Book picks similar to
God's Good Design: What the Bible Really Says About Men and Women by Claire Smith
christian
theology
non-fiction
christianity
Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All
Karen Ehman - 2015
What to say and how to say it. What not to say. When it is best to remain silent. And what to do when you’ve said something you wish you could now take back. In this book a woman whose mouth has gotten her into loads of trouble shares the hows (and how-not-tos) of dealing with the tongue.Beyond just a “how not to gossip” book, this book explores what the Bible says about the many ways we are to use our words and the times when we are to remain silent. Karen will cover using our speech to interact with friends, co-workers, family, and strangers as well as in the many places we use our words in private, in public, online, and in prayer. Even the words we say silently to ourselves. She will address unsolicited opinion-slinging, speaking the truth in love, not saying words just to people-please, and dealing with our verbal anger.Christian women struggle with their mouths. Even though we know that Scripture has much to say about how we are—and are not—to use our words, this is still an immense issue, causing heartache and strain not only in family relationships, but also in friendships, work, and church settings.
The Lamb's Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth
Scott Hahn - 1999
With its unchanging prayers, the Mass fits Catholics like their favorite clothes. Yet most Catholics sitting in the pews on Sundays fail to see the powerful supernatural drama that enfolds them. Pope John Paul II described the Mass as Heaven on Earth, explaining that what we celebrate on Earth is a mysterious participation in the heavenly liturgy.The Lamb's Supper reveals a long-lost secret of the Church: The early Christians' key to understanding the mysteries of the Mass was the New Testament Book of Revelation. With its bizarre imagery, its mystic visions of heaven, and its end-of-time prophecies, Revelation mirrors the sacrifice and celebration of the Eucharist.Beautifully written, in clear direct language, bestselling Catholic author Scott Hahn's new book will help readers see the Mass with new eyes, pray the liturgy with a renewed heart, and enter into the Mass more fully, enthusiastically, intelligently, and powerfully than ever before.
The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming
Henri J.M. Nouwen - 1991
In his highly-acclaimed book of the same title, he shares the deeply personal meditation that led him to discover the place within which God has chosen to dwell. This Lent course, which has been adapted from the book, helps us to reflect on the meaning of the parable for our own lives. Divided into five sessions, the course moves through the parable exploring our reaction to the story: the younger son's leaving and return, the father's restoration of sonship, the elder son's resentment and the father's compassion. All of us who have experienced loneliness, dejection, jealousy or anger will respond to the persistent themes of homecoming, affirmation and reconciliation.
For a Glory and a Covering: A Practical Theology of Marriage
Douglas Wilson - 2006
Change him." "God, I'm trying. She started it." Common claims but they're so far from Trinitarian life. We invoke Christ at the wedding then seem to default to an alien theology afterward. In this simple and practical book, Doug Wilson offers a richer and more comprehensive theology of marriage than in his prior works. Here he grounds marriage in the life of the Trinity and in the life of the church. Marriage is intended to be a glorious picture of the gospel, and marriages grounded elsewhere regularly create a small hell on earth. Don't miss the riches of marriage.
This Beautiful Truth: How God's Goodness Breaks Into Our Darkness
Sarah Clarkson - 2021
Amid the daily realities of sickness and isolation, disappointment and pain, it can be profoundly difficult to grasp the real goodness of God. But this is where God breaks into our darkness with beauty. In the wonder of creation, in art or film, story or song, in the kindness of his people and the good they create, God breaks into our pain in a tangible way, teaching us to trust his kindness and hope for his healing. Beauty is a voice singing into our suffering, beckoning us toward restoration.In This Beautiful Truth, Sarah Clarkson shares her own encounters with beauty in the midst of her decade-long struggle with mental illness, depression, and doubt. In a voice both vulnerable and reflective, she paints a compelling picture of the God who reaches out to us in a real and powerful way through the "taste and see" goodness of what he has made and what he continues to create amid our darkness. "To recognize and trust God's gift in pain," she writes, "empowers us to create and love as powerful witnesses to God's healing love in a hopeless world."If you want to renew your capacity to recognize and encounter God's beauty in your life, this hope-filled book will show you the way.
Uncommon Ground: Living Faithfully in a World of Difference
Timothy J. KellerKristen Deede Johnson - 2020
Uncommon Ground gathers an array of perspectives from people thinking deeply and working daily to live with humility, patience, and tolerance in our time.Contributors include:LecraeTish Harrison WarrenKristen Deede JohnsonClaude Richard AlexanderShirley HoogstraSara GrovesRudy CarrascoTrillia NewbellTom LinWarren KinghornProviding varied and enlightening approaches to reaching faithfully across deep and often painful differences, Uncommon Ground shows us how live with confidence, joy, and hope in a complex and fragmented age.
