Peer into the lives of four people from the village of Bethany—a harlot, a mistress, a beggar, and a leper—as their worlds interweave and collide. Throughout similar circumstances, they each have unique and personal encounters with Jesus. Along the way, they learn what it means to experience authentic relationships, genuine community, and true faith. These emotionally charged stories reveal people who struggle with the same kinds of life issues that we all encounter today—feelings of loneliness, guilt, inadequacy, betrayal, and despair. Yet their interactions with Jesus bring profound changes to the way that they view their world, each other, and themselves. These four tales use the creative gift of imagination to explore what each of these men and women might have been thinking and feeling, while remaining true to the biblical accounts and consistent with life in first century Israel. So come on a journey that will challenge you, inspire you, and like these characters from Bethany, leave you forever changed.

    Edna sends the young ladies West to marry strong faithful men whom she knows will properly care for her wards. Each book is a complete story of one of our Bridge Creek brides. Three Times Bride - The Story of Erin Hathaway & Ross Aldridge When Erin Hathaway is thrown out by her parents and abandoned with child by her dishonest husband, she is taken under the caring wing of of the widow, Edna White. When Edna dies, her will provides for Erin and her young son, Trevor, in a most unexpected way. To fulfil the will’s requirements Erin must travel West to meet and marry again the man who abandoned her 6 years earlier. Run Away Bride - The Story of Flora Wright & Jacob Jake Mackenzie Flora Wright’s mother has always wanted to be part of Boston’s elite, and is wiling to stoop to any measure to make it happen - even promise her 16-year-old daughter’s hand to Archibald Channing, a vile old man of questionable morals. When Flora flees after uncovering Archibald’s illegal dealings, she is taken under the caring wing of the courageous widow, Edna White. When Edna dies, Flora travels West with her two friends to meet a man of Edna’s choosing whom she is to marry. The Innocent Bride - The Story of Bernice Hallstead & Raymond Bridges Bernice Hallstead and her younger brother lived a charmed life, until their beloved pa dies an untimely death. When their mother remarries the new man of the house forces the two children into a life of petty crime. A bungled robbery leaves the young wards injured and homeless, fleeing for their lives. Terrified Bernice is taken under the caring wing of the courageous widow, Edna White. When Edna dies, Bernice travels West with her two friends, Erin and Flora, to meet a man of Edna’s choosing. It is only the power of unconditional love that has the strength to wipe away the shame of yesteryear and open the door to a bright tomorrow. Mute Mail Order Bride Speaks The Words I Do For The Very First Time (Valentine Brides Book 2) Clara Broadhurst never says a word. She cannot. And when she travels as a mail order bride to Valentine, a Western frontier town, she is soundly rejected by her would-be husband, who considers her silence burdensome. Will anyone have an ear to hear the longings of her heart? Or will Clara’s incredible love remain unspoken and unanswered forever? Miracles have been known to take place in valentine before, can Clara claim hers before it is too late? New Year Bride - A Gift For Jedidiah Abandoned by the man she thinks to be her God given partner, Salome Newton travels west to track him down. A trail of destroyed families, robberies and broken promises uncover that he is, in fact, an untrustworthy wife stealing huckster. Her heartbroken search leads her finally to the small town of Pine Wood, and to the storm lashed Starry Stud Ranch. Waiting there are two bruised but trusting hearts, believing God for a New Year’s day miracle.

    Also left behind is Abishag’s betrothed, Joseph, who has already waited many months to claim his bride. Now, he must wait until Israel’s king no longer needs her. Torn from the comfort of her small village, Abishag is thrust into a world of unfamiliar customs, royal expectations, and palace intrigue. She is greeted suspiciously by the king’s concubines, warmly by Queen Bathsheba, and reluctantly by King David himself. Adonijah, the king’s son, is bitter over his father’s choice of Solomon as Israel’s next king. He determines to ruin Abishag to prevent her from being given as a prize to Solomon at their father’s death. Suffering personal losses, as well as scorn from much of the royal court, Abishag begins to question God’s goodness in placing her in the king’s service. Can she find someone there who understands that one who comforts the king is in great need of comfort herself? Will Abishag’s time with the king end in despair or joy?

    Not only had he saved the kingdom, but the lives of Hassar Jonathan and King Shaul as well. Even so, Shaul took away his freedom . . . and then gave him the generals mantle. A bittersweet reward indeed for Yahwehs chosen one.But he wasnt ready yet to lead the armies of Israelor to accept his true status as Mashiah. He needed timeand the hassars relentless training. Roeh Shamuels steady guidance calmed his fears: If you are to fulfill Yahwehs task, you must accept the place He has for you and conduct yourself in such a manner as to bring honor to the One who gave it to you."And so, despite Abners blatant contempt and Shauls persistent censure, regardless of his own failure or triumph in battle, he chose unswerving loyalty to Yahweh. No one would ever fully understand the consequences of such devotion.No one but Jonathan.

    The future belongs to the Baby Boomers and the need for a praying Church has never been greater.

    And then Rob began to think about how he hoped he'd have the chance to talk with all his grandchildren as they grew. He imagined them coming into his study, settling into one of the two comfy armchairs in front of the fire and opening up about the challenges they were facing. Perhaps it would be when they were beginning their first job, buying their first house, getting married or starting a family. Or perhaps they'd talk long into the night, when their hearts were broken or friends had betrayed them. Perhaps he would have the chance to help them rebuild the dream that somebody had trodden on. "Come on in, take a seat—tell me what's been going on. . ." Rob knew he wouldn't have all the answers. But maybe he could help—just a little.

