What's New at Cross Reference Library - People pleasing, life struggles and motivating your kids

We all want other people to like us and think well of us. But when we depend on the praise, admiration, or appreciation of others for our sense of self-worth, we become trapped in an exhausting and debilitating cycle of people pleasing relationships where we always give and rarely receive. Thankfully, the solution to the people pleaser’s “problem” isn’t to fundamentally change who you are - it’s to fundamentally change where you find your worth. In The People Pleaser’s Guide to Loving Others Without Losing Yourself, Dr. Mike Bechtle shows you how to stop letting your fears of rejection, criticism, invisibility, or inadequacy drive your actions and start rebuilding your sense of self-worth from the inside out. When you do, you’ll discover that what you once thought of as a struggle is one of your greatest strengths.

In Afraid of the Light by Cynthia Ruchti, clinical psychologist Camille Brooks isn’t put off by the lifestyle of her hoarder clients and the distress of their families. She lost her mother to this crippling anxiety disorder - so she’ll go a long way to help others avoid the same pain. Despite Camille’s expertise, her growing audience for her Let In The Light podcast and the recognition she’s gaining for her creative coaching methods, she’s not prepared for the pushback. A client who looks uncannily like her mom catches her off guard and raises long-dormant issues. And the revelation that Camille has her own hoarding problem sends her spinning. With the help of a cadre of unexpected friends, an enigma of a man who refuses to be discouraged, and the God who created and loves her, can she face her fears, pull back the curtains, and let the light into her own life?

Do you ever feel the pressure to hide your struggles in order to look like a “good Christian”? The truth is, we all face battles and hurts in our lives. Scripture is full of God-fearing men and women who tried to cover up their problems. For Mary and Martha, the death of their brother Lazarus was the ultimate devastation. They put his body in a dark place and rolled a stone in front of it. But God knew where they buried their pain, and He knows where you bury yours too. In Half The Battle, Jon Chasteen explores Old and New Testament examples of people whom God invited to begin the healing process by confronting their secret pain. God wants to visit the place of your pain, redeem your past, and set you free - will you let Him?

You’ve lost someone you love. Or you’re on the brink of losing your marriage… your dreams… your health. Or perhaps the trauma of your past pursues you into the present. Your life is going to change. Which way it goes won’t be decided by your loss but by the choices you make. At the crossroads of grief, one road will lead to hope and healing. The other, to more hurt. Hope When Your Heart is Breaking is an honest look at both roads, and how your greatest loss can lead to your greatest gain. Author Ron Hutchcraft writes from the deep well of his own devastating loss and grief, pointing you to practical steps that lead to peace and wholeness. This book is a pathway to hope - a roadmap through the pain and grief and loss. Discover new strength through a new closeness to others and to God. Make the decisions that lead to comfort, growth, and life.

Do you need a breakthrough? Are you stuck fighting the same battles with kids who seem totally unmotivated by change? The truth is, every child is motivated, you just need to learn how to unlock your child’s unique heart. In Start With The Heart, you’ll learn practical, manageable strategies for motivating your kids toward healthy life habits, including how to address beliefs that affect behavior, respond to consistent complaining, increase resiliency and decrease fear of hard work, listen longer and teach your kids to know themselves, and create change that lasts long-term. Plus, Dr. Kathy Koch will teach you what really irritates kids (they’ve told her), and how to identify and avoid actions that break down trust. Move your kids from “I can’t” to “I can, I will, I did”.

Cross Reference Library is located at 209 East 15th Street in Scottsbluff, NE,
and is open Monday through Friday from 9:00am-5:00pm.

What's New at Cross Reference Library - New fiction, and accepting that it’s okay to not fit in

In Afraid of the Light by Cynthia Ruchti, clinical psychologist Camille Brooks isn’t put off by the lifestyle of her hoarder clients and the distress of their families. She lost her mother to this crippling anxiety disorder - so she’ll go a long way to help others avoid the same pain. Despite Camille’s expertise, her growing audience for her Let In The Light podcast and the recognition she’s gaining for her creative coaching methods, she’s not prepared for the pushback. A client who looks uncannily like her mom catches her off guard and raises long-dormant issues. And the revelation that Camille has her own hoarding problem sends her spinning. With the help of a cadre of unexpected friends, an enigma of a man who refuses to be discouraged, and the God who created and loves her, can she face her fears, pull back the curtains, and let the light into her own life?

You were never meant to fit in - you were made to stand out. With passion, purpose, a large dose of humor, and a wild sense of wonder, Optimisfits offers a road map for a better way to live. It’s calling you to seize your status as an outsider and wage a fierce rebellion against the hopelessness of the world by living out an intensely optimistic approach to every day. Ben Courson and a band of misfits invite you to join them on an epic adventure with God and with the Squad. Hope is dope! And it’s time to spread it like fire. Are you ready to make a real difference and ignite the world? Join the Optimisfits and see sparks fly!

All her life, Boston-born Moira Doherty has relished her mother’s descriptions of the Emerald Isle. When her mother dies unexpectedly in the summer of 1920, Moira is compelled to fulfill her dying wish - that she become the teacher in Ballyman, the beloved village in Donegal, Ireland, she’s heard so much about. After an arduous voyage, Moira begins a challenging new job in an unfamiliar and ancient country. Though a few locals offer a warm welcome, others are distanced by superstition and suspicion. Rumors about Moira’s mother are unspoken in her presence but threaten to derail everything she’s journeyed to Ballymann to do. In A Dance in Donegal by Jennifer Deibel, Moira must rely on the kindness of a handful of friends - and the strength of Sean, an unsettlingly handsome thatcher who keeps popping up unannounced - as she seeks to navigate a life she’d never dreamed of… but perhaps was meant to live.

Cross Reference Library is located at 209 East 15th Street in Scottsbluff, NE,
and is open Monday through Friday from 9:00am-5:00pm.

What's New at Cross Reference Library - Resilience in Christian leadership and ministry

As new research continues to show, the cultural gap between secularism and the convictional church will continue to widen. What will this mean for the Christ-follower of 2050? Children’s ministry workers and youth leaders are asking, “Are we adequately discipling today’s kids to lead the future of the church in a culture that’s becoming increasingly hostile to the gospel?” For many, the answer to that question is “no” and a new conversation around making resilient disciples is emerging. Resilient is an honest calling to ask robust questions about the future of faith. It is a timely conversation in the midst of changing cultural landscapes. It is a love letter to the church about the children who will one day lead and minister in the face of cultural adversity. Pastors, children’s ministry leaders, and disciple-makers are realizing and asking, “Are we giving kids lesser things that will not travel with them into their adult lives?” In Resilient Child Discipleship, Valerie Bell looks beyond the tactics of everyday ministry and focuses our energy on the few, key factors that truly contribute to effective, long-term discipleship.

Adversity often comes without warning. Bad news is shocking; betrayal is heartbreaking. As a church leader, it’s natural to feel defensive and want to fight back. But fear and anger make for a poor strategy when it comes to resolving conflict. Is it possible to rise about the storm and even thrive despite it? Ordained minister and leadership consultant Alfred Ells says yes, it is. Through stories of leaders who have suffered the traumas of betrayal, conflict, and failure, he provides insights, wisdom, and instruction on how to leverage adversity to become a resilient leader skilled at repairing any breach. The Resilient Leader is a trusted guide that helps you maneuver the tricky waters of organizational adversity, recover with resiliency, and develop a thriving organization.

Church growth models have often been long on promises and short on disciple-making. We continue to watch consistent church attendance shrink, and our desire to reach the lost is infected with a need for self-validation by growing our numbers at any cost. If we believe that God wants His church to grow, where do we go from here? What is the future of the church? Drawing from his 20 years and 15,000 hours of consulting, author Will Mancini shares with pastors and ministry leaders the single most important insight he has learned about church growth. With plenty of salient stories, and based solidly on the disciple-making methods found in Scripture, Future Church exposes the church's greatest challenge today and offers seven transforming laws of real church growth, so we can faithfully and joyfully fulfill Jesus's Great Commission.

