They share how their family walks through unexpected and difficult circumstances and how they manage to maintain their faith and love their family.This updated edition has new stories and insights that reflect the experiences of Jill and Jessa—the now-married Duggar daughters—on their exciting journey through courtship, engagement, and marriage. With a backdrop of the key relationships in their lives, the four Duggar girls also open up about their own personal faith and convictions, boys, peer pressure, manners, living in a large family, politics, and much more. You’ll learn how the girls navigate the difficult years between twelve and sixteen, what they look for in a man, life in a big family, and much more—all in a frank and fun book that will inspire teens and adults alike.

    As they pursued their dreams, they planted their lives in the city and in their church community. Their son, James, came along unexpectedly in the fall of 2007, and just 6 months later, everything changed in a moment for this young family.On April 21, 2008, as James slept in the other room, Katherine collapsed, suffering a massive brain stem stroke without warning. Miraculously, Jay came home in time and called for help. Katherine was immediately rushed into micro-brain surgery, though her chance of survival was slim. As the sun rose the next morning, the surgeon proclaimed that Katherine had survived the removal of part of her brain, though her future recovery was completely uncertain. Yet in that moment, there was a spark of hope. Through 40 days on life support in the ICU and nearly 2 years in full-time brain rehab, that spark of hope was fanned into flame.Defying every prognosis, with grit and grace, Katherine and Jay, side by side, struggled to regain a life for Katherine as she re-learned to talk and eat and walk. Returning home with a severely disabled body but a completely renewed purpose, they committed to celebrate this gift of a second chance by embracing life fully, even though that life looked very different than they could have ever imagined. In the midst of continuing hardships and struggles, both in body and mind, Katherine and Jay found what we all long to find...hope, hope that heals the most broken place, our souls.An excruciating yet beautiful road to recovery has led the Wolf family to their new normal, in which almost every moment of life is marked with the scars of that fateful April day in 2008. Now, eight years later, Katherine and Jay are stewarding their story of suffering, restoration, and Christ-centered hope in this broken world through their ministry Hope Heals.

    Or is it? Join Sara as she heads into a one-year domestic experiment and offers full access to see if this biblical model can be embraced by a modern woman—even one who can’t sew.With humility and humor, Sara sets out to pursue the Proverbs 31 characteristics through immersing herself in all things domestic, but when her family's situation changes and she must return to a full-time job, she's forced to look at the Proverbs 31 woman with a whole new viewpoint. Through it all, she and readers discover:what it means to be a godly woman and a wifehow investing in family and faith refines priorities as a spouse and a parenthow mistakes are opportunities for growthThis thought-provoking, surprising, and entertaining personal account will inspire women to try their own experiments in living out God’s purpose for their lives.

    

    Five of the songs reached number one, and she became the first and fastest-selling solo artist in Christian music history to reach gold status with a debut album. Despite her initial success, however, her career stalled, and her young marriage ended after little more than a year, leaving her feeling broken, used up, and sometimes useless. But God repurposed those experiences for a greater plan as her renewed faith carried her through a resurrected career, the adventures of a second marriage, and the ups-and-downs of being a wife and mother of two boys, including one diagnosed with autism.Through a blend of personal narrative, practical strategies, and the truth of God's word, Jaci invites readers to rewrite their own stories and dream new dreams for their lives. Her life-transforming insights will guide readers in not only overcoming challenges, wrong turns, and often painful circumstances, but also in growing from those experiences and becoming equipped and empowered to help others.

    But joy often gave way to sorrow as she invested her heart fully in walking alongside people in the grip of poverty, addiction, desperation, and disease.After unexpected tragedy shook her family, for the first time Katie began to wonder, Is God really good? Does He really love us? When she turned to Him with her questions, God spoke truth to her heart and drew her even deeper into relationship with Him.Daring to Hope is an invitation to cling to the God of the impossible--the God who whispers His love to us in the quiet, in the mundane, when our prayers are not answered the way we want or the miracle doesn't come. It's about a mother discovering the extraordinary strength it takes to be ordinary. It's about choosing faith no matter the circumstance and about encountering God's goodness in the least expected places.Though your heartaches and dreams may take a different shape, you will find your own questions echoed in these pages. You'll be reminded of the gifts of joy in the midst of sorrow. And you'll hear God's whisper: Hold on to hope. I will meet you here.

    Learn to be content without becoming complacent, and discover godly wisdom to quiet the incessant Why Her? question in your head. Develop greater awareness of your insecurities, and learn to stop the lies in their tracks. Because the truth will set you free, and free women don't have to measure up to anyone. Not even her.Features: Leader helps to guide questions and discussions within small groupsPersonal study segments with homework to complete between 6 weeks of group sessionsA weekly Bible verse to help combat comparisonOptional six interactive teaching videos, approximately 5-10 minutes per session, available for purchase or rentBenefits: Discover what the Bible says about God, Rachel, Leah, and Jacob, and how He used flawed people for His kingdom.Learn to define success through a biblical perspective.Remember that someone else's gain is not your loss.Evaluate the impact of comparison in your life.

