Book picks similar to
Tender Grace by Jackina Stark


christian-fiction
christian
fiction
religious

Second Chance Ranch


Audra Harders - 2014
     Pediatric nurse, Jennifer O’Reilly returns home to Hawk Ridge, Colorado to establish a mountain recreation camp as a safe adventure for children battling cancer. Her path to ownership depends on developing a profitable business plan to convince the bank she can manage not only the camping facility, but the entire Trails’ End Ranch operation. Generations earlier, one misplayed hand of poker lost the family ranch, and Zac Davidson, youngest son and financial genius of the Circle D, wants it back. Intrigued since childhood by the legend of his great grandfather, Zac is the only family member who holds out hope that one day the Trails’ End would become Davidson property again. When the Trails’ End goes on the market, cost is no object — only Jennifer O’Reilly stands between Zac and his dream. Once high school sweethearts, Jennifer and Zac have wounded each other, and the scars run deep. Jennifer is forced to reveal a secret she’s protected for twelve years. Will it jeopardize the future of both of their dreams or offer them a second chance?

The Walk


Richard Paul Evans - 2010
    You don’t know me. ‘Just another book in the library,’ my father would say. ‘Unopened and unread.’ You have no idea how far I’ve come or what I’ve lost. More important, you have no idea what I’ve found." —Prologue What would you do if you lost everything—your job, your home, and the love of your life—all at the same time? When it happens to Seattle ad executive Alan Christoffersen, he’s tempted by his darkest thoughts. A bottle of pills in his hand and nothing left to live for, he plans to end his misery. Instead, he decides to take a walk. But not any ordinary walk. Taking with him only the barest of essentials, Al leaves behind all that he’s known and heads for the farthest point on his map: Key West, Florida. The people he encounters along the way, and the lessons they share with him, will save his life—and inspire yours. Richard Paul Evans’s extraordinary New York Times bestsellers have made him one of the world’s most beloved storytellers. A life-changing journey, both physical and spiritual, The Walk is the first of an unforgettable series of books about one man’s search for hope.

Another Chance to Love You


Robin Lee Hatcher - 2006
    . . Sustained by her faith, Monica Fletcher finally had the courage to tell the only man she'd ever loved the secret that had burned in her heart for eleven years.The time had come to heal old wounds . . . When celebrity Daniel Rourke revisited Boise, Idaho, the local beauty who'd been his college girlfriend turned his world upside down with the revelation that he was a father!The time was now to start over . . . if they could. Could Daniel's hometown sweetheart and newfound daughter find a place in the fast-paced Chicago milieu that was now his world? Only time would tell if it was possible for him to reclaim the life they should have had—and the family he had belatedly come to cherish.

In His Place: A Modern-Day Challenge in the Tradition of Charles Sheldon's Classic In His Steps


Harry C. Griffith - 2016
    We are to incarnate Christ in our time, being conscious of the presence and power of God within us in all of our thoughts and actions. This is what pastor Steve Long wants his congregation to understand. When Long challenges his prominent but self-satisfied congregation to become a living force for Christ in their small North Georgia town, he is blindsided by personal trials. Responding to Christ’s command “As the Father has sent me, so I send you,” Pastor Long tackles these difficult situations—and more—over a tumultuous week of trials and testing and ultimately learns (as he leads) what it means to walk In His Place.

Song of the Brokenhearted


Sheila Walsh - 2012
    Suddenly, her ideal life will be completely broken . . . in the best of ways.Ava’s life is full of great things. Her daughter is getting married to just the right guy, her husband’s company has kept them financially successful for years, her son is thriving as a high-school football player, and the ministry she started is keeping her busy as she reaches out to those with “broken hearts.”Then it all falls apart. Ava’s safe world becomes unanchored, and she is forced to face the childhood she’s run away from her entire life. Just as she’s trying to sift through the pieces, the doorbell rings and Ava is confronted with the surprise of her life.Ava must set out on a journey that takes her back home. Along the way, she encounters God in new and unexpected ways. She sees she's been hiding her brokenness behind good deeds and the comforts of a safe life. Learning what it means to lose it all is just the start of Ava’s journey—as is the new song God is writing on her heart.

Christmas Mercies


Emily Josephine - 2020
    Christmas has brought nothing but grief and loneliness for the past decade, after she lost her beloved husband to a fatal car accident. Hearing holiday music day after day during the first few months of the school year is like constantly ripping the scab off an unhealed wound.Determined to keep her husband in her heart, she has kept a fortress around it, allowing only one woman in as a true friend, and avoiding anything more than a passing acquaintance with any man.Until Timothy Fielding, the maintenance man at the apartment complex where she lives, comes along. He happens to love the Christmas season. When circumstances – and Janice’s best friend, Kayla – draw them together, he struggles to keep his growing feelings for Janice at bay. He has his own secret past that he’s sure would repel any woman, once she found out about it.But his desire for love and companionship win out, and he does his best to knock down the walls around Janice’s heart. But even when she finally relents and agrees to spend more time with him, she continues to resist opening her heart back up to Christmas.Because the death of her husband is only the beginning of the tragedy surrounding the day.In the meantime, Lucille Masterson, the great-grandmother of Janice’s star pupil, makes a shocking discovery that almost causes her to ruin Christmas for her family. Again. But then she realizes that if she would face her fear, she could finally release the burden she’s been carrying for the past ten years. What she doesn’t know is that it would release a horrible burden for the very person she’s afraid to face…**********“Christmas Mercies” is the first novel in Emily Josephine’s Christian holiday romance series, “Little River Village Christmas Romance.” A clean and wholesome romance novel, it will warm your heart, build your faith, and leave you feeling refreshed and hopeful.

