His Woman, His Wife, His Widow
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Cody has been so supportive over these two years. He and my mother get along famously and she has allowed him to get acquainted with my children. Four weeks from today, two weeks after I walk out of here, we will be married in a small private ceremony at his cottage, or should I say our cottage in Martha’s Vineyard. Cody and my mother both wanted a more traditional ceremony with all the fixings. Not having Shyanne to serve as my maid of honor put a damper on going that route.
During my first week here at the prison, I met a woman named Darlene who has truly been a Godsend. Darlene is an older woman who is also serving time for second-degree manslaughter in the death of her husband, who she killed after suffering over twenty years of physical and mental abuse. Darlene has taken me under her wings and reintroduced me to Jesus Christ. She and I have Bible Study daily, and I am learning to once again follow Jesus’ road map on the road to earnestly living a Christian life.
For the duration of my life with Shaun, I have gone back and forth in my Christian walk. Before I came to prison I assessed that all of the horrible things that happened in my life were a result of God’s direct punishment for my straying away from Him. Darlene, however, has made me view things differently. Darlene says that Jesus’ death on the cross eradicated that kind of punishment from God. She told me that my pain and misery were directly caused by me and my own actions. God gives us choices, and I chose to follow my own way versus the will of God for my life. God didn’t cause the misery in my life, He simply allowed me to follow my own course, which detoured me away from God’s purposes for my life.
Darlene has shown me that I made Shaun’s love my true god and I left Jesus in the background, only calling on Him when things got rough as a result of my choices. But now, with Darlene’s help, I have learned how to put God first by making Him the leader of my life. I now seek Him in all my decisions instead of just a back-up solution. This is the key to living a richer more fulfilling life.
When I came to prison, I walked in wearing Shaun’s murder as a badge of honor. I felt I had avenged the death of Shyanne and somehow made right all the wrong Shaun had done to me. Darlene taught me, however, that I needed to humble myself and seek forgiveness for the sins of killing Shaun and Rhonda. Not only had I broken God’s commandment, I didn’t realize that killing them neither erased the hurt done to me nor had it brought Shyanne back. Dealing with Shaun was God’s job.
What I needed was to let go of the hurt, anger and hate and free myself of the demons that caused me to make the mistake of letting someone other than God rule my life. God’s love is real and unconditional, full of grace and mercy. It is compassionate and always right. I now know that as long as I depend on God to give me everything I need, He would send me the man that will love me forever as He has given men the instruction to do. And my God has not let me down with my Cody.
Cody, too, has decided to turn his life over to God and to live for Him. We both understand that if we ask for forgiveness for our adulteress affair, God will forgive us and prosper our marriage. The Bible has taught us that God has a way of turning what the devil meant for evil around for good and to God’s glory. As stated in II Corinthians 5:17: Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold all things are become new.
I am now a new and better person because I have come to realize that I am a true child of God, deserving love, respect, compassion, honesty, and every good thing in this life.
I am so thankful to Darlene for opening her heart and her arms to me, showing me the only way to a better life for myself, my children and everyone that I love. And while Darlene is the vessel that He chose to deliver His message, all my love, honor, praise and worship belongs to God.
The Bible states in Job 36:11: If they obey and serve Him, they shall spend their days in prosperity and their years in pleasures. I have had enough sorrow behind trying to do it my way. I am now more than ready to try it God’s way. Amen!
READING GROUP QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. Who is your favorite character in His Woman, His Wife, His Widow? Why?
2. Who is your least favorite character in His Woman, His Wife, His Widow? Why?
3. Did you think Shaun was too old for Lindsay at the beginning of their relationship?
4. After getting into the book and meeting Shyanne, did you go back and check for her name at Shaun’s funeral in the prologue?
5. Do you believe that Lindsay and Shyanne’s friendship was realistic? Would you be willing to die for your best friend? Do you blame Lindsay for Shyanne’s death?
6. Considering that Lindsay and Shaun were not married when Keva started dating Shaun, did Keva have a right to be upset with them? Do you blame Lindsay for Keva taking Kevaun and disappearing?
7. Do you believe Shaun was telling the truth when he initially told Lindsay that Tawanda was no more than an employee? If so, do you believe that it was Lindsay’s affair with Cody that pushed him into a relationship with Tawanda?
