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The Guardian's Promise (Love Inspired Historical)
Description:
A Kingdom in Jeopardy An evil queen and her royal guards will stop at nothing to find—and kill—the rightful heir to the throne of Judah. When their pursuit leads them to Mira's village, only her father's bond servant, Ari, a man shrouded in secrets, can keep Mira safe. Abandoning his life as a temple guard and becoming an indentured servant was the only way Ari could protect young Joash, the true King of Judah, from Queen Athaliah. But his sacred duty prevents him from confessing his feelings for his master's daughter. With the future of their nation on the line, Ari and Mira will risk everything to save their people.
Why the author wrote this book:
Back in 2009, while sitting in church, inspiration took over with a simple question (and yes I believe it was God): What would happen if a bond servant fell in love with his master’s daughter? Oh, wait, what would happen if that bond servant was no servant but in truth a captain of the temple guard in charge of guarding a secret child king from his murderous grandmother?
I spent the rest of that afternoon plotting the story, which flowed out easier than any story I’d ever plotted. I started writing it the next day. Fifty-five days and seventy-five thousand words later The Guardian’s Promise was complete in rough draft form. I didn't know then why I wrote this book, not for sure.
It wasn't until after the book was written and sold that I realized this book had a message for me. You see, after I sold the book a huge storm hit our family and there were times when I felt alone in the storm. There were even times I had wondered if God had forgotten about me.
Check out these lines about 50 pages into the book:
Questioning God’s faithfulness did not set well in his soul. He knew once the questioning began, it would soon fester and eat away at his heart. Ari fought the urge to bury his face into his hands. Instead, he stared into the great void and waited for some sort of reprimand from God Himself.
The quiet was only interrupted by the bleating of a goat. Still, he waited, for God’s peace to cloak him. Just as he was about to give up and seek his sleep, a star streaked across his vision and faded into the dark night. He recalled a psalm memorized from childhood.
The Lord doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel. He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite. The Lord lifteth up the meek; he casteth the wicked down to the ground.
If the Most High, in all of His greatness, cared to name even the stars and knew their number, would He not remember Ari?
That Psalm Ari recalled is 147:2-6. I wrote that story in 2009. Little of it changed. I worked on those edits June 2012. Our storm hit hard April 2012. God knew what I needed and when I would need it. He's such an amazing, wonderful Father.
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