Top Pick

The Chair

James L. Rubart

B&H Books

softcover, 400 pages, $14.99

978-1-433-67152-4

Fiction

 Rubart’s·The Chair·follows antiques dealer Corin Roscoe, a man struggling with his past and whose life is further unsettled when he takes possession of a unique chair.

When a mysterious woman walks into Corin’s shop and gives him the seat from “the greatest carpenter that ever lived,” he is beyond skeptical of his “chosen” status—until sitting in the chair heals a young boy. Intrigued, Corin sets out to discover all he can about the legendary artifact.·

But, he finds, he isn’t the only one trying to uncover the truth about the chair, making for a dangerous adventure when others, including a megachurch pastor who wants to use the chair to increase his following, will do anything to acquire it.

With its surprise ending,·The Chair·delivers not only mystery and suspense, but also a powerful message of restoration and forgiveness. Rubart will attract new readers with this unusual story, as well as fans of his previous works,·Rooms·and·Book of Days.·

—Adela Diaz

CHRISTIAN LIFE

Every Day a Friday

Joel Osteen

FaithWords

hardcover, 304 pages, $24.99

978-0-892-96991-3

Every Day a Friday: How to be Happier 7 Days a Week unpacks what it could look like to experience the joy of the Lord every day. Osteen, who tends to use joy and happiness interchangeably, reminds readers that every day is a gift from God, and that though happiness often appears to be a product of circumstances, a posture of joy and thankfulness is a choice available to all.

Known for smiling frequently himself, Osteen highlights the benefits of a simple smile—perhaps the first step in choosing happiness and not irritability. Anything from traffic to a lost relationship can chip away at a person’s attitude, but, he asserts, faith in an all-knowing, all-loving God allows joy to remain. He also shows how God removes obstacles for those who choose happiness.

Using scripture and anecdotes throughout, Osteen makes a convincing argument that a happy-all-the-time way of life is both possible and biblical. Every Day a Friday is a long-awaited book for fans of this popular TV evangelist and best-selling author.

—Bonnie Bruner

God’s Story, Your Story

Max Lucado

Zondervan

hardcover, 288 pages, $24.99

978-0-310-29403-0

Lucado, New York Times best-selling author and minister of preaching at San Antonio’s Oak Hills Church, shows readers that their sometimes mundane, humdrum lives are actually part of God’s grand saga. “Your story indwells God’s,” he writes in God’s Story, Your Story: When His Becomes Yours, part of Zondervan’s The Story campaign.

The goal of the book is to sift through the New Testament in search of God’s narrative, extracting promises of His orderly plan and timetable. “You are so much more than a few days between the womb and the tomb,” the author explains. 

Encouraging and inspiring, Lucado weaves in his trademark warmth, humor and powerful illustrations. For instance, he draws inspiration from the lives of South African President Nelson Mandela and the apostle Paul to show God “working all things together for good.”

Readers will grasp their own unique significance against the backdrop of God’s providence and sovereignty. They will comprehend that they are not puppets in the hands of fortune or fate. Instead, they are integral characters in the unfolding, purposeful tale of God’s redemption.

—Brian Smith McCallum

Power for Life

Matt Sorger

Charisma House

softcover, 224 pages, $14.99

978-1-616-38277-3

In Power for Life: Keys to a Life Marked by the Presence of God, minister Sorger challenges believers to live in God’s power and shows them how to continually walk in it.

Sorger presents time-tested biblical truths on how pursuing intimacy with God will bear spiritual fruit. He emphasizes that a life of purity, faith and integrity is crucial to unleashing God’s power. 

Perseverance, perspective, vision, truth and joy are some of the secret weapons he encourages believers to use in pushing through trials and defeating Satan and his minions. God uses this as training to move Christians into what He has called them to do. Sorger writes: “Don’t waste a good trial, and never let the enemy steal your praise!”

Using examples from his family and from influential leaders past and present, Sorger’s teaching is simple but key to the Christian life. He aims to teach readers how to stop looking at their circumstances and walk in love to activate God’s promises. Then, he says, God’s power will be released without limit.