Ready to overcome setbacks in ministry? As a church leader, you may have begun ministry with dreams of making an eternal impact. But years of striving, stress, and strain have left you feeling defeated, disillusioned, and stalled. Thankfully, there is hope that your ministry can turn around and thrive. As a former pastor who’s been in the trenches, Dale Sellers of 95Network reveals that God is not keeping score, it’s impossible to let God down, and doing ministry from Jesus - not for Him - is your key to a thriving church. In Stalled, you will discover your sweet spot and realize you are closer to being “there” than you know.

Cross Reference Library is located at 209 East 15th Street in Scottsbluff, NE,
and is open Monday through Friday from 9:00am-5:00pm.

What's New at Cross Reference Library - Addressing challenging topics and encouragement for women

In The Escape by Lisa Harris, US Marshals Madison James and Jonas Quinn have orders to transport two high-profile prisoners across the country on a private plane. But when the plane experiences engine trouble en route from the Pacific Northwest to Colorado, the pilots crash-land the aircraft deep in the heart of the sprawling Salmon-Challis National Forest. With both pilots and one prisoner dead - and one fugitive on the run - Madison and Jonas must negotiate the rugged and remote backcountry as they track a murderer who is desperate to disappear… and will do anything to stop them.

When was the last time you had an honest, heartfelt, yet kind and productive conversation with someone about depression, mental illness, substance abuse, pornography, premarital sex, racism, divorce, abortion, LGBT issues or politics? Our tendency is either to avoid talking about such volatile topics at all - even with other Christians - or to go on the attack, causing rifts that do nothing to encourage further discussion or growth. If you’re tired of avoiding tough conversations - if you want to be a light in a dark world but you’re not sure how - then Challenging Conversations by Jason Jimenez is the book you’ve been waiting for. With straightforward answers to some of the most challenging moral issues disrupting the church, this book will help you build your confidence with three simple steps to becoming a conversant Christian. Each chapter beings with a true story, clarifies misconceptions and misunderstandings about the subject, and equips you to build rapport, ask the right questions, find points of agreement, and take the next fruitful step in the relationship. Because even if we disagree on a moral issue, that shouldn’t make us mortal enemies.

Are you in a season of life when every search for direction, encouragement or fulfillment seems to come up empty? You thought God had you in a place to thrive and grow, but you are ready to call it quits. There has to be something better. You don’t need a new garden; you just need to learn how to dig! In Acres of Diamonds, pastor and New York Times bestselling author Jentezen Franklin helps you discover how you can gain the most out of where you are. Rather than give up and run toward better pastures when life gets difficult, you can seek and celebrate opportunities for growth and success right now. With Pastor Jentezen’s counsel, you will learn to make your plot of ground fruitful. You will grow more, become more, do more. You will find joy in every opportunity as you uncover the hidden potential within your family, job, ministry, and community. God has a perfect plan for you. Find it - His very best - right where you are.

If you’re skinny, fat, short, tall, or somewhere in between… If you’ve ever thought that losing weight would lead to happiness… If you’ve ever avoided a mirror because you didn’t want to see your reflection… If you’ve found Jesus or you’re still searching… Well girl, you’ve come to the right place! You’ll find a sassy, funny, authentic and encouraging friend in master word weaver Jami Amerine, as she comes alongside you to share God’s overwhelming grace and patience in an inside-out journey to wellness. She’ll introduce you to a heavenly Father who adores you, right where you are. And she’ll let you have a peek into the insane ride of her life that led her to complete freedom after years of hating herself - while she was completely and utterly adored by Jesus. This transformational read will set you free. Hilarious, raw, and somehow poetic, Well, Girl offers scriptural truths, honest and thought-provoking ideas about wellness, and an in-depth look at a life free from culture’s lies - with increased self-worth, better overall health, and more confidence in your physical appearance.

