Troubled Waters by Susan May Warren

I like to be in control. It makes me comfortable when life, my husband, and my children are predictable and everything happens as it should. I don't do well when things go awry. If and when they do, it's obvious to me that God messed up and is just not seeing how perfect my plan is for the situation. I can seriously relate to characters who have to hold the reigns in their lives, and maybe even the lives of others because we know how things should go down.

The problem with my line of thought, is simply that God knows better. He has a plan. Isaiah 55:8-9 tells us "'My thoughts are not your thought, nor are your ways My ways,' says the Lord. 'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts higher than your thoughts.'" He has the perfect view of our problems.

When we trust Him with the plan for our lives, He is faithful. The problem is that it's not easy to trust someone that you don't know, even if it is the God of the universe. The solution is simple, but not easy. Get to know him. It's simple because everything we need to know, He gave us in the Bible. It's not easy because we actually have to make an effort to find out who He is by studying the Bible. For a long time, I went to church and took notes during the sermon, but that was pretty much the extent of my study. Last year, I started a Bible-in-a-Year program (that I'm almost done with, yay!) and have been amazed by how much more I know of my Lord and Savior as I've seen the vastness of His majesty, the brilliance of His glory, the faithfulness of His promises, and the depth of His love played out in the pages of His Word.

Troubled Waters by Susan May Warren
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Susan May Warren has done it again. Not only is the cover model the *perfect* Ian Shaw, but I can't imagine a better plot for Ian and Sierra, even though it's torture to go through the whole book in the unsettled condition of hoping and praying that they finally get their happy ending. And then, BAM! Right when you think you finally have it figured out, she switches it up on you again... oh the humanity! Finally digging deeper into Jess's backstory, there are some fantastic revelations that I'm still trying to wrap my head around (and maybe wishing a little that I could chain Susan May Warren to a desk until she finishes writing the entire series - preferably in the next week or so - sorry, Susie!), further entrenching these wonderful, flawed people into your heart.

Troubled Waters keeps you suspended in thrills and romance, just like the rest of the series, and like the rest of the series, offers beautiful nuggets of spiritual wisdom that will encourage a deeper faith in your own life. I love the verse that is quoted multiple times throughout the book from Psalm 142:

I cry to you, Lord;
I say, “You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.”
Listen to my cry,
for I am in desperate need...
Set me free from my prison,
that I may praise your name.
Then the righteous will gather about me
because of your goodness to me.

I keep thinking that one of these books can't possibly get any better than the next, but I love being pleasantly surprised with each new release. I CANNOT wait for this summer's release of Storm Front!!

Follow the link HERE to buy Troubled Waters through Amazon, and click HERE to pre-order your copy of Storm Front!

-TheModestMillennial