Move in closer. That's it. We'll all share our stories together, like a group of close friends. Stories of heartbreak and redemption—trouble and overcoming—questioning our faith and embracing it—and, most of all, finding hope at the end of every path. There's just nothing like a circle of warm friends to share life with. All 15 of us will take turns opening up our hearts to you—sharing little pieces of ourselves. Come join us. We'll even include discussion questions so you can reflect on our stories or explore the themes with a group. Our first two Hot Apple Cider anthologies won a number of awards and have nearly 90,000 print copies in circulation. They’re also now available as ebooks. Table of Contents “Subway Surprise” by A. A. Adourian “Love Has No Limits” by Donna Fawcett “Something to Crow About” by David Kitz “Desperate Missionary in Trouble with the Law” by Don Ranney, M. D. “A Time to Have Tea” by Vilma Blenman “In His Shoes” by Keturah Harris “The Ring” by Angelina Fast-Vlaar “The Right Thing to Do” by Ruth Smith Meyer “Everybody Needs a Friend Who’ll Tell It Like It Is” by Heidi McLaughlin “Picture This!” by Kimberley Payne “My Love Affair with Gym” by Glynis Belec “My Journey to Joy” by Dorene Meyer “Loving Play” by Vilma Blenman “Conversations in Baby Blue” by N. J. Lindquist “From Hard Places” by Carmen Wittmeier "Boulderdash” by Heather McGillivray-Seers

    We die a little inside when we think we aren’t living for something, and are ready to die when we think we can’t. But, Jennie Allen says that the restlessness we feel might not be a bad thing. When our restlessness awakens our longing for more of God, it can be a catalyst to living the life of purpose God designed for us.  In Restless, Jennie uses the story of Joseph to explain how his suffering, gifts, story, and relationships fit into the greater story of God—and how our story can do the same. In this study you will: Explore practical ways to identify the threads of your life Learn how to intentionally weave those threads together Discover how your gifts, passions, places, and relationships aren’t random; they’re deliberate and meaningful Speak the truth about your suffering: it’s possible it has produced the very thing you want to give back to the world The Restless Study Guide engages the mind and heart through stories, Bible study from the life of Joseph, and Threads—a tool to help you see your own personal story and to uncover and understand the raw materials God has given you to use for his glory and purpose.  Sessions include: Restless  God's Story Gifts Suffering Place People Passions Mystery Designed for use with the Restless Video Study (9780879922374), sold separately

     Pastor Gordon MacDonald revisits the fictional New England congregation of his critically acclaimed book Who Stole My Church to deal with a new dilemma: What's his church's story? What is it doing that justifies its existence? The importance of these questions is anything but fiction.Through a series of e-mails and discussions with friends and parishioners, Pastor Gordon's search for their story leads him to realize that the future of the Christian faith, and thus the church, is at risk. As MacDonald says, "We seem to know how to get unchurched people to visit our buildings. We even seem to know how to draw them across the line into a declaration of personal faith in Jesus. But what we do not seem to know is how to cultivate spiritually deep people. Tomorrow's church could be headed for trouble."Deep people. People who possess spiritual awareness and maturity, people with solid, grounded, life-altering faith. MacDonald shows that the church needs people with a passion for God's presence and a desperate hunger to seek him above all things. Join Pastor MacDonald and his congregation on their quest to cultivate spiritual depth and grow into a community of believers whose hearts and minds are truly focused on God.

    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

    This should not be the case when God has so much to say about your identity and your inheritance in Christ.    Grow familiar with hearing God speak. Feel the embrace of His Presence.  Listen for the Spirit’s constant voice, speaking through the chaos of life. Hakeem Collins shares inspiring, prophetic encouragements that will start your day with a fresh word from Heaven. Quiet your soul and listen to hear God’s voice speaking vision and victory over your life. Heaven Declares is a journey that invites the Holy Spirit to powerfully and prophetically begin your day!

    Wearing thrift store clothes, praying to the gods of adolescence that some loud-mouthed kid doesn't recognize his old shirt. Building up firewood reserves while other boys are out popping fly balls without a care in the world. It’s a relentless condition without a single redeeming quality. Of course, being poor is something that Lincoln has had time to accept. That his father is a convicted murderer, on the other hand... well, that's a fresh wound that’ll take some getting used to. And soon enough it’ll be the least of his problems. Yet all is not lost. Because in a long neglected hayfield, something extraordinary is happening—something so contrary to human thinking that the rules of possibility begin to unravel. And for a boy like Lincoln, it doesn’t merely change the way he sees the world.It changes everything.

    Collins speaks of what remains to be the most amazing thing that he or anyone else has encountered in a full lifetime. The fact that God would save wicked men and forgive their sins is truly amazing. But the grace of God does not stop there. Our whole life is filled with the manifestation of God's grace to us. Here you will find what grace is and how it affects us who know Christ.

    When she discovers they've had a total of 25 children she is astonished and soon convinces, Bert, a charming newspaperman, to do a story on them. It isn't long before all of their lives become forever intertwined. Through good times and bad they all rely on unwavering faith in God and the goodness of others to help weather every storm that comes their way. Even a Great Depression and a World War can't shake their grit and determination.

    It's easier than you thought! With start and end markers to guide each day's reading---as well as insights and encouragement from Ted Cooper, founder of The Bible in 90 Days program---The NIV Bible in 90 Days makes what may have seemed like a formidable challenge not only doable, but also enjoyable. This unique reading plan helps you fulfill what for many people is a longstanding ambition: reading through the entire Bible. NIV 2011. The New International Version (NIV) translation of the Bible is the world's most popular modern-English Bible---easy to understand, yet rich with the detail found in the original languages.

    Help, Thanks, Wow ...in 30 minutes is the concise guide to quickly understanding the three simple prayers outlined in Anne Lamott's best-selling book, Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers. Understand the thought-provoking ideas behind Help, Thanks, Wow:* Learn what it means to pray, and the life-opening power of prayer, independent of your faith or lack thereof.* Inspirational stories convey Lamott's personal insight and exploration of faith.* Discover how the three essential prayers help us endure difficult times and continue to move ahead. In Help, Thanks, Wow, best-selling author Anne Lamott demystifies prayer, declaring that there are no rules--a higher power can be called anything, and people can believe in any religion they'd like (or none at all) and still pray.Prayer can take countless forms, but Lamott believes that it all boils down to three essential prayers: Help, Thanks, and Wow. Help is an admission of powerlessness and a plea for assistance; Thanks is a cry of gratitude; and Wow is the experience of awe.A thought-provoking spirituality guide for people of all faiths and creeds, Help, Thanks, Wow examines the importance of the three prayers vital to enduring hardship and experiencing a transformative sense of gratitude and wonder in the world.Help, Thanks, Wow ...in 30 minutesDesigned for those whose desire to enrich their faith exceeds the time they have available, Help, Thanks, Wow ...in 30 minutes enable readers to rapidly understand the essential ideas behind critically acclaimed books. With a condensed format and chapter-by-chapter synopsis that highlights key insights, this summary helps readers easily devote time to growing their faith.

    Rather than learn about sex from the culture, Christian Cosmo answers sexual questions from a Scriptural standpoint. By reframing sex for the single girl, we lay the foundation for God-honoring marriages and end the stigma on female sexuality.

    Readers will recognize themselves in her struggles with faith, fundamentalism, relationships and navigating the post-college years. As a result, they will walk through their questions with a greater hope for the future and a renewed faith in the God who writes their story.

    Doctors said she was essentially in a vegetative state, unable to see or hear—that there was no hope for her. Relinquished under the state’s Safe Haven Law, this two-week-old unnamed baby girl found her way to Cori and Mark Salchert’s home. Despite the infant’s grim medical diagnosis, Cori knew she couldn’t allow this beautiful baby girl to spend her few days on earth alone and unloved. Cori took the baby girl home and named her Emmalynn .  I Will Love You Forever reveals one woman's decades-long quest to find healing and redemption after the accidental death of her sister as a child. God has used hospice babies—those left to live and die without family to care for them—to mend Cori's broken heart. Bringing these fragile hospice babies into their home, Cori and her family have promised to hold them briefly, until their last breath on this side of heaven, but to love them forever and always. The loving actions of Cori and her family show that we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength.   Cori’s poignant story will strengthen your faith. . . It will touch your heart.Bonus! Features full-color photos of Cori and her family.

    . . Author Jan Dunlap was suffering increasingly severe bouts of anxiety after a medical misdiagnosis slapped her in the face with an acute realization of the tenuous nature of human life. A degreed theologian, Jan found her personal faith in God and His promises severely shaken and her enthusiasm for life being replaced by growing fear and debilitating insecurity. Then a rescue-shelter black lab-mix by the name of Gracie came into her life as her daughter's new pet, and Jan determined to do whatever it took to provide both her daughter and the dog with the sense of security she herself no longer felt. She quickly discovered, however, that Gracie had her own agenda, and it was all dog. From chasing squirrels to jumping fences to the occasional roll in dead fish, Gracie taught Jan that life is for living, not dreading. As she began to realize that Gracie was helping her manage her anxiety, Jan also came to a new awareness of how a loving God provides healing through His own works of creation. Part memoir and part medical exploration of the truly healing gifts that God freely offers us through our interaction with animals and nature, Saved by Gracie is a story of God's redeeming love revealed at the paws of a dog.

    Often we say, “It’s just the season of life I’m in.”  But did you know that just as God has purposes for the seasons of nature, he also uses seasons in your life to grow you, work with you, and talk to you?  Richard Blackaby explains in The Seasons of God how understanding the principles of the seasons can offer us hope, direction, insight, and intimacy with God himself.  It’s a thoughtful exploration of God’s patterns at work in our lives—how His will is being carried out in the best way…at the best time.Your plans, your relationships, your career, your ministry—all have their unique God-intended moment. God’s Word expresses it this way: “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” So what’s your season of life? And what is God telling you through the season you’re in?