Sweet Christmas Joy

A Christmas story of faith, hope, love…and the greatest of these is love. It’s Christmas and Blue Moon is playing on the record player. All of the friends and relatives have gathered to spend Great Aunt Dora’s eighty-sixth birthday with her. Blue Moon is the song that resounds with her like no other ...

The Amish Baker's Secret Courtship

A promise brought him home… Will a pretend courtship make him stay? Cassie Weaver dreams of opening a bakery—but that dream hinges on her good friend Martin Beiler. Martin once fled their Amish community due to his struggles with autism. Now he’s back to fulfill his promise to help Cassie set up ...

The Forgotten City

What lies at the heart of the forgotten city?

When a deadly plague ravages their village, siblings Clem and Asi must venture into a dying forest to find the antidote. But the woods are full of dangers, and a sinister secret is hiding amid the ruins of a once-great city....

Narrated by the author! Increase Your Leadership Impact is a short, easy listen that walks you through simple tips to help you feel closer to God and grow in your ability to lead those around you. If you’re a Christian professional, leader, pastor, or anyone who loves to serve and inspire others—and ...

A fresh start. An unexpected chance at love.

Magnolia “Mags” Davenport has not had an easy life. Determined to leave behind painful memories, she decides, on a whim, to move halfway across the country to Horizon, Idaho, a town she's never before heard of. What should be a simple escape ...

I AM ELI

The Cowboy Preacher, Monty Rieck, knows trouble. Before becoming a minister of Christ, he chased all the world had to offer, leaving him desperate for answers. Little did he know, he was the one being pursued. Despite suffering financial loss, emotional heartbreak and physical pain, he finally ...

Daily Devotional Study: 365 Devotionals for Women

This devotional book is a spiritual resource that provides a year's worth of daily reflections and insights for women who seek to deepen their relationship with God. Each day's devotional is crafted to provide a moment of reflection, inspiration, and spiritual growth. Drawing from the scriptures, th ...

An Amish Christmas at the Apple Blossom Inn

Two sisters. Two stories. One great Amish Christmas read. Orphaned just weeks before Christmas, the Beiler sisters suddenly discover they could lose their home and what’s worse—each other. To make ends meet, sisters Sadie and Katie are plunged into working at Willow Spring's Apple Blossom Inn. But w ...

Mommy and Me Our Faith-Based Journal: Volume I Growing in the Lord's Love

Discover a meaningful way to connect with your child while planting seeds of faith that will last a lifetime. Mommy and Me Our Faith-Based Journal is more than just a ...

Flash Fiction Compilation 4 (eBook)

Experience adventure, an emotional tailspin, and an overconfident teenager’s folly in these three family-friendly stories.

 

Dante and Talon are on an important mission that will impact the fate of their entire town. Do they have what it takes to s ...

Escaping Illusions

All she wants is a new beginning, but it will come at a chilling cost. Brook Morton doesn’t believe in happily ever after. Not after what she’s been through. Determined to protect her daughter and start a new life, she seeks refuge in the dead of winter in the small town of Vanishing Lakes. But not ...

Sealed For The Lamb: The Last Resistance

In a future where obedience is law and thought is treason, one woman dares to remember the truth.

In the shadowy city of New Alexandria, the Dominion rules with a digital iron fist, controlling memories, suppressing history, and branding every citizen with the Mark. Freedom is a forgot ...

Dreams on the Horizon

Can love overcome all obstacles? Mae Shepherdson’s dream of a school for the deaf has finally come to fruition. All is going well until she receives devastating news: the railroad wants to build a spur through the property where the Horizon School for the Deaf is located. What will become of the ...

Can the Royal family have a normal vacation?

Catherine just wants a normal vacation. But being part of the Royal family always seems to complicate life. So when they leave the castle and head to the forest, she’s left trying to correct the same old misunderstanding t ...

Hunting Hart Casebook: The First Three Cases

The first three Huntingdon Hart stories. 3 Quick Reads collected in one Casebook. The named case is solved within each of the three stories, and we also learn a lot about Hunt's life, unfolding more fully with each case. Casefile # 1 - The Missing Peke Hunt is enjoying a quiet drink in the Bird in N ...

Westward Wanderers Book 1: Where He Leads

Compared to an arranged marriage to the odious Bernard Regent, a prairie schooner on the Oregon Trail doesn't seem like such a bad trade to Amethyst Kent.

When desperate Martha Davis reveals her need for a mother's helper on the trail, Ami decides to take it up and leave the pampered life ...

Stand by Me: A clean and faith-filled opposites attract small town Christmas romance

He’s big city, she’s small town. He’s a fast-paced businessman, she’s a slowed-down artist. He loves the night life, she loves the quiet life. He’s wealthy, she... well, isn’t. Can such opposites make love work? Successful Austin CEO Isaiah Williams rarely gives himself the luxury of time off. He th ...

Echoes of the Imperium

In a world teetering on the edge of chaos...

Lexi finds herself at the heart of the ultimate struggle—between peace and war, loyalty and betrayal. The Imperium, a totalitarian regime, has its talons sunk deep into society, and everyone must pick a side. But for Lexi, the choices aren’t ...

Invitation to the Ball

This Cinderella invited to the ball gets help from a surprising source. But will she win her Prince Charming, who's relegated her to the friend zone? When store department manager David Warwick, her secret crush, unexpectedly invites shy florist Ellie Ashton to represent the store at a glittering Lo ...

Falling for a Smart Cowboy

She’s devoted to giving orphaned children hope. He’s determined to leave his family’s ranch behind. Will buried secrets break their hearts—or bind them forever?

Devon Vargas has always dreamed of becoming more than the ranch cowboy his ...

Coming Home to Truth

In a search for her future, Lacy Jones travels with a friend to a new town where a single dad shows her how to find meaning and lasting success. Lacy Jones, a graduate of her small high school, knows her whole world is about to change. She dreams of freedom from the struggles with her health ...

God's Good Works: Stories to Treasure and Tales to Ponder

God's Good Works: Stories to Treasure and Tales to Ponder is a heartfelt faith-based collection of anecdotes and insightful lessons drawn from everyday experiences. It also examines the current American and global political climates through the lens of biblical eschatology. Beginning in 2020, the ...

Love From Afar

What happens when two little sisters become self-appointed matchmakers? Best friends Tillie and Lula are tired of watching Tillie’s older sister and Lula’s older brother admire each other from afar. Determined to bring their siblings together, they hatch a most brilliant plan. After all, it’s perfec ...

In This Place Together

In the town of Naraah, near the region of Judea, Sapphira begins a desperate quest to find a physician to heal her beloved husband Aaron, who is near death. Living in a time when women are considered possessions, Sapphira fears her brother will force her to marry a cruel man if Aaron doesn't surv ...

Love, London: Eight sweet & clean faith-filled romances

Travel to London, Edinburgh, Paris, and Cambridge with these eight sweet, clean, and heartwarming stories with real emotion and real faith! Each story is connected to a grand old central London department store, and each is a complete, inspirational, Christian romance with an uplifting, feel-good, h ...

Investigative journalists Mittens Meow and Alex Digger race to the rescue when Alex’s favorite baker discovers a shocking theft, threatening the future of her business. Can they uncover the culprit in time? A Christian mystery chapter book for readers 7-12.

Just Another Dream

Sam Grayson has achieved what he once thought impossible. Overcoming a troubled childhood in foster care, he has graduated college and embarked on a dream career that honors his faith. Grateful for his adoptive parents, John and Abbie, who took him in at sixteen, Sam en ...

Once Upon a Christmas

It's Christmastime in Poplar Springs, Wyoming. Will Sheriff Ambrose Miller Eliason have the courage to ask the girl he's always loved to court him?

Take a break from the holiday hustle and bustle and settle into this sweet and heartwarming short story.

Wheresoever They May Be

Frank Swanson has plans. He has good job prospects, maybe even broadcasting in Hollywood. He has a beautiful wife. The war is an interruption to a good life he’s eager to get back to.

        ...

A Horseman's Heart: Small-town Christian Cowboy Romance

When a Texas horseman on the run from his past lands in rural North Carolina, he never expects to find sanctuary … much less, true love.

Kip Lorimer needs to disappear, fast. The woman who long ago shattered his trust has tracked him down again, and leaving Texas feels li ...

Bridges of Hope

In Tennessee, where the heart of country music and the warmth of family traditions blend seamlessly, country music mega star Rheann "Ray" Rhodes receives a devastating diagnosis. With her life hanging in the balance, Ray decides to embark on a poignant journey that will not only define her legacy ...

Stagecoach Bride Katrina

Nothing is ever as it seems Range detective, Zane McClure, wants to bring an outlaw to justice. While Katrina wants to find her brother’s killer. The only way they can accomplish their mission is to join forces, even if it means a fake engagement.

When they are forced into a marriage of c ...

Three Weeks in Washington: A Titus Ray Thriller

CIA intelligence operative, Titus Ray, arrives in Washington, D.C. on the day a terrorist enters the Washington Navy Yard and murders five people. Convinced the incident is connected to a Hezbollah pl ...

College Life of a Retired Senior: A Memoir of Perseverance, Faith, and Finding the Way

Seven years after she retired from a lengthy career in banking, Yvonne Blackwood surprised her friends and family by returning to school at age sixty-four to pursue an English degree. Her purpose was fueled by four powerful reasons—to add texture to her writing; to ward off dementia; to enhance stru ...

Deep End of the Lake

First Place in General Fiction 2023 Christian Indie Awards
2021 Golden Scroll Award Winner


Who Says Giving Up Dreams Isn't Success?

Ally Cervantes has all she wants in life—an upcoming wedding, a chance to p ...

A Truthful Man: A Modern Catholic Novel: Book 1

He would rather risk losing his vocation than lose his soul. In his tiny parish on the English coast, Father James has remained untouched by the modernizing of the Catholic Church. But when he’s handed evidence of serious wrongdoing by Mark Boulder, an ex-university friend, he is obliged to take it ...

The Redemption

Lady Charlisse Bristol sets off on a voyage in search of a father she never knew, only to find herself shipwrecked on a deserted island. After weeks of combating the elements, her salvation comes in the form of a band of pirates and their fiercely handsome leader, Edmund Merrick. Will Charlisse f ...

Revealing Shadows

There is treachery without. And treachery within. Prince Beniah receives this cryptic warning when a lethal storm drives him to take refuge in the Western Cliffs. Yet the tension between him and his father compels him to hide his investigation. Evidence of conspiracy continues to stack. A divisiv ...

Before Journaled with Love

Ryan Tiggs, a scrawny high school sophomore, can’t wait for his growth spurt. Spencer Channing, his basketball coach and premed student, encourages him with the story of David and Goliath. “Focus on your God-given abilities, not what your opponents might have.” Ryan accepts this challenge, but ha ...

Keeper of My Heart: Discerning God's Best Series Novel BOOK 6

She’s never met a man who could keep up. He’s never met a challenge he couldn’t solve. But when love and faith collide, will either of them surrender their hearts? What happens when the very traits that kept you alive are the ones God asks you to lay down? On the Missouri frontier, survival de ...

Touch of Innocence

How can she protect the child if nobody believes her? Grace used to try to save people, but that was before she realized how powerless she is. Now, she avoids emotional ties, working from her secluded cabin, content with her aloneness. When eight-year-old Lily starts hanging around, Grace enjoys ...

God Ordains Marriages

In modern times, the phrase "till death do us part" transcends its religious origins and is now often included in wedding vows as a customary expression of commitment and endurance in marriages. Many couples, regardless of their religious beliefs or practices, choose to include this phrase in their ...

Dane's Dream

In the heart of Wyoming's untamed wilderness, Hannah Sullivan’s world is thrust into chaos when her father, fueled by alcohol, puts her up for auction at the trading post. Hannah's journey becomes one of survival, strength, and the pursuit of a life beyond the shadows of her father's actions. Can sh ...

Astray

A mysterious amulet leads Fallon to everything she’s ever wanted…and possibly her death. After a lifetime with no knowledge of her parents, troubled seventeen-year-old Fallon Webb receives a necklace once belonging to her mother. The amulet leads her on a life-changing journey through a portal to a ...

The Island Bride

Is there a thief in the neighborhood?

When Sandra’s watch disappears, she thinks she misplaced it, until she hears there might be a thief in the neighborhood. Is there? Word Count: 3,121

Hallow's Eve Hymn

Regina is looking forward to Halloween night, when she will get a chance to strike back at the troublesome church down the street. What she doesn't know is that she's about to get some unexpected visitors who will change her life forever.

Lawfully Held

Dive into a world of high-octane action and blossoming romance with this gripping FBI-centric romantic suspense novel. Special Agent Justine Gillespie is a whiz when it comes to disarming bombs, but her personal relationships? That's a different story. A surprising arrest in Arizona throws her into ...

Weapons of Remorse

WINNER OF TWO INDEPENDENT PUBLISHING AWARDS! Hank Phillips makes his living defending the right to bear arms. Privately, he doesn’t ever want to touch a gun again. Hank is an ex-Marine whose heroism in war earned him the Medal of Honor and a high-profile job with Armed and Ready, America’s most powe ...

Identity Shift: Who God Says You Are

Many of us define ourselves according to our roles in life or our job titles. God has a much different definition of who you are and how He sees you. Be encouraged through these nine devotionals and shift your identity to what God says about you!

The Seafaring Women of the Vera B.

The Riverbank Box

A secret treehouse is a great hiding place for the locked box the boys are trying to open, but there are others after it. A strange man hiding in the shadows at the old cemetery – friend or enemy? Carson and Luke discover an old locked trunk, revealed by the rushing river waters from a flood tha ...

Alaskan Escape

I’D WORKED FEARLESSLY ALONGSIDE MY HUSBAND, THEN FEAR GRIPPED ME IN A HOLD I WAS DESPERATE TO ESCAPE.  When an accident forces us to change our livelihood, my husband, Bill, suggests our family of seven embark on a commercial fishing venture in Southeast Alaska. Though life on an ocean vessel s ...

Truth in the Word

If the enemy came to lay his claim, would you bear the seal of the HOLIEST NAME? After escaping from President Dennis Denali’s facility and stopping his evil plot to create a world with no knowledge of God, Ellie Hatcher is finally living the life of her dreams—married to Steve, reunited with her ...

Shadowing Stella

Two hearts, one mission: to face the danger and rewrite their stories. Stella McIntyre returns home to a loving family, but danger follows her every move. Pregnant with her attacker's child, she's struggling to rebuild her life and protect herself from the threat that still looms. Army Corporal J ...

How much trouble can a misunderstanding cause?

It’s a hectic morning as usual for this typical family. Lost keys and running late are the norm. But the rush always subsides, making way for a smooth, productive afternoon for wife and mother, Jessica. Except today ther ...

Sacred Fire (The Sacred Fire Saga Book 1)

A dream of belonging. A land seething with malice. Can this budding empath stand strong in the face of darkness?

Sarah longs to make a new life for herself in the coveted holy city. When a mysterious widow offers her a job there, it seems like an answer to her prayers. But Sarah soon find ...

Tuck is determined to keep Laurie safe, even if it means risking his own heart in the process.

Police Officer Tuck Chandler works hard to protect the citizens of Kitner, Texas. He’s also good at holding women at arm’s length. Jilted by his fiancée for his dedication to h ...

30 Days with the Father: A Devotional to Discover How Heaven Can Follow You Everywhere

This thirty-day devotional will take you on a journey to unveil God’s heart as you sit down face-to-face with the Father each day and discover how the wonders of Heaven can begin to chase after you. Read words from the Father you will not hear at church. Experience for yourself the same real connect ...

A Bed in Sheol

The Rustler Hunter

When forty-one successful manhunts make you a legend, there’s only one way left to go—down.

J.J. Westin, the infamous Rustler Hunter, goes undercover at Arizona Territory's largest cattle ranch to expose the rustlers bleeding it dry. The thieves aren' ...

The Day the End Began

Margot’s paintings are not just art, they are predictions of the end of the world. Few believe her, but within months, her visions will become a terrifying reality. The book of Revelation’s prophecies are about to come true, and the forces of darkness are gathering under the guise of a man of pea ...

Soar Like Eagles

            Carol becomes a Red Cross doughnut girl, serving GIs and boosting their morale. Convinced wartime romances are doomed to disappointment, she attempts to avoid entanglements. She tra ...

My Heart's for You

Kaitlyn Monroe, a nursing grad is driven by two desires. Find a job. find her soul mate. Not necessarily in that order. She and her three friends get hired at Mercy Hospital where they're in for unexpected patient adventures, causing her to question whether being the hands and feet of Jesus is what ...

I Am: An 8-Session Study of John

Yearning to deepen your relationship with Jesus? I Am: An 8-Session Bible Study of John invites you to explore the profound “I Am” statements in the Gospel of John, revealing the essence of who Jesus is.

