Distant Heart~ by Tracey BatemanThis book really showed how unforgiving people can be of other's past. The main character of this book Toni was a prostitute from the age of 15. After being rescued from prostitution and coming to Christ Toni was told that if you repent and accept Jesus as your Savior that He washes your sins away forgiving you and leaving you clean, however others on the wagon train did not feel as God did. Some of the members continued to snub her and call her names that reflected her former life. It made me think about how wrong it is to hold people's sins against them when they have repented, if God forgives them who are we to hold a grudge. More importantly God forgives us so how can we hold a grudge against someone else, "for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Anyway in addition to the good lesson the book was also a sweet love story between Toni and Sam. So here is another good period novel that is a also a quick read if you don't have a lot of spare time.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
In the second book in the Westward Hearts trilogy, will the promise of a new life out west heal the scars of Toni's past?This series tells the stories of three strong women as they struggle to survive on the rough wagon train and lose their hearts to unlikely heroes along the way/ Thin Little House on the Prairie meets Francine river's Redeeming Love and you begin to get a sense of the riveting historical series that Tracey Bateman has created.In this second installment, we follow Toni Rodden, a former prostitute who sought to escape her past and build a new life, and a new reputation, when she joined the wagon train. Despite much resentment and distrust from the other women, Toni has finally earned a place on the wagon train and found a surrogate family in Fannie Caldwell and her two siblings. For the first time in her life, Toni actually feels free.But while Toni once harbored dreams that her new life might include a husband and family, she soon realizes the stigma that comes with her past is difficult to see beyond and that she'll never be truly loved or seen as worthy. As the trip out west begins to teach her to survive on her own, she resolves to make her own living as a seamstress when the train finally reaches Oregon.But despite Toni's conviction that no man will be able to see beyond her marred past, Sam Two-feathers, the wagon scout and acting preacher for the train seems to know of a love that forgives sins and values much more than outward appearances. Will Sam have the confidence to declare his love? Will Toni be able to trust in a God that can forgive even the darkest past? Faith, love, and courage will be put to the test in Distant Heart.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:Tracey Bateman is the award-winning author of more than twenty-five books, including Defiant Heart, the First in the Westeard Hearts series. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and recently served on the board as President. She loves in Lebanon, Missouri, with her husband and their four children.
The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0061246344