Are you a Martha who feels guilty for not being a Mary? Do you want to sit at Jesus’ feet as Mary did - but you feel the need to get things done? In Made Like Martha, Katie M. Reid invites you to exchange try-hard striving for hope-filled freedom without abandoning your doer’s heart in the process. Through her own story and rich biblical illustrations, Katie reminds you that it’s not important whether you sit and listen or stand and work. What matters is that your spiritual posture is one of a beloved daughter who knows she doesn’t need to earn God’s love. Your desire to get things done is not something to temper but something to embrace as you serve from a place of strength and peace - knowing Christ already did His most important work for you on the cross. With “It Is Finished” activities at the end of each chapter and a five-week Bible study included, this book will help you find rest from striving even as you celebrate your God-given design to “do”.

Cross Reference Library is located at 209 East 15th Street in Scottsbluff, NE,
and is open Monday through Friday from 9:00am-5:00pm.

What's New at Cross Reference Library - Thrillers, closeness to God, and Biblical sexuality

When Ivy Rose returns to her hometown to oversee her late grandmother’s estate sale, she soon discovers that the woman left behind more than trinkets and photos frames - she provided a path to the truth behind Ivy’s adoption. Shocked, Ivy seeks clues to her past, but a key piece to the mystery is missing. Twenty-four years earlier, Harvey James finds an abandoned newborn who gives him a sense of human connection for the first time in his life. His desire to care for the baby runs up against the stark fact that he is homeless. When he becomes entwined with two people seeking to help him find his way, Harvey knows he must keep the baby a secret or risk losing the only person he’s ever loved. In The Edge of Belonging, a dual-timeline story from debut novelist Amanda Cox, the truth takes center stage as Ivy and Harvey grapple with love, loss and letting go.

We’ve all been there: “dry seasons” when God feels distant and far away. But did you know that during the first three centuries of the church, many men and women purposefully moved into actual deserts to seek God? They understood something that we have missed: the desert is not a place of vast nothingness but a place where we can truly experience God’s provision, restoration and intimacy. Through Scripture and personal stories of her own times of waiting and struggle, Allison Allen offers a fresh perspective in Thirsty for More for those who long to see God in their dry seasons. She shows how God can use these times in our lives to reveal himself to us, to give us rest, to get our attention, to show us our strength, and to help us experience his blessings.

Disheartening conversations about sexuality are all around us. Sexual abuse. Sex addition. Gender confusion. Brokenness. Shame. But what if all this pain presented an invitation: an opportunity to pursue the heart of God and become Jesus’ disciples. In Rethinking Sexuality, Dr. Juli Slattery - renowned expert on sexuality and biblical truth - equips you to understand how every sexual question is ultimately a spiritual one, view sexuality not as a problem to solve but as a territory to reclaim, see how sexuality is rooted in the broader context of God’s heart for us, grasp the bigger picture of sexual challenges and wholeness, and shift the challenge from combating sexual problems to proclaiming and modeling sacred sexuality. Instead of arguing with the world about what’s right and wrong about sexual choices, discover a broader and more effective approach in this practical and groundbreaking resource. As you encounter the pain of sexual brokenness - your own or someone else’s - you’ll ultimately collide with, and point others to, the love and grace of Jesus.

In Nine by Rachelle Dekker, Zoe Johnson has spent most of her life living in the shadows - never drawing attention to herself, never investing in people or places. But when a wide-eyed, bedraggled teenager with no memory walks into the diner where Zoe works, everything changes. Against her better judgement, Zoe, who has been trying to outrun her own painful memories of the past, finds herself attempting to help a girl who doesn’t seem to have any past at all. With little warning, they must follow the only sure thing they know - a woman hundreds of miles away will either save them… or be the last person to see them alive.

In Irene Hannon’s novel Point of Danger, radio talk show host Eve Reilly is used to backlash from her pot-stirring on-air commentary and interviews. But now it seems a disgruntled listener is resorting to more than angry words to express their displeasure. When a suspicious package arrives on her doorstep, Eve turns to law enforcement for help. Police detective Brent Lange can’t find any evidence to link the string of unsettled incidents that follows, but he’s convinced they’re connected. As the harassment grows more menacing, it becomes clear someone wants Eve’s voice silenced - permanently. But unless he can track down her elusive foe, the gutsy woman who is willing to take risks for what she believes - and who is swiftly winning his heart - may not survive.

Cross Reference Library is located at 209 East 15th Street in Scottsbluff, NE,
and is open Monday through Friday from 9:00am-5:00pm.

What's New at Cross Reference Library - Rest, Unplugging, Motherhood and more!

News of Christians being killed overseas occasionally makes the headlines, but it’s rarely covered by mainstream media and often quickly fades away. While the world has been fixated on jihadist threats in the Middle East, terrorists from Nigeria to Kenya have had free reign to massacre on a scale far beyond that of terrorists in Iraq and Syria. Drawing from on-the-ground experience and personal testimonials, Rev. Johnnie Moore and Rabbi Abraham Cooper - two of the world’s leading advocates for religious freedom and human rights - explain what’s happening to Christians across Africa, why it matters, and what must be done now in The Next Jihad.

Are you addicted to your phone? Do you find yourself engaging online but unengaged with the people right in front of you? Do you spend hours scrolling through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube videos? Have your devices become divisive - dividing you from family, friends, and most importantly God? Perhaps you need a screen sabbatical! The 40 Day Social Media Fast by Wendy Speake will help you unplug from screens in order to plug into your real life - with the help of a very real God. Imagine forty days not hunched over your phone. Imagine forty days with your eyes lifted up.. Imagine forty days with empty hands. Imagine forty days without seeing or hearing all those little notifications. Imagine taking a much-needed break from social media in order to get social with God and your loved ones again. It’s going to be amazing. What are you waiting for?

Michelle Medlock Adams and Bethany Jett understand the struggles - and the joys - of motherhood from the inside out. They know what it’s like to be both healer and disciplinarian, cheerleader and worrier-in-chief. With input from moms around the country, they’ve nailed down what Christian moms really want to talk about in They Call Me Mom. From their own experience with the crazy world of parenting as well as the most requested, most talked about topics online, Michelle and Bethany have created this devotional that speaks straight to the heart of the mommy life. You’ll love this lighthearted, transparent take on the real life ups and downs mothers face through all stages of parenting. Whether you’ve just brought home your first baby or you have a mob of kids and zero time, you’ll find relatable worlds and helpful encouragement in these pages. And with one devotion for every week of the year, it’s easy to fit in a few minutes with God in the middle of a full parenting life!

What does it mean to truly find rest? Jesus tells us that he “will give us rest”. But what does that look like in a society marked by increasing rates of over-commitment and burnout? Too many of us have built unhealthy cycles of rest, striving and straining against God’s intent for our lives. In Finding Soul Rest, Curtis Zackery provides a practical guide to finding the deep soul rest that Jesus promises. And it all centers around renewing and restoring our relationship with Christ. This thoughtful devotional on rest calls us to the intentional work of self-examination, helping us move toward a purposeful and sustainable life with Jesus. Through thoughtful reflections on Scripture and devotional questions, readers will rediscover their identity in rhythm with God.

Cross Reference Library is located at 209 East 15th Street in Scottsbluff, NE,
and is open Monday through Friday from 9:00am-5:00pm.

What's New at Cross Reference Library - Romance, Amish Fiction and Loneliness

Despite our connected world - and partly because of it - we are lonelier than ever. Social media tricks us into thinking that we are engaged in genuine friendships. Yet instead of intimacy, we got little more than what amounts to digital small talk. But there is a solution. With plenty of good humor and practical advice, Jack Eason invites you to discover the benefits of doing life together with other brothers and sisters in Christ. Grounding his message in Scripture, Eason helps you learn the obstacles to real community, reimagine what real friendship looks like, discover a place of true belonging, and more. If you’re tired of feeling lonely, the encouragement and community building in The Loneliness Solution is just what you need.

When Elizabeth Kaufman received the news of her husband’s death at the Battle of Vicksburg in 1863, she felt only relief. She determined that she would never be at the mercy of any man again even if it meant not having a family of her own. Then along came Aaron Zook… Despite the severity of his injuries, Aaron has resolved to move west and leave the pain of the past behind him. He never imagined that the Amish way of life his grandfather had rejected long ago would be so enticing. That, and a certain widow he can’t get out of his mind. Yet, even in a simple community, life has a way of getting complicated. In Softly Blows the Bugle by Jan Drexler, Aaron soon finds that while he may have left the battlefield behind, there is another fight he must win - the one for the heart of the woman he loves.

AD 309. Rome teeters on the brink of war. Constantine’s army is on the move. On the Rhine frontier, pagan Germanic barbarian Brandulf Rex joins the Roman army as a spy. Down in Rome, senator’s daughter Junia Flavia finds herself embroiled in anti-Christian politics as she works on behalf of the church. As armies converge and forces beyond their control threaten to destroy everything they have worked for, these two people from different worlds will have to fight together to bring down the evil Emperor Maxentius. But his villainous plans and devious henchmen are not easily overcome. Will Rex and Flavia live to see the Empire bow the knee to Christ? Or will their part in the story of Constantine’s rise meet an untimely and brutal end? Find out in The Constantine by Bryan Litfin.

Focused on a career in medicine and not on romance, Willa Duvall is thrown slightly off course during the summer of 1865 when she discovers a never-opened love letter in a crack of her old writing desk. Compelled to find the passionate soul who penned it and the person who never received it, she takes a job as a nurse at the seaside estate of Crestwicke Manor. Everyone at Crestwicke has feelings - mostly negative ones - about the man who wrote the letter, but he seems to have disappeared. With plenty of enticing clues but few answers, Willa’s search becomes even more complicated when she misplaces the letter and it passes from person to person in the house, each finding a thrilling or disheartening message in its words. Laced with mysteries large and small, Joanna Davidson Politano’s The Love Note is a romantic Victorian era tale of love lost, love deferred, and love found, and is sure to delight.

In The Key to Love by Betsy St. Amant, the only thing Bri Duval loves more than baking petit fours is romance. So much so that she’s created her own version of the famous Parisian love-lock wall at the bakery where she works in Story, KS. She never expects a video involving the wall to go viral - or for Trek Magazine to send travel writer Gerard Fortier to feature the bakery. He’s definitely handsome, but Bri has been holding out for an epic love story like the one her parents had - and that certainly will not include the love-scorning Gerard. Just when it seems the Pastry Puff is poised for unprecedented success, a series of events threaten not just he bakery but the pedestal she’s kept her parents on all these years. Maybe Gerard is right about romance. Or maybe Bri’s recipe just needs to be tweaked.

Cross Reference Library is located at 209 East 15th Street in Scottsbluff, NE,
and is open Monday through Friday from 9:00am-5:00pm.

What's New at Cross Reference Library - Romance, Christmas and a new novel from Colleen Coble

When she hears that the town of Heritage is looking for a new librarian, Libby Kingsley jumps at the opportunity. Little did she know the library is barely more than a basement room stuffed with dusty, outdated books. What the community really needs is a new building. But the only funds available are those being channeled into the new town square, and the landscape architect in charge of the project wants nothing to do with her plans. All Austin Williams wants to do is get the town square project finished, and he hopes it is enough to save the family business. Then he can extricate himself from the town that revers the brother who cost him so much. But the local media and the town’s new librarian seem to be conspiring against him at every turn. Will the determined bookworm find her way into his blueprints, and possibly even his heart? Find out in Until I Met You by Tari Faris.

