Do You Believe?

Anna's Healing Review:
Wow, what a book. I did struggle with some things in this book, but it had more to do with the attitude of the Amish toward the miracle of the healing than it did anything else. As a life long person who believes in miracles, and has seen them in her life, the doubt blew me away. I serve such a mighty God, it really took me a bit to get past that. Now I know this is a fictional book, but the doubting of a miracle is so foreign to me, it made it too real. (I don't know if that made sense)
I loved Anna's attitude and personality at the beginning of the story before the tornado and her injury. I also loved that the author didn't make her into a sweet young woman accepting her lot in life. But it showed us the realness that a crippling injury brings to the life of any person.
My favorite character in this story is Mammi. I am sure her prayers of faith had much to do with the healing of Anna. Her upbeat attitude and constant quoting of Scripture made her faith grow. Everyone needs a grandmother in their lives like Mammi Ruth.
This book is beyond good, it is an excellent testimony (even if the book is fiction) of God's grace, mercy, and wonderful healing power. I enjoyed it so much, I am thinking of reading it again. *smile* 5 stars from this reviewer. This book was provided for review purposes only, no payment was received for this review.

About the Book:

Anna's Healing is the first book in a brand-new collection from popular author Vannetta Chapman. These stories of love and family and Amish community in Oklahoma tell of the miracles that can happen when lives are lived in service to God and to one another.

When a tornado strikes the farms surrounding Cody's Creek, Anna Schwartz's life is changed forever. She suffers a spinal cord injury and suddenly finds herself learning to live as a paraplegic.

Three people--Chloe Roberts, Jacob Graber, and Ruth Schwartz--join forces to help Anna through her darkest days. Chloe is an Englischer who writes for the local paper. Jacob has recently arrived in town and stays on as a hired hand at her uncle's. And Ruth is her grandmother, a woman of deep faith and a compassionate spirit.

Then one morning Anna wakes and finds herself healed. How did it happen? Why did it happen? And what is she to do now? Her life is again turned upside down as the world's attention is drawn to this young Amish girl who has experienced the unexplainable.

I had a chance to ask Vannetta what the inspiration was behind this story, and here is what she shared with me.

My husband and I first conceived the idea for this collection of stories when we were discussing Christian fiction in general. While romance by necessity repeats some of the same ideas again and again, we wanted to delve a little deeper. What does it mean to be a follower of Christ? How does it affect your daily living? How does it make you different from others?

 

The first question that stuck with us is this -- Do you believe God intervenes in the lives of believers?

So I followed that thread, studied relevant portions of the Old and New Testament, and Anna's Healing was born.

It is the story of God's care for us--why and when he intervenes.

I don't claim to have the answers, but I think that we can all look deeply into the scripture and decide on what we believe.

That's what Anna does, and the story quite literally wrote itself from there.

About the Author:

Vannetta Chapman writes inspirational fiction full of grace. She has published over one hundred articles in Christian family magazines, receiving more than two dozen awards from Romance Writers of America chapter groups. She discovered her love for the Amish while researching her grandfather's birthplace of Albion, Pennsylvania. Her novel Falling to Pieces was a 2012 ACFW Carol Award finalist. A Promise for Miriam earned a spot on the June 2012 Christian Retailing Top Ten Fiction list. Chapman was a teacher for 15 years and currently writes full time. She lives in the Texas hill country with her husband. For more information, visit her at www.VannettaChapman.com