Threads of Joy (Tennessee Dreams)

By Sharlene MacLaren

Description:

JOY WESTFALL, a divorced woman who runs a tailoring business out of her little home and has a 4-year-old daughter knows first hand the bitterness of rejection. Her talent with a needle supersedes her tainted reputation, however, and she has no trouble finding clients. What she lacks is true friendship. Living next door to a little clapboard church on the edge of town, even the folks of the church pay her little mind when they come and go on Sunday mornings--unless she happens to be outside tending her flowerbeds in which case they quickly turn their children's heads away or shake their own at her in utter repulsion. Inside, their hymns of praise compete with the birds, but outside their hypocritical noses turn up at the sight of her. Not until LUCAS JENNINGS, the new preacher, begins to befriend her and her innocent daughter does she grasp what pardon feels like. The trouble is his congregation begins to accuse him of having sinful thoughts, one woman in particular going so far as to campaign to have him removed from the pulpit. When tragedy strikes, Lucas's messages of repentance resonate with his members, drawing an entire community together, changing the hardest hearts, and turning folks' minds toward what really matters in life--love, faith, and forgiveness.

Book Takeaway:

I want my readers to come away discovering that God forgives our pasts, no matter how sordid.

Why the author wrote this book:

I love writing books about redemption, mercy, and grace.