Individual Christmas stories that cover a 12-day period-to be celebrated all year long! That's the heart of this unique Christmas collection, compiled by best-selling author Kathi Macias and including historical, contemporary, romantic, mysterious, and even Amish tales that will warm your heart, whether sipping hot cocoa while sitting in front of the fireplace in winter or under a shade tree in the summer, nursing a frosty glass of iced tea or lemonade. Beginning with a scene set 12 days before Christmas, these stories move readers, one day at a time, toward that spiritual hush of Christmas Eve, where anything is possible. Authors from various geographical locations and walks of life have spun tales that will enchant readers, even as they are drawn closer to the greatest Gift ever given. And each story, though vastly different from the others, makes the same offer: Will you make room in your heart for the Christ-child as He shows up in your life and beckons you to join Him?
It is said that writing is 10 percent inspiration and 90 percent perspiration. I absolutely agree, and Im sure most successful writers would echo my sentiments: Inspiration is the easy part. Over the years I have spoken with and taught beginning writers from all around the world, in all sorts of settings. I have helped them review, edit, and rewrite their work, and I have found one common thread among those would-be writers who eventually become published authors: They are willing to devote themselves to the not-so-easy part of writingthe 90 percent perspiration. As I worked with these many writers I discovered what I consider to be the simplest and most practical writing method availablethe train-of-thought method. This excellent, well known writing method did not originate with me, but it seems no one had ever taken the time to put the method in book form. I therefore decided to do so myself. This is not a book about proper grammar or punctuation, or how best to choose the voice or set the scene for your great American novel. There are already countless books covering those subjects, if thats what youre looking for. But if you want to know how best to take your thoughts and dreams and put them into a clear, compelling, readable manuscript, then this is the book for you. Having personally seen the train-of-thought writing method help so many new writers learn to organize, write, and polish their ideas into successful manuscripts, I offer this book to those who would do the same. May it direct and encourage you as you enter into the 90 percent perspiration phase of your writing careerthe serious phase through which true writers are formed.
In book two of the “Freedom” series, readers find Mara fighting against her attraction to Bible college student Jonathan Flannery even while wrestling with risking her own precarious safety to become involved in the rescue of another girl who is pregnant and desperately wants to escape her captors and save her own life, as well as her child’s. Halfway around the world in a brothel in Thailand, a young girl is rescued with the promise of being reunited with her younger sister who was adopted by an interracial couple in the States, friends of Jonathan’s family. Meanwhile, Jefe—Mara’s uncle, who held her as a sex slave in his brothel in San Diego for years—seeks revenge for Mara’s testimony that put him behind bars for life. Will his underworld connections be successful in kidnapping and killing the girl who believes she has finally won her freedom?
Will God protect and keep them safe in the midst of persecution? Farah lives in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with her family, and wants nothing more than to develop a deeper devotion to her Muslim faith. She sees the month of Ramadan as her chance to draw nearer to Allah, and pursues that goal. All goes well until the prophet Isa—Jesus—appears to her in a dream and calls her to Himself. Her brother, Kareem, who has never liked her, seeks to discredit her. Farah’s cousin, an only child, frequents an online chat. She discovers former Muslims discussing their new belief that Isa is much more than a Muslim prophet—He is actually the Son of God. She becomes acquainted with an American girl of Muslim ancestry—now a devout Christian—Sara. Sara has problems of her own due to her brother Emir’s suspicious behavior. Each finds their faith put to the test. Will they be true to their beliefs? Will God protect them, or will they pay the ultimate price for their faith?
True love ignites their passionate pursuit of His call With violent crime on the rise and the political climate changing throughout certain parts of Mexico, the opportunity for open Christian witness, particularly in some areas of Chiapas State, is rapidly decreasing. Hector Rodriguez pastors a small church in the tourist-popular border town of Tijuana. He also routinely carries Bibles deeper into the hostile areas of Mexico, where he ministers despite increasing difficulty and persecution. Hector’s mother accompanied him on one of those trips and felt God called her to stay in the little village of San Juan Chamula, where she uses the Scriptures to teach reading to the families who are open to it. In retaliation for Hector’s bringing the Bibles into areas hostile to Christians and in an effort to dissuade him from continuing to expand his ministry there, Hector’s mother is murdered. Hector must decide if he will continue his work despite his worries about protecting his wife and children.
