What do Zora, a Black American Princess and Nicky, a blond haired blue eyed Berkeley grad have in common? Absolutely nothing except for their excruciatingly out of touch preacher fathers.
Amanda Bell Brown knows that life as a forensic psychologist isn't quite as cool as it looks on primetime TV. But when she turns 35 with no husband or baby on the horizon, she decides she has to get out and paint the town - in her drop-dead red birthday dress. Instead, she finds herself at the scene of a crime - and she may just know who the killer is. Murder, mayhem and a fine man are all wreaking havoc on Amanda's birthday, but will her newfound love of sleuthing leave her safe enough to see past 35?
Turn from fear and find peace. In Feed the Wolf, author and Saint Francis scholar Jon M. Sweeney explores fifteen spiritual practices from the essential wisdom of Saint Francis for us to apply to our twenty-first-century lives.
The abrupt disappearance of young Daisy Chance from a small Texas town in 1973 spins three lives out of control—Jed, whose guilt over not protecting his friend Daisy strangles him; Emory Chance, who blames her own choices for her daughter’s demise; and Ouisie Pepper, who is plagued by headaches while pierced by the shattered pieces of a family in crisis. In this first book in the Defiance, Texas Trilogy, fourteen-year-old Jed Pepper has a sickening secret: He’s convinced it’s his fault his best friend Daisy went missing. Jed’s pain sends him on a quest for answers to mysteries woven through the fabric of his own life and the lives of the families of Defiance, Texas. When he finally confronts the terrible truths he’s been denying all his life, Jed must choose between rebellion and love, anger and freedom. Daisy Chain is an achingly beautiful southern coming-of-age story crafted by a bright new literary talent. It offers a haunting yet hopeful backdrop for human depravity and beauty, for terrible secrets and God’s surprising redemption.
“I will punish you as your deeds deserve…” Emory Chance knows the cross-stitched warning points directly to her motherly neglect. Burying her grief, she’s determined to find her daughter Daisy’s murderer. But when the investigation hits a dead end, her anger escalates. Not even the kindness of her persistent suitor Hixon can soften her heart towards the community of friends that can help her begin to heal. And as the questions surrounding Daisy continue to mount, Emory can’t shake the fear that her own choices contributed to Daisy’s disappearance. Will she ever experience the peace her heart longs for? A gripping suspense novel, A Slow Burn is about courageous love, the burden of regret, and the bonds that never break. It is about the beauty and pain of telling the truth and letting God take over. Most of all, it is about the strength of forgiveness and what remains when shame no longer has power. Mary DeMuth’s distinctive new voice in Christian fiction will keep readers enthralled as they ask soul-searching questions in this second book of the Defiance, Texas Trilogy.
God finally gave X what she asked for. If only he would teach her how to use it. After three years and more creepy demons than she’d care to recall, Emme Vaughn has finally found her mama. Only the reunion doesn’t go as X expected. It’s not easy adapting to a new life in New Orleans, with a mother who was possessed by the devil until recently and a stepfather she didn’t know existed. Especially when a mysterious stranger, her stepfather’s charming and handsome protégé Jean-Paul, drives a wedge between Emme and Francis. Is the enigmatic outsider trying to replace her man? Or does he have a more sinister plan— one she couldn’t have imagined? Haunted by a mysterious ghost and threatened by a demon in her mama’s house, X gets ready to rumble. She dons God’s armor to face the evil force that has hunted her all her life, but first she must cast aside the little girl act and draw strength from all the celestial and worldly friends who have guided her this far. Once and for all, the devil has it coming . . . Exorsistah style.
How much is enough? In an age of conspicuous consumption-of designer sunglasses, jeweled cell phones, and five-thousand-square-foot homes-is it possible to be content? In a society where children spend more time worrying about their weight than their grades, is it possible to find peace? In a world being drained of its natural resources, is it conceivable that we do nothing? And with a universe of dazzling temptation at our fingertips, will we still seek the God of all creation? Will Samson is good at opening thoughtful dialogue; a recent conversation was about social justice. In Enough, his latest wide-ranging, insightful book, Will addresses the idea of finding contentment in this age of excess. With a casual, accessible writing style, he discusses consumerism, contentment as a Christian discipline, and the notion of stewarding our resources. In four sections, Will outlines the ideas that drive a consumeristic mindset; the effects those ideas have on ourselves, our communities, and the earth; conclusions about the situation; and practical solutions for negotiating everyday life once we understand that our abundant God is, in fact, enough. If you're exhausted from keeping up with the Joneses, or if you're looking for the balance between what is necessary and what is too much, just stop. Enough is enough.
Amanda Bell Brown is a woman on edge. The deafening tick of her biological clock and having no man to soothe her makes her one frazzled forensic psychologist. When Lieutenant Jazz Brown shows up at Amanda's door unannounced, her heart competes with her head as she struggles to do the right thing. Jazz says he wants to reconnect and make their relationship work. But there's just one tiny problem: his ex-wife has been found murdered - in his apartment. Now Amanda has to strap on her sleuthing shoes - the cute gold pair - and race against time to discover the truth.
When former televangelist Ezekiel Thunder rolls into Dr Amanda Bell Brown's town, the sassy sleuth sees a storm brewing. The disgraced playboy preacher and his seductive first lady, Nikki, are on the comeback trail, but Bell is less than charmed by the pair. When their toddler, Baby Zeekie, is found dead from an accidental drowning, forensic psychologist Bell suspects foul play, especially after his mama in mourning flirts with Bell's estranged husband, Jazz. Now Amanda must solve a dangerous mystery that threatens not only to end her romance, but possibly her life!
In her moving spiritual memoir, Mary DeMuth traces the winding path of “thin places” in her life—places where she experienced longing and healing more intensely than before. As DeMuth writes, “Thin places are snatches of holy ground, tucked into the corners of our world, where we might just catch a glimpse of eternity. They are aha moments, beautiful realizations, when the Son of God bursts through the hazy fog of our monotony and shines on us afresh.”From losing her earthly father to discovering a heavenly Father who never leaves, from singing Olivia Newton-John songs to the sky to worshiping God under a French sun, from surviving abuse as a latchkey kid to experiencing the joy of mothering three children, DeMuth’s story calls readers to a deeper understanding of their own story. With unusual spiritual wisdom, she looks for God in the past so that she might experience him more profoundly in the present. Her powerful words invite readers to know God in a new way—a God ready to break through any ordinary day or extraordinary pain and offer a glimpse of eternity.