—Nicole Anderson

Praying the News

Wendy Griffith & Craig von Buseck

Regal Books

softcover, 208 pages, $14.99

978-0-830-75926-2

Christian Broadcasting Network colleagues Griffith and von Buseck—she a television anchor, he a director of online ministry at Pat Robertson’s network—combine their efforts for an inspiring call to prayer fueled by an often-shunned source, the news media, in Praying the News: Your Prayers are More Powerful Than You Know.

Rather than turning their backs on the horrors of the headlines, the co-writers say, Christians should respond like the men of Issachar in 1 Chron. 12, whom the Bible says “understood the times,” and use the information to pray God’s will into situations.

In addition, Christians should intercede specifically for journalists because they play an important role in setting political, social and cultural agendas by what they cover, the writers point out. They draw on personal experiences and interviews with other media professionals.

The book includes examples of dramatic answers to prayer in history and modern-day accounts of Christians who have seen God’s hand in unfolding events as they have been stirred to pray by news reports.

—Andy Butcher

Sanctuary of the Soul

Richard J. Foster

Formatio/IVP Books (InterVarsity Press)

hardcover, 160 pages, $16

978-0-830-83555-3

Foster, author of Celebration of Discipline and Prayers From the Heart, among others, this time offers a practical approach to meditative prayer that describes “the witness of Scripture and the witness of the devotional masters.” Referring often to those whose lives were filled with prayer—Thomas à Kempis, Madame Jeanne Guyon, St. Cuthbert and others—he sets out to help today’s readers understand the whys and hows of the practice. 

Foster describes the three steps into meditative prayer (recollection, beholding the Lord, inward attentiveness), then offers readers useful help in facing the common difficulties of practicing meditative prayer and answers common questions. “We have noisy hearts,” he writes. 

Foster’s writing is lyrical, his advice sensible, his encouragement profound as he urges Christians to tap into the “listening side” of the “interactive communication that transpires between God and ourselves.” Those who follow Jesus can only benefit from Foster’s newest book.

—Ann E. Byle

FICTION

The Touch

Randall Wallace

Tyndale House Publishers

hardcover, 300 pages, $14.99

978-1-414-34366-2

Lara Blair—owner and CEO of a Chicago-based biomedical engineering firm—is on a mission: to find a surgeon who can do the delicate work on the human brain that even she has yet to accomplish. Andrew Jones, a highly gifted surgeon, shuns the scalpel after he fails to save his fiancée at the scene of their car accident. How the lives of Lara and Andrew mesh is the subject of The Touch, a novella byBraveheart screenwriter and Secretariat director Wallace.

Life for Andrew will never be the same after the accident, but he also is rejuvenated as he serves the poor at a mountain clinic. Lara, however, is singularly focused and seeks Andrew’s skilled help—but in an unusual plot twist, Wallace reveals the reason for her quest. The two fall in love, but also grow as individuals.

Unlike many Christian novelists, Wallace does not shy away from sex, offering a brief honeymoon lovemaking scene. This well-paced story will engage fans of contemporary fiction that teaches lessons without even trying.

—Christine D. Johnson

Top Pick

The Second Messiah

Glenn Meade·

Howard Books

hardcover, 464 pages, $22.50

978-1-451-61184-7

Reading similarly to both a Thoene novel and·The Da Vinci Code,·best-selling author Meade’s·The Second Messiah·will keep readers on the edge of their proverbial seats.

The story revolves around Jack Cane’s archaeological dig and the discovery of an ancient scroll that dates back to the time of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Written in a strange code as well as ancient Aramean, the scroll claims there was a second messiah who may have lived at the time of Jesus—an idea that strikes fear at the heart of the Vatican and the nation of Israel and leads them to bury its evidence.·

A strange accident that predates the murder of a prominent archaeologist makes Cane wonder if the two incidents are related, and a chase ensues through Europe and the Middle East.

