Customer Reviews

Monday Morning Faith

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I wasn't sure I'd like this book, but I was delightfully surprised. Johanna Holland is a forty-year-old spinster librarian, caring for her aging parents. When she meets widowed doctor Sam Littleton the unexpected happens. She falls in love. But Sam is called to foreign missions and Johanna is definitely not.

This story plays out with unexpected twists, but stays true to character. Johanna changes and grows in her faith, but I loved the ending Copeland wrote. It was absolutely perfect. Totally unexpected, but oh, so satisfying. I won't say more, but this is a must read.

Out this month, get the kids back in school, curl up with a cup of fragrant tea and get lost in a wonderful read. Poignant, heart-warming and funny, Monday Morning Faith receives a high recommendation.

When Johanna Holland falls finally falls in love, it changes her life in ways she'd never imagined. She undergoes a total makeover, and then she REALLY undergoes a total makeover! She'd never imagined she would fly to the other side of the world, risk her life, nearly lose her life, for the sake of a man. But is it for the sake of just a man, or is more involved?
Follow Johanna's story as she seeks God's will in a place she never thought she'd be, and finds it in a way she never thought was possible.
Lori Copeland has long been known for her warm humor and engaging style. With Monday Morning Faith, she has deepened an element that has been in every book, but this time she did it better, dug even more deeply. This book is going to be an award winner!
Hannah Alexander, author of Under Suspicion

librarian Johanna Holland, likes her job, she's contented living with her parents, and Itty Bitty, her two-year old Maltese. She is settled in her ways and doesn't like change. Then life kicks her out of her rut. Her parents decide they'd rather live in assisted living rather than their own home, which puts Johanna out on her own. She meets Sam Littleton, who sends her pulse pounding and sets her to dreaming romantic dreams. But Sam is a medical missionary on his way to Papua, New Guinea, a world away from Saginaw, Michigan.

Johanna has no calling to be a missionary, doesn't want to leave her comfort zone, but Sam talks her into going with him. Now she's stuck in a missionary's hut perched on stilts in the middle of a lagoon fileld with predatory catfish. She wants to go home, she wants indoor plumbing, and she'd kill for good old fast food.

Monday Morning Faith is a heartwarming story about a man and woman who seem completely unsuited for each other, but who fall in love anyway. Lori Copeland has done a lot of research for this story. You'll see the village through Johanna's eyes, and understand better the culture shock a missionary faces sometimes. Lori Copeland's trademark humor is right on target in this book, and she has included enough twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. This is a heartwarming story that sends a strong message about the faith and commitment of the men and women who have dedicated their lives to follow God's calling, no matter where it leads them.

As I am new to reading Christian fiction, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Johanna, the main character, is engaging and believable and I found myself unable to put the book down!

The story is plausible, fun and mostly lighthearted and told from a down - to - earth perspective. I was thankful not to find some sort of a Harlequin- type romance here, but rather an interesting story of a single woman of 40 who finds herself unexpectly prodded out of the nest by her parents and reluctantly into the mission field. The romance aspect is not overdone, nor are the Christian overtones. Yet the story is encouraging and told from a Christian perspective.

This was a pleasant experience. While neither the plot nor the characters are of the calibre I have come to expect from most non Christian fiction writers, I must say I did enjoy this book quite thoroughly and plan to read more books in this genre.

Altogether a recommended read !

I was very excited to read this. What an original plot. But I had a problem with Johanna's love interest - I am all for Johanna finding herself and her purpose in life, but is it to serve Sam? I liked her character, laughed with her, felt I knew her, but Sam and the rest of the missionaries were not human enough for me. Maybe because there was little emotion and dialogue. Why didn't Sam go see her when she was sick in the U.S.? She was very devoted to him, but I felt like the male character here was almost chauvinistic. Be careful with this one. Overall a great storyline but it flopped for me. I thought the message was not the greatest for women, possibly could be misconstrued. I was disappointed, wanted Johanna to discover her own independence as well as how she was able to serve God like anyone else.

Johanna Holland is a librarian who is about to follow the man she loves into the jungle of New Guinea. But is she really interested in being a missionary? Or is she smitten with her beau and "Monday Morning Faith"? I was grabbed in the store by the cover. The first few pages were entertaining. The story was probably a fairly accurate portrait of missionary life in underdeveloped countries. It is a sweetly written book. The subject matter doesn't really allow it to be entertaining or exciting - I prefer a good suspenseful romance. However, if you are thinking at all about missionary work, I would recommend it.

Is it a romance? Contemporary women's fiction? Chick-lit? Unless I'm mistaken, the answer is yes.

I've read several Lori Copeland books, but this one is my favorite. The author happened to land on several story lines that interest me, including "aging parents with caregiving daughter" as well as "aging daughter who's yet to meet the larger world head-on."

Johanna Holland, librarian extraordinaire, seems--at first--perfectly content with her hum-drum routine. She's 40, single, gainfully employed by day, and fulfilling her "calling" to care for her elderly parents by night and weekend. Conveniently, she has no time or energy leftover to contemplate what her life might be like should Dr. Handsome Widowed Missionary ever walk through the library door.

But then, of course, he does. Soon, Johanna finds herself scanning the bottom shelves with him, scouting out books on Papau, New Guinea. The very idea of foreign missions scares her to death, but it's not just that--her heart's traveling to foreign places, too, so quickly her head can't possibly keep up.

You'll have to read the book to discover how Johanna deals with the apparently irreconcilable differences between the good doctor's calling and her own. Of the hundreds of inspirational novels I've read, this one stands out with its unique take on the often confusing subject of finding God's purpose for our lives.

By the way, our Amazon account is in Doug's name. I'm actually Katy McKenna Raymond, just so you know.

Love Lori Copeland. Her books are just so thought provoking. Book arrived in a timely manner and was in excellent condition.

When a single 40 year-old librarian falls in love with a doctor who has been called to the mission field they will need God to help them resolve the biggest issues and decisions in their lives.
Johanna Holland and Sam Littleton truly want God's will in their lives. Sam is called to be a missionary to the natives of Papua, New Guinea. While Johanna serves and devotes her life to caring for her aging parents. So, it seems that this is a romance that is set to fail.
But our loving God keeps us from taking ourselves too seriously! So, when Johanna's parents suddenly decide to move to the Senior Community it seems to solve the problem for all. But now that Johanna is free to travel with Sam, wherever he may go, she feels cheated out of her service.
So, before she can "see ya later" Johanna finds herself in a foreign land with no hot showers, natives who chew beetle nuts until their teeth rot out and screeching monkeys! But when you're with the man you love and adore just how hard can it be to live in a foreign land for just a month to see if one can be the wife of a missionary?!?! An enlightening question!
This is one of those funny, laugh out reads that makes the reader feel the pain but much more understand the life of a woman who will follow the man she loves.
A delightful read with charm, humor and thought-provoking insights on how we can all live with Monday morning faith!
*This book was provided for review by Zondervan*

The first half of the book was slow but enjoyable. The second half of the book had a much different tone. The mild mannered librarian became an unlikable, insensitive creature when she agreed to go on the mission with her boyfriend.
There was not enough character development for me to feel the love between the librarian and the missionary.
And the librarian's conversion at the end was conditional and limited to her comfort level. There was not a whole-hearted giving of God's love.
I want to read a Christian novel to be reminded how good I can become if I strive in Jesus' love. This protagonist was not a worthy example.