His biological dad was an alcoholic. His stepfather deserted him. His foster father accused Jim of trying to kill him. All were out of Jim's life by the time he turned 13.Isn’t it odd—and reminiscent of the hand of God—that the director of the leading organization on family turned out to be a guy whose own background as a kid and son were pretty messed up? Or could it be that successful parenting is discovered not in the perfect, peaceful household but in the midst of battles and messy situations, where God must constantly be called to the scene?That is the mystery unraveled in this book. Using his own expertise, humor, and inexhaustible wealth of stories, Jim will show you that God can make you a good dad, a great dad, in spite of the way you’ve grown up and in spite of the mistakes you’ve made. Maybe even because of them.It’s not about becoming a perfect father. It’s about trying to become a better father, each and every day. It's about building relationships with your children through love, grace, patience, and fun—and helping them grow into the men and women they’re meant to be.

    But the good news is, God gave us emotions to experience life, not destroy it. With gut-honest personal examples and biblical teaching, Lysa shows us how to use our emotions for good.Unglued will equip you to:Know with confidence how to resolve conflict in your important relationships.Find peace in your most difficult relationships as you learn to be honest but kind when offended.Identify what type of reactor you are and how to significantly improve your communication.Respond with no regrets by managing your tendencies to stuff, explode, or react somewhere in between.Gain a deep sense of calm by responding to situations out of your control without acting out of control.

    This book clearly explains the truth about sex and winsomely responds to society's evolving views on human sexuality and gender.From marriage to birth control, homosexuality to singleness, What is the Meaning of Sex? sets forth a distinctly Christian perspective, equipping you to engage our confused culture with a God-glorifying vision of human sexuality.

    Yet, while we hear these pleas, we're already functioning with existing beliefs—even if they are beliefs by default. So how do we choose what to believe—especially in the area of faith? Do we need to choose? In "Choosing Your Faith, " Mark Mittelberg encourages us, as Socrates does, not to lead an unexamined life. He invites us to examine why we believe what we believe. This examination will resonate with Christians and seekers alike.

    The result is "To the End of June," an unforgettable portrait that takes us deep inside the lives of foster children at the critical points in their search for a stable, loving family.The book mirrors the life cycle of a foster child and so begins with the removal of babies and kids from birth families. There's a teenage birth mother in Texas who signs away her parental rights on a napkin only to later reconsider, crushing the hopes of her baby's adoptive parents. Beam then paints an unprecedented portrait of the intricacies of growing up in the system--the back-and-forth with agencies, the shuffling between pre-adoptive homes and group homes, the emotionally charged tug of prospective adoptive parents and the fundamental pull of birth parents. And then what happens as these system-reared kids become adults? Beam closely follows a group of teenagers in New York who are grappling with what aging out will mean for them and meets a woman who has parented eleven kids from the system, almost all over the age of eighteen, and all still in desperate need of a sense of home and belonging.Focusing intensely on a few foster families who are deeply invested in the system's success, "To the End of June" is essential for humanizing and challenging a broken system, while at the same time it is a tribute to resiliency and offers hope for real change.

    Cries of the Heart is a book that both inspires and reassures…a search that uncovers our hidden sentiments and reveals God's continual inescapable presence in every moment of our lives.

    They listened attentively in Sunday school, made friends, and seemed committed. But one day, they quit. What happened? The Bible says we love God because he first loved us. So if we are not primarily teaching our kids about Gods love for us in Christ, we may miss our opportunity to capture their hearts. But what does it look like to teach a gospel-centered lesson? Show Them Jesus is an instruction manual for teachers of kids and teens written by a lay Bible teacher with 30 years experience

    You don't have to feel that way! In this book you will find encouragement, practical help and biblical principles. You will also go away with a new vision of the importance of the work in which you are involved. C.H Spurgeon shows us that telling young people about Jesus is the most important task given to anyone, be they parent, teacher or youth leader.