    After Chloe's job loss, Jack's writer's block, and a disheartening personal disappointment, they could use a break. However, instead of hot chocolate and horseback rides through the snow, things are all wrong at the Stonehall Estate Resort. First, they learn of months of unexplained mishaps.Then there's a murder–and it's not the first at this historically tragic mansion.It soon becomes clear someone wants the resort to fail and will stop at nothing to make that happen. The question is…why?Eager to help the family business, Chloe picks up where the hotel’s last historical curator left off. But things quickly become dangerous when her research uncovers truths hidden for decades—clues related not only to mysteries sparked by a young girl’s death in 1931, but also those haunting the estate today. Before long Chloe finds herself in a deadly race to expose the mansion’s secrets before more innocents become victims of the malevolent force behind it all.Will Chloe bring the long-lost truth to light in time, or will she be the next to fall prey to the dark scheme that could claim everything, including her life?If you enjoy riveting intrigue, heart-warming romance and heroines and heroes you can't help but root for, you'll love USA TODAY bestselling author D.L. Wood's third installment in the award-winning Unintended Series of thrilling suspense novels laced with romance and faith.

    They will help you to understand your own struggles and regain confidence in your walk with the Lord.I know that you sense Him drawing you ever nearer to Him. That's why you are considering this devotional. Some of you even feel your heart aching for more of His Presence in your life.This allegory with the devotionals will help satisfy the yearning of your heart. He is challenging you to keep saying "yes" to your Lord as He beckons you on in your own journey to the High Places.

    We are addicts, "sinaholics," says the author, trying to fill with various addictions a gaping void in our hearts designed for God. Take Mary Magdalene, . She was a prosperous prostitute, but her life was one sad sordid story--until she met Someone who loved her with a pure, unconditional love. Ever afterward the shame of her past was eclipsed by her absolute devotion to the One who set her free. Doug Batchelor unveils the beauty of the gospel with original insights through the eyes of Jesus' most dedicated disciple. This imaginative yet biblical retelling of Mary's experience clarifies several significant biblical teachings with a kaleidoscope of vivid illustrations. Discover a fresh picture of the gentle, loving Savior who without condemning or condoning our past offers us a new future as we, like Mary, linger at Jesus' feet.

    Pearl in the Sand tells Rahab's untold story. Rahab lives in a wall; her house is built into the defensive walls of the City of Jericho. Other walls surround her as well-walls of fear, rejection, and unworthiness. A woman with a wrecked past; a man of success, of faith...of pride. A marriage only God would conceive! Through the heartaches of a stormy relationship, Rahab and Salmone learn the true source of one another's worth and find healing in God.

    Here, Stevenson shares about the turmoil of his early life, the rejection and pain faced in his initial attempts to launch his music career, the grief experienced during his mother’s long battle with cancer, the stress and burnout of his days working as a paramedic, and how an unexpected lightning storm gave him a front-row seat to a miracle that would turn his life around. When the dark clouds roll in, Stevenson has learned to listen to that still, small voice he hears—the voice of a trustworthy God who holds on to him even during the fiercest storms.

    Leonard Woolley observed that "Amongst the shadowy characters of ancient history, Abraham stands out as a living personality--whom we can know, and with whom we can sympathize...and now, alongside this living personality, we find Sarah--perhaps the most remarkable, yet mysterious woman of all time!"ABRAHAM AND SARAH is an epic love story, an engrossing page-turner for the ages, a must read for every person of faith.

    . . in short, a new life. But when rumors around town cast her boss in a shady light, Jeena starts questioning her employer's integrity. Still, the money is good and his ethics aren't her concern. Right? Wrong. The rumors are just the beginning. Jeena's boss disappears just when hush-hush phone calls, unpaid salaries, and piles of bills attract the attention of federal authorities. Then, Jeena's carefully crafted world begins to crumble and her struggle with alcohol rears its ugly head. Shaken to the core as she faces financial and emotional ruin, Jeena is confronted with her prejudices--and with a God she had long forgotten.

     With astounding narrative power—Vaughn Heppner, Winner of the Writers of the Future Award—sweeps the reader into the whirlpool of pageantry, passion, splendor, chaos and earth-shattering upheaval that was the world before the Flood. Here is the story of Methuselah, the wealthy patriarch of a rebellious clan, and Noah, a farmer driven mad with a vision of catastrophic disaster. So begins a towering saga of great events and mortal frailties. It is peopled with a vast, and vivid cast of unforgettable men and women—queens and soldiers, temptresses and wives, carpenters and orphans—combined in a richly embroidered human tapestry to bring a remarkable era to bold and breathtaking life.

    Their comfortable routine is interrupted when her late husband’s parents contact her out of the blue, after nine years of total silence. Promising to explain everything, they request that Kelly bring James to visit them at their Texas ranch. It’s the last thing Kelly wants to do, yet she feels an unexplainable prompting to go. With the fervent hope that the visit will be good for James, she books the plane tickets and prepares herself for a very uncomfortable week. Heading into “enemy territory", the last thing Kelly expects is to meet a man who leaves her breathless, the first man to turn her head since she lost her husband. A relationship with Will Connor seems totally out of reach, but the handsome young cowboy refuses to let Kelly’s fears keep them from exploring what God might have in store for them. As they overcome obstacles and start to see a future together, one final snag causes Kelly to question their happy ending. Is Will actually better off without her? Is she strong enough to give him up?