Book picks similar to
Grasping the Gratefulness by R.A. Rooney


short-stories
contemporary
christian-fiction
indie-authors

Her Mule Hollow Cowboy


Debra Clopton - 2014
    Not sure why she was included, she’s out to prove herself worthy of the honor of the inheritance. Loving her new life in the small Texas town of Mule Hollow, she’s determined that, for the first time in her life, she’s going to finally belong somewhere… Professional Bull Rider Cliff Masterson has been chasing his dreams for years—or has he been running from his past? He’s searching for more in life and ready to dig in his spurs and put down roots deep in the heart of Texas. Rescuing a beautiful cowgirl from being trampled by a bull has him dreaming of romance, home and hearth. But Maddie’s had enough people in her life leave and she’s not willing to risk her heart on him—Sparks fly as he’s determined to prove to the feisty cowgirl that the only think he’s chasing now is wedding bells with her… Can the Matchmakin’ Posse of Mule Hollow help this couple find their happily ever after?

Beginnings and Endings: A Selection of Short Stories


Jane Suen - 2017
     All come together in Beginnings and Endings, a trilogy of short stories that will bring a lump to the throat. Grits Girl explores the beginning of a lifetime of love over a favorite bowlful of breakfast. The Accident is an ironic story of how life can change in the blink of an eye. In The End of Summer, two men come to terms with their past through an unexpected detour and the innocent joy of a child. Each story is layered with unexpected twists and turns, and there’s a bonus flash fiction, Pick Me, to bring you a smile that will last the day.

Sweet Delights


Terri Blackstock - 2000
    Each story is followed by a letter from the author and her favorite chocolate recipe.Contains:— For Love of Money by Terri Blackstock— The Trouble with Tommy by Elizabeth White— What She's Been Missing by Ranee McCollum

Finding Peace


Melanie D. Snitker - 2015
    He's also good at holding women at arm's length. Jilted by his fiancée for his dedication to his job, he's not about to open himself up to hurt like that again.Laurie Blake is a struggling photographer. After growing up in a wealthy family, she's determined to make it on her own, even if it means doing it the hard way.When Tuck is assigned to a puzzling burglary involving Laurie's fledgling photography business, he goes into it with his usual perseverance. He wants to help her - if she'll let him. As the case unfolds and the mystery deepens, another question arises.Will their pasts get in the way of a future together?

A Harvest Bond


Lee Tobin McClain - 2017
    Healthy living, working his Pennsylvania farm, and mentoring troubled boys have brought him back from grief and illness into a whole new life. Emily Stern has recovered from losing her husband too young, and she can’t wait to get started on her dream: creating a rural retreat for struggling midlife women. The farm she’s inherited is the perfect place, so much so that she’s willing to move across the country to make it happen. But when Emily arrives at the Covenant Farm, she’s shocked to find her long-ago love, John Moretti, living there… and contemplating very different plans for the place. Forced to compromise by staying at the farm together, they quickly realize there’s still a spark between them. But only John knows what else stands between them: a secret that could break Emily’s heart. Jump into the final novella of the Sacred Bond series… a touching love story about sowing, reaping, and gathering in the harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. John 4:36

Identity


Ted Dekker - 2012
    Who am I? My name is Christy Snow. I'm seventeen and I'm about to die. I'm buried in a coffin under tons of concrete. No one knows where I am. My heart sounds like a monster with clobber feet, running straight toward me. I'm lying on my back, soaked with sweat from the hair on my head to the soles of my feet. My hands and feet won't stop shaking.Some will say that I m not really here. Some will say I'm delusional. Some will say that I don t even exist. But who are they? I'm the one buried in a grave. My name is Christy Snow. I'm seventeen. I'm about to die.So who are you?In a return to the kind of storytelling that made Black, Showdown and Three unforgettable, New York Times bestselling author Ted Dekker drags that question into the light with this modern day parable about how we see ourselves. Humming with intensity and blindsided twists, Eyes Wide Open is raw adrenaline from the first page to the last pure escapism packed with inescapable truth. Not all is as it seems. Or is it? Strap yourself in for the ride of your life. Literally.

Escape to Murray River


Robert Elmer - 1997
    Patrick McWaid's father is framed for a crime and sentenced to an Australian prison in the 1860s. But when their whole family arrives in Australia, Patrick's father has disappeared!

Secretly In Love


Jackie Castle - 2016
    Nothing but friends. Yet, when Nikolai returned from the mission trip last year, Sage’s feelings for him exploded and her pact gets harder to keep. Then on April fool’s day, she receives a letter from a secret admirer. A joke from her twin siblings. Nikolai’s life changed after the mission trip. One thing he has to face is his feelings for Sage. Pact or no pact, he needs to let her know how he feels. Overhearing Sage and Moi talk about how they wished they received real love letters, Nikolai comes up with the perfect solution. He sends her an anonymous love letter, but instead of love, he reaps the wild, whirlwind of Sage who is already angry about being made a fool of once and won’t stand for being the fool twice. Secretly In Love was formerly titled, Fool Me Once, Fool Me Twice and was part of the April Fools Love novella collection.

