{"id":3475,"date":"2009-12-04T18:29:47","date_gmt":"2009-12-04T23:29:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/?p=3475"},"modified":"2009-12-04T18:29:47","modified_gmt":"2009-12-04T23:29:47","slug":"essie-in-progress-by-marjorie-presten","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/?p=3475","title":{"rendered":"Essie in Progress by Marjorie Presten"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>\"\"<\/a>It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour<\/a><\/strong><\/span> <\/strong> book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old…or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n


<\/p>\n

Today’s Wild Card author is: <\/strong><\/div>\n


<\/p>\n

Marjorie Presten<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n


<\/p>\n

and the book:<\/span> <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n


<\/p>\n

Essie in Progress<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Kregel Publications (April 1, 2009)<\/p>\n

***Special thanks to Marjorie Presten for sending me a review copy.***<\/p>\n

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:<\/span> <\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Marjorie Presten is a native Georgian who has her own fair share of experience juggling career and motherhood. She lives outside of Atlanta with her husband, Tom, and their three children.<\/p>\n

Listen to a radio interview about the book HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Product Details:<\/p>\n

List Price: $13.99
\n Paperback: 320 pages
\n Publisher: Kregel Publications (April 1, 2009)
\n Language: English
\n ISBN-10: 082543565X
\n ISBN-13: 978-0825435652<\/p>\n

AND NOW…THE FIRST CHAPTER:<\/span> <\/strong>
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Prologue<\/p>\n


<\/p>\n


<\/p>\n

1972<\/p>\n

In a thirty-second phone call, Hamilton Wells would make a decision that would earn him more money than he could spend in his lifetime. Everything was on the line, but he was not nervous, euphoric, or eager with anticipation. In Hamilton\u2019s mind, the matter was not speculative, debatable, or anything less than a sure thing. Hamilton had the gift, and it had never let him down. Yet even before he made the call, he knew money wouldn\u2019t cure the unrelenting pain of his grief. He sat at his desk with only a single orange banker\u2019s lamp for illumination and cried silently.<\/p>\n

Her death had been inevitable, but feelings of helplessness still overwhelmed him. His young son\u2019s dependency on him only multiplied his grief and anger. Six-year-old Jack Wells had insisted his father do something to help Mama, but the only thing Hamilton could do was sit at her bedside and try not to cry. Now it was six weeks after her death, and Hamilton knew his son needed him to be strong, to return life to normal. A neighbor had enrolled Jack in the local church baseball league. They played a game every Wednesday afternoon. It will be good for him, they\u2019d said. Life has to go on.<\/p>\n

Hamilton cradled his head in his hands and groaned. The enormity of the risk he was about to take didn\u2019t concern him. It was purely mechanical. He would surrender all he owned for just one more blissful afternoon at the lake he and his wife both loved, but now that was impossible. His wife was dead. Nothing he could do would change that.<\/p>\n

He remembered the book of Job. Would a loving and caring God do this to the love of my life? Well, he did, Hamilton thought bitterly. Earline had lingered for months. The doctors said it was miraculous that she had endured as long as she had. Be grateful for these last days to say goodbye, they\u2019d said. But for Hamilton, the prolonged end only added anger to his bottomless sorrow. Standing alongside his son as a helpless witness to her slow deterioration and suffering in the final weeks was more than he could bear. It was the worst time of Hamilton\u2019s life. Nothing really mattered anymore, and it seemed he had nothing left to lose.<\/p>\n

Under different circumstances, he might have played it safe and put the proceeds away for his son\u2019s education, bought a new house, or perhaps invested in a bit of lake property. He could have become like the rest of the players and worn monograms on his starched cuffs so everyone could remember whose hand they were shaking. Instead, he had gone it alone. His brokerage business had few clients. He was the only big player left. Now he planned to risk everything on something happening on the other side of the world.<\/p>\n

