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The Story Jar: The Hair Ribbons / The Yellow Sock / Heart Rings
Just in time for Mother's Day gift-giving, The Story Jar honors and blesses mothers of all ages for their faithful, enduring love. When a newly-widowed woman shares three stories, Beth Williams draws comfort and encouragement from the lessons learned by other mothers before her. These inspiring novellas are enhanced by tributes to their mothers from Jerry Jenkins, Francine Rivers, and many others. This book will inspire women to rejoice in the gift of children and to rely on the strength of God even as they reverence generations of mothers who have come before them.
360 pages, Paperback
First published March 5, 2001
132 people want to read
About the author
Deborah Bedford
32 books36 followersaka Debbi Bedford
Deborah Bedford was born on 1958 in Texas, USA and earned her degree in journalism and marketing from Texas A&M University. Immediately after graduation, she accepted editorship of Evergreen Today, a weekly newspaper based in the small mountain town of Evergreen, Colorado. While serving as editor there, she worked 70 or 80 hours each week, writing stories and cut-lines, sports and features, chasing fire trucks and checking police reports, taking pictures, editing, laying out pages, opaquing the negatives, stacking papers into vending machines and taking out the quarters.
It was long before she began to dream of returning to her first love, fiction writing. For her birthday in the summer of 1984, her husband, Jack, bought her a copy of the 1984 Writers' Market, and she began to meticulously send letters to every publisher listed in the book. Rejection letters flowed back by the handfuls. She has a large folder where, for posterity's sake, she has kept these to this day. She has also kept the letter from Harlequin Books she received, which invited her to submit a complete manuscript but warned her that Harlequin did not want books about cowboys, airline pilots, guest ranches or Texans. Deborah laughs now when she tells the story. Her manuscript was the story of "a woman who marries an airline pilot in Texas. Then, when he dies in a plane crash, she runs away to a guest ranch and falls in love with a cowboy." When she showed her husband, Jack, the letter, he said, "Honey, you've managed to write a manuscript that has everything in it they don't want." Harlequin bought the manuscript five short weeks after she submitted it. At that time, her editor told her, "This book isn't a romance, but we're going to publish it, anyway."
When Debbi Bedford's first book, Touch the Sky, was released by the Harlequin Superromance line, its sales topped every Harlequin record for a first-time author. It earned rave reviews and a Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice award. During the next seven years, she published six more books for the Harlequin Superromance series and a historical novel, Blessing, before signing a contract with HarperCollins Publishers. This paved the way for her to move on to write mass-market mainstream women's fiction, where her work garnered numerous awards and appeared on the USA TODAY bestseller list. The word she uses to describe her career is "beguiling." Whenever she wrote words about Jesus or God in her stories, those spiritual overtones were never touched, edited or omitted. But, along with those words, she admits that she was writing steamy scenes. "I wanted all the reward that the world would give me," she says. "I wanted all the fame, and all the status. But I realized that I was giving away lentils in the Lord's battlefield. That's when I became convicted. The time had come for a change."
What surprises Deborah the most, she says, is the freedom she now finds in writing for her Heavenly Father. "It feels like gloriously falling forward and wondrously coming home, all at the same time," she says. The Story Jar (March 2001) written with Angela Elwell Hunt and Robin Lee Hatcher and including pieces from Left Behind author Jerry B. Jenkins, Francine Rivers, Debbie Macomber and Lori Copeland, marked Deborah Bedford's writing debut for the inspirational market. It held a spot on the CBA Bestseller list for three consecutive months. While still shopping for the right publisher for her novel-length fiction, she had the opportunity to stand up at the Jackson Hole Writers' Conference, read an excerpt from The Story Jar, and explain to conference attendees about the call she felt to leave mass-market fiction and follow the Lord. In the audience that evening was Jamie Raab, publisher of Warner Books. The rest, as everyone says, felt like stars moving into place.
When You Believe w
Deborah Bedford was born on 1958 in Texas, USA and earned her degree in journalism and marketing from Texas A&M University. Immediately after graduation, she accepted editorship of Evergreen Today, a weekly newspaper based in the small mountain town of Evergreen, Colorado. While serving as editor there, she worked 70 or 80 hours each week, writing stories and cut-lines, sports and features, chasing fire trucks and checking police reports, taking pictures, editing, laying out pages, opaquing the negatives, stacking papers into vending machines and taking out the quarters.
