Love Lifted Me by Sara Evans and Rachel Hauck

This nice-sized book entitled Love Lifted Me by Sara Evans is my latest read-for-review book. I HIGHLY recommend it! I'll just start my review that way so you know what's coming! :) Although it is the third book in a series, I had no difficulty picking up the story line. The author did an excellent job introducing/including events from the past books which had great impact on this story.

The beginning of the book finds Jade, one of the main characters, putting one of her vintage stores up for sale, taking care of her husband's toddler son, and awaiting her husband's return from rehab. Phew! A lot of drama right up front! And the drama only continues! I don't want to give away the "secret" that Jade finds out, so you'll have to read the book to find that out--but that is really only a sub-plot of the book. As Max (Jade's husband) comes home--with a deep relationship with Jesus Christ--changes begin to alter their life as they knew it previously. A move, a change of job, the "secret", and amazing challenges that come with each.

A theme that runs through all these issues is reliance on God and His sovereign care/guidance/wisdom. Both Jade and Max seek to follow God's guidance for them. The characters are very believable and written for today (with lots of references to today's culture). There are all kinds of characters who enhance the story--quirky ladies, down-on-their luck individuals, troubled teenagers, a really bad "bad guy", lawyers, coaches, and more!

Love Lifted Me is a great read--I didn't want to put it down! It was very enjoyable with all of the drama, love, family, challenges, and a bit of football! I would certainly recommend it. It's not just a fluffy Christian romance, much deeper than that. It certainly made me cry in parts! It also challenged me to surrender challenges in my life to the Lord. A line from the last chapter of the book which speaks to this is, "We've seen what man can do. Let's see what God can do." I love that! Something to remember!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review.