Book picks similar to
The Good Nearby by Nancy Moser


christian-fiction
fiction
contemporary
christian

Finding Faith (Love's Compass #4)


Melanie D. Snitker - 2016
    Moving away from her family support system so Gideon can attend a special school seems like the right choice, even if it means her entire life is about to change. The satisfaction of helping children and being a part of their lives is one reason Aaron Randall loves his job as a music therapist. When Hope Academy instills a dating policy, he doesn't give it a second thought. Until the new coworker who'd caught his attention turns out to be the parent of one of his students.A love they never expected is just out of reach. With Aaron's job and Gideon's education hanging in the balance, they'll have to rely on faith to find their way.

Grace Space: A Direct Sales Tale


Robin Merrill - 2014
    So, when she heard that Grace Space Independent Consultants make $40 per hour, she could hardly wait to sign on the dotted line. That signature launched her into a crazy adventure full of embarrassing blunders, kooky characters, and sidesplitting laughs, and it's not long before she starts to wonder if the purple dream is too good to be true.

Destiny Junction: Behind Every Door is a Life, and Behind Every Life is a Destiny


Michael R. Phillips - 2002
    As its name implies, however, it becomes the place where many people's lives meet destiny. Through one young lady's obedient Christian life and the work of the Holy Spirit subsequent to her murder, the lives of many people in the town of Destiny Junction are transformed. This is their story...a story about life...and what it means...or what it ought to mean.

Promises of Love


Juliette Duncan - 2017
    Less than two days later, she wonders if she’s made a mistake.Zoe had been ignoring God, but when her heart is stirred and her faith is rekindled, she’s faced with an impossible decision.An unplanned trip to Zoe’s family in drought-stricken rural Queensland provides more challenges when she discovers her parents may lose their family property within a matter of weeks.There was a time when Harrison refused to speak to his parents, but all that has changed, and all he wants now is a family of his own. Losing Zoe to Spencer Coleman, the dashing Royal Flying Doctor Pilot who flies off with Zoe and her Grandma on an emergency flight to the city, is his worst nightmare.Zoe and Harrison’s journey to the altar is not certain. She’s made two promises - which one can she keep? Or can she keep both?With compelling characters and surprising plot twists, this tender-hearted love story demonstrates God’s amazing promise of love when everything seems lost.“Promises of Love” is a stand-alone novel, but to gain maximum enjoyment, it’s suggested you read “True Love at Christmas”, the prequel to this story, first. “True Love at Christmas is free on Amazon.

Under Covers (City Girls #1)


Rhonda Bowen - 2015
    Her sister is missing. When her search for her sister sets her on a path into her past, she is forced to ask for help from the last person on earth she ever wished to see again - Garth Duhaney - a man she has both loved and hated for most of her life and whose power over her she has never been able to break.Jordan Lennox knows his wife-to-be is hiding things in her past. But his love for her keeps him believing that one day she will come clean. But when the secrets force him on a trip across the ocean only days before their wedding, he begins to question whether love is really enough.Will love keep them together or will it all fall apart when everything is uncovered?

Nearly


Deborah Raney - 2016
    In this loving small-town community where her beloved grandmother resides, she attempts to cast aside the memories of her troubled childhood. Michael Meredith finds worth as a nursing care home administrator. Until an unwelcome investigation concerning suspicious deaths among the home’s residents threatens his career and his integrity. In the midst of this crisis, friendship blooms and deepens between Michael and Claire—until an agonizing secret is revealed. One that may tear the delicate fabric of their love. Is their faith strong enough to survive their astonishing discovery? Deborah Raney has woven an intriguing tale… Her characters breathe life as they struggle with deep, heartfelt needs. What I loved most was the message that hidden sins and a painful past cannot be stuffed away and forgotten without the cleansing power of God's forgiveness. —an amazon.com reviewer This novel was originally published as Kindred Bond. It has been expanded and updated from the original edition.

The Art of Losing Yourself


Katie Ganshert - 2015
     Every morning, Carmen Hart pastes on her made-for-TV smile and broadcasts the weather. She’s the Florida panhandle’s favorite meteorologist, married to everyone’s favorite high school football coach. They’re the perfect-looking couple, live in a nice house, and attend church on Sundays. From the outside, she’s a woman who has it all together. But on the inside, Carmen Hart struggles with doubt. She wonders if she made a mistake when she married her husband. She wonders if God is as powerful as she once believed. Sometimes she wonders if He exists at all. After years of secret losses and empty arms, she’s not so sure anymore. Until Carmen’s sister—seventeen year old runaway, Gracie Fisher—steps in and changes everything. Gracie is caught squatting at a boarded-up motel that belongs to Carmen’s aunt, and their mother is off on another one of her benders, which means Carmen has no other option but to take Gracie in. Is it possible for God to use a broken teenager and an abandoned motel to bring a woman’s faith and marriage back to life? Can two half-sisters make each other whole?

