A love story for Christmas—now a Hallmark Channel original movie—from the #1 bestselling author of The Christmas Box and The Walk. Elise Dutton dreads the arrival of another holiday season. Three years earlier, her husband cheated on her with her best friend, resulting in a bitter divorce that left her alone, broken, and distrustful. Then, one November day, a stranger approaches Elise in the mall food court. Though she recognizes the man from her building, Elise has never formally met him. Tired of spending the holidays alone, the man offers her a proposition. For the next eight weeks—until the evening of December 24—he suggests that they pretend to be a couple. He draws up a contract with four rules: 1. No deep, probing personal questions 2. No drama 3. No telling anyone the truth about the relationship 4. The contract is void on Christmas Day The lonely Elise surprises herself by agreeing to the idea. As the charade progresses, the safety of her fake relationship begins to mend her badly broken heart. But just as she begins to find joy again, her long-held secret threatens to unravel the emerging relationship. But she might not be the only one with secrets.

This holiday season, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Noel Collection returns with another heartwarming story of secrets, heartbreak, forgiveness, and the true meaning of Christmas. On the night of her high school graduation, Richelle Bach’s father gives her and her identical twin sister, Michelle, matching opal necklaces. “These opals look identical,” he tells them, “but the fire inside each is completely unique—just like the two of you.” Indeed, the two sisters couldn’t be more different, and their paths diverge as they embark on adulthood. Years pass, until—at their father’s behest—they both come home for Christmas. What happens then forever damages their relationship, and Richelle vows never to see or speak to her sister again. In their father’s last days, he asks Richelle to forgive Michelle, a deathbed promise she never fulfills as her twin is killed in an accident. Now, painfully alone and broken, caring for the sickest of children in a hospital PICU, Richelle has one last dream: to be an author. The plot of her book, The Prodigal Daughter, is a story based on her sister’s life. It’s not until she meets Justin Ek, a man who harbors his own loss, that a secret promise is revealed, and Richelle learns that the story she’s writing is not about her sister, but about herself.

The #1 bestselling author of The Christmas Box and A Christmas Memory presents a breathtaking story of the transcendent power of love. Beth Cardall has a secret. For eighteen years, she has had no choice but to keep it to herself, but on Christmas Eve 2008, all that is about to change. For Beth, 1989 was a year marked by tragedy. Her life was falling apart: her six-year-old daughter, Charlotte, was suffering from an unidentifiable illness; her marriage transformed from a seemingly happy and loving relationship to one full of betrayal and pain; her job at the dry cleaners was increasingly at risk; and she had lost any ability to trust, to hope, or to believe in herself. Then, on Christmas Day, as she rushed through a blizzard to the nearest 7-Eleven, Beth encountered Matthew, a strikingly handsome, mysterious stranger, who would single-handedly change the course of her life. Who is this man, and how does he seem to know so much about her? He pursues her relentlessly, and only after she’s fallen deeply in love with him does she learn his incredible secret, changing the world as she knows it, as well as her own destiny.

There is something unique and special when a group comes together to study. With fresh insights, lively discussion, and personal application, each member of the group grows in new ways. And with this book, your group can have all that and more as they study The Promise by Dr. Tony Evans-without having to buy student books or read chapters in advance. During this study, your group will benefit from Dr. Evans' insights on . . . bull; bull;The Person of the Holy Spirit bull;The power of having the Spirit in you bull;The provision that God's Spirit bring . . . and much more! And, like all courses in the LifeTopics series, The Promise includes reproducible resources and creative learning activities to complete the step-by-step Bible teaching.

An American wife in Italy, ignored by her Italian husband and caring for a sick child, risks bittersweet romance with the new man in town.

The Scriptures tell us that when we pray the will of God, he delights to answer our prayers. But what is God's will in any given situation? How can we know it? And if we don't know it, how can we pray it? Linda Evans Shepherd shows readers that God's will is not a mystery--it's clearly laid out in his Word through his many promises. Through stories, practical application, examples of prayers, and guided reflection, Shepherd leads readers toward a more powerful prayer life. Arranged by topic for ease of use, this book shows how to pray God's promises - of his presence - of love - of peace - of joy - of hope - for provision - for health - for breakthroughs - for our relationships - over children and loved ones Shepherd includes a chapter on God's powerful answers to prayer that will inspire readers to search the Scriptures, pray God's will, and wait expectantly for his promised answers.

Venna's Planet is the story of a beautiful woman who tired of shooting aliens, yearns to settle on the new world over which futile war is being fought. However, her decision to join the planetary teams upsets her superior officer, sometimes known as The Countess, who is obsessed with her one-time protégé, and orders her to be abducted, an operation so badly undertaken that its consequences reverberate throughout the entire story. Our heroine is captured and subjected to a process intended to rob her of her very humanity, and within a short space of time, everything she thought she knew is turned inside-out and upside-down. Venna finds herself lost on Promise – the name given to the new planet – and, with a group of new friends, is pursued by menaces from all quarters. Compounding these threats, the otherwise Utopian world is home to terrifying monsters of unfriendly disposition... and at least one tribe of murderous indigenous inhabitants who are very unhappy about the invaders from Earth. Nobody knows the whole truth about Promise,or what plans are being laid by the colonists. Venna knows only that terrible danger hides in its beauty, and that its secrets will not be learned easily. Broken Promise is the first part of the story of Venna's Planet, which takes for its inspiration, pre-war movie serials, classic newspaper strips and vintage science fiction pulp cover art. Glamour is favoured over realism of any kind, and Venna spends much of the story in minimal dresses and bikinis; however, this is usually outside her control, and one should not consider her to be in any way immodest. She suffers many tribulations, but always comes up smiling, and ready for whatever else comes her way. Venna is beautiful throughout, and refuses to be embittered by the dreadful things that happen to her on this troubled planet. Her planet. Venna's Planet.