Chiapas, Mexico, had proven to be the distraction and escape Julie needed. As a teacher, she had longed to travel and instruct abroad. Now, she was teaching and falling in love with her students. But what she didn't expect happened in the short days leading up to Christmas. She didn’t know that her freedom would depend on Ramon, the local pastor. She didn’t anticipate the emotions this man of God would stir deep in her spirit. This Christmas Eve service would be unlike any other she had ever experienced. Would this simple man and his faith be enough to cause her to stay when she had every reason to leave?
Forbidden romance, an unlikely martyr and an even more unlikely hero. Orphaned four years earlier when their parents, active in the African National Congress (ANC) movement against apartheid, were murdered—16-year-old Chioma and her 15-year-old brother Masozi now live and work on an Afrikaner family’s farm. When Chioma and Andrew, the farm owner’s son, find themselves attracted to one another, tragedy revisits their lives. Chioma escapes to join an ANC rebel band in her effort to survive and gain revenge for her family and culture. When cultures clash in life-or-death struggles, Chioma must choose between violence and revenge—or forgiveness and selfless love. Loosely based on historical events and set near Pretoria, South Africa, in the violent upheaval prior to ANC leader Nelson Mandela’s release from prison in 1990 and his ascendance to the presidency of South Africa, this story of forbidden romance produces an unlikely martyr who is replaced by one even more unlikely.
Deliver Me from Evil introduces readers to Mara, an eighteen-year-old girl who has been enslaved for nearly ten years, having been sold by her parents in Mexico and then smuggled across the border into San Diego where she was forced into sexual slavery. Readers will also meet 18-year-old, Bible-college-bound Jonathan and his 16-year-old sister, Leah, whose paths cross Mara’s and who become involved in her dramatic rescue. Interwoven between the stories of Mara, Jonathan, and Leah is the heartbreaking story of another young woman in captivity in the Golden Triangle of Thailand, whose past life mysteriously connects to the young people in San Diego.
A young Chinese woman, Zhen-Li—raised to observe the party line, including its one-child-per-family doctrine—falls in love with and marries a Christian, and adopts his faith. Though the couple downplays their Christianity in an effort to survive, Zhen-Li’s family is appalled, and she and her husband are ostracized. When she becomes pregnant for the second time and refuses to have an abortion, the persecution begins in earnest. Zhen-Li’s parents, under pressure from the government, pay to have Zhen-Li kidnapped and the baby aborted. It is then Zhen-Li decides she must live up to her name—Truth—and take a firm stand for her faith, regardless of the consequences, and so she begins to regularly teach children about Zhu Yesu (Lord Jesus) and to distribute Christian literature every chance she gets. Based loosely on the life of Christian magazine editor Li Ying, currently serving a ten-year prison sentence in China, the story of Yang Zhen-Li tells the desperate tale of her incarceration and separation from her family, as she continues to minister to other prisoners, and even to her guards.
Unexpected Christmas Hero is an inspiring and compelling story of friendship and survival. Forced by unexpected circumstances to live on the streets and in homeless shelters, Josie Meyers and her two small children share in the lives and struggles of other homeless people. Eventually, Josie meets Rick, a homeless, disabled vet who becomes their ultimate friend. While living in the shelters she continually hears the gospel, reigniting memories of the words she heard and believed as a child. Will these events lead her and her children home to the ultimate shelter?
Will God protect and keep them safe in the midst of persecution? Farah lives in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with her family, and wants nothing more than to develop a deeper devotion to her Muslim faith. She sees the month of Ramadan as her chance to draw nearer to Allah, and pursues that goal. All goes well until the prophet Isa—Jesus—appears to her in a dream and calls her to Himself. Her brother, Kareem, who has never liked her, seeks to discredit her. Farah’s cousin, an only child, frequents an online chat. She discovers former Muslims discussing their new belief that Isa is much more than a Muslim prophet—He is actually the Son of God. She becomes acquainted with an American girl of Muslim ancestry—now a devout Christian—Sara. Sara has problems of her own due to her brother Emir’s suspicious behavior. Each finds their faith put to the test. Will they be true to their beliefs? Will God protect them, or will they pay the ultimate price for their faith?
