Seasons of Opportunities

The Kansas community of Fairland anticipates the arrival of their new minister and in recent months, late in 1882, postmistress Grace Cristler has communicated with Reverend Dille via letters, answering his questions about the little town, and developing affection for the man who pens thoughtful missives.   Theophil Garrison grew up under the loving influence of his saintly grandmother, but was roped into his cousins’ train-robbing plan. When they fail and are apprehended, Theo fled the scene, evading jail time. Now an angry cousin is out to avenge Theo's duplicity, and he’s on the run. He encounters a fatally ill traveler--a minister. Seeing a way to keep hidden, Theo trades identities with the man, dons his fine black suit, carries a Bible, and prays that he'll be accepted as Rufus Dille.

Intensity. Skill. Tenacity. The bodyguards of Elite Guardians Agency have it all. When Maddy McKay and Quinn Holcombe don't show up for Quinn's birthday party, his friends know that something is very wrong. Their search turns up little beyond evidence that Quinn and Maddy have vanished. And it soon becomes apparent that they did not leave of their own accord. Maddy awakens in a cement room with no idea where she is. But it's not long before she realizes she's in the clutches of a madman who exacts revenge through games--hunting games. His prey of choice? Humans. Now Maddy and Quinn must run for their lives and outwit their killer when their game begins.   Because if they don't win this game . . . they die.

It's rough and it's smooth. It's dark and it's light. It's a masterpiece. It's us. Here in Sudan. We are scared of it and drawn to it. There is an open door, and there is much opposition. In the dusty, Islamic country of Sudan, Mia, who is raising her family in a Muslim country, has learned to boldly share her faith. Rania, the daughter of a wealthy Sudanese Arab, seeks to find the reason for her sister's sudden disappearance. Mia holds some of the answers, but both women quickly discover they must each walk through their own doors to freedom, the freedom that only comes when you trust God's sovereignty more than man-made security. Part of New Hope Publishers' line of contemporary missional fiction,  Door to Freedom , the sequel to  Side by Side , opens the reader's eyes to modern-day persecution and the life of Muslims in Sudan. Based on real-life events,  Door to Freedom  also reveals some of the struggles that Christians face when livin...

Little fights with your husband and kids. Unhappiness when things don't match your version of perfect. Tension, anger, fear, anxiety--it all begins with a heart that craves control. When your perspective of how life should go replaces God's, you doom your quest for security, peace, and joy before it even starts.  Thankfully, there is a better way. Join Shannon as she shares what she has discovered about her own control struggles and  about God from studying seven Control Girls in the Bible. Whether it was Eve's desire to know instead of trust, Sarah's inability to wait for God to move, or Rebekah's controlling hand on her family's future, each of these women's stories contain warnings and lessons for us today.  Learn how you too can lay down this burden of trying to control everything and find rest in surrendering to the One who truly is in control.

Welcome to southeast Michigan and the small town of Carlson where faith, hope, and struggle are defined by the different faces of those who live there. An addict that sits at a bar to forget. A mother whose five-year-old boy has leukemia. Two doctors. An atheist haunted by his past and a brilliant young oncologist that places all her hope in the power of modern medicine. A blind pastor whose son hasn't spoken a single word in thirty-eight years.  But the minister sees by faith. He knows there are answers and believes that someone who cares is watching... someone with a greater purpose. Yet there is something he doesn't know... that none of them know. In the midst of the ordinary and the devastating, there is a reason these lives will be changed forever. Lightning is about to strike.

In one week, the wrong man will be executed for murder. Let the chase for the real killer begin. Eighteen years ago, TV crime reporter Andi Hollister's sister was murdered. The convicted killer sits behind bars, his execution date looming. But when a letter surfaces stating that the condemned didn't do the crime, Detective Will Kincaide of the Memphis Cold Case Unit will stop at nothing to help Andi get to the bottom of it. After all, this case is personal: the man who confessed to the crime is Will's cousin. Andi and Will must find the real killer before the wrong person is executed. But what can happen in only a week? Uncovering police corruption, running for your life, and, perhaps, falling in love? With the perfect mixture of intrigue and nail-biting suspense, award-winning author Patricia Bradley invites you to crack the case--if you can--alongside the best Memphis has to offer.

This week it seems I have several Bibles to review, so bear with me. The Word of God is a powerful, sharp, two edged sword, that impacts our lives in amazing ways. I enjoy getting Bibles to review. Maybe you are wondering what I do with all these Bibles. I have kept some of them for my personal use. I gave almost all my grand-kids Bibles last year.  I have also given some away to different people who needed or wanted a Bible, and I shared several with a missionary friend, so she could take them to the field with her. It just depends on the Bible, and the need that arises. But I rarely pass up an opportunity to review a Bible.  The KJV Word Study Bible includes in-text subheadings and 1,700 easy-to-use word studies with select Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek words explained in every chapter from Genesis to Revelation, helping you dig deeper into your Bible study. By looking into these ancient texts we are able to read scripture as it was originally written and passed on from gen...