The Second Messiah·reads quickly and will hold the reader’s attention with its many plot twists. In the story, Meade also addresses the problem of suffering in an insightful comment from the pope. Fans of fiction tied to news headlines will enjoy this geopolitical thriller. Recommended for readers of Joel C. Rosenberg.

—Jennifer Toth

Surprised by Oxford

Carolyn Weber 

Thomas Nelson

softcover, 384 pages, $16.99

978-0-849-94611-0

Surprised by Oxford offers a host of delightful gifts for readers looking for depth and breadth in their summer reading. When Weber heads to the oldest-surviving English-speaking university in the world, she’s prepared for rigorous study and mental challenge—but not to find herself drawn to Christians who challenge her broken thinking and hostile heart. A friend she calls “TDH” introduces her to real Christianity, endures her anger, feminist leanings and skepticism, as well as her heartfelt questions about faith.

Readers can expect challenging questions and answers about a true life of faith; rich history that seeps from the walls of Oxford; and enough literary references to delight the heart of any aficionado—from Homer to Donne, Tolstoy to Bono and, of course, C.S. Lewis (the title perhaps an allusion to Surprised by Joy) and the Bible. 

Weber has written an astute, stimulating memoir of her conversion to Christ, as well as her year at Oxford. Readers will walk the city’s ancient streets and along with Weber feel her heart change.

—Ann E. Byle

A Confident Heart

Renee Swope 

Revell/Baker Publishing Group

softcover, 208 pages, $13.99

978-0-800-71960-9

Swope, radio host and speaker with Proverbs 31 Ministries, encourages women who struggle with self-doubt to get out of the cycle of defeat in A Confident Heart: How to Stop Doubting Yourself & Live in the Security of God’s Promises. 

Swope opens up about her own lack of confidence and what she has done to combat it. Having heard whispers of doubt in her own life, she helps readers confront such thoughts as “I’m such a failure” and “I don’t have anything special to offer.”

From her insecurity as a child of divorce, wondering if she was worth keeping, to doubting her ministry calling, Swope tells many a story women can relate to and encourages them to understand the heart of God, who is for them. Practical and personal, A Confident Heart doesn’t offer a quick fix, but aims to help readers discover the value of their inheritance in Christ and claim God’s promises for themselves.

—Christine D. Johnson

Hell is Real (But I Hate To Admit It)

Brian Jones

David C. Cook

softcover, 272 pages, $14.99

978-0-781-40572-0

Jones, senior pastor at suburban Philadelphia’s Christ’s Church of the Valley, had a secret: As a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary and during his first four years of ministry, he didn’t believe in hell. Prominent theologians such Clark Pinnock rejected the doctrine of hell, after all. What’s more, Jones rationalized that earthly life is hellish enough and admitted that he “liked being liked,” avoiding confrontation about theological matters.

But he was confronted by biblical texts—including the words of Christ—on the existence of hell, and now in Hell is Real (But I Hate to Admit It) shares his journey of coming to believe in the reality of eternal punishment. His goal: to help the church recover “the all-consuming conviction that overtakes you when you realize that hell is real, and that it is within your power to help people avoid going there.”

Written in a candid, conversational tone, Hell is Real is peppered with deep insights from theologians and literary figures. Hell is Real is an important, challenging work in light of Rob Bell’s recent controversial book, Love Wins.

—Brian Smith McCallum

Courageous

Randy Alcorn

Tyndale House Publishers

softcover, 400 pages, $14.99

978-1-414-35846-8

From the creators of Fireproof comes Courageous: Honor Begins at Home, a novelization based on a screenplay by movie-making brothers Alex and Stephen Kendrick.

Set in the same town as Fireproof—Albany, Ga., where the Kendricks’ church happens to be—Courageous follows the lives of law enforcement officers Nathan Hayes and Adam Mitchell and their partners. At home, Nathan is the spiritual leader of his household, but Adam, though a professing Christian, is not taking his role at home seriously, leaving his wife frustrated and family relationships deteriorating.

When the unimaginable happens, Adam must decide whether or not to deal with the tragedy and let God turn it into something good. During this time of rebuilding, he develops The Resolution—a father’s pact—which becomes his testimony in church.

