She peels back the layers of history and shows how very contemporary and applicable the story of Esther is to our lives. If you've ever felt inadequate, threatened, or pushed into situations that seemed overpowering, this is the study for you. Just as it was tough being a woman in Esther's day, it's tough today. This portion of God's Word contains treasures to aid us in our hurried, harried, and pressured lives.Leader kit contains: 6 DVDs (10 teaching segments and bonus content),1 Member Book, and 1 Leader Guide.

    Carol Queen. Whether writing about the joys of being spanked into erotic bliss, performing in a red-light district peep show, partaking of the pleasures of the new safe sex clubs, or lobbying for the pro-pornography platform, Queen is an enthusiastic advocate for sexual pleasure.

    The King Never Smiles, the first independent biography of Thailand's monarch, tells the unexpected story of Bhumibol's life and sixty-year rule—how a Western-raised boy came to be seen by his people as a living Buddha, and how a king widely seen as beneficent and apolitical could in fact be so deeply political and autocratic. Paul Handley provides an extensively researched, factual account of the king’s youth and personal development, ascent to the throne, skillful political maneuverings, and attempt to shape Thailand as a Buddhist kingdom. Handley takes full note of Bhumibol's achievements in art, in sports and jazz, and he credits the king's lifelong dedication to rural development and the livelihoods of his poorest subjects. But, looking beyond the widely accepted image of the king as egalitarian and virtuous, Handley portrays an anti-democratic monarch who, together with allies in big business and the corrupt Thai military, has protected a centuries-old, barely modified feudal dynasty. When at nineteen Bhumibol assumed the throne, the Thai monarchy had been stripped of power and prestige. Over the ensuing decades, Bhumibol became the paramount political actor in the kingdom, silencing critics while winning the hearts and minds of his people. The book details this process and depicts Thailand’s unique constitutional monarch—his life, his thinking, and his ruling philosophy.

    Includes: Love Handles Love Letters Love Lately Each steamy sweet short story has an handsome man, curvy woman and happily ever after.

    Sam left the family farm some 20 years ago. He found solace in nature and built a respected career as a special agent for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. His experiences have given him a penchant for understanding predators--a skill he'll need, now, more than ever.After his father is killed in a hunting accident, Sam at last returns to northern Minnesota to fulfill his mother's dying wish. But all is not as it seems. A bizarre wolf attack on local livestock leads Sam to a series of clues that could change everything he knows--or thinks he knows--about the town, his family, and himself.It is a case unlike any he's worked before. His knowledge of frigid winters, wolves, and wilderness will be put to the test, as he tries to solve the case--and stay alive.

    Then a blizzard closes the highway, her cell phone dies, and her car runs out of gas in the middle of nowhere! Seeking refuge, Ashley stumbles across Camp Cedarwood, where she spent a summer in her teens and experienced a whirlwind romance, culminating in an almost-kiss and a heartbreaking rejection. A Christmas program is in full swing at the camp, run by the handsome and charming Marc Rollier, the same man Ash turned down all those summers ago.Now, with the snow falling and the roads closed for days, Ashley becomes Cedarwood's newest camper. The camp has a lot in-store for her: guests to befriend (including a family with a tragic secret), a decades-old mystery to solve, and an exciting (and embarrassing) Christmas Cup competition that will put her head-to-head against Marc. And as Ashley feels drawn back to Cedarwood, and Marc, she's going to find out if the middle of nowhere is the best place for second chances. Christmas at Camp Cedarwood is a heartwarming, wholesome Christmas romance that will have you laughing, crying and believing in the power of love and the magic of the season during the most wonderful time of the year.

    When the bound papyrus pages of this lost gospel finally reached scholars who could unlock its meaning, they were astounded. Here was a gospel that had not been seen since the early days of Xianity, & which few experts had even thought existed–a gospel told from the perspective of Judas Iscariot, history’s ultimate traitor. Far from being a villain, the Judas that emerges in its pages is a hero. In this radical reinterpretation, Jesus asks Judas to betray him. In contrast to the New Testament Gospels, Judas is presented as a role model for all those who wish to be disciples of Jesus. He's the one apostle who truly understands Jesus. This volume is the 1st publication of the remarkable gospel since it was condemned as heresy by early Church leaders, most notably by Irenaeus, in 180. Hidden away in a cavern in Middle Egypt, the codex containing the gospel was discovered by farmers in the 1970s. In the intervening years the papyrus codex was bought & sold by antiquities traders, hidden away & carried across three continents, all the while suffering damage that reduced much of it to fragments. In 2001, it finally found its way into the hands of a team of experts who would painstakingly reassemble & restore it. The Gospel of Judas has been translated from its original Coptic into clear prose. It's accompanied by commentary that explains its history in the context of the early Church, offering a new way of understanding the message of Jesus.

