Repeatedly. In this humorous and honest memoir, Ted Kluck—father, writer, and sports fan—details his adoption of his two sons from Ukraine. While not always self-flattering, his complaints and struggles will provoke laughter, some fear, and self-examination.In the first part of his memoir, Ted reveals the chaos the Kluck’s first international adoption, the adoption of his son Tristan. He includes stories of:Loads of paperwork, inspections, and prayer in the United StatesTraveling to Ukraine with tens of thousands of dollars in cash tucked in his beltUnexpected waitsConsuming uncountable numbers of Snickers bars and sodaSickness while still in UkraineLetters written to his soon-to-be sonGod’s unending faithfulness and reflections on His adoption of believersIn the second part of his memoir—the story of Kluck’s second international adoption—new struggles arise, causing Ted to process with his readers:Infertility—in a church full of pregnant women and large familiesStruggling in silenceTravel, againMissing the comfort of the United StatesA small amount of electrocution—the result of foreign electrical engineeringSpiritual depression and struggle to provide for his familyComplaint and trusting that God’s provision is sufficientThe blessing of the body of ChristIn each section of Ted’s memoir, you will feel deeply, laugh out loud, and learn. Whether you’re an adoptive parent, seeking to be an adoptive parent, or unmarried, you will enjoy and appreciate Ted’s humorous and honest stories of his adventures in adoptive fatherhood.“While Hello, I Love You is about the stories of two adoptions,in reality, the stories serve to show the trustworthiness of God despite impossible circumstances and the need to find contentment in his providential care.”-Book review by John Starke on The Gospel Coalition An Excerpt from the Book’s Introduction:            This book began as a journal—some spiral-bound notebooks that came with me to Ukraine the first time, and which contained letters that I wrote to Tristan during the experience. In the first half of the book, it reads like I’m addressing Tristan directly, while the second half is a more straightforward narrative of Dima’s adoption. They’re both love letters to my boys, and the whole thing is a love letter to Kristin, my wife.            You’ll also notice lots of frank, often sarcastic prose about cultural differences—usually with the author as the punch line, as it was my inability to deal with these differences that provided a lot of humor (in retrospect) and anger (at the time).            There’s also some tough content regarding infertility. If this is something you’ve struggled with in your marriage, I hope this chapter encourages you, and I hope you feel less alone in your struggle. If you’ve been blessed with biological children, please don’t feel guilty for having them, or in any way judged or made fun of by the observations in that chapter (see also: It not being you, but me).            Finally, the book contains lots of stories of God’s faithfulness—stories that we thought were too meaningful not to be told. Little “piles of stones” along the way that remind us of God’s goodness, love, and faithfulness. We hope that you’ll read them and not only be entertained, but be motivated to think of Christ and our adoption as His sons and daughters. It is only the love of Christ, and our hope in Him, that got us through the first, the most difficult adoption in the history of our agency’s work with Ukraine, then infertility, and finally a second adoption. And it was these adoptions, more than any other events or events in our lives, that truly taught us to find our peace, comfort, and identity in Christ.

    In this book Pastor Chuck teaches the call to the ministry, church government, the rapture of the church and the priority of studying the Word of God.

    These "shepherds" are called to preach, pray, and care for the needs of God's people. But what does it mean to be a pastor? And what is the nature of this ministry, according to the Bible?In Gospel-Driven Ministry, Jared Wilson begins by looking at the qualifications for the pastorate, addressing the notion of a call to ministry and how an individual--and a church community--can best identify the marks of maturity and affirm a call. In each chapter, Wilson looks at one of the core practices of pastoral ministry, including: Preaching SermonsDeveloping a Vibrant Prayer LifeCaring and CounselingPastoring Married and SingleGospel-Centered LeadershipFighting Sin and Spiritual WarfareResolving ConflictPassing on the Ministry to OthersIn addition, Wilson provides practical resources including theological insights on baptism and the Lord's Supper, guidance for wedding and funeral sermons, outlines for leading elder and deacon meetings, tips for interviewing new pastors, questions to ask at ordination, and advice on knowing when and how to leave a pastor role. This is a comprehensive, practical guide to pastoral ministry that prepares new pastors and equips those currently serving for long-term, healthy ministry.

    Authors include: Harper Lee Kathleen Norris Frederick Buechner Maya Angelou Pope Francis James Martin Marianne Williamson"Amazing Peace" is a wonderful book for daily inspiration during the holiday season and to re-read for its beauty and wisdom on many days after.

    

    After all, it's 1825 and this is the land of opportunity!

    My twelve-year-old daughter frequently moans that Ballycarrick is the most boring town in Ireland.Nothing ever happens here.She’s right.And as the local police sergeant, this is something I’m delighted about.I’ve enough to worry about - the polar ice-caps, the evil monster that’s shrinking my trousers, not to mention the hot flushes - without having to be like one of those gritty Netflix cops, chasing criminals down alleyways and busting drug deals.So, life is calm and fairly predictable.Until something unthinkable happens in our sleepy backwater.A crime, but not like anything I've ever seen before.It's a complete mystery.And it's up to me to solve it.

