Encounters in Bethlehem

By Susan E. Graham

The inn in Bethlehem was crowded because of the census being conducted by the Emperor Augustus. Among those at the inn were a man and his pregnant wife, but there were many others there as well in this work of Biblical fiction: the innkeeper and his family; an elderly woman and her granddaughters and a childless couple who were there for the census; a rejected Roman wife traveling from Egypt to Rome; and an itinerant carpenter searching for work among the crowds of the census. These are only a few of the people in this story who stayed at the inn that night, but their life circumstances led them to be caught up in an unexpected birth of a baby that occurred behind the inn, in the stable. Encounters in Bethlehem tells how the birth of Jesus influenced them all, bringing them assurance and peace and the love of God.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Susan E. Graham
• Release date: Sep 12, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310671654

Susan E. Graham

I grew up in Illinois and have been writing since first grade, the only student who didn't groan when the teacher assigned composition. I was honored in second grade for spelling "dessert" correctly (instead of "desert"). In high school, I wrote for my school newspaper and was on the staff of the creative writing magazine. I served as typist and editor on the creative writing magazine for two years in college and took the creative writing class twice, winning the creative writing contest once for my poetry and once for a short story. When my children were in school, I began to work at home by becoming a copy editor for doctoral students' dissertations. I have been devoted to books and writing, words and language, all my life, but this is my own first publication. Over the last 20 years, my writing has been focused on my work as preacher/minister for small local Illinois churches in the United Church of Christ. I still live in Illinois, with my husband Jon. My four children are grown, but have provided me with a lot of material to turn into books!

Book preview

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