Delivery


Diana Prusik - 2011
    There, the strong and wacky Wilson’s Florist gang monitors the pulse of Mount Helicon, where customers carry stories even the local newspaper does not contain. Tales of birth and death, sickness and sorrow, love and betrayal, and even forgiveness—Livi hears them all. Privy to some of the community’s deepest secrets, she sometimes wishes she didn't know so much, especially when news arrives that a dear family friend is dead. Faced with servicing his funeral, she is blasted with painful memories she’s struggled for decades to ignore. Soon, guilt and grief over childhood and adult tragedies close in. Instead of turning to loved ones or God for comfort, she leans on alcohol, her long-time clandestine companion—but secrets rarely escape the close-knit flower shop crew, who makes Livi’s business its own. Fumbling through life’s challenges together, the Wilson gang often delivers more than flowers, yet when Livi needs delivery, can the bonds of faith and friendship dissolve her defenses?

Watching the Tree Limbs


Mary E. DeMuth - 2006
    In the small world of 1979 Burl, Texas, all Mara really has are the tree limbs, a lumbering Aunt Elma, her boyfriend Officer Gus, the bully General, and her new best friend Camilla who rhymes maddening snatches of truth. Mara needs to escape General's advances and find out who her real parents are before those who would want to destroy her succeed. Will she recognize redemption through Zady the Jesus-loving housekeeper, Denim the clandestine town prophet, or Mr. Winningham her new guardian whose quiet rage masks even deeper secrets?

When Lightning Strikes


Brooke St. James - 2015
     This is the tale of how God used me in spite of that. It also happens to be a love story.

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.

Broken Identity


Ashley Williams - 2011
    Living conditions are about as cozy as a cardboard box, on account of his alcoholic father who can find nothing better to do than argue relentlessly with him. When Drake thinks he can’t take another blow, he is reminded daily of his mom who vanished twelve years ago. And now there’s a dead body. After a terrible accident turns into a protected secret, a twisted string of events brings Drake miles away from home to an elderly man’s front door. Every promising opportunity also brings new doubts and temptations to run away—this time for good. When the secret he has kept locked away threatens to reveal itself, Drake knows he must shield it with his very life, even if the love he has been shown undeservingly is about to be destroyed.

The Marriage Wish


Dee Henderson - 1998
    James. She was everything he'd ever wanted in a woman--and he knew she'd be the perfect mother of his future children. But sad memories of her past still shadowed Jennifer's heart. Turning to God, Scott vowed to help heal Jennifer's broken spirit--and offered her his unconditional love. .

Safely Home: A Christian Story of Facing the Past and Embracing the Future (Watkins Ridge Book 1)


Ruth Logan Herne - 2014
    A bullet and her grandmother’s cancer diagnosis changed that. Now she’s back, touching a past she spurned long ago. Alex Westmore appreciates God’s humor, but when hard-nosed Cress Dietrich is plunked into the middle of the family farm controversy—and his part in the sale of a centennial farm—he’s not laughing. He promised her grandmother secrecy, and Alex always keeps his word. But this time, his pledge might break Cress’s heart. He wants her trust and love. He knows you can’t have one without the other. But can Cress escape the shadows of the past in time to embrace the simple light of her future? With God’s grace, she can… in Watkins Ridge.

Blowing on Dandelions


Miralee Ferrell - 2013
    In 1880, three years after her husband’s death, she struggles to run an Oregon boardinghouse and raise two girls alone. Things don't get easier when her critical, domineering mother moves in. Katherine must make the situation work, but standing up for herself and her family while honoring her mother isn't easy. And with a daughter entering the teenage years, the pressure on Katherine becomes close to overwhelming. Then she crosses paths with Micah Jacobs, a widower who could reignite her heart, but she fears a relationship with him might send things over the edge. She must find the strength, wisdom, hope, and faith to remake her life, for everything is about to change.

Thicker Than Blood


C.J. Darlington - 2009
    She’s putting her past behind her and working hard to build her career as a buyer for a large used bookstore. So far she’s been able to keep her drinking problem at bay, but everything changes when she lands a DUI on her thirty-third birthday. When she’s accused of a crime she didn’t commit at work, she has nowhere to turn. She yearns for her estranged family, especially her younger sister May whom she hasn’t seen for fifteen years. Now the owner of a failing cattle ranch in Elk Valley, Colorado, May couldn’t possibly want a relationship with the big sister who didn’t even say good-bye all those years ago, could she? Soon Christy’s fleeing from her shattered dreams, her abusive ex-boyfriend, and God. Could the Triple Cross Ranch be the safe haven she’s searching for, or will May’s new-found faith give her even more reason to reject Christy?