    Well ‘next’ might be exaggerating it a little. A sale would be more appropriate. Each night I’d return home and let out a bunch of expletives that would make my dog blush. I was often in a foul mood. Then after 10 years of struggle I discovered, developed and implemented a bunch of real estate marketing strategies which I am going reveal in this book that saw my income virtually double in one year. After 2 years of using these real estate lead generation skills my income shot up another 50%. The word soon got out that I had discovered a way to make ‘easy’ (no such thing) real estate sales. Real estate referrals became my method of operation. Companies were approaching me to move camps. In fact one company placed me on a $200,000 package to help boost sales. The strategies worked for me and they’ll work for you. This book is for real estate sales people, real estate agents or brokers who are totally overwhelmed with the complexities of selling real estate. It’s for agents seething with frustration at their pathetic sales. And it’s also for successful real estate agents wanting to take their real estate career to the next level. You have two obstacles from making a killing in real estate sales: 1. You have no idea what business you are REALLY in. Most real estate sales people think that they are in the real estate business to assist people with their real estate buying, selling, leasing or managing needs.While partly ‘true’ unless you have a real estate lead that wants to buy, sell, lease or manage a property through you, you have no business. PERIOD. 2. A belief that you are ‘Gods’ answer to all things real estate.Let’s face it. Real estate agents are an egotistical bunch. How often do you see advertisements stating “Billy Blogs – No. 1 For XYZ Real Estate” or “Cheryl Champion – Top Real Estate Marketer, Mars Tribune” Who gives a toss. The public certainly don’t and nor should you especially if you are a newbie just getting started. With my real estate lead generation tips you’ll soon be the ‘king’ or queen’ of your local area. My real estate lead generation strategies are by no means complete. But they are a good start in raising you from the depths of despair to making you the champion agent you so rightly deserve to be. Here’s my appeal to you. Believe in yourself. Believe in your real estate career. Follow my suggestions. Implement those that appeal to you and be consistent. These real estate lead generation strategies take time but they have helped me sell over $400 million of real estate. They will work for you to.

    Take off your designer, postmodern phoniness. Strip off your pretty-sounding words. Get your faith naked. Honest and gritty, Eric Sandras encourages a generation of believers to drop the layers of make-believe nonsense that stunts our spiritual growth. What emerges is a positive alternative to life-crushing counterfeit faiths many of us are trying our best to work through. To do this, there's no secret handshake or magic formula, but there is vision and encouragement to take the risk and get dangerously real with God. He exposes the naked truth: We need to dress our lives with a real friendship with God and nothing else.

    Revised with three new sermons, inclusive language, and NRSV texts, it is still as fresh and provocative as ever.

    Jack Hayford invites readers to rediscover the power and the blessing that come from such disciplines as prayer and fasting, feeding on God's Word, submission to His will, daily worship and experiencing the release of repentance and forgiveness. Pastor Jack examines and celebrates what it really means to be an effective disciple of Christ in modern times.

    Or another definition of success.

    But ask anyone who's sought after it--from the founders and members of Scum of the Earth Church in Denver to the apostle Paul, from whose letters the church took its name--and they'll tell you it's worth it. In Pure Scum Mike Sares, pastor of Scum of the Earth, takes us along a faith journey, telling the story of how a pretty normal, middle-aged guy met and became friends with Reese Roper and other members of the band, Five Iron Frenzy, and got hoodwinked by FIF and the Holy Spirit into pastoring of a vibrant church full of artists and skater punks. For anyone--pastor, church leader or plain old Christian--who wants to share the amazing grace of God with the "left-out" and "the right-brained," Mike's story will show you what this kind of exhilaration looks like, and more importantly, what it costs. It's a tricky business, but it's worth every step and misstep.

    With more than nine thousand tweets and ninety thousand followers, he's proven himself a stalwart of holy hilarity. This poetic collection of the Curmudgeon's best 140-character compositions will make you ROFL as you recognize the regular cast of churchy characters, including the worship leader, the usher team, and maybe even yourself. One more to whet your appetite: "Usually when the writing is on the wall, it portends the death of a culture. But hey, fine, throw out the hymnals and use a projector." Author bio: Church Curmudgeon is the old guy who sits on the back pew of the sanctuary, farthest from the drums (he measured). You can find his complaints on Twitter (@ChrchCurmudgeon) and Facebook.

    Yet studies have shown that 65% of churches in America are either declining or plateauing in attendance. Many of those who tell you they attend church aren't actually showing up.Many today are actively searching for a church experience, but they are doing their search digitally. Long before they set foot in your building, they've "experienced" your digital presence online. Most churches see social media as a means of getting people to attend programs and services, for getting "butts in the seats." But Nona Jones, who facilitates Facebook's relationships with faith-based non-profits, believes there is far more untapped potential for churches to utilize social media, transforming it into social ministry. Social media focuses on driving people to a building for one to two hours of interaction each week. Social ministry focuses on helping people mature in Christ the other 168 hours of the week. And while social media is about marketing and attracting people to your church, social ministry is about life-long discipleship in a digital age.