The Yada Yada Prayer Group

I had bought my daughter-in-law the first series of Yada Yada Prayer Group books, which she loved and she was thrilled when she received this one for Christmas.

I recently read this book, after it was recommended to me by the "girls" in my Bible study. I loved it! It's an entertaining read, yet thought- provoking, and inspirational at the same time.

I picked this book up at a Christian bookstore looking for something interesting to read on a whim. I love to read, especially and as a Christian I like for the books to positive and uplifting. Imagine my surprise with this page turner which had me hooked from the first page. The characters are well written and I could see parts of me and my friends in each one. Just like the characters, we are all at different stages in our Christian walk and have different ideas and interpretations in the way that we pray, praise and worship. This is a must read if you like page turning fiction.

When Jodi Baxter reluctantly agrees to attend a weekend Women's Conference with her co-worker, Avis, she only hopes that it will encourage them to better connect as friends. She is surprised to be thrown into a diverse group of a dozen women from various backgrounds and experiences who will come to be a very important part of Jodi's spiritual growth.During the weekend conference, one of the prayer members suffers a personal crisis that force the women in Prayer Group 26 to do something...pray. And pray, they do, all night long, taking turns praying for this woman they've just met and the family they don't know at all. When the weekend ends, they realize the power of their combined prayer and their need for each other's support, so they set up an e-mail loop to continue praying for and connecting with each other. The e-mail loop is jokingly named The Yada Yada Prayer Group, but they'll soon learn that the meaning of it's name is no joke at all. As they learn more about each other and their respective trials, they decide to meet in person as well as share via e-mail. They begin attending each other's churches, homes and workplaces and in so doing become more and more involved in each other's lives.While this book easily allows us to experience parts of each Yada Yada Prayer Group member's lives, the main protagonist is Jodi Baxter and her relationship with each Yada Yada. I was especially intrigued by Jodi's negative perception of Leslie Stuart (aka Stu) being a know-it-all-do-gooder and would love to have seen that relationship developed and resolved more effectively. However, it's Jodi's own Pharisee-like attitude that requires resolution when she suffers a crisis and is faced with her own denied sin and spiritual neediness. But, as promised, God meets all of Jodi's needs, this time through a group of women that until a few months before, she'd never even known existed.I formed my own bond with The Yada Yada Prayer Group and truly hope to see more of them in the future. The fact that there were a few loose ends left when the book came to an end gives me hope that there will indeed be a Yada Yada Prayer Group revival in the future!(edit: I recently found out that this book, is indeed, the first in a series of three books!)