In June 1972, John Creighton determines to build his wife, Joan, a kitchen table. His largest project to date had been picture frames, but he promises to have the table ready for Thanksgiving dinner. Inspired to put something delicious on the table, Joan turns to her mother’s recipes she had given to Joan when she and John married. In June 2012, Lauren Mabrey discovers she’s pregnant. On a visit to the local furniture builder, she finds a table that he bought at a garage sale but has recently refinished. Once home, a drawer is discovered under the table that contains a stack of recipe cards. Personal notes have been written on each one from the mother to her daughter. In a strange way, Lauren feels connected to them and wants to make the mother proud.

Thirty-two-year-old Amy Denison volunteers at Glory’s Place, an after school program where she meets seven-year-old Maddie, a precocious young girl who has spent her childhood in foster care. Unbeknownst to Amy, Maddie is a mini-matchmaker, with her eye on just the right man for Amy at Grandon Elementary School, where she is a student. Amy is hesitant --- she’s been hurt before, and she isn’t sure she’s ready to lose her heart again --- but an unexpected surprise makes her reconsider her lonely lifestyle. As Christmas nears, Maddie and the charming staff at Glory’s Place help Amy to see that romance can be more than heartache and broken promises.

Lauren Gabriel spent many years of her childhood in foster homes, wishing her mother would come back for her. Now 20 years old, she still longs for a place that she can truly call home. When Lauren, a cashier, ends her shift one night, she finds herself driving aimlessly in order to avoid returning to her lonely apartment. And when she witnesses a car accident, she is suddenly pulled into the small town of Grandon to serve as a volunteer for the annual fundraiser for Glory’s Place, a center for single mothers and families who need assistance. Could this town and its people be the home she has always longed for?

In the small town of Grandon, five very different people discover the true meaning of Christmas. Jennifer and Ryan are both single parents, struggling with their own losses and heartache. Sixteen-year-old Kaylee is faced with a life-changing situation that has affected her whole family. Stephen and Lily are happily married and ready to start a family. When they are brought together for a rather unconventional church Nativity, they will learn that with strength, courage and love, there is always hope.

Ever since Ivorie Walker’s parents passed away, she has hidden her loneliness behind a fierce independence and good humor. When a feral, dirty-faced boy steals from her vegetable garden, Ivorie steps out of her comfort zone to uncover answers about him and unleashes a firestorm in the town --- a place where secrets stay secret.

From the author of The Christmas Hope series comes a new inspirational novel about an unlikely friendship between two women, but one that will change each of their lives forever.