Ham couldn\u2019t remember exactly when he had recognized his innate ability to pick the winner out of a crowd. It had always been there, ever since he was conscious of being alive. The talent had blossomed in the military when the card games occasionally got serious. Now, with every dollar he had to his name, Hamilton approached wheat futures with that same instinct. The Russian harvest had been a disaster, and the United States was coming to the rescue. The price of wheat was going to go through the roof, and then through the floor. He was going to make a fortune on both ends.<\/p>\n

He picked up the phone and dialed a number on the Chicago Mercantile exchange. He listened for a few moments as the connection was made. Young Jack tugged at his father\u2019s shirtsleeve. \u201cPop? Can we go now?\u201d Jack held a baseball in his hand and a glove under his arm. Hamilton swiveled his chair, turning his back to his son.<\/p>\n

A familiar voice announced his name. \u201cHow can I help you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s Ham,\u201d he said. \u201cShort the entire position.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat? Everything?\u201d the voice asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything.\u201d No emotion colored his voice.<\/p>\n

Young Jack crept gingerly around the chair to face his father. \u201cPop,\u201d he whispered, \u201ccome on, the game is about to start.\u201d Hamilton shook his head and looked away.<\/p>\n

The voice on the phone was still talking. \u201cMost folks are still enjoying the ride, Ham. You could get hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not going a penny higher. Short it all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t say I didn\u2019t warn you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWarn me? My wife is dead. What else matters?\u201d<\/p>\n

The voice mumbled something about her passing.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe didn\u2019t pass. She\u2019s dead. Just do what I ask.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOK, Ham.\u201d The phone disconnected.<\/p>\n

Jack was standing there in front of him, shoulders slumped. The ball hung loose at the end of his fingers, and the glove had fallen on the carpet. \u201cPop, can we go now?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry, Son. Not today.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not fair!\u201d Jack erupted. Hot tears sprang up in his eyes. \u201cWhat am I supposed to do now?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ham looked down, silent.<\/p>\n

Jack hurled the ball to the floor, wiped his tears angrily, and stormed out of the house.<\/p>\n

Ten minutes later on the futures board, wheat ticked down.<\/p>\n

It ticked down again.<\/p>\n

And so it would continue. Ham would be richer than he\u2019d ever imagined. He\u2019d never experience another financial challenge for the rest of his life. It was not really important, though. Scripture came back to him: \u201cwhat good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?\u201d<\/p>\n

He would trade it all to have his love, his life, back again.<\/p>\n

But that was not an option.<\/p>\n

Out his window, Ham could see young Jack riding his bicycle furiously down the street. He watched with a passive surrender as his son\u2019s small frame shrank into the distance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

MY REVIEW:<\/strong><\/p>\n

As the title suggests Essie in Progress<\/a> is primarily a story about Essie Wells. However, the narrative also focuses on the important people in her life and their journeys, both together and separately, to find their true destinies . . . and each other. As a pregnant Essie struggles to keep it together as a mother of two children, wife to a husband who is having his own identity crisis, and a full time employee whose job description has just changed, she finds herself surrounded by people who speak encouragement to her just when she needs it. A few divine appointments along the way reveal God’s involvement in her life in a tangible way.<\/p>\n

Essie in Progress<\/a> is a beautiful composition with several quotations well worth remembering. My favorite is on page 144-145 when Mrs. Tuttle tells Essie:<\/p>\n

“Honey, we have to be willing to pour out our lives in order to find them. If you characterize your life by what you give rather than what you get, you will discover that extraordinary, image-bearing child of God you were designed to be. A shining reflection of his glory. Remember who you are child. You were born to shimmer!”<\/em><\/p>\n

Essie in Progress<\/a> is filled with real people with real struggles. The inclusion of Essie’s children adds a special touch of humor and charm. Cole’s fixation on heroes was a thread that added depth and some great lessons. And Juliet’s love of sparkly shoes was a sweet reminder of little girls in my own life. Essie in Progress<\/a> is a story of spiritual growth and restored relationships. I believe that it has something special to offer everyone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,60],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books","category-contemporary-fiction"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3475"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3475"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3475\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3482,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3475\/revisions\/3482"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}