If you have ever felt that you were not enough as a wife or mom, or if you're someone who struggles to do it all, Getting Past Perfect offers a realistic and reassuring portrait of Catholic womanhood, placing motherhood in the context of every woman's primary role as a child of God. Kate Wicker journalist, popular speaker, and author of the highly-acclaimed Weightless shares how she shook off doubt and negative self-perception, finding self-acceptance as a mom and the desire to stop controlling everyone around her. Getting Past Perfect invites you to make this same journey as you learn to embrace the primacy of your role as a daughter of God, even amidst the daily chaos of raising children. Each chapter is designed to debunk the lies and expectations that moms often face, replacing negative self-perceptions with the truths of a woman's true calling. Wicker, a recovering perfectionist, helps you realize:It is perfectly normal to feel like you're in over your head sometimes.You can stop obsessing about what other people think and start focusing on loving yourself and your kids just as you are.Your primary jobs are to let God love you and to love him back. Nurture your prayer life and make time to remember that you are first a daughter of God.It s important to practice self-care no matter your stage in life.Wicker openly shares how she unwittingly transferred her preoccupation with having the perfect body to being the perfect parent. By honestly sharing her mistakes and triumphs in the trenches of motherhood, Wicker reveals several common falsehoods mothers tell themselves in different seasons of their lives and how speaking the truth can liberate women to become better parents and the truest versions of themselves. Whether you're dealing with endless "why?" questions, unexpected potty emergencies, or even the unanticipated change of a new pregnancy, Getting Past Perfect will help you learn how to lean into God's abiding grace. By closing each chapter with a simple reflection question and prayer, this book provides the tools you need to embrace the messy realities of family life and to emerge from feeling overwhelmed to knowing that you are first and foremost a daughter of God."

    For those who have questioned their Christian faith, Robert Benson offers an account of his sojourn in a season of trouble and his journey back to God. In this spiritual self-portrait, Benson's experiences--battling depression and re-examining the deep Christian faith in which he has been immersed since childhood--become poignant testament of one believer's struggle with the mysteries of faith's road.

    . . but not like this.In this revealing book, renowned speaker and author Christopher West discusses the topic of love and relationships, but he does it through the lens of his own powerful and personal experience. If you've ever wondered what to do with that deep cry of your heart to love and be loved, read on.Love Is Patient, but I'm Not offers West's reflections on Pope Francis book The Joy of Love. It focuses on the heart of the pope's meditations on the famous love is patient and kind passage from 1 Corinthians 13. Its short chapters will take you line by line through the passage, and will also let you in on some intimate aspects of West's faith journey—his wound of perfectionism, his consequent challenges as a husband and father, and the ups and downs he experiences as he struggles to work it all out. As it turns out, we aren't the only ones who find it hard to live out the love St. Paul describes for us.Interspersed throughout the book are short prayers and questions for reflection designed to help you open your heart to God and experience his unconditional, merciful love more fully. Read this book for a dose of spiritual encouragement and for a real-life look at what it means to live the joy of love.

    Did you ever ask yourself: “Who am I? What am I? Why am I?”You are a mystery.The world about you is a mystery.Now, you can understand!

    Table of Contents: Introduction: Who Are the American Puritans? 1. William Bradford 2. John Winthrop 3. John Cotton 4. Thomas Hooker 5. Thomas Shepard 6. Anne Bradstreet 7. John Eliot 8. Samuel Willard 9. Cotton Mather

    He embarked on a thousand-mile pilgrimage through the theological cradle of Christianity, exploring one of the biggest stories of our time: the collapse of religion in the world that it created. Egan sets out along the Via Francigena, once the major medieval trail leading the devout to Rome, and makes his way overland via the alpine peaks and small mountain towns of France, Switzerland and Italy. The goal: walking to St. Peter's Square, in hopes of meeting the galvanizing pope who is struggling to hold together the church through the worst crisis in half a millennium.Making his way through a landscape laced with some of the most important shrines to the faith, Egan finds a modern Canterbury Tale in the chapel where Queen Bertha introduced Christianity to pagan Britain; parses the supernatural in a French town built on miracles; and journeys to the oldest abbey in the Western world, founded in 515 and home to continuous prayer over the 1,500 years that have followed. He is accompanied by a quirky cast of fellow pilgrims and by some of the towering figures of the faith--Joan of Arc, Henry VIII, Martin Luther.A thrilling journey, a family story, and a revealing history, A Pilgrimage to Eternity looks for our future in its search for God.One of Oprah's Must-Read Books of Fall 2019

    Tells the complete story: From the Conquest of Mexico and the conversion of the Aztecs through the development of the devotion and on into the modern era. An enthralling story and an essential devotion for our times!

