Christmas is a time when stockings are hung, trees are decorated, and presents are given. But what was it like before Christmas began? Why do we celebrate Christmas, anyway? In this lovely picture book by Katie Cruice Smith, journey back to a simpler time when the world didn’t know what Christmas was. Before Christmas began, the world didn’t know that we were about to receive the most wonderful, spectacular Gift ever to be given. Take a break from the hustle and bustle of the holiday season and take in the beauty of the first Christmas gift-the greatest Gift of all.
Purchase your copy here!
Imagine how insecure an adopted or fostered child must feel at times, unsure why they were unwanted by their biological parents and wondering if there is ever the chance that their forever family will reject them as well. Every child needs to hear from their parents that they are loved and wanted, especially children from broken homes. In her debut book, Why Did You Choose Me? (Ambassador International; November 12, 2017, $17.99), Katie Cruice Smith strives to answer that question in a way that young children can understand.
Drawing from her own experience as an adoptive mom to three children, Katie uses the questions her own children have asked her and her husband in order to draw them to the response that there never really was a choice—she knew right away that they were hers.
After searching for adoption storybooks to read to her children, Katie realized that there
weren’t a lot of simple picture books targeted at that age group. She decided that there was a need for more adoption books that parents could read at bedtime to connect with their adopted/fostered children.
Why Did You Choose Me? is beautifully illustrated by artist Sarah Strickling Jones. Katie Cruice Smith is currently working on a devotional book to accompany Why Did You Choose Me?
Why Did You Choose Me? is available for purchase at:
You Are Not Alone
From the moment you cradled your first baby doll, you imagined yourself a mom. Now here you are, a member of the club no one wants to join—the ten percent of women who struggle to fulfill their motherhood dreams because of infertility.
Meghann Bowman knows what it’s like to be part of that club. Along with best-selling author Crystal Bowman, Meghann has compiled 30 hope-filled stories of women who received the same diagnosis and experienced the heartache she did. Contributors include Valorie Burton, Katie Norris, Shay Shull, Stephanie Tait, Kathe Wunnenberg, and more—women whose journeys through everything from infertility and miscarriage to adoption and miracle births will buoy your faith.
Your story may not look the same, or have the same ending, but you don’t have to suffer alone. You are surrounded by a club of Mothers in Waiting—women willing to come alongside you to offer comfort and peace as you wait.
Jon Sturtsman had it all—a successful career, a wife and two children, a beautiful house, and fancy cars. But Jon would sit in a roomful of his closest friends and feel all alone and empty. Working as a nurse anesthetist, Jon noticed one patient who seemed especially euphoric after receiving a dose of Fentanyl before surgery. Wanting to feel the same way, Jon snuck off to the bathroom and took his first shot, which spiraled him down the path of addiction, imprisonment, and loss of everything he held dear. But losing it all proved to be just what Jon needed to gain his soul.
Along the way, Jon began writing down quotes and verses that would come to his mind and began passing them out to encourage others. What started out as just a way to keep himself busy led to over six hundred sayings throughout the years that he hopes will uplift and encourage others. No matter how you are struggling or where you are in life, find encouragement through this modern-day prodigal and discover hope for your own soul along the way.
Available for purchase on Amazon.
katiecruicesmith.com 