Yet the Word of God is a sword we often are more comfortable studying than wielding. It’s time we give girls swords and watch them connect heaven to earth. Worldwide, women are the targets of prejudice, sex trafficking, abuse, and even gendercide. Lisa Bevere writes that these attacks say more about who women might be in the future than who they have been in the past. In Girls with Swords she explains a spiritual enemy is seeking to disarm women on every level. It’s time women become the heroes God created them to be and stand—courageous, discerning, forgiving, and wise.   Creatively forging the imagery of swords, the Word of God, and the Cross, Girls with Swords  will teach you:   •      How to speak the language of heaven on earth •      What it means to intercede •      What it means to carry your cross •      What it means to be discerning •      How to disarm the enemy •      Why women are the enemy’s target—and why God needs them to be heroes   It’s time to take up your sword and be a hero.

    But miracles? Rising from the dead? Some of the stories you hear about him sound like just that - stories. A reasonable person would never believe them, let alone the claim that he's the only way to God! But a reasonable person would also make sure that he or she understood the facts before jumping to conclusions. That's why Lee Strobel - an award-winning legal journalist with a knack for asking tough questions - decided to investigate Jesus for himself. An atheist, Strobel felt certain his findings would bring Christianity's claims about Jesus tumbling down like a house of cards. He was in for the surprise of his life. Join him as he retraces his journey from skepticism to faith. You'll consult expert testimony as you sift through the truths that history, science, psychiatry, literature, and religion reveal. Like Strobel, you'll be amazed at the evidence - how much there is, how strong it is, and what it says. The facts are in. What will your verdict be in The Case for Christ?

    Rick Warren will guide you through a personal forty-day spiritual journey that will transform your answer to life's most important question: What on earth am I here for? Knowing God's purpose for creating you will reduce your stress, focus your energy, simplify your decisions, give meaning to your life, and most important, prepare you for eternity. Movie stars and political leaders aren't the only ones turning to Rick Warren for spiritual guidance. Millions of people from NBA and LPGA players to corporate executives to high school students to prison inmates meet regularly to discuss The Purpose Driven Life.

