"Best Blog Ever!" (and best book ever!)

Although I have read many good books this year, I must say, one in particular stood out as amazing. I never wanted to put it down, and it truly kept my interest for hours and hours! The book I chose as my favorite was, Redeeming Love, by Francine Rivers.

Redeeming Love is based on the book of Hosea, in the Bible. Basically, God tells Hosea, a godly man, to marry Gomer, a prostitute. He obeys and loves her, even though she leaves him many times. Everytime she leaves him he finds her and brings her back because the Lord instructs him to.

The main character in the story, Sarah has nothing but hate for men. Her mother fell in love with a married man she was having an affair with, and the birth of Sarah was the result. However, her father wanted nothing to do with his daughter; she even heard him tell her mother, she should never have been born. Poor and hungry, Sarah's mother eventually became a prostitute to survive. When she finally died, Sarah was sold into prostitution at the hands of her mother's boyfriend.

Michael Hosea plays the role of Hosea (obviously) in this book. He feels that God told him to marry Angel and he takes that very seriously. However, Angel can't truly be free to love Michael back until she confronts her past, her life as a prostitute. She needs to come to terms with her life and God before she can create a future and be truly happy.

To me, this story represented God's unconditional love for us. How even when we turn away or flee from him, he always is there bringing us back. I found this book so uplifting. Sure, the beginning is depressing and I wondered how God could be related to anything as filthy as prostitution, but the end of the book reveals an even more important message. The message I found is, "God is ALWAYS there for you, and his love for you is UNCONDITIONAL."

CHECK OUT THIS BOOK!!! IT IS AMAZING! YOU WILL LOVE IT I PROMISE!