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Family Matters
A child lay gravely ill, his parents praying for a miracle. But on opposite sides of the hospital bed. Jennie and Michael Stratton's marriage had fallen apart, leaving them both devastated and alone. Yet now, as Michael sat holding his son's small hand, he finally knew what it meant to believe.
Jennie struggled to resolve her feelings for the stubborn man she'd married. But their brave little boy needed the strength of their united love. They had to forget their past and focus on the here and now. And then a marriage that had been put asunder might begin to heal, too.
Jennie struggled to resolve her feelings for the stubborn man she'd married. But their brave little boy needed the strength of their united love. They had to forget their past and focus on the here and now. And then a marriage that had been put asunder might begin to heal, too.
- GenresChristian
288 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 1, 2008
9 people are currently reading
70 people want to read
About the author
Deborah Bedford
32 books36 followersaka Debbi Bedford
Deborah Bedford was born on 1958 in Texas, USA and earned her degree in journalism and marketing from Texas A&M University. Immediately after graduation, she accepted editorship of Evergreen Today, a weekly newspaper based in the small mountain town of Evergreen, Colorado. While serving as editor there, she worked 70 or 80 hours each week, writing stories and cut-lines, sports and features, chasing fire trucks and checking police reports, taking pictures, editing, laying out pages, opaquing the negatives, stacking papers into vending machines and taking out the quarters.
It was long before she began to dream of returning to her first love, fiction writing. For her birthday in the summer of 1984, her husband, Jack, bought her a copy of the 1984 Writers' Market, and she began to meticulously send letters to every publisher listed in the book. Rejection letters flowed back by the handfuls. She has a large folder where, for posterity's sake, she has kept these to this day. She has also kept the letter from Harlequin Books she received, which invited her to submit a complete manuscript but warned her that Harlequin did not want books about cowboys, airline pilots, guest ranches or Texans. Deborah laughs now when she tells the story. Her manuscript was the story of "a woman who marries an airline pilot in Texas. Then, when he dies in a plane crash, she runs away to a guest ranch and falls in love with a cowboy." When she showed her husband, Jack, the letter, he said, "Honey, you've managed to write a manuscript that has everything in it they don't want." Harlequin bought the manuscript five short weeks after she submitted it. At that time, her editor told her, "This book isn't a romance, but we're going to publish it, anyway."
When Debbi Bedford's first book, Touch the Sky, was released by the Harlequin Superromance line, its sales topped every Harlequin record for a first-time author. It earned rave reviews and a Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice award. During the next seven years, she published six more books for the Harlequin Superromance series and a historical novel, Blessing, before signing a contract with HarperCollins Publishers. This paved the way for her to move on to write mass-market mainstream women's fiction, where her work garnered numerous awards and appeared on the USA TODAY bestseller list. The word she uses to describe her career is "beguiling." Whenever she wrote words about Jesus or God in her stories, those spiritual overtones were never touched, edited or omitted. But, along with those words, she admits that she was writing steamy scenes. "I wanted all the reward that the world would give me," she says. "I wanted all the fame, and all the status. But I realized that I was giving away lentils in the Lord's battlefield. That's when I became convicted. The time had come for a change."
What surprises Deborah the most, she says, is the freedom she now finds in writing for her Heavenly Father. "It feels like gloriously falling forward and wondrously coming home, all at the same time," she says. The Story Jar (March 2001) written with Angela Elwell Hunt and Robin Lee Hatcher and including pieces from Left Behind author Jerry B. Jenkins, Francine Rivers, Debbie Macomber and Lori Copeland, marked Deborah Bedford's writing debut for the inspirational market. It held a spot on the CBA Bestseller list for three consecutive months. While still shopping for the right publisher for her novel-length fiction, she had the opportunity to stand up at the Jackson Hole Writers' Conference, read an excerpt from The Story Jar, and explain to conference attendees about the call she felt to leave mass-market fiction and follow the Lord. In the audience that evening was Jamie Raab, publisher of Warner Books. The rest, as everyone says, felt like stars moving into place.
When You Believe w
Deborah Bedford was born on 1958 in Texas, USA and earned her degree in journalism and marketing from Texas A&M University. Immediately after graduation, she accepted editorship of Evergreen Today, a weekly newspaper based in the small mountain town of Evergreen, Colorado. While serving as editor there, she worked 70 or 80 hours each week, writing stories and cut-lines, sports and features, chasing fire trucks and checking police reports, taking pictures, editing, laying out pages, opaquing the negatives, stacking papers into vending machines and taking out the quarters.
It was long before she began to dream of returning to her first love, fiction writing. For her birthday in the summer of 1984, her husband, Jack, bought her a copy of the 1984 Writers' Market, and she began to meticulously send letters to every publisher listed in the book. Rejection letters flowed back by the handfuls. She has a large folder where, for posterity's sake, she has kept these to this day. She has also kept the letter from Harlequin Books she received, which invited her to submit a complete manuscript but warned her that Harlequin did not want books about cowboys, airline pilots, guest ranches or Texans. Deborah laughs now when she tells the story. Her manuscript was the story of "a woman who marries an airline pilot in Texas. Then, when he dies in a plane crash, she runs away to a guest ranch and falls in love with a cowboy." When she showed her husband, Jack, the letter, he said, "Honey, you've managed to write a manuscript that has everything in it they don't want." Harlequin bought the manuscript five short weeks after she submitted it. At that time, her editor told her, "This book isn't a romance, but we're going to publish it, anyway."