Forever and a Day (Believe in Love #9)


Amy Sparling - 2019
    Half of Jett’s fans are happy for him. The other half are mad at me, the girl he just proposed to. They don’t think I’m good enough to marry the fastest racer in Texas. Or they think it should be them with the Tiffany engagement ring instead of me. But Jett disagrees. Maybe we’re too young. Maybe we don’t know what we’re doing. But this is our life and we’re going to live it the way we want to. Until death do us part. ⭐Based on the bestselling novels, Forever and a Day is a standalone novel from the Believe in Love series. You can read this book after reading that series, or read it as a standalone. ⭐

God Bless the Broken Road


Jennifer Graeser Dornbush - 2017
    She feels robbed and is angry at God, and she doesn’t know how to help her nine-year-old daughter Bree through her grief. Where, Amber wonders, are the Sunday dinners, the picnics, the bike rides, the time together they should be enjoying as a family? Instead, Amber is left with a folded flag and an empty heart. Cody Jackson has a death wish. Or at least that is what his manager thinks, as Cody pushes his race car and his luck in every race. Is he hiding something, or just daring God and other racers to end the path of destruction he finds himself on as he rounds the last turn? When Cody encourages Bree to join in a Derby car race for local youth, she finds a way to channel her grief into something good—and she likes that her mom and Cody are starting to become friends—or maybe something more. Cody invites Amber and Bree to see him race, but as they watch Cody narrowly escape a devastating crash, she realizes she can’t lose another person in her life. It’s better to be alone than feel that type of grief again. But when Amber hits rock-bottom, she cries out to God and asks for help. With her faith, her life, her family, and her heart hanging in the balance, Amber is forced to decide between the broken road she knows so well and trusting that God will provide a new path.

Past Forward: Volume VI


Chautona Havig - 2013
     When Willow Finley awakes on a hot summer morning, she is unprepared for the grief that awaits her. Jerked from a life of isolation with her mother, Willow learns what alone really means when she finds her mother still in her bed, never to awaken again in this life. From the moment Willow arrives in the police station with her startling announcement, Chad Tesdall fights the friendship he knows he can't avoid. Follow Willow's life, Past Forward. The many changes that have taken place over the past few years slowly reverse as Chad and Willow find a comfortable groove for their little family. But amid the good and wholesome, something--or someone--foreboding lurks in the shadows, threatening the tranquility of their home and lives. When Becca feels threatened, Josh wants something done and now. In the weeks before Becca's wedding, Willow finds her life turned upside down by a very pregnant Aggie and her nine children--yep. Nine! Overwhelmed by the sheer volume of people and work, Willow finds herself struggling with more than just the excess dishes and laundry. Amid all of life's upheavals, the changes at Walden Farm continue, but when tragedy and loss arrive, they help the Tesdalls determine what is most important to their family, bringing Chad and Willow closer than ever. Volume 6 is the final volume in the Past Forward Series. Look for more about Chad and Willow in its sister series, HearthLand. Past Forward is a serial novel originally released in individual episodes.

A Time To Be Born and A Time To Die


Everlee Whitman - 2020
    Will she find the strength to manage operations and a new relationship? Nestled in the hills of the Lake Michigan shoreline, the ranch overlooks open fields and rich oak, maple and beech tree groves. It has been owned by the Katzen family for generations. Once a working ranch producing cattle and milking cows, it has now turned into a therapy ranch for a multitude of special populations. Living River Ranch is in turmoil with the sudden death of the patriarchal grandfather. Margaret is left as heir to keep the therapy ranch afloat for the many that depend on it for treatment and jobs. Having the responsibility of her brother weighs on her, yet provides strength in what she feels is God’s mission for the ranch. Noah, the ranch manager has known Margaret for years but only through a looking glass relationship that has until this point never crossed the friend boundary. Now having to work together on new ranch challenges, Margaret and Noah find themselves working much closer in other ways. A Time To Be Born and A Time To Die is the first book in the Living River Ranch contemporary Christian romance series. All books written in this series follow Ecclesiastes 3:18 “A Time For Everything” If you like a cleanly written romance series with fully developed characters that move through a series of books, you will love the A Time For Everything Series.

Wonderland Wishes: 7 Never-Before-Released Christian Christmas Romances


Lynnette Bonner - 2017
    So when she learns her father is dying, her first inclination is to leave the old curmudgeon on his own. Only adding to her stress are the unexplainable feelings of attraction she's suddenly having for her best friend, actor Dixon Nash. Can a Christmas kitten named Star point the way to the Answer she so desperately needs?Finding Christmas and You, by Jan ClineNot only is Jolene Miller struggling to regain her memory after an injury, she's drawn to two men with opposite personalities. As the mystery of her past unfolds in the weeks before Christmas, Jolene discovers the truth about one of them just in time to give her a Christmas miracle.Once upon a Christmas Star, by Kathleen FreemanWhen Misty discovers Papa wanted to be an astronomy professor and gave it up to raise her, she signs him up for grad school and donates her savings to the cause. Unbeknownst to her, Papa has sold his telescope equipment so Misty can quit her ferry job and go to medical school. A handsome med student only confuses the situation. This Gift of the Magi retelling could lead to disaster, unless wishes and prayers really do come true.A Christmas Hallelujah, by Dori HarrellRomance is the last thing on their minds--who'd take on their drama anyway? Piper is dealing with her troubled teen sister. Alex's young son is glued to his side 24/7. And each thinks the other lives on the wrong side of the Cascade Mountains. But as a surprising and heartwarming friendship unfolds before their eyes, will Piper and Alex orchestrate a Christmas hallelujah out of the beautiful messes that are their lives?The Second Noel, by Chautona HavigWhen Breanne Homstad learns that a local family got scammed out of thousands for a Diabetic Alert Dog for their little boy and must find the money for another one ASAP, she embarks on the seemingly impossible task of raising $25,000 dollars...now!Breanne, friends, and a local fireman she still hasn't forgiven for a "date and dash," work to fulfill one little boy's Christmas wish--and maybe a second chance at romance.Home for the Holidays, by Lesley Ann McDanielWhen a handsome stranger fails to respond to Victoria's flirting the way men usually do, she's perplexed. She discovers that he runs an organization that builds affordable housing, and decides to volunteer. So what if it's a faith-based ministry. She can pretend to be a "church person," right?Montana Skye, by Sylvia StewartSkye hadn't envisioned serving the supper crowd in plans for her future. So when Shell, a handsome, flirty cowboy, comes into the Starlight Café, she puts him in his place along with his supper, coffee, and pie. She doesn't need him reminding her of all she's lost back home. But will Shell prove more than she bargained for?

Christmas Blessings


Leah Atwood - 2016
    As the holidays approach, those insecurities reappear. Luke Tatum realizes he doesn’t know Kate as well as he thought when he sees her with her guard down. As he discovers who Kate really is, his admiration and attraction to her grows. When faced with the possibility of losing someone she loves, Kate's faith wavers. This Christmas, will she accept support from Luke or will she push him away? When You Believe- Belle Calhoune Maggie Kilcannon lives in Breeze Point, Cape Cod after leaving her native Ireland. After tragically losing her parents, Maggie’s weary about loving and losing anyone. When she meets Alec Donahue, a soldier on Christmas leave, she falls madly in love with him. Can she live with the uncertainty of loving a soldier on active duty? Alec Donahue always wanted to serve his country, but his life changes when he meets the beautiful, spirited Maggie. He wants forever with Maggie, who’s reluctant to give her heart to someone who might leave her. Can Alec make Maggie believe in happily ever after? Perchance to Dream- JoAnn Durgin Ellie Franklin and Ryan Sullivan are the hometown sweethearts of Cade’s Corner, Ohio. As their Christmas wedding approaches, Ryan is expected back from his second deployment to Afghanistan. When an unforeseen event occurs, will Ellie’s plans be postponed or come to a screeching halt? With faith, family, and the support of an entire town behind her, will this bride’s prayers for a holiday miracle be answered? Nowhere for Christmas- Heather Gray Avery’s a journalist and mom to teenager Eli. Gavin’s an enigmatic photographer. A botched schedule lands them all in a rental car for Christmas. With everything that goes wrong, it’ll take a miracle to get them anywhere. But miracles come in surprising packages. Like a bait shop owner and a family that can’t agree on how to remove a skunk's stink. Join the trio as they learn reaching the destination doesn't mean the journey’s over. God has so much more in store for them. After all—anything can happen on the road to Nowhere. Christmas Lost and Found- Angel Moore When Serena comes home determined to save her mother’s shop, the manager blames her for her mother’s troubles. But he’s the only person she can rely on for help. Has Michael wasted the years he spent trying to keep All Things Christmas open? Serena’s resolve to correct things financially threatens the heart of the store. It’s about Christmas. Not just sales. Has Serena become so calculating that she doesn’t celebrate her faith anymore? One Enchanted Christmas- Melissa Tagg Last December, author Maren Grant went on a magical date with her book’s cover model—Colin Renwycke. Fast forward one year. With a looming deadline, Maren is desperate to recapture her creative spark. Then she remembers Colin’s invitation to visit his family’s Iowa farm… Drew Renwycke never planned to move home and take over the farm. But he’s spent too many years watching his siblings unravel—including Colin. When Maren lands on his doorstep, he realizes she may be the key to coaxing his brother home.

On the Seventh Day


T.D. Jakes - 2011
    Jakes pens a compelling story that unites love, suspense, and faith into one heart-wrenching package.Based on the film, Woman Thou Art Loosed: On the Seventh Day, executive-produced by T.D. Jakes, a novel that follows the lives of a couple whose love and commitment are tested when their only child is kidnapped right from under them in their gated community in New Orleans. David, a respected college professor and his wife, Kari, appear to be the perfect church-going prosperous couple when their young daughter is abducted. The police immediately launch an investigation and set out to find the child of this high-profile couple. Reports surface of a serial child-kidnapper on the loose with a pattern of killing his victims on the seventh day, so there’s no time to waste. In pursuit of information relevant to the case, they uncover information about Kari whose past threatens their marriage and challenges their capacity to forgive.