Showing results by narrator "Stina Nielsen" in All Categories

Old Order Amish Ivy Zook is wrestling with her need to shed her community's ways so she can grow the business of her dreams: planning parties. As long as she's stuck living without modernization, she can barely get her business on its feet. But if she leaves too soon, she'd cause trouble for her sister, Holly, who is planning her wedding to Joshua Smucker. All of their plans become twice as complicated when an old car crashes into the storefront of Greene's Pharmacy, carrying a Swartzentruber (ultra-conservative sect) Amish man, Arlan, and his very ill sister.

When Olivia Shaw’s mother dies, the sophisticated food editor is astonished to learn she’s inherited a centuries-old English estate—and a title to go with it. Raw with grief and reeling from the knowledge that her reserved mother hid something so momentous, Olivia leaves San Francisco and crosses the pond to unravel the mystery of a lifetime. One glance at the breathtaking Rosemere Priory and Olivia understands why the manor, magnificent even in disrepair, was the subject of her mother’s exquisite paintings. What she doesn’t understand is why her mother never mentioned it.

As the only daughter, Sylvia Miller of The Tinderbox has always held a special place in her Old Order family, one Adeline Pelham jeopardizes when she shows up at the Millers' Hickory Hollow farm. It isn't that Adeline means to be a threat, but her very existence is a reminder of the painful secret that has so recently upended the Miller household. And with Sylvia and her mother still struggling to come to terms with that news, this is a challenging time to welcome an Englisher - especially this Englisher - into their midst.

When London journalist Eleanor-Rigby Donovan receives an anonymous letter alluding to a crime committed by her deceased mother, her life is turned upside down. It points her to a bar on the Baltimore Harbor, where she finds a stranger who has received the same mysterious letter about his own mother. Together, Eleanor-Rigby and this young man, George-Harrison Collins, embark on a quest through the shadowy past of the Stanfields, a moneyed Maryland family full of unimaginable secrets.

The body of a homeless woman is found in the river, viciously beaten and with all her teeth removed. A young immigrant, the prime suspect in a recent spate of robberies in Umeå, was seen running in the vicinity around the time the body was dumped. Trouble is, he hasn’t been seen since. When he does appear, in the town square, he’s wearing an explosive vest and holding a detonator.

New York wedding planner Jessica Christie always goes above and beyond for her clients. So, stopping in Alaska to pick up the famed Jingle Bell flower for her famous client’s bouquet doesn’t seem too outrageous - until she ends up stranded there. Matt Holden has spent the last five years since his fiancée died, living in a virtual bubble in Alaska. His research work as a botanist and assistant at the local reindeer farm keep him busy during the holidays.

Dorcas Beiler's reckless teenage years are far behind her. She's serious and responsible now, and the good people of Promise Glen trust her with the education of their children. But when her first love returns after years of exile from the community, her past comes rushing back. Thomas is the only one who knows her secret, and despite his careless charm and teasing manner, she refuses to let her guard down.

Alison, Julie, Sarah, Heather. Four friends living the suburban ideal. Their jobs are steady, their kids are healthy. They're as beautiful as their houses. But each of them has a dirty little secret, and hidden behind the veneer of their perfect lives is a crime and a mystery that will consume them all.

Capable and optimistic Molly Zook has a slight issue with control: She doesn't like giving it up. So she's chafing against her mother's wish that, to save the family farm, she marry Mervin Mosier--especially after she meets Leon Fisher. He's from Montana but is working in Molly's district, training horses at a nearby ranch. He is tall and muscular, with a confident demeanor. Molly has never met anyone like him, and he seems to feel the same about her.

Cathy Marie Hake, best-selling author of Fancy Pants, delivers a poignant romance set in 1891 Texas. Miss Hope Ladley believes God wants her to cook and clean for grieving widower Jacob Stauffer. But when Jacob hires the cheerful dynamo, he can't imagine the profound effect she'll have on his frightened sister, his motherless daughter, and on his own tender heart - or how much they'll all miss her if she leaves.

