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Title: Real-Life Romance: Inspiring Stories to Help You Believe in True Love
Author: Rhonda Stoppe
Series: Standalone
Genre: Christian Living/Non-Fiction
Audience: Adult
ABOUT THE BOOK
Do You Believe in True Love?
In a world of broken relationships and hurting people, it can seem like all we ever see is heartache—that marriages are doomed from the start and romance isn't worth the risk.
But heart-fluttering, long-lasting love is all around us ... we just have to look for it!
This collection of beautiful, real-life accounts will bring laughter and tears as you enjoy each story of ordinary people who found extraordinary love. Page after page, you will find inspiration to
rekindle the romance in your love story
trust in God's providence and timing
faithfully hope for your own happily-ever-after
celebrate true romance
believe in life-long love
trust in God's providence and timing
faithfully hope for your own happily-ever-after
celebrate true romance
believe in life-long love
Don't let the world define romance for you! See how God is at work in the hearts of His people—knitting together hearts in a love that forever endures.
~ MY REVIEW ~
**4.5 stars**
Quite a thoughtful, fun, and inspiring read! There were a couple things I wasn't sure what to think about, so that's why this book didn't quite reach five stars. But overall, Real-Life Romance by Rhonda Stoppe is an amazing, lovely book that I hope to share with others!
"And you'll discover how God's plan is for couples to love each other so deeply with His love that their marriages become a light He can use to draw others to know Him." (Real-Life Romance pg. 9)
So basically, this book is a collaboration of twenty-five unique love stories. Each story is a little different, which is so neat to see. Real-Life Romance is about sweet romances as well as faith, friendship, redemption, loss, secret sin, and forgiveness. It was so awesome to see how God worked in these couple's lives! It was also fun hearing about the author's own love story, and those of her children! Breaking the Bro Code: Estevan & Kayla (pgs. 177-188) was especially heartfelt. I was deeply touched by how they used personal loss to keep an eternal perspective and press closer to Jesus Christ.
Some of my very favorite stories were Waiting on God's Timing: Keven & Suzanne (pgs. 33-38); The Heart's True Desire: Jason & Noelle (pgs. 39-45); Addicted to Each Other: Jeff & Jennifer (pgs. 105-113); and Connected at the Heart: Bill & Pam (pgs. 131-139). These four were particularly beautiful and powerful to me. I so loved them!
Oh, and the brief bit about Apostle Peter and his wife. Ah! Incredibly tender and soul-stirring. I'm so glad Rhonda Stoppe included that account in Real-Life Romance! It was a perfect way to conclude the book.
I have strong, personal convictions about dating and marriage, so some of the stories didn't resound with me as much as others. Particularly when couples seemed to rush ahead instead of seeking the Lord and waiting for His leading. One story it appeared that a man was a Christian when he married a woman who was an unbeliever. (She came to know the Lord and has a beautiful testimony, but I question whether his decision was Biblical. {2 Corinthians 6:14-18}) Also, there were at least four stories about divorce and remarriage. From reading the Bible, I firmly believe that God is against divorce and it's not His heart for His people! (Matthew 5:31-32; Mark 10:2-12; 1 Corinthians 7:39; Romans 7:2-3; Malachi 2:16; 1 Corinthians 7:11-13; Hebrews 13:4). So I'm always a little at loss of what to think when reading about divorce and remarriage. I don't know the whole stories - background and reason for divorce. And some (all?) of the stories were about people who married/divorced before they had become believers. Anyway, I just thought I would give a cautionary mention about that.
Even when one of the stories didn't settle with me as much, I felt Rhonda Stoppe herself was pretty spot-on throughout the whole book! After each story, she has sections called Ponder This and Ask Yourself, and I felt she spoke a lot of Biblical truths and raised important questions through those! Even with the concerns I mentioned above, I believe Rhonda Stoppe and I have quite similar thoughts, convictions, ideas, and cautions.
"How might you adjust your life to take your focus off looking for a husband and learn to find contentment in loving and serving Jesus?" (Real-Life Romance pg. 38)
All in all, I think the themes of Real-Life Romance: Inspiring Stories to Help You Believe in True Love were of finding your hope and joy in the Lord and believing that He does and will write beautiful love stories and strengthen marriages to be a light and a testimony! I was encouraged. ^_^ Besides a few things that raised questions for me, I recommend this book. Planning to have my mom and sister read at least my favorite stories! *smiles*
"When looking for a mate, it's tempting to take your eyes off the prize of Christ and focus on who might be 'the one'. But let's follow the example of the woman in Tony's unit. If you run this race of life with your focus on the One who calls you to run, and one day you look over and see a man whose eyes are fixed on Jesus and he places his hand in the small of your back to help you run your race - marry him!" (Real-Life Romance pg. 226)
I received a copy of Real-Life Romance from Litfuse Publicity Blogger Program in exchange for my honest review.
This sounds like an interesting read!
ReplyDeleteIt definitely was, LaKaysha! And there were some truly beautiful stories that you could just see where written by God as the individuals waited on and sought Him. <33
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