An Impossible Marriage: What Our Mixed-Orientation Marriage Has Taught Us about Love and the Gospel
Laurie Krieg - 2020
Laurie and Matt Krieg are in a mixed-orientation marriage: a marriage in which at least one partner's primary attraction isn't toward the gender of their spouse. In the Kriegs' case, Laurie is primarily attracted to women--and so is Matt. Some find the idea of mixed-orientation marriage bewildering or even offensive. But as the Kriegs have learned, nothing is impossible with God--and that's as true of their marriage as anyone else's. In An Impossible Marriage, the Kriegs tell their story: how they met and got married, the challenges and breakthroughs of their journey, and what they've learned about marriage along the way. Christianity teaches us that marriage is a picture of Jesus' love for the church--and that's just as true in a mixed-orientation marriage as in a straight one. With vulnerability and wisdom, this book lays out an engaging picture of marriage in all its pain and beauty. It's a picture that points us, over and over again, to the love and grace of Jesus--as marriage was always meant to do.
Trust: A Godly Woman's Adornment
Lydia Brownback - 2008
This little carry-along pocket book for women focuses on the Bible's great truths about what lies beneath their fears and the means to overcome them-for those who worry just a little, those who suffer a gnawing, controlling fear or actual panic attacks, and every woman in between.The first in a series of small, Bible-centered volumes for women, each of which covers a particular struggle, Trust is full of biblical truths and promises that will reassure readers that if they belong to Christ, they have absolutely nothing to fear.On-the-Go Devotionals easily tuck into a purse or gym bag and make great gifts. Each lesson is self-contained, with Scripture and a paragraph or two of teaching that will steer women away from worldly coping techniques, away from themselves and their circumstances, and onto God and their security in Christ.
The Resignation Of Eve: What If Adam's Rib Is No Longer Willing To Be The Church's Backbone?
Jim Henderson - 2012
As a result, many women are discouraged. Some, particularly young women, respond by leaving the organized church . . . or walking away from the faith altogether. Containing personal interviews with women and new research from George Barna, The Resignation of Eve is a field report on what women have to say about how they've been affected by their experiences within the church. It is crucially important because, across the board, the research shows that women are driving changes in the church . . . so what will happen if they resign?Inviting women to speak for themselves, The Resignation of Eve is a must-read, life-changing book for women who have been engaged in the Christian church as well as their pastors and ministry leaders.
Survival Guide for the Soul: How to Flourish Spiritually in a World that Pressures Us to Achieve
Ken Shigematsu - 2018
And more and more today, this neglect is driven by our ambition to accomplish something big outside ourselves. We live in a society that pressures us to achieve professionally, socially, and through the constant acquisition of material possessions. Drawing on a wide range of sources including scripture, church history, psychology, and neuroscience, as well as a rich variety of stories from his own life, Ken Shigematsu demonstrates how the gospel redeems our desires and reorders our lives. He offers fresh perspective on how certain spiritual practices help orient our lives so that our souls can flourish in the midst of a demanding, competitive society. And he concludes with a liberating and counter-cultural definition of true greatness.This book will appeal to anyone who longs to experience a deeper relationship with Christ in the midst of the daily pressures to succeed, as well as to those on the borderlands of faith seeking to transcend the human tendency to define ourselves by our production and success.
Jesus Freaks: Stories of Those Who Stood for Jesus, the Ultimate Jesus Freaks
D.C. Talk - 1997
It is a book for teenagers about martyrdom, containing dozens of profiles of figures ranging from Stephen, whose martyrdom is described in the Book of Acts, to "Anila and Perveen," two teenage Pakistani girls and Christian believers. In 1997, Perveen was killed for running away in order to avoid marrying a Muslim man; Anila was imprisoned for helping her friend escape. In an introduction to the book, Michael Tait explains its purpose: "In a world built on free will instead of God's will, we must be the Freaks. While we may not be called to martyr our lives, we must martyr our way of life. We must put our selfish ways to death and march to a different beat. Then the world will see Jesus." The book's design is hip and easy to read, and its summary of Christian persecutions that continue today is useful--and frightening.
Try Softer: A Fresh Approach to Move Us out of Anxiety, Stress, and Survival Mode--and into a Life of Connection and Joy
Aundi Kolber - 2020
If we’re honest, we’ve been overfunctioning for so long, we can’t even imagine another way. How else will things get done? How else will we survive?It doesn’t have to be this way.Aundi Kolber believes that we don’t have to white-knuckle our way through life. In her debut book, Try Softer, she’ll show us how God specifically designed our bodies and minds to work together to process our stories and work through obstacles. Through the latest psychology, practical clinical exercises, and her own personal story, Aundi equips and empowers us to connect us to our truest self and truly live. This is the “try softer” life.In Try Softer, you’ll learn how to:
Know and set emotional and relational boundaries
Make sense of the difficult experiences you’ve had
Identify your attachment style—and how that affects your relationships today
Move through emotions rather than get stuck by them
Grow in self-compassion and talk back to your inner critic
Trying softer is sacred work. And while it won’t be perfect or easy, it will be worth it. Because this is what we were made for: a living, breathing, moving, feeling, connected, beautifully incarnational life.