All four of these good things are guaranteed to happen if you but promise to go onto your porch tomorrow with your pad or other device, light your pipe, and Tolle Lege.

    Nadia Bolz-Weber takes no prisoners as she reclaims the term pastrix (a negative term used by some Christians who refuse to recognize women as pastors) in this wildly entertaining and deeply resonant memoir about an outrageous, unlikely life of faith. From a commune of haggard-but-hopeful slackers to the wobbly chairs and war stories of Alcoholic Anonymous, from a funeral in a smoky downtown comedy club to an unexpected revelation during the Haitian stations of the cross, PASTRIX is a journey of cranky spirituality that intersects religion with real life, weaving incredible narrative, hilarious rants, and poignant honesty to portray a life deeply flawed and deeply faithful-giving hope to the rest of us.

    In his next book, Jim takes the reader along into the wide open spaces of exploring and experiencing God beyond religion. Jim writes, "It is no secret that God can be lost beneath the waving banner of religion. Divine Nobodies is my story of how this happened to me. Sometimes you have to disentangle God from religion, even Christ from Christianity, to find the truth. With the help of some unsuspecting nobodies, I uncovered a new starting line with God. As I've put one foot in front of another, I've experienced God in ways that are deeply transforming."Each chapter revolves around a central question related to knowing God on fresh terms: Is God a belief system? Is the Bible a landing strip or launching pad? Can what we're feeling inside be God? Are we too religiously minded to be any earthly good?Brian McLaren wrote, "I am tempted to say that Jim Palmer could well be the next Don Miller, but what they have in common, along with an honest spirituality and extraordinary skill as storytellers, is a unique voice."The Library Reviews said of him, "Jim Palmer's casual, yet compelling writing style cuts through the religious rhetoric and gets to the real issues…readers will love this author! His sense of humor is alternately mixed with shocking sentences and poignant moments. Laced throughout is a refreshing honesty that ties his ideas together with a ribbon of reality…each turn of the page strips away a little more of the contrived mystery of Christianity until the simplicity and sincerity of it stands in realistic splendor."More and more people seek a deeper spirituality beyond status-quo religion. Others are left empty and weary from a shallow and narrow pop-Christianity. Palmer says that God's kingdom of love, peace, and freedom can be a present reality in any person's life. He proclaims that God is indeed in the process of birthing something deep and wide among unlikely people in unconventional ways, which is changing the world...one "nobody" at a time.

    These daily readings offer the skeptic, the over-committed the opportunity to make room-perhaps just enough room-for God to show up. The weeks leading up to Christmas can spark a strong spiritual longing for more. Although it may never be articulated, we sense beneath those longings is a yearning for an experience of God. These brief writings address the challenges and realities of the season and include a simple action, ritual or meditation designed to gently steer the reader toward the deeper meaning that underlies the season. Smart, witty, edgy--and always hopeful--readings by Quinn Caldwell include a brief prayer for each morning and evening during the entire Christmas season. This book takes seriously the modern person's hunger for meaning and import in a season that feels increasingly frivolous. Includes a calendar with one easy task to do each day.

    Have these people learned a formula or a simple technique that will guarantee his blessing? Or is there something more profound at work in their lives? In The Life God Blesses, Jim Cymbala points out that God is constantly searching for people to bless. He’s not looking for men and women with special talents or unusual intelligence or great strength but for those who possess a certain kind of heart. Find out how to have a heart that God cannot resist and you will become a channel of his blessing for your family, your church, and your world.

    Thérèse of Lisieux, Teresa of Avila, Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, and Mother Teresa—who wouldn't want these women as friends and guides? Lively, determined, devout but never passive, they were all straight-shooters with an abundance of common sense. They were also deeply in love with God, clinging to him with a tenacity that freed them to do the impossible. Using the Great Commandment as her guide, Gina Loehr focuses on how each of these women lived out one particular aspect of the command to love God with heart, mind, and soul and neighbor as self. Practical tips offer suggestions on how to be like the Teresas and points for reflection drive the lessons home. These friends of God will help you become, as they were, expert in living out Christ's perfect law of loveThe audio edition of this book can be downloaded via Audible.