It was long before she began to dream of returning to her first love, fiction writing. For her birthday in the summer of 1984, her husband, Jack, bought her a copy of the 1984 Writers' Market, and she began to meticulously send letters to every publisher listed in the book. Rejection letters flowed back by the handfuls. She has a large folder where, for posterity's sake, she has kept these to this day. She has also kept the letter from Harlequin Books she received, which invited her to submit a complete manuscript but warned her that Harlequin did not want books about cowboys, airline pilots, guest ranches or Texans. Deborah laughs now when she tells the story. Her manuscript was the story of "a woman who marries an airline pilot in Texas. Then, when he dies in a plane crash, she runs away to a guest ranch and falls in love with a cowboy." When she showed her husband, Jack, the letter, he said, "Honey, you've managed to write a manuscript that has everything in it they don't want." Harlequin bought the manuscript five short weeks after she submitted it. At that time, her editor told her, "This book isn't a romance, but we're going to publish it, anyway."
When Debbi Bedford's first book, Touch the Sky, was released by the Harlequin Superromance line, its sales topped every Harlequin record for a first-time author. It earned rave reviews and a Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice award. During the next seven years, she published six more books for the Harlequin Superromance series and a historical novel, Blessing, before signing a contract with HarperCollins Publishers. This paved the way for her to move on to write mass-market mainstream women's fiction, where her work garnered numerous awards and appeared on the USA TODAY bestseller list. The word she uses to describe her career is "beguiling." Whenever she wrote words about Jesus or God in her stories, those spiritual overtones were never touched, edited or omitted. But, along with those words, she admits that she was writing steamy scenes. "I wanted all the reward that the world would give me," she says. "I wanted all the fame, and all the status. But I realized that I was giving away lentils in the Lord's battlefield. That's when I became convicted. The time had come for a change."
What surprises Deborah the most, she says, is the freedom she now finds in writing for her Heavenly Father. "It feels like gloriously falling forward and wondrously coming home, all at the same time," she says. The Story Jar (March 2001) written with Angela Elwell Hunt and Robin Lee Hatcher and including pieces from Left Behind author Jerry B. Jenkins, Francine Rivers, Debbie Macomber and Lori Copeland, marked Deborah Bedford's writing debut for the inspirational market. It held a spot on the CBA Bestseller list for three consecutive months. While still shopping for the right publisher for her novel-length fiction, she had the opportunity to stand up at the Jackson Hole Writers' Conference, read an excerpt from The Story Jar, and explain to conference attendees about the call she felt to leave mass-market fiction and follow the Lord. In the audience that evening was Jamie Raab, publisher of Warner Books. The rest, as everyone says, felt like stars moving into place.
When You Believe w
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 17, 2016
I got bored with this, maybe later.
November 14, 2015
A charming collection of powerful mother-love novellas. These are stories as much about faith and trust in God as they are about motherhood. Three mothers face different life-changing challenges -- cancer, teenage rebellion and infertility. All heavy issues that could burden a reader however each author infuses such hope and spirituality into each story that I came away uplifted instead. A compelling read that was over way too fast.
Added bonus: a variety of authors have written sweet tributes to their own mothers including Debbie Macomber, Francine Rivers, Lori Copeland, among others.
January 16, 2014
This is a wonderfully written book by two different authors that tie the books together. Part one is very sad because I lost my mother to this dread disease, part two shows how it doesn't make any difference about how we dress and look it is what is in our heart that matters, Sho's mother finally realized this fact. Enjoyed the short stories that were written at the end of the book about their own story jars.
September 6, 2009
Great story. 3 authors told differents stories or how we can identify the hand of God in our lives. The patience and faith that we need to be able to recognize that He is always with us. All three authors wrote heartwarming stories that touch the senses and the heart!
September 6, 2007
This book was really uplifting. I went away feeling good about a lot of things. The portrayal of mothers is amazing. It is a really good read and a quick read.
July 19, 2013
I loved each of the mini stories in this book! All of them were so heart touching I felt as if I were going through the pains of each of the mothers, but I didn't cry!
August 25, 2016
This book was really heart warming and had a lot to do with mothers and things they go through.
August 28, 2018
Tender stories of motherhood. Pretty good stories. A little bit slow going and religious. Good.
October 18, 2019
interesting learning experience.
August 5, 2009
This is a beautiful book written by 3 different authors--basically 3 in one. It is the story of how certain "things" can remind of us of how God is in our lives, specifically as it relates to our mothers. It would be a great Mother's Day present.
The stories are somewhat predictable, however, and I felt that the characters needed more development. Although I appreciate the premise, I think the authors could have stretched it a little further.
The stories are somewhat predictable, however, and I felt that the characters needed more development. Although I appreciate the premise, I think the authors could have stretched it a little further.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews