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The Last Gift
A missing locket becomes symbolic of all that Christina Laws Johnson has lost in her forty years of life in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. As she searches for the necklace, she finds surprising answers about herself and her family--answers that bring lasting gifts of peace and hope one snow-covered Christmas Eve.
112 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 1999
About the author
Gary E. Parker
33 books18 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
The only current Southern Baptist pastor to have written 11 novels, 4 novellas and 4 non-fiction books in the last twelve years, prolific best-selling author Gary E. Parker has combined his love of history and the Civil War era to pen his latest historical novel, Secret Tides.
The first novel from Southern Tides (Parker’s latest trilogy of sweeping family sagas), Secret Tides paints a true and compelling portrait of love and forgiveness in a stunningly authentic historical setting.
Selected as a Crossing Book Club featured fiction writer and named a Christy Award finalist for his previous historical series writing, Parker has seen his novels soar up the best-seller charts.
As a boy, long before he became a Christian, Parker read The Robe. That book became an early whisper of the Spirit in his life, driving his interest in spiritual things along with a love for writing. Within a couple of weeks after conversion at 18 years old, Parker felt called to Christian ministry, receiving his Master of Divinity and later his Ph.D. in historical theology from Baylor University.
Referring to his fictional writing as “faith-informed fiction,” Parker feels that his writing makes him a better preacher, and preaching a sermon regularly makes him a better writer. His goal is to tell a quality story and let the message come through the story and character development naturally, rather than trying to make some theological point.
Parker and his wife, Melody reside in Decatur, Georgia with their two teenage daughters. He is Sr. pastor of the First Baptist Church of Decatur, and a frequent conference speaker at seminaries, university campuses, national conventions and convocations. He’s a regular contributor to national Christian publications, and is currently writing Fateful Journey, the second book in the Southern Tides trilogy, along with four new novellas. In his spare time, he enjoys distance biking, golfing, and reading.
The only current Southern Baptist pastor to have written 11 novels, 4 novellas and 4 non-fiction books in the last twelve years, prolific best-selling author Gary E. Parker has combined his love of history and the Civil War era to pen his latest historical novel, Secret Tides.
The first novel from Southern Tides (Parker’s latest trilogy of sweeping family sagas), Secret Tides paints a true and compelling portrait of love and forgiveness in a stunningly authentic historical setting.
Selected as a Crossing Book Club featured fiction writer and named a Christy Award finalist for his previous historical series writing, Parker has seen his novels soar up the best-seller charts.
As a boy, long before he became a Christian, Parker read The Robe. That book became an early whisper of the Spirit in his life, driving his interest in spiritual things along with a love for writing. Within a couple of weeks after conversion at 18 years old, Parker felt called to Christian ministry, receiving his Master of Divinity and later his Ph.D. in historical theology from Baylor University.
Referring to his fictional writing as “faith-informed fiction,” Parker feels that his writing makes him a better preacher, and preaching a sermon regularly makes him a better writer. His goal is to tell a quality story and let the message come through the story and character development naturally, rather than trying to make some theological point.
Parker and his wife, Melody reside in Decatur, Georgia with their two teenage daughters. He is Sr. pastor of the First Baptist Church of Decatur, and a frequent conference speaker at seminaries, university campuses, national conventions and convocations. He’s a regular contributor to national Christian publications, and is currently writing Fateful Journey, the second book in the Southern Tides trilogy, along with four new novellas. In his spare time, he enjoys distance biking, golfing, and reading.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 15, 2017
Great little treasure that I happened upon at the local library quite by accident. Quick read with a powerful message.
August 10, 2017
A short story that was recommended to me by a friend. This is a nice spiritual story about a woman going through some tough times. She tried reaching out to her mama for support and is turned away. Sadly her mama dies and Christina is afraid their disagreement caused the death and is just going through the motions of celebrating Christmas with her brother's and their large families. The Last Gift she gets and receives is worth more than she imagined.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews