freedom to worship and not face any retribution from our country or our family. I give this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars in my opinion.

For more information about Side by Side, Jana Kelley or where you can pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

Side by Side by Jana Kelley

You can find Jana Kelley on Facebook to stay up to date on all her latest books.

To read more reviews on Side by Side, please visit Litfuse Publicity's book tour page.

Unexpected Christmas Hero

"The late November sunshine was thin and tepid, but a welcome interruption to the gray skies and constant drizzle that usually hung over the small Washington town of Riverview for the better part of eight or nine months each year. Josie Meyers shivered as she stood in line behind her two children, waiting their turn for a free Thanksgiving meal.

Tears bit her eyes at the memory of past Thanksgiving celebrations, particularly the most recent one the previous year. Though they had all been grieving the passing of Josie's mother, they still managed to turn the day into a festive occasion, as the four of them gathered around the table to give thanks for the spread that awaited them.

Sam, she thought. You stood there that day, offering a brief prayer of thanksgiving to a God I'm not sure you even believed in, and never let on for a moment that you hadn't a clue where our next meal would come from or how we'd make the mortgage payment that month. How in the world were you able to carry it off for so long? If you hadn't gotten sick, would you finally have found a way out of the mess we were in - or would you be standing here with the three of us now, begging for a hot meal and wondering where we'd sleep tonight?" (pg 9).

So now Josie is forced to take things one day at a time as she tries to find enough food and a place that is warm enough each night for herself and her young children Jacob and Susanna. There is a waiting list for government assisted housing so for now she kills time at the local library and mall until the shelters open each night. Occasionally she can save enough through food vouchers and her monthly checks to stay in a modest motel but more often than not, she's on the streets trying to stay warm and try til something better comes along.

In Unexpected Christmas Hero by Kathi Macias, we find out what it's like to live through the eyes of Josie Meyers who had everything until her husband Sam died from cancer and left her owing more money then she could ever imagine. When their home was repossessed, there was no family members who would take her in and her pride kept her from calling on her friends to ask for help. She had hoped that some how, some way, that she could figure out a way to secure them all permanent housing but never realized that it would turn out like this. Now when she meets a homeless Vietnam Veteran by the name of Rick who offers her son Jacob the last piece of his pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, her life will be changed in unseen ways by the God she has abandoned in her search for hope.

I received Unexpected Christmas by Kathi Macias compliments of Pump Up Your Book Tours and New Hope Publishers for my honest review. Even though this is a Christmas story I can see the message that it contains being shared throughout the year. After reading this one, I felt like I had just witnessed a true Hallmark moment, like the movies that come out this time of the year. What an ideal movie this one would make and the impact to people seeing it would really spread the message of hope and faith in God no matter how dire the situations are in your life. I easily rate this one a 5 out of 5 Christmas Stars and have now added this one to my permanent shelf to read every single year. This is soon to be a classic in my opinion.

For more information about Unexpected Christmas Hero, Kathi Macias, or where to pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

Unexpected Christmas Hero by Kathi Macias

You can also find Kathi Macias on Facebook to stay up to date with her latest books.

To read more reviews on Unexpected Christmas Hero from the Pump Up Your Book Tours, please click here. 

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: New Hope Publishers (October 1, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596693541
• ISBN-13: 978-1596693548
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches

Deliver Me From Evil

Perhaps one of the most powerful books I've read in a long time, exposes the world of child kidnapping and human trafficking. Often times we think this happens in other countries far away from us, but we would be so shocked to learn that it may in fact be happening in our own neighborhoods in this country.

Using a fiction based story, Deliver Me From Evil by Kathi Macias is an eye-opening and tragic story of one girl, Maria whose name is changed to Mara is sold by her family in Mexico to her uncle in hopes of a better life. The better life she had dreamed of turns into a nightmare when she learns she has been sold into a prostitution ring and her uncle is running it. Now year later, Mara has found a way to cope, a way to place herself outside of what is happening to her body in hopes that one day she will die from the hands of one of clients who beats and abuses her. She knows she can never escape and find a life of freedom again.

Jonathan is on the verge of graduating high school and works nights delivering pizza at Slice of Italy. Only tonight's delivery will change his life forever when he encounters a young girl running from a motel room, half naked, begging him for help. An older man appears and takes the young girl back from him, claiming he is her father and she is mentally unstable and hasn't been taking her meds. Just as Jonathan tries to intervene, Mara calls for the young girl and validates the story. Thinking nothing more of it, Jonathan leaves, but can not forget the image or the young girls face pleading for his help.



In the novel, Deliver Me From Evil from Kathi Macias, the first book in the Freedom series, Kathi takes the reader into the world of human trafficking in the prostitution market within San Diego as the setting for this story. Finding it difficult to read as a parent of two girls, this book really hit home for me. Wondering if this isn't really occurring in our own towns and neighborhoods as young girls go missing, claimed by police as merely runaways or the victims of internet dating. How would a parent ever know if their child wasn't a victim of this senseless crime that is happening all over the world, especially when kids are walking home from school or attending late night events or a day at the beach.

This makes the reader more aware that these things are happening and even want to take a proactive approach at seeing this end. Not just criminals placed behind bars but for the need of this type of service to end and the tragic lives that are taken away forever, finding a way to heal the pain inside. I want to thank Kathi for taking a stand and writing a difficult novel with a strong story line like this one, if not to create an awareness in us, but to cause us to help in finding a way to stop this abuse once and for all.

I received this book compliments of Pump Up Your Book Tours and New Hope Publishers for my honest review and highly recommend it. Not a subject for young adults but definitely something that the church ministries should all actively be pursuing in their own communities. The more aware we become, the more we can find a way to end this nightmare for those involved. I rate this book a 5 out of 5 stars.

For more information on this book, the author and where to pick up a copy of this book, please click on the links below:

Deliver Me From Evil by Kathi Macias

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