Read What Advance Readers Are Saying About Freedom's Stand

Freedom's Stand, sequel to 2010 Christian Book Award finalist and 2010 Christy Award finalist, Veiled Freedom, arrives in bookstores May, 2011. It is already available for pre-order on Amazon, Christianbook.com, Barnes & Noble and other on-line catalogs. Here is what some advance readers have to say about Freedom's Stand:

STEVE SAINT, author of The End of the Spear: "To be good, a story has to be entertaining. To be really good, a story has to leave something in your soul that makes your life richer and you more valuable to those who are touched by your story. I have previously only been to Afghanistan once. I barely scratched the surface of that tumultuous, passionate, assertive country with its multiple cultures and deep struggles. I wanted to go back. And now I have with an author who took down the veil so I could see the Afghanistan that visitors don't see. Freedom's Stand leaves me richer and more aware of many hurts I have missed. It has made the people of Afghanistan and their struggles part of me."

DR. CARL MOELLER, President, Open Doors USA, author of The Privilege of Pain: “If you have ever wondered what life is like 'behind the veil' of Islam in Afghanistan, then Freedom's Stand will touch your heart like nothing else. It brings a message of hope for those whose lives are a desperate search for the reality of God.”

ANGELA HUNT, bestselling author of The Fine Art of Insincerity: "I've read several books about the terror and tumult in contemporary Afghanistan, but not until reading Jeanette Windle's Freedom's Stand did I realize that Islam's honored prophet Isa Masih holds the answer for this blood-stained country. You may know the prophet as Yeshua or Jesus the Christ, but Freedom's Stand beautifully illustrates how he brings inner peace by whatever name he is known."

CHUCK HOLTON , former Army Ranger, war correspondent, award-winning author and editor of American Heroes series with Oliver North: "In Freedom's Stand, Windle's thorough research, passion for accuracy and trips to the war zones of Afghanistan paint a picture so true-to-life that it may make her the subject of a fatwa or two. My hope, however, is that the story will open readers' eyes to the plight of Afghan women, and open their hearts to the love of Isa Masih - the only hope for Afghanistan and the world.

MAJOR JOE DECREE, retired Army Special Forces, combat tours Kosovo & Afghanistan, private security contractor Iraq: "Jeanette’s characters capture the despair of what Afghanistan is and the hope of what it could be. Within the lives of three vastly different souls she weaves a wonderfully believable tale about the unlikeliest coalition imaginable. But in the end they all seek the answer to the universal question of “what am I supposed to do now, Lord?” Jeanette understands the distress of men in combat, that hard decisions get made by people who do not want to make them but are trusted to do so. Personally, I would have liked to have had her with me in Afghanistan. We would have been a good team."

SUSAN MAY WARREN, bestselling author, including RITA award-winning My Foolish Heart: "Absolutely Riveting. Move over, Kite Runner, because Freedom's Stand captures the life and culture of Afghanistan as if you are standing in the middle of Kabul, smelling the fires of rubber tires, listening to the Islamic call to prayer, wrapped in a burqa, while still offering a gripping message of hope and salvation. The deftly drawn story captured me with every word, the plot so compelling that once I picked up Freedom’s Stand, I couldn’t escape the power the story. With sacrifice, betrayal, redemption and love, Freedom’s Stand is an absolute must read.

MARK MYNHEIR, homicide detective and author of 2010 Christy finalist The Night Watchman and The Corruptible: “Freedom's Stand is a fascinating, in-depth plunge into the cultural and religious struggles of the Afghan people and those who are trying to make a difference there. Jeanette Windle gives us another breathtaking story of love, faith, intrigue, and sacrifice, proving again why she’s one of the best storytellers around. Highly recommended!”

MARY DEMUTH, author of Thin Places: A Memoir and 2010 Christy Award finalist Daisy Chain: "It's not easy to capture a war-torn, enigmatic country like Afghanistan, but Jeanette Windle expertly places you right there, wooing you to fall in love with people in dire circumstances. This story of redemption and sacrifice will stick to you like Afghanistan dust, not easily wiped away or forgotten."