    These remarkable, firsthand encounters with Jesus reveal the breathtaking compassion and love He has for us, and offer true encouragement for those facing life's darkest moments.

    Do we become angels when we die? Are angels always hovering nearby, on guard to protect us from danger? Can we talk to them? Many of our ideas about angels come from the media, which is more interested in ratings and ticket sales than truth. As Christians it's important to understand what angels really are.Pastor Jack Graham walks readers through Scripture, revealing the truth about angels and their roles as worshipers of the Lord, witnesses to his glory, and warriors fighting on his behalf. Focusing on practical application, Dr. Graham separates fact from fiction, encouraging you to become a better worshiper, warrior, and witness.Includes end-of-chapter questions. A small-group curriculum DVD will also be available.

    We are by design a worshiping people, giving our lives and our devotion to something to pursue and adore, somebody to idolize. What drives this futile attempt for something more is the heart's true desire for significance, worth, and value-a desire that can be met only in the person and worship of Jesus Christ.Join Pastor Pete Wilson in his exploration of the empty promises of the "good life" that includes the: seduction of achievement addiction to approval attraction of wealth perils of power idolatry of religion obsession of beauty chasing of a dreamLearn how to replace and not just relinquish these idols by turning your focus and worship toward God. It is the only thing that will set us absolutely free from the endless pursuit of everything else.

    We've settled for "good enough" and days that run together in an unmemorable blur. We long for something to shake us up, but we're exhausted by the thought of it too.In her warm, vulnerable style, bestselling Proverbs 31 author Suzanne Eller shows how living and loving without limits has nothing to do with your own efforts--and it has everything to do with God's Holy Spirit. Unpacking the promises and teachings Jesus shared with the disciples about the Holy Spirit, Suzanne shows how you can stop settling and start truly living. When you learn to unwrap the gift of his presence, you'll find the world-changing, foundation-shaking, soul-stirring life of passion and purpose God is waiting to give you.

    God made you for a reason, and The Battle and the Build will help you find your purpose and maximize your time, energy, and resources so you can best rise up to that reason.But this is not simply a book about having more discipline so you can live your dreams. The Battle and the Build is about pushing back the chaos and bringing about order to your life. It is about driving the evil dictator out of your heart and establishing the true King so you canovercome the deceptive strategies of sin aimed specifically at your weaknesses that bend your behaviors to broken ends,stop giving your heart to aimless affections and learn how to intentionally orient your life and loves around a God who cares for you,recognize that under your misdirected affections and motivations is a deep and good longing for God, anddiscover methods of overcoming personal shortcomings that do not rely on shame-based motivation.The writer of Hebrews declares we are called to “cast off all that hinders” and “run the race marked out for us.” We are called into the action! In our race we must both flee some things and pursue others. It’s not about being free of all struggles. Rather, we have been empowered to struggle well.

    Rejection. Addiction. Anger. Comfort...Must Fall. It’s likely you have a threatening giant in your life…an adversary or stronghold that’s diminishing your ability to live a full and free life. Frozen in the grip of rejection, fear, anger, comfort, or addiction, we lose sight of the promise God has for our lives. Demoralized and defeated, we settle for far less than his best.God has a better plan for you, a plan for you to live in victory. That’s why he has silenced your giant once and for all.In Goliath Must Fall, pastor Louie Giglio uncovers a newfound twist in the classic story of David and Goliath. The key to living free from our giants is not better slingshot accuracy, but keeping our eyes on the one and only giant-slayer—Jesus. Put your hope in him and watch Goliath fall.

    The Practice of Saying No will appeal to anyone seeking more meaning and spirituality in their everyday lives. Barbara Brown Taylor, acclaimed author of Leaving Church and An Altar in the World (from which this eSelect is taken), writes with the honesty of Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love) and the spiritual depth of Anne Lamott (Grace, Eventually) and reveals how to encounter the sacred as a natural part of everyday life.

    Clergy and church leaders will find the evidence and answers in this book provocative, eye-opening and actionable.What if members of your congregation were 13 times more likely to have invited someone to participate in your church in the past month? Three times as satisfied with their lives? Spent more than two hours per week serving and helping others in their community? And tripled their giving to your church? What would your church — your parish — look like? And how would you go about creating this kind of change? One thing is certain: Church leaders are never going to inspire more people to be actively and passionately involved in their congregations by doing the same things over and over again. Pastors and lay leaders need something fresh. Something new. The last thing they need is “just another program” or to set up a laundry list of new activities for members. In this compelling and insightful book, Al Winseman — who has led thriving churches, including one he built from the ground up — explores how churches and parishes can dramatically increase members’ participation, service to the community, giving and even life satisfaction. But the solutions Winseman offers are not the “magic pill” many leaders have come to expect. Rather, he shows leaders how to reach and inspire the hearts, minds and imaginations of their people. Based on solid research by Gallup, Growing an Engaged Church will appeal to Protestant and Catholic clergy and lay leaders who are looking for a way to be the Church instead of just “doing church.”