Sunday, March 22, 2009

Yada Yada

I hope that in addition to my column, you make time for other pleasurable reading. Just kidding.

I’ve been meaning to tell you about a series of books called the Yada Yada Prayer Group novels. I don’t make time often enough for fiction reading, but all my friends were reading these books and telling me I “had to” read them, so I finally gave in to peer pressure. I’m so glad I did, because the Yada Yada books turned out to be a wonderfully delightful and important reading experience.

In this series of seven novels, author Neta Jackson, introduces us to twelve women thrown together in a prayer group at a women’s conference. At the end of the conference, the women decide to continue meeting for prayer, and their lives become enmeshed in one another’s. With that many characters, readers are carried along through a multitude of experiences. There are few subjects not covered. You’ll read about homelessness, drug addiction, AIDs, spousal abuse, incarceration, racism, and death—just to name a few topics. But don’t let that list deceive you into thinking these books are depressing. No, throughout the novels, Jackson consistently keeps our focus on God’s redeeming love and His power to give us “beauty for ashes.” Jackson also has a wonderful sense of humor, and I know I laughed more often than I cried.

The audience appeal for these books is as varied as their characters. The adult women in my prayer group all loved reading them, so imagine my surprise when my teenage daughter polished off all seven books in a matter of days because she couldn’t put them down. Would men enjoy these books? I think they would, but I imagine most of the readers are women.

More than anything, the books made me aware of the importance of Christian fellowship. The characters in the books supported one another through many of life’s physical, emotional, and spiritual battles. They prayed together. They worshiped together. They loved one another. They show us a modern-day application of the early church in action and offer an example worth emulating.

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