    Readers follow this anonymous pilgrim as he treks over the Steppes in search of the answer to the one compelling question: How does one pray constantly? Through his journeys, and under the tutelage of a spiritual father, he becomes gradually more open to the promptings of God, and sees joy and plenty wherever he goes. Ultimately, he discovers the different meanings and methods of prayer as he travels to his ultimate destination, Jerusalem.The Way of a Pilgrim is a humble story ripe for renewed appreciation today. The recent changes in Russia have revealed the great religious traditions of that land, and this work, freshly translated for modern times, is among the finest examples of those centuries-old traditions.

    Dr. Jeannie Constantinou brings her more than forty years' experience as a professor, Bible teacher, and speaker to bear in explaining what the Orthodox phronema is, how it can be acquired, and how that phronema is expressed in true Orthodox theology -- as practiced by those who are properly qualified by both training and a deep relationship with Christ.

    Miller’s down-to-earth approach and practical nature will help you see that your relationship with God can grow and your communication with Him can get better. Parents will find Miller’s family-life experiences especially helpful.

    Kent Edwards recalls a story that late pastor J. Vernon McGee told about seeing children in South Africa playing a game of marbles in the dust with real diamonds. The precious stones were being handled with no regard for their true worth. Edwards fears the same thing happens today when preachers offer Scriptural truth to listeners without being completely overwhelmed by its greatness themselves in the process.Deep Preaching is his call to "rethink" preaching. Edwards helps preachers learn to preach the word in ways that will powerfully change the lives of hearers. He contends that sermons "need not settle comfortably on the lives of the listeners like dust on a coffee table." He encourages preachers to join him in casting off the lines that moor their ministries to the status-quo and make every effort to steer their preaching out of the "comfortable shallows." He urges them to preach deep sermons rather than superficial ones, moving "beyond the yawn-inspiring to the awe-inspiring, from the trite to the transforming."

    Perfect as an introduction to prayer or as a guidebook for those who already pray this book offers down-to-earth guidance on every aspect of prayer. Learn to overcome distractions, meditate well, and much more!

    This book will help you to see the person you are and the person you can become. Open your heart and mind, and your life will change gracefully.

    During September Roman Catholics commemorate and honour the Seven Sorrows (or Dolours) of the Blessed Virgin Mary by prayers, other pious devotions and meditations.The first part of this book consists of prayers and miscellaneous devotions.The second part is a step-by-step guide to praying the popular Rosary (or Chaplet) of the Seven Sorrows with selections of text from the Gospels.The third part is a set of Reflections on the Seven Sorrows written by Saint Alphonsus Ligouri.The book is fully navigable by an active Table of Contents with hyperlinks.

    Guenther also discusses basic matters of Christian practice, such as making a confession, intercession, going on retreat, simplifying our lives, using a journal to pray, finding a spiritual director, and praying through times of desolation when God does not seem to be listening.

    It can find you in the everyday. Learn to walk in a way that glorifies Jesus and receive freedom, not beyond your fear and pain, but within it.We are fragile and we know it. Sometimes, living with Christ in a messed-up world feels less like victory and more like walking uphill. Ann Voskamp, the New York Times bestselling author of One Thousand Gifts, sits at the edge of her life and her own unspoken brokenness and asks: What if you really want to live abundantly before it's too late? What do you do if you really want to know abundant wholeness?This one's for the lovers and the sufferers. This one's for the busted ones who are ready to bust free, the ones ready to break molds, break chains, break measuring sticks, and break all this bad brokenness with an unlikely good brokenness. You could be one of the Beloved who is broken—and still lets yourself be loved.Ann desperately wants you to know:God is attracted to the broken, the sin-sick, and those in needThe very things people are most ashamed of are the exact broken things that draw God to his peopleYou can live in the face of your unspoken painYou can discover and trust this broken way—the way to not be afraid of broken thingsThe Broken Way is simple in presentation, written in Ann’s unique style—a new way for desperate Christians in need of a fresh revelation of the grace of God.