Although some readers may find some similarities with Fireproof, Courageous has a wider variety of characters and storylines, with an intriguing, fast-paced plot. Alcorn’s novelization is not just about policemen facing down gang members, but also about their responsibilities as Christians, fathers, husbands, friends and community leaders.

—Jean Breunle

The Art of Mentoring

Darlene Zschech

Bethany House (Baker Publishing Group)

hardcover, 192 pages, $19.99

978-0-764-20934-5

Former Hillsong worship leader and church co-pastor Zschech believes every person needs to know he or she is “valued and completely valuable.” This belief has enabled her to develop gifted, young musicians into great worship leaders. She encourages, praises and supports her teams in their successes and downplays their failures while expecting them to work diligently. 

Leadership expert John Maxwell influenced Zschech to teach the “why” behind the “what” in training others to lead, which she does in The Art of Mentoring: Embracing the Great Generational Transition with 14 values taken from the Scriptures.

Although the book would benefit from personal examples, The Art of Mentoring is a thought-provoking read for busy leaders.

—Eilene Ishler

Change Agent

Os Hillman 

Charisma House

softcover, 256 pages, $14.99

978-1-616-38182-0

A leader in the faith-at-work movement, Hillman calls out the desire inherent within every person to make a difference in the world in Change Agent: Engaging Your Passion to Be the One to Make a Difference. Through profiles, biblical and contemporary, he shows how God assigns individuals a destiny, preparing them to make an impact.

Hillman reminds believers not to focus only on the gospel of salvation—which is a starting point, but can lead them to wait for Jesus, not work toward His return—rather than the gospel of the kingdom. He encourages Christians to see even their everyday tasks as kingdom work and calls them to influence aspects of culture: business, government, media, arts and entertainment, education, the family and religion. 

Simply written and well organized, Change Agent takes readers through the six stages of how God prepares His change agents, cautioning them that spiritual warfare is necessary. Recommended for the believer who knows there must be something more to the Christian life or who wants to influence the culture for God.

—Nicole Anderson

Top Pick 

Lion of Babylon

by Davis Bunn

Bethany House (Baker Publishing Group)

fiction, hardcover, 384 pages, $22.99

978-0-764-20993-2

softcover, 384 pages, $14.99

978-0-764-20905-5

Best-selling author Bunn takes readers on an entertaining, suspenseful, hopeful adventure in modern-day Iraq in Lion of Babylon. 

Marc Royce is called away from his job as a forensic accountant to re-enter his life as a State Department operative. His best friend, along with two other Americans and one Iraqi, has gone missing, and neither the American nor the Iraqi government is offering answers. Marc teams with an Iraqi attorney, a former Iraqi special forces soldier and the nation’s top religious leader to uncover what becomes more than a kidnapping for ransom. 

Faith, both Muslim and Christian, plays a big role as Marc and his friends come to understand that the kidnappings are tied to an underground movement created to build a new Iraq. Unseen enemies will stop at nothing to destroy the movement and install their leadership. 

Bunn has created an Iraq that offers seeds of hope sown by the only Reconciler capable of bringing the sharply divided country—and region—into harmony. His writing is taut, his message clear: Hope comes from God alone.

—Ann E. Byle

Auto/Biography

Growing Up Amish

Ira Wagler

Tyndale House Publishers

softcover, 288 pages, $14.99

978-1-414-33936-8

More than a story about a Plain man and his primitive community, Growing Up Amish is a memoir of one man’s struggle with God. Born in an Old Order Amish community in Aylmer, Ontario, and later moved to Bloomfield, Iowa, Wagler had 10 siblings, a loving mother and a strict father highly regarded for his newspaper writings.

From age 17, Wagler came and went from home, unsettled and closed in even when he chose to join the church and become engaged. Drifting from place to place and living in rebellion, he always came back, mainly out of fear of eternal damnation.

An encounter with Sam Johnson—an intelligent young man born “English,” but who opted to join the Amish—led to Wagler’s new birth at age 26. Though finally at peace, he subsequently left his people for the last time, but this time without fear.

