The CD enables one to listen to Nouwen's distinctive voice as he speaks about such things as transforming our loneliness, escaping the tyranny of busyness, and choosing to live in ways that, moment by moment, remind us of who we are -- the beloved of God.The book shows this conversation to be studded with gems of spiritual wisdom that merit slow, contemplative reading. Including questions for reflection or discussion, Beloved is perfect for individual or group retreats or for personal listening and reading. Here is a depth of wisdom to turn to again and again.

    The sixty-four Companions presented here are representative of that unique generation, a generation without any parallel in history. They come from all walks of life and character. These are stories of real people which can be historically verified. These stories will touch the souls of believers, for they will find in them yet another proof of that conviction that fills their hearts, though it may be denied and its signs effaced by wielders of power in the Muslim lands through treachery and cowardice.

    Offered by her noble family to the Church at the age of eight, she lived for years in forced silence. But through the study of books and herbs, through music and the kinship of her church sisters, Hildegard found her way from a life of submission to a calling that celebrated the divine mother and the glories all around us. In this brilliantly researched and insightful novel, Mary Sharratt offers a deeply moving portrait of a woman willing to risk everything for what she believed, a triumphant exploration of the life she might well have lived.

    But this conventional narrative is not the full story.In Church of Spies, the intelligence expert Mark Riebling draws on a wealth of recently uncovered documents to argue that, far from being Hitler’s lackey, Pius was an active anti-Nazi spymaster. He directed a vast network of Vatican operatives—priests and laypeople alike—who partnered with the German resistance, tipped the Allies off to Hitler’s invasions of France and Russia, and involved themselves in three separate plots to assassinate Hitler.A fast-paced and gripping tale of secrecy, danger, and self-sacrifice, Church of Spies takes readers from hidden crypts beneath the Vatican to Nazi bunkers in Germany to chart the true legacy of Pius’s secret war. Although these revelations do not excuse Pius’s public silence during the war, they provide us with a deeper understanding of the man reviled by so many.

    Based on more than three decades of practical Bible teaching, these readings draw from the riches of God's Word and the compelling experiences of Mr. Carter's own life. Whether through fascinating glimpses into behind-the-scenes activity at the White House, or insightful remembrances of his career in the U.S. Navy, Mr. Carter never ceases to connect the wisdom of Scripture with your own crucial place on the stage of life. Frank, honest, sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreaking, and always relevant, Through the Year with Jimmy Carter challenges readers to be more Christ-like every day of their lives.

    The hope is that through using this book you might discover the ancient rhythms that were whispered into you when God breathed you into being.

    Translating his biblical scholarship into simple, elegant language, he offers a compelling and wise reflection on the real Jesus--not the reconstructed historical figure but the resurrected Christ, a living savior we can encounter every day.Living Jesus elucidates the mystery of Jesus' resurrection and its central role in the Christian experience. It explores the diversity and fullness of the New Testament views of Christ, revealing how each book's perspective can deepen our understanding of Jesus. Profoundly insightful, Living Jesus offers valuable lessons on how we can accept the Gospels' powerful invitation to an authenic Christian spirituality.

    A saint in her own right, she married Ferdinand of Aragon, and they forged modern Spain, cast out the Moslems, discovered the New World by backing Columbus, and established a powerful central government in Spain. This story is so thrilling it reads like a novel. Makes history really come alive. Highly readable and truly great in every respect! 576 pgs, PB

    During his journey he learns through example and suffering that in indigenous peoples of all cultures there is dignity that must be recognized and built upon as a foundation for Christian conversion. Includes appendix, 7 line drawings.

    John F. Kennedy’s assassination. 9/11. John Hagee maintains that these American tragedies all have one element in common: they were unthinkable. And in the opening pages of his newest book, Can America Survive? Hagee uses these tragedies to prove two points: that the unthinkable can happen and, given the right conditions, the unthinkable can quickly become the inevitable. In Can America Survive? Hagee asserts that the seeds for tragedy are once again being sown, evidenced by the disturbing economic, geopolitical, and religious trends that now threaten to dismantle the very nation itself. “Think it can’t happen?” Hagee asks in a theme repeated throughout the book. “Think again.” Indeed, Hagee presents alarming examples of recent events, current research, scientific evidence, and biblical prophecy that are gathering to create a “perfect storm” that could bring down the “unsinkable” United States of America including:The U.S.’s negligent handling of Israel, and history’s evidence of the danger to any nation that challenges Israel’s God-mandated right to existThe dangerous belittling of Iran’s nuclear threat by careless spy agencies—and the super-weapon that could stop the U.S. in its tracks instantlyThe chilling biblical prophecy that confirms Iran as one of six countries that will form an Islamic military force “as a cloud to cover the land”The real $2.5 trillion price tag of healthcare reform, the international currency shifts, and the national economic trends that are poised to bring about the death of the American dollarThe criminalization of Christianity around the world; Can America Survive? is not just a warning. It is a wake-up call and a rallying cry to Christian citizens everywhere to prevent the next unthinkable American disaster. After all, as Hagee points out, “those who do not remember the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them in the future.” Think it can’t happen? Think again.

    Today, we read the words of Christ in a steady, even tone and find ourselves wondering if maybe we're missing something. Could it be that we've lost the emotional power of Jesus's words simply because we're too familiar with them? With incredible insight into the surprising and unsettling aspects of Jesus's parables and life, Matt Mikalatos reimagines familiar stories and parables in a modern-day setting, bringing alive for the contemporary reader all the controversy and conflict inherent in the originals. These emotional, sometimes humorous, and jaw-dropping retellings include the stories of the prodigal son, the good Samaritan, the lost coin, the feeding of the 5,000, the death and resurrection of Jesus, and more, asking provocative questions like "What would be the modern equivalent of Jesus letting a "sinful woman" wash his feet? Who would be the hero of "The Good Samaritan"? How would Jesus tell the parable of the lost sheep in a city like Portland?"

