Church Age

The 11-year-old Anna leaves the orphanage and is fostered by Jimmy and Carol Blaze, who owns a 250-acre farm close to the orphanage. For the first time in six years, Anna is living in a normal family setting with foster parents who are loving and supportive. Anna now faces the real world, enjoying the personal freedoms that were kept from her while she was in the orphanage. With these freedoms come challenges she must face and resolve. Excerpt from Anna Blaze #4: Jimmy climbed the stairs to the second floor. “Your room is up here, Anna.” Anna and Carol followed with luggage in tow. ...

After her mother’s sudden death, artistically gifted Megan lost her will to draw as she watched her family crumble. When her father unexpectedly moves what’s left of them halfway across the country to mend, Megan must try, yet again, to rise from the ashes and create a new existence for herself. She’s intrigued when she sees Shawn—a secluded classmate who sparks unexpected drawing inspiration.

You bring a great light into this world that no one else can bring, and only you know how to shine bright! Some of the girls are confident, and some of the girls are shy. We meet girls who have friends and others who feel all alone. There are girls who can’t help being happy and others who can’t stop feeling sad. We all have to live in the real world. Sometimes that is easy, and sometimes it is hard. But don’t be afraid. Being a Christian means that you are never alone because Jesus is always with you. When you trust in him, he will make you strong. When you lean on him, you will ...

The girls of St John the Divine, an elite English boarding school, were notorious for flipping their hair, harassing teachers, chasing boys, and chain-smoking cigarettes. They were fiercely loyal, sharp-tongued, and cuttingly humorous in the way that only teenage girls can be. For Josephine, now in her 30s, the years at St John were a lifetime ago. She hasn’t spoken to another Divine in 15 years, not since the day the school shuttered its doors in disgrace. Yet now Josephine inexplicably finds herself returning to her old stomping grounds.

He’s a reporter determined to uncover the truth, but the secrets he finds could crush her family—and their second chance at love. Taken from her family’s farm to be raised by her wealthy aunt and uncle, Nora Armstrong has accepted that not only will she never realize her dream of becoming a teacher, she’d also rather be a spinster than submit to her cruel aunt’s society selection of a suitable husband. The one man who caught her eye betrayed her best friend. And she’s got enough on her hands, hiding her sister’s shameful secret from her aunt. When the local home for unwed ...

Having a baby in a gas station attracted more attention than fifteen-year-old Kennedi wanted. Attention that led to placement with foster mom Amanda who acts overly controlling, and foster dad Henry who seems annoyed at her presence. When Henry suggests they look for her baby’s unknown father through a DNA heritage service to extract monetary restitution from him, Kennedi wonders if Henry is really trying to find relatives to send her to. The baby’s DNA results match with members of a paternal clan but lack matches to Kennedi’s own family lineage, leading to events that have her ...

The 1950’s was a time of new homes, television, astronauts, new cars, and rock and roll. It was also a time of nuclear threats and deadly polio. Out of this challenging decade comes the enchanting story of a ten-year-old boy from the Midwest showing a small town the meaning of toughness and tenacity. The Shawnee Indian treasure was a myth, they said. Nowhere to be found, except in the legends and tall tales of the region. Despite his polio, despite his poverty, despite his fractured family, Jesse Hall believes the stories and discovers irresistible clues in the courthouse clock tower. ...

The Dark Ages was a millennium, running from approximately 500 (Rome fell in 476) to 1500 AD (Martin Luther’s 95 Theses were written in 1517); being a three-fold darkness: spiritual, physical, and educational. “One must be accustomed to the light, at least in some measure, to be able to judge of the darkness. A blind man can have no idea of the extent of the darkness around him. It is the same as to moral and spiritual darkness. A person must have some acquaintance with the light of scripture in order to discern the darkness around him. Thus, alas, during the ages under consideration, ...

Jack o’ lanterns glow like smirking, wicked demons in the dark, velvety night. A full harvest moon spills its golden light on unsuspecting towns where each TEENAGE CHRISTIAN AT HALLOWEEN encounters spirits of good and evil. ALI catches “The Slitherer” lurking in her backyard as she unmasks dark deceptions beneath a shimmering October moon. CHERIF finds himself trapped all night inside a cemetery with high above ground vaults. In “the city of the dead” a fierce spiritual battle rages, threatening his life. JANA feels instant enmity with the Ouija board when her twin, Josh, ...

