Lead Me Home ~ Review

Lead Me Home
By Amy K. Sorrells

He thought he was doing God's will, until his life started coming apart.  Who ministers to the minister when he needs an ear to hear his pain? For more 20 years James Horton has been leading the Sycamore Community Church and over the last few they have slowly been trickling away to the grand mega church just down the way.

Time has run out on the church James has called home, the bank loan has come due and there is nothing he or anyone can do. With weeks left before the property is auctioned off James needs to find a new purpose in for his life. 

When life as we know it changes where do we call home?  Is it the chance to start over?  Is it where we have always been?  Or is it somewhere in between?

Across the road Nobel Burden is at a crossroads in life as well, with an opportunity to leave behind the hard labor of farming behind he has a choice to make. But is the dream of his heart truly what he wants? Or is his heart's desire at home in Sycamore, Indiana?

As a crisis once again threatens everything these two hold dear, second chances and new beginnings are a possibility as their eyes are open to what is most important in their lives.  Sometimes we are offered the world and at other times the world is taken from us - but either can help us see what we were blind to before.

I really think this line taken from page 205 really sums up this book, "...sometimes leaving ain't the answer for our pain. Sometimes the dreams God has for us, the biggest difference we can make in the world is right where we are." 

I also liked one character's statement regarding the church (page 186) "But programming, new-fangled music and technology, that's not what keeps a church alive. It's depth, James. It's the gospel. And whenever you choose the depth of the gospel over new and shiny, you're gonna have a battle on your hands, The battle wll be worth it, but it'll be a battle all the same."

This is a book that will entertain you while making you think at the same time.  I highly recommend this book, would be an excellent book club selection.

I was provided a copy of this book by Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for my honest review.

About the Book:

Amid open fields and empty pews, small towns can crush big dreams.

Abandoned by his no-good father and forced to grow up too soon, Noble Burden has set his dreams aside to run the family farm. Meanwhile, James Horton, the pastor of the local church, questions his own calling as he prepares to close the doors for good.

As a severe storm rolls through, threatening their community and very livelihood, both men fear losing what they care about most . . . and reconsider where they truly belong.