Christian Fiction Devourers discussion

While visiting the Holy Land, Amanda answers the prayers of a stranger . . . and begins an amazing Christmas journey.

Amanda Vance is ambivalent about her husband’s idea for a big family holiday up north. Last year she planned a special Christmas in their own home, carefully preparing a nursery and the keepsake ornaments for their newborn. Now that room stands as empty as her heart.

Then a neighbor’s mishap turns into a last-minute chance for Amanda to take a much-needed vacation to tour the Holy Land.

An extraordinary turn of events allows Amanda to help answer a young mother’s plea for healing. Then, filled with a sense of awe, Amanda visits the place of Jesus’ birth. There she discovers anew the miracle of the Christ child—God incarnate as a tiny, vulnerable baby.

Her return to Florida marks a momentous shift in her soul and in her marriage as she begins to realize that her journey didn’t end in the Holy Land. And that God doesn’t just answer prayers of strangers . . . but also those of her own heart.

Who's going to join me in this Christmas read? I read this book in 2012 when it was released; then read it again in 2014. I will be reading it for the third time now. That should give an indication of how much I liked it.

I plan to read this one. Looking forward to it.

I'm in!

I’m in!

Glad you're joining me Katrina, Kate, and Veronica.

I will join you Lori! :)

Super Gabriela!

I loved this book! Thanks for the recommendation, Loraine.

Glad you enjoyed it Lori! We will start discussion about Dec 15.

I will join in. I will listen to the audio version

I`m sorry, I quitt. The english is to difficult for me to listen to. And for the book I have to pay

I decided to read this. I started last night and am overall enjoying it.

This is such a good book. Can't wait for discussion!

I read this. I like the way he writes, I like the characters and a number of things about it. I feel badly to be doing this twice in a few months,but many times fiction, and in particular, Christian fiction, gets called on the carpet when authors and editors don't do their fact checking very well. This time the medical inaccuracies are more blatant and worse than in the other book I brought it up in (the one about 9/11) and I would hate any mother to give a young child an ice bath for a fever of 101-102 because they know they read it somewhere but can't remember where (if the fever won't go down, a sponge or lukewarm bath is MUCH better--ice baths are old-school because it produces shivering and so increases body temperature at the core before it goes down which is dangerous). Also, there are some other medical inaccuracies.

Sorry I am a day late in starting our discussion, but we are preparing for a move in January and life is very hectic! There are no discussion questions available for this book, so we will have an open discussion. Please feel free to comment or ask a question of your own.

I will comment first on Karin's post. Obviously you must have a medical background Karin, to catch the errors. This surprises me from Davis Bunn because he is usually pretty thorough in his research. I do know the many historical fiction writers I read are very meticulous in their research. But I am sure that errors do escape both the author and editor at times.

Now on to Prayers of a Stranger. What events or things seem to bring about the change in Amanda? Why?

I think the main thing that helped bring about change in Amanda is that she was ready for it. We see her return to the NICU (even if she did not set foot inside) at the very beginning of the book. Even if she didn't realise it, that year between when she lost the baby and 'the present' had given her perspective and a small measure of healing already.
From there, she was open to the possibilities. She wanted to have a stronger marriage even if she didn't understand how that would be able to happen. She wanted to move forward, and I love that God showed her exactly how she could do that with His help!

I agree Kate. That first step toward the NICU began her process of healing.

Loraine wrote: "Sorry I am a day late in starting our discussion, but we are preparing for a move in January and life is very hectic! There are no discussion questions available for this book, so we will have an o..."

I come from a medical family but personally studied biology. BUT as for the fever stuff, I learned that from my kids' pediatrician as a parent :) Once that was off, I checked other things.

I just finished the book. I really enjoyed it. Amanda was showing signs of being ready to heal early on, but her trip to Israel was definitely a blessing for her and brought about the great change. Being able to help baby Rochelle, was endearing. I imagine it can be very healing to walk where Jesus walked and I would love to go to Israel one day.

But a thought came to me as I was reading, that I could go to Israel virtually and through scripture. Maybe it would mean setting aside a day to just focus on Israel and the life of Christ and pray and meditate. That could be an uplifting way to bring hope in my life right now. Tune the world out and focus on peace. The advent season leading up to Christmas did help with that and I enjoyed the focus. Want to keep that going through the year.

I am glad I read this book and want to read more by this author.