Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life


Karen Armstrong - 2010
    Here, in this straightforward, thoughtful, and thought-provoking book, she sets out a program that can lead us toward a more compassionate life.The twelve steps Armstrong suggests begin with “Learn About Compassion” and close with “Love Your Enemies.” In between, she takes up “compassion for yourself,” mindfulness, suffering, sympathetic joy, the limits of our knowledge of others, and “concern for everybody.” She suggests concrete ways of enhancing our compassion and putting it into action in our everyday lives, and provides, as well, a reading list to encourage us to “hear one another’s narratives.” Throughout, Armstrong makes clear that a compassionate life is not a matter of only heart or mind but a deliberate and often life-altering commingling of the two.From the Hardcover edition.

A Fierce Love: One Woman’s Courageous Journey to Save Her Marriage


Shauna Shanks - 2017
    Are we still called to God’s plan of how to love when we are getting none in return? Shauna Shanks’s brave journey through obedience reveals the outcome of when we dare to follow God’s ludicrous outline for love as described in 1 Corinthians 13.Wrecked with news of her husband’s affair and his request for a divorce, Shauna finds herself urgently faced with a decision. Does she give up and divorce her husband and move on, or does she try to fight for her marriage? The former choice seems to contradict God’s plan for how to love, such as “love never gives up,” “love is patient,” and “love is kind.”Taking God at His word and assuming the love chapter was really meant to be followed literally word by word, she not only finds herself falling in love with her spouse again, but also falling in love with Jesus, which changes everything.First Corinthians 13 presents an audacious, illogical, and irrational context of how to love, meant to be applied to every marital context not just the fairytale marriage. If God’s instructions seem illogical and audacious, you might just expect the same kind of results in return!This book is not air-brushed. It was written in the midst of the author’s deepest trauma, and she purposefully did not edit out her mistakes and failures during that season. This book will resonate with women who do not feel like the picture-perfect Christian woman with the fairytale life and marriage.A Fierce Love is the story of a train wreck and reaching out to God not in the calm but in the chaos and finding hope for the future.

The Prideful Soul's Guide to Humility


Michael Fontenot - 1998
    This book is contemporary and tackles an issue that is at the heart of true Christianity. A book on this topic is refreshing and challenging, and deserves a twenty-first century treatment.

Narrow Gate Narrow Way


Paul David Washer - 2018
    But we live in a day when people put more stock in a once-said prayer than a life reflective of a renewed heart. Taking Matthew 7:13–27 as his text, Paul Washer reminds us of Jesus’s insistence that His way is narrow, and that its travelers will bear good fruit and rest on the solid foundation of God’s Word. Neglecting these warnings from Christ has left many on the broad road to destruction. Don’t think you are heading to heaven if you are not following the way of the Master. “Paul Washer is a gifted evangelist who brings a penetrating gospel message that pierces straight to the heart. This book is an expanded version of a message he gave that had an unusually profound effect upon countless souls. You will want to read these pages carefully because they will either expose unconverted hearts or bring the blessed assurance of salvation to those who have truly believed. May these provocative truths find their way into your soul for your eternal good.” —Steven J. Lawson, president, OnePassion Ministries, Dallas, Texas PAUL WASHER ministered as a missionary in Peru for ten years, during which time he founded the HeartCry Missionary Society to support Peruvian church planters. Paul now serves as one of the laborers with the HeartCry Missionary Society (www.heart crymissionary.com). He and his wife, Charo, have four children: Ian, Evan, Rowan, and Bronwyn.

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.

No Mere Mortals


Toby J. Sumpter - 2020
    She is of immense value to God. She is precious to Him. She is His daughter, an heir of the promise, a co-heir of the grace of life with you. Do you feel that? Does it make your chest knot up? Do you get a little bit afraid? Maybe a lot afraid? Good. Hold that pose.In recent decades, we have essentially reduced marriage to a permanent roommate situation with sexual benefits. But marriage is not about something as low-stakes as “who gets to control the remote.” Your husband or wife is no mere mortal, but an eternal soul who is going to grow closer to God or further from Him because they are married to you. Add children to the mix—even more eternal souls! That’s why the biblical picture of the family is something far more powerful, far more dangerous, far more glorious—far more like a nuclear reactor—than anything else in modern society.No Mere Mortals: Marriage for People Who Will Live Forever shows how husbands can lead their wives, and how wives can follow their husbands, and how both together, building on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ, can shape future generations and the world.

Disciplines of a Godly Man


R. Kent Hughes - 1991
    This inspiring, popular book has been speaking to the hearts of men for the past 10 years, and its words are still relevant. Using engaging illustrations, scriptural wisdom, practical suggestions and study questions, Kent Hughes offers a frank biblical discussion on major areas of Christian manhood: family, godliness, leadership, ministry and more. This newly revised edition is for every man who wants to know what it means to be a Christian in today's world.

Never Unfriended: The Secret to Finding and Keeping Lasting Friendships


Lisa-Jo Baker - 2017
    She’s learned that no one can make us quite as unsure about ourselves as another woman. And nothing can wound as deeply as unkind words from a friend. While we are all hungry for friendship, it’s the fear of feeling awkward and being rejected, left out, or hurt (again) that often keep us from connecting.But what if we knew we could never be unfriended? Would we risk friendship then? Starting with that guarantee from the most faithful friend who ever lived—Jesus—this book is a step-by-step guide to friendships you can trust. It answers the questions that lurk under the surface of every friendship—What are we afraid of? What can’t we change? What can we change? And where do we start?—with personal stories and practical tips to help you make the friends, and be the friend, that lasts.

