Book picks similar to
Facing East by Carol Lynn Pearson


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religion
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lgbtq-plays

Stuff That Needs to Be Said: Essential Words on Life, Death, Faith, Politics, Love, and Giving a Damn


John Pavlovitz - 2020
    This expansive, like-hearted community transcends race, orientation, gender, religious tradition, political affiliation, and nation of origin--and finds its affinity in the deeper place of our shared humanity, which is the True North of his writing. This collection lovingly pulls together some of John's most widely-read and most beloved essays on faith, politics, grief, and the elemental parts of being human. It is an encouraging, inspiring, challenging storehouse of "stuff that needs to be said."

Upon Destiny's Song


Mike Ericksen - 2013
    Ane Marie Madsen was only ten-years-old when she immigrated to Utah with her family. She was numbered in the ill-fated Willie Handcart Company of 1856, which saw the deaths of almost a third of the company when winter storms hit Wyoming. After settling in Utah, Ane Marie’s faith is tested once again as her path moves through the misadventures of colonizing a new territory ridden with danger and disease. Over 150 years later, descendent Mike Ericksen retells this epic journey and discovers lessons for his own modern sojourn.Ericksen has previously told the story of his ancestors harrowing trek through song and speaking engagements held across the country. Now the amazing story and its beautiful message is finally available in "Upon Destiny’s Song."

If It Wasn't For Tony


Anna Black - 2013
    But as usual her promise to herself is broken, because it was impossible for her not to fall heart first for TONY. Things developed quickly, but then their whirlwind romance suddenly comes to a halt when TONY decides things are too heavy for him and he wants space. After he moves out, he doesn't move on and JOCELYN allows him to play the in and out game, until she meets BRIAN. Ready to finally let TONY go and get him out of her system, she cuts the cord, but finds herself in a horrible situation in the end, all because of TONY.

Living in Your True Identity: Discover, Embrace, and Develop Your Own Divine Nature


Brooke Snow - 2018
    Beneath the layers of society's expectations, the roles you fill, and the messages you've been told, you'll find your whole, perfect, and worthy self. This empowering book is filled with exercises and actions you can take today to begin experiencing more of your life in the best way ever--as you!

Sex & Love &


Bob Hicok - 2016
    Throughout, poetry is discovered to be among our most effective tools to examine the delirium of making contact."Hot":The sexiest thing a woman has ever doneto or with or for me—while wearing the loose breezeof a dress or standing inside its red zero on the floor—while bending over and pulling her shorts downon a racquetball court or to reach the watershutoff valve behind the fridge—as Satiewhispers against our thighs or hummingher brain's native tune as we touchthe smudged glass protecting extinct beetlesin a museum—with her lips swaddling my tongueor finger up my ass—is tell the truth—which makes my wife the hottest womanI've ever known—her mouth erotic every timeshe speaks—she is an animal when it comes to sexand love—comes to us—in that she doesn't primpin front of the mirror of what she thinks I wanther to say or be—the only real flesh—only nakedthat matters––how she looks at meBob Hicok's poems have appeared in the New Yorker, Poetry, and the American Poetry Review. His books have been awarded the Bobbitt Prize from the Library of Congress and named a "Notable Book of the Year" by Booklist. Hicok has worked as an automotive die designer and a computer system administrator. He is currently teaching at Purdue University.

Pathways to Joy: The Master Vivekananda on the Four Yoga Paths to God


Vivekananda - 2006
    He showed that, far from being an exotic novelty, Hinduism was an important, legitimate spiritual tradition with valuable lessons for the West. Pathways to Joy is a selection of 108 of his sacred teachings on Vedanta philosophy. In accessible and powerful prose, Vivekananda illuminates the four classical yoga paths — karma, bhakti, raja, and jnana — for the different natures of humankind. The messages focus on the oneness of existence; the divinity of the soul; the truth in all religions; and unifying with the Divine within. Invaluable and inspiring, the selections also explore karma, maya, rebirth, and other great revelations of Hinduism.

The North Face of God


Ken Gire - 2005
    Sometimes, when the cold winds of life blow and we cry out to God, he's silent, and we wonder if he still cares about us--or ever cared. Drawing on the Psalms, Ken Gire climbs the mountainous terrain of God's seeming indifference and helps us learn how to hold on to hope, despite our circumstances. He also calls us to become good "climbing partners" for other people who need help and encouragement along the way.

God is in Control


Charles F. Stanley - 2003
    Fortunately, we also live in a world with the answer -- a wise and all-knowing Father.God Is In Control is inspired by a series of fresh messages from pastor and best-selling author Charles Stanley. His powerful message is simply that we can recognize, appreciate and rely on God's sovereignty even when our whole world seems out of control. God is always at work for His beloved. In addition, Stanley blesses the reader with his own nature photography, offering unique glimpses of the natural beauty crafted by our very own Creator.Whether a graduate, parent or simply someone going through a challenging time, Charles Stanley offers direction, trust and hope. Let him show you how blessed we are to have a God who is always in control.

