We need to know how he sees us. Come on, girl, he says. Let my light shine in. Breathing Eden is forty raw, honest, heartbreaking and encouraging conversations between women and God. These prayers are like our own: full of pain, celebration, anxiety, and joy. Each one helps the reader hear God whisper love and hope into their lives. And after each story, Jennifer offers readers a guided invitation to listen for what God is saying to them. In these pages, readers will find hope and fresh perspectives. It's an invitation to come. Breathe Eden.

    This exciting new series assembles key documents and criticism concerning these works that have so recently become central components of the American literature curriculum. Each casebook will reprint documents relating to the work's historical context and reception, present the best in critical essays, and when possible, feature an interview of the author. The series will provide, for the first time, an accessible forum in which readers can come to a fuller understanding of these contemporary masterpieces and the unique aspects of American ethnic, racial, or cultural experience that they so ably portray.Perhaps more than any other single text, Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings helped to establish the mainstream status of the renaissance in black women's writing. This casebook presents a variety of critical approaches to this classic autobiography, along with an exclusive interview with Angelou conducted specially for this volume and a unique drawing of her childhood surroundings in Stamps, Arkansas, drawn by Angelou herself.

    The authors are the bloggers behind SixSistersStuff.com which has 3.2 million unique visitors each month, connecting with a wide spectrum of readers who relate to the sisters, each at a different stage of their lives from college-bound to raising active families.In this book the Six Sisters share their stories and expertise for making a memorable holiday season with practical tips, delicious recipes and great ideas as we share with them and their families the traditions and joys of Christmas. Includes recipes, projects, and ideas along with full-color photographs and easy-to-follow instructions. TABLE OF CONTENTS12 Christmas Cookies12 Days of Christmas for Your “True Love”12 Family Traditions12 Christmas Brunch Recipes12 Sanity-Saving Christmas Tips12 Christmas Party Ideas12 Spectacular Christmas Treats12 Ways to Give Back12 Gifts for Neighbors12 Quick and Easy Family Dinners12 Homemade Christmas Gifts12 DIY Christmas Decorations

     Veteran golfers know that the secret to a lower score is a solid short game, but mastering those small strokes can be maddening?even for the pros. One of golf?s most revered instructors, Stan Utley now reveals the step-by-step tactics behind his revolutionary short-game techniques in The Art of the Short Game. After introducing readers to his groundbreaking philosophy that explains why most players don?t see all the shots available to them near the green, Utley moves on to shatter conventional wisdom about stance, grip, and ball position. From choosing the right clubs (including a checklist of must-haves that should always be in your bag) to spin reduction during chipping and fearless sand play, The Art of the Short Game demystifies the most aggravating shots on the links. Though Utley?s primer features a full set of drills, accompanied by more than seventy-five photos, his approach is far removed from the monotonous, mechanical instruction of yesteryear. Giving a time-tested secret weapon to every golfer at every level, Utley?s short-game methods turn trouble shots into triumph.

    A pit in your stomach. A blush. These are the symptoms of love sickness, and if you've ever experienced them, this book is for you.Critically acclaimed poet and anthologist, Paul Janeczko has turned his attention to a new compilation of love poems for teens that collects the most poignant and moving musings about love from a diverse group of classic poets and writers like Shakespeare, Dickinson, Whitman, Millay, Angelou, and many more.This is a book girls will carry with them always. They will dog-ear the pages, pass it to friends, sleep with it. And they will go back to it again and again and find in it the drama, the pain, the joy of loving.

    For too many of us, Christmas has lost its wonder. What if we stopped treating the Christmas story as something that happened a long time ago and started believing that it's a story that's still happening today?From celebrated artist and storyteller Scott Erickson comes Honest Advent, 25 days of illustrations and meditations that will help you rekindle the wonder of this season. Honest Advent creates a space for you to encounter the Incarnate Christ in unexpected places: like a pregnancy announcement in an era of political unrest and empirical bloodshed, the morning sickness of a Middle Eastern teenager, and the shocking biology of birth that goes far beyond the sanitized brand of Christmas as we know it today.Through powerful benedictions, prayers, and questions for honest reflection, you'll discover how the wonder of God-with-Us is still happening today: in your unexpected change of plans, your unaccomplished dreams, your overcrowded lodging, and your humble stories of new beginnings.Throughout Honest Advent, Erickson teaches us the valuable lessons he's learned about:Finding hope and light in the darkest wintersWhat it means to embrace the unexpectedHow God uses everyday vulnerability to help us understand ourselves, and our faith, betterIf you're looking for something to spark your faith and renew your relationship with the holiday season, Erickson invites you to experience a new way to celebrate this Christmas.

