Showing results by author "Lynn Austin" in All Categories

Raised on a South Carolina plantation as the house pet of her white master's daughter, Kitty never made a decision for herself. Now, as a young adult, she must preserve her faith while making the biggest decision ever: stay with her master and go south to avoid the Yankees or run away tonight to the North with Grady, the field slave she has come to love.

Wilhelmina Brewster has been a college music professor for 41 years, devoting her life to her career and never marrying. Widower Mike Dolan is a pilot and World War II veteran who has always lived life to the fullest. When medical tests confirm that his cancer has returned, he makes plans to take a final flight in his airplane rather than become a burden to his family. Wilhelmina accidentally learns of Mike’s final plans, and when she discovers that he isn’t a believer, she knows it’s her Christian duty to talk with him about her faith. But she feels totally inadequate for the task.

Best friends Audrey Barrett and Eve Dawson are looking forward to celebrating Christmas in postwar America, thrilled at the prospect of starting new traditions with their five-year-old sons. But when the 1951 Sears Christmas Wish Book arrives and the boys start obsessing over every toy in it, Audrey and Eve realize they must first teach them the true significance of the holiday. They begin by helping Bobby and Harry plan gifts of encouragement and service for those in their community, starting by walking an elderly neighbor’s yellow Lab.

While 20-year-old Harriet is behind bars, she reviews the history of her great-grandmother’s fight against slavery, her grandmother’s crusade against “demon rum,” and her mother’s struggle for women’s suffrage. Now she longs for the courage to leave her own legacy.

God has blessed Hezekiah; his kingdom is flourishing. The people are prospering and the city of Jerusalem is safe from invaders. But the king worries that his beloved wife may be barren. After all his hard work in preserving the faith and protecting the faithful, the thought that one of his pagan-worshiping nephews will become ruler is upsetting. But he suffers greater anguish when he stumbles upon the secrets of his queen.

In one life-changing moment, the lives of the Jewish exiles in Babylon are thrown into confusion and despair when a decree arrives from the king's palace in Susa. It calls for the annihilation of every Jewish man, woman, and child throughout the empire on the 13th day of Adar, in less than one year. Ezra, a quiet Jewish scholar and teacher, is suddenly called upon to lead the community as they seek God for a reason for this catastrophe.

The year is 1901, and the hustle and bustle of the holidays is descending on New York's Fifth Avenue. For the first time in her privileged life, Adelaide Forsythe couldn’t be happier about the prospect of a quiet Christmas. That’s not to say her transition from Missto Mrs. has been without challenge. Though she doesn’t regret marrying for love instead of wealth, she feels woefully unprepared to run her own household. Then, on the first Sunday of Advent, winter winds bring surprising change, first through a young orphan boy and then a seasoned housekeeper who seems too good to be true.

While leading the exiled faithful into Egypt, Joshua's thirst for vengeance against the tyrannical King Manasseh threatens to consume his soul. Ultimately he must learn to forgive, placing his complete trust in God's will.

The king's sudden death leaves his son Manasseh as the new ruler. Overcome with sorrow, Manasseh is angry toward God and begins a reign of terror that shocks the kingdom. His own insecurity prompts the death of his closest advisors, dividing the faithful in two. Barely escaping the carnage, his best friend Joshua suffers the excruciating loss of his family and plans revenge.

When news that the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates have been burned with fire, Nehemiah, Jewish cupbearer to King Artaxerxes in Persia, seeks God's guidance. After fasting and prayer, he's given leave to travel to Jerusalem and rebuild the city wall, not anticipating all the dangers that await him on his arrival. The leaders of the surrounding nations become his fierce enemies, plotting to assassinate him and halt the work.

Sisters Rebecca and Flora Hawes are not typical Victorian ladies. Their love of adventure and their desire to use their God-given talents has brought them to the Sinai Desert, on a quest to find an important biblical manuscript. As the journey becomes more dangerous and uncertain, they sift through memories of their past, recalling the events that shaped them and the circumstances that brought them to this time and place.

The opportunity to tour Israel came at a good time. For months, my life has been a mindless plodding through necessary routine, as monotonous as an all-night shift on an assembly line. Life gets that way sometimes, when nothing specific is wrong but the world around us seems drained of color. My weekly worship experiences and daily quiet times with God have felt as dry and stale as last year's crackers. I'm ashamed to confess the malaise I've felt. I have been given so much. Shouldn't a Christian's life be an abundant one, as exciting as Christmas morning, as joyful as Easter Sunday?

"Thank goodness you're such a plain child. You'll have to rely on your wits." So went the words of Grandma Bebe. And for all of my growing-up years, I scoffed at the beauty of my sister and what I saw as her meaningless existence. But my wits hadn't served me well in this instance, for here I was, in jail. And while I could have seen it as carrying on the family tradition (Grandma Bebe landed in jail for her support of Prohibition), the truth is, my reasons for being here would probably break her heart."

Collective Tales Publishing presents 101 new dreadful lessons. Each trimmed down to exactly 101 appalling words for your repulsive reeducation. Depicting a wide range of subjects, we visit the classics, such as vampires, mummies, and werewolves, but we also venture into the darkness and shockingly horrific. Like an absurd Aesop’s Fable, you’ll study the failings of students who were unwilling to learn. You’ll see victims get their payback. You’ll experience tangles and knots on a whirlwind of misbehavior. We guarantee lessons will be learned, whether you want them to or not.

Die zurückgezogen lebende Musikprofessorin Wilhelmina Brewster ist ihr ganzes Leben auf Nummer sicher gegangen. Risiko, Abenteuer und Spontaneität sind Fremdwörter für sie. Doch dann lernt sie den lebenshungrigen und unternehmungslustigen Piloten Mike Dolan kennen. Eigentlich will sie ihm nur einen frommen Flyer zustecken, um sich dann wieder in ihr geordnetes Leben zurückzuziehen. Aber es kommt ganz anders: Plötzlich findet Wilhelmina sich in einem Heißluftballon-Wettbewerb wieder, sie geht mit Mike angeln und lässt sich auf allerlei andere verrückte Ideen von ihm ein.

A guest panel of Hallmark movie enthusiasts compete and collaborate with one another to create (“draft”) ultimate Top 10 lists of Hallmark movies on various movie themes or featuring a specific actor/actress. If you love (or hate) Hallmark movies, join producer/host Lynn Austin, co-host Erinbeth Cermak and their opinionated guests each month for these lively sessions of rating, ranking, list making, and (often hilarious) debate. Special guests such as Hallmark Channel actors/actresses, writers, directors, and/or Hallmark movies-focused podcasters occasionally join the show.