Among the many recent books about Angels, this has to be one of the very best, if not the very best yet. Definitely another Mrs. Cruz bestseller! Impr. 314 pgs 44 Illus, PB

    In this inspiring collection you’ll be awed by stories from people touched by their own angels, including: The famous actress who refused to take a flight to her film shoot after a premonition that the plane would crash, thus saving her life. The drowning boy who rose from the pool with his arm up and hand clasped around the invisible hand that pulled him up through the water. The elegant mother who hadn’t used her Shalimar perfume in years and was surrounded by the scent as she died, prompting a nurse to complain. The mother napping while relatives watched her toddler who was woken by an urgent voice prompting her to rescue the child from a rushing creek just in time. The husband and wife who independently felt an urgent need to visit their grandmother late at night, meeting there hours before she unexpectedly died.

    As people made in the image of God, we are entrusted to look after what he has created: to share in God’s joy and ingenuity in making a difference for good. Ruth Valerio imaginatively draws on the Days of Creation (Genesis 1) as she relates themes of light, water, land, the seasons, other creatures, humankind, Sabbath rest and resurrection hope to matters of environmental, ethical and social concern.Foundational to Saying Yes to Life is what it means to be human and, in particular, to be a follower of Jesus. Voices from around the world are heard throughout, and each chapter ends with discussion questions and a prayer to aid action and contemplation. e

    Maybe you’d like to see your faith become more active and life-changing in the world around you. Pastor Kerry and Chris Shook felt that way. Even though their calling involved preaching and teaching, they became weary of sermons and words. They felt a gap between what they were saying and the needs of people around them.  They decided to do something about it.  Be the Message is their story of waking up to the gospel—not just a gospel of words and sermons, but the gospel of intention and action and people. They discovered a profound secret:  You Are the Gospel As they explored the deeper truths of scripture, the verse “the word of God lives in you” came alive. Digging deeper, they discovered that the gospel message is really about life message—your life lived out. God’s call to you is simple: Be the Message Be the Message opens up a new world of understanding about what God calls you to. As the Shooks learned, the gospel is not about what you say. It’s about who you are and what you do—and how you can be God’s hands and feet in the world.  What would happen if we talked about God less and walked with God more? Be the Message reminds us that Christianity was meant to be a faith of action, not a faith of words. Yet often we sacrifice doing something for the sake of talking about it. When we actually act out on our faith, we find our faith grows even more.  You can do more than nothing.  People’s lives are changed when you allow your life to be the gospel to the world. Living out the gospel in the world today is both simple and costly.  The Shooks explore that paradox through biblical stories and their own experience of making a decision to live out the gospel in practical ways.  Choosing to be the gospel changed their family, church and personal relationships with God. How can it change your life?

    This can lead, however unintentionally, to the marginalization of adults who are single by choice, divorce, or death, or who are simply not yet married. Families are a good thing, but so are all of God's people, and singles long to be lovingly integrated into the Body of Christ.In One by One, Gina Dalfonzo explores common misconceptions and stereotypes about singles, including the idea that they must be single because something is wrong with them, and the subtle (and not-so-subtle) ways they are devalued, like when sermons focus overmuch on navigating marital relationships or raising children. She shows how the church of Paul, who commended those who remained single, became the church where singles are too often treated like second class Christians. Then she explores what the church is doing right, what unique services singles can offer the church, and, most importantly, what the church can do to love and support the singles in their midst.

    Who is the real Jesus? Do we remake him in our own image and then wonder why our spirituality is less than life-changing and exciting? Steve Chalke—a high-profile visionary in the United Kingdom and an evangelical recognized not only by Christians but by the general public as well—believes that the real Jesus is deeply challenging. And each new generation must grapple with the question of who he is, because only through a constant study of Jesus are we able to discover God himself. The Lost Message of Jesus is written to stir thoughtful debate and pose fresh questions that will help create a deeper understanding of Jesus and his message. It is an encounter with the real Jesus of his world—not the Jesus we try to mold to ours. Themes include: •The Kingdom of God—shalom—is available to everyone now, through Jesus •The world outside your own church needs to hear of the depth of God’s love and suffering •Jesus was a radical and a revolutionary! •Jesus offers immediate forgiveness, without cost, to anyone •Jesus shows us repentance isn’t a guilt-laden list of dos and don’ts, but an inspirational vision of a new way to live Focusing on some of the key episodes, events, and issues of Jesus’ life, we will see how too often the message we preach today has been influenced more by the culture we live in than the radical, life-changing, world-shaping message Jesus shared two thousand years ago.