Growing Up Amish unveils what Amish life is like on the inside. Beyond that, this well-told story will leave the Christian rejoicing that a prodigal has come home.

—Christine D. Johnson

My Life and Lesser Catastrophes

Christina Schofield

Chosen (Baker Publishing Group)

softcover, 144 pages, $12.99

978-0-800-79511-5

In My Life and Lesser Catastrophes: An Unflinchingly Honest Journey of Faith, Schofield shares the story of the motorcycle accident that left her husband, Allen, a quadriplegic.

With Allen, a campus minister, confined to a wheelchair, Schofield had to learn to care for him as well as their toddler. She also had to allow herself to accept help and to lean fully on God.

With scriptural references and anecdotes, My Life and Lesser Catastrophes showcases the author’s humor and wit. The book’s chapter titles also are a break from the ordinary—“Fried Chicken and Priorities,” for example. 

Not just an account of a wife’s new role as caregiver, My Life is about a woman’s faith in God. This touching book is a reminder that even in life’s frailest moments, God is present to comfort and carry His children.

—Jean Breunle

Christian Life

 
Face to Face With God

Jim Maxim

Whitaker House

softcover, 192 pages, $10.99

978-1-603-74286-3

In Face to Face With God: A True Story of Rebellion and Restoration, author Maxim tells how as a teenage alcoholic, he found himself face to face with God after a tragic auto accident—one that destroyed his looks, but renewed his life. 

While in the hospital, Jesus appeared to him, Maxim writes. With little knowledge of God, he was headed to Marine boot camp when he found a Gideon Bible, its words satisfying his thirsty soul. He also developed a pattern of praying that God would help him make faith come alive in the hearts of others, accounts of which he shares along with key scriptures.

The military proved a testing ground for his faith, but also an opportunity to have his appearance restored through reconstructive surgery. Today, as a businessman, Maxim does his work as unto the Lord. 

An evangelist at heart, Maxim urges readers to follow Christ. Christians will benefit from the book’s rich resources for those who want to share their faith.

—Eilene Ishler

Thor Ramsey’s Total Money Meltdown

Thor Ramsey

Moody Publishers

softcover, 160 pages, $12.99

978-0-802-40075-8

For many readers, wondering if the author is related to Dave Ramsey will likely be the first reaction to Thor Ramsey’s Total Money Meltdown—and he isn’t. After the author establishes that he has read the personal finance expert’s books, he shares his own story of loss, debt and renewal.

A Christian comedian known for his work on the “Thou Shalt Laugh” series, Ramsey uses humor to draw the reader and then explains how he overcame his own financial battles to finally succeed at reducing his debt level to zero by the time he finished writing the book. He found that what seemed impossible could only be accomplished through his understanding of God’s love and commitment. 

Total Money Meltdown offers entertainment, yes, but more importantly, the tools for how to begin to hope again for those in debt. By disclosing his Starbucks addiction, then how his wife shredded his credit cards, Ramsey admits his own failure, but also shares his triumph, hoping to inspire readers on their own financial journey.

—Jennifer Toth

What’s Your Secret?

Aaron Stern

David C. Cook

softcover, 208 pages, $14.99

978-1-434-70230-2

Sometimes it takes a light touch to tackle a potentially life-altering topic—a touch Stern, a college and twentysomethings pastor, employs in What’s Your Secret? Freedom Through Confession.

Acknowledging that everyone has secrets—which have the power to harm—Stern shares the fallout of his own secrets and calls readers to take the path to freedom, which starts with the act of confession. Encouraging readers through success stories, Stern also cautions them to admit their secrets to the right people—and offers guidance on how to identify the wrong people. 

But, he writes, confession is only the start of the journey. In the book’s second half, he challenges the reader to see sin for what it is and repent instead of opting for a quick self-help fix. 

Stern urges readers to keep only the good secrets—the secrets of their good deeds, building their treasure in heaven. What’s Your Secret? is applicable to the life of any Christian and offers an important corrective in this image-driven age.

