Book picks similar to
Intentional Walk: An Inside Look at the Faith That Drives the St. Louis Cardinals by Rob Rains
baseball
sports
religion
christianity
The Rotation: A Season with the Phillies and the Greatest Pitching Staff Ever Assembled
Jim Salisbury - 2012
Plus, the Philadelphia Phillies' 2011 rotation also happens to include Cole Hamels--the 2008 NLCS and World Series MVP--and an alternating fifth starter. This awe-inducing rotation has been the talk of baseball since coming together in December 2010. They were featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated's 2011 baseball- preview edition, interviewed on the MLB Network on opening day of spring training, covered in the New York Times Magazine, and mentioned in numerous newspapers and magazines nationwide.Authored by two of the most knowledgable and connected Phillies beat writers, The Rotation is a remarkably detailed day-in-the-life story of one complete season with a Major League Baseball starting-pitching staff. The authors offer deep daily access to the Phillies players, coaches, and front-office staff, as well as the players and staff of other major league teams and the national baseball media.With firsthand reporting and extensive interviews, plus two full-color photo inserts, this is a fascinating and detailed look into the day-to-day operation of what is arguably the greatest pitching rotation ever assembled. It is a must-read for Phillies fans and general baseball fans alike.
Feathers from My Nest: A Mother's Reflections
Beth Moore - 2000
Feathers from My Nest reveals a more contemplative and personal side of Beth, very much in the spirit of her Things Pondered.Feathers from My Nest is a collection of vignettes, as Beth reflects on items belonging to her daughters who have left the nest for college. As she ponders each item, rich in memories, Beth draws from its spiritual significance.This book not only tugs gently on the sentimental heartstrings of parents, it also reminds us all of the gift of grace children offer our lives every day.
Shattered: Struck Down, But Not Destroyed
Frank Pastore - 2010
Frank Pastore was a physically awkward kid who became a professional athlete. An okay student who goes on to earn two masters degrees in philosophy. A former atheist who ends up hosting the biggest Christian radio talk show in America. Shattered is part sports book, because you'll go on road trips, enter clubhouses, and walk on the fields of professional baseball. It's part romantic novel, because you'll journey with two young kids who fall in love and eventually elope, evading not only her family, but the law as well--for she was only 16. It's also a story of brokenness, betrayal, and burn-out. If you were raised in a dysfunctional family, if you've ever had your dreams fall apart, been betrayed by close friends, or hit the psychological "wall" in your professional career, this is your book too. But, most of all, this is an uplifting story of how an unpredictable God can surprise any of us with His goodness and love when we allow Him to make beautiful the shattered fragments of our lives.
My Time with God: Renewed in His Presence Daily
Joyce Meyer - 2017
Those writings comprise My Time With God, the 365-day devotional that shares powerful insight into Joyce's spiritual reflections and journey. Each daily entry guides readers through a narrative of meditations, an uplifting declaration, and relevant scripture to encourage greater intimacy with God. Including spiritual revelations experienced by one of the world's leading Bible teachers, this book will renew readers' minds, offering assurance of God's complete love and desire for closeness with them.
Glorious Mess: Encountering God's Relentless Grace for Imperfect People
Mike Howerton - 2012
Like Jonah, however, we eventually discover we've made a mess of things; we're rowing against the storms God is using to pull us back on course.In Glorious Mess, Mike Howerton shows how God's relentless grace extends into all the messes we make in our lives, that God clearly reveals his love for imperfect people no matter how far we've strayed. He shows readers how to hear God's voice, how to embrace God's calling on their lives, how to get out of their messes, and how to see God working. The result is not just forgiveness and direction for life, but also encouragement and inspiration to be our best selves before God and others.Includes discussion questions for group or personal use.
Parables & Ponderings: when God speaks to us through everyday items and incidents (Little Devotionals Book 1)
Lia London - 2012
Each vignette is real, down-to-earth, and comes with a Bible verse to link daily life to the Word of God.Lovers of the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series will devour these funny and insightful anecdotes. Be inspired by everyday things around you! Perfect for devotionals.
Heroic Mormon Women: True Stories from the Lives of Sixteen Amazing Women in Church History
Ivan J. Barrett - 2012
"As he has recorded the events of history, man has often forgotten to mention the hand that rocked the cradle." These remarkable Mormon women gave their all for the gospel of Christ. With drama and emotion stronger than that found in any work of fiction, the inspirational stories in Heroic Mormon Women will bring to light the incredible strength, virtue, and faith of the heroic women of the restoration. Some women included in this book are: Rachel Ivins Grant Jane Grover Jane Elizabeth Manning James Sarah Melissa Granger Kimball Heroic Marys Elizabeth Claridge McCune Sarah Pea Rich Aurelia Spencer Rogers Amanda Barnes Smith Eliza Roxey Snow Amanda Barnes Smith Lucy Mack Smith Emma Hale Smith
Anything: The Prayer That Unlocked My God and My Soul
Jennie Allen - 2011
Comfortable. Happy. Words we all love. Feelings we want. Even crave. We may love God, but being that he's invisible, words like comfortable seem to feel better faster. We are all chasing something. Our hearts were made to run hard and fast after things that move us. But as a generation we are all beginning to stir and wake up, identifying that these words don't satisfy for long, especially when compared to God. If God is real, and we are going to live with Him forever, shouldn't He be everything? Caught in this familiar haze of worldly happiness and empty pursuits, Jennie Allen and her husband Zac prayed a courageous prayer of abandonment that took them on an adventure God had written for them. "God, we will do anything. Anything Anythingis a prayer of surrender that will spark something. A prayer that will move us to stop chasing things that just make us feel happy and start living a life that matters. A life that is... Surrendered. Reckless. Courageous. If we truly know a God worth giving anything for, everything changes.
The Reason: How I Discovered a Life Worth Living
Lacey Sturm - 2014
The screaming match she had with her grandmother was the reason she went to church. What she found there was the Reason she is alive today.With raw vulnerability, this hard rock princess tells her own story of physical abuse, drug use, suicide attempts, and more--and her ultimate salvation. She asks the hard questions so many young people are asking--Why am I here? Why am I empty? Why should I go on living?--showing readers that beyond the temporary highs and the soul-crushing lows there is a reason they exist and a purpose for their lives. She not only gives readers a peek down the rocky path that led her to become a vocalist in a popular hardcore band, but she shows them that the same God is guiding their steps today.
Known and Loved
Caryn Rivadeneira - 2013
Many mothers of young children feel alone, isolated, and confused about their new role. They have a powerful desire to be known and loved.Now for any mom who has ever wrestled with who she is at her core, Caryn Rivadeneira offers 52 devotions drawn from the Psalms that show women how God sees them, what he created them to do, and how he created them to be. She takes women through ten major areas of identity, weaving in stories from her own life and from the lives of other moms, showing mothers that they are valued and valuable.The perfect gift for Mother's Day, Known and Loved will brighten a mom's day even as it deepens her faith.
Shelter in God: Your Refuge in Times of Trouble
David Jeremiah - 2020
David Jeremiah shares how the book of Psalms can aid those struggling to find meaning during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. Shelter-in-place orders around the world have people questioning, “Does God see us? Can he help us through this nerve-racking time? Dr. David Jeremiah shares through psalms that God is always walking beside us. Now is the time to Shelter in God.Renowned pastor and teacher Dr. David Jeremiah believes comfort can be found in the Psalms, both now during the coronavirus pandemic and during all of life's greatest challenges. This newly collected volume will show how finding refuge in God is always our safest place. Shelter in God offers hope in a time of uncertainty and relief to people who are experiencing real troubles and fear.find ways to worship in times of trouble,experience prayer in pressure,show grace you are at your wits’ end, andwith God’s help, triumph over trouble. Shelter in God is an invaluable source of help and encouragement for people facing major obstacles during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Portions of Shelter in God were previously included in Dr. Jeremiah’s classic When Your World Falls Apart.
Speal: A David and Goliath Story
Chris Spealler - 2018
Chris Spealler is 5’5" and 140 pounds. Such daunting facts would make most declare defeat before trying. Chris didn’t buy the odds, though. Instead, he forged his own modern-day David-and-Goliath story. Speal is Chris’s account of struggle and perseverance, despite being "too small." What others did with ease, he seemed to do with sheer grit and will. And his actions put him among CrossFit’s elite. His is not a story of a gifted athlete whose natural talent granted him acclaim, but rather of one man who refused to back down and inspired an entire community in the process.
Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living
Shauna Niequist - 2016
I was tired of being tired, burned out on busy. And, it seemed almost everyone I talked with was in the same boat: longing for connection, meaning, depth, but settling for busy.I am a wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, neighbor, writer, and I know all too well that settling feeling. But over the course of the last few years, I’ve learned a way to live, marked by grace, love, rest, and play. And it’s changing everything.Present Over Perfect is an invitation to this journey that changed my life. I’ll walk this path with you, a path away from frantic pushing and proving, and toward your essential self, the one you were created to be before you began proving and earning for your worth.Written in Shauna’s warm and vulnerable style, this collection of essays focuses on the most important transformation in her life, and maybe yours too: leaving behind busyness and frantic living and rediscovering the person you were made to be. Present Over Perfect is a hand reaching out, pulling you free from the constant pressure to perform faster, push harder, and produce more, all while maintaining an exhausting image of perfection.Shauna offers an honest account of what led her to begin this journey, and a compelling vision for an entirely new way to live: soaked in grace, rest, silence, simplicity, prayer, and connection with the people that matter most to us.In these pages, you’ll be invited to consider the landscape of your own life, and what it might look like to leave behind the pressure to be perfect and begin the life-changing practice of simply being present, in the middle of the mess and the ordinariness of life.
Coming Clean: A Story of Faith
Seth Haines - 2015
That evening, he asked his sister to smuggle in a bottle of gin, and gave in to addiction.But whether or not you've ever had a drop to drink in your life, we're all looking for ways to stop the pain. Like Seth, we're all seeking balms for the anxiety of what sometimes seems to be an absent, unresponsive God—whether it's through people-pleasing, shopping, the internet, food, career highs, or even good works and elite theology. We attempt to anesthetize our anxiety through addiction—any old addiction. But it often leaves us feeling even more empty than before.In Coming Clean, Seth Haines writes a raw account of his first 90 days of sobriety, illuminating how to face the pain we'd rather avoid, and even more importantly, how an abiding God meets us in that pain. Seth shows us that true wholeness is found in facing our pain and anxieties with the tenacity and tenderness of Jesus, and only through Christ's passion can we truly come clean
Walk-On: Life from the End of the Bench
Alan Williams - 2005
Alan Williams knew nothing about being the star, but a courageous basketball player shows that one can still find success in the midst of failure. Even though Alan's career didn't result in him being a lottery pick in the first round of the NBA draft, Walk-On gives each of us something to cheer about. From the end of the bench, a firsthand view of major college basketball proves that ultimate fulfillment in life is not found in how many points we score, but in having a hope and a faith in those things in life which cannot be seen.JOIN THE FIGHT FOR CANCERJIMMY V FOUNDATION: A portion of the proceeds from Walk-On will be donated to the V Foundation, an organization helping to support cancer research. The V Foundation was founded in memory of the late Jim Valvano, former coach of NC STATE, who died years ago of cancer.