Book picks similar to
My Heart's Cry by Anne Graham Lotz


christian
non-fiction
nonfiction
religion

Morning and Evening, Based on the English Standard Version


Charles Haddon Spurgeon - 1866
    With a reading to begin and end each day throughout the year, you will come to appreciate Spurgeon's emphasis on the importance of abiding in Christ and meditating on God's Word. His wisdom and counsel provide a timeless guide through the trials and triumphs of the year. The richness of his biblical understanding offers readers a look into the heart of one of England's foremost pastors and enduring Christian authors.His lasting message is even more accessible with Alistair Begg's careful modernizing of Spurgeon's English. Begg, who has a deep love for Spurgeon's preaching and especially for this work, has maintained Spurgeon's clear passion and commitment to Christ. Using the English Standard Version as the scriptural text provides an accurate, understandable accompaniment to Spurgeon's lessons.This updated version of a devotional classic is a timely and much-needed encouragement for today's Christian.

The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life


Os Guinness - 1998
    Best-selling author Os Guinness goes beyond our surface understanding of God's call and addresses the fact that God has a specific calling for our individual lives.Why am I here? What is God's call in my life? How do I fit God's call with my own individuality? How should God's calling affect my career, my plans for the future, my concepts of success? Guinness now helps the reader discover answers to these questions, and more, through a corresponding workbook - perfect for individual or group study.According to Guinness, "No idea short of God's call can ground and fulfill the truest human desire for purpose and fulfillment." With tens of thousands of readers to date, The Call is for all who desire a purposeful, intentional life of faith.Also availbale in audio format, narrated by Os Guinness.

You Are Free: Be Who You Already Are


Rebekah Lyons - 2017
    We measure our worth by what others think of us. We compare and strive, existing mostly for the approval of others. Pressure rises, anxiety creeps in and we hustle to keep up.Jesus whispers, I gave my life to set you free. I gave you purpose. I called you to live in freedom in that purpose. Yet we still hobble through life, afraid to confess all the ways we push against this truth, because we can’t even believe it. We continue to grasp for the approval of anyone that will offer it: whether strangers, friends, or community.Christ doesn’t say you can be or may be or will be free. He says you are free. Dare you believe it?In You Are Free, Rebekah invites you to:• Overcome the exhaustion of trying to meet the expectations of others and rest in the joy God’s freedom brings.• Release stress, anxiety and worry, to uncover the peace that comes from abiding in His presence.• Find permission to grieve past experiences, confess areas of brokenness, and receive strength in your journey towards healing.• Throw off self-condemnation, burn superficial masks and step boldly into what our good God has for you.• Discover the courage to begin again and use your newfound freedom to set others free.Freedom is for everyone who wants it—the lost, the wounded, and those weary from all of the striving. It’s for those who gave up trying years ago. It’s for those angry and hurt, brilliant and burnt by the Christian song and dance. You are the church, the people of God. You were meant to be free.

Invitation to Solitude and Silence: Experiencing God's Transforming Presence


Ruth Haley Barton - 2004
    I have found myself . . . drawn to the task and yet somehow strangely resistant. On the one hand, I have been drawn to the task because my journey into solitude and silence has been the single most meaningful aspect of my spiritual life to date. . . . On the other hand, I am aware of the continuing challenge solitude and silence represent in my own life. Even though it has been well over ten years since I first said yes to God's invitations to enter more intentionally into these disciplines, I still find it challenging to protect space for these times apart which so deeply satisfy the empty places of my soul.Ruth Haley Barton describes how she has discovered the real presence of God--the God who is present through the practice of solitude and silence. Her book invites you to meet God deeply and fully outside the demands and noise of daily life. It is a call to the adventure of spiritual transformation--an adventure that will lead you to freedom and authenticity, allowing you to become the person God created you to be.In Invitation to Solitude and Silence Barton offers spiritual guidance for your journey, helping you to hear God's call more clearly and showing you concrete ways to say yes. Chapter by chapter she combines teaching and reflection on different aspects of the journey with activities and disciplines that will help you to practice solitude and silence. Barton offers the prophet Elijah as a biblical guide for your journey. And she offers her own perspective to help you understand the ups and downs you might experience along the way.The beauty of a true invitation is that you really do have a choice. You can say yes or no. God is waiting for you to respond to him from the depths of your desire for relationship, belonging and transformation. Will you say yes?

Praying for Your Future Husband: Preparing Your Heart for His


Robin Jones Gunn - 2011
    We think about what it would be like to be a bride. We wonder who that special guy is and when we'll find him. The great news is that what you do now can make a difference in your life and the life of your future husband! Authors and good friends Robin Jones Gunn (Christy Miller series) and Tricia Goyer (author and former teen mom) believe God answers women's prayers for husbands—even husbands they may not meet for years. They invite young women to pray boldly for their future mate … while also asking God to prepare their own hearts.  In Praying for Your Future Husband, Robin and Tricia share their two vastly different experiences, including the things they did right and the mistakes they made on the path to meeting and marrying their husbands. Each chapter includes helpful Bible verses, prayers, and practical application, along with true stories of women who prayed for a husband and how God answered in remarkable ways.  God has a beautiful romance prepared for you. Prayer is the key to unlocking the love story … with your future husband and with God, the lover of your soul.

Adore: A Simple Practice for Experiencing God in the Middle Minutes of Your Day


Sara Hagerty - 2020
    Adoration is the simple practice Sara discovered for starting where you are, and letting the grit of your day greet the beauty of God's presence.Adoration is for the woman who feels frenzied and fearful in the middle minutes of her day. It is a simple practice for 7:37 a.m. when the children are waking and the dryer is already humming but also for the 12:17 p.m. lunch break and for 5:53 p.m. while stuck in traffic.Adoration is the place where we put how we feel in front of God's Word, and watch what happens to our insides. It's what you were made for. Join Sara in this soul-stirring journey through thirty attributes of God which you can walk through at your own pace. Learn how the simple habit of adoration--in the middle minutes of your day--can help you see God with fresh eyes, and talk to Him right there. Experience a new way of engaging with God in your everyday. Adore will show you how.

Beautiful Battle: A Woman's Guide to Spiritual Warfare


Mary E. DeMuth - 2012
    You've heard about binding Satan and breaking strongholds and calling demons by name. You've heard you should claim your victory in Christ...but you're not really sure how to do that.This isn't a book about evil.With passion and strength, Mary DeMuth brings balance and insight to the often murky realm of spiritual warfare. As you embrace the abundant life to which God calls his daughters, she'll tell you why your voice matters for eternity. And on the darkest days, you'll know that spiritual warfare is about bowing before the Creator, not cowering before the devil. It's about finding freedom and beauty in the midst of devastation. It's about the power of God to heal our hearts, to move mountains, to intercede when we're weary. It's about crucifixion and a defiant, glorious resurrection.It's about truth.It's about power.Join Mary in the beautiful battle, and be renewed on the journey.

The Parables: Understanding What Jesus Meant


Gary Inrig - 1991
    Join Gary Inrig at the feet of Jesus and experience His parables as though for the first time. In The Parables, you'll feel as though you can smell the odors of Jewish villages, feel the dust of Galilean roads, and hear the voice of the Savior putting you into His stories.  You’ll be encouraged by what you learn about yourself and God.

Simply Jesus: A New Vision of Who He Was, What He Did, and Why He Matters


N.T. Wright - 2011
    Wright summarizes 200 years of modern Biblical scholarship and models how Christians can best retell the story of Jesus today. In a style similar to C.S. Lewis’s popular works, Wright breaks down the barriers that prevent Christians from fully engaging with the story of Jesus. For believers confronting the challenge of connecting with their faith today, and for readers of Timothy Keller’s The Reason for God, Wright’s Simply Jesus offers a provocative new picture of how to understand who Jesus was and how Christians should relate to him today.

Seated with Christ: Living Freely in a Culture of Comparison


Heather Holleman - 2015
    2:6), treasured by Him and given a place at His table. Heather Holleman unveils what this means for us.It means we walk out on the fight for acceptance. We quit measuring ourselves to others.We leap free from cycles of shame.Securely-seated people can ask themselves hard questions about their lives; they can deal with sin, grieve their losses, and move forward in hope. From a position of security and self-forgetfulness they can joyfully do the good works prepared for them uniquely. They can even celebrate the successes of others.Seated with Christ is a deeply personal, liberating look at a glorious truth: that we have a place at God's eternal table.

A Woman After God's Own Heart


Elizabeth George - 1997
    This very popular selection for personal and group study is filled with rich advice, spiritual wisdom, and practical applications. With passion and personality, Elizabeth George shares how a woman can follow God and seek His heart in every area of her life her husband her children her home her walk with the Lord her ministryThere is peace and purpose for the woman who prepares her heart and mind to embrace Gods plan every day. This new look will complement the other bestselling Elizabeth George titles loved by millions of women.