When Debbi Bedford's first book, Touch the Sky, was released by the Harlequin Superromance line, its sales topped every Harlequin record for a first-time author. It earned rave reviews and a Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice award. During the next seven years, she published six more books for the Harlequin Superromance series and a historical novel, Blessing, before signing a contract with HarperCollins Publishers. This paved the way for her to move on to write mass-market mainstream women's fiction, where her work garnered numerous awards and appeared on the USA TODAY bestseller list. The word she uses to describe her career is "beguiling." Whenever she wrote words about Jesus or God in her stories, those spiritual overtones were never touched, edited or omitted. But, along with those words, she admits that she was writing steamy scenes. "I wanted all the reward that the world would give me," she says. "I wanted all the fame, and all the status. But I realized that I was giving away lentils in the Lord's battlefield. That's when I became convicted. The time had come for a change."
What surprises Deborah the most, she says, is the freedom she now finds in writing for her Heavenly Father. "It feels like gloriously falling forward and wondrously coming home, all at the same time," she says. The Story Jar (March 2001) written with Angela Elwell Hunt and Robin Lee Hatcher and including pieces from Left Behind author Jerry B. Jenkins, Francine Rivers, Debbie Macomber and Lori Copeland, marked Deborah Bedford's writing debut for the inspirational market. It held a spot on the CBA Bestseller list for three consecutive months. While still shopping for the right publisher for her novel-length fiction, she had the opportunity to stand up at the Jackson Hole Writers' Conference, read an excerpt from The Story Jar, and explain to conference attendees about the call she felt to leave mass-market fiction and follow the Lord. In the audience that evening was Jamie Raab, publisher of Warner Books. The rest, as everyone says, felt like stars moving into place.
When You Believe w
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 4, 2008
Very predictable story of divorced parents who have to learn to get along when their child gets sick.
February 27, 2009
I really enjoyed this this heartwarming story of a divorced couple whose son contracts meningitis, and, while he survives, is left handicapped. They divorced basically because neither was there for the other; now they have to learn to work together for the good of their son. Guess what happens in the end? There is also a subplot about the boy's physical therapist and a local professional soccer player.
The book is Christian fiction. Since the divorce, the father has become a Christian and we hear his prayers--short one or two liners, not page-long mini-sermons. He calls Bible verses to mind periodically, but they fit in the story. The mother attends a Bible study with the therapist and I guess church too. She tells the father that it was the first time she had attended church since they were married, and he could see that there was something different about her--but there was no tearful conversion story and her problems didn't all go away after that point. About the most overt preaching in the book was after the father suffered a loss he was praying and the book said "Michael thought about the times God had called him to let go. He'd probably have to be reminded of that lesson many more times. But he saw now, how if you let something go to God, sometimes it got returned to you a thousandfold".
This is a story about reaching beyond your comfort level, setting priorities and the conquering power of love, including but not limited to God's love. I highly recommend it.
The book is Christian fiction. Since the divorce, the father has become a Christian and we hear his prayers--short one or two liners, not page-long mini-sermons. He calls Bible verses to mind periodically, but they fit in the story. The mother attends a Bible study with the therapist and I guess church too. She tells the father that it was the first time she had attended church since they were married, and he could see that there was something different about her--but there was no tearful conversion story and her problems didn't all go away after that point. About the most overt preaching in the book was after the father suffered a loss he was praying and the book said "Michael thought about the times God had called him to let go. He'd probably have to be reminded of that lesson many more times. But he saw now, how if you let something go to God, sometimes it got returned to you a thousandfold".
This is a story about reaching beyond your comfort level, setting priorities and the conquering power of love, including but not limited to God's love. I highly recommend it.
April 4, 2012
What a a a greart story. Easy read as well.
A divorced couple with a lot of bitter feelings share custody of there son. When he is taken gravely ill and has some long lasting ill effects (as to not give the story away) this couple has to work together to help there son. It is a story of love, trust, and relying on God to help get you through.
Can't wait to get another Deboroah Bedford book.
A divorced couple with a lot of bitter feelings share custody of there son. When he is taken gravely ill and has some long lasting ill effects (as to not give the story away) this couple has to work together to help there son. It is a story of love, trust, and relying on God to help get you through.
Can't wait to get another Deboroah Bedford book.
June 2, 2016
There were times I wanted to smack both if the main characters, they were acting so selfish and stupid. God brought them to their senses.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 31, 2018
Was an ok book, wasn't crazy about it ping pinging between the real story and the Andy and Buddy stuff, felt it would have been better if it had been more Andy telling about it rather than 'as it was happening'
The good, I enjoyed seeing Jennie and Michael find each other again, so often a child getting sick and having so many issues from it causes a divorce rather than mends one after the divorce has already happened.
The good, I enjoyed seeing Jennie and Michael find each other again, so often a child getting sick and having so many issues from it causes a divorce rather than mends one after the divorce has already happened.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 12, 2017
4 Stars
Such a beautiful Christian romance book about second chances and forgiveness. I could feel the heartache the divorced parents went through with the bitterness between them and trying to cope with having a sick child.
Such a beautiful Christian romance book about second chances and forgiveness. I could feel the heartache the divorced parents went through with the bitterness between them and trying to cope with having a sick child.
June 5, 2023
Wow! A story with morals and faith-based and well-written. Winner! Winner! Life isn't perfect for the characters although in the beginning it appears to be so. And then, real life happens and the trueness of each develops. Looking forward to more from this author!
February 17, 2019
Good book however I thought it was predictable
March 19, 2017
This was a good story about a family in crisis.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews