In this uplifting novel, a woman recovering from trauma finds compassion and connection with a rescue dog as they help each other overcome fear. Lila Elliot knows she's lucky to be alive. A shooting rampage at her office left several colleagues dead and others seriously wounded. Though Lila's injuries will heal in time, she's having trouble moving past her fear and anger. Being drafted into caring for Grace—a shaggy, formerly abused golden retriever—only adds to her stress. Lila has been terrified of dogs since childhood. But Grace, like Lila, needs time and space to recover. Grace keeps her distance, sensing Lila's wariness, and only perks up for Adam, the neighbor who rescued her. But as an accomplished artist, Lila begins to see the beauty in Grace's wisps of fur and haunted eyes. Each of them has suffered through no fault of her own. And in helping Grace to trust, Lila begins to develop the courage she needs to do the same. Includes reading group guide

From bestselling author Kristin von Kreisler comes a poignant, uplifting novel of one woman's journey to healing, and the surprising soul mate that helps guide her there. Lila Elliot knows she's lucky. A shooting rampage at her office left several colleagues dead and others seriously wounded. Lila's injuries will heal in time. Yet though she gratefully retreats to her best friend's house to recuperate, Lila can't quite move past her fear and anger. Being drafted into caring for Grace--a shaggy, formerly abused golden retriever--only adds to her stress. Lila has been terrified of dogs since childhood. But Grace, like Lila, needs time and space to recover. Grace keeps her distance, sensing Lila's wariness, and only perks up for Adam, the neighbor who rescued her. Though struggling to make sense of her recent tragedy, Lila, an accomplished artist, begins to see beauty in Grace's wisps of fur and haunted eyes. As Adam points out, Grace, too, has suffered through no fault of her own. And in helping Grace to trust, Lila is being gently nudged toward the courage she needs to do the same. Rich in warmth and humor, An Unexpected Grace is a story of compassion and connection, and of finding that what truly makes us whole again may be the love we give away. Includes Reading Group Guide

A journey to find physical, emotional and spiritual healing, Unexpected Grace will inspire you to discover the courage to handle life-changing challenges with ease and grace. Facing illness and disability, as well as the loss of dreams and expectations, each phase of the journey unfolds, bringing new truths, lessons and perspectives. True acceptance, center and balance are revealed through ultimate surrender and a strong connection to loving, supportive friends. And at the end of the journey, we come - quite unexpectedly - to a place of grace.

When a women receives an unexpected positive pregnancy test, abortion often seems like the best or only option for a fulfilling future. Unplanned Grace beautifully challenges that myth, equipping readers to support abortion-vulnerable women with love that values life in every way. Writing for the nonprofit organization Save the Storks, Natasha and Brittany draw on personal interviews, inspiring stories, and eye-opening facts to help readers understand: How economics, relationships, and health affect a woman's pregnancy decision The value of having empathy for women facing unplanned pregnancies The enormous potential churches have to support women in crisis Writing not just from a "pro-birth" perspective but from a "pro-abundant life" prospective, Unplanned Grace is an ideal resource for churches and individuals who want to make a difference in the pro-life movement.

He never believed in love, but he never expected to find her. With his family embedded in southern politics and society for five generations, Griffin proudly earned his Playboy title and attitude toward women. But in the past year the former SEAL has learned to appreciate skills of the Ladies of Black Swan, warrior women trained in special operations. After losing her husband in a combat plane crash, Grace realizes she may have to settle for good man to give her the life she’d always dreamed. Too bad she was attracted to a bad boy. When Grace’s picture is on a terrorist hit list, Griffin vows to protect her with his life. But can he protect his heart at the same time? Unexpected Love is the third book in KaLyn Cooper’s Black Swan series filled with strong heroines and the alpha heroes who dare to capture the heart of a woman warrior. Each romantic suspense features one of the active duty women secretly trained in SpecOps and a member of the Ladies of Black Swan.If you like action-packed military stories with home-grown terrorists, and sizzling hot romance buy Unexpected Love today.

The Deceitful Onion Bulb. A Blessing to Smuggle. The Conjuror of Rain. In this collection of stories as whimsical as their titles, award-winning author Olesia Nikolaeva poignantly recounts life for Christian believers in Soviet and post-Soviet Russia. In a manner reminiscent of the bestselling Everyday Saints these tales reveal a common theme - the subtle, sometimes imperceptible movement of Divine Providence at work in the lives of saints and sinners alike. Her writings bring us to what the ancient Celts called "thin places" where the boundaries of heaven and earth meet and the sacred and the secular can no longer be distinguished.

Katie Langston is an unlikely convert to Christianity. She grew up in a devout, conservative Mormon family in Utah, served a proselytizing mission to Bulgaria when she was 21, married for "time and all eternity" in the Mormon temple when she was 23. From the outside, she had a typical Mormon life. Inside, she was coming apart at the seams. From childhood, she battled "The Questions"—obsessive-compulsive disorder, though she didn't have a diagnosis for it until much later—and lived inside a complex maze of anxiety and fear. This was compounded by Mormonism's emphasis on "worthiness," a designation of acceptability in Mormon practice, that brought her to the edge of despair as a young mother. Then, almost by accident, she had an encounter with the grace of Jesus Christ—and her world changed. In candid but not sensationalized ways, Langston explores little-understood Mormon practices and teachings while grappling with universal human questions such as the nature of faith, the complexity of family, the process of healing, and what it means to truly belong. This book is intended to be a bridge-builder, a way to help non-Mormons understand Mormonism and Mormons orthodox Christianity through the power of personal narrative. Most of all, it is a testimony of Jesus Christ, in the hopes that those who read it—Mormon, Christian, or neither—will catch a glimpse of the spectacular, life-changing grace of God.