A covenant is a solemn, binding agreement. God chose to unilaterally enter into a covenant with Abraham. No matter what Abraham said or did, God vowed to uphold the terms and bless Abraham. Marriage is a covenant of trust built on that example, where husband and wife promise to love each other and be faithful to each other until death. These books explore how that covenant endures.
In the background of each story, God calls the characters to enter into a covenant of trust with Him, challenging them to place unwavering trust in His sovereignty, His purpose and His unfailing love for each of them.
In Book 1, Contingency (December 2010), that covenant is broken.
Bobbi Molinsky’s comfortable life is shattered when a forwarded email from her husband’s account lands in her inbox. The email teases, “My whole evening is free again.” After an angry confrontation with Chuck, she is left with the broken remains of an eighteen year marriage.
Bobbi agrees that forgiving Chuck is the right thing, the God-honoring thing to do, but it leaves her empty and isolated. Teaching her second-graders is a burden. Taking care of her boys saps all her energy. It seems God Himself has walked away, leaving her to struggle alone.
Bobbi can’t deny the transformation in Chuck, but genuine forgiveness requires trust, and trust is a risk she’s not willing to take. Can she let go of her deepest, most primal fears and save her marriage?
Preview Contingency
In Book 2, Indemnity (April 2011), that covenant is threatened from the outside.
After years of believing Chuck’s affair is behind them, Bobbi’s marriage is tested again when Tracy Ravenna resurfaces. Tracy’s not alone, though. Jackson Charles Ravenna is the newest student in Bobbi’s first grade class and the spitting image of her husband. When Chuck decides to pursue joint custody, they discover Jack isn’t the only secret Tracy’s been hiding.
As Tracy’s past begins to threaten their future with Jack, Bobbi is forced to face the unsettling truth about God’s grace. But this time, what will it cost to forgive the unforgivable?
Preview Indemnity
In Book 3, Precedent (October 2011), that covenant is tested to its limits.
Twelve years after Indemnity, the family is shattered by an act of senseless violence. Shannon, Bobbi and Chuck’s teenage daughter, proclaims that it’s all a result of a curse Chuck brought on the family when he committed adultery. More crises for the Molinsky family -Shannon leaves home, and Bobbi is diagnosed with breast cancer- leave Chuck wrestling with just how much responsibility he bears, and how (or if) he can ever make things right.
Preview Precedent
In Book 4, Sanction (November 2013) the covenant brings the past and present together and sets the Molinsky family’s course for the future.
Just months after Shannon’s homecoming, she finds re-adjusting to life at home is not as easy as she anticipated. A new wave of guilt crashes over her as her family learns that her encounter with Dylan Snider was anything but consensual. Complicating matters is Matt Bolling. The former missionary kid turned preacher is more than interested in her, but she is certain after her months as a prodigal, Matt is out of her league.
With her cancer gone and retired from teaching, Bobbi struggles to find purpose beyond caring for her family. When she proposes taking over Brad’s mission, that touches off an unforeseen conflict with her husband.
Chuck’s quest for justice, unexpectedly forces him to re-examine his definitions of forgiveness and grace when events demand that he seek it from and offer it to the unlikeliest people.
Preview Sanction