T.L. HIGLEY, author of award-winning Seven Ancient Wonders series, including 2009 Christy Award finalist Shadow of Colossus: "Windle writes with the power and authenticity of one who has lived on foreign soil and brought back truth we often do not see from our American living rooms. Freedom's Stand is rich with the history, politics, and culture of Afghanistan, and brings a people to life whom we are called to love. A rich and eye-opening tale."--

KATHI MACIAS, award-winning author of more than thirty books, including the Extreme Devotion series and soon-to-be-released People of the Book, set in Saudi Arabia: "In a time when Afghanistan is in the news almost daily, it is both refreshing and challenging to read a story of courage and candor, adventure and romance set among this ancient and passionate people. Only one with a love for the Afghanis and an understanding of their culture could bring such a story to life, and author J. M. Windle has done it. . . . Through endless intrigue and adventure, we are drawn into the lives of these Afghan people, as we learn their culture, fight their battles, dream their dreams…and ultimately travel with them as they discover the truth about the Prophet they know only as Isa. It is then that they must decide the price they are willing to pay to follow Him…or not. This book will do so much more than entertain us as readers, though it certainly does that. It will challenge us at the deepest level of our commitment and encourage us to stand for freedom…regardless of the cost."

The Reason for the Season

If there's one holiday gripe I've developed since arriving Stateside from overseas, it's the bombardment of programming and commercials determined to reduce the 'reason for this season' to some nebulous 'Christmas spirit'. From observation to date, this consists in renewed belief that Santa will finally bring an outdated toy you've been obsessing over since childhood. A taste for red and green, well-decorated house, hot cocoa and cookies. Extreme shopping in order to prop up a faltering economy. And as a sop to something other than rank materialism, the usual punch-line that celebrating with family and friends, and being cheerful and kind are maybe even more important than getting that item Santa forgot thirty years ago.

It isn't just the absence of a baby named Jesus born in a manger in this equation. As the Grinch put it so succinctly, Christmas is a WHOLE lot more. Around our world, Christians are celebrating, not stockings and presents and 'things bought in a store', but public testimony to God's ultimate gift. The birthday of the King of Kings. Emmanuel. God come to man as a baby--and Savior. Some celebrate freely. Others in courageous defiance of hostile neighbors. Still others in secret under death threat. For the follower of Jesus Christ, celebrating Christmas is a proclamation of faith that though the battle still rages on this planet Earth, the final victory is assured. The King of Kings will triumph. Isn't that more worthy of excitement--and belief--than childhood wishes coming true thirty years down the road?

Now lest I be accused of grinchiness (is that a word?), let me hasten to add I see no problem with enjoying the trappings of stockings and gifts and Christmas tradition, as God supplies. This year I confess to wallowing in family planning, shopping, decorating, baking--and, yes, cocoa (though no past-life toys). The reason: God has blessed our family this Christmas with the best gift possible outside the birth of His Son. For the first time in five years, all three of our adult sons came home for the holidays. My Navy son Steve (21) flew in from Sicily. My oldest son Mike (26), who works with homeless men and underage illegal aliens in Seattle, made it out from the worst winter storm to hit SeaTac airport in a decade. My middle son Josh (22) arrived from Wyoming with new daughter-in-law and six-week old first grandson. Our daughter Ellie (17) was ecstatic to have her big brothers all home. It has truly been a wonderful Christmas from beginning to end.

During Christmas Eve and Day, my husband kept email and Skype online to keep abreast of happenings among our Christian refugees in Orissa. The good news: though Christmas celebrations were low-key, the holiday passed peacefully without new attacks. In the two refugee camps our ministry sponsors for pastors and families under death threat, Christmas was celebrated with a worship service, gifts of clothing and other needed items, and a special Christmas feast. All made possible by donations that have come in, not just from North America, but the Ukraine, Peru, Ireland. A number of our children's and family camps from Latin America, Eastern Europe, Asia, even other provinces in India took special offerings out of their own scarcity for their brothers and sisters in Orissa. Isn't the family of God a wonderful thing when we work and love together?

Now my family has scattered again, the reason you are hearing from me. Forgive me for inflicting pictures of a proud mother and first-time grandma. But, hey, this is my blog--and these are my first family pictures in years. A Happy New Years 2009. My wish for you and yours is that you may rejoice as much as I have this holiday season in family, friends, faith, and the 'happy ending' to mankind's story that Christmas foretells.

