Deborah Vogts's Blog, page 37

Book Preview ~ The Noel Diary

The Noel Diary, by Richard Paul Evans

Bestselling romance author Jacob Churcher hasn't been home for almost twenty years-- not since his mentally ill mother kicked him out of the house when he was just sixteen. When a lawyer calls, days before Christmas, to inform him that his estranged mother has passed away and left her house to him, Jacob returns not just to settle the estate but to try and reconcile with the past and the pain and abuse he experienced as a child. Also, maybe cleaning out her house will be slightly less depressing than spending the holidays alone, watching re-runs of Christmas classics. But as it turns out, the house holds more than just difficult memories, Jacob’s mother had become a hoarder and he must excavate through two decades worth of clutter. As Jacob digs through the detritus, like an archaeologist, he uncovers many puzzling items including a diary left by someone named Noel, a young woman he has no recollection of, who stayed with Jacob’s family during her pregnancy. That’s not the only echo from the past. Jacob has an unexpected visitor, Rachel, a woman looking for the mother who put her up for adoption thirty years before. United by their quest to make sense of the past and rewrite their futures, Jacob and Rachel begin a search for Noel. Along the way they find more than they possibly imagined, including grace, forgiveness and a chance at love. Buy the book HERE.

Richard Paul Evans is the #1 bestselling author of The Christmas Box. Each of his more than thirty novels has been a New York Times bestseller. There are more than thirty million copies of his books in print worldwide, translated into more than twenty-four languages. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the American Mothers Book Award, the Romantic Times Best Women’s Novel of the Year Award, the German Audience Gold Award for Romance, two Religion Communicators Council Wilbur Awards, the Washington Times Humanitarian of the Century Award and the Volunteers of America National Empathy Award. He lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, with his wife, Keri, and their five children. You can learn more about Richard on his website, RichardPaulEvans.com.

This Week's Recipes

Here are this week's new additions at Country at Heart Recipes.May God bless you this Christmas!
Orange Cranberry Scones
My Mom's Pecan Brittle
Christmas Dinner Ideas

A Great and Mighty Wonder

Christmas is almost here! May you and your family have a blessed Christ-filled day.
A Great and Mighty Wonder
A great and mighty wonder, A full and holy cure:The Virgin bears the Infant With virgin honor pure!Repeat the hymn again: "To God on high be glory And peace on earth to men!"
The Word becomes incarnate And yet remains on high,And cherubim sing anthems To shepherds from the sky.Repeat the hymn again: "To God on high be glory And peace on earth to men!"
While thus they sing your Monarch, Those bright angelic bands,Rejoice, ye values and mountains, Ye oceans, clap your hands.Repeat the hymn again: "To God on high be glory And peace on earth to men!"
Since all He comes to ransom, By all be He adored,The Infant born in Bethl'em, The Savior and the Lord.Repeat the hymn again: "To God on high be glory And peace on earth to men!"
And idol forms shall perish, And error shall decay,And Christ shall wield His scepter, Our Lord and God for aye.Repeat the hymn again: "To God on high be glory And peace on earth to men!"

Book Preview ~ Out of the Ordinary

Out of the Ordinary, by Jen Turano

Miss Gertrude Cadwalader hoped her position as the paid companion to Mrs. Davenport would be easy. But as she becomes acquainted with her employer, she realizes the wealthy Mrs. Davenport has a strange tendency to be a bit light-fingered with other people's trinkets. Gertrude is relieved when Mrs. Davenport decides to have a quiet summer away from the social scene--until the woman changes her mind in order to help a young socialite launch into society. 

When Gertrude is caught in the act of trying to return one of the trinkets by Mrs. Sinclair, the mother of shipping magnate Harrison Sinclair, the woman jumps to an unfortunate conclusion. Harrison is determined to mend fences with Miss Cadwalader, but he's unprepared for the escapades a friendship with her will entail. Buy the book HERE.

Jen Turano, author of nine books and two novellas, is a graduate of the University of Akron with a degree in clothing and textiles. She is a member of ACFW and lives in a suburb of Denver, Colorado. Visit her website at www.jenturano.com.

This Week's Recipes

Here are this week's new additions at Country at Heart Recipes.Enjoy the Moments . . . 
Ambrosia Salad
Grandma's Chocolate Delight
Christmas Cookies

Oh, Come, Oh, Come, Emmanuel

As we celebrate this second week of Advent, here is another favorite hymn many of you may recognize. May God bless you and your family with His amazing grace as we rejoice in the coming of our Savior's birth.
Oh, Come, Oh, Come, Emmanuel
Oh, come, Oh, come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israelthat mourns in lonely exile hereUntil the Son of God appear.Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.
Oh, come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free Thine own from Satan's tyranny;From depths of hell thy people saveAnd give them vict'ry o'er the grave.Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.
Oh, come, Thou Dayspring from on high,and cheer us by thy drawing nigh;disperse the gloomy clouds of nightAnd death's dark shadows put to flight.Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.
Oh, come, Thou Key of David, comeand open wide our heav'nly home;Make safe the way that leads on highand close the path to misery.Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.

Book Preview ~ Falling Like Snowflakes

Falling Like Snowflakes, by Denise Hunter
Speeding north through rural Maine, Eden Martelli wonders how her life came to this—on the run with her mute five-year-old son dozing fitfully in the passenger seat. When a breakdown leaves them stranded in Summer Harbor, Eden has no choice but to stay put through Christmas . . . even though they have no place to lay their heads.Beau Callahan is a habitual problem solver—for other people anyway. He left the sheriff’s department to take over his family’s Christmas tree farm, but he’s still haunted by the loss of his parents and struggling to handle his first Christmas alone.When Eden shows up looking for work just as Beau’s feisty aunt gets out of the hospital, Beau thinks he’s finally caught a break. Eden is competent and dedicated—if a little guarded—and a knockout to boot. But, as he soon finds out, she also comes with a boatload of secrets.Eden has been through too much to trust her heart to another man, but Beau is impossible to resist, and the feeling seems to be mutual. As Christmas Eve approaches, Eden’s past catches up to her.Beau will go to the ends of the earth to keep her safe. But who’s going to protect his heart from a woman who can’t seem to trust again? Buy the book HERE. Denise Hunter is the internationally published bestselling author of more than twenty-five books, including A December Bride andThe Convenient Groom, which have been adapted into original Hallmark Channel movies. She has won The Holt Medallion Award, The Reader's Choice Award, The Carol Award, The Foreword Book of the Year Award, and is a RITA finalist. When Denise isn't orchestrating love lives on the written page, she enjoys traveling with her family, drinking green tea, and playing drums. Denise makes her home in Indiana where she and her husband are rapidly approaching an empty nest. You can learn more about Denise through her website DeniseHunterBooks.com.

This Week's Recipes

Here are this week's new additions at Country at Heart Recipes.May you be blessed this first week of Advent.
 Raspberry Vanilla Scones
Chocolate-Coated Raspberry Spritz Cookies
Christmas Tea Party Ideas

Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming

For this first week of Advent, here is another hymn we enjoy. 


Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming
Lo, how a rose e'er blooming From tender stem hath sprung!Of Jesse's lineage coming As prophets long have sung,It came, a flow'ret bright, Amid the cold of winter,When half-spent was the night.
Isaiah 'twas foretold it, The rose I have in mind;With Mary we behold it, The virgin mother kind.To show God's love aright, She bore to us a Savior,When half-spent was the night.
This flow'r, whose fragrance tender With sweetness fills the air,Dispels with glorious splendor The darkness ev'rywhere.True man, yet very God, From sin and death He saves usAnd lightens ev'ry load.
O Savior, child of Mary, Who felt our human woe;O Savior King of glory, Who dost our weakness know;Bring us at length we pray To the bright courts of heaven,And to the endless day.

Book Preview ~ Liar's Winter

 Liar's Winter, by Cindy K Sproles

Lochiel Ogle was born with a red-wine birthmark - and it put her life in jeopardy from the moment she entered the world. Mountain folks called it "the mark of the devil," and for all the evil that has plagued her nineteen-year existence, Lochiel is ready to believe that is true. And the evil surely took control of the mind of the boy who stole her as an infant, bringing her home for his mother to raise.Abused and abandoned by the only people she knows as family, Lochiel is rescued by a peddler and given the first glimpse of love she has ever known. The truth of her past is gradually revealed as is the fact that she is still hunted by a brother driven to see her dead. Unsure if there's anyone she can truly trust, Lochiel is faced with a series of choices: Will she continue to run for escape or will she face her past and accept the heartbreaking secrets it reveals? Which will truly free her? Set in the wild and beautiful Appalachian Mountains of nineteenth-century East Tennessee, Liar's Winter is an unflinching yet inspirational exploration of prejudice and choice. Buy the book HERE.Cindy Sproles is an author and speaker. She is the cofounder of Christian Devotions Ministries and the cowriter of the popular He Said, She Said Devotions written with her cofounder, Eddie Jones. She is a novelist and best-selling author. She is the mother of four adult sons and  lives in the mountains of East Tennessee with her husband. Cindy can be contacted at www.cindysproles.com