Still I Will Follow by Cathy Bryant
Have read other works by this author in the Miller Creek series so know I am going to enjoy this one.
Bella has returned to Miller's Creek as a teacher, music for elementary school. Others shun her because of her past, they think she is still bad news. She's broken her tail bone. She also prays that the rumors from the past wills tay away from the kids she's teaching...
Story also follows Clay who is a farmer and had dated Bella and wondered about her life now...
Like hearing how he manages the ranch and even hiring others-he knows what questions to ask. Love hearing how the disabled children are able to come to the ranch and how they respect the rules of riding.
Love that I know some of the characters from previous books read.
Like alternating chapters, Clay and his ranch and environment disasters, and Bella her struggles to prove herself and dealing with the kids.
Like that they get together to discuss their problems with one another...
So much action takes over involving drugs, accusations about God and how the townsfolk stick up and believe.
Misunderstandings are talked out and we learn more about the family. Lots of surprises along the way.
Author bio included. Other works are highlighted at the end. Book club discussion questions at the end.
Excerpt from Crossroads is included. Love how we've met the character highlighted in the next book so we kinda know them a bit already before they get a book/story of their own to tell.
Received this as a free gift and this is my honest review. ( )

It is so great to know when you pick up a certain author's book, it is going to be clean, wholesome, entertaining and have a wonderful life lesson. This is true with everything that I have read by Cathy Bryant. I am so thankful for Cathy and other authors who provide good Christian material for me to read. Crossroads, part of her wonderful Miller's Creek series will not disappoint. ( )

Saturday, April 25, 2015
Crossroads by Cathy Bryant, © 2015
A Miller's Creek Novel ~ Volume 6

Yeah, she'd experienced rural Texas before, but it had been years, her childhood a murky fog that took up residence in the distant recesses of her mind. Had she blocked out painful memories by imprisoning that part of her life behind lock and key?
--Crossroads, 2

Only the Lord can unveil the beauty in our lives; the deep love only He can give exactly as we need it revealing empty hidden places.

Go stand at the crossroads and look around.
Ask for directions to the old road, the tried-and-true road.
Discover the right route for your souls.
~Jeremiah 6:16 (MSG)

A new business, a new community, a reoccurring illness, a disappearing peace; Mara Hedwig and her daughter Ashton belong in Miller's Creek, the small community with a heart. With disappointments behind, will Mara be able to receive the love offered to her by her new friends?

Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
he’s the one who will keep you on track.
~Proverbs 3:5, 6 (MSG)

Love is not defined by man, it is defined by God who is Love. Watching as Mara becomes removed from who God isn't to Who He Is. He is not a God of thunderbolts and lightning, way off there somewhere. He is longing for a close relationship, to draw near only through Christ. Carter Callahan's intent is not for himself, but for what is awaiting Mara in returning to God in trust and hope for all He is.

Daily struggles do not define who we are but who God is; constant, ever ready to hold us amidst trials in our earthly life. In each stage of life ~ youth, teenage, adult, there will be needs of acceptance and understanding from others. Those in Miller's Creek are no exception. The community rallies around the central figures in the story, Carter and his teenage daughter, Chloe, and Mara and her young daughter, Ashton. Each one must come to their own realization and acceptance of the One we are known by best.

This is a story of struggles and overcoming; conversational, the characters learn to share their hearts as trust is built leaving the past behind to welcome a future and a hope given to us by God in all the Crossroads in our lives.

***Thank you to author Cathy Bryant and WordVessel Press for sending me a copy of Crossroads to read and review. This review was written in my own words. No other compensation was received.*** ( )

Crossroads is an emotionally touching story as we become involved in the lives of Mara and Ashton Hedwig and Carter and Chloe Callahan who live in the small community of Miller's Creek.

I enjoyed the characters that the author created because they were not perfect (okay, Ashton was very sweet and precocious, but other than her, everyone else had their issues). The author made it clear in her writing that God accepts us the way we are, flaws and all.

There were many issues that Mara faced that were realistic obstacles to deal with in her journey of faith. Though her story is fictional it could easily be used to assist someone else in a similar faith-crisis.

Mara and Carter initially meet when Mara, a real estate agent helps Carter look for a place to rent. Their families become more involved when Chloe comes to work part-time for Mara.

When Ashton's leukaemia returns, Carter sees the pent up anger towards God that is built up in Mara's heart and because he has begun to care for her, and refuses to become involved with a woman who is not following the Lord he seeks to help her find her way back to Him.

There are many heart wrenching twists and turns in this story and you may want to have a box of tissues close by if you are subject to cry easily. I thought the author did a very good job of bringing together some spiritual, teenage health, medical as well as the circumstantial issues that life throws at us into a cohesive whole.

The writing was excellent. It was clear, concise and well-edited. The only errors I noticed were that leukaemia is a disease where there is a lack of red blood cells, so why was the donor taking injections to increase her white blood cell count?

Crossroads was a moderately fast-paced book. I thought its speed was appropriate for its genre. Enough time was taken to let us get to know each of the main characters and their backgrounds enough to care about them and what happened to them. That emotional connection with them is what made this book and its message so powerful.

While Crossroads is a clean romance novel, it is much more than that. It is the story of the hope we have of the forgiveness of redemption in Jesus Christ if we turn our hearts back to Him. It is about overcoming the same kinds of issues that Carter and Chloe faced. It's about putting our faith back in Jesus.

I thoroughly enjoyed Crossroads. I highly recommend this book to you if you enjoy Christian fiction and clean romance. I gave this book 5 stars out of 5.

Thank you to the author for providing a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. A positive opinion was not required. All thoughts are my own.

See the complete review on Shelf Full of Books http://kathrynsshelffullofbooks.blogspot.com/2015/04/crossroads-book-review-trai... ( )