Broken Things: Two Women. Two Pasts. One Future


Andrea Boeshaar - 2003
    Returning to her hometown, Chicago, Allie Littenberg learns her actions had worse repercussions than she realized. Especially for Jack Callahan, the handsome Chicago cop she loved, but left. She finds Jack is now a bitter shell of a man, his tenderness erased by years of anguish. Can God use Allie to not only mend the hurts in her own family, but also bring peace to Jack, his son, and estranged wife? Allie is compelled to find out.

If You Believed in Love


Staci Stallings - 2011
    Stinging from an unimaginable loss, he has withdrawn from life, wanting only to live out his existence with as little interference as possible. However, when his sister talks him into auditing an English Literature class at the local community college, he reluctantly accepts the invitation to abandon his lonely apartment. Intent upon making an appearance for his sister’s sake and then disappearing for his own, Jonathon sulks into class. But when he meets Elizabeth Forester, the professor, Jonathon learns there is more to life and to love than he ever could have imagined. "Staci Stallings' books are Christian romance at its best!" IF YOU BELIEVED IN LOVE is a fascinating mix of literature and faith. A Contemporary Christian romance, the novel explores life, love, death, and redemption. It will surely find its way into your romance novels and inspirational books collections. *~* EXCERPT *~* “Turn to Appearances, page 31.” Without more than a second’s time, she continued without reading her book. “And so you found that poor room dull,/Dark, hardly to your taste, my dear?/Its features seemed unbeautiful;/But this I know—‘twas there, not here,/You plighted troth to me, the word/Which—ask that poor room how it heard. “And this rich room obtains your praise/Unqualified—so bright, so fair,/So all whereat perfection stays?/Aye, but remember—here, not there,/The other word was spoken!—Ask/This rich room how you dropped the mask! “Browning uses the metaphor of a house again in this one, a structure of some kind with different rooms. And what’s the story with this house?” “The guy likes one room but not the other.” Quiet depth filled her eyes. “Why?” She turned, and her gaze caught a raised hand. “Mr. Hansen?” “Because in one room he was trying to be something he wasn’t, and in the other, he dropped the mask.” “And the first room, where he was wearing the mask was…?” “Unbeautiful,” Susana said. “Dull and dark.” Ms. Forester seemed lost in the thought. “And the second room? What was it like?” “Unqualified,” someone down front said, “so bright, so fair.” “He’s saying the same thing in both poems, is he not?” She turned on the toe of her boot and gazed at the whole of her students. “Be who you are. Drop the mask. Be brave enough to show the world, and far from losing yourself and being criticized like a finite clod, you may be immortalized like Shakespeare, or at the very least, the room you’re standing in might just seem a little brighter than the one where you were before.” Her attention jumped up to the clock. “Oh, look at the time. Be sure to read the last selections for Thursday’s class. See you then.” It was like snapping awake from a dream and not being at all able to shake it. Jonathon stood as the others did as well. His mind spun trying to think of something, some reason that could keep him here with her for one more minute. He checked his things, gathering them slowly, watching her down front the whole time. One of the other students stepped up to her, and she bent to listen. What could he ask her? What question would be good enough to go to the front?

Goodbye, Magnolia


Krista Noorman - 2015
    The art of capturing a moment forever in time is magical to her, and she's worked hard to become the best of the best. Week after week, she works with couples as they plan their happily ever afters, but she hasn't been so lucky in love.Behind the camera, it's easy to hide from the pain and rejection of her past. The life she has made for herself is safe and predictable, until the owner of a rival photography studio sets up shop in her small town and comes to her with an unexpected proposal. Suddenly, everything she has worked so hard to build is threatened and her simple, controlled life is thrown into chaos.As she travels the state of Michigan photographing weddings, she struggles to keep her business afloat and the wall around her heart intact. But along the way, she learns more about loyalty and love than she ever imagined.