Unsinkable Faith: God-Filled Strategies to Transform the Way You Think, Feel, and Live


Tracie Miles - 2017
    For others, negativity is something that only sneaks up from time to time, yet still wreaks havoc in their hearts. Regardless of the root causes, once pessimistic thoughts permeate our minds, our feelings and emotions begin to control us instead of us controlling them. Eventually it doesn’t seem possible to stay positive, happy, and full of joy, and negative thought patterns shake our faith, causing us to sink emotionally, mentally, and spiritually over time. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Despite what storms roll in, hearts anchored in God don’t sink. When we change the way we think, we can change the way we feel and live, even if our circumstances remain the same. Intentionally embracing the opportunity to experience a transformed heart and a renewed mind opens the door for a changed life, because a positive mind will always lead to a more positive life.In Unsinkable Faith, author and Proverbs 31 Ministries speaker Tracie Miles offers hope for women who struggle with negativity. Each chapter explores Tracie’s and other women’s personal stories, showing how they rose above their circumstances by transforming and renewing their minds. Unsinkable Faith is a breath of fresh air for anyone longing for a heart full of joy, an unbreakable smile, and a new, more optimistic perspective on life. This book will equip you to:Replace pessimism with positive thinking by becoming the captain of your thoughts;Learn how true joy and happiness are based on choice, not circumstances;Overcome unhealthy habits of negative thinking by intentionally implementing three easy mind-renewing steps;Stop feeling hopeless and pitiful, and start feeling hope-filled and powerful instead; andDiscover that when you change the way you think, you change the way feel, and in turn you can change your life completely.

The God Chasers: "My Soul Follows Hard After Thee"


Tommy Tenney - 1998
    Join him in his search for God. Follow him as he ignores the maze of religious tradition and finds himself, not chasing God, but to his utter amazement, caught by the one he had chased.

Prisoners of Hope: The Story of Our Captivity and Freedom in Afghanistan


Dayna Curry - 2002
    Within a few months, their lives were thrown into chaos as they became pawns in historic international events. They were arrested by the ruling Taliban government for teaching about Christianity to the people with whom they worked. In the middle of their trial, the events of September 11, 2001, led to the international war on terrorism, with the Taliban a primary target. While many feared Curry and Mercer could not survive in the midst of war, Americans nonetheless prayed for their safe return, and in November their prayers were answered.In Prisoners of Hope, Dayna Curry and Heather Mercer tell the story of their work in Afghanistan, their love for the people they served, their arrest, trial, and imprisonment by the Taliban, and their rescue by U.S. Special Forces. The heart of the book will discuss how two middle-class American women decided to leave the comforts of home in exchange for the opportunity to serve the disadvantaged, and how their faith motivated them and sustained them through the events that followed. Their story is a magnificent narrative of ordinary women caught in extraordinary circumstances as a result of their commitment to serve the poorest and most oppressed women and children in the world. This book will be inspiring to those who seek a purpose greater than themselves.

Adorning the Dark: Thoughts on Community, Calling, and the Mystery of Making


Andrew Peterson - 2019
      Over the last twenty years, Andrew Peterson has performed thousands of concerts, published four novels, released ten albums, taught college and seminary classes on writing, founded a nonprofit ministry for Christians in the arts, and executive-produced a film—all in a belief that God calls us to proclaim the gospel and the coming kingdom using whatever gifts are at our disposal. He’s stumbled along the way, made mistake after mistake, and yet has continually encountered the grace of God through an encouraging family, a Christ-centered community of artists in the church, and the power of truth, beauty, and goodness in Scripture and the arts.   While there are many books about writing, none deal first-hand with the intersection of songwriting, storytelling, and vocation, along with nuts-and-bolts exploration of the great mystery of creativity. In Adorning the Dark, Andrew describes six principles for the writing life:  serving the workserving the audienceselectivitydiscernmentdisciplineand community  Through stories from his own journey, Andrew shows how these principles are not merely helpful for writers and artists, but for anyone interested in imitating way the Creator interacts with his creation.   This book is both a memoir of Andrew’s journey and a handbook for artists, written in the hope that his story will provide encouragement to others stumbling along in pursuit of a calling to adorn the dark with the light of Christ.