Showing results for "VanLiere Christmas" in All Categories

Robert is a successful attorney who has everything in life, and nothing at all. Focused on professional achievement and material rewards, Robert has lost sight of his wife, family and, ultimately, himself. An eight-year-old Nathan is losing his beloved mother, Maggie, to cancer. But Nathan and his family are building a simple yet full life, and struggling to hold on to every moment they have.

Lauren Gabriel spent many years of her childhood in foster homes, wishing her mother would come back for her and be the family she needs. Now 20 years old, she still longs for a place that she can truly call home. Her work as a cashier is unfulfilling, and at Christmas it's unbearable with the songs and carols and chatter of Christmas that she hears throughout the day.

Nathan Andrews is now a man; his greatest wish is to be a doctor. But beyond his studies of medicine, Nathan realizes there are still things to be learned about faith, blessings, giving, and sacrifice. Lessons he will learn from a young woman with a disease that seems hopeless. But hope can exist in the darkest places, and love is always the greatest gift of all.

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. All of them are facing their own struggles, and all are finding their way through the dark. When they are brought together for a rather unconventional church Nativity, they will learn that with strength, courage, and love, there is always hope.

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 isn’t sure she’s ready to lose her heart again - but an unexpected surprise makes her reconsider her lonely lifestyle.

Christine Eisley is the mother of seven-year-old Zach and five-year-old Haley. Her ex-husband provides little, if any, child support and makes life difficult for Christine by using the children as pawns. She works long hours as a waitress to make ends meet, but her job is in jeopardy because she's often late to work due to the unreliable teenage sitters she's forced to use. When Christine saves the life of a woman who works in Wilson's department store, the owner of Wilson's wants to find her, to thank her, but Christine has disappeared, losing another job once again.

Gretchen Daniels has recently moved into a condo with her two children to be closer to her mother, Miriam. As they build a life together in their new community, they notice a mysterious young woman, Melissa McCreary, who lives next door. She has few possessions, little personality, and keeps to herself. One day a local landlord who is looking for Melissa knocks on Gretchen's door for assistance. Melissa's mother has died and in the coming weeks the landlord needs Melissa to empty her mother's apartment.

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. Gloria, Miriam, and the rest of her friends at Glory’s Place begin to pitch in, helping Lauren prepare their home for the baby.

Donna VanLiere's books movingly portray ordinary people reaching for more meaningful lives. In The Christmas Promise, she follows two seemingly separate individuals and shows how their lives intersect. Chaz McConnell realizes that his life is empty—and he's made it that way. He goes home every night to a bare apartment. For the first time in his life, he's working at a job that will last more than a few weeks, as security for Wilson's Department Store. Trying to reach out, he befriends 4-year-old Donovan, whose mother is part of the janitorial team at Wilson's.

Patricia and Mark Addison have long given up the hope of having a meaningful Christmas. But this year, Patricia's job as a social worker will lead her to a very special five-year-old. Against her better judgment, Patricia bends the rules and takes the little girl to her own home. Through the presence of Emily in their house, and her penetrating questions about heaven, the Addisons learn that there is no sorrow so great that faith cannot help you find your way through. And Christmas will once more be a time of joy in their home.

The 80-mile journey of a common carpenter and a simple peasant girl is one of the most powerful stories in history. As books go out of print and stories fade from memory, the journey of Joseph and Mary and her delivery inside a common barn continues to bless and inspire hope in people around the world. Donna VanLiere’s retelling shows that the story of the Nativity is alive in our modern world.