Years ago, the day before Ellie moved from Georgia to California, she and her best friend Nolan sat beneath an ancient oak tree where they wrote letters to each other, and sealed them in a rusty metal box. The plan was to return eleven years later and read them. But as that date arrives, much has changed. Ellie, bereft of the faith she grew up with, is a single mom trying to make ends meet. Sometimes she watches television to catch a glimpse of her old friend -- Nolan, now an NBA star, whose terrible personal tragedies fueled his faith and athletic drive in equal measure. But Nolan also suffers from a transcendent loneliness that nothing has ever eased.
Ryan Kelly spends plenty of time at The Bridge--the oldest bookstore in historic downtown Franklin, Tennessee--remembering the times he and Molly Allen--who moved to Portland--once spent there, and now, with the bookstore in deep financial trouble, it will take a miracle to keep tragedy from unfolding.
Holden Harris is an autistic eighteen-year-old who is bullied at school. Ella Reynolds is the head cheerleader who befriends Holden but has problems of her own at home.
Could they change the world---before the world changes them?
Filmmakers Chase Ryan and Keith Ellison left the mission field of Indonesia for the mission field of Hollywood with a dream bigger than both of them. Now they have done the impossible: raised enough money to produce a feature film with a message that could change the world.
But as Chase and Keith begin shooting, their well-laid plans begin to unravel. With millions of dollars on the line, they make a desperate attempt to keep the film from falling apart---even as a temperamental actress, a botched production schedule, and their own insecurities leave little room for the creative and spiritual passion that once motivated them. Was God really behind this movie after all? A chance meeting and friendship with John Baxter could bring the encouragement they need to stay on mission and produce a movie that will actually change people's lives.
In the midst of the questions and the cameras, is it possible to keep things above the line and make a movie unlike anything done before---or is the risk too great for everyone?
Filmmakers Chase Ryan and Keith Ellison have completed their first feature film, and Hollywood is buzzing with the news. In the wake of that excitement, the producers acquire rights to a novel that has all the ingredients they want for their next project. At the same time they cross paths with a well-connected player who introduces them to the right people, and suddenly every studio in town wants to talk to Chase and Keith. The producers' dreams are on the verge of coming true, but Chase's marriage is strained and Keith's daughter---Andi Ellison---is making questionable choices in her quest for stardom. The producers are gaining respect and are on the verge of truly changing culture through the power of film---but is the change worth the cost?
In preparation for their long-awaited wedding day, Dayne and Katy are determined to keep the ceremony a secret from the paparazzi. Their relationship grows closer and stronger as they plan together, but in the end it takes the help of the Baxter family and many of the CKT kids so that they’ll even have a chance at a private wedding. John Baxter is thrilled that his oldest son will be settling down a few miles away, but he isn’t sure how any of his kids will handle a situation he can no longer run from--the feelings he is having for his friend Elaine. In the meantime, the Flanigan family is struggling with their young boarder, Cody Coleman, Jim Flanigan’s star receiver. After an alcohol overdose, Cody fights for his life. Only God’s grace and a miracle can bring him back from the brink of death--physically and spiritually.
Football season becomes a time of realization that life's most important victories are won off the field. A star running back with much to learn, a younger player with much to give, and a woman with a heart for underprivileged kids---thrown together into a time of self-discovery and a new awareness of the things that matter most.
n this moving sequel to Even Now, Emily Anderson, now twenty, is attending college on a soccer scholarship when she meets the man who changes everything for her: Army reservist Justin Baker. Their tender relationship, founded on a mutual faith in God and nurtured by their trust and love for each other, proves to be a shining inspiration to everyone they know, especially Emily's reunited birth parents, Lauren Gibbs and Shane Galanter.
Lauren and Shane still struggle to move past their opposing beliefs about war, politics, and faith. Shane believes it's possible; Lauren doesn't. So she says a painful good-bye to her long-ago love and returns to her job as a war correspondent in Afghanistan. Both Lauren and Shane are shattered, believing that this time their relationship has truly ended forever.
Then tragedy sends shock waves through all their lives. Can Lauren and Shane set aside their opposing views so that love---God's love---might win, no matter how great the odds?
A Dream Come True
Katy Hart is thrilled about her future with Hollywood’s Dayne Matthews. But as she plans a wedding and looks for a house on the shores of Lake Monroe, she receives tragic news. Now everything about the future they planned together is hanging on the brink. Only a miracle can help them find their way through.
A Public Struggle
Katy and two of the Baxters travel to Los Angeles to sort through their options. While paparazzi open fire on the Baxter family, Luke helps field requests from the media. At the same time, he must wrestle with feelings that have troubled him for nearly a year.
