Though life seems to be moving others ahead, Josh appears to have come to a dead standstill. What does the future hold?
Life was full of choices. The only problem was figuring out what to do! "What do you plan to do-after graduation? Are you gonna be a minister-or what?" Or what, my mind echoed in frustration. What?
I had been asking myself the same question over and over. And I still didn't have an answer. Graduation was only a month away, and it seemed that I was the only one in our small town school who didn't know what to do with life after the big day. It wasn't that I hadn't given it a thought. In fact, I thought about it most of the time. I prayed about it too. But I still didn't have an answer except to say honestly, "No-I don't know yet." And I'd been saying that for a long, long time.
"Gavin's reading lends a quaint yet realistic voice to Josh's dilemma." -Booklist
Internationally best-selling inspirational author Janette Oke is beloved for her novels of faith. Winter Is Not Forever is the continuation of the touching Seasons of the Heart saga begun in Once Upon a Summer and continued in The Winds of Autumn. Featuring a folksy narration by Johnny Heller, this tale of a young man ready to graduate from high school and begin his adult life is touching and poignant.
Beth Thatcher returns home from her first year as a schoolteacher in the mining town of Coal Valley and steps into a whole different world. Her life back among her wealthy Eastern family is a stark contrast to her primitive life in the West, and Beth isn't sure where she belongs anymore.
She barely has time to settle in before her mother announces plans for a family holiday—a luxurious steamship tour along the eastern coast of Canada and the U.S. Wishing to reconnect with her mother and sister, Beth agrees to go but quickly finds herself at odds with her mother's expectations. After enjoying complete freedom in the western wilds, Beth isn't sure what to make of her mother's ongoing efforts to direct her life—and her heart.
Beth keeps in touch with her Mountie beau, Jarrick, even as young men more of her station catch her eye. Is she ready to fully give her heart to Jarrick, knowing it will mean saying good-bye to her family and her life of privilege once again? And when Beth trusts the wrong person, will Jarrick be able to help her despite the distance between them?
After years of schooling, Beth Thatcher has graduated and is determined to become a teacher. But when she's assigned the position no one else wants--in the tiny mining town of Coal Valley, located in the rugged foothills of western Canada--she worries she doesn't have the courage to accept.
Inspired by the diary of her aunt Elizabeth, who went west to teach school several years earlier, as well as her father's encouragement, Beth eventually decides to put her trust in God and leave behind all she's ever known.
But the conditions in Coal Valley are even worse than she'd feared. A recent mining accident has left the town grieving and at the mercy of the mining company. The children have very little prior education, and many of the locals don't even speak English. In addition, Beth's heart is torn between two young men--both Mounties, one a lifelong friend and the other a kind, quiet man who comes to her aid more than once.
Despite the unexpected challenges, Beth is determined to make a difference in the rustic frontier town. But when her sister visits from the East, reminding her of all the luxuries she's had to give up, will Beth decide to return to her privileged life as soon as the school year is over?
Christine and her older brother, Henry, grew up in the Delaney family as loved and nurtured as if they had been born to Elizabeth and Wynn. Now adults, they are ready to make new lives for themselves. Henry has found love and is planning a wedding. Christine is delighted for her brother, but she is still carrying scars from a broken relationship. And the war in Europe causes uncertainties at every turn, while the Northland still calls to her heart. Amid this instability, more than one handsome young man shows interest in Christine, and she must make a decision. Is she willing to give up her dreams of a life in the North for a love to last a lifetime?
Leaving behind their dear friends in Beaver Creek, Elizabeth and Wynn take over an even more primitive RCMP outpost in the Canadian Northwest. Elizabeth finds herself totally isolated when the local Indian women are afraid to even communicate with her. The Delaneys thought they had already faced the most crushing disappointment of their lives when they saw little Sammy disappear from view in the arms of his father, but will they be able to survive the challenges ahead too?
Elizabeth, the cultured young schoolteacher from out east, has braved the western frontier and spent a year teaching in a one-room schoolhouse. Now, she and Wynn are planning their wedding and their new life together at his outpost in the far north. While Wynn is accustomed to life there, Elizabeth is not. Can their love for each other sustain them through a harsh winter, loneliness, and the rigors of life without any of the conveniences they're used to?
Elizabeth Thatcher is young, pretty, cultured, and educated. But when she journeys west to teach school in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies, she's completely unprepared for the conditions she encounters. Still, she's determined to succeed at the formidable task of fitting in with the locals and shaping the hearts and minds of the schoolchildren in her care. She's also just as determined not to give her heart to any of the local frontiersmen. But then she meets Wynn Delaney, a member the Royal Canadian Mounted Police...
Having survived the harshness of their first year in the far Northwest, Elizabeth and Wynn, her Royal Canadian Mountie, now face new challenges. Just when they've made new friends and started a new school, they are presented with a new posting. It seems Elizabeth's dreams for a family and home of her own are not to be. Will their love for each other, their hope for the future, and their faith in God carry them through crushing disappointments?
As a young girl, Lillian Walsh lost both her parents and a younger sister. Now in her twenties, after enduring the death of her adoptive mother, Lillian must find her place in the world. Just as her adoptive father is leaving for an extended trip to his native Wales, a lawyer appears at the door to inform Lillian that she has inherited a small estate from her birth parents-and that the sister she had long believed dead is likely alive. When she discovers that her sister Grace is living in a city not far away, Lillian rushes to a reunion, fearful that the years of separation will make it hard to reconnect. When the two sisters meet, Grace is not at all what Lillian expected to find. Even though her circumstances have been difficult, Grace has big dreams. Can Lillian set aside her own plans to join her sister in an adventure that will surely change them both?
Lillian Walsh and Grace Bennett have learned so much already about caring for children in distress. It hasn't been easy, but it becomes even more difficult when they suddenly discover that three children have run away. Concerned for the trio's safety, the sisters will do all they can to find the children.
But the runaways are not the only thing putting the future of the children's home in question. Lillian is faced with choosing between her dreams with fiancé Walter and her commitment to her sister. Steady Ben Waldin is keen to find where his family settled in Canada and to give little Janie a place to permanently call home. And the sisters receive a pair of surprise visitors that leave them and their family uncertain.
As each of the people invested in the children's home seek to determine their paths forward, they begin to realize that sometimes loving well means making difficult choices.
Janette Oke's inspirational novels have touched millions of readers with their stories of spiritual conflicts and special moments. As her characters struggle with relationships and beliefs, responsibilities and doubts, Oke brings her readers into a world where divine love plays a crucial role. When her husband dies, leaving Sarah Perry and her infant daughter destitute and alone in the rough frontier town, the determined widow takes over his freight-hauling business. As her baby grows into a young girl, Sarah sends her to the safety and refinement of a boarding school. But when they are reunited, Sarah realizes that they now live in two different, incompatible worlds. Too Long a Stranger follows this courageous widow as she tries to regain a loving relationship with her estranged daughter. Is there anything, or anyone, who can restore their bond?
