Trouble has you gasping beside the narrow road. This is your invitation back to the adventure. Some Christians leave their relationship with God in a sealed box like a collectible that will be worth something "someday." Not you. You wholeheartedly answered the call to follow Him into the great adventure. Then, something unexpected happened that left you gasping beside the narrow road. You thought you were following Jesus but now it feels as if all you re doing is running from a crazy man. Even knocked down, though, you seek the strength to continue the journey. This isn’t a book for the happily comfortable. This is a book for the restless Jesus lover, the longsuffering disciple, the openhearted believer. Be forewarned. The challenges inside are designed to unsettle you as well as provide practical suggestions for thriving on the narrow road even if trouble is your travel companion. Running from a Crazy Man (and Other Adventures Traveling with Jesus) is a siren call to the modern believer that the God-adventure can happen even when, like King David, you re running from a crazy man.

    This study will not only fuel our worship of Jesus, but help the reader foster steadfast love anchored in biblical truth now and all year long. Readers will more fully understand the anticipation and waiting that the Old Testament world endured, the light and life Jesus came to bring us, and the eternal promise that Jesus is yet ushering us into.This beautiful resource will also include advent activities to help kids, students, and adults celebrate the Christmas season together. This Christmas season, set your focus on the anticipation and joy that only Christ can bring in this study of Advent.Features:Leader helps for group discussion4 weeks of personal study to be completed between the 5 group sessionsBeautiful 4-color interior to enhance the reader's experienceSpecific Advent activities for kids, students, and adults Benefits:Allow a deeper understanding of Advent to fuel your worship of Christ.Understand deeper theological truths of Christmas.Learn more about Jesus and how His coming brings us hope, light, wisdom, and gospel unity.

    Together, the readings will lead to a deeper understanding of God and a cleaner, clearer relationship with Him. Most of all, Piper's approach shows how meditating on God's powerful Word can affect every aspect of our lives.Whether you’re steeped in the Word of God or newly acquainted with it, these thirty-one meditations will penetrate to the deepest reaches of your soul. With a contagious passion, John Piper awakens us to violent prayer, piercing pleasure, and fearless faith.

    But through Henry Blackabyâ?s careful examina

    More than 10,000 tales of hope, perseverance, and redemption poured in. With friend and author Angela Thomas, West presents some of these powerful stories paired with meaningful devotions they inspired.Wendy gave birth to her daughter in jail. When all seemed hopeless, she found God and her life transformed into something beautiful.Cory, a married youth pastor, had an affair and his life fell apart. With God’s mercy, he and his wife gathered the broken pieces and started again.Sheila always struggled with severe insecurity. Now she lives confidently in the purpose God has for her.This unforgettable devotional journey inspires readers to discover God as the author of their unique lives and to share the power of their story.Also available this season—a companion DVD of the same title and a standalone guide, The Story of Your Life Interactive Journey. The DVD and book help readers, individually or as part of a group study, personalize and explore more deeply the messages of God’s hope and redemption in their own stories.

    Relationships. Family. Financial security. Private hopes and dreams.Most of our desires are healthy. Yet these longings can become passions we not only pursue, but worship. And while idol worship may seem like ancient history, we still face the modern-day equivalent version], as natural needs slowly consume our hearts and minds, competing with God's rightful place in our lives."No Other Gods" offers a revealing look at the heart of a woman. Author Kelly Minter explores what happens when good desires become false gods, robbing us of an intimate relationship with our heavenly father.So discover the freedom in surrender. The healing in worship. And the joy found in exchanging everyday gods for the one true God.Listen to two samples from Kelly Minter's worship CD "Finer Day."Finer Day: First In My Heart: Buy "Finer Day" here

    Jonathan and Wynter Pitts did. Until the reality of married life spilled into their expectations.Jonathan and Wynter invite you on a journey to explore a different approach to your happily-ever-after marriage. Join them for an honest look at the lessons learned as they navigated the ups and downs of early marriage while raising four daughters.Here you will...be encouraged to remove the pressure of a keeping-up-with-the-Joneses marriagelearn to let go of assumptions and embrace your role as servant-leader to your spouseexperience how God can pour His purpose, passion, and fullness into your relationshipEmptied is a way of life. It’s not about trying harder, it’s about thinking differently. Only when you are emptied of your own self-focused motivations can God pour new life into you for the abundant marriage and satisfying relationship you long for. Are you ready to approach your marriage poured out, ready to be filled up?

