Reinventing Leona

Leona Harper loves being a pastor's wife. Her impressive resume touts thirty years of coaxing hot water from rusty parsonage plumbing, planning church potlucks, and standing beside her husband while members take potshots at his sermons. Except for the little tiff with her grown children, Leona feels her life is right on track with the wishes of the Almighty...until her husband drops dead in the pulpit.

When the church board decides to fill the Reverend's vacated position Leona is forced to find a paying job, mend her fractured family, and tackle her fears. With life spiraling out of control, Leona might find the church members antics comical if she weren't so completely panicked. Can the faith of an overwhelmed widow withstand the added heartache of two resentful children and several underhanded church members? If Leona can't trust God, how will she learn to trust herself?

My thoughts...

Lynne Gentry has written a charming 5 star debut novel. The story is inspiring and the characters are fun and loveable. Their antics will make you smile.

Leona's pastor husband has a heart attack while preaching on a Sunday morning in their little community church. The members of the church fill the parsonage with food, snips, and fun. And if her husband's death is not enough to deal with, her mother suffers an injury and Leona must help care for her.

Leona has always been "the pastor's wife" and discovers she has no other identity. She soon finds out that the not so Christ like elders want her out of the parsonage right away.

There are many unwelcome turns in Leona's life, God uses these to help her grow and to come to trust Him to care for her in a way that only He can. Reading how He reinvents Leona is wonderful.

I'm hoping we will meet these characters again.

I received a free e-copy of this book from Tyndale Publishers in exchange for an honest review.