Book picks similar to
A Gift Forever by Diane Craver


christian-fiction
christian
historical
fiction

Paper Angels


Billy Coffey - 2011
    The angel is God's answer to a childhood prayer Andy offered to a twinkling star that his deceased mother once called "the door to heaven." The first angelic proclamation instructs Andy to find the wooden keepsake box in his grandparents' attic. Over the years, he directs Andy to fill it with apparently meaningless objects from twelve people with who Andy randomly crosses paths. Andy's world is turned upside down when a brutal attack leaves Andy burned and the boy he loved as a son dead. At this crucial juncture, the angel abandons him to loneliness and pain. All that remains is the wooden box Andy has always kept safe, and a new angel, who will use its contents to reveal truth to him as a result, he discovers the defining truth of his life, new hope in the community he loves, and greater trust in the God who sustains him.The story is told from Andy's hospital bed, where he awakes feeling God has abandoned him. Without being preachy or saccharine, the author brings the small town to life and reveals a spiritual secret--the presence of angels--that helps a wounded man discover the defining truth of his life, place new hope in the community he loves, and trust totally in the God who sustains him.

Manchester Christmas


John Gray - 2020
    Soon, she encounters kindness, romance, and is pulled into a mystery centered on an old, abandoned church and the death of a special girl. Are the images that only she can see in the church's stained-glass windows a warning, or is someone trying to reach her, to help heal this broken community? Manchester Christmas illustrates how God often uses the most unlikely among us to spread grace and healing in a wounded world. Full of love, hope, and forgiveness, this debut novel from an Emmy-winning writer will touch your heart and have you longing for Christmas in Manchester.

The Miracle of Christmas


Morris Fenris - 2013
    Christmas is the season of miracles… Robert and Emma are newlyweds who are deliriously in love and eager to create their own unique traditions as couples.All is rosy and smooth for this wonderful pair till Robert gets caught in a complicated dilemma at work where he has to choose between doing the right and moral thing as a Christian or following the easy path in his bid to give Emma the perfect Christmas present ever.Emma who is a newspaper columnist beloved by everyone, struggles with sudden changes at the workplace and an unknown person hell bent on jeopardizing her career.As they struggle to celebrate their first Christmas together despite all the challenges, they learn what is more important than gifts, traditions or grand gestures and that miracles can happen when they are least expected.

For a Lifetime


Rosemarie Naramore - 2013
    She finds herself on a mountaintop, serving as a rehabilitation therapist for an elderly stroke victim.Hired by the man’s son, Justin Parker, she discovers the younger man feels only contempt for his father, Ross. Pamela soon learns his feelings are justified, but she’s also learned that forgiveness is a gift for both the giver and recipient.Pamela develops feelings for Justin, and knows she’s putting him and his family in danger by residing at their home. Her niece’s father is searching for them—intent on using the child to extort money from his parents—and Pamela is certain he’ll stop at nothing to get his hands on the baby.Should she leave? Should she stay? Pamela is unsure, but she knows one thing is certain—Justin’s father is a changed man—no longer the violent, abusive person he once was. If only his son can see it.

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

When Calls the Heart


Janette Oke - 1983
    Yet, despite the constant hardships, she loves the children in her care. Determined to do the best job she can and fighting to survive the harsh land, Elizabeth is surprised to find her heart softening towards a certain member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Book 1 of the bestselling Canadian West series.

The Trouble With Holly


Bonnie Blythe - 2014
    But when her Aunt Della calls in a favor sending Holly back to her hometown, she finds herself ankle deep in a chicken pen while juggling the demands of her job and an old flame. As her carefully constructed facade comes tumbling down, she meets a handsome vineyard owner who studies the spiritual side of the vines. Can he convince Holly he sees her as God does, and help her rediscover her faith?

Paradise Valley


Dale Cramer - 2010
    Caleb Bender and his neighbors are arrested for neglect, with the state ordering the children be placed in an institution. Among them are Caleb's teenage daughter, Rachel, and the boy she has her eye on, Jake Weaver. Romance blooms between the two when Rachel helps Jake escape the children's home.Searching for a place to relocate his family where no such laws apply, Caleb learns there's inexpensive land for sale in Mexico, a place called Paradise Valley. Despite rumors of instability in the wake of the Mexican revolution, the Amish community decides this is their answer. Since it was Caleb's idea, he and his family will be the pioneers. They will send for the others once he's established a foothold and assessed the situation. Caleb's daughters are thrown into turmoil. Rachel doesn't want to leave Jake. Her sister, Emma, who has been courting Levi Mullet, fears her dreams of marriage will be dashed. Miriam has never had a beau and is acutely aware there will be no prospects in Mexico. Once there, they meet Domingo, a young man and guide who takes a liking to Miriam, something her father would never approve. While Paradise Valley is everything they'd hoped it would be, it isn't long before the bandits start giving them trouble, threatening to upset the fledgling Amish settlement, even putting their lives in danger. Thankfully no one has been harmed so far, anyway.

Daughter of Twin Oaks


Lauraine Snelling - 2000
    No longer safe at Twin Oaks, she embarks on a perilous journey, taking on the momentous responsibility for the lives and welfare of all who go with her. They ride at night and hide during the day, dodging both Confederate and Union troops along the way. Encountering hunger, sickness, and the devastation of war, they finally arrive in Missouri only to discover that the situation there puts them in even greater danger. Discouraged, disillusioned, and facing a severe testing of her faith, Jesselynn will stop at nothing to save her family, the horses, and whatever remains of Twin Oaks.

Christmas Roses


Amanda Cabot - 2012
    She certainly doesn't have a husband on her Christmas wish list. But when a wandering carpenter finds lodging at her boarding house, she admits that she might remarry if she found the right man--the kind of man who would bring her roses for Christmas. It would take a miracle to get roses during a harsh Wyoming winter. But Christmas, after all, is the time for miracles . . .Amanda Cabot invites readers to cozy up with a romantic, heartwarming tale of the greatest gift of all--love.

After the Rain


Rita Gerlach - 2015
    Barrie’s play 'What Every Woman Knows', premiered in Atlantic City and the first Model T rolled off the assembly line in Detroit. It is a year when the world faced one of its worst disasters in history, when the New Year would heal the wounds of loss.Louisa Borden lives a privileged life in Chevy Chase, Maryland, a new and thriving community on the outskirts of Washington, DC for the well-to-do. Against the wishes of her domineering grandmother, she retreats from the prospects of a loveless marriage and instead searches for what she hopes is her calling in life.When her horse is spooked along Rock Creek, she is thrown from the saddle—an embarrassing situation for any affluent young lady. Soaking wet, bruised and humiliated, she is carried up the muddy bank to safety by Jackson O’Neil, a stranger to the city, who changes the course of everything, including the lives of all those around her.

Fall from Grace


Ryan M. Phillips - 2006
    For a MOMENT she is LOST in thought, remembering WHAT IT HAS TAKEN to get TO THIS POINT..."Grace Cambridge is a young Black Christian with a new husband, old friends, and a shocking moral dilemma. A proverbial "cat fight" opens the story and draws you into a complex relational web. The book peels through layers of dysfunction between Grace and Trina and follows their individual, sometimes intertwining, lives to reveal how they find their way back to Christ and to each other. Grace is intelligent, determined, well-spoken yet vulnerable. You want her to be happy, you want her to succeed. Grace's Christianity isn't sugar-coated. Her faith is real and so is her life---riddled with plenty of twists, turns, and conflicts. As Grace's relationship with God is challenged she questions her identity and is faced with a life-changing decision. She deals with everyday issues, sometimes successfully; sometimes not. Grace's experiences are not much different than yours---how she handles them might be.

The Christmas Secret


Wanda E. Brunstetter - 2016
    Brunstetter tells a heartrending story from 1880 Pennsylvania.  Elizabeth Canning discovers an awful secret in her deceased mother’s diary. Believing her chances for a happy marriage are spoiled, she leaves her fiancé a letter and flees town thinking all hope of a marriage to David is lost. Praying that distance will heal her broken heart, she takes refuge in her grandparents’ Pennsylvania home. Anticipating a Christmas Eve wedding with Elizabeth, David Stinner is confused by her letter and desperate to find her. Can David root out the truth about the past and bring back his bride? Or is the truth destined to bring an ultimate end to their romance?

The Rose Legacy


Kristen Heitzmann - 2000
    Though the town has a rough element, Carina is determined that it is the place her dreams will come true. Early on, two men vie for her trust, but neither is what he seems. Will Carina discern the truth in time to prevent tragedy?

A Shenandoah Christmas: A Novella (Winds of Change)


Lisa Belcastro - 2014
    His Christmas wish is to marry the woman he loves. But where has she gone? Andrew Roberts hasn’t felt such anticipation for Christmas day since he was five years old. This year he has plans, life-changing plans. He is going to propose to Allyson Flanders, the woman of his dreams. He’d lived his first thirty years as a confirmed bachelor, contented with dating, managing the family’s fleet of ships, fishing, and sailing anywhere he wanted, whenever he wanted.Until . . .One date with Allyson, and Andy was hopelessly caught by the smartest, kindest, most beautiful woman he’d ever met. He had no complaints. Life with Allyson was better than anything he’d ever imagined. They spent hours of every day together, casting lines into the waters off the shore of Martha’s Vineyard, talking, laughing, and dreaming. He hadn’t spent a day without being in Allyson’s company.Until . . . Something happened after Thanksgiving. Something he can’t figure out. Something he can’t name. But that something has created more distance than a two-month sail from Vineyard Haven Harbor to Sri Lanka. Allyson had no time for him, barely spoke to him, and made secret plans without him.The diamond and sapphire ring resting in the black velvet box looked lonely, but not as lonely as Andy felt. Where was she spending her time? Why didn’t she return his phone calls? Had she found someone else? Was there any hope his Christmas wish might still come true? A Vineyard RomanceRomance, Faith, and Adventure on the Island of Martha’s Vineyard