Books

Christmas is supposed to be the happiest time of the year, but what happens when the past threatens to destroy the peace and joy of the season?

When the men and women in these stories face overwhelming challenges in their lives, can hope be restored this Christmas?

Mountaintop Christmas by Stacy Monson
Wilderness camp leaders Mikayla Gordon and Dawson Dunne have planned their perfect mountaintop Christmas wedding, but nature seems to have other plans. Mikayla will have to face the one thing that has terrified her since childhood or her hopes of a magical mountain wedding to the man of her dreams will be buried deep under the fresh coating of snow.

Like Wool by Eleanor Bertin
Young David Fawcett is all duded up for a night of punk rock with his buddies when the past butts into his plans, thrusting him out into the cold of a snowy Christmas Eve to face his worst enemy.

Ever Greening by Deb Elkink
Thirty-year-old anti-Advent Holly, who’d abandoned Montana as a pregnant teen, faces another Christmas—and this time the meaning of the Incarnation—in the barren desert of Nevada far from the evergreen forest of home.

A Beautiful Christ-mess by Brenda S. Anderson
When prodigal son Zachary Belden returns home at Christmas to surprise his family with news, he’s surprised with other news that turns his surprise into a big mess and challenges his newfound faith.

The Christmas Sweater by Janice L. Dick
Jeanne, a retired librarian and one-year widow, is dreading her first Christmas without Sam. However, when her childhood friend moves in next door, Jeanne wonders if alone might be better. Spunky Debbie McCormick won’t allow Jeanne to wallow in her grief, and seems intent on pushing her into decisions she’s not ready to make.

Taste of Heaven by Sara Davison
When Shawn and Daphne Cook’s hopes for their future are crushed, it takes a chaotic Christmas Eve service to remind Daphne that she has been putting her hope in the wrong things. Her plan is to get to her husband and share that revelation with him, but whoever has been watching them from the shadows just may have a plan of his own.

The Jukebox Cafe by Angela D. Meyer
Retired Marine Mike Thompson is struggling as the new pastor at Hillside Community Church in Preston Hill. Can one special Christmas Eve help him move beyond a past that’s holding him back?

The Caretaker’s Christmas by Johnnie Alexander
Mac never means to eavesdrop, but when the reclusive cemetery caretaker learns that two mourners will be alone for the holidays, he plans a Christmas Eve party for the recent widow and the foster teen. In seeking to ease their loneliness, will Mac find peace for his own grieving heart?

Reno-Vating Christmas by Regina Rudd Merrick
Steve Reno lost his wife two years ago and has two grown children, while Roxy Emerson has been alone for over ten years and is a grandmother. They’re not looking for romance, but when the contractor and restaurant-owner are thrown together at Christmastime, they realize that God does indeed have a hope and a future for them.

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Can she love the child who broke up her marriage?

Nearly four years ago, Erin Belden's happy life became a shattered mess. After her husband admitted to an affair and that a child had been conceived, he left her and their young daughter for his new family. Now, she's finally ready to put the pieces of her life together. She's set to launch her own business and even thinks her heart might be open to romance--should the right man come along.

But just when everything seems to be lining up, she receives a devastating call: her ex-husband and his wife have been killed in a car accident, and Erin is listed in their will as their daughter's legal guardian.

How can she be a mother to the child--let alone love the child--who broke up her marriage? Does she have the courage to start over yet again and turn this mess into a mosaic of beauty?

A single mother’s journey from bitterness to forgiveness.

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Flirty globetrotter Sybil badgers her friend Libby to travel along in seeking out the world’s “sacred places”—a monastery in Japan, a mountaintop in Africa, a mosque in Istanbul. Her footloose wandering far from family values costs her more than money.

But Libby can’t afford to travel, and she’s plagued by a different kind of restlessness. Grieving the recent death of the grandmother who raised her in their inner-city Minneapolis tenement now slated for demolition, Libby faces homelessness in both heart and habitation.

When Libby discovers a cryptic message from beyond the grave and an antique ring pointing to a mystery in an inner room of a mansion museum in North Dakota, she sets out on a quest of her own for the meaning of heritage and home.

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Ruthie Adrian loves ranch live with her handsome husband, Mac, and his family. But her hopes for a child dissolve when Mac, his brother and his father are killed in a crash. Added to their heartbreak, Ruthie and her mother-in-law, Naomi, now face rejection by her sister-in-law O'Dell, and impossible barriers as they try to protect their land.

Jake, a self-styled prophet, steps up with a bizarre offer. A God-send or a trap? With raw grief, unexpected humor, and life-giving grace, Unbound is a modern twist on a timeless tale of the unique bond between two widows, who harbour a few secrets of their own.

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Mikayla Gordon loves nothing more than sleeping under the stars, reeling in the “big one,” and long hikes in the wilderness. A medical crisis reveals a 30-year-old secret that turns everything she’s known and believed upside down, unraveling her dreams and her identity.

In search of answers, she follows a trail from Minnesota to Colorado and discovers more unwelcome secrets even as she falls in love with the majestic beauty of the Rocky Mountains, and a youth leader who shares the greatest secret of all.

Knowing her life can never go back to what it was, she must make decisions that will impact far more than just her future.

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Quirky Fiona McGrath loves her job as a Child Life Specialist at a Dunedin, Florida hospital. As a former foster child, she understands trauma and wants to ensure no child ever faces the same kind of fears she once did. But are fears truly in the past?

Gabe Cavenaugh’s life is right on schedule. As the youngest assistant Chief Financial Officer in the hospital’s history, he has much to prove, but he’s confident he can do anything he’s asked. After all, he’s secure in his faith and has the constant support of his family.

When Gabe is directed to make cuts in order to balance the hospital’s budget, his search leads him to the Child Life Program and to Fiona. How can this crazy, hat-wearing woman, who rides around on a sparkly scooter possibly be a vital member of the medical team?

As Fiona works to persuade Gabe about her job’s necessity, he begins to see there’s more to her and her work with young patients than wacky clothes.

But will she be enough to save her program? And could she possibly be enough for a man like Gabe?

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