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The Deepening Stream
The dramatic and compelling story of a young newspaperman's search for meaning and purpose in a career that suddenly began to go sour.Neil Abbott found that God's ways are sometimes strange to human reasoning and "past finding out" until one allows himself to become part of ...The Deepening Stream
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1963
About the author
Francena H. Arnold
17 books25 followersFRANCENA H. ARNOLD was a schoolteacher, talented storyteller, mother of four children, and author of ten novels. Her first, Not My Will, was originally written "just for the eyes of the family" and has since sold more than 500,000 copies. Her other novels include Then Am I Strong, Three Shall Be One, Brother Beloved, Straight Down Crook Lane, The Road Winds On, Fruit for Tomorrow, and Light in My Window. Raised in rural Illinois, Francena lived with her husband, Frank, in the Chicago area. (Biographical detail courtesy of Moody Publishers)
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 18, 2025
2025 Reread
I enjoyed reading this book again just as much as I have the other times. Neil and Lissa and Bill and all the other characters just live in this story.
2019
Though this was a reread, it had been several years since I read the entire book.
It was just as good the second (or 3rd) time.
I really like Neil. His personality isn't cut and dried. He struggles with things real people struggle with such as why did this little event change his life so dramatically? And is God working everything out for his good? He's a reporter for a big city paper but gets stuck in a tiny town.
Lissa is the kind of girl I think I'd like for a friend. She's fun, passionate, works hard, loves with all her being, and yet struggles with doing what she knows she should do.
All the side characters: Uncle Dick, Marv, Bill, Sara,–and all the rest were so real that I wanted to travel up to their small town and spend the summer, or winter, with them.
The lessons about trusting God's promise to work things out for good, the difficulties, the day to day struggles, the mystery, the heartache–it was all so good.
This is a book I would recommend, reread, and recommend again.
I enjoyed reading this book again just as much as I have the other times. Neil and Lissa and Bill and all the other characters just live in this story.
2019
Though this was a reread, it had been several years since I read the entire book.
It was just as good the second (or 3rd) time.
I really like Neil. His personality isn't cut and dried. He struggles with things real people struggle with such as why did this little event change his life so dramatically? And is God working everything out for his good? He's a reporter for a big city paper but gets stuck in a tiny town.
Lissa is the kind of girl I think I'd like for a friend. She's fun, passionate, works hard, loves with all her being, and yet struggles with doing what she knows she should do.
All the side characters: Uncle Dick, Marv, Bill, Sara,–and all the rest were so real that I wanted to travel up to their small town and spend the summer, or winter, with them.
The lessons about trusting God's promise to work things out for good, the difficulties, the day to day struggles, the mystery, the heartache–it was all so good.
This is a book I would recommend, reread, and recommend again.
July 24, 2019
This was a good story about a guy who gets off a departing bus to retrieve his camera , coming back to find his bus left without him. He then becomes snowbound in this same town, along with a string of things that keep him from returning home. He is also trying to figure out whether God does everything in a Christian's life for his good. He is not happy at first to be stuck in the town and questions God's good in it. The book has some helpful lessons to teach, but the level seems to be for a younger reader, possibly.
August 5, 2024
Another wonderful story from one of my favorite authors. The Deepening Stream is a story of God indeed working all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Even when those who love Him are struggling to understand.
February 7, 2025
This is the type of book I read as a teenager in the ‘70’s. Is it a romance? Well, yes, but it’s not showy so with this story you did not see any hug or kiss until the last 2 or 3 pages. Neil struggled with Roman’s 8:28 that all things work together for good to them love God. And did God really want or expect him to follow His will? I enjoyed this book and gave it 4 stars.
March 31, 2008
Another sweet romance from the author who could write 'em better than Grace Livingston Hill.
September 25, 2017
Loved it, have read it twice now!
February 7, 2020
An ok read a read for those who like
little House on the prairie or the Waltons
little House on the prairie or the Waltons
November 21, 2022
This book was very well written and believable. The interaction between the main character and his love interest is especially well done and believeable.
July 22, 2024
The book was well written in style and syntax. The plot overall was believable, but some parts I felt could have been handled better or fleshed out more.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews