Unexpected Gift

Meet the Becker Street Pack: Pete, Paul, Chad, and Razor, four friends united for life. Seeking a little fun on the night they graduate from high school, the boys find themselves hired by the most powerful mobster in town, a dangerous man known as the Shiv. What starts out as a glamorous, lucrative lifestyle begins to fray the Pack’s friendship over the years. As Pete tries to keep his head down as the gang’s “accountant,” Razor is tasked with meting out justice when people are short of what they owe... even when it’s old friends like Paul and Chad who begin to slip. Torn between loyalty to his friends and fear of the Shiv, Pete finds himself falling into debt just as he meets the love of his life and his father is diagnosed with cancer. In the midst of this whirlwind comes an unexpected gift that may show Pete his true path in life... if he can survive the Shiv’s brutal rule, that is. A tale of friendship, love, crime and cruelty, An Unexpected Gift explores how loyalty is tested when power and money is involved.

In this heartfelt and thoughtful book, Christopher Heuertz writes of the dangers of isolation, the challenges we face when we join together and the struggles and joys that emerge from genuine community bonding. “Ironically, as much as we yearn for deep friendships and meaningful communities, many of us seem to be unable to find our way into them. Even if we know we’re made for community, finding one and staying there seems almost impossible. Though we hate to admit it, if we stay long enough in any relationship or set of friendships, we will experience failure, doubt, burnout, loneliness, transitions, a loss of self, betrayal, frustration, a sense of entitlement, grief, and weariness. Yet it’s these painful community experiences, these tensions we struggle to navigate, that hold surprising gifts.” —FROM THE PREFACE IN A STRIKINGLY confessional tone and vividly illustrated through story, Unexpected Gifts names eleven inevitable challenges that all friendships, relationships, and communities experience if they stay together long enough. Rather than allowing these challenges to become excuses to leave, Chris Heuertz suggests that things like betrayal, transitions, failure, loss of identity, entitlement, and doubt may actually be invitations to stay. And if we stay, these challenges can become unexpected gifts. *** Betrayal, failure, loss of identity, doubt. If your relationships have suffered from any of these pitfalls, this book will show you that staying together can create something more—even something beautiful. IN THIS HEARTFELT and thoughtful book, Christopher Heuertz writes of the dangers of isolation, the challenges we face when we join together, and the struggles and joys that emerge from genuine community bonding. Whether readers are forming a new community, searching for deeper community, or participating in a longtime community, they will find inspiration, caution, guidance, and encouragement as they discover the beauty of pressing in to the ambiguities of growing relationships in this tender and honest testimony about how we are woven together by grace.

Cancer: The Unexpected Gift is a compilation of stories that profile individuals and families who have taken a frightening medical diagnosis and turned it into a positive gift. Medical oncologist Dr. J. Patrick Daugherty is familiar with many who are living well while living longer. Together with three-time cancer survivor Edie Hand, they share inspiring personal anecdotes from individuals who openly express the doubts, fears, perplexities, and positive reflections they experienced after their cancer diagnoses. Each story is introduced with a summary and concluded with relevant biblical passages that further illustrate lessons learned by patients and their families. Two-year-old Austin was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and after more than three years of chemotherapy, he remains in remission. His mother received the gift of living one day at a time. Ken survived metastatic colon cancer before developing prostate cancer which later spread to his bones. He searched for answers and found significance in his life, receiving the gift of service to others. Each of the people profiled in this collection have faced the enemy of cancer and its subsequent suff ering. Together, they share the extraordinary lessons they have learnednot in dying, but in living.

In this classic Christmas tale from USA TODAY bestselling author Delores Fossen, an Air Force Captain returns home…and discovers he’s now a daddy… After a yearlong deployment, Air Force Captain Gabe Brenner returns to Texas a hero. And brings with him a Christmas message to deliver to his best friend’s sister, Kelly Coburn. But seeing Kelly again brings back all the old feelings—and reminds him of the one-night stand they shared just before he left. Still, a camera crew is there to capture every moment of his momentous homecoming, so now isn’t the time to relive the past. That is, until he learns Kelly’s had her own delivery in his absence: beautiful baby Noel, Gabe’s daughter! Originally published in 2014

EMT Jenna Zimmerman is happily married to handsome Eli but she feels crushed after having two miscarriages, especially since her birth mother has gotten pregnant after having cancer. But living with Eli’s parents, specifically his mother, makes Jenna’s life stressful, which is most likely contributing to her inability to carry a baby to term. When Jenna gets called to a severe buggy accident, she helps to transport an Amish teenager, Isabella, and her fiancé, Justin, to the hospital. Isabella is a few weeks pregnant, and they’ve managed to keep the secret to themselves while waiting to get married in a couple of weeks. When Justin dies from his injuries, Isabella tells Jenna her strict parents will kick her out of the house once they inevitably discover her pregnancy. Isabella is part of the conservative Swartzentruber Amish community where strict laws abide. And there’s no way her parents will allow her to keep the baby. So she asks Jenna and Eli to adopt her child. But Isabella’s parents are furious when they learn of their daughter’s pregnancy and the potential adoption. They won’t allow their grandchild to be adopted by parents that belong to the Old Order Amish, a more liberal sect. They demand that Isabella’s child, even if it will not be in their home, be raised under the tenets of the Swartzentruber community. Jenna fears her dreams of having a child with her husband may be out of her reach once again. As much as she trusts God is faithful in all things, she doesn’t understand why she can’t have a child. And if she can’t adopt Isabella’s baby, and she can’t get pregnant on her own, she’ll never be a mother. Jenna strives to accept what might never be while still clinging to hope.

Drew Robbins Warren is a mother of two, whose husband has just left her for a younger woman. Leah Cline is a pregnant eighteen-year-old with no family, no friends, and no money. The only thing these women have in common is loneliness. Through their unlikely friendship, Drew and Leah learn to embrace life and everything that has been offered to them. But will either woman open her heart to love another man again?-Author Tour: Northern Georgia