Nora St. Laurent runs two book clubs near Atlanta, Ga., and is the coordinator for the ACFW Book Club. Nora currently writes a Book Club Column for the Christian Fiction Online Magazine. She writes reviews and interviews authors on her blog Carol Awards: Long Contemporary Finalist: Red Ink
Title: Red Ink (Extreme Devotion Series, Book 3)
Author: Kathi Macias
Publisher: New Hope Publishers (Randy Bishop, Editor)
Category: Long Contemporary
ISBN: 9781596692794
Reviewed by: Nora St. Laurent
I anxiously awaited my review copy of Red Ink, the intriguing third book in the Extreme Devotion Series by Kathi Macias. I enjoyed the realism and hope in this book and continue to be encouraged by the series. God says in His word that if we trust in Him, He will do far more than we can imagine, and the Bible is full of stories supporting this. He is alive and doing things in the lives of His people that would seem impossible in this day.
I enjoyed the realism and hope in this book and continue to be encouraged by the series.
Kathi Macias’ character Zhen-Li is a young Chinese woman who marries a Christian, teaches her children about Jesus, and is imprisoned for her faith. She puts her trust in God when her circumstances say it’s crazy, but her heart keeps telling her mind that trusting God is the right and only thing she can do, and so she prays for strength.
Another character, Maggie, is a rebellious American girl set on not graduating high school, but running off with Jake, an older, handsome guy who promises to take her away from all her troubles. Maggie’s unsuspecting grandmother, who she’s hit up to help support her drug habit, lives in a River Valley nursing home and wonders what has become of Maggie.
Macias goes into not only the rough conditions in China and its prisons, but also describes a different prison that even young girls in America can find themselves in if they aren’t careful: Sex trafficking. This multi-million dollar business is real—in the U.S. and abroad.
Macias does a great job of portraying people willing to get out of their comfort zones to do what the Lord lays on their hearts. When the Lord wakes up retired missionary, Julie, in the middle of the night to pray for a woman in China she’s never met, she is faithful to do it. Then the Lord lays it on her heart to pray for Maggie, the granddaughter of Margaret, who she knows at the nursing home. Julie says to God,
“If You don’t stop keeping me up praying all night, Lord, I’m going to drop dead from exhaustion,” she threatened, and then laughed at her outburst. “I’m sorry, Father. Forgive me my impatience, please. It’s a privilege to pray for all these needs, but I must admit that I do get a bit tired at times.”
I enjoyed reading this story of extreme devotion, which reminded me of the Bible stories about Paul’s trials and God’s miraculous intervention on his behalf. Those, and the stories in this book, are stories of amazing faith, courage, and devotion. I can’t wait to read the last book in this series, People of the Book, in early 2011.
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