I am a Bible college graduate whose faith has always been a practical matter. Because I learned to find the “so what” of the Bible, when I became a teacher of the Bible in the public schools of Rowan County, North Carolina, my elective courses had waiting lists for students to get in to. As I now teach in Maine, I found I could continue to share a practical Christian faith through my writing. The books I have listed here do the very thing that I seek in my own writing.
At Home in Mitford does what the title implies, I felt at home while reading. Because I have encountered so many people who claim to be Christians and their actions refute it, reading about a gentle and genuine Episcopalian priest gave me a breath of fresh air.
The day-to-day life of a small town in the mountains of North Carolina reminds me of a time in life when people looked out for each other. The practical application of the Christian faith within the pages of the story kept me from feeling preached at and when I put the book down each time, it filled my soul with peace.
The first novel in #1 New York Times bestselling author Jan Karon's beloved series set in America's favorite small town: Mitford.
It's easy to feel at home in Mitford. In these high, green hills, the air is pure, the village is charming, and the people are generally lovable. Yet, Father Tim, the bachelor rector, wants something more. Enter a dog the size of a sofa who moves in and won't go away. Add an attractive neighbor who begins wearing a path through the hedge. Now, stir in a lovable but unloved boy, a mystifying jewel theft, and a secret that's…
I was not the same person after reading Francine Rivers’ book Redeeming Love. To read of the depths of despair a human can experience, my heart melded to Angel’s in feeling rejected and not good enough for anyone, much less God.
I cried as I read about Angel’s choices because I understood the self-loathing that produced them. My soul rejoiced as Angel began to see herself as God does. The love and acceptance from both her husband and God brought hope that I can learn to feel the same way about myself.
Each time I readRedeeming Love, I learn more and become an even better person.
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE starring Abigail Cowen, Tom Lewis, Nina Dobrev, with Logan Marshall Green and Eric Dane, special appearance by Famke Janssen. Distributed by Universal Pictures with a screenplay by Francine Rivers and D.J. Caruso
CALIFORNIA'S GOLD COUNTRY, 1850. A TIME WHEN MEN SOLD THEIR SOULS FOR A BAG OF GOLD AND WOMEN SOLD THEIR BODIES FOR A PLACE TO SLEEP.
Angel expects nothing from men but betrayal. A child prostitute, she survives by keeping her hatred alive. And what she hates most are the men who use her, leaving her empty and…
Some Wildflower in My Heartreminded me that people are the way they are for a reason. Margaret, the woman who seems to have a heart of stone, had a child and young adulthood of trauma.
As I followed Margaret through the story, I found that looking deeper into a person can reveal treasures I did not know existed. Margaret lived through tragic events and she rejects God because she feels he let her down.
I understood her anger with God and when her heart softens, because of a relationship she forms with an authentic Christian coworker, I see it is a genuine realization and not some unbelievable event an author is trying to force on me.
Margaret Tuttle's story is one of love unsought, for she had been perfectly content with the well-ordered and conveniently predictable life she had arranged for herself.But something dark lurks beneath the surface of her placid and uncluttered being, something dusty with neglect, yet painful to the touch. Birdie Freeman is everything Margaret is not: homely, humble, and generous. It is Birdie who manages, through nothing but acts of love, to dredge up Margaret's memories of things better left buried. Then Margaret discovers that Birdie harbors secrets of her own.
All Together in One Placehad me hooked just by reading the back cover. As I read about Mazy, her somewhat difficult marriage and the tragedy of loss, I found courage and hope.
All Together in One Place traces the real-life story of a group of people traveling by wagon on the Oregon Trail in 1852. All the men in the caravan die and these women must decide to work with their differences and learn it is necessary to rely on each other in order to survive.
Reading Kirkpatrick’s book taught me about genuine faith and why asking for help is vital. The authentic dialogue and struggles the women have within the pages of history and this book gave me a perspective on life I did not have.