    3:12) in Christian virtues like forgiveness, joy, patience, compassion, and more. Can we really "dress up" in the character of Christ? Kelly Minter says the answer is yes—if we let the Master Designer do the fitting. This relatable book offers insightful Scripture study with real-life stories and simple, down-to-earth explanations of tricky concepts such as justification and sanctification—stitching it all together with dry humor and down-to-earth honesty. There are no gimmicks, no guilt trips, just an irresistible invitation for women to enjoy a spiritual makeover—to put on a life that's personally tailored by the One who knows and loves them best.

    Where things often fall apart is with our “want to.”In Lysa TerKeurst’s book Made to Crave, she helps women find the missing link between our desire to be healthy and the spiritual empowerment necessary to make that happen.But when French fries are so close and God feels so far away, we need more than nineteen chapters to stay motivated and on track. That’s why Lysa wrote this daily devotional with sixty inspirational entries. There is plenty of new material not in the original book, as well as your favorite nuggets of wisdom from Made to Crave.In this devotional you will find:A daily opening ScriptureThought for the DayDevotionClosing prayerJust like the Made to Crave book, this Made to Crave Devotional is not a how-to-get-healthy book. It is the road to finding the lasting “want to” that extends far beyond the surface issues of weighing less and wanting to wear a smaller clothes size. There’s a spiritual battle going on. It’s real. And it’s amazing how perfectly the Bible gives us specific ways to find victory over our food struggles.Even for girls who don’t crave carrots.

    Far more than a personality test, author Chris Heuertz writes, the enneagram is a sacred map to the soul. Lies about who we think we are keep us trapped in loops of self-defeat. But the enneagram offers a bright path to cutting through the internal clutter and finding our way back to God and to our true identity as God created us.Chris Heuertz’ life was forever changed after he learned about the enneagram 15 years ago. Today, he leads enneagram workshops all over the world. Join Chris as he shows you how this ancient tool can help you awaken to the gifts God has given you, find freedom from your personal patterns of sin and fear, and grow in acceptance of your identity as you grow with God.In conversational style with compelling stories, The Sacred Enneagram will show youHow to understand the 'why' behind your type, beyond caricatures and stereotypesHow to align your type with prayer posturesHow to identify and find freedom from self-destructive patternsHow to grow in spiritual discernmentHow to face your past wounds and step toward healingHow to awaken your unique gifts to serve today’s broken worldChris’s own journey with the enneagram is an accessible introduction and exploration of how the enneagram can change your life, because to the extent that we are transformed, the world will be transformed.

    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.

    Our stories matter to Him. Your story matters to Him. Reading the Bible ought to be like putting one's head on God's chest and listening to His heartbeat.

    This covenant has the power to release angels to assist you and forges a protective covenant around yourself and your family. It is important to discover how angels are involved in the lives of people on a personal and practical level. We will see biblical and current examples of angelic protection and will discover the steps to engaging in a covenant relationship with God that engages the help of His angels. Learn the kinds of assignments given to the angels, and discover five things that can offend angels and hinder their protection to man. We can be assured that God has commissioned His heavenly messengers to defend, keep, and protect His people.

    As a result, churches today are filled with people who believe they are Christians . . . but aren’t. We want to be disciples as long as doing so does not intrude on our lifestyles, our preferences, our comforts, and even our religion.Revealing a biblical picture of what it means to truly be a Christian, Follow Me explores the gravity of what we must forsake in this world, as well as the indescribable joy and deep satisfaction to be found when we live for Christ.The call to follow Jesus is not simply an invitation to pray a prayer; it’s a summons to lose your life—and to find new life in him. This book will show you what such life actually looks like.

    A thought-provoking book that takes a modern look at Christianity as seen through the eyes of two church leaders, Starving Jesus issues a wake-up call for readers to stop talking about being spiritual and start being spiritual.

    It gives us the chance to regroup, reflect, and refocus on God.In Pauses for Lent, Trevor Hudson offers a beautifully minimalist book in which he focuses on one word for each day of Lent. You are invited to pause, focus on the word, read a scripture and a brief meditation related to the word, and then offer a prayer.Pausing in this way will help you carve out time for God and refresh your spirit even in the midst of a busy life. You may find yourself sensing God's presence in a new way and discovering that God wants to meet you in the midst of your life as it is, muddles and all.