Book review: The Protector

The Protector Avon Inspire; Original edition (June 28, 2011) by Shelley Shepard Gray



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Shelley Shepard Gray is the beloved author of the Sisters of the Heart series, including Hidden, Wanted, and Forgiven. Before writing, she was a teacher in both Texas and Colorado. She now writes full time and lives in southern Ohio with her husband and two children. When not writing, Shelley volunteers at church, reads, and enjoys walking her miniature dachshund on her town's scenic bike trail.


Check out Shelley's Facebook Fan page



ABOUT THE BOOK:

Everyone needs a safe place to call home


When her mother passes away, Ella's forced to auction off her family's farm. Her father died years ago, and she could never manage the fifty acres on her own. But after she moves to town, she can't deny the pain she feels watching the new owner, Loyal Weaver, repairing her family's old farmhouse—everything Ella had once dreamed of doing.


What Ella doesn't know is that Loyal secretly hopes she will occupy this house again...as his wife. He begins inviting her over, to ask her opinion on changes he wants to make. As their friendship blooms, Ella starts to wonder about Loyal's intentions, especially when her best friend, Dorothy, hints that Loyal is not who he seems. There's no way the golden boy of their close-knit Amish community could be interested in Ella, long the wallflower, hidden away caring for her ailing parents.


Should she trust the man she's always yearned for, or the friend who's always been by her side? When one of them threatens to disrupt the independence she's finally achieved, Ella is faced with a choice. She can protect her heart and keep things the way they've always been. Or she can come out of her shell, risk everything for the love she's always wanted, and finally have a place to call home.


If you would like to read an excerpt from The Protector, go HERE.


MY REVIEW:  I love books based on the Amish community, but sometimes they can get a little stale. "The Protector" did not. Shelley Shepard Gray is one of my favorite authors of Amish books, and she didn't dissapoint.

"The Protector" included drama, romance, and even danger. The main character, Ella, caught the attention of one of the most popular men in her community - even though she was a plain looking and a wall flower. Some may say this was unrealistic, but I think that, sometimes, even the most unlikely dreams should come true, don't you?

The "danger" came in the form of a jealous friend, who had some mental problems going on that made her possesive and eventually turned her into a stalker. An Amish stalker! That's certainly different, isn't it?

"The Protector" was a good read, and I'm looking forward to reviewing Gray's next book in the series, "The Survivor," at the end of August.

Making new friends

That's my son, Adam, on the left, with his new friend, Jorja, on the right. The two of them have played together a couple of times before. But last week during the Salkehatchie Summer Service camp, which you can read about here, Jorja (who was with her grandmother) and Adam spent a lot of time together. These pictures were taken by the camp director. Don't you just love Jorja's name? It's pronounced like the state of Georgia, but spelled in a way to make it different and unique. The two of them got along really well and Adam and Jorja want to play together all the time now. I am so glad Adam has finally made a new friend in our location!

On a mission: Helping a local family

Adam next to the backhoe that a company donated to help work on the home of a needy family.

This past week was a busy one! Our church sponsors a Salkehatchie camp, which meant that I volunteered all week. If you aren't familiar with Salkehatchie Summer Service - and I wasn't until this week - it's a week-long camp put on by Methodist churches (mainly in South Carolina). Campers pay $200 each for the privilege of spending the week in 100 degree weather working on the house of a needy family in the community. And yes - it IS a privilege. The $200 each camper paid, as well as more money donated by the community, is used to fix the house.

That's me, in the blue blouse, working with some of the ladies on a project for the home.

I got roped into helping out and so started the week sort of grudgingly. But by the end of the week - although exhausted - I couldn't have been happier. All the volunteers were on a spiritual high! It's been said that it's better to give than to receive, and I have to agree. The couple whose house was fixed up were different people by the end of the week after they were showered with love.

This cross, in front of the home we worked on, was made and signed by all the volunteers. It will remain in the yard as long as the family wants to leave it there, and they can do whatever they want with it later.

