It is Christmas eve. An old woman is living in poverty in a caravan so she goes to the town with her accordion to earn some money for fuel and food. Eventually she is forced to see her instrument, and then by a cruel twist of fate she is robbed on her way home and left unconscious in the snow. However her own good deeds earn her a wonderfully satisfying reward and a Christmas surprise.
Charles Middleberg and his family are Polish Jews, living in France during World War II. After the German invasion in May 1940, Charles's father is taken away. Soon after, his mother is taken as well, and for the next five years, Charles and his brother will have their lives saved - again and again - by a series of small miracles.
A teacher's gift of love makes a profound impact on one of her struggling students in this heartwarming story. Mary Bartel is a child who seems beyond hope of helping, but Sophie Lawson's heart is moved to try to make a difference. This deeply moving story will inspire readers to consider the people God has brought into their lives.
"Powerful . . . equal parts heartwarming and heart-wrenching. White is a gifted storyteller." —Washington Post From the streets of Baltimore to the halls of the New Mexico Philharmonic, a musician shares his remarkable story in I'm Possible, an inspiring memoir of perseverance and possibility. Young Richard Antoine White and his mother don't have a key to a room or a house. Sometimes they have shelter, but they never have a place to call home. Still, they have each other, and Richard believes he can look after his mother, even as she struggles with alcoholism and sometimes disappears, sending Richard into loops of visiting familiar spots until he finds her again. And he always does—until one night, when he almost dies searching for her in the snow and is taken in by his adoptive grandparents. Living with his grandparents is an adjustment with rules and routines, but when Richard joins band for something to do, he unexpectedly discovers a talent and a sense of purpose. Taking up the tuba feels like something he can do that belongs to him, and playing music is like a light going on in the dark. Soon Richard gains acceptance to the prestigious Baltimore School for the Arts, and he continues thriving in his musical studies at the Peabody Conservatory and beyond, even as he navigates racial and socioeconomic disparities as one of few Black students in his programs. With fierce determination, Richard pushes forward on his remarkable path, eventually securing a coveted spot in a symphony orchestra and becoming the first African American to earn a doctorate in music for tuba performance. A professor, mentor, and motivational speaker, Richard now shares his extraordinary story—of dreaming big, impossible dreams and making them come true.
On one memorable day, while Bishop Martin and his wife, Donna, were in prayer together, God gave them a one-word message: "Adopt!" Over the next five years, the Martins would adopt four kids. Others in their church community have heard the call and have now adopted 72 children.
The Survivors, their members known only by the order in which they joined, live alone in a rural Colorado mansion. They believe that sickness bears honesty, and that honesty bears change. Fueled by the ritualized Cytoxan treatments that leave them on the verge of death, they instigate the Day of Gifts, a day that spells shocking violence and the group's demise. Enter Mason Hues, formerly known as Thirty-Seven, the group's final member and the only one both alive and free. Eighteen years old and living in a spartan apartment after his release from a year of intensive mental health counseling, he takes a job at a thrift shop and expects to while away his days as quietly and unobtrusively as possible. But when his enigmatic boss Talley learns his secret, she comes to believe that there is still hope in the Survivor philosophy. She pushes Mason to start the group over again--this time with himself as One. PartFight Club, partThe Girls, and entirely unlike anything you've ever experienced, Peter Stenson's Thirty-Seven is an audacious and austere novel that explores our need to belong. Our need to be loved. Our need to believe in something greater than ourselves, and ultimately our capacity for self-delusion.
When Alexi learns from his babuskha that a Russian village church has been closed for sixty years, the resourceful young boy decides to prepare it for a Christmas miracle.
"You are the biggest little miracle I have ever known." Join Barnaby, the young badger cub, as he explores some of the wonderful sights, sounds and smells of nature in this heartwarming tale. Perfect for families to share. Filled with beautiful illustrations, grown-ups will adore reading this book to children of any age. With a lasting message about appreciating some of the extraordinary things we can often take for granted, this story is timeless, and it can be shared over and over again.
There's something truly magical about Christmas. Filled with remarkable true stories of the kindness of strangers and the blessings of answered prayers, this collection with its small miracles truly captures the spirit of the season. These stories of hope, faith and joy are a moving tribute to the true meaning of Christmas and remind us all that the greatest gifts in life can't be gift wrapped.