Flywheel


Eric Wilson - 2003
    Problem was the more successful he was, the more he traded what really mattered. His integrity. His relationship with his wife. His time with his son.He was chasing things that had no eternal significance. It wasn t until God slowly unraveled everything that he saw how empty his life had become.Now it will take a courageous heart and a saving grace for Jay to finally turn his drive into a desire for a more authentic life with God as well as with his wife and son.In a world filled with cheap imitations that distract us from God s higher plans, "Flywheel" is a powerful parable for all who hunger to live an authentic life."

The Anatomy of Peace: Resolving the Heart of Conflict


The Arbinger Institute - 2015
    The Anatomy of Peace asks, What if conflicts at home, conflicts at work, and conflicts in the world stem from the same root cause? What if we systematically misunderstand that cause? And what if, as a result, we unwittingly perpetuate the very problems we think we are trying to solve? Through an intriguing story we learn how and why we contribute to the divisions and problems we blame on others and the surprising way that these problems can be solved. Yusuf al-Falah, an Arab, and Avi Rozen, a Jew, each lost his father at the hands of the other's ethnic cousins. The Anatomy of Peace is the story of how they came together, how they help warring parents and children come together, and how we too can find our way out of the struggles that weigh us down. This second edition includes new sections enabling readers to go deeper into the book's key concepts; access to free digital study and discussion guides; and information about The Reconciliation Project, a highly successful global peace initiative based on concepts in The Anatomy of Peace.

The Prayer Box


Lisa Wingate - 2013
    Hidden in the boxes is the story of a lifetime, written on random bits of paper--the hopes and wishes, fears and thoughts of an unassuming but complex woman passing through the seasons of an extraordinary, unsung life filled with journeys of faith, observations on love, and one final lesson that could change everything for Tandi.

Dating Delilah: purity from a new perspective


Judah Smith
    

Codependent No More: How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself


Melody Beattie - 1986
    The healing touchstone of millions, this modern classic by one of America's best-loved and most inspirational authors holds the key to understanding codependency and to unlocking its stultifying hold on your life.Is someone else's problem your problem? If, like so many others, you've lost sight of your own life in the drama of tending to someone else's, you may be codependent--and you may find yourself in this book--Codependent No More.The healing touchstone of millions, this modern classic by one of America's best-loved and most inspirational authors holds the key to understanding codependency and to unlocking its stultifying hold on your life.With instructive life stories, personal reflections, exercises, and self-tests, Codependent No More is a simple, straightforward, readable map of the perplexing world of codependency--charting the path to freedom and a lifetime of healing, hope, and happiness.Melody Beattie is the author of Beyond Codependency, The Language of Letting Go, Stop Being Mean to Yourself, The Codependent No More Workbook and Playing It by Heart.

The Man in the Mirror: Solving the 24 Problems Men Face


Patrick Morley - 1989
    Written by a foremost Christian men's leader, this powerful book invites men to take a probing look at their identities, relationships, finances, time, temperament, and the means to bring about lasting change in their lives.

Tender Warrior: God's Intention for a Man


Stuart K. Weber - 1993
    Protector. Friend. Lover. God made you to be each of these…and much more. Stu Weber ’s bestseller, now revised throughout and refreshed with an attractive new look, paints a dramatic and compelling picture of balanced manhood according to God’s vision. Written in a warm, personal style, Weber presents the characteristics of tender warriors—including learning to speak the language of women, watching out for what lies ahead, and keeping commitments—in an upfront, straightforward style that challenges readers to realize God’s plan for men. More than 365,000 copies sold! Some Things Are Worth Fighting For Young men aspire to it. Women admire it. Yet the definition of manhood itself is obscured by a culture in moral free fall. This book cuts through the fog and defines a powerful blueprint for being the man—the Tender Warrior—that God desires for you and your family. You’ll discover that a Tender Warrior:    • watches out for what lies ahead—like a wagon train scout;    • keeps his commitments, no matter how painful;    • has a tender heart beating beneath his armor;    • understands his responsibility to his wife, children, and friends;    • recognizes that he is “under orders from higher headquarters.” Stu Weber ’s now classic teaching on a man’s vigilance, staying power, and consideration for the women in his life will move you to pursue the man you were created to be. Real Men Are Tender Warriors “I drank Budweiser, smoked Marlboros, and chased women…. Tender Warrior sent me deeper into my heart and soul. When I finished it, I passed it on to a friend, who was supposed to give it back but passed it on to someone else. This book changed his life. It knocked down the walls around his heart. His response: ‘The most important thing that has happened in my life started when you sent me that book.’” —A reader Praise for Tender Warrior“Tender Warrior provides hope for men by challenging their assumptions and shaping their convictions. Read it. Devour it. Then live it. This is the time for real men to emerge.” —Dennis Rainey, executive director, FamilyLife “In a day when our culture is at once confused and concerned over gender identity, men everywhere would to do well to recalibrate their personal compasses by the biblical benchmarks found in Tender Warrior . I highly recommend this book!” —Dr. Bruce Wilkinson , New York Times bestselling author