In this series finale by Lauraine Snelling, Astrid Bjorklund is trying to stop the epidemic ravaging South Dakota’s Red Bud Indian Reservation. Tribal elders remain suspicious of her until some begin to recover. Although Joshua Landsverk longs to fix his broken relationship with Astrid, he opposes her present work but won’t tell her why. Yet when a surprising act of kindness brings healing to the painful wrong inflicted years ago, will it be enough to rekindle their love?

The Amish of Summer Grove series continues, as Old Order Amish Ariana and troubled college student Skylar face the reality that nothing about their lives is what they thought to be true. The second book in the Amish of Summer Grove series explores the changes in the Brenneman family, as Skylar joins them and Ariana navigates the foreign and undesirable Englischer world. Can she help the Nashes learn about the God she loves?

In Runaway, Emerson Watts continues her fight against the twisted Stark Enterprises while her brain remains trapped inside the body of super model Nikki Howard. Whisked away to Brandon Stark’s secluded love nest, Em has alienated her true love Christopher and her parents, while hoping to learn the terrifying secret Nikki—in her own new body—harbors.

Reclusive Clare Collins crafts her novels like she crafts her life: perfectly. So the world is stunned when the famous author is found dead on a beach from a self-inflicted gunshot - the morning after her latest book hits the shelves. Her sister, Eileen, is at a loss. Clare led a charmed life: success, mansions, money...why would she throw it all away? But while reading through her sister's latest - and greatest - novel, Eileen discovers a clue that unravels the fiction and reveals the painful truth. Suddenly, the life that Eileen had envied doesn't seem so sparkling....

Despite his highly successful marketing career, Craig Williams' personal life is falling apart. The puppy he's surrendering to the local shelter is one sign of how messed up things have gotten due to a recent divorce plus the loss of a child. He thinks he'd best focus on his two surviving kids. When Craig shows up to Megan Anderson's no-kill animal shelter, the confrontation that ensues sets them on a path neither could have predicted.

Travel to sunny Hawaii with two prayer pals who have planned the vacation of their lives. Verses from the Scriptures add lively psalms of praise that echo the sisterchicks' tropical adventures - and surprises.

Old Order Amish Rhoda Byler’s unusual gift and her remarkable abilities to grow herbs and berries have caused many to think her odd. As rumors mount that Rhoda’s "gift" is a detriment to the community, she chooses isolation, spending her time in her fruit garden and on her thriving canning business. Miles away in Harvest Mills, Samuel King struggles to keep his family’s apple orchard profitable. As the eldest son, Samuel, farms with his brothers, the irrepressible Jacob and brash Eli, while his longtime girlfriend, Catherine, remains hopeful that Samuel will marry her when he feels financially stable.

Marlinchen and her two sisters live with their wizard father in a city shifting from magic to industry. As Oblya’s last true witches, she and her sisters are little more than a tourist trap as they treat their clients with archaic remedies and beguile them with nostalgic charm. Marlinchen spends her days divining secrets in exchange for rubles and trying to placate her tyrannical, xenophobic father, who keeps his daughters sequestered from the outside world.

Working hard to develop a new Amish community outside of Unity, Maine, Rhoda Byler is fully committed to rehabilitating an orchard with business partner Samuel King. But an impulsive decision has created an unexpected strain in her relationship with her beau, Samuel’s brother, Jacob, threatening plans for the orchard.

Francine shares observations she's gathered over a lifetime of exploring - abroad and in her own backyard - and reflects on how they might apply to your daily life. What do the majestic redwoods, the persistent woodpecker, or a glorious sunrise reveal about our artistic and generous God? How could that change your outlook or the way you handle adversity? Scripture excerpts, applications, and prayers accompany Francine's reflections, inspiring you to be encouraged. Be challenged. Be comforted.