Presents the story of a young widow in the South, who, following the death of her husband in Vietnam, overcame grief, poverty, and the lack of an education to provide a stable home for her three children.
Karen Spears was nine years old, living with her family in a trailer in rural Tennessee, when her father, David Spears, was killed in the Ia Drang Valley in Vietnam. It was 1966 -- in a nation being torn apart by a war nobody wanted, in an emotionally charged Southern landscape stained with racism and bigotry -- and suddenly the care and well-being of three small children were solely in the hands of a frightened young widow with no skills and a ninth-grade education. But thanks to a mother's remarkable courage, strength, and stubborn tenacity, a family in the midst of chaos and in severe crisis miraculously pulled together to achieve its own version of the American Dream. Beginning on the day Karen learns of her father's death and ending thirty years later with her pilgrimage to the battlefield where he died, half a world away from the family's hometown, After the Flag Has Been Folded is a triumphant tale of reconciliation between a daughter and her father, a daughter and her nation -- and a poignant remembrance of a mother's love and heroism.
Christian Bend isn't the kind of place where one expects to find the sorts of secrets the widow Burdy Luttrell has been harboring. Tucked in the hills of East Tennessee, Christian Bend is a place of piercing beauty, where the rivers and love run constant. A community of people who care for each other, the land, the music, and the stories that bind them. It's called Christian Bend because so many people who settled the area shared the same last name, Christian. It's a name they all tried to live up to. Even so, Burdy never could bring herself to tell Rain Hurd the truth about his father. She'd always meant to, but put it off until that day she was nearly killed in the shooting at Bean Station. As soon as he heard about the shooting, Rain left his job in Rhode Island and flew to Burdy's bedside at that Knoxville hospital. That's when Burdy told him about the letters. Rain didn't believe her at first but once he found the letters, Rain was faced with a trauma of his own: What had prompted his father to abandon his family? And would Rain ever be able to forgive him the death of his mother? Would anyone at Christian Bend? Or would the community, which had long proudly regarded Zebulon Hurd as their own war hero, now abandon the aging veteran to the grief that overwhelmed him?
How is it that those of us who claim to be so firmly founded can be so easily shaken? This compelling look at how fear eclipses faith in frightening times also demonstrates how to confront what you fear most, wrestle with it, and then release it, freeing yourself as well.
Author Karen Spears Zacharias believes Christians have been paying good money for a false doctrine---the Cash and Cadillac Gospel. With humor and wit in Will Jesus Buy Me a Double-Wide?, Zacharias unpacks story after story of those who use the name of God as a means to living their own "good life," as well as some unlikely folks whose genuine faith has led them to a different understanding of wealth.
Investigative journalist and author Karen Spears Zacharias never anticipated that she would become one of the characters involved in a high-profile murder. But when she reconnects with a young woman named Sarah, who lived in the Zacharias home at one time and was treated like family, Karen discovers that something unspeakable has happened to Sarah’s daughter, Karly. Compelled to consider her own culpability in this tragic case, Karen pieces together what happened to Karly through court documents, investigators’ interviews, and interviews with friends, family, law enforcement officials, and key witnesses. As the terrible story unfolds, the hard question emerges for everyone involved, indeed all of us: Why was no cry raised to protect Karly?
How is it that those of us who claim to be so firmly founded can be so easily shaken? This compelling look at how fear eclipses faith in frightening times also demonstrates how to confront what you fear most, wrestle with it, and then release it, freeing yourself as well.
Investigative journalist and author Karen Spears Zacharias never anticipated that she would become one of the characters involved in a high-profile murder. But when she reconnects with a young woman named Sarah, who lived in the Zacharias home at one time and was treated like family, Karen discovers that something unspeakable has happened to Sarah’s daughter, Karly. Compelled to consider her own culpability in this tragic case, Karen pieces together what happened to Karly through court documents, investigators’ interviews, and interviews with friends, family, law enforcement officials, and key witnesses. As the terrible story unfolds, the hard question emerges for everyone involved, indeed all of us: Why was no cry raised to protect Karly?
What does it really mean to be blessed by God? With Southern charm and razor-sharp wit in this Will Jesus Buy Me a Double-Wide? Ebook, author Karen Spears Zacharias shows how the “prosperity” gospel has led us astray from true Christianity and helped create people and churches focused on greed. Zacharias unpacks story after story of families and individuals using the name of God as a means to living their own “good life.” You’ll hear shocking tales of those who exploit the gospel for their own gain, and mega-evangelists who live in million-dollar mansions with children groomed from the cradle to sell the message of Christ while their parents rake in the cash. Discover churches that have modeled themselves on Wall Street and unbridled materialism, and see what is happening to them now. Is this the good life? You’ll also meet some unlikely folks who live with genuine biblical integrity. People who know that God is more than some cosmic genie who gives them an easy life, a fat bank account, and a second home in an exotic location. Come discover stories about authentic Christianity and the true “good life” in Will Jesus Buy Me a Double-Wide?
Karen Spears was nine years old, living with her family in a trailer in rural Tennessee, when her father, David Spears, was killed in the Ia Drang Valley in Vietnam. It was 1966 -- in a nation being torn apart by a war nobody wanted, in an emotionally charged Southern landscape stained with racism and bigotry -- and suddenly the care and well-being of three small children were solely in the hands of a frightened young widow with no skills and a ninth-grade education. But thanks to a mother's remarkable courage, strength, and stubborn tenacity, a family in the midst of chaos and in severe crisis miraculously pulled together to achieve its own version of the American Dream. Beginning on the day Karen learns of her father's death and ending thirty years later with her pilgrimage to the battlefield where he died, half a world away from the family's hometown, After the Flag Has Been Folded is a triumphant tale of reconciliation between a daughter and her father, a daughter and her nation -- and a poignant remembrance of a mother's love and heroism.
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