Recently widowed from her marriage of convenience, Eliza, now Countess of Somerset, is bequeathed a fortune, hers to keep as long as she can steer clear of scandal. It should be simple – Eliza has spent a lifetime following the rules – but now that she is rich, titled and independent, misbehaviour is much more tempting…

The message remains the same, but the methods must change in this post-pandemic world if we want to remain relevant and grow. Our churches have Children’s, and Youth Ministries, but few have actual Adult Ministries. Here’s a new approach to Adult Ministries that will attract more adults, ages 30 and up (and their families), that includes fun and exciting events and ministries for churches of every size, for both volunteer and paid, part-time and full-time staffs.

The banker and the barista… Amanda Allred’s getting tired of being in the closet for her dull, boring banking job. She’s frustrated with the whole boys’ club atmosphere there and the ‘good ol’ boy’ mentality that goes along with it. Salt Lake is thriving culturally and she wants to be a part of it all; openly and freely in the Utah she’s always loved. But, banking pays the bills and then some. She fears there are just not a lot of opportunities out there professionally for a woman in such a male centric, Mormon culture. Rebecca Musser is finally living the life she once only...

Impeccably researched, thought challenging, and leavened by wit, Getting Religion, the highly anticipated new book from Kenneth L. Woodward, is ideal for listeners looking to understand how religion came to be a contentious element in 21st-century public life. Here the award-winning author blends memoir (especially of the postwar era) with copious reporting and shrewd historical analysis to tell the story of how American religion, culture, and politics influenced each other in the second half of the 20th century.

More fun with the mischievous little Abbey Mice who live high up in a tower of a medieval abbey and their exciting adventures. A trip to visit their cousins in the Caribbean is the venue this time. For children who love to allow their imaginations to run free.

George Santayana once said those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it. I will take it one step further and declare those who don’t learn from the ancient writings are doomed. Back in ancient times, the emperor of eternity spoke to man. He gave humankind his rules and prescriptions, and he appointed priests to administer his government. The priests became lackadaisical, so he sent forth prophets to return them to the prescribed ways. This also failed, so he established a local king to rule them rightly. Such is the story of the Kingdom of Eretz. By means of analyzing ...

Declining church attendance. A growing feeling of betrayal. For Christians who have begun to feel set adrift and disillusioned by their churches, Where Goodness Still Grows grounds us in a new view of virtue deeply rooted in a return to Jesus Christ’s life and ministry.

When her best friend lucks up and marries an NFL superstar, college senior Racquel Spencer sets out on a mission to find and wed a Mr. Money Bags of her own. Racquel is not above breaking rules, or hearts, to get what she desires. But she will learn that even the best laid plans have a tendency to backfire, and they will inadvertently explode in her M.A.C. powdered face. 18-year old Harmony Eubanks feels that college is a waste of time and just wants to become Houston's next R&B singing sensation. But when an opportunity at a life of stardom presents itself she will find that it also ...

Are you wondering if raising your child as a Christian will be impactful? Discover these devotions that demonstrate how childhood faith can lead to salvation.Do you have the desire to have your child grow up knowing God’s Word? Are you looking to make an impact in your child’s faith? Have you ever wondered how your childhood faith affects your adulthood? Kimberley Payne is a down-to-earth writer who shares her early school years and how her parents’ teachings and influences shaped her childhood and later years. Growing Up in the Faith is a book of over 30 devotions told with deep ...

In Pequot Landing, there are two sights to see: The largest elm in America, which dominates the stately old village green, and the house of Lady Harleigh. When the Great War ended, she was the most beautiful bride in the village, and though she was widowed soon after, mourning dampened neither her beauty nor her spirits. By the time the Great Depression rolls around, she is the unchallenged center of Pequot society - lovely and energetic, but subject to bouts of grim melancholy that hint at something dark beneath her surface.

If ever a catharsis in Western European Civilization occurred, it had to have been the period we refer to as the Renaissance. After a thousand years of theocracy, manorialism, feudalism and narrow economic development, Europe was ripe for change. She got it with a vengeance.