A time to embrace : a story of hope, healing, and abundant life

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Title:

A time to embrace : a story of hope, healing, and abundant life

Alternate title:

Title appears on item as: Women of Faith Fiction Club presents A time to embrace

Author:

Kingsbury, Karen, author.

Women of Faith (Organization)

Series:

Timeless love ;

Series Number:

Summary:

Like newlyweds, the reunited John and Abby Reynolds laugh, love, and dream of a long future together. But in an instant, a car accident renders John paralyzed, forever changing the Reynolds and their entire community. The driver of the car fully responsible for the accident is Jake Daniels, the high school football star who knows John Reynolds as Coach, mentor, and friend. In the wake of this near death accident, can tragedy be overcome by the possibility of a transforming miracle?

Physical Description:

iv, 315 p. ; 22 cm.

Genre:

Christian fiction.

Subject Term:

Coaches (Athletics) -- Fiction.

School sports -- Fiction.

Sports stories.

Added Corporate Author:

Women of Faith (Organization)

Publisher:

W Pub. Group,

Electronic Access:

Publisher description

Publication Date:

2002

ISBN:

9780849943478

Publication Information:

Nashville, Tenn. : W Pub. Group, c2002.

Call Number:

KINGSBU

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607002561226	Adult Fiction	KINGSBU	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Their whole life was a series of miracles. Can they really hope for one more? And as tragedy pulls their lives apart, can they somehow find that all-important time to embrace?

After twenty-one years, John and Abby Reynolds are back together and feeling like newlyweds. Together they are convinced they can handle the issues of their past, the questions from their children, and even the high-school politics that drain the joy from John's coaching career. But then disaster strikes...the type of tragedy John and Abby never expected.

The squeal of brakes and the crunch of metal changes everything. Suddenly devastation tears at the heart of their family, and the depth of their existence. In the process, their children falter in their faith and guilt colors everything about the future. Fumbling for forgiveness and hoping for a miracle, John and Abby must remember what is important and cling to that above all else.

Together, they're determined to move on with their lives. but is "together" enough for a future they never expected?

Author Notes

Karen Kingsbury was born in Fairfax, Virginia on June 8, 1963. She received a B.A. in journalism from California State University, Northridge in 1986. After graduation, she became a full-time reporter for the Los Angeles Times. Her first book, Missy's Murder, was published in 1992. She wrote three more true crime novels and four collections of answered prayers and miracle stories before transitioning to inspirational fiction in 1998. Her first inspirational fiction novel was Where Yesterday Lives. Popular series she has penned include the Redemption, Firstborn, Sunrise, and Angels Walking series, and she has also written the nonfiction Miracle Books collection, gift books, and children's books.

She has won several Retailer's Choice Awards, plus 2005 and 2007 Gold Medallions for Oceans Apart and Ever After, respectively. Her other books include Longing, Coming Home - The Baxter Family: A Story of Undying Hope, Fiteen Minutes, The Family of Jesus, The Friends of Jesus, In This Moment, and To The Moon and Back.

(Bowker Author Biography)

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

In this sequel to A Time to Dance, beloved evangelical Christian novelist Kingsbury brings readers up to date on the trials and tribulations of Abby and John Reynolds, who, after 20-plus years of marriage, are enjoying something of a second honeymoon. Then John's career comes under attack when anonymous letters smearing his reputation are sent to the high school where he coaches. Worse still, he is in a car accident (a well-worn device of evangelical fiction), which he survives but which paralyzes him from the waist down. Abby and John's new challenges sit at the center of this novel, but there are several engaging subplots keeping the narrative moving at a fast clip: their newly married daughter learns she's pregnant, even though she had planned to wait four years before starting a family; a divorced couple is thrown back together and must work out their anger and mistrust; and Jake Daniels, the student whose car hit Coach Reynolds, must try to forgive himself for injuring his mentor. Religiously inclined readers will appreciate Kingsbury's deft and sophisticated treatment of prayer, as characters struggle to understand how and when God answers prayers. Less satisfying is Kingsbury's unsubtle insertion of hot-button evangelical social issues: a son delving into Internet porn, a mother-in-law repenting for a long-past abortion. There's even a passing potshot at sexual education in schools. Still, Kingsbury's hallmarks are in evidence: readers can expect lively dialogue, likable characters and a passionate witness to the commitments and obligations of marriage. (Oct. 28) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Library Journal Review

In this sequel to A Time To Dance, high school football coach John Reynolds and his wife, Abby, are behaving like newlyweds after their reconciliation following a near-divorce. Their happiness is tempered, however, by John's problems at work. In particular, three boys trouble JohnDNathan Pike (the "Goth"), who scribbles "death to jocks" in his notebook, and Jake Daniels and Casey Parker, the two football players who make Nathan's life miserable. When Jake and Casey challenge each other to a drag race, they cause an accident in which John is paralyzed from the waist down. As they try to come to terms with this tragedy, the struggles of each character, especially those of John's daughter, who previously held an unshakeable belief in God, are depicted in a believable and sympathetic manner. High school life and the real-world problems faced by the students, such as a brush with cyberporn, are also realistically rendered. Recommended for most collections. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.