    Shelly Miller, a sought-after mentor on Sabbath-keeping, shows how even busy people can implement a rhythm of rest into their lives--from small windows of time to a whole morning or day. With encouraging stories from people in different stages in life, Miller shares practical advice for not only finding physical refreshment but also restoring your soul. You will learn:· Simple ways to be intentional about rest· Ideas for tuning out distractions and tuning in to God· How meals and other times with friends and family can be Sabbath experiencesSabbath is a gift from God to be embraced, not a spiritual hoop to jump through. Discover how genuine rest is possible today.Praise for Rhythms of Rest:"Into our culture of chronic tiredness comes a fresh voice in Shelly Miller. This book breaks all your preconceived notions about Sabbath. She makes rest not only obtainable but also the option you'll pick first from a full agenda."-Mark Batterson, New York Times bestselling author of The Circle Maker and lead pastor of National Community Church"Shelly Miller writes from her soul--one that has been seeking rest in the midst of heavy transition and the busyness of life. She shares with honesty and beauty what she has discovered. What you learn will help you love God more deeply."-Margaret Feinberg, author of Live Loved and Fight Back With Joy"I didn't realize how thirsty my soul was for rest until I read this stunning book. Shelly Miller has found a secret door that leads to true rest--a door discovered right in plain sight--and with exquisite prose, she invites you to walk inside. Don't miss this book."-Jennifer Dukes Lee, author of The Happiness Dare and Love Idol"Learning to practice Sabbath has been transformational in my life. It has led me out of striving and simply surviving into deeper grace, joy, and peace. Shelly Miller is extending an invitation straight from the heart of God himself that we all need more than ever in our busy world."-Holley Gerth, Wall Street Journal bestselling author of You're Already Amazing"For a generation fatigued by the abuse of hurry, Shelly Miller casts a hopeful vision of what life could look like if we learned to receive Sabbath as a gift rather than a rule. Rhythms of Rest offers a relieved exhale for the weary, worn-out soul. I'm deeply grateful for this message."-Emily P. Freeman, author of Simply Tuesday: Small-Moment Living in a Fast-Moving World"This book is a labor of love and a gift to all who desire deeper engagement with God's blessing of rest through Sabbath. Weaving personal story with scriptural insight, Shelly writes with a rhythm that gently guides your soul to slow down . . . notice . . . breathe . . . be. Through the years, Shelly has cultivated an online community of faithful friends who practice Sabbath with intentionality. This book brings that community to you and invites you in, with arms wide open."-Deidra Riggs, author of Every Little Thing and One: Unity in a Divided World"Set aside your to-do list. Put off the errands. Ignore the pile of laundry and the dusty mantel. Shelly Miller's Rhythms of Rest offers both a delightful respite and life-transforming wisdom you can't afford to miss. Awaken to the gift of Sabbath--God's invitation to rest in him. Let Rhythms of Rest be your first step in answering yes."-Michelle DeRusha, author of Spiritual Misfit and 50 Women Every Christian Should Know"In Rhythms of Rest, Shelly Miller invites us into more than a Sabbath. She invites us into Jesus' heart. She reminds us that rest is really a state of being: of belonging, of knowing we are loved. In a culture wearied by the rat race, Miller's poetic voice is a much-needed breath of life."-Emily T. Wierenga, founder of The Lulu Tree, a nonprofit based on radical rest, and author of Atlas Girl and Making It Home"Shelly Miller is the rest mentor you didn't even realize you were looking for."-Myquillyn Smith, author of The Nesting Place and co-founder of Hope Writers"Rhythms of Rest is a lyrical, beautiful invitation to experience the peace of heart so many of us desperately crave but can't seem to find. I thought a book on the subject of Sabbath might be a sleeper, but Miller manages to captivate the reader in refreshing and surprising ways. I loved this book!"-Heather Kopp, author of Sober Mercies: How Love Caught Up With a Christian Drunk

    And we want to be good parents. But what exactly do we mean by "good?" And is "being good" really the point?Mother-daughter team Elyse Fitzpatrick and Jessica Thompson contend that every way we try to make our kids "good" is simply an extension of Old Testament Law--a set of standards that is not only unable to save our children, but also powerless to change them.No, rules are not the answer. What they need is GRACE.We must tell our kids of the grace-giving God who freely adopts rebels and transforms them into loving sons and daughters. If this is not the message your children hear, if you are just telling them to "be good," then the gospel needs to transform your parenting too.Give Them Grace is a revolutionary perspective on parenting that shows us how to receive the gospel afresh and give grace in abundance, helping our children know the dazzling love of Jesus and respond with heartfelt obedience.

    This study is for any woman who wants to move beyond simply knowing about God to really knowing God in a very personal way. Join Wendy as she teaches how the very names of God reveal His character and heart.This study will help women to:  Realize their infinite worth as they explore the nature of the God who created and formed them.  Live with bold assurance that their God is a personal God who sees them, hears them, and knows them by name.  Walk confidently in knowing both who they are and Whose they are.  Arm themselves with seven tools to pray more confidently and effectively in any situation or circumstance.  Transform their walk with Jesus as they discover how He fulfills the Old Testament names of God. This book includes biblical and historical background insights, practical application, and a memory verse for each chapter. The study may be completed individually or with a small group. Chapters Include: Elohim: The One Who Created You El Roi: The One Who Sees You Jehovah Nissi: The One Who Stands Guard Over You Jehovah Rapha: The One Who Heals You More Magnificent Names Can be used alone or with I Know His Name: A DVD Study (9780310089018).Inscribed is a collection of Bible studies that lead women to not just survive but thrive by encouraging them to immerse themselves in the Word of God.

    Hughes, author of the Word Writers Bible study series, has been there, yet she's found a peace that runs deeper than her circumstances. In Deeper Waters, she invites you to...learn to hear God's voice through the pages of His Worddiscover a joy you never thought possible when reading the Biblemake connections in Scripture that transform your way of thinking and livingYou don't have to be in seminary to be a serious student of the Bible. God's Word is for everyone. Dive in and experience the joy that awaits in deeper waters.

    Some of us look for escape, to find a way out of the mess we feel that we've created. But neither enduring nor escaping is ultimately what we need.The answer is to allow ourselves to begin again, every day, in every part of our lives. Through engaging, lyrical prose, Leeana Tankersley shows women how to forgive themselves, develop new and healthier patterns of living, and do away with resentment and regret. Her life-giving words will free women who are feeling stuck and allow them to clear out the debris to make room for what God wants to do in their lives. To begin again is to open the window, even a crack, to let the breeze of grace come in. It is a call to stop running from our fears. To take one small step toward becoming the brave women we were made to be.

    That evening, he asked his sister to smuggle in a bottle of gin, and gave in to addiction.But whether or not you've ever had a drop to drink in your life, we're all looking for ways to stop the pain. Like Seth, we're all seeking balms for the anxiety of what sometimes seems to be an absent, unresponsive God—whether it's through people-pleasing, shopping, the internet, food, career highs, or even good works and elite theology. We attempt to anesthetize our anxiety through addiction—any old addiction. But it often leaves us feeling even more empty than before.In Coming Clean, Seth Haines writes a raw account of his first 90 days of sobriety, illuminating how to face the pain we'd rather avoid, and even more importantly, how an abiding God meets us in that pain. Seth shows us that true wholeness is found in facing our pain and anxieties with the tenacity and tenderness of Jesus, and only through Christ's passion can we truly come clean

    They are containers for power, and we have to decide what kind of power we want our words to carry. . . . I believe that our words can increase or decrease our level of joy. They can affect the answers to our prayers and have a positive or negative effect on our future. . . . One might say that our words are a movie screen that reveals what we have been thinking and the attitudes we have." Building on the premises of her bestselling books, Power Thoughts and Living Beyond Your Feelings, Joyce examines how we use words-the vehicles that convey our thoughts and emotions-and provides a series of guidelines for cultivating talk that is constructive, healthy, healing, and used for good results.Topics include:The Impact of WordsHow to Tame Your TongueHow to be HappyWhen to talk and when not to talkSpeaking Faith and Not FearThe Corrosion of ComplaintsDo you really have to give your opinion?The importance of keeping your wordThe power of speaking God's wordHow to have a smart mouthIn "A Dictionary of God's Word" at the end of the book, Joyce provides dozens of scripture verses, arranged by topic, and recommends that we read them aloud to strengthen our vocabulary of healing words.

    By his own choice, Mike's life went from upper-middle class plush to scum-of-the-earth repulsive overnight. With only a backpack, a sleeping bag and a guitar, Mike and his traveling companion, Sam, set out to experience life on the streets in six different cities—from Washington D.C. to San Diego— and they put themselves to the test.    For more than five months the pair experienced firsthand the extreme pains of hunger, the constant uncertainty and danger of living on the streets, exhaustion, depression, and social rejection—and all of this by their own choice. They wanted to find out if their faith was real, if they could actually be the Christians they said they were apart from the comforts they’d always known…to discover first hand what it means to be homeless in America.   Mike and Sam's story is gritty, challenging, and utterly captivating. What you encounter in these pages will radically alter how you see your world—and may even change your life.

    In 1969, her father, Robert Nichols, moved to Sellerstown, North Carolina, to serve as a pastor. There he found a small community eager to welcome him--with one exception. Glaring at him from pew number seven was a man obsessed with controlling the church. Determined to get rid of anyone who stood in his way, he unleashed a plan of terror that was more devastating and violent than the Nichols family could have ever imagined. Refusing to be driven away by acts of intimidation, Rebecca's father stood his ground until one night when an armed man walked into the family's kitchen . . . And Rebecca's life was shattered. If anyone had a reason to harbor hatred and seek personal revenge, it would be Rebecca. Yet The Devil in Pew Number Seven tells a different story. It is the amazing true saga of relentless persecution, one family's faith and courage in the face of it, and a daughter whose parents taught her the power of forgiveness.