—Johnson

Fiction

Fallen Angel

Major Jeff Struecker and Alton Gansky 

B&H Books

softcover, 400 pages, $14.99

978-1-433-67140-1

Black Hawk Down survivor Major Struecker lends his military knowledge to author Gansky for an engaging thriller in Fallen Angel. The title refers to an American Angel-12 spy satellite knocked from orbit by the Chinese, eager to seize and copy its military secrets.

Sergeant Major Eric Moyer leads a covert team into Siberia to retrieve the downed satellite and the first team that was sent in, captured and tortured into confession by a rogue Russian military squadron hoping the satellite would further their goal of restoring the Soviet Union. The Chinese deploy a secret salvage team as well. 

Meanwhile, in South Carolina, Moyer’s teenage daughter, Gina, disappears, and ransom videos surface demanding Moyer’s mission be halted. As military and civilian police search for Gina, the president tracks the three-way race for the Angel, ready if necessary to launch a surgical strike to destroy it and everyone around.

Fallen Angel’s bicontinental intrigue engages the reader despite the lack of a consistent point of view. Struecker and Gansky also interlace the suspense with the spiritual inclinations of believing men sworn to protect their nation.

—John Leatherman

TOP PICK: Fiction

The Judas Gospel

Bill Myers

Howard Books

softcover, 320 pages, $16.99

978-1-439-15354-3

Judas had another plan for Jesus, but his dream fell through when Jesus chose to proclaim the truth through His death and resurrection. In Myers’ supernatural thriller The Judas Gospel, the betraying disciple gets another chance to “proclaim His truth my way.” Jesus allows Judas—reimagined as a contemporary Jude Miller—to “sell” God to the public via fragile, spiritually gifted Rachel Delacroix. 

Rachel’s healing gift is the perfect vehicle to market God, except that she also has dreams about a serial killer that seem to implicate her. Add to the mix a rookie cop attracted to Rachel, a pair of veteran detectives, a beautiful psychiatrist and a bunch of demons attached to a troubled kid—Myers blends it all in a taut tale of spiritual strength, horrific evil and marketing genius. 

Readers will find much to ponder in this strangely riveting story as Rachel’s pastor-father does his best to find the true message of God amid a cacophony of success and fame; his job is difficult, yet God’s truth always stands strong despite humanity’s deepest evil.

—Ann E. Byle

Christian Life

More Than Ordinary

Doug Sherman with Terra McDaniel

NavPress

softcover, 240 pages, $14.99

978-1-615-21616-1

Author and businessman Sherman shares his unique take on Christian living in More Than Ordinary: Enjoying Life With God. In a testimony that baffles even some of his pastor friends, as a disgruntled teenager he meets Christ in the form of a man and surrenders his life. Thereafter, he claims Christ appears to him in a physical presence, figuring directly into all of his actions.

Sherman uses a variety of analogies to elucidate his vision of the ideal Christian walk, but the one to which he returns throughout the book is that of God or Christ as a parent. If God is a parent, Sherman argues, He is interested in every aspect of His children’s lives, no matter how trivial, and wants to train His children to go into the “family business” of bringing souls to Christ.

Sherman sets high standards for his readers, insisting on finding witnessing opportunities in the most mundane of activities, such as shopping or pumping gas. Still, believers will find Sherman’s approach to Christianity refreshing and inspiring.

—John Leatherman

Response-Able

Matthew Hagee

Charisma House

softcover, 240 pages, $15.99

978-1-616-38136-3

Written by a sixth-generation pastor who is a son of well-respected author and pastor John Hagee, Response-Able: Lessons From My Father About Life…and Making a Difference is a play on words, aiming to heighten the reader’s curiosity. Explaining the title in the foreword, John Hagee says that the response-able Christian is “always able to make an intelligent and godly response.”

Presented in an informal, easy-to-read manner, Response-Able brings a fresh perspective to the areas of personal, social, financial, educational and political responsibility. This work lays the foundation for making a difference in the believer’s life and explains what it means to live by principle and not by passion. Real-life anecdotes and scriptural references illustrate what it means to be response-able.

