Book picks similar to
Gold Cord by Amy Carmichael
christian
biography
biographies
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Rescue the Captors
Russell M. Stendal - 1985
Russell tells of the lessons he learned and how he was able to witness to those that held him captive. His story is one of which we all can learn from.Extended description The terror began on August 14, 1983. American bush pilot Russell Stendal, on routine business, landed his plane in a remote Colombian village. Gunfire exploded throughout the town and within minutes Russell's 142 day ordeal had begun. The guerrilla fighters explained that this was a kidnapping for ransom and that he would be held until payment was made.Held at gunpoint deep in the jungle and with little else to occupy his time, Russell began to write. He told the story of his life and kept a record of his experience in the guerrilla camp. His "book" became a bridge to the men who held him and now serves as the basis for this incredible true story of how God's love penetrated a physical and ideological jungle.
Waking Up in Heaven: A True Story of Brokenness, Heaven, and Life Again
Crystal McVea - 2013
They will look at me with their big, innocent eyes and try to make sense of what they're hearing. It isn't always easy explaining what happened even to adults, so how am I going to explain it to my kids?There is so much I want to share with them, so much I want them to know. You see, my story is one of hope and forgiveness and salvation, and of the glorious healing power of God's presence. It's the story of what I saw and what I learned when, during a hospital stay, I left my body for nine minutes and went to heaven and stood before God. And it's the story of how, when I came back to Earth, my life was profoundly and permanently changed; changed down to the very core of my being.But it is also a story that, for the longest time, I didn't want to tell.
Wherever the River Runs: How a Forgotten People Renewed My Hope in the Gospel
Kelly Minter - 2014
Her honest and engaging narrative pulls back the curtain on one of the most captivating places on earth as well as on parts of the gospel we may be able to recite but have never fully believed.For anyone feeling complacent in their American Christianity, Kelly’s story of the forgotten people of the Amazon and how they transformed her understanding of the gospel, is sure to inspire.
Once an Arafat Man: The True Story of How a PLO Sniper Found a New Life
Tass Saada - 2008
As a young man he came to America, where he started a family, changed his faith, and began reconciliation with Jews. Later on he returned to Qatar to face his family and former boss, Arafat, with stories from his new life in Christ. The encounters are astounding. You'll embrace Saada's engaging story. You'll be enthralled by his conversion and the biblical teaching regarding Arabs and Ishmael. You'll be encouraged by his changed life and the story of hope in reconciliation through Jesus. Don't miss this enlightening true story by Tass Saada, written with Dean Merrill.
All Is Grace: A Ragamuffin Memoir
Brennan Manning - 2011
Since that time, Brennan Manning has been dazzingly faithful in preaching and writing variations on that singular theme Yes, Abba is very fond of you! But today the crowds are gone and the lights are dim, the patches on his knees have faded. If he ever was a ragamuffin, truly it is now. In this his final book, Brennan roves back his past, honoring the lives of the people closest to him, family and friends who ve known the saint and the sinner, the boy and the man. Far from some chronological timeline, these memories are witness to the truth of life by one who has lived it "All Is Grace.""
Cupid Is a Procrastinator: Making Sense of the Unexpected Single Life
Kate Hurley - 2013
You are livening up the dance floor with a stirring rendition of YMCA when suddenly, the moment comes that separates the crowd. The slow dance. This one's for pairs. You are not a pair. You thought you would be married much sooner, but it hasn't worked out that way. You are trying to make sense of the unexpected single life.For single young adults who are trying to find balance between contentment with the life they have and a desire to find their match made in heaven, "Cupid is a Procrastinator" is a source of comfort, relief, challenge, and inspiration. Join Kate Hurley in the story of friends who give horrible advice, Amish dating practices, being a bridesmaid more times than anyone should, and learning to trust God when you don't understand His plan.Kate doesn't offer a magic formula that will bring your spouse to you, nor does she ask you to be content with your "gift" of singleness. With candid humor and refreshing honesty, she shares her own struggles and discoveries as a single person and invites you to come with her on a journey toward hope.
Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back
Todd Burpo - 2010
What they weren't expecting, though, was the story that emerged in the months that followed--a story as beautiful as it was extraordinary, detailing their little boy's trip to heaven and back.Colton, not yet four years old, told his parents he left his body during the surgery--and authenticated that claim by describing exactly what his parents were doing in another part of the hospital while he was being operated on. He talked of visiting heaven and relayed stories told to him by people he met there whom he had never met in life, sharing events that happened even before he was born. He also astonished his parents with descriptions and obscure details about heaven that matched the Bible exactly, though he had not yet learned to read.With disarming innocence and the plainspoken boldness of a child, Colton tells of meeting long-departed family members. He describes Jesus, the angels, how "really, really big" God is, and how much God loves us. Retold by his father, but using Colton's uniquely simple words, "Heaven is for Real" offers a glimpse of the world that awaits us, where as Colton says, "Nobody is old and nobody wears glasses.""Heaven is for Real" will forever change the way you think of eternity, offering you the chance to see, and believe, like a child.
