Hope Springs

Janelle Evans lost her husband and she also pulled away from her relationship with God. When she and her children visit Hope Springs for a family reunion, she finds a reason to stay longer than she'd intended. Will the time she spends with family and an old friend help her to live again?Becca Anderson is finally living her dream. She has been invited to speak at The National Christian Women's Conference, and maybe even greater things will follow. Her husband has been called to Pastor his late father's church in Hope Springs, which means relocation to a small town. How will the move affect her dream, her marriage, and her walk with the Lord?Stephanie London is happily married and living in St. Louis. A visit to Hope Springs reunites her with family she hasn't seen in years, and it also teaches her a few things about herself.The first thing I thought as I began to read was that it would have been nice if this book had not been released until December or maybe even November, around Thanksgiving. Since it's Christmas when the story begins, reading it during the Christmas season would have made for a even cozier reading experience. Yes, I could have waited, but I had read Faithful, and I was reading Cherished when I bought Hope Springs, so - since I really enjoyed the first two books - I was eager to read more of Tate's work.Predominately white churches, predominately black churches - Tate brings attention to the division among believers, teaching a lesson Christians will benefit from. There are also messages about how harmful family secrets can be, putting someone's needs before your own, learning how to hear from God, family unity and forgiveness.Some of Tate's fictional characters from Faithful and Cherished are in this book, but the story mostly revolves around new characters. There are quite a few of them to keep track of - I had to go back a few sentences every now and then to make sure I had things straight, but Hope Springs was as inspirational, engaging and thought-provoking as Tate's previous novels.

I've read the other books in the series and thus was familiar with many of the characters and reading this book "Hope Springs" reaffirmed my love for author Kim Cash Tate.In this book, a relatively recently widowed Janelle goes 'home' to spend time with her grandmother who is seriously ill. Because life back home is filled with sadness and memories of her late husband, she decides to uproot her kids and spend some time taking care of her grandmother. She encounters her first love whose wife has left him as a single father and old feelings are soon at the surface...Janelle's cousin Stephanie, who has a history of selfishness from the prior two novels, is feeling the prompting of God to also assist with their grandmother, her husband will be away on a medical mission for weeks and she asked to me made more of a servant, so how can she say no...Finally, Becca is the wife of the grandmother's neighbor's son. When her father-in-law who was the pastor of the local church passes away suddenly, Becca's husband feels call to move from St. Louis to the small town of Hope Springs to pastor his late father's church. Becca is torn as her career as an inspirational speaker and author is just taking off and Hope Springs is not what she saw as a home base.This novel tells the stories of these three women, who have separate and overlapping stories of their struggles to move forward in the paths that God has laid forth. The characters, as always for author Kim Cash Tate, are well developed, engaging and the stories are great from start to finish.I savored each and every page and am again eagerly awaiting the next story from this gifted author.

I thoroughly enjoyed "Hope Springs", but I actually wish it was a little longer. I have read "Faithful" and "Cherished" so I am aware of who Stephanie is (she was actually the only major character from those books) and how she has been changing, but Janelle, Libby, Becca and the rest were new to me. There were a lot of characters and a lot happened to them in a short time, which didn't bother me because that's the way life is, but I felt like the book was rolling along at one pace and suddenly sped up at the end. Kim Cash Tate could have added another 50 or so pages to tie up some of the stories and I would have been fine with it. I have to say, as a white woman, that her handling of racial issues in the church was very well done and very sensitive - a lot of Christian writers don't go there at all even when they could, and she and Neta Jackson (my all-time favorite) are probably the only two who present an interracial world (many authors seem to work in a world where everyone is white or black and no one has friends or family of another race) without glossing over the possible difficulties. Overall, this was a really good book - I think my standards are higher for Kim Cash Tate because I loved her other books so much!

This is another powerful rendering from Kim Cash Tate. The characters in all of her books are so well developed. I, as the reader, really has come to know, love, cry with, and rejoice with these beautiful characters. This story has so many themes centered around the power of God to work in the lives of His people. Themes of faith, family, forgiveness, and humility among others are fully formed to give readers a treasure. As always, Cash Tate fills this story with truths from God’s Word. I’ve come to both anticipate and appreciate that. Great read!

I reread this book after many years, not remembering any of it. Kim Cash Tate takes us on a journey of family, friends, forgiveness, service, and Clinging to the God who knows all, sees all, and is all. I was a little skeptical of a couple of characters, but God has a way of bringing us to where He wants us to be and where we need to be. He heals our hurts and brings us joy.

I have been reading Kim's other books a little out of order. I started off with Though I Stumble and then read If I Believe. Those were really good books. I liked this one but wasn't as taken by it as the others. However, what I do like about reading her books, is that there is always at least one thing I am either prompted to put back into my life or something new to introduce into my life. It was good getting to know Stephanie from the beginning. Love Sara-Ann too.

Another fabulous novel by Kim Cash Tate who has the gift of blessing me and enriching me with every line I read. May she bless you too