In book two of the “Freedom” series, readers find Mara fighting against her attraction to Bible college student Jonathan Flannery even while wrestling with risking her own precarious safety to become involved in the rescue of another girl who is pregnant and desperately wants to escape her captors and save her own life, as well as her child’s. Halfway around the world in a brothel in Thailand, a young girl is rescued with the promise of being reunited with her younger sister who was adopted by an interracial couple in the States, friends of Jonathan’s family. Meanwhile, Jefe—Mara’s uncle, who held her as a sex slave in his brothel in San Diego for years—seeks revenge for Mara’s testimony that put him behind bars for life. Will his underworld connections be successful in kidnapping and killing the girl who believes she has finally won her freedom?
Chiapas, Mexico, had proven to be the distraction and escape Julie needed. As a teacher, she had longed to travel and instruct abroad. Now, she was teaching and falling in love with her students. But what she didn't expect happened in the short days leading up to Christmas. She didn’t know that her freedom would depend on Ramon, the local pastor. She didn’t anticipate the emotions this man of God would stir deep in her spirit. This Christmas Eve service would be unlike any other she had ever experienced. Would this simple man and his faith be enough to cause her to stay when she had every reason to leave?
True love ignites their passionate pursuit of His call With violent crime on the rise and the political climate changing throughout certain parts of Mexico, the opportunity for open Christian witness, particularly in some areas of Chiapas State, is rapidly decreasing. Hector Rodriguez pastors a small church in the tourist-popular border town of Tijuana. He also routinely carries Bibles deeper into the hostile areas of Mexico, where he ministers despite increasing difficulty and persecution. Hector’s mother accompanied him on one of those trips and felt God called her to stay in the little village of San Juan Chamula, where she uses the Scriptures to teach reading to the families who are open to it. In retaliation for Hector’s bringing the Bibles into areas hostile to Christians and in an effort to dissuade him from continuing to expand his ministry there, Hector’s mother is murdered. Hector must decide if he will continue his work despite his worries about protecting his wife and children.
Jolissa Montoya believes God is calling her to work with the disadvantaged children in her inner-city neighborhood. There’s only one problem: The children wouldn’t be able to understand her. Jolissa suffers from a speech impediment and has a thick accent because Spanish is her first language. Ridiculed through much of her youth, she is quite shy and reticent to speak. She is convinced that what God has spoken to her heart is impossible. Impossible, that is, until one day when her confidante shows her a quilt—a quilt that depicts the life of a courageous woman. Can another woman’s courage move her to try the impossible and step out and follow God wherever He leads her? The Singing Quilt is set against the backdrop of the life of Fanny Crosby, who in addition to writing hundreds of songs was also a well-known public speaker and active in Christian rescue missions despite her disability. Readers will be inspired not to let fear or a disability prevent them from answering what they think is God’s impossible call. The Singing Quilt is the third book in the contemporary fiction “Quilt” series written by award-winning author Kathi Macias. The series focuses on various social issues, including racial and pro-life issues. Supplemental online book club materials will be available at NewHopeDigital.com.
Return to Christmas beautifully blends the two struggling worlds of a former marine and a little boy with attachment disorder. Former Marine Chet is having a hard time adjusting to civilian life. He doesn't need help. He needs employment. He doesn't have issues. The little boy his friends adopted has issues. But there is something about that little boy that draws him. Will the events leading up to this Christmas be able to melt his soldier heart or will he spiral into a dark depression?
Just back from her honeymoon, Toni Matthews and her new husband and P.I. partner, Abe, confront a terrifying new challenge when their missing person case collides head-on with a prison riot that leaves Abe as a hostage of a group of prisoners, one of whom is a man who confessed to a crime he did not commit.