A Fierce Love: One Woman’s Courageous Journey to Save Her Marriage
Shauna Shanks - 2017
Are we still called to God’s plan of how to love when we are getting none in return? Shauna Shanks’s brave journey through obedience reveals the outcome of when we dare to follow God’s ludicrous outline for love as described in 1 Corinthians 13.Wrecked with news of her husband’s affair and his request for a divorce, Shauna finds herself urgently faced with a decision. Does she give up and divorce her husband and move on, or does she try to fight for her marriage? The former choice seems to contradict God’s plan for how to love, such as “love never gives up,” “love is patient,” and “love is kind.”Taking God at His word and assuming the love chapter was really meant to be followed literally word by word, she not only finds herself falling in love with her spouse again, but also falling in love with Jesus, which changes everything.First Corinthians 13 presents an audacious, illogical, and irrational context of how to love, meant to be applied to every marital context not just the fairytale marriage. If God’s instructions seem illogical and audacious, you might just expect the same kind of results in return!This book is not air-brushed. It was written in the midst of the author’s deepest trauma, and she purposefully did not edit out her mistakes and failures during that season. This book will resonate with women who do not feel like the picture-perfect Christian woman with the fairytale life and marriage.A Fierce Love is the story of a train wreck and reaching out to God not in the calm but in the chaos and finding hope for the future.
Son of Hamas
Mosab Hassan Yousef - 2010
The oldest son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, a founding member of Hamas and its most popular leader, young Mosab assisted his father for years in his political activities while being groomed to assume his legacy, politics, status . . . and power. But everything changed when Mosab turned away from terror and violence, and embraced instead the teachings of another famous Middle East leader. In Son of Hamas, Mosab Yousef—now called “Joseph”—reveals new information about the world’s most dangerous terrorist organization and unveils the truth about his own role, his agonizing separation from family and homeland, the dangerous decision to make his newfound faith public, and his belief that the Christian mandate to “love your enemies” is the only way to peace in the Middle East.
The Only Road North: 9,000 Miles of Dirt and Dreams
Erik Mirandette - 2007
Beginning in Cape Town, Erik, his brother, and his two best friends covered 9,000 miles north by dirt bike, experiencing the poverty, beauty, and dangers of the African continent.Then in Cairo, having safely reached the end of their perilous journey, a terrorist’s bomb ripped Erik’s world and faith apart. The four travelers were now desperately wounded and on the brink of death.Erik’s struggle along his journey of faith is as gripping as his trek across Africa. The Only Road North takes readers to corners of the world and depths of the human heart they will never forget.
The Man Who Moved a Mountain
Richard C. Davids - 1972
Often compared to Mark Twain's tales of the Mississippi, the style and the text show, with stark clarity, the transforming effects Childress and his ministry had on the rough and wild mountain communities of this section of Virginia.
Let's Roll!: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Courage
Lisa Beamer - 2002
A message of character, courage, and undeniable faith in the face of horrifying tragedy, it encourages anyone who reads it to live real life right now . . . and to have confidence and hope for the future.
Dying Out Loud: No Guilt in Life, No Fear in Death
Shawn Smucker - 2013
They traded the comforts of suburban southern California for the crowded cobblestone streets of the Middle East. They explored remote areas and they befriended nomadic tribes people, courageously bringing a message of hope and freedom to those needing to hear it.But none of those adventures would compare to where God led them next: a journey of visions, revelations, and sorrow. A journey into stage-four cancer, and a journey that beckoned them to walk the shrouded path through the Valley of the Shadow of Death. Yet even there they discovered peace, grace, and a new hope for the lost around them.
The Seven Storey Mountain
Thomas Merton - 1948
The Seven Storey Mountain tells of the growing restlessness of a brilliant and passionate young man, who at the age of twenty-six, takes vows in one of the most demanding Catholic orders—the Trappist monks. At the Abbey of Gethsemani, "the four walls of my new freedom," Thomas Merton struggles to withdraw from the world, but only after he has fully immersed himself in it. At the abbey, he wrote this extraordinary testament, a unique spiritual autobiography that has been recognized as one of the most influential religious works of our time. Translated into more than twenty languages, it has touched millions of lives.
It's My Turn
Ruth Bell Graham - 1982
Learn from Ruth as she weaves her unique humor into a warm and loving look into the life of a prominent family.