Why Does The Parable Of The Mustard Seed Have That Title?

Faith has spent her entire high school career sliding under the radar. A traumatic childhood has left her emotionally scarred and afraid of letting too many people too close. After making a mysterious friend, Faith decides maybe opening up just a little won't be so bad. Unfortunately, the high school playboy has set his sights on her, and he never loses. Cameron has everything he could ever dream of, looks, wealth, and any girl he wants. But Cameron has a secret, he hates the spotlight and he has fallen for the one person who actively avoids it and him. How does the school's biggest playboy win over the school's biggest recluse?

A bloody resistance against colonial invasion that tears Seme's indigenous leadership apart marks the entry of a strange culture into the clan. Osayo, the priest, seeks to protect the clan's religious system from erosion by the Blue-eyed (colonists). He, however, has to face off with a few loose canons, including his own son who escapes to a mission center far from home and ends up falling in love with a convert. In the meantime, a terrible plague breaks out in the clan, killing animals and people and leaving the land barren. Coupled by a misunderstanding of concepts in the new faith propagated by the Blue-eyed, a longstanding rift and blame game emerge between the converts and the conservatives, and spuns into a cutural marriage. Soon afterward, Osayo dies and his son, Okayo, realizes he has a greater role to play. The supernormal powers of the clan's aboriginal religious tree are stolen by a witch in line with a prophetic myth. And in a painful and tumultous mission to reunite the two conflicting religions of Seme Clan and limit the Blue-eyed's influence, Okayo puts his front foot forward in combating witchcraft so as to have the tree's powers in safe custody, and protect good from being superseded by evil.

Life isn't all roses, but it's also not all thorns; it's what you make it and the result of some decisions and steps you take along the way. Thorns & Roses is a coming-of-age story about Leila Adams, a high school student who experiences true friendship, terror, first love, abuse, betrayal and heartbreak while trying to find herself. Verbally abused constantly by her father, her self-esteem plummets drastically and she consequently puts up with a toxic relationship with her crush, Ackleth, and makes some poor decisions about her future. With the help of her best friend, Ella, she is able to fight her demons, dump her toxic boyfriend, get her self-esteem back on track and find true love again.

When I was seven years old, my father began subjecting me to extremely strict parenting. Not only did he withhold any support for my food, clothing, housing, or daily necessities, but he even charged me for drinking water in our own home. As a child, I endured relentless suffering and bullying. When I was critically injured by a vehicle that broke the law, I was severely injured, and my father refused to save me. Only after my death did I learn the truth that he already had a son somewhere out there. Everything he did to me was meant to drive me to my death. After rebirth, I no longer adhered to rules nor endured silently. Exploiting the fact that I was still a minor, I stabbed his secretary, bullied my classmates at school, and even set a fire on campus to force my father to give up on his brutal methods. When I grew up, I took everything he owned and sent him to prison. Only then was my revenge completed.

Selina, a young single mother struggling to rebuild her life, carries the weight of abandonment, financial hardship, and society’s harsh judgment. One stormy night, broken from betrayal and despair, she crosses paths with Darius King, a wealthy and powerful businessman mourning the death of his beloved wife during childbirth. In a moment of vulnerability, their worlds collide, leading to a one-night encounter neither of them expects to matter until Selina discovers she is pregnant again. Determined to stand on her own, Selina applies for a job at King International, desperate for stability. Instead of sympathy, she is met with prejudice from Juliana, the company’s sharp-tongued HR officer. But fate intervenes when Darius himself walks in and recognizes Selina as the woman from that night. Shocked to learn about the child she carries, he is torn between anger, guilt, and an overwhelming sense of responsibility. As workplace tension blends with undeniable attraction, secrets unravel. Darius confronts his pain and the possibility of loving again, while Selina faces jealousy from those who wish to see her fail. When Juliana and others try to push her out of King International, Selina’s resilience is tested, but Darius finds himself standing by her side. Together, they must confront their scars: a man afraid to love after loss, and a woman terrified of being used and abandoned again. Their journey weaves through heartbreak, second chances, and the search for healing proving that love, in its purest form, costs nothing but the courage to accept it. In the end, Selina and Darius embrace not only each other but also a new future one where love is not bound by wealth, grief, or the mistakes of the past, but strengthened by forgiveness and hope.

After my hundredth disastrous blind date, my best friend and I made a bold decision: we would have children without husbands. She chose sperm from a brilliant PhD donor. I chose a donor with an eight-nation mixed heritage. Later, the PhD donor from Kingsford University was diagnosed with low sperm motility and decided he wanted to marry my friend, Melissa Shaw. She agreed. Whenever she saw me going to my prenatal checkups alone, Melissa would wrap her arm around her husband and mock me. "You're destined to be alone," she sneered. "You can't even find a man to marry you. My husband just launched a major national research project. His future is limitless." What she did not know was that the father of my child was the Prince of Dubaria. He took me back to his country and made me his princess. The jewels I wore were so heavy they practically weighed me down. However, after she saw the yacht I posted on social media, Melissa suddenly called me in tears. "I don't know what happened," she sobbed. "My husband's project was suddenly suspended. We can barely afford baby formula for our child." She said she wanted to make up and even asked if I would be her child’s godmother. However, the moment I stepped through her door, she raised a chainsaw and hacked me to death. "Why do you get to live a better life than me?" she screamed. "Just because you chose better sperm?!" When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day my best friend and I first decided to have children without husbands.