Finding Love at the Oregon Coast


Angela Ruth Strong - 2017
     By Heather Woodhaven--Finding Love in Lincoln City: Liz feels stuck at her little beach magazine until a handsome rival sparks more than just friendly competition. By Lisa Phillips--Finding Love in Oceanside: Anabeth is looking to get out of her rut when a fender bender and a bizarre date with a former marine leads her to a life of love she could never have imagined. By Christina Coryell--Finding Love in Cannon Beach: Kadence feels the pressure to write a perfect love song, but an unexpected meeting with a musician will have her living one instead. By Angela Ruth Strong--Finding Love in Seaside: Christina plans to spend her honeymoon alone, but when the bed and breakfast owner offers her a position as cook, she starts to feel at home in his kitchen…and in his arms.

Reclaimed


Jennifer Rodewald - 2015
    He reclaims our desolate places. Suzanna Wilton has had a heavy share of heartache in her twenty-seven years. Left wounded by a marriage cut short, she leaves city life to take up residency in a tiny Nebraska town. Her introduction to her neighbor Paul Rustin is a disaster. Assuming he’s as underhanded as the other local cowboys she’s already met, Suzanna greets him with sharp hostility.Though Paul is offended by Suzanna’s unfriendliness, he can’t stop thinking about her, which unsettles his peaceful life. Intrigued by the woman who lives down the road and propelled by a sense that she carries a painful burden, he frequently drops by to offer help as she adjusts to rural living.Just as Paul’s kindness begins to melt Suzanna’s frozen heart, a conflict regarding her land escalates in town. Even in the warmth of Paul’s love, resentment keeps a cold grip on her fragile heart.When romance isn't enough, will Suzanna ever find peace?

An Amish Reward


J.E.B. Spredemann - 2019
    So when his father approaches him with the outlandish idea of finding him a wife, Isaac is naturally hesitant. But as his father explains his intentions and his well-thought-out plans, Isaac eventually yields to his father’s wishes. Will his agreement be his greatest blessing? Or will it be the worst decision of his life? Becky has always been a faithful Amish woman. With the years quickly passing, she worries that she won’t find a suitable mate and be destined to alt maedel-hood. But she doesn’t want to marry just anybody, she wants Der Herr’s will. She has almost given up hope until a stranger comes to town with an unusual proposition. Could his appearance be of Gott, like he claims? Or will Rebekah’s acceptance lead to her ultimate heartbreak? A sweet Christian romance about finding God’s will for your life. Amish fiction fans are sure to love this heart-warming story inspired by Isaac and Rebekah from the Bible.

Ordained Irreverence


McMillian Moody - 2011
    When he lands an internship at a large metropolitan church, he quite literally stumbles his way through as he learns to baptize and bury, visit and marry the faithful flock. Think Ferris Bueller Goes to Church with a side of Holden Caulfield thrown in for good measure. The cast of characters filling the pews at First Church keep him on his toes and more than a little bewildered at times. The salty widow who serves up a homemade pie with a surprise ingredient. The quirky single adult with a heart as big as Elvis who deems himself quite the ladies man. The larger-than-life music minister who pulls more than a few punches along the way, and even an old church janitor with a few ancient secrets of his own. Woven throughout Elmo�s adventures is a hundred-year-old mystery he'�s determined to solve and even a chance at true love along the way. Elmo�'s story pulls back the sacred curtain and allows the reader to examine the inner workings of a mega-church with all its warts and wonders. Ride along and watch as Elmo's cynicism slowly transforms into hope.McMillian's Moody fast-paced novel will bring a smile to even the most backslidden amongst its readers.

The Ultimate Guide to Darcy Carter


Teresa Slack - 2006
    Regardless, she doubts she can guide herself out of a brown paper bag. When her editor suggests she write The Ultimate Guide to Finding Mr. Right, she wants no part of it. To avoid Mr. Right--since she's pretty sure he doesn't exist--and hopefully figure out where the discontentment with her life is coming from, she heads south to research one last ultimate guidebook. The questions and doubts swirling around in her head follow. If she's no longer America's Ultimate Guide Girl, who is she? Would she recognize Mr. Right if he was standing right in front of her? Where does an Ultimate Guide Girl turn for guidance? Her heavenly father who gives wisdom to all who seek it? Or can she rely on herself, the woman with all the answers? This clean contemporary Christian romance is a feel-good, laugh-out-loud story that reminds us sometimes the things we work so hard for don't bring the fulfillment and happiness we're looking for.