    If pro-choicers are right, precious freedoms are in jeopardy. If pro-lifers are right, innocent children are being robbed of their most basic freedom—life. Though bumpersticker slogans prevail, the facts are rarely presented. We need clear and credible answers to the central questions of the abortion debate. For those who have had abortions or are currently considering one, for pro-choicers and fence-straddlers alike, Why Pro-Life? provides answers to these questions in a concise, straightforward, and nonabrasive manner.Head: Human Life Begins…When? No issue is more divisive or troubling than abortion. Many believe that we have to choose between helping women and helping children. This book shows how critical it is that we help both. In a concise, non-abrasive fashion, Randy Alcorn offers compassionate, factual answers to the central issues of the abortion debate. [Insert Sarah Marie Switzer image] An award-winning photo of an operation on Sarah Marie Switzer, a twenty-four-week unborn child with spina bifida. Sarah, here grasping a surgeon’s finger, was reinserted into her mother’s womb and born two months later, nine weeks premature. [Insert 3-D Real-Time ultrasound image] A 3-D ultrasound photo of a baby 21 weeks after conception—just over halfway through the pregnancy. Modern technology offers a window to the womb that is changing the face of the abortion debate. Story Behind the BookThere have always been likable people who hold to wrong positions on ethical issues—including slavery and anti-Semitism. Sincere people can be wrong and often are. We need a clear presentation of what is true. Randy Alcorn has intervened for the unborn and their mothers—and at great personal cost. In writing this book on one of today’s critical issues, he has endeavored to lay out well-supported facts on why the pro-life position is right and true when it comes to valuing human life.

    But when the boy regressed into the distant, wordless world of severe autism, those hopes were crushed.As Jason walked through the barren land of unanswered prayer, he discovered that he was not alone--so many in the church today are overwhelmed with pain and doubt. We think our faith is supposed to guarantee us a sense of emotional stability, even in the midst of soul-crushing circumstances; but by avoiding the brokenness inside ourselves, we end up missing the beauty of a God at work deep within us.Aching Joy is a road map for anyone facing a difficult, unresolved situation. We can embrace both the sorrow and beauty of the land of unanswered prayer in order to find renewed hope in the greatness of God and the expectation of good.The goal of Aching Joy is not to see the silver lining in the midst of our hardships but to encourage us to follow the example of Christ, who entered fully into both the joy and the sorrow of human experiences with confidence that His Father's eternal kingdom would outlast and outshine them. When we open our hearts to the restoration that only Christ can perform, we will begin to find a deeper gladness that has no veneer and wears no mask. We will find a joy in the midst of the aching.

    Drawing upon a survey of thousands of couples and singles, interviews with relationship and marriage therapists, the latest research in the field, and wisdom from the Bible, Hamilton looks at what it takes to create and sustain healthy, meaningful romantic relationships across the course of a lifetime. Contents include: More Than a Piece of Paper; What She Wants; What He Wants; The Significance of Sexual Intimacy; Habits That Hurt, Habits That Heal; Clothe, Bear With, and Forgive; A Love That Lasts a Lifetime

    And he has succeeded in what must be seen as an admirable way! This is a sign of springtime in what is largely a neglected section of the Scriptures with a promise for those who read this volume of harvest to come in practical Christian living. With advice on such topics as work and wealth, courtship and children, Selvaggio has given us a valuable treasure of practical wisdom. Just what Solomon intended.

    Written by a mom on the front lines, For the Love of Discipline works through typical discipline issues from a gospel perspective, offering personal examples, teaching practical strategies, and showing how to pursue “discipline skills” every day. Moms will stop spinning their wheels in quick fixes and behavior management and find renewed strength in God’s plan for their children’s instruction.

    As we draw closer to Him, we must choose to let go of other "less-wild lovers," such as perfectionistic driveness and self-indulgence. Eldredge and Curtis identify the lies offered by "false loves" and instruct us on the journey back to the Lover of our souls.In carefully crafted words and images, the authors entice the reader to his or her own journey of the heart, promising, "It is possible to recover the lost life of our heart and with it the intimacy, beauty, and adventure of life with God."

    In Evolution Impossible, Dr. John Ashton uses discoveries in genetics, biochemistry, geology, radiometric dating, and other scientific disciplines to explain why the theory of evolution is a myth. Regardless of your level of scientific education, you will finish this book able to cite 12 reasons why evolution cannot explain the origin of life.