    If you have ever felt that you were not enough as a wife or mom, or if you're someone who struggles to do it all, Getting Past Perfect offers a realistic and reassuring portrait of Catholic womanhood, placing motherhood in the context of every woman's primary role as a child of God. Kate Wicker journalist, popular speaker, and author of the highly-acclaimed Weightless shares how she shook off doubt and negative self-perception, finding self-acceptance as a mom and the desire to stop controlling everyone around her. Getting Past Perfect invites you to make this same journey as you learn to embrace the primacy of your role as a daughter of God, even amidst the daily chaos of raising children. Each chapter is designed to debunk the lies and expectations that moms often face, replacing negative self-perceptions with the truths of a woman's true calling. Wicker, a recovering perfectionist, helps you realize:It is perfectly normal to feel like you're in over your head sometimes.You can stop obsessing about what other people think and start focusing on loving yourself and your kids just as you are.Your primary jobs are to let God love you and to love him back. Nurture your prayer life and make time to remember that you are first a daughter of God.It s important to practice self-care no matter your stage in life.Wicker openly shares how she unwittingly transferred her preoccupation with having the perfect body to being the perfect parent. By honestly sharing her mistakes and triumphs in the trenches of motherhood, Wicker reveals several common falsehoods mothers tell themselves in different seasons of their lives and how speaking the truth can liberate women to become better parents and the truest versions of themselves. Whether you're dealing with endless "why?" questions, unexpected potty emergencies, or even the unanticipated change of a new pregnancy, Getting Past Perfect will help you learn how to lean into God's abiding grace. By closing each chapter with a simple reflection question and prayer, this book provides the tools you need to embrace the messy realities of family life and to emerge from feeling overwhelmed to knowing that you are first and foremost a daughter of God."

    Timothy Johnson, medical editor for ABC News. He believes that's where God meets you--in the midst of honest grappling with heartfelt issues. In this remarkable book, Dr. Johnson discloses his deeply personal journey of faith. With the same keen mind accustomed to medical and scientific examination, he investigates the plausibility of God's existence and explores the significance of the person of Jesus. Despite all the difficulties of faith, he explains what he believes and why. He writes, "As a physician, I have committed my professional life to healing and wellness. But my public work is only a small part of who I really am--or rather, who I want to be. This book is, in a sense, 'the rest of the story.' "For many people, religion provides answers to the big questions of life. For others, the absolute claims of religion raise more questions than they answer. I have lived on both sides--and in some senses, I still do. My path of faith has wandered through both doubt and belief, often at the same time. "Doubt doesn't have to tear down belief, however; it can purify it. When it does, the beliefs on the other side become more certain. This is why I would like to affirm that it is possible to find God even while you are still asking the big questions." Come join a fellow pilgrim on the journey. Ask your questions--and perhaps find God behind them. This new paperback edition includes a new afterword and a study guide with questions for personal reflection or group discussion.

    They bugger children in front of their mothers and violate men in front of their wives. The temple priests flay us openly in the streets. We are hunted everywhere and we are hunted by everyone ...We are despised, yet we grow. We are tortured and crucified and yet we flourish. We are hated and still we multiply. Why is that? You have to wonder, how is it that we not only survive but we grow stronger?'Christos Tsiolkas' stunning new novel Damascus is a work of soaring ambition and achievement, of immense power and epic scope, taking as its subject nothing less than events surrounding the birth and establishment of the Christian church. Based around the gospels and letters of St Paul, and focusing on characters one and two generations on from the death of Christ, as well as Paul (Saul) himself, Damascus nevertheless explores the themes that have always obsessed Tsiolkas as a writer: class, religion, masculinity, patriarchy, colonisation, exile; the ways in which nations, societies, communities, families and individuals are united and divided - it's all here, the contemporary and urgent questions, perennial concerns made vivid and visceral. In Damascus, Tsiolkas has written a masterpiece of imagination and transformation: an historical novel of immense power and an unflinching dissection of doubt and faith, tyranny and revolution, and cruelty and sacrifice.

     Rather than abandoning his parish in search of the truth, Father Paul’s quest is a simple one: to find the true essence of Christianity. A Modern Day Apostle to the Downtrodden Set against the backdrop of a harsh and cold Russian countryside along the River Volga, with its unyielding poverty and hardships, The Archbishop follows Father Paul as he searches to understand God and the parlous state of the world around him. It is not until he meets the eponymous Archbishop that he finds revelations that do more than just answer his soul-searching questions. More than this, he finds a true shepherd determined to spread a more authentic message of Christ to the people who follow him. But even the divine truth that Father Paul finally finds in this dreary, cold hamlet where religion seems to be fading from relevance is not free from earthly machinations. Although he discovers something that will change his life forever, the realities of the world around him remain unyielding and unchanging. The Archbishop is a book that does not shy away from asking big questions – nor from answering them. Author Hieromonk Tihon’s identity has long since been lost to history and his fate unknown, but the vivid characters and intricately drawn world created in this book have indicated that The Archbishop may be an autobiographical work. Condemned, burned, and banned by iconoclastic Bolsheviks during the earliest years of Soviet Russia as it pushed an agenda of militant atheism, The Archbishop's spiritual guidance was almost lost among countless other Eastern Orthodox works. The Archbishop provides deep spiritual insight and guidance into a world distant from ours, despite the chasms of difference in culture, time, and space. Sometimes funny, often tragic, and other times angering, this hidden Orthodox gem does not shy away from asking big questions – nor from answering them. It remains a work full of spiritual lessons that will resonate profoundly with the modern-day American Orthodox clergy and their laity.