A Family’s Undying Love
Ultimately, the Baxter family must pull together one last time in an act of service, a labor of love to help Katy and Dayne find what they’ve always longed for—a chance at forever.
A NEW BEGINNING: Hollywood actor Dayne Matthews and Katy Hart are married and living in Bloomington, Ind., where Dayne has found a solution to his on-camera love scenes--he wants Katy to star in his next film. Katy wins the part and is cast opposite her super-star husband. The story of a small town girl’s dream come true is too much for the press to resist, and in an effort to appease them, the couple agrees to a 12-episode reality show. It seems like the perfect compromise but by the time they finish filming the movie, they feel cracks around the edges of their marriage. Now they face an uncertain future, and possibly the end of everything that truly matters to them. AN UNFORGETTABLE SUMMER: The Baxter family learns that Ashley and Kari are both pregnant, but an ultrasound reveals that something is wrong with one of the babies. As the summer progresses, the sisters pray for a miracle while trying to face the unthinkable. It’s in this trying season that they must all learn the lesson God has been trying to teach them--He is still in control, and He will be with them regardless of the outcome. AN EMOTIONAL FAREWELL: The Flanigans continue to draw closer to their only daughter, yet Bailey struggles to find her way amidst the turmoil of adolescence. She has always made good decisions, but she wants to experience more of life. Her friendship with Cody Coleman--the young border staying with the Flanigans--continues to blossom in this summer after his graduation. But when Cody decides to enlist in the Army, he’ll have to say goodbye to the family he’s come to love and the girl he’ll never forget.
A Sensational Trial
When Katy Hart travels to Los Angeles to testify against the knife-wielding fan who tried to kill her, she is hunted by paparazzi who quickly realize she is the mystery woman photographed with movie star Dayne Matthews. Tension and pressure build to a dangerous level as Katy and Dayne seek private moments amidst the frenzy. In the end, Dayne’s celebrity life makes Katy certain that a future with him is all but impossible.
A Life-Changing Decision
As the trial comes to a close, Dayne searches for answers. Not until he talks to his childhood friend does he realize his desperate need for wisdom and direction. Ultimately, his journey leads him to an isolated beach where God makes Dayne’s future as clear as the waters of Cancún. But can he live with the decision God places before him?
A Stunning Discovery
Landon and Ashley Blake are celebrating the happiest days of their lives, enjoying Cole and their newborn son. But Ashley cannot find peace until she finds her older brother—the firstborn Baxter sibling. Her constant questions to her father, John Baxter, have netted nothing. Now she receives news that rocks her world and threatens to end her search in heartbreaking finality.
A Desperate Search
Driven by his wife’s dying wish to find their firstborn son, John Baxter sets about the search. His prayer? That Elizabeth’s wish would be fulfilled before the upcoming Baxter family reunion. One strange turn follows another, but when the answers finally come, they shake John to his core. Will he agree to walk away and keep the secret of a lifetime, or will he let the truth come to light, no matter the cost?
A Tragic Loss
Dayne Matthews is questioning his adoptive parents’ faith when he receives crushing news. He was ready to take on the responsibility of having a family, but now the future is drastically altered and Dayne is desperate for answers. Wisdom and comfort come from visits with a long-lost friend and then from Katy Hart, the girl Dayne can’t seem to forget. But will he find the strength he needs to face a future laced with loss, and will that strength lead him to the greatest love of all?
A Terrible Storm
As the Baxters come together, the reunion is overshadowed by a miracle in their midst. But just as quickly, tragedy comes to Bloomington. Ashley is eight months pregnant and in the early stages of labor when a tornado rips through the community, leaving one family missing. What will Dayne do when he hears about the storm? Will he finally find peace in a God he has been running from all his life?
A Deadly Accident
The Christian Kids Theater group is devastated by a tragedy greater than any of them could’ve imagined. Now their director, Katy Hart, must find a way to walk the kids through their grief and give them a reason to believe again. But will hatred and revenge have the final word?
An Aching Emptiness
Dayne Matthews is working on what could be his best movie yet. Still, he feels empty and unfocused, aching for real love and the family he’ll never know. Then a friend tells him about a teaching center and a way to become like God. Is this the answer Dayne’s been searching for?
A Shocking Discovery
John Baxter reconnects with an old friend and shares a buried secret, one that he and his wife kept hidden all their married lives. Now—in his wife’s honor—he decides to continue a very special search. But in the process he makes a critical mistake and one of his daughters stumbles onto a letter she was never supposed to see. For the Baxters, grace and redemption will play a greater role in this season than ever before.
A story of God’s divine leading and the realization that peace comes only after forgiveness Tyndale House Publishers
