But fear lingers in every shadow, until Lydia meets the apostle Paul and hears his message of hope, becoming his first European convert. Determination and serendipitous acquaintances-along with her father’s precious dye-help herīecome one of the city’s preeminent merchants. With only her father’s secret formulas left, Lydia flees to Philippi and struggles to establish her business on her own. Then unbearable betrayal robs her of nearly everything. And along the way, she changes the world.īut before she was Lydia, the seller of purple, she was simply a merchant’s daughter who loved three things: her father, her ancestral home, and making dye. One woman rises up to take the reins of success in an incredible journey of courage, grit,Īnd friendship. The foundation of an influential trade in a Roman world dominated by men. God at work in his life-and even in his marriage? 368-pages.

Will the road filled with danger, conflict, and surprising memories, help Darius to see the hand of

Ordered to assist in the effort, the couple begins a journey to the homeland of his mother's people. Sarah has wealth, property, honor, and power, but her husband's love still seems unattainable.Īlthough his mother was an Israelite, Darius remains skeptical that his Jewish wife is the right choice for him, particularly when she conspires with her cousin Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. There is another point she did not count on in her marriage-Sarah has grown to love her husband. The scribe Sarah married Darius, and at times she feels as if she has married the Persian aristocracy, too. Darius may be able to learn to love his wife, but can he ever learn to trust Sarah and her Lord? 374-pages.Ĭhristy Award for Best Historical RomanceĪn arranged marriage. Sarah and Darius' story continues in Harvest of Gold. Sarah soon learns that she has something of worth to offer beyond her ability with languages and sums her very being proves to be a blessing to others, particularly the aristocrat Darius, whom she is given to in marriage.

Ironically, it isn't failure-but success-that causes Sarah to lose her only source of external validation.

In her early childhood years, Sarah experienced the death of her mother and her father's subsequent emotional distance, and she came to two conclusions: God does not care about me, and my accomplishments are the measure of my worth.Ĭatapulted into the center of the Persian court, Sarah is working too many hours, rubbing elbows with royalty, and solving intrigues for the Queen. There is only one problem: she's a woman in a man's court. The prophet Nehemiah's cousin can speak numerous languages, keep complex accounts, write on rolls of parchment and tablets of clay, and solve great mysteries.

Bread of Angels by Tessa Afshar