8. Describe your feelings about Lindsay and Cody’s affair and subsequent marriage. How do you feel about Lindsay aborting the baby she conceived with Cody while they were having their affair? Do you think she should have told Cody about the baby in the beginning? What about after they became a couple while she was in prison?
9. Knowing that Shaun would eventually die, were you surprised that Lindsay was the one who killed him?
10. Lindsay killed Shaun, then approximately one week later, she killed Rhonda. After reading the final chapter, did you think about the fact that Sha’Ron, who is now fourteen years old, lost both his parents at the hands of his stepmother? Given the environment in which this young man was raised, do you think there is a possibility that he may retaliate when Lindsay is released from prison?
11. Is there any part of the book that you would re-write? If yes, which part?
BIO
Janice Jones is a native of Detroit, Michigan, but currently lives in Phoenix, Arizona. She is the mother of two sons, Jerrick and Derrick Parker, and grandmother to Jevon Jerrick Parker.
A self-proclaimed avid reader, Janice’s deep appreciation for the written word began at the age of seventeen when she was introduced to The Burning Bed, by Francine Hughes. However, her passion for writing came sometime later in life when she began crafting poetry.
After attending church for the better part of her life, Janice fully accepted Christ as her Lord and Savior in May of 1999. Approximately one year later, she heard the voice of God instructing her to write her first fictional novel, His Woman, His Wife, His Widow. Obediently, but slowly, she did.
Her first published work, Still Standing, is a true-to-life spiritual testimonial of how God brought her through every harrowing hurtful, and horrific experience of her life. It was released in 2006 after much encouragement from Sabrina Adams, Publisher and CEO of Zoe Life Publishing. Janice has recently completed her second nonfiction project entitled Beyond the Drama, which is a follow-up to Still Standing.
Janice Jones a member of First Institutional Baptist Church under the leadership of Dr. Warren H. Stewart, Sr. As a member of F.I.B.C., she works with the Women’s Ministry and Ms. Jessie’s Place, the church campus bookstore and coffee house. During her time in Detroit, she was led and directed by two dynamic pastors: Dr. Nathan A. Proché of Tree of Life Missionary Baptist Church and Dr. Wilma R. Johnson of New Prospect Missionary Baptist Church.
UC HIS GLORY BOOK CLUB!
www.uchisglorybookclub.net
UC His Glory Book Club is the spirit-inspired brainchild of Joylynn Jossel, Author and Acquisitions Editor of Urban Christian, and Kendra Norman-Bellamy, Author for Urban Christian. This is an online book club that hosts authors of Urban Christian. We welcome as members all men and women who have a passion for reading Christian-based fiction.
UC His Glory Book Club pledges our commitment to provide support, positive feedback, encouragement, and a forum whereby members can openly discuss and review the literary works of Urban Christian authors.<
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There is no membership fee associated with UC His Glory Book Club; however, we do ask that you support the authors through purchasing, encouraging, providing book reviews, and of course, your prayers. We also ask that you respect our beliefs and follow the guidelines of the book club. We hope to receive your valuable input, opinions, and reviews that build up, rather than tear down our authors.
What We Believe:
—We believe that Jesus is the Christ, Son of the Living God.
—We believe the Bible is the true, living Word of God.
—We believe all Urban Christian authors should use their God-given writing abilities to honor God and share the message of the written word God has given to each of them uniquely.
—We believe in supporting Urban Christian authors in their literary endeavors by reading, purchasing and sharing their titles with our online community.
—We believe that in everything we do in our literary arena should be done in a manner that will lead to God being glorified and honored.
—We look forward to the online fellowship with you.
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Many Blessing to You!
Shelia E. Lipsey,
President, UC His Glory Book Club
Urban Books, LLC
78 East Industry Court
Deer Park, NY 11729
His Woman, His Wife, His Widow Copyright © 2009 Janice Jones
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior consent of the Publisher, except brief quotes used in reviews.
ISBN: 978-1-5998-3289-0
This is a work of fiction. Any references or similarities to actual events, real people, living, or dead, or to real locales are intended to give the novel a sense of reality. Any similarity in other names, characters, places, and incidents is entirely coincidental.