Showing results by narrator "Renee Ertl" in All Categories

Allison Allen made a career of being someone else. Formerly a professional actor, and now a highly sought-after Bible teacher, she knows a thing or two about playing a role. But, she says, all of us play roles nearly all of the time, and it's exhausting. We walk into a room, figure out who we're supposed to be in this context, slip into character, and say the lines we know we should say. We become someone else. Maybe we tell ourselves it's some version of us, but deep down we know this inauthentic role is not what God wants for our lives - and it's not what we want either.

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.

Dr. Tori Taylor rules the operating room with a cold precision that makes nurses cower and her colleagues take notes. But even with her success as a respected surgeon, Tori finds herself alone in her moment of desperation - dying on her own operating table. Tori needs a heart transplant, but what she receives is far more than just a donor organ. Lying loveless and friendless in the recovery room, Tori experiences flashes of terrifying events she never witnessed.

Some dreams were meant to come true. Jessamine Brady has been in the Shaker Village for half her young life, but in spite of how she loves her sisters there, she struggles to conform to the strict rules. Instead she entertains dreams of the world outside. When Tristan Cooper seems to step out of those dreams to entice her into the forbidden realm beyond the Shaker Village, her life turns upside down. Will Jessamine be able to survive the storms of the world? Or will she retreat back to the peace of Harmony Hill?

It is 1844 and Lacey Bishop's life is a tangled mess. Estranged from her own family, at age 16 she went to work for a preacher and his wife. When his wife died, the preacher convinced Lacey that the only decent thing to do was to marry him. That way she could continue to act as mother to the little girl who was left on his doorstop. But Lacey never expected he would decide to take them all off to a Shaker village. In the Shaker village, Lacey’s still married but living in a community that believes marriage is a sin.

Astrid Bjorklund wants to use her medical training to serve God and feels that He might be leading her in the direction of missionary work. Smarting from a misunderstanding with Joshua Landsverk, the young man she thought she loved, she heads east to a missionary training school, hoping to eventually use her skills in some remote outpost in Africa. When she is called home unexpectedly to help in a family medical emergency, Astrid learns of a deadly measles outbreak on the nearby Indian reservation.

Nones claim no religion. Dones have become disillusioned and left the church. Research shows many young adults are landing in one of these camps. But that's not the end of the story. Many emerging adults, ages 18 to 33, are tossing aside the none and done labels and are instead embracing a transformative Christian faith. Based on her extensive research, scholar-practitioner Beth Seversen outlines a model for how to engage and retain millennials and Generation Z in the life of the local church.

Anxiety Interrupted grapples with the anxiety that creeps into our lives and helps us look to the promises of God and to the hope that He holds us securely. As Christians, we can struggle with our questions and experience His sovereignty when we invite His peace into our moments. God can handle our doubts. He can handle our anxieties. He can handle our fears. He can handle our hard questions. These things do not make us less than as Christians. God is the only steady hand that can handle our questions, doubts, and fears.

Sadie always believed in God’s promises. But can she really trust his heart? Young Amish widow, Sadie Fisher, leads a simple life in the quiet countryside of Lancaster County selling Amish goods to a steady stream of tourists. Though it is a good life, lately she’s wondered if it is God’s...

Carley has given up chasing her dreams. Now her dreams are chasing her. Carley Marek experiences culture shock when she visits her friend Lillian’s family on their farm deep in Amish country. She’ll get an article out of the visit—and maybe some of Lillian’s newfound peace will somehow...

Lillian Miller hopes the Plain life will offer her the peace of mind her heart desperately seeks. Lillian’s first twenty-seven years have been challenging at best. Her decision to get reacquainted with her Amish grandparents in Lancaster County, PA, is an attempt at finding peace in a...

Anna loves the grandfather who raised her, but his strict adherence to the Ordnung is scaring away any boy who might be interested in her—except newcomer Jacob. Under normal circumstances Anna Byler would have her choice of any of the young men in her Amish community. But because of the strict...

The man she loves wants to leave the Amish faith. But can she really leave her life behind? "Whatever he chooses, I'm going with him." Miriam Raber enjoys life in her Old Order Amish community, and she is hopeful that Saul Fisher will propose to her soon. But when Saul starts talking about...