Strongholds (Blessed Trinity) (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: Johnnie Mae, Pastor Landris, Vanessa Davis Griggs (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

From Vanessa Davis Griggs comes the second book in her Blessed Trinity Trilogy. Part Terry McMillian, part Jan Karon, Griggs delivers the story of a congregation hoping for heaven--while dealing with life right here on earth...

From the Back Cover

When Pastor George Landris, the dreadlock-wearing minister of the new mega-church, Followers of Jesus Faith Worship Center, urges his congregation to approach the altar and cast off their strongholds--also known as their weaknesses--it's the start of intense soul-searching for many.

From a married couple's twin additions to gambling and gluttony, to a female member's adulterous affair, a computer expert's obsession with cyber-porn and a therapist's workaholism, the Pastor's church family is about to open the proverbial floodgates. And that's just the beginning. There's also the woman whose battle with mental illness hides a buried trauma, and the religious devotee who's so busy fearing the devil she's forgotten what faith is really about. The plot only thickens when the Pastor's wife lightens his load by helping him counsel--and finds herself at the center of a decades-long deception.

Insightful, witty, and always poignant, Vanessa Davis Griggs delivers another compelling novel, taking readers behind the scenes of mega-churches to show the amazing power that redemption and faith can have on people's lives.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Dafina (May 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 075821734X
• ISBN-13: 978-0758217349
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #206,817 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Can The Truth Set You Free?, June 18, 2008

By	Idrissa Uqdah (New Jersey United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The second book in the Blessed Trinity trilogy by best selling Christian fiction author, Vanessa Davis Griggs is a story full of the challenges that church folk face on a daily basis. They are members of the mega-church, Followers of Jesus Faith Worship Center led by Pastor George Landris, who with his wife, author Johnnie Mae Taylor have graced the pages of Griggs' novels beginning with her first book, The Rose of Jericho. You would think that this author should have run out of storylines after writing four other books in this series. But that is not the case. Readers eagerly await each new installment, being sure that Griggs will show them something new each time.

A gifted Bible scholar, she uses scripture to begin each chapter. Griggs' books always have a message based on the Word of God; yet she writes timely novels about real people and real situations which make her books stand out among the many books published in this genre.

Pastor Landris invites his congregation to bring their strongholds, those things which have them bound, to the altar to be freed of their weaknesses. Several different characters answer that invitation hoping for deliverance. A husband and wife (she struggling with overeating and he with a gambling addiction) seek God's hand in their lives. A husband and father who is married to his work as a therapist comes home to find his wife has left him taking his children with her. The character with multiple personalities from Blessed Trinity returns in this book, as she is treated for mental illness due to her bondage from a tragedy from her past.

Other members are fighting addictions to pornography, dealing with self-righteousness and sins of the heart. The church is in crisis and the answers lie in the power that faith in redemption will help them make it through. This book may be the author's most defining work yet as the members seek counseling from the church staff for all that ails them spiritually.

Readers can expect all of these issues to be tied up in the third and final installment of this trilogy entitled: If Memory Serves, which will publish October 1, 2008. Personally, I can't wait to see what happens next and just how the author plans to bring this trilogy full circle. With her track record, I am sure that Vanessa Davis Griggs will not disappoint her readers. For those of you who enjoy Christian fiction based on the Word of God; don't miss this trilogy!

Idrissa Uqdah for AALBC

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Read in order, August 26, 2008

By	S. Johnson (Lexington, KY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book was good, but I did not know until after I finished it that it was the second book of a trilogy. There were a lot of unanswered questions at the end of the book, and I did not like that. I heard that the last book is coming out in October, so I'm looking forward to it. I really need to read the first one too. I really wish that I had read them in order because I was very confused at some points in "Strongholds". So my advice to you is to read them in order, and begin with "Blessed Trinity" first, before you read "Strongholds".

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I love it, August 24, 2008

By	Runell Appling "JAP" (Hyattsville, MD) - See all my reviews

This book is so good. The story is told in such a way that you will enjoy reading it and it can also change lives. It will make you aware of things that you probably never thought of as a stronghold. It will explain what strongholds are and what the word of God says regarding them. While reading this book I found myself praising God for some of the things that was going on because we all know someone who can identify with the characters in the book if not ourselves.