The man of the house, who had faithfully supported his family for years, is now in a wheelchair and on oxygen. I know it hurt his pride to accept help, and he felt that his long beard and tattoos would make him unacceptable to the "church people." But the camp wasn't just about fixing the house, it was about showing love. We shared our meals with them and just sat and listened sometimes. Several times over the week the couple was invited to church, but they always said, "No, thanks." But Sunday morning, they completely surprised everybody by somehow getting a ride (they don't have a working car) and showing up to church. The woman of the house cried as once again the couple was showered with love and acceptance.

Actions speak louder than words, and this week the couple has a beautiful house in which to reside. Salkehatchie volunteers painted the home, put on new shutters and doors, fixed a couple of leaks in the septic system and the kitchen sink, built porches and ramps indoors and out, widened the doors inside so a wheelchair could fit through, cleaned up the yard, and replaced underpinning.

Meanwhile, members of the community did everything from fix steak dinners for the volunteers to donate supplies, including the use of a dumpster and a backhoe.

That's me on the right, along with a couple of the other volunteers who worked to feed the campers all week.

As for me, I didn't actually "camp." Instead, my 8-year-old son and I got up at 3:30 a.m. every morning to begin cooking breakfast for all the campers and volunteers (well, I helped cook, he accompanied me). I was just supposed to help with breakfast, but after a couple of days I felt so blessed that I wanted to do more. So I ended up helping off and on for most of the day with meals and such. At the end of the week we had a big cook-out and roasted half a hog. We even had a band and homemade ice cream for the campers.

By the end of the week, Adam, who had gotten up at 3:30 a.m. every morning with me, completely crashed on a pew during the closing service for the campers.

I met some wonderful new friends, too. It's amazing how close you can become with pure strangers when you spend a week together. I am so grateful God gave me this opportunity, and I can't wait to participate next year!

Ditches, driveways, speech therapy, and jobs

One of the biggest updates I have is that the state came and put in our driveway - for free. They put in the pipe that needed to go in the ditch and put crushed stone down for a driveway. In six months, I'm supposed to call them back and they will come pave it. Yay, SC DOT! The men worked all day in some awful heat to get the driveway put in.

You can see the trailer in the background. We have got the frame tied down, but now need to jack up and brace the sides all the way around. It's an old trailer, and the sides have drooped over the years. Once we do that we'll need to put the over-the-roof ties in place. Work on the trailer is going very slow right now, as the two men who usually help me have both been very busy.

The DOT men also cleaned out the ditch for me. It was overgrown with weeds, scrubby overgrowth, wild blackberries and wild roses. Now I just have to keep it cleaned out!Yes, I realize this is an easement and they are ultimately responsible for it, but in my experience I've always found that it's hard to get road crews to keep ditches cleared and maintained, so I'm happy.

Other things going on in my life include the fact that I finally, after much debate with our insurance company and the pediatrician, found a speech therapist for Adam that is only 25 minutes away. I had to get the insurance company to approve it, as the one they wanted me to go to was an hour away. We did go to that one time, but neither Adam or I liked the people there. They were very condescending and don't like to let the parents stay with the child during therapy. And a two-hour round trip is a lot to ask of a kid every week.

We adore the speech therapist we are now seeing. She was able to establish an immediate rapport with Adam, and she encourages parental participation. She uses play therapy and Adam is already doing well with her.

Lastly, I am hoping to get a job at a hospital about 30 minutes away. The competition is extremely stiff, so I need your prayers. I had to first get chosen for an interview from among all the resumes they received. Then I did an interview with two people who will be my "bosses." I made that cut, and had to go back for a "peer interview" with four current employees. IF I make this cut, I'll have to pass a health assessment, background check, and drug screening. I don't think any of those will be a problem, but I am worried about whether I'll make this cut after the peer interview. It was okay, but I was really nervous being interviewed by my potential future coworkers. Please pray that I make this cut, as I really need this job!