The Promise Box by Tricia Goyer, ©2013

The story of her life filled notebook pages, as if she wrote about another. Words for the next sentence, next paragraph, trailed through her mind throughout the day. It was almost as if God was walking beside her, pointing out the beauty of everyday life, and breathing inspiration into her heart. It was new and different. She was new and different. If someone else would have declared such sudden changes she would have scoffed. Yet maybe all the time God had been waiting, ready for her to open her heart.
   --The Promise Box, 147

Lydia Wyse returns to West Kootenai, Montana, to come to her Mem's burial and to help her Dat. So many years, so many opportunities, so many scant visits. The mountains and lodgepole pine scented trails beckon to her as the sound of silence fills her heart. She first meets Gideon Hooley as he comes to tell her to put her camera away. What she doesn't know is she disrupted his connection with Blue, the horse he is training to trust. Will her heart be able to trust? Will Gideon find the answers he is seeking? With questions in his heart, he has returned to the land his family visited when he was a boy. Will fragments of what happened the day he was lost in the mountains return to his memory, or would he be told the secrets so long ago hidden? Tender moments. Earth-shaking discoveries of times past, to be revealed so he can live ~ today. Unhindered from what binds him; released from pain to gain the path set before him, openly. A joy beyond belief as removal of shadows of what was, bring him to what is. Differences that melt a heart and earn the devotion of a horse who longs to be known, and a woman who quietly finds herself ~ alive. Stripped of what-ifs, to discover God was waiting for her all along as He walked alongside yearning for her freedom to be realized.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

With her heart – and her loyalty – on the line, can she let true love in her life?

Every year, young Amish men descend on the cozy little town of West Kootenai, Montana, arriving in the spring to live there for six months and receive “resident” status for the hunting season in the fall. They arrive as bachelors, but go home with brides!

In The Promise Box, the second book of bestselling author Tricia Goyer’s Seven Brides for Seven Bachelors series, Lydia Wyse, a book editor from Seattle who grew up Amish, returns to the small community of West Kootenai, Montana to give comfort to her father after her mother's death. She is drawn back to the familiar Amish ways after finding her mother’s most precious possession, a Promise Box of prayers and scripture. What her publisher sees, though, is an opportunity for a sensational “tell-all” book about the Amish.

Lydia soon finds herself falling in love with Amish bachelor Gideon Hooley. She wants nothing more than to forget her past and look forward to a future as an Amish bride. Will the pain of her childhood―and her potential betrayal of her community―keep her from committing her whole heart?

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

That was one thing about Mem's Promise Box: the Scripture passages were good, but not enough. It was like nibbling on snacks when her soul wanted dinner. Because of that she'd asked Dat for Mem's Bible, deciding she needed to read it for herself. Discover more of God's promises for herself.
   --Ibid., 279-280 

PSALM 70

Prayer for the Poor and Needy

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, to bring to remembrance.

God is on my side.

Make haste, O God, to deliver me;
           make haste to help me, O LORD.
2 Let them be ashamed and confounded
           that seek after my soul:
           let them be turned backward, and
           put to confusion,
           that desire my hurt.
3 Let them be turned back for a reward of
           their shame
           that say, Aha, aha.
4 Let all those that seek thee
           rejoice and be glad in thee:
           and let such as love thy salvation
           say continually, Let God be
           magnified.
5 But I am poor and needy;
           make haste unto me, O God:
           thou art my help and my deliverer;
           O LORD, make no tarrying.

What a beautiful story of healing. I would recommend that this book be read by those who carry guilt for something that they had no control over, for one who has given up a child, for one who is the child given. God's Promises to us are real. For all generations. Love.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

The Promise Box
By Tricia Goyer
ISBN: 9780310335122
Release Date: 05/21/2013

USA Today best-selling author Tricia Goyer is the author of 35 books, including the three-book Seven Brides for Seven Bachelors series. She has written over 500 articles for national publications and blogs for high traffic sites like TheBetterMom.com and MomLifeToday.com. Tricia and her husband John live in Little Rock, Arkansas where John works for FamilyLife. They have six children. You can find out more about Tricia at TriciaGoyer.com.

***Thank you to Litfuse Publicity Group for sending me an Advance Reader's Copy of Book 2 of the Seven Brides for Seven Bachelors series, The Promise Box, for this blog tour. No other compensation was received.***
 

Enter to win an Amish Baking Box from Tricia Goyer and RSVP for her 6/12 Facebook Party!

Tricia Goyer is celebrating the release of her lastest novel, The Promise Box (Zondervan), by hosting an Amish Baking Box giveaway and connecting with readers during her June 12th Book Chat Party!

One "promising" winner will receive:

• Apron, hot mitts, and kitchen towels
• Amish baking items (rolling pin, pie plate, etc...)
• Sherry Gore's Simply Delicious Amish Cooking
• The Memory Jar and The Promise Box by Tricia Goyer 

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on June 11th. Winner will be announced at the "The Promise Box" Facebook Author Chat Party on June 12th. Connect with Tricia for an evening of Amish fun - book chat, trivia, laughter, and more! Tricia will also share an exclusive look at the next book book in the Seven Brides for Seven Bachelors series and give away books and other fun prizes throughout the evening.

So grab your copy of The Promise Box and join Tricia on the evening of June 12th for a chance to connect and make some new friends. (If you haven't read the book, don't let that stop you from coming!)

Don't miss a moment of the fun; RSVP today. Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 12th!