The Other Side of Dare


Book Description

When a battle of wills threatens to tear a family apart, a child shall lead them--straight to a shocking secret. Will they betray their faith--and each other--to keep it buried? After seven years of marriage, Paris Simmons-Holyfield and her husband, Andrew, are still childless. Now Paris is determined to adopt orphaned nine-year-old Jasmine Noble. Trouble is, Jasmine's in the custody of ex-stripper Gabrielle Mercedes. Worse, Andrew is vehemently against the idea--and he's not alone. Paris's father, Lawrence Simmons, a powerful politician, has vowed to shut his daughter down. The only man to even dare be on Paris's side is shady Darius Connors. Unemployed and not quite out of the dog house with his wife, Darius is more than happy to help the beautiful, vulnerable, yet undeterred Paris. . . Paris has her suspicions about why her husband and her father are so opposed to the adoption. But the reality is far more scandalous than she imagines. To get to the bottom of it, she'll have to deal with blackmail from the last person she ever expected--and battle Gabrielle, who'll fight with everything she's got--including the truth. Soon, all involved will learn just what's on the other side of dare. . . "I absolutely love Vanessa's unique writing style." --Mary Monroe




The Other Side of Goodness


Book Description

How far will faith and love go when an ambitious man finds himself in the fight of his life--with a woman who knows the other side of goodness all too well. . . Fifty-year-old Alabama congressman Lawrence Rudolph Simmons will do whatever it takes to get re-elected--even switch parties from Democrat to Republican. With the political tide turning, Lawrence feels it's his best shot--along with his charisma, solid twenty-nine year marriage, and three great kids. But a buried secret from his past is about to be resurrected.. . . It's been eight years since Gabrielle Mercedes gave up her baby for adoption. But when she learns the child desperately needs a bone marrow transplant, she doesn't hesitate to contact the congressman. Like Lawrence, Gabrielle will fight for what she wants, even if it means the truth could ruin someone else's life and career. . .. "There are enough tears, hugs, and lessons learned before summer's over to appease readers, young and adult, who like a good dose of faith with their fiction." --Publishers Weekly on Ray of Hope "Griggs address[es] the challenges of living by Biblical rules with homespun humor. Fans will be pleased." --Publishers Weekly on The Truth Is the Light "A smart novel that addresses an issue that many in the church shy away from--divorce--with frank realism."--Library Journal on Practicing What You Preach "I absolutely love Vanessa's unique writing style. She is one of a kind." --Mary Monroe, New York Times bestselling author




The Other Side of Good


Book Description

When reputed criminal Theo Jackson proposes a donation to the city for a new youth center, the mayor sends Theo's childhood friend, police officer Denton Jones, to negotiate the terms. Denton's efforts inexplicably make him a target for a corrupt city official, but a dishonest bureaucrat is the least of the city's problems. Theo uncovers evidence of an international criminal organization facilitating human trafficking in the city. Repulsed by the crime, Theo enlists an unlikely coalition of clergy, law enforcement, and criminals to try to stop it. Follow the characters to the uncomfortable gray areas of life where the wrong thing sometimes seems a better choice than the right thing; where a little bad turns into almost good; and where dark white and light black become the same color.




Blessed Trinity


Book Description

Part Terry MacMillan, part Jan Karon, Blessed Trinity is the first book in an exciting trilogy from bestselling author Vanessa Davis Griggs. Faith Alexandria Morrell, the oldest of a mysterious trio of sisters, lives a troubled life and guards a horrifying secret. Yet few, least of all her new church family, would believe this always impeccably dressed woman is so utterly lost. But what lies beneath the surface of Faith's carefully constructed veneer could completely destroy her. Needing help, Faith and her sisters, Hope and Charity, join Followers of Jesus Faith Worship Center. This new mega church, led by the dreadlock-wearing, Holy Ghost-filled Pastor George Landris, just may offer the solace she needs. But Faith soon discovers that all is not well in her new church home. Vanessa Davis Griggs offers an incisive and affecting look at the inner-workings of mega churches and the transformative power of faith ...




The Other Side of Divine


Book Description

Paris Simmons-Holyfield is finally pregnant with the baby she's dreamed of for so long. There's just one complication: she's not sure who the father is. After a night of drinking with her ex-coworker Darius Connors, it could be him. Considering her husband's track record, chances are it is. Still, Paris keeps quiet and prays it's not, because Darius isn't ready to give up on his crumbling marriage.




