draws on personal stories infused with humor and wisdom to extract impactful life lessons. He walks us through some of his most career-defining moments to emphasize the importance of living life with the punchline in mind. With a comedian's cadence and a dependable friend's outstretched hand, Michael Jr. addresses provocative issues including race, policing in America, forgiveness, socio-economics, and faith with gritty familiarity. While you will find yourself laughing out loud, at its core, FUNNY HOW LIFE WORKS reveals that if you pay close attention, the obstacles you face day to day are part of a much bigger plan that can help you realize and fulfill your life's mission. Like many of us, Michael Jr. wrestled with several moments of uncertainty, from living in his car to being held up by officers, but he never lost sight of the bigger picture. In this inspiring and self-reflective book, he implores us to do the same.

    It’s more than just a personal relationship with God or a source of moral teaching.Christianity is a picture of reality.It explains why the world is the way it is. When the pieces of this puzzle are properly assembled, we see the big picture clearly. Christianity is a true story of how the world began, why the world is the way it is, what role humans play in the drama, and how all the plotlines of the story are resolved in the end.In The Story of Reality, best-selling author and host of Stand to Reason, Gregory Koukl, explains the five words that form the narrative backbone of the Christian story. He identifies the most important things that happen in the story in the order they take place:GodManJesusCrossResurrectionOur story begins with God. He created everything, but something went terribly wrong. So God initiated a rescue plan and entered the world that he had made by becoming like us in Jesus Christ. Jesus saved us from the wrongness in ourselves and in the world through his death on a cross. And how people respond to what he did will determine what their future will be at the final event of history: the resurrection.If you are already a Christian, this is your story. Do you know it? If you are not a Christian, this is still your story, because it explains the world in a way that nothing else will. It is a true story—the real story behind every other story we hear.

    Here is a treasury of 108 short teachings by Chogyam Trungpa, one of the most influential Buddhist teachers of our time. Pithy and immediate, these teachings address a range of topics, including fear and fearlessness, accepting our imperfections, developing confidence, helping others, appreciating our basic goodness, and everyday life as a spiritual path. This book is part of the Shambhala Pocket Library series. The Shambhala Pocket Library is a collection of short, portable teachings from notable figures across religious traditions and classic texts. The covers in this series are rendered by Colorado artist Robert Spellman. The books in this collection distill the wisdom and heart of the work Shambhala Publications has published over 50 years into a compact format that is collectible, reader-friendly, and applicable to everyday life.

    Over Twenty-five years ago, Dr. Skousen had concluded that just about everything connected with the life and mission of Jesus Christ had been written. Then he began to find some scriptural treasures that had been missed. Before long he was deep into a comprehensive study of the life and mission of the Savior that finally culminated in these two volumes. Volume 1 covers the birth of Christ, His early years, the Sermon on the Mount and much of His ministry here on earth. The reader will grasp a new concept of the love Jesus had for the Jewish people and also discover a whole new scriptural basis for Peter's denial of the Christ. It is believed these two volumes will provide a new, dynamic, three-dimensional appreciation of the Savior and those who labored with Him.

    During his forty years of leadership, Rabbi Schneerson transformed Chabad into a global movement marked by extensive outreach activities and a closeknit network of emissaries stationed around the world. His passionate devotion to education, social change, and acts of charity and kindness inspired countless people to embrace spirituality in their daily lives.In My Rebbe, celebrated author and thinker Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz shares his firsthand account of this extraordinary individual who shaped the landscape of twentieth-century religious life. Written with the admiration of a close disciple and the nuanced perceptiveness of a scholar, this biography-memoir inspires us to think about our own missions and aspirations for a better world.

    Winner of a 2019 Catholic Press Association Award: Spirituality/Soft Cover Books (First Place) and a 2019 Association of Catholic Publishers Award: Spirituality Books (Second Place). "Living compassionately is rarely convenient and often downright challenging," writes Joyce Rupp, bestselling and award-winning author and retreat leader. The definitive Christian guide to compassion, Boundless Compassion is the culmination of Rupp's research and work as codirector of the Servite Center of Compassionate Presence. Through this six-week personal transformation process for developing and deepening compassion, Rupp nudges, encourages, and inspires you to grow in the kind of love that motivated Jesus’ life and mission for his disciples. With master teacher Joyce Rupp, you will learn to develop compassion as never before. You will discover compassion from science, medicine, theology, spirituality, sociology, and psychology. You will be encouraged to explore personal and professional expressions of compassion, and to re-energize your ability to offer loving kindness to those around you. Rupp has felt the call to walk with others in their suffering since she was a young member of the Servants of Mary, whose charism is compassion. She eventually cofounded the Boundless Compassion program with Sr. Margaret Stratman, O.S.M. Based on the format and theme of Rupp’s bestselling books like Open the Door and her popular workshops conducted by the Center of Compassionate Presence, Boundless Compassion has the power to transform your life, giving you wisdom, confidence, understanding, and inspiration to be a more caring presence. It will help you build on relational skills, learn self-care, gain wisdom for incorporating loss and suffering into your active life, and find ways to show compassion at work. By the book's end, you will feel prepared to live with a renewed commitment to a compassionate presence for yourself and those who are in the midst of pain, struggle, and transition.

    T. Wright, are the very echoes of a voice we dimly perceive but deeply long to hear. In fact, these questions take us to the heart of who God is and what He wants from us.For two thousand years, Christianity has claimed to solve these mysteries, and this renowned biblical scholar and Anglican bishop shows that it still can today. Not since C. S. Lewis's classic summary of the faith, Mere Christianity, has such a wise and thorough scholar taken the time to explain to anyone who wants to know what Christianity really is and how it is practiced. Wright makes the case for Christian faith from the ground up, assuming that the reader has no knowledge of (and perhaps even some aversion to) religion in general and Christianity in particular.Simply Christian walks the reader through the Christian faith step by step and question by question. With simple yet exciting and accessible prose, Wright challenges skeptics by offering explanations for even the toughest doubt-filled dilemmas, leaving believers with a reason for renewed faith. For anyone who wants to travel beyond the controversies that can obscure what the Christian faith really stands for, this simple book is the perfect vehicle for that journey.

    Whether you are new to the Christian faith, simply curious about it, or reexamining it after time away from church, you’ll appreciate the accepting, conversational, small group environment. Come as you are, be who you are, and build enriching connections with fellow travelers as you explore who God is and what Christianity is really about.Starting Point is a natural, enjoyable, and potentially life-changing experience.Each of the ten sessions consists of three important parts:First, selecting one of the five CDs that come with this Conversation Guide, you’ll listen to a teaching by Andy Stanley.Second, you’ll use this guidebook to help you reflect, and to journal your thoughts on how what you’re discovering connects with your life—with who you are, how you think, what you believe…with the things that matter most to you.Finally, in your weekly group meeting, you’ll have the opportunity to share your thoughts and experiences with fellow travelers in a supportive environment that is designed to enhance sharing and connection.From Creation across history and into the future—from the book of Genesis to the book of Revelation—God’s story is a story of relationship, and your name is in it. Welcome to the journey of finding out how the story started…where it ends…and how God’s story and your story unite.

    The song of birds, the thunder of rain clouds, and the glow of the morning sun revealed life's secrets to Satyakama. Coming face to face with the lord of death, Nachiketa found the key to immortality. The lessons the two seekers learned were priceless, for they opened to others the door to eternal bliss.

    Like the movie, the book possesses an epic scope, providing a panoramic picture of first-century Judea as it recounts the events and reveals the meaning of Jesus's life, death, and resurrection. Though based on New Testament accounts, including the four Gospels as well as the book of Acts, Son of God reads like a contemporary novel, delving deeply into the character of Jesus and the personalities and motives all of those who surround him, both his followers and his enemies. Even minor Gospel characters (Mary Magdelene, the servant Malchus, the Jewish elder Nicodemus) come vividly to life in the book, and its portrayal of the political machinations behind Jesus's trial and death-the contest for power between the Roman governor Pontius Pilate and the high priest Caiaphas-is especially engaging. Beyond depicting the historical milieu in which Jesus lived, Son of God deftly explains the customs and culture of the Jewish people and the Roman officials and soldiers who oppress them, enhancing readers' understanding of the biblical record. In its final part, the book extends the Christian story past Jesus's resurrection to show how Jesus's followers, impassioned by their faith, began spreading his message of salvation throughout the wider world. Grittily realistic, Son of God pulls no punches in conveying the harsh realities of Jesus's era. But it is also inspirational, showing how Jesus transformed the lives of the humble and the powerful alike-and conveying Jesus's message of comfort and hope to present-day readers.

    He is worshipped before one starts any project. He is supposed to remove all obstacles, all unforeseen hurdles. His elephant head, viewed symbolically, makes a lot of sense. The elephant head indicates power.’ For a peaceful and prosperous 2018, this chapter titled, Ganesha’s Secret: Different people see God differently, is mandatory.

    The only issue was, somewhere along the line, life caused her to forget how to pray. Raised by a mother that despised her after the death of her grandmother, Mia lost all faith in the God that her grandmother taught her so much about. Kain came along at the right time and saved Mia from her mother's wrath. But when her woman's intuition starts sounding alarms she begins to see Kain for who he really is. Mia knew she could never trust her mother, but when she has to pull her trust away from Kain the heartbreak is unbearable. Secrets are revealed, the drama unfolds, and the only way Mia will get through this is to remember what her grandmother taught her.

    But Tao cannot fully be explained in words; it can only felt and experienced. Tao is something you live, day by day, moment by moment. It s the omnipresent oneness beyond ephemeral phenomena that expresses itself in everything. New York Times bestselling author Ilchi Lee, an enlightened Tao master from South Korea, has laid out a path to living Tao everyday. Along this path, he guides you to an understanding of the meaning of birth, death, and everything in between, building a foundation for living a complete and whole life. The universal principles contained in "Living Tao: Timeless Principles for Everyday Enlightenment" stem from the Korean practice of Sundo, an ancient tradition of mind-body training, as well as Lee s own life experience. With these tangible principles, Ilchi Lee makes this profound topic simple and accessible. "Living Tao" has an unparalleled depth in its simplicity that anyone can absorb and immediately apply. * 2015 INDIEFAB Book of the Year Award Winner, Bronze, Body, Mind & Spirit"

    As Teilhard de Chardin did in The Divine Milieu, Ilia Delio reveals the sacrament of God at work in the world. She also explores the spiritual evolution within each of us and suggests that it will change the cosmos as well as the church. She shows that we are at a stage in evolution where our choices will determine what happens next. "Love," she writes, "always seeks the best for the beloved but God is a beggar of love who waits at the soul's door without daring to force it open. The question of Christ emerging as the personal center of the universe is not a question of yes or no but a question of how that love will evolve." She makes one thing perfectly clear: it is happening and the evidence is astounding.The Emergent Christ is an antidote to the new atheism that says there is no place in evolution for God, let alone a God of love. It is also a spiritual tonic for Christians interested in understanding their place and purpose in this evolving universe.

    But through the transformative power of grace, he discovered the God who loved and accepted unconditionally, freeing him to ask the hard questions and delve into one of Christianity's greatest taboos: doubt. In Faith, Doubt, and Other Lines I've Crossed, Jay voices the questions that Christians are thinking but won't ask as he chronicles his doubt about God, the Bible, heaven and hell, church, society, relationships, grace, and love. In the process he encourages all of us to welcome "the other", to read the Bible differently but better, to draw together in community, and to seek an unknown God of limitless grace. Brutally honest but full of grace, Jay invites everyone to cross the line, to dig deeper, and to discover a faith that is beyond belief.