    Even our vacations have a panicky, task-like edge to them. "If I only had more time," is the mantra of our age. But is this the real problem?Widely acclaimed author Mark Buchanan states that what we've really lost is "the rest of God-the rest God bestows and, with it, that part of himself we can know only through stillness." Stillness as a virtue is a foreign concept in our society, but there is wisdom in God's own rhythm of work and rest. Sabbath is elixir and antidote. It is a gift for our sanity and wholeness--to prolong our lives, to enrich our relationships, to increase our fruitfulness, to make our joy complete. Jesus practiced Sabbath among those who had turned it into a dismal thing, a day for murmuring and finger-wagging, and he reminded them of the day's true purpose: liberation-to heal, to feed, to rescue, to celebrate, to lavish and relish life abundant.The gift of Sabbath is essential to our full humanity and faith, says Buchanan. Far from being some starched and dour day only to be endured, Sabbath is a day wide and bright, brimming with laughter, enough to lend beauty to all our other days. Readers will be changed forever by this pivotal book."It seems very unsabbath-like to describe a book about Sabbath with the adverb 'urgently'--but we urgently need this book. Mark Buchanan shows us that our busyness is killing us--killin us--and that Sabbath is our best cure, our best path for rest and reverence and discipleship."--LAUREN WINNER, Best-selling author of Girl Meets God and Mudhouse Sabbath"With the easiness of long intimacy and a very deft hand, Buchanan here braids together into one gracious and sustaining strand the beauty of Sabbath, the wisdom of its keeping, and the generosity of God in gifting us with it. These pages are not just a blessing, they are a psalm that cries out to be joyfully engaged."--PHYLLIS TICKLE, Religion editor (ret.) Publishers Weekly and compiler of The Divine Hours

    That was the moment... I understood. Really understood. Crisis, change, all the myriad upheavals that blister the spirit and leave us groping– they aren't voices simply of pain but also of creativity. And if we would only listen, we might hear such times beckoning us to a season of waiting, to the place of fertile emptiness.Blending her own experiences with an intimate grasp of contemplative spirituality, Sue Monk Kidd relates the passionate and moving tale of her spiritual crisis at midlife, when life seemed to have lost meaning and how her longing for hasty escape from the pain yielded to a discipline of "active waiting." Comparing her experience to the formative processes inside a chrysalis on a wintry tree branch, Kidd reflects on the fact that the soul is often symbolized as a butterfly. The simple cocoon, a living parable of waiting, becomes an icon of hope for the transformation that the author sought. Kidd charts her re–ascent from the depths and offers a new understanding of the passage away from the self, which is based upon others' expectations, to the true self of God's unfolding intention. Her wise, inspiring book helps those in doubt and crisis recognize the opportunity to "dismantle old masks and patterns and unfold a deeper, more authentic self."

    Join Kat Lee and thousands of women from countries around the world who have learned to maximize their mornings. In Hello Mornings, Kat introduces a simple yet powerful three-minute morning routine that integrates Bible study, planning, and fitness into a foundational morning habit that fits into every schedule. She then helps you build each of these core habits for life-long growth.Everyone can find three minutes. And instead of adding one more thing to the list, Hello Mornings lifts the weight off women by revealing a grace-filled way to establish a powerful morning routine that offersa simple way to incorporate the most-sought-after daily habits into a simple morning routine: God. Plan. Move.the latest research on habit formation and developmentpractical tools to help readers develop and grow their own personalized, adaptable plan for morningsstories of transformed mornings from women in every season and stage of lifeHello Mornings helps readers renovate their mornings to establish and grow a powerful daily routine—a long-term, Jesus-centered habit to anchor them in every season. Each morning can then become a launch pad into God’s amazing plan for their lives.