With a clear, straightforward approach, Hagee shows that as life’s circumstances continually change, the ability to respond is always there. Thought-provoking and potentially life-changing, Response-Able is not just practical in application, but also empowering and motivating.

—Jean Breunle

True North

Gary Heim & Lisa Heim

Kregel Publications

softcover, 320 pages, $16.99

978-0-825-42751-0

Difficult circumstances—from mundane frustrations to soul-shattering trauma—assail us and few learn to suffer well. The Heims provide a compass in True North: Choosing God in the Frustrations of Life, which features a foreword by Christian psychologist Larry Crabb.

The couple—who have served as counselors, professors and church leaders—explain that believers have a choice in how they respond to life’s challenges. They can “head south” when they focus on themselves, which fosters grumbling and grasping, or face north—toward God—which results in gratitude and giving. What makes this work especially helpful is that the authors disclose how they have coped with their own struggles.

Drawing from the well of spiritual and psychological insight, the authors quote from literary scholar C.S. Lewis, spiritual director Henri Nouwen and psychiatrist M. Scott Peck. 

With discussion questions at the end of each chapter, True North is suited for individuals as well as group study. It will help readers connect or reconnect to God in the midst of trials.

—Brian Smith McCallum

The Waiting Place

Eileen Button

Thomas Nelson

softcover, 240 pages, $15.99

978-0-849-94625-7

Newspaper columnist and commentator Button gives a vibrant snapshot of life in The Waiting Place: Learning to Appreciate Life’s Little Delays. 

She chronicles life’s delays, sometimes with humor, sometimes with pain. At times, she observes, life’s delays are so filled with meaning that their purpose is obvious; at other times, they are simply to be endured.

Button writes with such clarity that her experiences will be well-recognized by the reader. From her early teen years waiting for her mother to finish styling her hair through marriage, the birth of two healthy children, financial hardship and the trauma of a child born with multiple birth defects, she learns to wait time and again. When her husband accepts God’s call to become a senior pastor in Michigan, she must leave the people in Pennsylvania who have loved and supported them through their son’s crisis.

Even while thinking “This is so not the life I dreamed of living,” Button has a simple encounter that causes her to hear God’s voice clearly, and offers encouragement to her readers to wait and listen in their own “little delays.”

—Eilene Ishler

Fiction

Broken Wings

Carla Stewart

FaithWords

softcover, 320 pages, $13.99

978-0-446-55656-9

Stewart’s Broken Wings is an intriguing tale of an unexpected friendship between two women of different ages and stages of life. From the fateful night when Mitzi Steiner meets the distressed Brooke Wooden, she cannot help but want to learn more about the young woman who reminds her so much of her mother—both having allowed the men in their lives to abuse them.

Mitzi is one half of a popular jazz duo who reigned for 30 years on the music scene. The other half is her husband, Gabe Steiner, who is battling Alzheimer’s. 

Brooke, meanwhile, is engaged to the “perfect” man, the handsome Lance Evans who is aiming to become Tulsa’s next district attorney. But Lance has a temper, leaving Brooke with hard decisions to make. 

As one woman deals with the love of her life’s battle with illness and the other struggles with an unhealthy relationship,  they lean on each other and find healing. 

—Adela L. Dia

Relationships

A Love That Multiplies

Michelle & Jim Bob Duggar

Howard Books

hardcover, 288 pages, $19.99

978-1-439-18381-6

Viewers of TLC’s 19 Kids and Counting want to know how Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar have raised obedient children who embrace their parents’ faith, and why they are willing to have more, even after their 19th, Josie, was born premature. 

As their oldest children enter adulthood, how have they been prepared for courtship and marriage? How will they afford college? And what do they believe about women having careers? These questions and more are addressed in A Love that Multiplies: An Up-Close View of How They Make It Work. 

Whether readers want to know how the family prevailed through Josie’s months in the hospital or if they are simply curious about Duggar life, their questions are answered here. The couple shares candidly their faith and how they have overcome their struggles in this well-written work.

—Tammy Tiansay