The Truth Is The Light


Book Description

I absolutely love Vanessa's unique writing style. She is one of a kind. --Mary Monroe, New York Times bestselling author "Full of crazy church politics and a huge cast, Griggs keeps this on-going story alive by addressing the challenges of living by Biblical rules with homespun humor." --Publishers Weekly As the son of a well-known minister, Clarence Walker knows his decision to leave his father's flock and join Pastor George Landris's mega-church ministry is controversial. But little does he suspect it will ignite a firestorm of revelations that will shake the heart of the congregation--and his very own family. . . From a long-buried secret that will bring the paternity of not one, but two women, to light, to a parishioner whose long awaited love match may be thwarted by an unexpected source, hidden truths are coming to the surface. But most shocking is that Clarence's own father, Reverend Marshall Walker, may not be the pious figure he claims to be. And since evidence of his transgressions lies in the hands of his arch nemesis, it's only a matter of time before Reverend Walker's life--and his church--falls like a house of cards. Praise For Vanessa Davis Griggs "A beautiful, hip, and spiritual retelling of one of the most memorable and redemptive stories in the Bible." --Freshfiction.com on Redeeming Waters "A smart novel that addresses an issue that many in the church shy away from--divorce--with frank realism." --Library Journal on Practicing What You Preach




Goodness and Mercy


Book Description

"As Pastor George Landris welcomes a new member to the Followers of Jesus Faith Worship Center, jealousy begins to shake up the congregation ... Gabrielle Mercedes has dreamed of being a dancer since she was a little girl. But when her life takes a very different turn, it's not the future she'd envisioned for herself. Feeling a void she can't fill, she finds the salvation she's been seeking in church and decides to start anew. Learning that her church has a dance ministry, she's thrilled to have her first love back in her life. Then she meets the handsome and professionally accomplished Zachary Wayne Morgan, and finally everything seems to be falling into place-- until a past secret threatens to tear it all apart, and her new found faith is put to the ultimate test ..."--Page 4 of cover




The Other Side of the Good News


Book Description

In a time of Christian confusion and evangelical erosion, Jesus' teaching about the destiny of the wicked needs to be emphasized. Is there a biblical doctrine of hell or are Christians free to hold a variety of viewpoints on this issue? In this book Larry Dixon examines many of the current theories on hell and encourages the reader to take the Bible's teaching on Hell as seriously as Jesus Christ did in order to tell people the Good News that we know so that they won't spend eternity on The Other Side of the Good News. Dixon looks at three alternative views to the traditional doctrine of hell, universalism, annihilationism and post-mortem conversion. In the last chapter he asks "Does it make any difference what view Christians hold about the Other Side?" and "Can there be alternative positions within the church?"




The Other Side of Chaos


Book Description

It's Time to Say "Yes" to the Mess We've all heard the old adage "The only constant is change," but how do we actually respond to the changes that come at us from all sides? From satisfying work to sudden unemployment. From a happy marriage to a hurtful divorce. From caring for the kids to caring for an aging parent. These are just a few of the countless ways that life hurls us into the chaos of change, where our certainties are shaken and our faith may even begin to falter. But what if we saw the chaos—the “mess”—of our lives not as something to fear or eschew, but as something to be embraced? In The Other Side of Chaos, best-selling author Margaret Silf looks closely at the subject of chaos—and the intrinsic transition it brings—through the lens of Christian spirituality. Through Scripture stories and verses, personal accounts, and other anecdotes, Silf helps us develop an authentic “spirituality of transition” that leads us to live out life’s changes constructively, creatively, and confidently. Ultimately, The Other Side of Chaos gives us the courage to trust God when life is breaking down and to see our messes not as something to be rescued from, but as something that will help us break through to a place where God makes all things new. First Place Inspiration Category, 2012 Excellence in Publishing Awards




The Other Side of the Bridge


Book Description

From the author of the beloved #1 national bestseller Crow Lake comes an exceptional new novel of jealously, rivalry and the dangerous power of obsession. Two brothers, Arthur and Jake Dunn, are the sons of a farmer in the mid-1930s, when life is tough and another world war is looming. Arthur is reticent, solid, dutiful and set to inherit the farm and his father’s character; Jake is younger, attractive, mercurial and dangerous to know – the family misfit. When a beautiful young woman comes into the community, the fragile balance of sibling rivalry tips over the edge. Then there is Ian, the family’s next generation, and far too sure he knows the difference between right and wrong. By now it is the fifties, and the world has changed—a little, but not enough. These two generations in the small town of Struan, Ontario, are tragically interlocked, linked by fate and community but separated by a war which devours its young men—its unimaginable horror reaching right into the heart of this remote corner of an empire. With her astonishing ability to turn the ratchet of tension slowly and delicately, Lawson builds their story to a shocking climax. Taut with apprehension, surprising us with moments of tenderness and humour, The Other Side of the Bridge is a compelling, humane and vividly evoked novel with an irresistible emotional undertow.