Showing results by narrator "Ann Richardson" in All Categories

Marli Rivers’ signature carefree demeanor melts away when her sweet shop is hit with a series of fires, threats, and vandalism. Local firefighter, Jake Kline, steps in to help following the attacks, believing Marli is being targeted by an arsonist. Their professional relationship feels strained, at first, and she is less than thrilled that Jake is the one who’s investigating the fires. Marli perceives him as arrogant, but that perception quickly fades as he proves to be a trusted ally in the face of danger.

Harmony King disappeared from Charleston as soon as she aged out of the foster system. Ten years later, she returns with just as many secrets as she had back then. As her past threatens to overwhelm her, she seeks mercy at the local church. There, the pastor finds her praying like her life depends on it and decides to entrust one of his tiny therapy dogs to her care. Will this special Chihuahua’s love be enough to help Harmony discover her own worth, and can it protect her when the dark past she tried so desperately to leave behind finally catches up to her?

Dozens of cats and kittens have disappeared from their homes, and Elzbeth and her friends are worried. Since the other kids at school don't play with them, the four friends use recess and weekends to figure out a diabolical - and sometimes funny - plot that's making captives out of innocent kittens. They use clever technology, mighty brains, and special gifts to pinpoint where the cats are, and Elzbeth dives straight into trouble.

Septuagenarian librarian Cleo Watkins believes in gracious manners, sweet tea, and justice - library justice. For over 40 years, Cleo has tried every trick in the book to get delinquent patron Dixie Huddleston to return the most overdue volume in Catalpa Springs, Georgia. When Dixie says she’ll finally relinquish the book, Cleo is shocked. She’s even more startled by the reason: superstitious Dixie says she’s seen the signs - she’s about to die and is setting her affairs in order.

At some point in our lives, most of us will become caregivers...For us, too, it is a preparation for a letting go that draws upon our deepest spiritual resources in ways possible to fully anticipate. This gathering of reflections for caregivers focuses on the season of death and the strenuous, challenging, life-changing work of accompanying a beloved friend or family member on the final stretch of his or her journey and of mourning the losses that come at every stage.

Watercolorist Olivia Rutherford has shed her humble beginnings to fashion her image as an avant-garde artist to appeal to the region's wealthy art collectors. When she lands a lucrative contract painting illustrations of Yosemite National Park for a travel magazine, she hopes the money will lift her and her sisters out of poverty. After false accusations cost him everything, former minister Clark Johnson has found purpose as a backcountry guide in this natural cathedral. Now, he's faced with the opportunity to become a National Parks Ranger, but is it his true calling?

Hope Wright, a successful bakery and catering business owner faces her ex-love interest and brother's best friend, Logan Hall, as he returns to town after being injured as a Navy Seal. Hope's feelings for him are reignited against her better judgment. But she is grappling with a secret - the identity of her six-year-old daughter's father. Hope finds that it's going to be near impossible to avoid Logan now that he's back in town!

Experience the heart-pounding drama of real-life emergencies. Veteran EMT and physical therapist Andrea Jo Rodgers shares this all-new collection of accounts from her 30-plus years as a volunteer with her town's local first aid and emergency squad.

She's waiting for her prince to come...but was he right beside her all the time? Kristina Rose Maher wants to know why fairytales never happen for fat girls. Certain that diner cook Jeff, handsome and fit, will never want her as more than a friend, she stuffs down her attraction to him. But when she finds herself facing a life-altering weight loss surgery, she discovers she's willing to do whatever it takes to embrace life - and love - to the fullest.

What must it have been like walking in the garden, talking with God? What would it be like to share our troubles and joys openly with him, to hear his voice responding to our questions? How might knowing God's view on our stories heal our wounds and renew our hope? No matter our circumstances, we need God's perspective on our lives. We need to know how he sees us. Come on, girl, he says. Let my light shine in.

Want to see your church's kids transformed for Jesus? Struggling to get the whole church on board? Know what you want to see happen, but not how to make it happen? Leading KidMin is about what it takes to achieve big-time change. Moving past the "why" and getting straight to the "how," Leading KidMin provides tools and strategies for actually leading, influencing, and implementing change on a local church level - all from the vantage point of the children's ministry director.

Ever since Avery Hawthorn left small town Frisco, Colorado for college at UCLA, her parents have visited her in sunny California for the holidays. When a freak accident at her father’s hardware store derails their plans, Avery must find a way to spend Christmas with them. As a big fan of Christmas, Avery knew this wouldn’t do. She needed to see her family. But, there was one thing standing in the way of her taking time off… The chance for a big promotion at work.

In Good Blood, best-selling writer Julian Guthrie tells the gripping tale of the race to cure a horrible affliction known as Rh disease that stalked families and caused a mother’s immune system to attack her own unborn child. The story is anchored by two very different men on two continents: Dr. John Gorman in New York, who would land on a brilliant yet contrarian idea, and the unassuming Australian whose almost magical blood - and his unyielding devotion to donating it - would save millions of lives.

Few of us know how to navigate the territory of traumatic loss successfully. Sweet Sorrow shows how we can respond and grow stronger from loss and suffering.

When Anxiety Strikes is an eight-week guide to managing anxiety, grounded in both Scripture and research. Structured for daily listening, with integrated practices for everyday life, the audiobook addresses seven themes: breath, body, movement, mind, change, spirit, and community. Concise stories, readings, questions, and activities guide listeners to tackle the realities of living with anxiety. When Anxiety Strikes offers real solutions to find a solid landing place when the storm of fear looms.

When Maggie inherits her grandfather’s Nantucket cottage, she realizes there’s no one in her life to fill the walls of Hope Lodge with laughter and love. Hoping she’d be married by this age to someone keeping her company when she retires from her career in publishing, Maggie decides to restore the place and put it on the market. As the festive season of love draws near, Maggie starts to accept a life of loneliness … Until she meets Stephen, the contractor renovating the lodge – a man she can hardly stand, but one with a heart of gold that warms hers like no other.

Be careful what you wish for…When a lowly antiques dealer who's in love with the governor's girlfriend releases a genie from a magic lamp, he unwittingly wishes himself into a hole the size of the Grand Canyon!

Deep within the world of Leira flows a melody that was sung at the beginning of time by Emhran, the Master Singer. Now it is broken, buried, forgotten. But in each generation, a Songkeeper arises to uphold the memory of the Song against those who want it silenced forever. When Birdie first hears the Song coming from her own mouth, her world shatters. She is no longer simply an orphan but the last of a hunted people.

On an average day, people make countless decisions: Should I get out of bed or hit the snooze button? What should I have for breakfast? Where should we go for this year’s vacation? While some decisions are easy to make, others can leave individuals paralyzed and full of anxiety. As Christians living in an increasingly individualistic society, what’s the best strategy for making decisions that honor God while becoming more like him in the process?

Katherine Mansfield accomplishes an incredible drama with detailed characterization in "Miss Brill", a story only four pages long, written in the early 1920's. The main character is a lonely spinster, probably an elderly Englishwoman, living in a resort area of France near the seashore, earning enough to support herself by tutoring English children and reading the newspapers to an old invalid whose ability to hear and comprehend are questionable. She sits on a bench at the park and creates fantasy scenarios involving the people around her, enhanced by her eavesdropping skills.