During Isabella Alcantara’s seventh month of pregnancy, her parents and siblings are murdered in gang- and drug-related violence, simply because their home was targeted by mistake. Isabella knows she was spared only because she now lives in a different location, but she knows too that the same thing could easily happen to her and her husband, Francisco. When her grandfather offers to hire a “coyote” to bring them across the border to America, she agrees. But Francisco and Isabella are abandoned by the coyote and left to die. Francisco then valiantly sacrifices himself to get Isabella to safety. Homeless, nearly penniless, pregnant, and alone, Isabella determines to find a way to honor her promise to her beloved husband. Living on one of the smaller spreads along the Arizona border, Miriam Nelson becomes furious with God and turns from her faith when her border patrol agent husband, David, is killed in a skirmish with drug smugglers. Though her mother and young son do their best to woo her back from the anger and bitterness that have overtaken her, they make little headway. Two widows—one driven by fear and a promise, the other by bitterness and revenge—must make their journeys along different pathways, but with the same destination: a barn full of animals that stands waiting for them on Christmas Eve. Forced to face their personal demons, Isabella and Miriam soon discover a common yearning that will bind them together in a most miraculous way
In The Deliverer, Mara has to make some major choices: (1) whether to trust her feelings for Jonathan, despite the fact that she fears men in general; (2) whether to risk returning to Mexico to find her family, the very ones who sold her into slavery when she was just a child; (3) whether to receive God’s forgiveness and then offer that forgiveness to those who have so viciously hurt and betrayed her. Lawan is also deeply involved in this final book, as it opens with her winging her way from Thailand and all that is familiar to come and live with the family who adopted her younger sister, Anna. Though still a child herself, Lawan has survived nearly three years in a brothel and feels much shame as a result. Will she be able to bond with her new family and allow God to heal the losses and pain she has sustained in recent years? Jonathan, too, has much to deal with—primarily his feelings for Mara. Can he, a Bible college student, establish a deep and meaningful relationship with a young woman who has spent the majority of her life as a sex slave? At New Hope Digital (NewHopeDigital.com) you can find study questions for each book in this series and an ideas and resources list to help educate readers and enable them to apply what they've learned and become actively involved in this massive and ongoing human tragedy—trafficking in persons.
A Husband’s Christmas Prayer pulls back the curtain on struggles pastors and their families face. Pastor Paul has just been handed the promotion of his dreams, but his formerly supportive wife doesn’t share his sentiment about moving. She likes where she is—her home, church family, coffee with friends while the kids are at daycare. Why would they move? They both know there is a rift growing between them. As he ministers to difficult people, will he also be able to minister to his own family?
Praise for the Clinician's Guide to Evidence-Based Practice Series "A major stumbling block to the adoption of evidence-based practice in the real world of clinical practice has been the absence of clinician-friendly guides suitable for learning specific empirically supported treatments. Such guides need to be understandable, free of technical research jargon, infused with clinical expertise, and rich with real-life examples. Rubin and Springer have hit a home run with the Clinician's Guide to Evidence-Based Practice Series, which has all of these characteristics and more." Edward J. Mullen, Willma and Albert Musher Chair Professor, Columbia University State-of-the-art, empirical support for psychosocial treatment of schizophrenia Part of the Clinician's Guide to Evidence-Based Practice Series, Psychosocial Treatment of Schizophrenia provides busy mental health practitioners with detailed, step-by-step guidance for implementing clinical interventions that are supported by the latest scientific evidence. This thorough, yet practical, reference draws on a roster of experts and researchers in the field who have assembled state-of-the-art knowledge into this well-rounded guide. Each chapter serves as a practitioner-focused how-to reference and covers interventions that have the best empirical support for the psychosocial treatment of schizophrenia, including: Cognitive behavioral therapy Assertive community treatment Critical time intervention Motivational interviewing for medication adherence Psychoeducational family groups Illness management and recovery Easy-to-use and accessible in tone, Psychosocial Treatment of Schizophrenia is an indispensable resource for practitioners who would like to implement evidence-based, compassionate, effective interventions in the care of people with schizophrenia.
This book empowers hurting and bewildered parents to be spiritually, practically, and emotionally strong as they fight non-Christian elements trying to take over their children's minds and souls, and provides calm, productive methods by which parents can positively impact their children's lives.
Just back from her honeymoon, Toni Matthews and her new husband and P.I. partner, Abe, confront a terrifying new challenge when their missing person case collides head-on with a prison riot that leaves Abe as a hostage of a group of prisoners, one of whom is a man who confessed to a crime he did not commit.
This book examines the pressure women face to do double duty as both breadwinner and homemaker, and the Biblical reasons why women should make whatever sacrifice necessary to stay at home with their children. The award-winning author of Life Can Be Tough and No Easy Answers provides encouragement and clear thinking for mothers to make the transition from the work-place to home.
Through faith and prayer, children learn to deal with such problems as physical handicaps, moving, sibling rivalry, prejudice, and homelessness in this collection of seven short stories.
