Author Carol James visits today and shares a bit about her newest release and its connection to an earthquake.

“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,’’ says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

Isaiah 54:10

Mountains symbolize strength and constancy. But what happens in your life when the constants are destroyed?

Georgia’s known for peanuts, peaches, and humidity. Not earthquakes. Yet, the Atlanta area sits along the Brevard Fault Zone. I still remember being awakened in the predawn hours one morning by the shaking of my bed and the clanging of the handles on the armoire in our bedroom. After a few seconds, silence returned, and in the fog of sleep, I wondered if what I felt and heard was real or simply a dream.

The following morning, Atlanta news confirmed it. Overnight, we’d had an earthquake.

Our little rumble was nothing compared to the major earthquakes experienced in other areas of the world. No buildings fell. No mountains crumbled. But the minor shaking and confusion it caused were disconcerting.

Several years ago, our church suffered an emotional earthquake. A group had gone on an international mission trip (as numerous teams of volunteers did many times a year) to share the gospel. During that trip, one of the team members was killed in a tragic accident. This loss tore through our church, threatening to crumble our faith and peace. Our pastor reminded us, much more eloquently than I can, that serving the Lord can be dangerous on many levels. And while we’re not guaranteed safety, we are guaranteed God’s love and peace.

Isaiah 54:10 reminds us of that. No matter what tragedy befalls us, or what part of our world is shaken and crumbles to dust, God’s love and peace are constant and steadfast. Nothing—absolutely nothing—can overcome them. And not only that, but our Father, in His compassion, feels and shares our pain. He assures us that, during the times in our lives when tragedy befalls us and everything around us seems to be crumbling away, two things remain: God’s unfailing love and His covenant of peace.

In Choosing Christmas, both Angela Taylor and Adam Thornton have had their lives shaken to their cores. They struggle to overcome the physical and emotional scars of past tragedy and loss. Believing his choices are responsible for his father’s death, Adam battles both guilt and physical pain. Angela struggles with forgiving a mother who deserted her as a child. And the only way they know to do that is by choosing to draw strength from the gift of God’s unfailing love and peace in Christ Jesus.

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Heartbroken over the unfair loss of a position in the school where she teaches, Angela Taylor is determined to find an AP position.

Adam Thornton has struggled for years to overcome the physical and emotional effects of a devastating accident that occurred when he was a teenager. A successful real estate attorney and part-time handyman, Adam uses his gifts and talents to serve others.

When Angela is hired as an AP at the school where Adam’s mother is the principal, Angela and Adam find they share a past… an unexpected connection. And they must choose whether to surrender to the pain of that past or find hope for the future in the spirit of Christmas.

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