    "There are magical places that exist in this world, Jessica, places the Master Architect created to balance good and evil. The time will come when you will leave this house and enter into another life that awaits you. A life you deserve with a greater purpose. You don't know how special you really are." For years, Jessica has fought for her father's life by agreeing to every little whim her twisted mother's mind could conjured. Close to her twentieth birthday, her scheming mother forces an engagement. If Jess refuses, she'll shut off the machines keeping her father alive. Having no choice, she agrees, but hours later finds her father already dead. She knows then she has to escape her prison, or she'll end up just like her father.

    His work is credited with turning the Gothic's focus from the external sources of horror to the inward effects of terror, thus helping to create the psychological basis for supernaturalist literature that continues to this day. Inspired by the Dutch painter Godfried Schalcken, 'Schalken the Painter' is a timeless Gothic tale. Many of the earliest occult stories, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive.

    It sets one dreaming of the oddest possibilities of intercommunication in the future, of spending an intercalary five minutes on the other side of the world, or being watched in our most secret operations by unsuspected eyes. It happened that I was the immediate witness of Davidson's seizure, and so it falls naturally to me to put the story upon paper.

    Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

    Teacher guide includes story summary, author backgrounds, pre-reading activities, vocabulary builders, discussion questions, graphic organizers, writing ideas, post-reading activities, cross-curriculum extension activities, assessments and inspiring lesson plans; student packet includes activity sheets, quizzes and final exams with answer keys.

    Her search for answers leads to a two-thousand-year-old medical mystery and the esoteric life of one of history’s most enigmatic women. Following the trail forged by her late husband, Katrina must separate truth from legend as she chases medicine from ancient Italy and Egypt to a clandestine modern-day war. Her quest will reveal a legacy of greed and murder and resurrect an ancient plague, introducing it into the twenty-first century.

    Geoff Harris, an investigative reporter, is soon drawn into her quest, both by romantic interest and suspicions about the head of the Shalom Foundation, the organization sponsoring her work. He’s also a dead ringer for the ghost of a monk Annie believes she has seen at the flat she is subletting in Bristol House.In 1535, Tudor London is a very different city, one in which monks are being executed by Henry VIII and Jews are banished. In this treacherous environment of religious persecution, Dom Justin, a Carthusian monk, and a goldsmith known as the Jew of Holborn must navigate a shadowy world of intrigue involving Thomas Cromwell, Jewish treasure, and sexual secrets. Their struggles shed light on the mysteries Annie and Geoff aim to puzzle out—at their own peril.This riveting dual-period narrative seamlessly blends a haunting supernatural thriller with vivid historical fiction. Beverly Swerling, widely acclaimed for her City of Dreams series, delivers a bewitching and epic story of a historian and a monk, half a millennium apart, whose destinies are on a collision course.

    Bishop T. D. Jakes is a breath of fresh air as he shares important principles with every woman desiring to live a more positive and productive life. Take it from me, the material within this book does make a difference."--Natalie Cole on The Lady, Her Lover, and Her LordJuly 1998With his bestseller Woman, Thou Art Loosed!, Bishop T. D. Jakes showed women across the country how to heal the emotional scars left by the verbal, sexual, physical, and emotional abuse suffered at the hands of the men in their lives. Now Jakes has written The Lady, Her Lover, and Her Lord, the progressive next step for healing past injuries and moving forward into the future. The hugely popular Pentecostal pastor points out how our society demands women to be sweet, sexy, and submissive. Society demands women to be anything and everything but the one thing God wants them to be: real. Jakes advises women who want to transform old pain into fuel for future accomplishment and achievement. The Lady, Her Lover, and Her Lord serves as a dialogue between the genders, not a monologue for one gender. Jakes's answer to creating balance and fulfillment in life focuses on the three crucial relationships in a woman's life: with herself, with her man, and with God. Jakes redirects the expectations characteristic of failed relationships by discussing the many things women often want from their man that can be truly fulfilled only by God.Each chapter of The Lady, Her Lover, and Her Lord provides readers with a unique aspect of Bishop Jakes's message. Some examples:* "Falling in Love with Yourself": Jakes examines the importance of self-love and the role it plays in our relationships with others.* "Embracing Someone Else": a look at the search for a life partner. Jakes points out that we often choose partners because they are physically appealing, only to find out that there is not enough inner attraction to sustain such a relationship.* "Pillow Talk": an exploration of what happens to relationships when we become the victim of hateful, thoughtless words, and what that can do to a relationship.* "Serving the Lord and Making Money": a look at money, wealth, and financial strength in the Christian life. Jakes concludes by reminding readers of God's capacity when things go wrong.