Author and long-time Bible teacher, Sarah K. Howley guides you with warmth and insigh ...

Beyond the Horizon

Dearly Loved

R.N Meredith Ambrose thought she’d left her teenage crush on David Steller in the past—along with the heartbreak he never knew he caused. These days, her world is orderly, quiet, and carefully guarded…save for the scruffy West Highland Terrier who shows up on her doorstep and keeps her from feeli ...

Gazing into Darkness

Instead of moving closer to his girlfriend, Chance McPherson gets dumped and relocated to Cincinnati—farther from his dreams and closer to his shameful past. Stacey Sanderson is excited to finally secure a role in law enforcement, like the rest of her family, especially as an EPA CID agent, where ...

It's Complicated

He’s an over-achieving perfectionist. She doesn’t tolerate bossy men. Grant Foster is organized, focused, and hardworking—or as his younger sister calls it, neurotic. When the opportunity of a lifetime—becoming the Vice President of Marketing—is within his grasp, he is determined to succeed. He m ...

Written on My Heart: Discerning God's Best Series Novel BOOK 5

In the wilds of the rugged West, Betsy Smith discovers beauty in every corner—from the blazing sunsets to the wind murmuring secrets through the mountains. Yet, it's the magnetism of Gabe Manning, with his dark complexion and dashing demeanor, that draws her gaze. Having known him since childhood ...

Ariboslia: A Christian Fantasy Adventure (The Complete Trilogy)

Faith vs. Fangs. One teen's fight to save a world.
Fallon Webb, an ordinary teen, discovers a hidden legacy and a world on the brink. Thrust into a war between good and evil, she must embrace her newfound family—shapeshifters locked in a struggle against monstrous fasgadair. ...

A Christmas Inheritance

His Christmas Refuge
He came home to leave it all behind.
She’s convinced he’ll run again.
But when a little boy’s identity is revealed and the true spirit of Christmas comes calling, will Kurt find the refuge he never believed he deserved… in the heart of the woman he’s always lov ...

Lawfully Taken

Bounty hunter Nathaniel Hayes is renowned for his skill, but when he's assigned to capture the infamous leaders of the Glenn-Ricketts gang, he realizes he's stumbled into deeper waters than anticipated. His assignment takes an unexpected turn when he crosses paths with fiery Pinkerton detective, Ade ...

I Hope in Him

Discover how to have encouraging confidence, persevering faith, and unshakable trust, even when you’re in the depths of unimaginable turmoil. Job’s story is a hard one to understand. He faces numerous tragedies. He endures gut-wrenching losses. How does a godly man survive such awful circumstances? ...

Flash Fiction Compilation 3 (eBook)

Christopher has found himself forced to the edge of a cliff. Will he end up as shark food? Find out in this exciting, family-friendly adventure, Shark Food. Word Count: 741

Talon and Dante have made it safely to shore, but will an unexpected ...

Calm & Bright

Even a matchmaking grandmother and an adorable four year old might not be enough to help this couple reunite! This Christmas, Brad Hughes hopes he can convince his ex-wife Maddie he’s not the unreliable, workaholic charmer she married young and then divorced. They’ll be together over the holidays, ...

Kyle & Ally just moved to what they thought was the perfect neighborhood to raise a family. But the realtor may have left out important information about the neighbors next door. Kyle thinks the realtor led them astray. Is he right? Find out in this engaging, funny, short story. Word Count: 1 ...

Anna's Amish Fears Revealed

Her faith in the Lord has been tried beyond all measure. Can this fearful believer rest secure in God’s protective care for her life? Anna Byler is paralyzed by fear and anxiety. While the young Amish woman is devastated after Simon Kauffman leaves the Amish community, she finds little comfort in he ...

Redeeming the Prodigal

A soiled dove at rock bottom. A mountain man broken and lonely. Can an unexpected encounter be their second chance at love? Jo Bradford never thought she’d end up a fallen woman in a mining-town brothel. But after running away from a family who loves her and falling into the clutches of a sinister o ...

Premeditated

Anti-drug activists are being sabotaged by the very substance they abhor. Someone is targeting anti-drug activists and anyone that has dared to support the war against drugs. DEA Agents Grant Rourke and Josh McKenzie have been assigned to figure out who's behind it, and take the fatal doses of kroni ...

