Sunday, September 1, 2013

"The Prayer Box" by Lisa Wingate (Review & Giveaway)

ISBN:  978-1-4143-8688-1
Softcover $15.99
I'm a North Carolina girl. I grew up in the Coastal town of Wilmington and was well acquainted with the beach, the sand, the surf, the fresh breezes, the old homes, the new-comers, and unfortunately - the storms. The all-so-very-devastating storms that would toss boats from one side of the barrier island to the other or totally snatch them from their very existence. I remember a whole block of ocean front houses disappearing after one of those major storms.

So being somewhat acquainted with the coastal life, I really appreciated Lisa Wingate's story. She has brought the sand, surf, and storms to life and also the people that perpectually populate the coast.  But not only has she brought the North Carolina Outer Banks (farther north than my home area in southern tip of North Carolina) to life in spot-on descriptions, she has woven a story of lives troubled by the social mores of several generations, of dysfunctional families, and how the pain of the past can be faced, and how change is possible. It is the story of the care and bonding of folks who come together to mend storm-ravaged buildings and scared lives.

This is a story of prayer. Of letting God know your heart and then placing your burden in the hands of God and letting go of it.

It is a story worth the reading and worth the sharing with others. I'm passing my copy along to another reader whom I know will thoroughly enjoy it. I believe she in turn will pass it along to others. You see good things are to be shared. That, too, is part of the message in "The Prayer Box."


GIVEAWAY: The good folks at Tyndale want to bless one of Chat With Vera's readers with their very own copy of The Prayer Box. Use the Rafflecopter entry form below to put your bid in for a copy. Who knows? It just might be your day to have a little special blessing come your way. Begins September 1 & ENDS September 25 @ 12:01 a.m. ET. Open to continental US addresses only.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
About the author:  Lisa Wingate is an award-winning journalist, magazine columnist, popular inspirational speaker and a national bestselling author of 16 books.  Her first mainstream novel, Tending Roses, is in its fifteenth printing from Penguin Putnam.  Tending Roses is a staple on the shelves of national bookstore chains as well as in many independent bookstores.

Recently, Lisa’s Blue Sky Hill Series, set in Dallas, received national attention with back-to-back nominations for American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year Award for A Month of Summer (2009) and The Summer Kitchen (2010). In 2011, Lisa's Novel, Never Say Never, won the American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year Award.  Pithy, emotional, and inspirational, her stories bring to life characters so real that readers often write to ask what is happening to them after the book ends.

Lisa is one of a select group of authors to find success in both the Christian and mainstream markets, writing for both Bethany House, a Christian publisher, and NAL Penguin Putnam, in mainstream fiction.  Her bestselling books have become a hallmark of inspirational southern fiction. Her works have been featured by the National Reader's Club of America, AOL Book Picks, Doubleday Book Club, the Literary Guild, American Profiles and have been chosen for numerous awards.

DISCLOSURE: I was offered a complimentary Advance Reader Copy of "The Prayer Box"  with the request to read and share my thoughts on the book. Opinions expressed are solely my own and I received no compensation for this review. Published by Tyndale House Publishers Inc.
 

17 comments:

  1. I believe we ARE to submit our request to God, let him handle the situation & not worry about it anymore. However, I think we have to be ready to do our part in whatever the Lord asks us to do, in reply to that request. I also think that rather than hide our requests in a box - we should keep a list of them to refer back to, so that we can thank & praise the Lord when the answer comes. That will make us more aware of answered prayer, & blessings bestowed.

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  2. I love the sounds of a Prayer box. One of the churches in our small little town has a large prayer box right outside the church.

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  3. I think a prayerbox for those prayers for things you just can't let go of is good concept.

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  4. Does this appeal to you as a way to let go of your burdens and give them over completely to God? - I have heard of something similar before but you put them on a tree branch. To me that works better since the paper will eventually blow away and decay and over time, all of your issues will be resolved.

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  5. I believe the prayer box is a great idea, however, sometimes we are expected to take actions with God's guidance.

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  6. Thank you for having me, Vera! I loved reading a North Carolina girl's thoughts on The Prayer Box.

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    1. Lisa, it was an honor to review your book. When Maggie contacted me, I was honored and then when I began reading the book and saw it was set along my beloved North Carolina coastline, I was thrilled.

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  7. While in theory this is a wonderful idea, the reality is that you have to make things happen yourself and prayers, although comforting, are just not enough to make your dreams come true.

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  8. I agree with some of you that just praying about matters is not what God expects. He does expect us to "put feet to our prayers," too. But sometimes and some circumstances are simply beyond our being able to do anything. Then we need to pray and let it go an let God work His will in the situation.

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  9. Thanks for the great review! I am really looking forward to reading this book. It definitely appeals to me to put prayers in a box and then not worry and leave them up to God!!

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  10. Putting into action what we should be doing mentally!

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  11. At family camp we've done something similar with releasing cares to God and asking for His guidance then throwing the letter into a camp fire.

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  12. Lisa, we have also gone through storms here near Galveston and in Houston area too. Houses were destroyed on Galveston beaches also. Hope I can win your book. It sounds good. This would be neat to make a Prayer Box. I think I will do this. Maxie mac262(at)me(dot)com

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  13. I would love to put my burdens in a box and leave them to God. There ARE things that are out of our control,ie sickness, death....but there are things that I do believe in leaving it over to God: strength to go on, get through a touch day, etc.

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  14. The prayer box idea is a good one. However, Jesus tells the parable of the persistent widow in Luke 18:1-8. Verse 1 says he told it "to them that they should always pray and not give up." I think the key is being able to be persistent in prayer without it turning into more worry than prayer.

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  15. It seems like the prayer box might be a different way of approaching praying. I can see how it would be appealing to some people or to everyone at some time or another. It kind of reminds me about how people put prayers on the wall in Jerusalem.

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  16. would love to read The Prayer Box. Sounds really good and I've heard so many good things about Lisa's writing.

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