"Faith' s Journey"
By Heather Greer

About the Book:

Genre: Contemporary Christian Romance

Release Date: February, 2018

Sometimes it’s the unexpected path that leads you on your journey back to faith.

Katie McGowan left her parents and their faith behind years ago. However, when faced with a devastating betrayal, Katie is ready to go back to Carbondale, Illinois to help her elderly parents despite their tempestuous relationship. Drained by the constant friction, Katie finds emotional support and encouragement in Austin. His practical, simple faith speaks to Katie, and she finds herself yearning for a new connection to God. As their friendship grows, so does the attraction between Katie and Austin.

Before her fledgling faith and thoughts of romance have a chance to take root, Katie’s cheating fiancé returns, remorseful and promising change. Can her tentative faith strengthen their past love? And if her heart breaks again, will Katie’s journey to faith end before it has really begun?

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My Thoughts:

As I had not read anything by this author before, I had some trepidation upon opening this book. What if I didn't like it? Would I be able to write a proper review? To my delight, I found myself lost in the story of a young woman who has so many conflicts, some very similar to ones that I have experienced. The author does an excellent job of portraying flawed characters , even within the church, pastors, long time members who behave very differently during the week that they do for the short time they are sitting piously in a church building. The characters were so realistically and well described that I easily travelled their rocky path in the journey of life . Every conflict that the Katie experience was felt deep within me. Katie grew up in a Christian home but started to draw away from God, as she observed others living in a world of denial and pretense. She actually sacrificed a great relationship with the Lord because of hypocrisy of the church members . None of us is perfect!
Troubled relationships caused so many conflicts, the underlying theme of betrayal and the struggle to find peace within ourselves was present throughout the novel.

The plot moves along a slow steady pace with just enough twists and turns to keep the reader engaged from beginning to end. Katie's parents needed her so badly, her boyfriend is caught in a very compromising situation, everything is just falling apart. As Katie struggles to find peace within , others come to the rescue in the most unexpected ways.

I highly recommend this book to all readers. It is a believable Christian novel of the common struggles that can be faced by anyone. Learning to trust and forgive oneself and others is the key to happiness.

This book was provided by CelebrateLit. The thoughts and opinions expressed are honest and my own. I was not required to write a positive review.

About the Author:

About the Author

Heather Greer is a pastor’s kid and pastor’s wife from southern Illinois. Though her nest is quickly approaching the empty stage, with three of her four children out on their own, she enjoys the times she gets to spend with all her children, husband, and grandson. Equal mix geek and romantic, you could as easily find Heather watching an episode of Doctor Who as the latest Hallmark movie. Of course, you may find her baking, reading, or crafting too!

Heather’s writing and teaching ministries revolve around a passion to see believers grow in their faith. Though God has used her most often with teens and adults, she has worked in ministries reaching all age groups through the years. It is Heather’s prayer for God to use what she writes in her books and on her blog to challenge and encourage readers in their faith walks.

More from Heather

What happens when a person raised in church begins to see the failure of those within the church to live their faith every day instead of on Sunday morning? Often, the truths of scripture are pushed aside in favor of blanket statements like “churches are full of hypocrites” and “I don’t want to follow a God whose people are like that”. In frustration, they walk out the church doors in frustration. Sometimes they walk out with their beliefs intact, but other times faith gets left in the pew they vacate.

That’s what happened to Katie in Faith’s Journey. And when she left home for college disappointed with the people in the church she was raised in and at odds with her mother, it was all too easy to listen to the voices in her life telling her religion and God made no difference in life. Deciding she knew better than anyone what her life should be, Katie makes her own decisions without considering the God she left behind.

It takes a return home for Katie to start realizing there may be more to God than the people in the pews. Maybe she was quick to see the failures of others to live their faith but slow to see her own problems with the same issue. And maybe it’s time to acknowledge that regardless of how others are living out their faith, God has plans for her and desires a relationship with her that defines who she is every day.

While the original idea that sparked Faith’s Journey was what happens when someone you love betrays you, I quickly realized Katie’s story was more than that. In a sense, the first betrayal she needed to face wasn’t the one with her boyfriend. It was the perceived betrayal by those in the church who failed to live faith outside the church walls. It’s a feeling I believe many Christians have to face since there isn’t a perfect person in any pew.

I pray Faith’s Journey may be an encouragement and give a new perspective to those who currently struggle with the idea of church. And I hope it’s also a challenge to those of us faithfully in the pews each week to make our time there about more than religion or habit. I pray Faith’s Journey challenges us to evaluate the depth of relationship with have with God and let Him change the way we live every day, not just on Sunday.

Blog Stops

Texas Book-aholic, January 24

Through the Fire Blogs, January 25

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, January 26

Inklings and notions, January 27

janicesbookreviews, January 28

Artistic Nobody, January 29 (Author Interview)

For Him and My Family, January 29

For the Love of Literature, January 30

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, January 31

Quiet Quilter, February 1

Older & Smarter?, February 2

Emily Yager, February 3

Godly Book Reviews, February 4

Pause for Tales, February 5

A Baker’s Perspective, February 6 (Author Interview)

Batya’s Bits, February 7

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Heather is giving away a Cozy Winter Nights giveaway including a $15 Amazon gift card, a mug, assorted teas and hot chocolates, chocolate, and a fleece blanket to create the perfect reading experience on cold winter nights!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/f52e/faith-s-journey-celebration-tour-giveaw