    We like our options, and we enjoy the opportunity to choose our preferences. Popular psychology and human reasoning tell us to make choices based on what feels good. They encourage us, “just follow your heart.” God has given us a much better guide, however, in His Word. Unlike our fickle and untrustworthy opinions, God’s Word never changes. Its dependability has been proven through the centuries.In The Choice Is Yours Terrie Chappell leads readers through twelve choices that can strengthen or weaken your walk with God. Discover these important, daily decisions that will bring joy and purpose to your life!

    We want to dwell in lush valleys, not wander in trackless deserts. And yet, during the first three centuries of the church, many men and women purposefully moved into deserts to seek God. They understood something that we have missed: a desert is not a place of vast nothingness, but a place where we can truly experience God's provision, restoration, and intimacy.Through Scripture and personal stories of her own times of waiting and struggle, Allison Allen offers a fresh perspective for women who dare to believe that God is doing something of eternal value in their dry seasons. She shows how God can use these times in our lives to reveal himself to us, to give us rest, to get our attention, to show us our strength, to experience his blessings, and more. Any woman who has been feeling spiritually sapped will welcome this refreshing message of hope.

    Other times, they may have resided with us for years-we just didn't notice them. But their means of arrival matters less than the threat t

    Yet often our most deeply felt longings—for meaning, for love, for significance—end up leading us away from, instead of toward, our Creator and the person he made us to be.  Finding Your Way Back to God shows you how to understand and listen to your longings in a whole new way. It’s about waking up to who you really are, and daring to believe that God wants to be found even more than you want to find him. It’s about making the biggest wager of your life as you ask God to make himself known to you. And it’s about watching what happens next.

    Dr. Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church, one of America's largest congregations and author of the best-selling book, The Purpose Driven Church.

    But too often the things of our past--fear, anger, bitterness, worry and doubt--hold us back. Rather than focusing on the reality of who Christ is and what he has done for us, we allow ourselves to be identified by all the things we aren't. But we are not who our past says we are, and we are not who the enemy says we are. We are who God and his Word say that we are.Pastor Perry Noble challenges all followers of Christ to make a bold move by fully embracing the exciting adventure God has called us to. Are you ready to unleash all the life he has created you to live? Join Perry on this journey as he digs into the major barriers holding people back and shows how Jesus calls and equips his followers to experience a life most of us never dreamed possible.

    Imagine a marriage rooted in faith, friendship and mutual fulfillment. Imagine a marriage with amazing sex, but where great sex is only the icing on the cake. This might all sound too good to be true, but it's actually what God designed marriage to be, and He doesn't want you settling for anything less. Having a "Naked Marriage' is about much more than just nakedness in the bedroom (although that's part of the fun). It means being naked emotionally and spiritually as well as physically. It also means undressing all the misconceptions our culture has used to cover God's original, beautiful design for marriage and rediscovering all marriage can be. You and your spouse can have a thriving, Naked Marriage with a lifetime of love and laughter together. This book will show you how. About the Authors: Dave and Ashley Willis have become some of America's most trusted teachers on marriage. Their books, blogs, videos and speaking events reach millions of couples worldwide. They are part of the team at XO Marriage and MarriageToday, which is the largest marriage-focused ministry in the USA. Dave and Ashley have four young sons and live near Dallas, TX.

    It's a word we all love to hear, but do we really know what it means? Without it, our lives are dry and dusty, but when grace comes, it transforms our lives into something rich and beautiful.