Where the world stresses the importance of success, Bird invites readers to embrace nine specific failures in the areas of our personal lives, our relationships, and the church. Why? Because what human wisdom deems indispensable is so often an impediment to our spiritual growth, and what it deems insignificant is so often essential to it.With compelling examples from the Bible and today, Bird paints an enticing picture of the counterintuitive, countercultural life that God wants for us. He helps readers delight in all of the ways that Jesus turned the world upside-down, allowing us to experience true freedom, not from our weaknesses but in the midst of them.

    As many pastors and counselors know, people still carry hurts from thirty or forty years ago. The truth is, time often makes things worse. Wounds that are left untended fester and spread infection throughout your entire body. Time only extends the pain if the problem isn't dealt with.Your First Step to Celebrate Recovery introduces you to a biblical and balanced program that has helped nearly a million people overcome their hurts, hang-ups, and habits. Based on the actual words of Jesus found in the Sermon on the Mount rather than psychological theory, the Celebrate Recovery program has helped people for over 20 years to grow toward full Christ-like maturity.Author and founder John Baker tells the true story of how Celebrate Recovery became one of the largest Christ-centered recovery programs in history. Baker will help you discover how God's love, truth, grace and forgiveness can bring healing into your life.

    Many of us have misplaced that craving, overindulging in physical pleasures instead of lasting spiritual satisfaction. For a woman struggling with unhealthy eating habits, Made to Crave will equip her to: Break the 'I'll start again Monday cycle' and start feeling good about herself today Stop beating herself up over the numbers on the scale and make peace with the body you've been given Discover how weight loss struggles aren't a curse but, rather, a blessing in the making Replace justifications that lead to diet failure with empowering go-to scripts that lead to victory Eat healthy without feeling deprived Reach a healthy weight goal while growing closer to God through the processDesigned for use with the video.

    Close to one in four American women experience the silent grief of pregnancy loss. Loved Baby offers much-needed support to women in the middle of psychological and physiological grief as a result of losing an unborn child.   In Loved Baby, author Sarah Philpott gently walks alongside women as they experience the misguided shame, isolation, and crushing despair that accompany the turmoil of loss. With brave vulnerability Sarah shares her own and others’ stories of loss, offering Christ-filled hope and support to women navigating grief.   This fresh and compassionate devotional offers: ·       Real talk about loss ·       Christ-filled comfort ·       Tips to manage social media, reconnect with your partner, and nourish your soul ·       Knowledge that your child is in heaven ·       Strategies to walk through grief ·       Ways to memorialize your loss   Whether your loss is recent or not, Loved Baby can be your companion as you move from the darkness of grief toward the light of hope.

    It is inspirational. It is practical. And it has the potential to revolutionize your life.” Mark Batterson—Lead Pastor, National Community ChurchA movement is rumbling through the body of Christ—a revolutionary army of people giving hope to a hurting world through practical, personal acts of service.In Servolution, Dino Rizzo shares the story of his relentless pursuit of ways to bless the lost, poor, and hurting people of his community in Jesus’ name. You’ll be amazed and inspired by the incredible ways God has used Healing Place Church to meet the needs of thousands of people. Each chapter includes practical suggestions and resources for use in any church. Be encouraged by the testimony of how God’s Spirit can use a simple passion to serve to revolutionize your approach to ministry. Wherever you are and whatever your gifts, you can play a vital role in this revolution through serving.

    Many people who visit communities for retreats and quiet days look for help in integrating into their daily lives some of the things they see and experience. This handbook will help people follow the Rule of Benedict as it explains the essential elements of Benedictine spirituality. It provides information on the spread of the Benedictine movement, its outstanding figures, and the main branches of the Benedictine family today. It also includes a simple version of the Daily Office and a collection of Benedictine devotions. It is a member's handbook" that deepens the sense of belonging among those who seek regular contact with a Benedictine community.The Benedictine Handbook will appeal to a broad range of readers who may or may not be familiar with Benedictine literature. The contributors to The Benedictine Handbook come from Benedictine backgrounds in the United States and Europe.Chapters and contributors include in Part One: Tools of Benedictine Spirituality *The Work of God, - by Demetrius Dumm; *Lectio Divina, - by Michal Casey; *Prayer, - by Mary Forman; *Work, - by Lauren McTaggart; *Perseverance, - by Kym Harris; *The Vows, - by Richard Yeo; and *Hospitality, - by Kathleen Norris. Part Two: The Benedictine Experience of God includes *A Simple Daily Office, - by Fr. Oswald; *Benedictine Prayers, - by Fr. Anthony; *A Benedictine Who's Who, - by Robert Atwell; and *Benedictine Holy Places, - by ColmanO'Clabaigh. Part Three: Living the Rule includes *In Community, - by Columba Stewart; *In Solitude, - by Maria Boulding; *As Oblates, - by Patrick Phelan; and *In the World, - by Esther de Wall. Part Four: The Benedictine Family includes *A Short History, - by Joe Rippinger; *Benedictine Orders, - by Dominic Milroy; and *The Cistercian Tradition, - by Nivard Kinsella. The contributors to Part Five: A Glossary of Benedictine Terms are Terrence Kardong and Jill Maria Murdy. A Benedictine Handbook also includes *Preface to the Rule, - by Patrick Barry; and *The Rule (Patrick Barry's Version). -"

    Yet often our most deeply felt longings—for meaning, for love, for significance—end up leading us away from, instead of toward, our Creator and the person he made us to be.  Finding Your Way Back to God shows you how to understand and listen to your longings in a whole new way. It’s about waking up to who you really are, and daring to believe that God wants to be found even more than you want to find him. It’s about making the biggest wager of your life as you ask God to make himself known to you. And it’s about watching what happens next.