In One Little Lie by Colleen Coble, Jane Hardy is appointed interim sheriff in Pelican Harbor, Alabama, after her father retires. But there’s no time for an adjustment period. When her father is arrested for theft and then implicated in a recent murder, Jane quickly realizes he’s facing someone out to destroy the only family she has. After escaping with her father from a cult fifteen years ago, Jane has searched relentlessly for her mother - who refused to leave - ever since. Could someone from that horrible past have found them? Reid Dixon is well-known for his documentaries, and his latest project involves covering Jane’s career. Jane has little interest in the attention, but the committee who appointed her loves the idea of the publicity. Jane finds herself depending on Reid’s calm manner as he follows her around filming, and they begin working together to clear her father. But Reid has his own secrets from the past, and the gulf between them may be impossible to cross - especially once her father’s lie catches up with them all.

In 1853, Abigail Scott was a nineteen-year-old school teacher in Oregon Territory when she married Ben Duniway. Marriage meant giving up on teaching, but Abigail always believed she was meant to be more than a good wife and mother. When Abigail becomes the primary breadwinner for her growing family, what she sees as a working woman appalls her - and prompts her to devote her life to fighting for the rights of women, including the right to vote. Based on a true story, Something Worth Doing by Jane Kirkpatrick will resonate with modern women who still grapple with the pull between career and family, finding their place in the public sphere, and dealing with frustrations and prejudices when competing in male-dominated spaces.

All Emma Daley wants is a white Christmas in Melody Carlson’s holiday novel The Christmas Swap. But the young teacher and struggling musician sure can’t find that in sunny Arizona. Luckily, there’s someone living in a perfect mountain home in the Colorado Rockies looking to make a vacation trade. West Prescott is an in-demand songwriter and talented musician who put his own singing career on hold to write songs for celebrity acts to perform. When his mother convinces him to do a vacation trade for Christmas, he never imagined one of the houseguests would be so sweet - or so strikingly pretty. Naturally he decides to stick around, and to get better acquainted he poses as the caretaker of his own house. But when Emma’s friend Gillian discovers his true identity and sets her sights on him, things get… messy.

Cross Reference Library is located at 209 East 15th Street in Scottsbluff, NE,
and is open Monday through Friday from 9:00am-5:00pm.

What's New at Cross Reference Library - A film about Richard Wurmbrand, John Piper on coronavirus, and more

The providence of God is a doctrine Christians struggle to understand. Scripture affirms that God is sovereign and that he governs all the affairs of creation - yet we, his creatures, make choices every day, and God holds us morally responsible for those choices. How can human freedom fit into the “purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will”? Bruce Ware explores this question in God’s Greater Glory.

On January 11, 2020, a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) reportedly claimed its first victim in the Wuhan province of China. By March 11, the World Health Organization had declared a global pandemic. In the midst of this fear and uncertainty, it is natural to wonder what God is doing. In Coronavirus and Christ, John Piper invites readers around the world to stand on the solid Rock, who is Jesus Christ, in whom our souls can be sustained by the sovereign God who ordains, governs, and reigns over all things to accomplish his good purposes for those who trust Him. What is God doing through the coronavirus? Piper offers six biblical answers to that question, showing us that God is at work in this moment in history.

Be inspired by love and forgiveness that conquered communist prisons. Pastor Richard Wurmbrand suffered fourteen years of imprisonment and brutal torture, while his wife Sabina, was treated as a slave in a labor camp. Their only “crimes” were their faith ad witness for Jesus Christ. Through it all, they loved their enemies and sought to win their torturers for Christ. Filmed entirely on location in Romania, including in the very prison where Richard endured torture and solitary confinement, Tortured for Christ is the cinematic retelling of one of the most powerfully inspiring and historically significant testimonies of all time.

Hindsight by Rhonda Taylor Madge takes readers on a journey through a young woman’s tumultuous past, revealing how she fell prey to anxious thoughts that molded her mind and led her to believe she was someone other than who she was created to be. A battle that raged for half a lifetime found resolution only after she allowed God to remove the veil of deception from her eyes that she might see and know the truth.