    With delightful illustrations by wildlife artist Michael Monroe and enchanting text from Colleen Monroe, the birds, deer and squirrel of this story help make their special friend's wish come true.

    The resonance of this image grows through each section of the book as Hahn skillfully employs theme and variation, counterpoint and mirroring techniques. The ibis first appears as part of an illusion, the disappearing object in a magician’s trick, which then evokes the greatest disappearing act of all—death—where there are no tricks to bring about a reappearance. The rich complexity multiplies as the second section focuses on a disappearing lady and a dramatic final section brings together the bird and the lady in their common plight—both caged by their mortality, their assigned time and role.  All of the illusions fall away during this brilliant denouement as the two voices share a dialogue on the power of metaphor as the very essence of poetry. bird trick iv It’s all about disappearance. About a bird in a cagewith a mirror, a simple twiston the handle at the sidethat makes it come and go at the magician’s insistence. It’s all about innocence.It’s all about acceptance.It’s all about compliance.It’s all about deference.It’s all about silence. It’s all about disappearance.

    But unlike other books that offer only good-looking recipes, this cookbook offers a revolutionary template for scheduling fun food themes for each night of the week—Monday is comfort food night, Tuesday is Italian night, Wednesday is fish night, and so on. With readily available ingredients in mind, this handy collection also provides fun and delicious recipes appropriate for every theme—hungry kids will look forward to a family dinner at home, especially when they know what to expect! Complete with tips to help every parent get organized, equip the kitchen, supply the pantry, involve other family members in the preparations, and forge family bonds around the dinner table—this book arrives family-tested and kid-approved.

    These reminders cover all aspects of life: graduating, growing up, feeling lost, loving too much, struggling to find love, struggling to move on, trying to let go or going through a quarter life crisis. We all need uplifting reminders to keep us going and make us feel like we’re not alone. This book is more of a manual on how to navigate the hurdles of life and overcome them.

    . . until a sound awakens Olaf. Read along as Olaf has the adventure of a lifetime with a mysterious stranger in red. This beautifully illustrated 32-page paper-over-board picture book comes with a read-along CD featuring audio narration by Josh Gad, the voice of Olaf! Fans of all generations will delight in Olaf's innocent and humorous account of "The Night Before Christmas."

    But when his wife’s office holiday party turns into a deadly hostage situation, he has to save her life before he can get home in time for Christmas!The unconventional fan-favorite movie Die Hard is now an illustrated storybook—complete with machine guns, European terrorists, and a cop who’s forced to rely on all his cunning and skills (and the help of a fellow officer) to save the day. Based on the classic "Night Before Christmas" poem and filled with whimsical illustrations, this cleverly reimagined homage is destined to become a holiday classic.*Contains adult material including violence and strong language. Reader discretion is advised. Ho-ho-ho.

    In true National Geographic Kids magazine style, this almanac covers subjects from the march of the penguins to ancient monsters of the sea to the fascinating powers of the brain.

    Based on Clement Clark Moore's poem, "Texas Night Before Christmas" is filled with images of the Lone Star State, lovingly described and illustrated by James Rice.

    Stuever starts the narrative as so many start the Christmas season: standing in line with the people waiting to purchase flat-screen TVs on Black Friday. From there he follows three of Frisco's true holiday believers as they navigate through the Nativity and all its attendant crises. Tammie Parnell, an eternally optimistic suburban mom, is the proprietor of "Two Elves with a Twist," a company that decorates other people's big houses for Christmas. Jeff and Bridgette Trykoski own that house every town has: the one with the visible-from-space, jaw-dropping Christmas lights. And single mother Carol Cavazos just hopes that the life-affirming moments of Christmas might overcome the struggles of the rest of the year. Stuever's portraits of the happy, mega-churchy, shop-until-you-drop community in "Tinsel" are revealing and riotously funny, showing how our ancient rituals of celebration have survived--and succumbed to--the test of time.