Dancing in the Storm

Growing up as a daughter of missionaries in Colombia’s equatorial zones, I’ve always loved storms. Monsoon rain thundering on roof tiles loud enough to drown out sibling squabbles. Furious tossing of the jungle canopy like surging waves on some wild, green sea. That fresh, earthy scent of raindrops exploding against hot dirt. Mud-brown floodwaters lapping at the concrete edging of our elevated verandah.

The greatest fun came as the storm tapered off. Pulling on bathing suits (unlike the neighbor kids for whom clothing restraints were optional), my siblings and I joined our friends outdoors. Who needed swimming pools when the dirt street outside was now a river rapids ride? Mud was easily dealt with by standing under the rainspout, the downpour itself as tepid as Caribbean surf.

Though small and helpless against nature’s fury, I remember no fear, only joyous delight in a power far greater than myself. Somewhere up there in the thunder and lightning and rain, God was playing with His creation.

I realize now that my delight in the storms came from my own position of safety. My home was built like a fortress, the brick-and-concrete walls, metal roof, barred shutters and heavy doors that kept our expat family safe from thieves, riots, or guerrilla insurgents impervious to the worst tropical deluge.

Since those days, I’ve been exposed to storms less friendly. Traveling twenty-eight hours in a Canadian blizzard, the highway drifting shut at the heels of our carload of Bible college students. My first hurricane during a sojourn in Miami. This time I wasn’t living in a fortress. My husband and I hunkered down in the dark with our children (hurricane shutters were up and the power out), a 120-mile-per-hour wind tearing at our roof and slamming neighbors’ possessions against the walls. I was sure one more huff-and-puff would blow our house down.

And yet there was that delightful moment when the gale died down and we gathered courage to step outside into the storm. The rain was warm and no longer blowing straight sideways. The earthy freshness of a sudden gust across my face carried me back to those jungle monsoons. Despite broken palms, ripped-off roofs and blown-down fences, I felt safe--though I knew it wouldn’t last long.

The eye of the storm had settled over us.

Since those halcyon childhood downpours, I’ve learned more than I wished about storms. Foremost, that all storms aren’t acts of weather. I've now met political and economic storms, gale winds of war. Storms of loneliness and separation. Storms of personal failure and temptation. Of grief and pain and betrayal.

Worse, storms that shake not me, but those I love. An adult son with a new baby recently lost his job in the auto industry. The ministry of which my husband serves as president, BCM International, has 16,000 churches in India, including many in Orissa province where one year ago on Christmas Day, Hindu extremists launched an on-going assault against Christian churches and homes that has left hundreds dead, more than 50,000 displaced, and virtually every church building destroyed. A dear BCM co-worker, Pastor Dasarath Digal, was jailed for murder when one of the mob destroying his church fell to his death while tearing the cross from the roof. In renewed violence a few months ago, his twenty-four year old son was killed by a mob (Read More at Orissa Burning). Another co-worker's beautiful teenage daughter died of medical complications while fleeing the attacks. I can face my storms with equanimity, but I find my mind screaming and heart weeping at the injustice of theirs.

These days I find myself more often than ever before in storm-tossed corners of our planet. Guatemala. El Salvador. India. Sri Lanka. The Philippines. Afghanistan (keep an eye out for my new Afghanistan novel, Veiled Freedom, coming from Tyndale House Publishers June, 2009). Sometimes traveling with others, often alone. "Aren't you afraid of what could happen?" I'm often asked.

Have I learned to fear the storms?

Only when I lose sight of where and whose I am. I belong to the Almighty Creator of the Universe whose weather antics delighted me as a child, whom Scripture describes as riding on the wings of the wind, making storm clouds His footstool, thunder and lightning His playthings. He is King of Kings--and my heavenly Father who loves me passionately. And He loves and cares for those I love far beyond what I ever could. Whatever tempest shakes my world brings no cause for fear but joyous dancing. Why? Because at the eye of every storm is my heavenly Father's almighty hand, where I am lovingly and safely cradled.

Merry Christmas! I hope you will come back and visit this blog again. Drop me a line. Dance with me in the palm of our Creator's hand. Join me in the adventure of joyous living in the eye of life's storms. And in this Christmas season may you and yours know the immeasurable love that prompted the Creator of the Universe to take on humanity in the form of a baby born to a peasant refugee family in a dark and war-torn moment of history in order to draw His lost creation back to Himself.