    This devotional is your definitive guide to… • Unpacking the Daniel Fast • A Closer Connection with God • The Four Keys to Powerful Prayer • How Fasting and Prayer Produces Breakthrough The book you’re holding walks you through Pastor Scott Williams’ own discovery of the Daniel Fast and the amazing life change, breakthrough, and success that followed. Since then, he’s done it on an annual basis for over a decade and has taught others to do the same. The results have been staggering! All 21 days come power packed daily dose of... • Scripture • Devotionals • Journal Ideas • Prayers • Fasting Tips Start a journey toward more intimacy with God as you learn to Fast Like Daniel.

    Perhaps it’s a broken promise. Or someone betrayed your confidence.It’s only natural that you would be angry. These wounds cry out for justice! But what if justice isn’t possible this side of heaven? What if the damage can’t be undone? What then?You have a decision to make.You can hold on to your anger until your anguish builds a prison of bitterness, where you will live a diminished and pain-filled life. Or you can choose to forgive.Erwin Lutzer discusses dealing with difficult people such as “spear throwers” and “destroyers,” as well as handling conflict among family members and Christians in the courtroom. In this concise, quickly readable volume, you’ll learn how to move from bitterness to blessing by choosing forgiveness.By choosing forgiveness you are choosing abundant life. It’s a decision you can make today!

    Boyd tackles the Bible’s biggest dilemma. The Old Testament God of wrath and violence versus the New Testament God of love and peace—it’s a difference that has troubled Christians since the first century. Now, with the sensitivity of a pastor and the intellect of a theologian, Gregory A. Boyd proposes the “cruciform hermeneutic,” a way to read the Old Testament portraits of God through the lens of Jesus’ crucifixion.In Cross Vision, Boyd follows up on his epic and groundbreaking study, The Crucifixion of the Warrior God. He shows how the death and resurrection of Jesus reframes the troubling violence of the Old Testament, how all of Scripture reveals God’s self-sacrificial love, and, most importantly, how we can follow Jesus’ example of peace.

    To grow in love for God was the one great passion of her life: many have testified that her writings continue to inspire them with that same passion.

    

    By now, you already know that with great love comes great joy . . . and great pain. It can be crazy-making! But it doesn't have to be.In Starry-Eyed, MOPS CEO Mandy Arioto reveals how the brightest and darkest moments of motherhood alike can become a sacred--and sanity-saving--opportunity to encounter God. There is a way to flourish in the midst of it all, and it starts with embracing the light and darkness in life with expectation and awe.Heartening, enchanting, and always unflinchingly honest, Starry-Eyed will show you how to find the unexpected grace in your life as a woman, wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend. Consider this your heart-to-heart sit-down with a woman who’s been there, and can help you find fresh eyes to see how beauty and pain can mingle with purpose.

    But we live in a day when people put more stock in a once-said prayer than a life reflective of a renewed heart. Taking Matthew 7:13–27 as his text, Paul Washer reminds us of Jesus’s insistence that His way is narrow, and that its travelers will bear good fruit and rest on the solid foundation of God’s Word. Neglecting these warnings from Christ has left many on the broad road to destruction. Don’t think you are heading to heaven if you are not following the way of the Master. “Paul Washer is a gifted evangelist who brings a penetrating gospel message that pierces straight to the heart. This book is an expanded version of a message he gave that had an unusually profound effect upon countless souls. You will want to read these pages carefully because they will either expose unconverted hearts or bring the blessed assurance of salvation to those who have truly believed. May these provocative truths find their way into your soul for your eternal good.” —Steven J. Lawson, president, OnePassion Ministries, Dallas, Texas PAUL WASHER ministered as a missionary in Peru for ten years, during which time he founded the HeartCry Missionary Society to support Peruvian church planters. Paul now serves as one of the laborers with the HeartCry Missionary Society (www.heart crymissionary.com). He and his wife, Charo, have four children: Ian, Evan, Rowan, and Bronwyn.

    Don Piper's testimony, told in the "New York Times" bestseller "90 Minutes in Heaven," would one day bring hope to thousands. But all that was in the future. Despite family and friends who kept vigil with her, Eva Piper found herself essentially alone. Walking in the dark. And she had always hated the dark.Though it parallels that of her husband, Eva Piper's account is quite different from his. It takes readers not to heavenly places but through a very earthly maze of hospital corridors, insurance forms, tiring commutes from home to workplace and hospital, and lonely hours of waiting and worrying. This is the story of a woman learning, step by darkened step, to go places she never thought she could go and growing into a person she never thought she could be. Packed with hard-earned wisdom about what it means to be a caregiver, to open yourself to the care of others, and to rest in God's provision, this book" "provides a dependable source of light to help you walk through the dark.