    

    Critics hailed that book as an “astounding literary and spiritual feat” (Publishers Weekly) that is “destined to become a classic of both urban reportage and contemporary spirituality” (Los Angeles Times). Now, after the suc­cessful expansion of Homeboy Industries, Boyle returns with Barking to the Choir to reveal how com­passion is transforming the lives of gang members. In a nation deeply divided and plagued by poverty and violence, Barking to the Choir offers a snapshot into the challenges and joys of life on the margins. Sergio, arrested at nine, in a gang by twelve, and serving time shortly thereafter, now works with the substance-abuse team at Homeboy to help others find sobriety. Jamal, abandoned by his family when he tried to attend school at age seven, gradually finds forgive­ness for his schizophrenic mother. New father Cuco, who never knew his own dad, thinks of a daily adventure on which to take his four-year-old son. These former gang members uplift the soul and reveal how bright life can be when filled with unconditional love and kindness. This book is guaranteed to shake up our ideas about God and about people with a glimpse at a world defined by more compassion and fewer barriers. Gently and humorously, Barking to the Choir invites us to find kinship with one another and reconvinces us all of our own goodness.

    Every page is filled with reassurance that we will see our animal friends in heaven.  The death of a beloved animal friend can be one of the most difficult events we face, often surprising us at the depth of the grief and emotion we feel.  It can be very comforting to know that the animals we love so much are safe with God, who created and loves them.  Throughout his many years as a Franciscan friar, Jack Wintz came to know—the Bible gives us many clues that we will be with our pets in heaven for eternity! St. Francis himself shared a close relationship with animals, preaching to the birds, releasing Brother Rabbit from a trip, or letting Sister Raven awaken him for early morning prayer. Franciscan spirituality tells us that all creatures form one family of creation, and God’s plan of salvation includes the whole created world.  This new, expanded edition of the original bestseller includes:  Wisdom from Friar Jack, in 14 short and simple readings Blessings, prayers, and stories from Scripture  Special presentation page to personalize the gift Adorable photos and short memories of beloved dogs Sections of the book include:  Three Prayers of Blessing  The Happiness Principle  Noah, the Ark, and the Dove Jonah and the Whale The Song of St. Francis Jesus and the World of Creation Praying with Creatures The Soul of a Dog With it reassuring message of God’s eternal love and care for all creation, I Will See You in Heaven helps us to know that we are not alone in our grief, and that our “goodbye” is not forever.   Cover photo: Hollie Betzler (2001-2018), Michigan’s first grief therapy dog, served faithfully at her family’s funeral home and area nursing homes for 16 years, giving a comforting paw at just the right time to just the right person. Her family anticipates her serving the same role at the gates of heaven, where she now waits for them.

    Begins with her childhood in NewOrleans, when she seriously considered entering a convent. As she grewinto a young adult she delved into concerns about faith, God, and theCatholic Church that led her away from religion. The author finallyreclaimed her Catholic faith in the late 1990s, realizing howmuch she desired to surrender her being, including herwriting talent, to God. Author: Anne Rice Format: 256 pages, hardcover, 8.5 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches Publisher: Random House ISBN: 9780307268273

    And that's just in ordinary matter, which makes up only 4.9% of the universe, the rest being dark matter and dark energy.Each of my reasons is an independent point, so I have not organized this book by a succession of chapters or headings. After all, most readers only remember a few big ideas or separate points after reading a book. (I've never heard anyone say "Oh, that was a good continuous-process-of-logically-ordered-argumentation" but I've often heard people say, "Oh, that was a good point."Which takes me back to my main point: "Why are you a Catholic" is a good question.A good question deserves a good answer.Here are forty of mine.

    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

    There are 10 quotes from each of these great men and women of God. Listen to the heart and passion of Oswald Chamber, C.S. Lewis, Gen. William Booth, Dietriech Bonhoeffer, E.M. Bounds, A.B. Simpson, Kathryn Kuhlman, Charles Spurgeon, Aimee Semple McPherson and Charles Finney.

    With grace, charm, and wit, Dr. Howard describes his journey from Evangelicalism to Anglicanism, and finally, to the Church of Rome. In a world saturated with fashionable unbelief, Howard's testimony inspires and informs. Fr. Richard Neuhaus calls it "a marvelously engaging remembrance.