A Carol for Christmas
By Robin Lee Hatcher
(Zondervan 2006)

It’s time to curl up by the fire with a cup of cocoa and enjoy some heart-warming romance. You’ll love A Carol for Christmas, written by best-selling author Robin Lee Hatcher (her 50th book!). This beautiful novella can be read in one quiet evening, taking you to Boise, Idaho, set in the late 60s. Hatcher says she got the idea for the story based on her own difficulties in early marriage as a teenage bride.

Going… Read More

Praying for My Life,
by Marion Bond West
(Guideposts Books 2006)

Do you feel like you’re on the verge of losing hope? Marion Bond West has been there, and in her new spiritual memoir, she’ll show you how she survived with a little known prayer in the book of Habakkuk. Now a grandmother and contributing editor for Guideposts magazine, Bond West has had to overcome early widowhood, raising four children as a single mom, and dealing with rebellion, substance abuse, and bipolar disorder in her adult sons. Marion’s honest, transparent writing will restore… Read More

“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh.
Is there anything too hard for Me?”
- Jeremiah 32:27

One Easter weekend when I was a teen, someone slipped into our backyard while my family was sleeping. They didn’t count on meeting up with Gretchen, our friendly Keeshond, who probably grabbed the nearest squeaky toy and begged the intruder for a little midnight play. Keeshonds aren’t normally an aggressive breed, and Gretchen’s wide-eyed doggy charm could melt the most hard-shelled dog hater around. Underneath layers of fur beat a heart that… Read More

Life is beautiful… Stop and smell the roses… Life is a bowl of cherries… Those are easy things to say when life is going your way. But what about when you are feeling the pressures or dark days of life? I’ve spoken to a few people recently that were going through really difficult times. Illnesses, relational strains, financial struggles, sorrows and other situations were weighing them down. Uncertainty and disappointments were taking the place of joy and creativity. Life in times of pain doesn’t look so beautiful. When the clouds are looming and the… Read More

Socks hurl across the kitchen, a hail of chaos splintering morning routine and order. Thunked in the back of head, I spin from sink and into the face of a grinning twelve-year-old. I am set to return with volley of words about maturity and setting an example and simply folding laundry instead of rocking the boat. His younger brothers are already whipping back knitted wools with mismatched sweatsocks. And then one of the statutes of the Geneva Convention of Motherhood flashes across my interior screen: Ignore negative attention-seeking behavior so as not affirm it. I can still remember… Read More

This month Jill talks with award-winning singer/songwriter Bree Noble. Bree’s powerful vocals and commanding stage presence have won over audiences at large venues such as Saddleback Church and Dodger Stadium and intimate venues like small town churches and coffeehouses.

Although her vocals are always compelling, her greatest asset is her songwriting. Bree is a songwriter who doesn’t sugar-coat the Christian life or water down the issues Christians face. With influences like Nichole Nordeman, Sara Grvoes and Ginny Owens, her musical style is both mainstream and eclectic. Her lyrics are… Read More

I was pleased to hear that you are coming to speak in my area. I know that I’ll be there and I’d like to also bring my daughter, however I am not sure as to the content of your testimony.

She is 8-years-old, and has been relatively sheltered. She understands many of the worldly temptations since we discuss them openly, but the points in between making the bad decision and the bottom of the pit have not been spelled out to her in detail.

Would it be appropriate to bring her?… Read More

As we approach the Passover and Easter season, my thoughts as a mother turn toward another mother from two thousand years ago. A lady who lived in Nazareth, whose name was Mary. This mother stood at the foot of the cross watching her first born son, Jesus Christ, take on the sin of all mankind and take his final breath. Oh how her heart must have broken.

I have often wondered at what moment had she totally yielded her will as a mom over to God? Was it when Jesus was learning to… Read More

“He has risen, just as He said.”
~ Matthew 28:26 ~

Have you given much thought to yeast? Just a little bit of yeast can have a great impact on a large batch when making breads. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. (2 Corinthians 5:6)  Scripture often refers to yeast as sin.  Yeast is actually a fungi. Fungi will draw its nutrition from many things including decaying organic matter.

When we think of the last supper we remember Jesus breaking unleavened bread with the disciples. Bread that hadn’t risen. Bread without yeast. This… Read More

For the last few months, our focus has been on weight loss. That’s usually the case with Thanksgiving, Christmas and especially New Years! Once all the figgy pudding is put aside we ask ourselves, how can I take off the weight? It’s tough, but I’ve witnessed many of you putting your plans into action, and I’m excited to share in your journey—so press on!

But this month, as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, I’d like to shift us in a slightly different direction on our journey… Read More

In terms of pure romance, no open-shirted, smooth-chested, flowing-haired, pony-riding hero ever held a candle to my grandfather. Though I read and enjoyed all the best fairy tales as a child and spent my fair share of Saturday afternoons sitting through Disney movies, my romantic notions were birthed, formed and cemented at home, watching the way my grandparents interacted.

Clifford loved Mickey–madly, deeply, jealously. Maybe that’s because he found her later in his life (she was forty, he in his mid-thirties). Or maybe it’s because when he met his red-haired beauty, she was just ending her marriage to an… Read More

It was Elaine’s passion for reading the Word that first drew me into friendship with her. We met through CWO’s Facebook group and began chatting on the topic of “What have you read in the Word lately?” I discovered that when you ask Elaine Bateman that question, you always get an enthusiastic response.

As I’ve come to know this woman a little more over recent months, I’ve learned that a zeal for serving Christ is a large part–if not the entire part–of who this woman is. One other… Read More