Sweet Contemporary Story Set in an Old Order Mennonite Community Amy Knackstedt moves with her children to Weaverly, Kansas, to escape the speculation surrounding her husband's untimely death. She hopes the new location will provide a fresh start for them all. But her neighbor, Tim Roper, is not pleased to have a Mennonite family living next to his apple orchard. When the children try to befriend him, he resists. Tim left the Mennonite faith years ago and doesn't want any reminders of his former life. Yet Amy and Tim find their paths colliding far more than either could have foreseen. Will this tentative relationship blossom into something more?
WHERE HOPE BLOSSOMS is a compilation of 366 daily devotions by popular author Nina Smit. She highlights themes such as: Life is a journey; generosity and gratitude; the secret of happiness; discipleship; reconciliation and forgiveness; and dealing with stress. WHERE HOPE BLOSSOMS shows readers that they can always experience God’s presence in a new and fresh way if they pursue Him with total devotion.
Zhang Jian is a master artist of interior glass painting. He celebrated Christmas as a child before the Communist Revolution overturned his simple and beautiful world. But he never forgot the sights, smells, good cheer, and happy anticipation of that joyous season. Familiarity with the enchantments of Christmas is a rare thing in China. Throughout his life, quiet Jian draws on this private inspiration to craft especially lovely Christmas ornaments for girls and boys across two oceans, bringing financial success to the glass works factory where he is employed. After Midnight Mass, overcome with sacred emotion, old Jian designs and paints one last ornament with the intention of inspiring the men and women of his country to understand who they are in relation to the Christ child. Christmas Blossoms is an impassioned and imaginative tale that explores the fascinating irony of our most cherished Christmas objects, both sacred and secular, produced by the artists and craftsmen of Communist China. In their imaginations, in the depth of their hearts, what do these artisans think of the mangers, the shepherds, Santa Claus, and Mother Mary? Of the star, the bells, the holly, and the Wise Men? Most significantly, what do they make of the Holy Child Who exists at the heart of the West? A story for young and old, parents and children alike, this beautifully illustrated novella captures how the Christmas spirit endures and stirs hearts despite the antagonistic forces of commercialism and oppression--and it will touch your heart as well. Prepare to be swept away as you witness the precious moment when Christmas returned to China.
Michiko Minagawa's father is exiled and she and her family must move to a desolate internment camp in the middle of British Columbia, where she must deal with the prejudices of her schoolmates.
Deborah Malone is no stranger to the trials of life that can rob a woman of her self-esteem, but she discovered how God can use her despite her limitations and healed her from self-doubt. Discover your worth in God's plan as Deborah delves into how women from the Bible were all used by God, even while they were in Broken Places.
Immerse yourself in this utterly addictive forbidden love story that has captivated thousands of readers around the world. “We are not meant to be together. I should’ve known better. And yet…” Petra, a seventeen-year-old Dutch-American and the only heir of finance tycoon Roy Van Gatt, has always had her life rigorously planned and supervised by her strict father. From her internship at his hedge fund firm on Wall Street to her degree in Economics at Columbia University, Petra is all set for a bright future in finance. But everything falls apart when she develops a dangerous relationship with her father’s business partner and utmost confidant, Alexander Van Dieren. A Dutch nobleman, known as an unrepentant heartbreaker, twenty-three years her senior, and who is, above all else, her beloved godfather. A twisted obsession for some, unconditional love for others, but one thing is sure: it’s a relationship that might cost them everything... This book is for mature audiences. ★★★★★ "A Must Read for Romantic Thriller Enthusiasts. Blossom in Winter is a beautifully wrought and expertly woven story of forbidden love, desire, dark pasts, and the lengths one will go to protect everything that matters most to them." -- Payton H, Amazon ★★★★★ "This dark romance is just what you need to keep you warm on the cold winter nights that are coming our way, it even has a simmering slow burn going on." -- Cassandra W., Amazon UK ★★★★★ "This book has been an absolute pleasure to read. There's puppy love, genuine romance, dark and twisted erotica and moments that will leave you shocked." -- Victoria Spaulding, Goodreads ★★★★★ "I don't even have words, got to be one of the most intense books I've read in a while." -- Obsidian, Goodreads ★★★★★ "This was the most amazing book I've read in a while, it was so gripping, I really couldn't stop reading it even at 2 am when I had a Uni class the next day!" -- Sabrina, Goodreads ★★★★★ "No lies, this is the best book I've ever read! I've felt so many emotions while reading it! Can't wait for the second book!!!" -- Mariska, Goodreads ★★★★★ "This book was exceptional, it captivated me instantly." -- Christina, Goodreads ★★★★★ "A captivating page-turner of a book that you literally will not put down." - Jojo, Goodreads ★★★★★ "This was by far the most refreshing, exciting, thrilling, adventurous, and sexy book I've read." -- Amy Shaw, Goodreads ★★★★★ "Pure intensity from the very first word to the very last!" -- Dionne McCarten, Goodreads ★★★★★ "This is by far one of the best books I've read in a long time!" -- Jade, Goodreads
Becky rocks a baby that rocked her world. Sixty years earlier, with her fiancé Drew in the middle of the Korean Conflict, Ivy throws herself into her work at a nursing home to keep her sanity and provide for the child Drew doesn't know is coming. Ivy cares for Anna, an elderly patient who taxes Ivy's listening ear until the day she suspects Anna's tall tales are not the ramblings of dementia. They're fragments of Anna's disjointed memories of a remarkable life. Finding a faint thread of hope she can't resist tugging, Ivy records Anna's memoir, scribbling furiously after hours to keep up with the woman's emotion-packed, grace-hemmed stories. Is Ivy's answer buried in Anna's past? Becky, Ivy, Anna--three women fight a tangled vine of deception in search of the blossoming simplicity of truth.
David Aikman, former senior foreign correspondent for Time magazine, first published When the Almond Tree Blossoms in 1993, as the Cold War ended and political polarization grew in the United States. Twenty-three years later, his novel is as timely as ever. The 2016 presidential election pits unabashed socialists and jaded capitalists against each other, and the nation seems more politically polarized than it's been since the Civil War. This book is a reminder of what's at stake: not only freedom, but life and peace. It's 1998 in this alternative timeline. The US is controlled by a radical, collectivist regime bent on maintaining control despite a growing nuclear threat from the resistance. Douglas Richfield supported the People's Movement early on and now participates in its regime as an assistant adviser for protocol. He's known as an \"activist\" and a \"progressive,\" but he's not entirely at ease with the movement he's always supported. Limitations on freedom of speech, along with military police brutality, give him pause. A conversation with a beautiful stranger only increases his confusion. Perhaps the People's Movement regime is neither as secure nor as noble as he once thought. Just as these doubts begin to form, the regime takes him out of his comfortable office job and into the field, where he must choose once and for all whether his loyalties lie with the People's Movement or the Constitutionalist resistance. Aikman addresses world politics, secret agendas, and ultimately biblical prophecy in this thriller.
Spring is in the air—and in the trees! Spring is here, and with the new season come trees full of life, color. . .and blossoms! From the creators of Leaf Jumpers and Winter Trees, Spring Blossoms introduces readers to a variety of different flowering trees. During a stroll through the forest, two children come across the small and white flowers on a crab apple tree, the rich, red buds on a red maple, and many more. Along the way, readers learn that some trees have both male and female flowers—each with a distinctive appearance. Back matter includes extended botanical facts and more information about trees and their life cycles. Told in lyrical rhymes with beautiful linoleum-cut illustrations, Spring Blossoms offers a unique blend of science, poetry, and art studies.
