"Why did Papa offer me to the Lord to become a preacher?" Samuel Grant wonders. "My brother Toby would be much better than me. Things come easier for him than they do me." His sister Hallie's confession to taking the red string off the wrist of the older brother when the twins were toddlers adds more confusion to Samuel's dilemma. Hallie doesn't know if she put the string back on the right brother's arm. Now what will happen? "Maybe I'm not Samuel. Maybe I can live a normal life and get married to Katrina." The brothers live in a state of uncertainty while waiting for their true identity to be uncovered. On the way to finding out which twin is the older one, the Grant siblings endure hair-raising experiences, such a helping birth a baby, concealing the mother's whereabouts, caring for the newborn until the mother decides what she'll do with the infant, and an impromptu wedding. These and more challenges strengthen the character of the young man who was actually offered to the Lord in Papa's Vow.

September 11- A day that in someway has either directly or indirectly changed everone in Americas (if not the worlds) way of life. Whether it is a persons sense of security, travel plans, outlook on life, or the way they view their family, 9/11, as they call it, changed us all, including me. But my 9/11 didnt happen in 2001, it happened exactly two years earlier in 1999. With September 11 being my birthday, I received a unique present on that day that changed my life. It was then that I fi rst realized that life wasnt the fairytale world that I thought it was. As I saw my world crumble down, I had no choice but to turn a negative into a positive. Remembering the advice from a person whom I had never met telling me to believe in myself, never give up, and to never take the easy way out, I knew that I could battle through anything and win in the long run. Little did I know, that present was the opening to my future and to my lifes goal that I was out to achieve.

Each day became a quest for survival for Nicholas, a 14 year old German immigrant who came to New Braunfels, Texas, in 1846 and grew into a man very quickly. Based on the author's ancestors, Silverbrook takes us through the adventures in Nic's early years and shows how these events shaped his life. Nicholas Steubing will leave a lasting impression in your heart and mind. Use the study guide questions for a deeper understanding of this historically accurate epic adventure.

Daniel Bodenstein was a court reporter, not a homesteader. When his wife convinced him to settle along Bad River in western South Dakota, he grumbled incessantly about their new surroundings. As he raised his daughters along the muddy river as a bereaved widower, he took most of his complaints to God, and the solution was not at all what he expected. It was not a happy occasion that caused the family to move, and his daughters tangled romantic lives did nothing to add a sense of well-being to the family. Throw in a disheartened lawman, a sophisticated freight line owner, an ornery spotted horse, plus a bossy new friend, and you have a bubbling potful of aggravation, or at least it seemed that way to Daniel. And then there was the murdered homesteader. Who done it? The deceased man’s wife filed charges against a neighbor, and the case was heard in justice court, with Daniel as court reporter. All of which leads back to an ornery horse, a marriage proposal, and a novel full of twists and turns and unexpected events. Daniel’s sarcastic wit and searching prayers add additional flavor to this unusual novel. His reference to his Jewish background and his desire for Biblical truth follows him from Georgia to the vast prairie of South Dakota. Papa’s Girls mixes history and fiction, romance and calamity, everyday life with life threatening dilemmas, and portrays a family’s deep love and concern for one another. A delightful read!

At ninety-seven, Grace Campbell, a Scottish immigrant ranchers wife, has drawn strength from magic over the years; she has the gift of second sight. But now, shes been stolen away from the home she loves by her controlling son, Douglas. Even she cant see what her future holds, so she calls in the cavalry for help. Afraid and alone, Grace must now rely on her free-spirited granddaughter Georgiana to bring her back home to die. But Georgiana has a few demons of her own to fight before she can help Grace. At forty-seven, Georgiana has just managed to extricate herself from a disastrously abusive relationshipbut the price she paid for her own freedom was custody of the little stepdaughter she adores. She now questions whether life holds any meaning for her anymore, and she turns to her lost skills for comfort. She hopes that in the rediscovery of her love of pottery, she will learn to love herself again. As the restoration of her pottery studio nears completion, still wrestling with her own grief, she gets the call from her grandmother. On the trip home, they are dogged by Douglas, who has obtained a court order to take his mother back to California. As they fight for Graces freedom and dignity, the two women learn things about themselves and each other. They are on a journey that will change both of their lives foreverone that will test their stamina, their determination, and their ability to believe.

Join a young boy and his father on a daring journey from Mexico to Texas to find a new life. They’ll need all the resilience and courage they can muster to safely cross the border − la frontera − and to make a home for themselves in a new land.