Showing results by narrator "Rebecca Gallagher" in All Categories

Three lone wagons on the California Trail become trapped in the Sierra Nevada Mountains by a sudden snowstorm. Stuck in tight quarters with others makes Cynthia Cooper reevaluate her reasons for being engaged to fellow-traveler Walter Prentice. When a widowed father heading to a California ranch and a gold prospector both show an interest in Cynthia, she has to reconsider here dreams for marriage alongside her responsibility to care for her mother. Can love win over her timid heart?

One day at a time, one prayer at a time, a busy working mother and playful six-year-old daughter transformed their bedtime prayers. They started rushed and tired. Distracted, "It's late. Let's go." And then, gradually, something happened. A thank you here. A vulnerable moment there. The perfunctory prayers became...opportunities. "What did you do today? What did you learn? Anything else?" Like a window into their relationship their prayers and reflections let us witness the growth, enjoy the childlikeness, and learn from their winsome faith.

Discover the creative, hilarious, and the heartwarming ways God shows up. Whether it's throwing a birthday party, leaving a child at camp, going on a diet, negotiating with the Tooth Fairy, or falling down in front of a crowd, these stories will inspire (and even challenge) you to take a second look at what appears to be...just an ordinary day.

The #MeToo movement has revealed sexual abuse and assault in every sphere of society, including the church. But victims are routinely ignored by fellow Christians who deny their accounts and fail to bring accountability to the perpetrators. All too often, churches have been complicit in protecting abusers, reinforcing patriarchal power dynamics, and creating cultures of secrecy, shame, and silence.

Are you one of the millions who crave a new direction in the church, fed up with religious games, empty promises, and cultural Christianity? You are not alone. You are not crazy. Maybe Jesus is ready to interrupt your life. Snatching Jen Hatmaker from the grip of her consumer life, God began asking her questions like, "What is really the point of My Church? What have I really asked of you?" Transparent and imperfect, Jen will engage and inspire you to go beyond comfortable and answer for yourself the question she faced.

If you or someone you love are among the 19.4 million people who suffer alcohol or drug addiction, this unvarnished, raw recount of the various ways and many years the author suffered, can serve as the understanding and validation you need. As her story reveals, the initial “escape” alcohol offers, quickly brings compounding issues setting the person on a path of denial that can lead to destruction.

Simon Graber became a widower and a bishop early in life. His sole focus is his very close-knit Old Order Amish community—not entertaining the idea of marriage, despite what many of the elders think. When sickness comes to Cherry Grove, Kentucky, Simon reaches out to a neighboring community for help.

Once they were engaged and deeply in love, making plans for a future together on her family’s ranch. Then, an unexpected tragedy and shocking mistakes tore them apart. Derek made the biggest sacrifice of his life, and it cost him everything, leaving Carly behind to cancel her dream wedding. She left Millars Crossing, ashamed and humiliated.

Leaving Western culture and their German home far behind, Amiira Ann and her husband, Chris, responded to the prompting of God to move to one of the most thoroughly Muslim cultures on earth, Yemen. The 9/11 attacks in the United States created the dangerous backdrop for reaching out to their Yemeni hosts with the love of Christ. With a commitment to work in relief and development, they would find, despite the threat of death, that their hearts would be forever knit together with this people so different from themselves.

Once timid and unsure of her own salvation, New Zealander Florence Young rose to her calling and became a fearless and faithful witness for Jesus Christ. Eventually serving in the remote Solomon Islands and, for a season, in China during the deadly Boxer Rebellion, Florence began her service close to home. This one woman's mission to the Solomon Islanders, or Kanakas, working on her family's Australian plantation soon expanded to their home islands.

Celebrate Second Christmas, a treasured, lighthearted time of community, with four Amish romances. This collection includes “When Christmas Comes Again” by Beth Wiseman, “Her Christmas Pen Pal” by Ruth Reid, “A Gift for Anne Marie” by Kathleen Fuller, and “The Christmas Aprons” by Tricia Goyer.

Irma Miller thought having a family of her own would bring her joy and a sense of accomplishment, but she struggles with memories of the abuse she suffered as a child at the hand of her stepfather. When she becomes physically and emotionally abusive to her own children, she reaches out to her friend Doretta for prayer and wisdom. But Irma may find herself at an even darker emotional place before she will admit she needs professional help to heal the past traumas. Will Doretta’s letters of wisdom help Irma and her family, or will too much be broken to ever be repaired?

Struggling artist Etta Caprice learned the hard way that passion and art don’t always mix. She’s poured herself into putting together a portfolio for a position at a university, and, after a relationship gone wrong, she can’t seem to find the inspiration. Until a house fire forces her to move to a small cabin on the Sutton ranch where Finn is living. The gruff and gorgeous cowboy just might be the muse she's missing.

Jacob Lantz asked Trini Sutter to marry him when he was five. The mature nine-year-old thoughtfully responded that she’d consider his proposal when they were older. Now, nearly two decades later, the Amish farmer returns to the beautiful countryside of Arthur, Illinois, to take the independent Quilt Room owner up on her promise. Quiet, handsome Jacob is truly in love with the spirited “list maker,” and Trini finds herself falling in love with Jacob, but the youngest of eleven has big plans of her own. Will she forfeit her plan for the man of her dreams?

Accomplished educator Kass Minor delivers an inspiring and practical exploration of what it means to be a just teacher in a system that actively incentivizes injustice. The author explains how to build joyful experiences even in the face of inevitable injustice and demonstrates how to accept the seemingly conflicting experience of joy in the face of heartbreak. In the book, you'll learn to be a catalyst for change, unlearning the patterns of school that have marginalized children while becoming aware of tenets of justice as they manifest in educational spaces.

Ruth Helmuth has never been rude in her life; trust her to choose the bishop of her Amish community for her first time! Ruth has worked hard to keep body and soul together since her husband, Levi’s, death. She tends her herd of goats, making her living from the milk and fiber she gets from them, all while running a farm and household by herself—and very competently, thank you! How could she imagine the bishop suggesting she should give it all up to another family, who will “make better use of the space”?

Doretta Schwartz used to be so happy and passed her positive attitude along to friends in several letters she wrote each month. But that all changed the day she learned of her fiancé’s death and a heavy weight of depression fell upon her. Feeling empty, she puts away her letter writing and won’t even respond to calls from friends. William’s twin brother, Warren, is also grieving his loss, while at the same time, trying to be supportive to his parents and Doretta. Doretta responds to Warren’s friendship, but is he just becoming a replacement for the once-in-a-lifetime love she lost?