Showing results by narrator "Lauren Pedersen" in All Categories

Tough-as-nails Kenzie King has finally earned her place as a tactical medic on a SWAT team. But not everyone on the all-male team accepts her. She has to work harder and longer than anyone else to prove herself. Cole Garrison is a man with deep faith who is finally ready to settle down and build a family of his own—if he can find the right person, that is. Kenzie sure has set off his interest meter, but trouble seems to follow in her wake. Since she joined the team, someone has begun to ambush and pick off team members, one by one.

Detective James Holton has been honorably discharged from the Army Criminal Investigation Division due to wounds sustained when an IED blew up near him. Now with the Lake City Police Department, he's rooming with his good buddy and partner, Cole, while he figures out his family dynamics. Physician Assistant Lainie Jackson is eighteen months out from an attempted murder perpetrated by her ex, which ended when she managed to grab the weapon and shoot him. When he appears to have survived and is back to finish the job he started, Lainie insists it's not possible.

When Jesslyn McCormick was just seven years old, a devastating house fire killed her parents and two younger sisters. Now the fire marshal of Lake City, Jesslyn is determined to find the person who started the fire that robbed her of her family. As the twenty-fifth anniversary of her family's deaths approaches, a string of fires—including at Jesslyn's church—brings up all those old feelings and offers new evidence.

Air Marshal Kristine Duncan is not on duty when a hijacker attempts to seize control of the plane she and her friends are on as they head out on a much-needed vacation. Jumping into action and aided by FBI Special Agent Andrew Ross, Kristine thwarts the attack and the plane lands safely. But as the investigation into the incident gets underway, Kristine and Andrew are confused at every step. Nothing about the investigation goes as it should, and each layer they peel back just reveals another layer of perplexity.

After losing my husband three years ago, I'm ready for a fresh start for me and my daughter. I appreciate all of my parents' help, of course, but I can't live with them forever (and I don't want to). Dr. Drew Reed, my father's coworker, informs me his basement (turned income-property) is available for rent. And he also needs a part time nanny. Lucky for him, I can do both! But living in such close proximity, seeing him in those dang sexy surgical scrubs, and watching him with our girls . . . is making my heart thaw in ways I never expected. But am I ready to love again?

If Adele Marten’s troubled childhood taught her anything, it was that family is everything. So when the time comes to keep a promise she made to her dying friend, she knew she would do whatever it takes to reunite a father and son...who have never met. Even risk her fragile heart.

Jill's wedding to police chief Greg King is just days away, at a historic Spanish mission with a courtyard full of olive trees. But the folks in South Cove are more intrigued by what kind of ceremonies might be going on behind the walls of New Hope. Jill isn't fond of the man, but his followers seem nice, and they buy a lot of books. After a distraught woman stops by at Coffee, Books, and More with a picture of her daughter, who she believes needs rescuing from the suspected cult—and then Matthews's body is found, at Jill's wedding venue of all places—Jill makes a commitment to solve the case.

American exceptionalism is rooted in the idea that individual rights come from God and government is only in place to preserve and protect those rights. But America's losing sight of that concept. America's turning into a country where the government grants rights and privileges to only those the government deems worthy—and takes them from those it deems unworthy. This is not how the Founding Fathers envisioned the nation; this is not how the concept of inalienable rights coming from a Creator works. Rather, this is how Marxism, communism, and collectivism spread.

Politics can be infuriating. From unjust policies to unholy politicians, there are justifiable reasons to be upset or walk away altogether. Yet we must stay involved if we are to protect and sustain our fragile nation from the divisions that threaten it. With more than two decades of experience working in the highest levels of government, insider Denise Grace Gitsham offers a remedy to America's dark political reality: Christians filled with light, love, and Christ's heart for unity.