Seven short stories explore such themes as peer pressure, death, jealousy, responsibility, parents' divorce, fear, and cheating and the help that faith and prayer can give.
It is said that writing is 10 percent inspiration and 90 percent perspiration. I absolutely agree, and Im sure most successful writers would echo my sentiments: Inspiration is the easy part. Over the years I have spoken with and taught beginning writers from all around the world, in all sorts of settings. I have helped them review, edit, and rewrite their work, and I have found one common thread among those would-be writers who eventually become published authors: They are willing to devote themselves to the not-so-easy part of writingthe 90 percent perspiration. As I worked with these many writers I discovered what I consider to be the simplest and most practical writing method availablethe train-of-thought method. This excellent, well known writing method did not originate with me, but it seems no one had ever taken the time to put the method in book form. I therefore decided to do so myself. This is not a book about proper grammar or punctuation, or how best to choose the voice or set the scene for your great American novel. There are already countless books covering those subjects, if thats what youre looking for. But if you want to know how best to take your thoughts and dreams and put them into a clear, compelling, readable manuscript, then this is the book for you. Having personally seen the train-of-thought writing method help so many new writers learn to organize, write, and polish their ideas into successful manuscripts, I offer this book to those who would do the same. May it direct and encourage you as you enter into the 90 percent perspiration phase of your writing careerthe serious phase through which true writers are formed.
In the 3rd century, pampered Roman princess Valeria falls in love with Mauritius, captain of the Theban Legion. She sends him off to battle, where he suffers under the schemes of a notorious pagan general with an ambition for power and a lust for Valeria. In a scene based on true events, the evil Galerius kills Mauritius and his entire legion for their Christian faith. And in a shocking turn of events, the grieving Valeria is forced to become Galerius' wife against her will. Never has a marriage been set up for such failure. Valeria loathes her new husband, but he seems to undergo a change of heart, adopting a child for her and giving her power and authority, and even love. She struggles with the commitment she knows she must keep, and the love she knows she will never find again.
When Carrie is crippled during a high school shooting, Toni Matthews decides to launch her own investigation. Forgiveness is in Carrie's heart, and an act of reaching out to one of the shooters begins a chain reaction of grace that eventually unravels the truth. Each character discovers the high price that love demands.
When her unwed medical student daughter discloses that she is pregnant, Dr. Laura Branson is torn between excitement and fear. Until now, her beliefs and stance on pro-life issues have been more theoretical than personal. When she receives a Christmas gift—a quilt that depicts the life of pioneer Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman doctor in America—she is forced to wrestle with her convictions and examine everything she stands for in light of her faith. A book club guide is available at NewHopeDigital.com.
In the 3rd century, pampered Roman princess Valeria falls in love with Mauritius, captain of the Theban Legion. She sends him off to battle, where he suffers under the schemes of a notorious pagan general with an ambition for power and a lust for Valeria. In a scene based on true events, the evil Galerius kills Mauritius and his entire legion for their Christian faith. And in a shocking turn of events, the grieving Valeria is forced to become Galerius’ wife against her will. Never has a marriage been set up for such failure. Valeria loathes her new husband, but he seems to undergo a change of heart, adopting a child for her and giving her power and authority, and even love. She struggles with the commitment she knows she must keep, and the love she knows she will never find again.
Jolissa Montoya believes God is calling her to work with the disadvantaged children in her inner-city neighborhood. There’s only one problem: The children wouldn’t be able to understand her. Jolissa suffers from a speech impediment and has a thick accent because Spanish is her first language. Ridiculed through much of her youth, she is quite shy and reticent to speak. She is convinced that what God has spoken to her heart is impossible. Impossible, that is, until one day when her confidante shows her a quilt—a quilt that depicts the life of a courageous woman. Can another woman’s courage move her to try the impossible and step out and follow God wherever He leads her? The Singing Quilt is set against the backdrop of the life of Fanny Crosby, who in addition to writing hundreds of songs was also a well-known public speaker and active in Christian rescue missions despite her disability. Readers will be inspired not to let fear or a disability prevent them from answering what they think is God’s impossible call. The Singing Quilt is the third book in the contemporary fiction “Quilt” series written by award-winning author Kathi Macias. The series focuses on various social issues, including racial and pro-life issues. Supplemental online book club materials will be available at NewHopeDigital.com.
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