Their lives would be tempered by adversity, expanded by faith, polished by perseverance.
Based on an actual 1852 Oregon Trail incident, All Together in One Place, Book One in the Kinship and Courage series, speaks to the strength in every woman and celebrates the promise of hope that unfailingly blooms amidst tragedy and challenge.
For Madison "Mazy" Bacon, a young wife living in southern Wisconsin, the future appears every bit as promising as it is reassuringly predictable. A loving marriage, a well-organized home, the pleasure of planting an early spring garden--these are the carefully-tended dreams that sustain her heart and…
I laughed out loud reading The Remember Box. Though the story is serious, Sprinkle captured the concerns and problem-solving that 11-year-old girls have in a time in history, 1949, when life in the South was confusing for those families who took a stand against prejudice.
The author sprinkles Carley’s sense of humor throughout the novel, such as describing an imaginary friend her young neighbor has. You grow to love and understand Carley.
That Carley’s Uncle Stephen is a minister, and the novel describes the difficulties of applying God’s word to real-life issues, makes the book even better. As Carley deals with the loss of her mother to polio, she must decide if she wants to embrace her uncle’s Christian faith or reject it.
Summer in Job's Corner meant big trees, cool grass, and sweltering afternoons stretching endlessly under the Southern sun. Those were the days without plastic, microwaves, television, or air conditioning, a time when clocks ticked comfortingly in the night and a cool breeze was a gift. But as the long sultry summer of 1949 comes to an end, events will transform this sleepy Southern crossroads.
After losing her mother to polio, eleven-year-old Carley Marshall comes to Job's Corner to make a new start, along with her Aunt Kate and Uncle Stephen Whitfield and her cousins Abby and John. The family is…
Stefan Krause, a personal injury lawyer, spirals downward in the wake of losing both his wife to cancer and a critical court case. Stacy Meadows, a behavioral healthcare nurse, discovers her husband in an affair with her best friend Aubree. The board members at the Christian school where Debbie Young teaches confront her about her negative attitude. They stipulate they will only offer her a continuing teacher contract if she agrees to Christian counseling and treatment.
Driven to Bethany R & L Behavioral Healthcare Center, these three wounded individuals seek healing. Can Chaplain Joseph Miller and his mysterious collection of bottles aid in their recovery and help them find what they need from the Great Physician?
I’ve read crime fiction since I was a kid, starting with Nancy Drew and the mystery magazines—Alfred Hitchcock, Mike Shayne, and Ellery Queen. While in elementary school, I wrote mystery short stories, which my sister illustrated, and we sold them on the street corner for 25 cents apiece. In the nineties, I devoured novels by Patricia Highsmith, Ruth Rendell, and P.D. James. The 2000s introduced another generation of favorite authors, including Belinda Bauer, Chris Whitaker, and Tana French. I love too many to name! My current passion is for novels that I can really sink my teeth into, with complex characters hiding dark secrets.
Willem and Jurriaan have a miserable childhood thanks to their cruel, controlling mother—Louisa Veldkamp, a world-renowned pianist. Dad turns a blind eye. One day, Louisa vanishes without a trace during a family vacation.
Adoptee Anneliese Bakker survives a toxic childhood and leaves home, vowing never to return. While searching for her biological mother, she meets the adult Willem, and they fall in love. Pregnant and engaged, she moves into the family mansion, wanting nothing more than to create a loving family for her child. But the Veldkamps are cold and distant. And why is Louisa a taboo subject?
An expectant mother gets more than she bargained for when she marries into a seemingly perfect family in this gripping debut novel–a must read for fans of A. J. Finn and B. A. Paris.
After surviving a nightmarish childhood, Anneliese Bakker is on the mend and searching for her birth mother. But when she meets Willem, she falls madly in love and finally finds a safe place to land. Engaged and expecting her first child, she moves into the Veldkamp mansion on a stately, tree-lined avenue in Amsterdam. And yet, nothing about Willem’s family is as it seems. Instead of…
