Karen Kingsbury

 

K is for Karen Kingsbury,  A-Z Blogging Challenge

Who could make you want to dash right out and get a certain author's books to read?

Well,  my friend Kathryn could!

I never paid much attention to books by Karen Kingsbury.  I saw them in bookstores, in the library, and advertised on the web.

I liked the way Karen's name looked, with her first and last name both beginning with "K".   And when you say her name, it has a nice ring to it.  I knew her books always looked colorfully attractive with good-looking people on the cover.  But other than that, I didn't choose to get involved with her books.

Then Kathryn started talking about them.

Me:  What kind of books does Karen write?

Kathryn:  Fiction.

Me:  Do you have a favorite?

Kathryn:  Yes, The Redemption Series.  There are five books:  (1) Redemption, (2) Remember, (3) Return, (4) Rejoice, and (5) Reunion.  They follow a family, the Baxters.  There are five children:  four girls, and the youngest is a boy.  Each book focuses on one of the children, but the whole family is in every book.

Me:  What are some issues this series raises?

Kathryn:  They cover infidelity, aids, 911, family tragedies.  The books show the benefit of being part of a strong Christian family and how they can get through anything.  I was always sad to finish every book, but thrilled to start the next one!

Me:  Would you read The Redemption Series again?

Kathryn:  Oh, I already have!  I've read the whole series twice, all the way through.  And I cry in every one!  I feel like I am part of the Baxter family.  They are the kind of family that you want to be a part of.  And all the books end like they're supposed to!

Me:  So are the Baxters a perfect family that doesn't exist in real life?

Kathryn:  No, sad things and problems do happen, and even though the family teaches about God, sometimes things go wrong.  Through prayer and commitment to God, things all turn out OK.  Sometimes the kids make poor choices, but they always find their way back because the parents don't give up on them.

Would You Pick Up a Penny?

If you saw a penny on the ground, would you pick it up?  I wouldn't.  After all, it's just a penny.  Why, if I wanted to buy a candy bar for 98 cents using picked-up pennies, I'd have to bend down 98 times!

There is a suggestion out there that the US should do away with pennies because it costs more to make them than they are worth.  The other side of that argument is that if prices are rounded up to the nickel instead of using the penny, we will all be paying more for our goods.

At least we can all agree that, monetarily, a penny is worth almost nothing. 

However, don't stop with that thought!   I have just finished reading a book in which a penny is so important that it was given the honor of being the title of the book!

The Penny by Joyce Meyer and Deborah Bedford is a powerful, can't-stop-reading kind of book.  I literally could not stop reading until the very last chapter, paragraph, and word.  And then there was still the epilogue to hungrily devour!

Fourteen-year-old Jenny Blake and her older sister Jean were living at home with their abusive father. Jean  thought she had escaped the helpless situation by  going away to to college.  But when she returned, she remarked that, "There's no way out, really, is there? . . . This house.  What Daddy does to us," she said. "You can't run away from it, . . .  It follows you every place you go."

But--don't forget about the picked-up penny! 

Early in the book, Jenny says: "That's the very moment I first saw the penny.  And that's the moment where this story really begins.  The penny lay wheat-side-up on the ground, so dirty as to almost be invisible. . . I wasn't accustomed to picking up pennies . . . A penny is such a little thing--it's never been worth much.  I stared at it, stepped over it, and headed toward my sister . . .I did walk past the penny at first.  When something whispered, Pick it up, Jenny--little things make a big difference, my heart almost paused in my chest.  And I knew it without a doubt.  As surely as if someone well trusted had whispered it in my ear.  This moment has something to do with your destiny.  It was only a matter of seconds before I went back.  Seconds, I found out later, that would change everything.  


Oh, if you only read one book from now until the year 2015, let it be, The Penny!  This book begins with a dirty, picked-up penny.  That same penny leads to new friendships, forgiveness, freedom, and changed lives.