Adult

When Glenn Kurtz stumbles upon an old family film in his parents’ closet in Florida, he has no inkling of its historical significance or of the impact it will have on his life. The film, shot long ago by his grandfather on a sightseeing trip to Europe, includes shaky footage of Paris and the Swiss Alps, with someone inevitably waving at the camera. Astonishingly, David Kurtz also captured on color 16mm film the only known moving images of the thriving, predominantly Jewish town of Nasielsk, Poland, shortly before the community’s destruction.

Three dramatic weddings unfold one after the other in WINTER BRIDES. An independent single woman is unexpectedly swept off her feet, a high society bride juggles planning and career stress, and another battles lingering doubts. You’ll be racing through the pages to see each bride walk down her respective aisle.

Turn back the clock to a different time, listen to Bing Crosby sing of sleigh bells in the snow, as the realities of America’s involvement in the Second World War change the lives of the Turner family in Lafayette, Indiana. Three stories chart the path of romance through one Christmas season during 1940s wartime. A housewife loses her beau, a fighter pilot hero returns home to hardship, a combat nurse faces the frontline --- and all find love in the most unexpected ways.

Author Bo Stern has spent the past two Christmases struggling to connect with the joy of the season. As she has watched her husband, Steve, struggle with terminal ALS, Bo has quietly felt her spirit for the season fade --- and has noticed countless others suffering the same way. Through stories and scriptures, Bo offers readers a way to redeem what can often become painful days, guiding them to engage in different ways that offer a tangible outlet for healing.

Like any other teenage boy, Austin loves pizza, movies, dancing, and girls. But unlike most other eighteen-year-olds, he has a rare brittle-bone disease, was locked in a mental ward as a child, and is autistic. This is the story of his and his family’s quest for normalcy, thanks to a persistent work, courage, love, and faith in God.

Twenty-year-old Ruth Stutzman is a wonderful caregiver --- but she has no experience with children. Laid off from her job at a retirement home due to budget cuts, she’s relieved to find work --- even if it means temporarily watching widower Martin Rodes’ brood of six! Laughter and disaster ensue, as well as an unexpected romance between Ruth and Martin. But how long can all the good cheer last?

A Hollywood director has disappeared, and the sultry starlet he’s been running around with isn’t talking. When the missing man turns up dead, Captain Jackson Divine’s case escalates into a full-blown murder case, and Sister Evangeline Divine’s crime-solving instincts kick in with an almost God-given grace. Soon Sister Eve finds herself soul-searching every step of the way: How can she choose between the vocation in her heart and the job in her blood?

One couple is plunged into a mysterious search-and-rescue in the wilderness, while another’s idyllic wedding is tragically derailed --- both on Christmas Eve. In SILENT NIGHT, HOLY NIGHT, Colleen Coble plunges us into these two unlikely and thrilling tales about the limits of love, adventure and forgiveness during the holiday season. Hold on to your mistletoe.