Showing results by author "Julia Derek" in All Categories

Money is a fact of everyday life. We earn it, spend it and save it. We’re tempted to worship it and to trust it to provide for our needs. While much has been written about the power, danger, and stewardship of money, little has been written about what money actually is and whether or not money itself is moral. That information gap has been exploited to enrich a privileged few, enslave millions, and reap confusion and division throughout the world. How did this happen and what can we do about it?

Jennifer Hanson comes home and catches her 12-year-old son, Shane, stabbing their cat to death. Thankfully, he doesn't see her. She has long known Shane has a brain with psychopathic tendencies. Ever since he accidentally shot his father to death at age six, she has done everything she can to ensure Shane doesn't become a full-blown psychopath. She can tell he's changing, becoming increasingly dangerous, but she can't stomach putting him in a psych ward. But then she finds pictures of a dead girl in his phone, a girl everyone thought had died accidentally.

Stay-at-home mom Yvonne Landis enters her kitchen one day to meet a huge surprise: Seated on a chair is her son, Gabe. He went missing when he was ten years old, more than three years ago. It turns out he was abducted by pedophiles who made his existence a living hell. Yvonne is determined to heal Gabe. Her husband Ben is not completely on board with that idea, especially since Gabe stabbed him with a fork shortly after they were reunited. Then disturbing things happen to their younger son, 9-year-old Joseph, and Gabe may be behind those, too....

Shane Hanson is living a nightmare. Not only is his mother an escaped prisoner out to kill him, but he also suspects that his precocious half sister, four-year-old Neera, has inherited their mom's psychopathic tendencies. When Neera's father suddenly dies from a heart attack, Shane's even more convinced that Neera is a budding psychopath; after all, she triggered the deadly heart attack. The authorities reject the idea that Neera tried to hurt her father on purpose, but Shane sees increasing signs that something is wrong. Then Neera suddenly disappears.

Yvonne Landis has escaped from a mental institution, where she was treated for psychosis. Accused of murder, she will stand trial once psychiatrists deem her fit enough to understand her charges. Only Yvonne knows that she didn't kill her husband; her son Gabe did. Because she was onto him, he tricked the authorities into believing that Mom killed Dad. Having been traumatized in his tweens, he suffers from extreme anger issues. In order to deal with them, he must kill on occasion.

The Penners openly share their journeys through trauma and grief, and welcome guests to do the same through honest and heartfelt conversations, all while giving glory to God and exploring how He can truly take all things that seem messy and make them beautiful. Grab your coffee and join the conversation, every Friday with the Penners.

Seventeen-year-old Gabe Landis has issues. Anger issues, due to severe trauma. If he doesn't address his ever-present anger, he'll explode. No orthodox methods help him. The only way he gets true peace is when he takes a life. Temporary peace, that is. Yvonne Landis, his mother, has issues, too. Not only does she suffer from schizophrenia, but she's also a fugitive. She was held at a mental institution to stand trial for her husband's murder.

She and her husband were out on date night when the fatal car accident happened. The airbag that saved her life malfunctioned on his side of the car. Then, as she crawled to safety, the car blew up. As if it’s not enough to lose her husband, Yvonne soon has reason to suspect that her son Joseph staged the accident, as well as deactivated the airbag earlier in the day. Joseph, once a model child, has recently displayed antisocial tendencies by joining a domestic terrorist cell. He may be back home now, but he’s still mad with his parents for ignoring him for years.

Gabe was once abducted and severely abused. Having escaped a few years ago and gone through significant therapy, he is almost back to normal. Except, his mother Yvonne realizes he has some serious anger issues to deal with when he almost beats a fellow teen to death for messing with his new car. Yvonne keeps his issues from the rest of the family, which may prove to be a huge mistake when tensions between Gabe and his father Ben rise. Ben has problems of his own involving alcohol, resulting in him having loose lips. What if Ben accidentally reveals the family’s dark secret to Gabe?

Shane Hanson was set up for a double homicide when he was only 13-years-old. His relative did it because she blames him for the death of her one true love. After spending five years in juvie, he’s released on parole and determined to reveal the truth about his relative. In the meantime, he meets a girl he develops feelings for. Shane's relative is a psychopath so good at manipulating people that she has managed to get everyone to believe Shane killed two people that she’s killed.