Cross Reference Library is located at 209 East 15th Street in Scottsbluff, NE,
and is open Monday through Friday from 9:00am-5:00pm.

What's New at Cross Reference Library - Parenting, Mystery and Pioneer Fiction

When Sheila Walsh discovered “I’m not good enough and I’m good with that,” everything started to change. We’ve all experienced that moment when we wish we could start all over again. Failed marriage, lost friends, addictions, lost jobs. This is not the life we imagined. Yesterday can leave us stuck, sad, shamed, scared, and searching. Sheila wants you to face the pain head on and then start again, from right where you are. In It’s Okay Not To Be Okay, she helps you overcome the same old rut of struggles and pain by changing the way you think about God, yourself, and your everyday life. She shares practical, doable, daily strategies that will help you move forward one step at at time, knowing God will never let you down. It’s never too late to start again… and there is healing and freedom in just taking the first step.

After several years of widowhood and hard work, Ingeborg Bjorklund has reached a place of contentment with her life. She enjoys watching Blessing, North Dakota thrive and grow, filled not only with her extended family but also newcomers like David Gould. Though a high society businessman from New York City, David has become a dear friend. But how should she handle the ways their relationship seems to be changing? Meanwhile, her son Thorliff is raising two children alone, still grieving the loss of his beloved Elizabeth. He is surprised, therefore, by the effect the new schoolteacher Louisa Gutenberg, has on him. But would his feelings stay the same if he knew the real reason she visits her sister most weekends? With Blessing advancing forward, Thorliff decides to gather the stories of Ingeborg’s life, and subsequently the history of the town, into a book. But with every glimpse into the past, Ingeborg will have to decide if her settled, predictable life is worth more to her than a future she hardly dares to imagine in A Blessing to Cherish by Lauraine Snelling.

Two unsolved murders seventeen years apart are about to get personal in Justice Betrayed by Patricia Bradley. It’s Elvis Week in Memphis, and homicide detective Rachel Sloan isn’t sure her day could get any stranger when an aging Elvis impersonator named Vic Vegas asks to see her. But when he produces a photo of her murdered mother with four Elvis impersonators - one of which had also been murdered soon after the photo was taken - she’s forced to reevaluate. Is there some connection between the two unsolved cases? And could the recent break in at Vic’s home be tied to his obsession with finding his friend’s killer? When yet another person in the photo is murdered, Rachel suddenly has her hands full investigating three cases. Lieutenant Boone Callahan offers his help, but their checkered romantic past threatens to get in the way. Can they solve the cases before the murderer makes Rachel victim number four?

Where you come from matters far less than where you’re going in Rachel Fordham’s novel A Life Once Dreamed. Six years ago, a shocking secret sent Agnes Pratt running in search of a new start. She found it in Penance, a rugged town of miners and lumberjacks in the Dakota Territory. In the shadow of the Black Hills, she became Miss Aggie, respected schoolteacher and confirmed old maid - despite being only 24. But the past has a way of catching up with people. When childhood friend and former sweetheart James Harris accepts a position as the town doctor, Aggie’s pleasantly predictable days suddenly become anything but. James wants to know why Agnes left behind the life they had dreamed of creating for themselves - but he is precisely the one person who can never know. Can a healing light be shed on the past? Or will the secret Agnes can’t seem to outrun destroy her chance at happiness?

Parenting is an exciting adventure, full of twists and turns. But sometimes it feels like you don’t know where you’re headed, or you’re just making it up as you go along. How can you get where you want to be without having a plan in place? Dennis and Barbara Rainey have spent decades teaching on the foundations necessary for building godly families. Now they share the insights and expertise gleaned from those years of ministry, as well as stories and teaching from their own children about the challenges of parenting today. The Art of Parenting focuses your attention on four crucial elements in your children’s lives: relationships, character, identity, and mission. When you apply biblical truth to these four areas, you can feel confident your children will have a foundation they can build upon for the rest of their lives.

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and is open Monday through Friday from 9:00am-5:00pm.