When life throws us non-stop challenges and curveballs, how can we have any hope of building a fulfilling and intimate marriage? How do we move from stressed and stretched to energized and inspired, finding the strength to transform both our lives and relationship? Robert Paul and Tara Lalonde equip husbands and wives with practical, biblically based tools to transform their personal lives and grow their marriage into something they’ll both love

When Naomi takes a job at The Inn at Falls Creek so she can hide from her past, love finds her. Naomi McIntosh is running from her family’s oppressive expectations and the loathsome man her father has demanded she marry. Renaming herself to live incognito, she takes a housekeeping job at the Inn at Falls Creek and promises God this false identity will be her last. When shepherd James Roberts goes home to the Inn at Falls Creek for his sister’s wedding, he doesn’t expect the woman who once broke his heart to be working there.

Sybil Roberts uses the warmth of delicious meals to lift the spirits of road-weary travelers at her family’s inn. Her life at the inn would be perfect if she could just get her brothers and mother to move back home. And if she could see Isaac Owens again. He visited the inn once when he interviewed for the farm manager job, and she’s dreamed of his return to Falls Creek ever since.

Big-hearted Dre Rustin fled her small Nebraska hometown to distance herself from her brother’s troubled past. Texas seemed like a good place to start a new life. Now she’s looking forward to graduating from college, but first she’s got to handle Thanksgiving break. She’ll head home for the first time in years.

"Love is patient, love is kind, love is . . ." The words are so familiar they almost lack meaning, a Christianese version of "live, laugh, love." Even non-Christians are familiar with the Love Chapter of 1 Corinthians, read at weddings, painted on decorative signs, and preached regularly from the pulpit. But what happens when these verses are taken seriously? What would it take for someone to live out the Love Chapter as literally as possible?

Matt heaved a forkful of hay down just as the barn door opened, and a shadowed figure entered. He heard an unfamiliar cry of bewildered irritation that did not belong to one of his seven younger brothers or sisters. This was a woman’s voice - young, and most definitely annoyed. In an instant, Matt was brushing hay off a young woman’s shoulders. She wore a pale yellow dress dotted with yellow and green flowers with stylish puffed sleeves and a nipped-in waist that flattered her petite figure.

Mitch Calloway had served as a youth minister at mega-church, White Hills Bible Church for 10 years, and while he loved his job, he longed to pastor his own congregation. So when the opportunity came to interview for the position of pastor of the historic Mercy Fellowship in Shadow Glenn, Massachusetts, he knew it was God's call.

Moms, get ready to reclaim your grace with this tender collection of stories, vibrantly recounted by two women working to embrace God's presence during their own parenting journeys. Each narrative reflection opens with scripture and concludes with a practice or questions to ponder, followed by a prayer. Spanning infancy to early childhood, The Beauty of Motherhood encourages mothers and caregivers to take a deep breath and find the holy in those everyday moments that inspire laughter, frustration, and awe.

Since the early twentieth century, the United States has led a global prohibition effort against certain drugs in which production restriction and criminalization are emphasized over prevention and treatment as means to reduce problematic usage. This “war on drugs” is widely seen to have failed, and periodically decriminalization and legalization movements arise. Debates continue over whether the problems of addiction and crime associated with illicit use of drugs stem from their illegal status or the nature of the drugs themselves.

When a bad case of writer‘s block prevents Scarlet Lane from wrapping up a successful detective series, she agrees to take a weekend trip to the mountains with her best friend, Quinn, to partake in an interactive game of murder. When they arrive at the secluded retreat of Mystery Ridge Lodge, Scarlet is hopeful that the distraction of vintage costumes and cozy ambiance will inspire her to write a satisfying conclusion.

The last thing Mabel needed was a flying saucer, not to mention a rash of similar sightings all over town. Her life’s already been upended by getting fired and moving to Grandma’s old house in Medicine Spring. So far, the deceptively sleepy village has delivered several murders—and romance with a handsome private investigator. Are little green men next? While Mabel tries to get to the bottom of the apparent space invasion, she also gets herself caught between competing candidates for township supervisor.