With her Marine husband serving overseas, will Jenna trust God's plans for their marriage--or find comfort in another's arms? Jenna Beaumont Mason had her marriage all planned out. But what she didn't plan was her husband, Kevin, unexpectedly reenlisting in the U.S. Marines--without her knowledge. When Kevin is assigned to serve in Iraq, Jenna struggles with loneliness and resentment at his lengthy absence. This is not the life she wanted. With the support of other military wives and much prayer, Jenna tries to accept this new reality in her marriage. But when a caring, handsome--and very available--man offers Jenna the comfort she longs for, she struggles to stay faithful to far-away Kevin. Things grow even more complicated for Jenna and her parents when a mysterious young woman named Skylar shows up at their home, the Hacienda Hideaway. When Skylar's past finally catches up with her, she puts the Beaumonts at risk not only of broken hearts, but of something even more dangerous. As the Beaumonts grow in their love for God and each other, they learn that sometimes the best way to reconcile relationships is by surrendering control. Claire and Max Beaumont have grown closer through trials of faith, but their adult children still have a long way to go toward achieving happiness. Erik and Rosie are becoming closer as he fights his alcohol addiction and she overcomes her guilt for shooting him. Lexi is slowly coming to terms with her anorexia, but Jenna, used to being royally treated, resents her husband Kevin’s decision to enlist and refuses to buy into the Marine credo of supporting the wives of her husband’s command. Danny, faithful as a child, has become confrontational and legalistic in his attitudes and loses no opportunity to interrogate the enigmatic new cook, Skylar Pierson, who arrived at their door in answer to Indio’s prayers. Sally and Smalley develop several themes from Ecclesiastes 3 in their Safe Harbor contemporary Christian inspirational series (A Time to Mend and A Time to Gather, both 2008) as Claire and Max gently but firmly encourage their children to venture forth from their comfort zone and reach out in faith. --Lynne Welch A Time to Surrender By SALLY JOHN GARY SMALLEY Thomas Nelson Copyright © 2009 Sally John and Gary Smalley All right reserved. ISBN: 978-1-59554-430-8 Chapter One Few things unhinged Jenna Beaumont Mason. She could do cool, calm, and collected. She could do serene. She could go with the flow. She could chill. Honestly, she taught grammar and John Donne's poetry to sixteen-year-olds! "Jenna Mason." A rushing noise whistled through her head again. Her ears burned. The base of her throat pulsated in sync with a wildly erratic heartbeat. She flicked her straight black hair off a shoulder. "Jenna?" Behind the podium onstage, the high school principal, Cade Edmunds, smiled in a gentle, expectant way. Which was totally out of character for him. Which totally defined the insanity of the moment. Jenna sat with ninety-nine other abnormally subdued faculty members in the high school auditorium. Ten of those people, including herself, were related to military personnel, all currently deployed overseas. Ten teachers who had an infinite number of other things to do before the first day of school tomorrow . Ten teachers who had countless better things to do than sit around while their principal singled them out for a salute to the armed forces-aka pity party . Cade extended his hand, palm up, waiting. Beside her, the sophomore lit teacher touched Jenna's arm. The woman's eyes looked like overfilled bathtubs. Evidently Jenna's fairy godmother had taken a hike. There would be no poof ing her from this wretched scene. Jenna rose to her full five-eight height, careful not to slouch, and stood rigidly next to her seat. "As most of you know," Cade said, "Jenna's husband is Kevin Mason, last year's winning varsity football coach and PE teacher here at Sundance High. He's a Marine, serving in ..." Jenna tuned out her boss and glanced around. Two others stood with her. That left seven to go. Seven more loved ones to name along with their branch, rank, unit, platoon, or whatnot numbers. Seven more foreign, unpronounceable locations to reference. John Donne had it all wrong. "No man is an island"? Yeah, right. She disagreed. She was totally an island, hemmed in by huge swells of dread. The warm fuzzies directed her way at that moment could not build bridges over such waves. Applause could not warm her bed or explain why he left or fill the lonely dinner hour night after night. Jenna blinked rapidly, focused on Cade Edmunds, and blinked some more. The principal was a good guy. Great with the students, respected by his staff, liked by most parents. His tearing her inside out in public, however, was the most idiotic thing he'd ever done. She remained deadpan throughout his presentation and imagined chiding him. The mental exercise worked.