The Third Dawn

Would you like to walk alongside the Messiah in His early years, talk and listen to Him, and experience His gentle, simple humanity, divine power, and authority? Award-winning mystery author Thomas J. Nichols tells one of the greatest mysteries of all time, the private life of Jesus, the Messiah. ...

Friends & Enemies

Heidi became a widow when her husband’s U-boat sank in the Atlantic. She wonders how her American school chum Rachel is faring. Her husband Paul must be at war too.

Matters of the Heart: Discerning God's Best Series  Novel BOOK 3

In the aftermath of the Civil War, where wounds of the heart cut as deep as any battle scar, comes a tale of resilience, faith, and the unyielding power of love. ~ Irish immigrant Katie Murphy embodies the spirit of compassion, fighting against injustice with a determination that knows no bounds. ...

Flash Fiction Compilation 1 (eBook)

Get a bit of adventure, heartwarming interactions, and the birth of a child in these three family-friendly stories.

Dante has fallen overboard into the mighty river. Has Talon even noticed? Will he realize Dante is missing before it’s too late? Find out in Another ...

Song of Sugar Sands

Peter O'Neil, handsome, kind, and charismatic, wants to share the good news about his savior with the world, Acadia just wants to have a good time, and be loved by Peter; and she makes mistakes along the way. Can she reach deep enough inside herself to save their relationship, or is too late alre ...

Christmas...All In The Heart

Are you looking for a heartwarming Christmas story that will bring joy and laughter to your holiday season? Maybe something to ring your Christmas bell? Then look no further than this short story that has all the best parts of C ...

Her One in a Million

While renovating the MacKinnon mansion, Samantha "Sam" Holt discovers three prized ceramics in a wall. The one in a million find could provide much needed funds for the restoration—and her family's struggling auction business. She calls a Chicago exper ...

Across the Lake: Traveling with Jesus Across the Sea of Galilee

Road Trip Rescue

A heartwarming adventure for kids ages 8-12 with a missing dog, a determined girl, a pink-haired aunt, and themes of faith and friendship. Twelve-year-old Kimmy trusts dogs more than people. After all, her dog Bo never made fun of her for having one hand. But two years ago, Bo di ...

The Yorktown Christmas Time Travel Trilogy

The Yorktown Christmas Time Travel Novellas are now in a boxed set! Includes bonus short story The Conservatory. Seeking Second Chances… Journey through time with three friends as they find romance and happily ever afters! Max: Successful merchant Max, cursed in 1769, travels forward through time to ...

Glimmer in the Darkness

Nothing could get her home…but this. Cassidy Leblanc worked hard to shake off her tragic childhood. As a foster child with a mother in prison for murder, she was an outcast in her small New Hampshire town until she met James. But she and James’s sister, whom she was babysitting, were kidnapped. She ...

Avalanche

“Avalanche surprised me with its depth…a 5-star read…” -For the Love of Literature

Five friends. One moonlit summit. An unforgettable journey.

Excitement hangs in the air as Marlee and her sisters join their friends on a daring hike up a Colorado ...

Princess Tiara and the Battle for Fruitful

Why does General Sorgos seek to destroy and desecrate strategic sites in the Kingdom of Fruitful? Is his motive revenge, or is he just plain evil?  And is there really a hidden treasure in the Cave of Stones?

 

As enemy soldiers approach the castle, ...

120 Day Micro-Blessings Journal: Your Journey of Reflection, Prayer, Gratitude, and Personal Growth

Unlock the power of gratitude and joy in your life with the "120 Days of Micro-Blessings" journal. This unique journaling experience will take you on a transformative 120-day journey of self-discovery, reflection, and spiritual growth. With insightful prompts and meaningful messages, you'll gain ...

Myth or Mysteries

The apostle Paul and Jesus spoke of deeper knowledge, which the Church of their time wasn't ready to receive. But recently that information has finally begun to flow in preparation for the return of Christ. This book is the result of decades of study, and a special calling from God. Deep mysteries o ...

A Spiritual War

This E-Book contains revelations of mysteries from the Bible you're unlikely to find anywhere else. It was not derived from personal opinions, but out of a special calling from God, followed by the continuous powerful inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Would you like to know why Jesus gave up the ghost ...