Jayne’s Endeavour — release day

Mysterious strangers, a Scripture verse, and a threat. “Reids never give up.” The words once held so much truth. But at eighteen, Jayne Reid is beginning to wonder if she can live up to that standard. When puzzling strangers appear and odd things start to happen, Jayne and her two younger sisters must find a solution—or lose everything. What mystery lurks in the shadows of the Australian bush? Who is the man in town who thinks he can buy and bully anyone he wishes? And is it all somehow connected to their new farmhand? Journey with Jayne as she struggles to change fear into boldness and boldness into a trusting relationship with her Heavenly Father. What adventure lies ahead? The JOY Series follows three sisters on a quest to keep their parents’ legacy and dreams alive. Loaded with 19th century Australian adventure, it’s a series full of intrigue, adventure, and faith for ages 12 and up! Guys, I was thrilled to be asked to participate in this blog tour! And this book . . . this book is really, really good! Three sisters, depending on each other, and working on the farm, and loving each other, and working together . . . it was such a sweet testimony of a strong family bond. They have faced so much in their young lives, and they still trust in the Lord to work all things together for good. They encourage each other when they see one of them is struggling, and they freely give out hugs and share their feelings and thoughts. By far my favourite scene was the one in the middle of the night, with them all piled into the same bed. It was just SO sweet! The mystery aspect was interesting. At first, I figured Jayne was just reading too much into other peoples actions with an over active imagination . . . and then I realized that no, she wasn’t, and I wanted to know what was going on! I must say, I still want to know what’s going on with two of the characters, but I suppose I must wait for the second book to come out, right? The Christian themes in this book were so strong and woven into the story line in an amazing way. Biblical values and doctrines were the core of this story, and I enjoyed it all the more for it. Whenever the girls faced issues, they knew they had to turn to the only One who held all wisdom. The several prayers that were sent up, the Christian hospitality, the family Bible reading — all of it was so sweet. These things are so seldom seen in Christian literature, and I can only think of a few authors I can trust to deliver strong Christian truths . . . and I am always thrilled to be able to add another author to my lists of favourites! The story behind the “JOY” name of the series is a beautiful one . . . but you’ll have to read the book to discover it! I would, without any qualms at all, hand this book over to my younger sisters to read and enjoy . . . and today is the day it releases into the world! Yay!

Amazon // Author // Goodreads

And this is a small thing, but . . . if you’ve been reading this blog for anytime at all, you’ve most likely realized that I prefer to spell things with “our” rather than “or”. Such as “favourite”, or “colour” . . . it just looks nicer. Kinda like how Anne spelt with an “E” is so much nicer than just plain ol’ Ann. And this book was written by an author who makes her home in Australia. So I was immersed in my favourite, beautiful spelling for the duration of this book! And it just made my heart happy! Does that make me silly, or what? Anyways . . . Lauren was kind enough to agree to pop in and write for us, on a topic that encouraged my heart, for one. And, prayerfully, yours as well! . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Two Types of Joy

Everyone wants to be joyful. Well at least everyone I’ve met :D In our minds joyfulness equals happiness, and I don’t think many people want to be unhappy!! But what exactly do we rely on for our joy? And what does it mean that the joy of the Lord is our strength? I’ve thought about these concepts a fair bit during writing Jayne’s Endeavour and book 2. After all, it is called the JOY Series!! People often say “The joy of the Lord is my strength” or sing that familiar song. But I struggled to understand what it meant!

“For the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10

I’ve come to the conclusion (but I still have plenty to learn) that there are two types of joy:

• Deep-rooted joy
• Shallow-rooted joy

Personally I know what my preference is out of the two!! I want a joy that doesn’t come and go with changing circumstances, a joy that is always there—steadfast joy. So where exactly does that type of joy come from? Does such joy stem from everything going how we want it to? Or perhaps someone giving us a complement? Or maybe we’re joyful because we’ve just sold a thousand books and have raving reviews! ;) Shallow-rooted Joy Being glad or joyful is a natural response to any of those things . . . but if they are the kind of things we rely upon to be joyful, well it’s what I call shallow-rooted joy. Because if we’re having a bad day, or someone is unkind to us, or we haven’t sold any books for a month, then we’re going to be pretty unhappy if that was what we relied on for our joyfulness. So what’s the alternative?! :D Deep-rooted Joy Only when our delight is in our Heavenly Father can our joy be solid. God alone never changes and will never let us down. If we truly delight in Him, then no matter what our circumstances are, we can find our joy in Him. Even when our world is shattering around us and all our friends forsake us, if we delight in God and His ways, we can have true joy. Because then our joy isn’t based on circumstances, it’s based upon God’s faithfulness—we’re delighting in Him. Excerpt from Jayne’s Endeavour:

Jayne swallowed and cleared her throat. All she had to do was concentrate on the next word, the next sentence. “Without realising it, we had chosen a name beginning with J, the first letter of the word that had become so important to me—joy. The name reminded me that to be strong, I needed to delight in the Lord, for God is always gracious . . . No matter what happens in my three jewels’ lives, you must turn to God and remember that your joy is in Him. In Him you can find strength and joy during every trial.”

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . And, I’m delighted to share the giveaway that Lauren is hosting with you!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I am very, very thankful to Lauren for sending me a copy of this book to read and enjoy! I thoroughly enjoyed it, and am looking forward to the rest of the series!

:::About the Author:::

Lauren Compton lives in Australia on a sheep farm—surrounded by mountains and plenty of Aussie wildlife! From a young age she has loved books and writing-related things (yep, that includes spending ages in the writing supplies department!). Now she has embarked on a mission to write books that both entertain AND encourage. Her desire is to weave stories that point readers to her Heavenly Father while at the same time being a whole lot of fun!

Blog // Website // Newsletter // Amazon