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Emily Josephine
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The Envelope: A Christian romance novel (Texas Hearts Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Emily Josephine (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 2,921 ratings
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One teacher, running toward the will of God...
Another teacher, falling fast for her, but running away from the will of God...
The child with the open and tender heart who brings them together...
And a forgotten envelope that holds the key to everything...

[PLEASE NOTE: The language that offended some of the reviewers of earlier editions of this novel has been removed.] Sheila Carson is a Kindergarten teacher in Dallas, Texas, estranged from her family while struggling with feeling more and more dissatisfied with her job. For the same reason she’s avoided her family like the plague these past few years, the last thing she wants to do is get into a relationship with a man. So she does what she can to avoid the new fifth-grade teacher, a handsome, fun-loving man named Hank Johnson who seems determined to make inroads with her.

Hank finally succeeds on the day that Sheila’s favorite student, Diana, goes missing and he agrees to help Sheila look for her after school. Finding Diana means finding out that she’s being taken care of by her aunt Rosa, whose career is less than family-friendly, to say the least. And that discovery leads to Sheila getting involved with Diana on a personal level that ultimately endangers her teaching career. In the meantime, she and Hank deepen their connection, even as Sheila feels more and more certain that God is calling her to the foreign mission field. But, like Sheila, Hank is hiding his own past wounds, wounds that have created a fear that seems insurmountable.

Wounds that happened on the mission field.

Wounds that have led Hank to the conviction that God doesn’t care for him as he once believed. His fear and hidden anger toward God tear him away from the woman he thought God had brought to him to be his partner in life. He is hanging to his faith by a thread, even while Sheila’s faith strengthens to the point that she can forgive the vengeful actions that Diana’s father has taken against her…leading to a miraculous work of God in the little girl’s family.

This victory cannot erase the pain of Hank’s abandoning their relationship, which she has to carry it with her as she prepares for her first trip overseas. If only he would find the envelope…

This forgotten envelope is the key to pushing Hank to overcome his fears…and ultimately, admitting his true feelings for Sheila. The message the envelope contains is the key to Sheila being able to forgive herself for the tragedy that has embittered her siblings toward her. It may even be the key for reconciliation with her family.

But time is short, and the envelope must be found, and be delivered at just the right time…
**********
This story is a full-length Christian romance novel , and the first book in Emily Josephine’s series, “Texas Hearts.”
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  1. Book 1 of 5
    Texas Hearts
  2. Print length
    286 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publication date
    July 11, 2012
  6. File size
    573 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B008KFBBVE
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ JEB Publications; 4th edition (July 11, 2012)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 11, 2012
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 573 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 286 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 2,921 ratings

About the author

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Emily Josephine

Emily Josephine

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Assuming she's still alive when you read this, Emily Josephine lives somewhere on Planet Earth with a couple of people she refers to as "family" when she's in a good mood, writing stories with characters who lead much more interesting lives than she does, with an eye toward entertaining readers as well as encouraging them to grow into the person God created them to be, and in so doing endeavoring to kick the habit of writing run-on sentences; however, she sometimes waxes Charles Dickens-ish and is at such times unable to help herself - and speaking of famous people, if you look for "Emily Josephine" on any social media site or on YouTube, you will find more than one person going by that gorgeous name, but it will not be THE Emily Josephine, the author about whom you are now reading, because Emily Josephine The Author is severely and deathly allergic to both social media and YouTube, and if anyone tries to assert the proposition that such an allergy is an absolute and certain impossibility, she will stoutly deny their denial, "stout" being an absolute and certain absurdity in this context as there has never been anything stout about Emily except for the blessedly brief period of her life when she was pregnant and a mommy to a newborn baby.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
2,921 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Debbie Clark
5.0 out of 5 stars The Envelope book that I got on Kindle from Amazon
Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2012
Verified Purchase
Tragedy and guilt follow Sheila Carson around like a sick puppy, causing continual estrangement from her family and a heavy fear of getting too close to other people, especially other people of the opposite sex. She cannot bear the thought of accidentally destroying another man's life again.

Then she meets Hank Johnson. At first, the new fifth-grade teacher gets on Sheila's nerves, especially after a run-in between one of his students and one of her Kindergarteners. But Hank's rugged handsomeness and fun-loving personality begin to win Sheila over when he ends up one day after school, helping her to search for her favorite student, Diana, who mysteriously goes missing.

Sheila's faith in God compels her to take a personal interest in Dianas's broken home life, and at the same time makes her begin to wonder if Hank might be part of God's plan for her life.

But while Hank attends church and seems to have his own brand of faith, he is hiding his own past tragedy that has caused him to doubt God's love for him during the past several years. So when Sheila's heart begins to lead her in the direction of missions, Hank abruptly drops his relationship with her.

But it cannot end there. A mysterious envelope that Hank has forgotten about turns out to be an intricate and shocking connection between both their tragic paths.

Will Sheila ever receive the forgiveness she desperately needs? Will Hank ever admit his love for Sheila - and shake off the past hurt that threatens to keep them apart? "The Envelope" weaves together the lives of one man, one woman and an innocent five-year-old girl to bring about a heart wrenching story of healing, forgiveness and God's persistent love.

