When the storms of life blow-as they most certainly will-are you going to stand strong, bend, or break? Popular author Erwin Raphael McManus suggests that you discover how to rise above the normal reaction and learn to stand against the wind.Through thought-provoking chapters, McManus takes readers on a journey of transformation through the landscape of their character-from where they start out "Running Free," through "Rising Out of the Ashes," developing "Divine Imagination," and finally, reaching the "Greatness of Servanthood."Readers, ages 18-35, will appreciate this international consultant's expertise on culture, change, leadership, and creativity.

     In what can be termed lyrical theology, Jesus for President poetically weaves together words and images to sing (rather than dictate) its message. It is a collaboration of Shane Claiborne's writing and stories, Chris Haw's reflections and research, and Chico Fajardo-Heflin's art and design. Drawing upon the work of biblical theologians, the lessons of church history, and the examples of modern-day saints and ordinary radicals, Jesus for President stirs the imagination of what the Church could look like if it placed its faith in Jesus instead of Caesar. A fresh look at Christianity and empire, Jesus for President transcends questions of "Should I vote or not?" and "Which candidate?" by thinking creatively about the fundamental issues of faith and allegiance. It's written for those who seek to follow Jesus, rediscover the spirit of the early church, and incarnate the kingdom of God.

    It’s about radical sacrifice and selfless service—how we find purpose in the midst of pain. It's a look at how we discover fulfillment in the least likely of places. It's about living like we mean it. It’s a guide to growing up and giving your life away, helping you live in the tension between the next adventure and the daily mundane.This book is for us—a generation intent on pursuing our life's work in a way that leaves us without regrets.Author Jeff Goins shares his own experience of struggling as a missionary and twentysomething who understands the call to live radically while dealing with the everyday responsibilities of life. Wrecked is a manifesto for a generation dissatisfied with the status quo and wanting to make a difference.

    We cannot heal ourselves. We cannot become ourselves by ourselves. But we are not by ourselves. The King of love wants to help us become. God desires to restore us—the real us. As he heals our inner life, he calls us to rise to the occasion of our lives. The most important journey any woman can take is the journey into becoming her true self through the love of God. It's a beautiful paradox. The more of God’s you become, the more yourself you become—the “self” he had in mind when he thought of you before the creation of the world. Discover your truest self—the woman God created you to be—in Becoming Myself.

    R. C. Sproul shows how God—the one true Promise Keeper—always keeps His promises. Drawing from his expansive theological background, Dr. Sproul addresses questions such as these:·      How do we know that God will fulfill His promises to us?·      What can we learn about God’s faithfulness as we wait for His promises to be fulfilled?·      What was the agreement God the Father had with Jesus before the beginning of the world?·      What does God’s covenant with Adam mean for us today?·      What common covenant do atheists and other non-Christians participate in with God?·      What does God’s covenant have to do with His forgiveness of our sins today?·      Why did Jesus have to die to complete God’s covenant with us? God’s promises throughout history are the foundation for your relationship with Him. Here you will see how and why He keeps His promises to you, from now through eternity.

    But what if God's perspective on success was radically different than our own? What if the things we seek to avoid--pain, suffering, weakness, insecurity--were the very things he used to mold us into his image? With insights born from his own difficult journey, Clayton King offers readers a truly liberating understanding of weakness and suffering--not as God's punishment, but as his pruning. Revealing the God who is a companion in our most difficult seasons, King shows us that when we are in Christ, our deepest pain becomes the source of our greatest power, and our times of testing become our strongest testimony. Anyone who struggles to make sense of seemingly hopeless situations will find in this book not only hope for a brighter future but purpose in their imperfect present.

    Quietly He shares His heart with you throughout the day. But are you listening?This book is an invitation to a deeper intimacy with your loving Savior. As a devotion each day is written as if from Jesus to you. Listen to His voice each day, as you are challenged to increase your faith and change your life.

    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). -"

    In On Which Side of the Road Do the Flowers Grow?, Pastor Mettey shares the humorous and touching stories of his diverse congregation— ordinary people whose lives were infused with an awareness of God's real and abundant grace.On Which Side of the Road Do the Flowers Grow? is an excellent text for use in a small group or study class. The story-chapters provide a comprehensive, close-ended format for each session. Study guides are available to be used in conjunction with the book.

    Religion is usually about rules and codes, about “being good,” about what will get you embraced and what will get you shunned. But God, according to Dave, is all about how you can become a closer friend with him, with others, and with yourself.In the tradition of C. S. Lewis's "Mere Christianity" and G. K. Chesterton's "Orthodoxy" comes this illuminating collection of thoughts on faith in a postmodern world. "Not the Religious Type" bridges the gap between the two communities in which many of us live—the secular and the religious—and suggests a new, unexpected way of seeing the world and our place in it. Whether we're the religious type or not, there's a certain part of each of us that invariably wonders if it's true—if there's a God we can connect with who is alive and active, with the kind of perspective on our lives and futures that we could never have on our own. As Dave engagingly explores these most important questions, he invites his readers into “a new and warmer spring,” a way of thinking that will help both secularists who never imagined they would become people of faith and also people of faith who perhaps haven't experienced all from God that they've hoped.

    In his unique, winning way, Dallas Willard will guide you in discovering your true identity while exploring spiritual growth in a new way.Includes discussion questions.

    Pain, conflict, and uncertainty dominate the headlines. Our daily lives are noisy and chaotic—filled with too much information and too little wisdom. No wonder we often find it easier to retreat into safe spaces, hunker down in likeminded tribes, and just do our best to survive life. But what if God wants you to do more than simply survive? What if he wants you to thrive in this world, and be part of its redemption? What if you could rediscover the beauty and goodness God established in the beginning?By learning the lost art of discernment, you can. Discernment is more than simply avoiding bad things; discernment actually frees you to navigate the world with confidence and joy by teaching you how to recognize and choose good things. When you learn discernment and develop a taste for all that’s good, you will encounter God in remarkable new ways. Come, discover the God who not only made all things, but who will also make all things good once again.

    My Bright Abyss, composed in the difficult years since and completed in the wake of a bone marrow transplant, is a moving meditation on what a viable contemporary faith—responsive not only to modern thought and science but also to religious tradition—might look like.Joyful, sorrowful, and beautifully written, My Bright Abyss is destined to become a spiritual classic, useful not only to believers but to anyone whose experience of life and art seems at times to overbrim its boundaries. How do we answer this “burn of being”? Wiman asks. What might it mean for our lives—and for our deaths—if we acknowledge the “insistent, persistent ghost” that some of us call God?

    But prayer should be so much more! Prayer is one of the most exciting and powerful privileges of faith. In Why Pray?, you will learn through forty insightful readings how prayer transcends words to become a satisfying relationship with God.

    You would sell your belongings. You would become a missionary and move to another country.” Matthew B. Redmond has preached the gospel of doing more for God, and he wants out. In this collection of essays, he asks a simple question: what about the rest of us? Is there a God for our often-mundane lives?This is a book about pastors, plumbers, dental hygienists, and stay-at-home moms. It finds grace and mercy in chicken fingers, smiles from strangers, and classic films, and ultimately convicts us of something Matt Redmond has learned himself: there is a God of the mundane, and it’s not about what we do for him. It’s about what he does for us.