Marriage, Divorce, And Remarriage


Kenneth E. Hagin - 2002
    Kenneth E. Hagin offers comfort and help from the Word of God concerning issues related to marriage, divorce, and remarriage. Rev. Hagin also brings clarity and understanding to the common miscon

Christmas Lights


Christine Pisera Naman - 2007
    Christmas Lights, Naman’s first work of fiction, evokes that same warmth and tenderness in stories set during the holiday season and centered on the lives of ordinary women. In separate vignettes, we meet Katherine, who is taking care of her ailing husband; Julianna, juggling with construction paper, scissors, and rubber cement in a room full of high-spirited four-year-olds; Adrianna, struggling with the difficulties of marriage; Cassandra, the busy mother of toddlers; Victoria, searching for a love to call her own; Alexandra, a young woman waiting for word from her doctor about an uncertain diagnosis; and Isabella, discovering the gift of motherhood. The lives of all the women come together in a moving conclusion that perfectly captures the heart and soul of the holiday spirit. Alternately laugh-out-loud funny and poignant, Christmas Lights celebrates the most significant aspects of the season. Small, beautifully designed, and full of festive cheer, it is the ideal gift for anyone longing to rediscover the magic of Christmas.

Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman


Eric J. Sterling - 2008
    The topics include feminism and the role of women in the drama, the American Dream, business and capitalism, the significance of technology, the legacy that Willy leaves to Biff, and Miller's use of symbolism. The authors of the essays include prominent Arthur Miller scholars such as Terry Otten and the late Steven Centola as well as young, emerging scholars. Some of the essays, particularly the ones written by the emerging scholars, tend to employ literary theory while the ones by the established scholars tend to illustrate the strengths of traditional criticism by interpreting the text closely. It is fascinating to see how scholars at different stages of their academic careers approach a given topic from distinct perspectives and sometimes diverse methodologies. The essays offer insightful and provocative readings of Death of a Salesman in a collection that will prove quite useful to scholars and students of Miller's most famous play.

An Iconic Love: A Hood Romance


Shaytreice - 2015
    She refuses to be like Faith or Pam and she soon finds out just how different she is from the two. Throughout her young life she manages to avoid two rapes, yet she isn’t successful at avoiding a few brawls with her very own mother. When she no longer wants to run to her best friend Ti-Ti and Ti-Ti’s mother, Mama Toni, to protect her, she finds comfort, support, and true love in Saginaw’s most eligible bachelor. She quickly learns the trials and tribulations that come along with a man of such status. Iconic: A maturing young twenty-five-year-old who has survived the streets and drug game and is still on top. He has been so knee deep in dealing with hood fame and keeping his legit businesses afloat that he hasn’t had time to truly focus on love. Everything is going well for Conic until love comes unexpectedly knocking at his door. Conic soon learns just how crazy falling in love can be. From falling in love with a younger woman, unexpected fatherhood, to crazy exes, Conic starts to believe he can’t win for losing. Iconic Love: There is a phrase that says ‘everything happens for a reason.’ For whatever reason, the universe brought Iconic and Love together, and together they are both determined to persevere through whatever comes their way. But do the two strangers turned lovers have what it takes to weather the storms that are brewing against them?

A Pleasant Escape


Piyush Rohankar - 2020
    A chance encounter with Sarah seems like destiny’s compensation for all his hard work. He also meets buddies for a lifetime. Their life-stories of love, regret, friendship and shattered dreams take him through Kashmir and Turkey; from brothels to hospitals; and from dingy quarters to the hallowed halls of UPSC.When life finally seems to be coming back on track, he stumbles upon a truth that is bound to change him and the rest of his life.Will Alok crack the exam, or will he be just one of the many soon-forgotten aspirants? Will a strange revelation make him see his life as A Pleasant Escape?

Somewhere More Holy: Stories from a Bewildered Father, Stumbling Husband, Reluctant Handyman, and Prodigal Son


Tony Woodlief - 2010
    When he and his wife lost their adored little girl, his trust in God turned to bitter anger. As he and his wife struggled to save their marriage and his faith, they discovered that home is more than just rooms and a roof. Home is a place where people are sometimes wounded or betrayed. Home is also where God is strong in the broken places. Woodlief takes readers through his house, room by room, showing that home is: • Where we cry out to God as we seek him in the small things • Where the sacred and the mundane meet • The place that makes us better than we could ever be on our own • More than the place where we eat and sleep…it is where we learn grace Woodlief’s heart-touching stories leavened with humor will appeal to a wide audience, especially those trying to reconcile the idea of a loving God in a broken world.

The Christmas Sweater


Glenn Beck - 2008
    We never wanted for anything, except maybe more time together....When Eddie was twelve years old, all he wanted for Christmas was a bike. Although his life had gotten harder -- and money tighter -- since his father died and the family bakery closed...Eddie dreamed that somehow his mother would find a way to have his dream bike gleaming beside their modest Christmas tree that magical morning.What he got from her instead was a sweater. "A stupid, handmade, ugly sweater" that young Eddie left in a crumpled ball in the corner of his room.Scarred deeply by the realization that kids don't always get what they want, and too young to understand that he already owned life's most valuable treasures, that Christmas morning was the beginning of Eddie's dark and painful journey on the road to manhood. It will take wrestling with himself, his faith, and his family -- and the guidance of a mysterious neighbor named Russell -- to help Eddie find his path through the storm clouds of life and finally see the real significance of that simple gift his mother had crafted by hand with love in her heart.Based on a deeply personal true story, The Christmas Sweater is a warm and poignant tale of family, faith and forgiveness that offers us a glimpse of our own lives -- while also making us question if we really know what's most important in them.