What a fantastic book!!! I just finished reading this book. I highly recommend it. This is a book that I would love to see in a movie. I don't see any other books writted by P.J. Donaldson. I hope that she/he will be writing more books!
7 people found this helpful
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Robin
4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, but a caution
Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2017
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I really enjoyed this book. I felt it was well written with enough plot twists to keep me wanting to read more. I enjoyed how the author used supernatural events to build the story line showing how God can and does work through individuals willing to be used by Him. I would have given the book 5 stars if not for one thing. I was saddened by the fact that the Lord's name was taken in vain several times through the book. In my opinion it was not necessary and added nothing to the book that could not have been said in a different manner.
52 people found this helpful
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S.V.
5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Story of God's redeeming love and restoration
Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2016
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I really enjoyed the book. It is a wonderful story of God's redeeming love and restoration of two peope. The book was very engaging from the begining to the end. The plot kept developing and held the reader in suspence to the end of the story. It is a book that shows the supernatural power of God to heal the physical bodies as well as the emotional hurts of the main characters. It protraits in depth the inner struggle they went through to follow God's call on their lives. It shows how fragile the human emotions are and how through God's grace and prompting of the Holy Spirit the main characters went from forgiveness to themselves to taking their cross to fulfill the destiny God had for them.
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suzette
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful!
Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2022
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What an amazing story of God's love, grace, and mercy. If you are an unbeliever, this book can turn your life around. The story may be fiction, but the power of God and prayer are 100% true.
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R. Miller
3.0 out of 5 stars 2.5 stars: The Envelope by Emily Josephine
Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2016
Verified Purchase
Sheila and Hank both have traumatic incidents in their pasts that they keep secret, not realizing the roadblocks those secrets are to building their relationship and obeying God.

Best bits: I appreciate how Hank's creative-goofball personality and Sheila's more structured personality compliment each other, and certainly neither one is shy about evangelizing -- they sound like a pretty excellent missionary couple. God is very real to the characters, even when, like Hank, they are ignoring him. Hanging on to secret guilt, like Sheila or especially Linda, is clearly a bad thing, as is refusing to obey God. And God uses even unlikely messengers, like a 5 year old girl.

Issues: (Possible SPOILERS) I can understand Sheila's reluctance to confess she caused a child's death, though her angry avoidance every time someone even approaches the issue is not inspiring. It makes her come across as cold and harsh more than she would be otherwise. Hank's refusal to speak of his past in missions or the plane crash is harder to understand. I guess he's also weighed down by guilt and shame, but his only fault is in ignoring God's will afterward, which seems small compared to a child's death. Yet Sheila opens up about the accident and starts letting it go before Hank does, stubborn man. Some typos, a few which made me cringe. I feel like the book assumes all readers will have a familiarity with some of the more Pentecostal elements of Christianity, when I'm sure that's not the case. Some of the side plots I'm also not sold on -- the Miguel in love-hate with Sheila bit, the what's-going-on-with-Hank-and-Barbara bit, and Linda's terminal cancer. I'm not convinced these added to the story at all.
9 people found this helpful
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Sharon McGhehey
5.0 out of 5 stars Faith will overcome adversity if you let God be in charge.
Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2020
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Wow! It was so refreshing to read a book with Spiritual insight throughout. The author has an intimate relationship with true faith and Christianity. This story kept me wanting to see what was on the next page as it progressed in intensity. Suspense as a child and her humble faith helped her Aunt and father become believers. She also had a huge impact on her teacher and others. Gripping throughout, this is a great beginning to a series I'm excited to continue!
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Katie Kindle Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining
Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2024
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This is a story of running away from one's mistakes and accidents. Yet, escaping is not always easy or even possible. Redemption and forgiveness are needed. Enjoy reading of this bittersweet journey.
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Roger P. Malone
5.0 out of 5 stars As you travel through life, don't leave things to chance, especially relationships.Roger
Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2020
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I liked the book. It was better than a movie. I like stories where I identify with one of the characters in the story. That didn't happen with this story as I felt the characters were a little too full of themselves. However, it did keep my attention and I did enjoy the book.
I also liked that the story was wrapped up in a Christian context. I plan on reading more from this author.
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Top reviews from other countries

Nicole Ollenberg
5.0 out of 5 stars God’s will is best
Reviewed in Canada on May 8, 2021
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This was a compelling story with a good reminder that we need to be obedient and continue on the path that God has set out for us, at all costs. I loved reading a story that the characters were teachers, as I connect with that. It was written in such a way that the characters and plot were believable and yet, the message of filling God’s will was skillfully woven within the pages.
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alimo
5.0 out of 5 stars Great story...great lessons
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 19, 2019
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The connection to the opening didn’t come until the final chapters but it was a good read...how our amazing God works ALL things together ....for His children, even when we cannot see things happening...perhaps at a different time, or even a different country
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Kerralyn
4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating story
Reviewed in Australia on September 29, 2020
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A good story with interesting plot twists. While perhaps some of the God-orchestrated "co-incidences" were slightly unbelievable, God can work in ways we can't imagine to bring physical and emotional healing. This story was a strong reminder of the power of forgiveness.
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Audrey
5.0 out of 5 stars Forgive or not to forgive
Reviewed in Canada on September 10, 2020
Verified Purchase
Pretty good read. It deals with issues we often face in real life especially when it comes to forgiveness and how not forgiving can affect many people.
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Olamide Vera-Cruz
4.0 out of 5 stars Very enjoyable and unpredictable
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 23, 2021
Verified Purchase
Sat with it till I got to the end. The author keeps you wondering, which for me is most important.

I gained new insight into Ps 14. I'll now always be careful about saying no to God. A good deal of us his children are indeed fools. When you read the book, you'll understand what I mean.
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