The company was forced to write-down $900 million in inventory and Surface’s future was in jeopardy.Beneath A Surface tells the inside story of how Microsoft turned its hardware dreams into a reality with new details about the challenges Panos and his team had to overcome as well as the internal politics that nearly killed the brand.For fans of Microsoft and those who are interested in the business of building brands, Beneath A Surface is a must read that tells the inside story of how Microsoft turned a failure into a fortune.

    and the response isn't what you want. Is anyone even listening? What if you could cut through the chaos and the noise and find the direct route to your audience? It's easier than you think. Less Chaos. Less Noise. delivers proven "now" strategies for church communications--practical solutions and best-practice principles that build trust instead of walls. > Quickly establish your expertise through simple techniques you can use now for easy, early success. > Rise above the frenzy of overwhelming demands and learn a framework to lead internal change towards a clear and unified strategy. > Overcome communications barriers with your members and your community by learning to connect with hearts and minds, rather than broadcast to the masses. > Avoid the frustration of multi-audience messaging by identifying key channels for each group and learning the language that matters to them. > Bust through the limits of a small budget with free strategies that are essential for effective communications.

    The author has explored and analyzed and come up with crucial insights and needed terminology with which to further the scholarly discussion and increase the understandings needed in the classroom.... Frank Thomas has contributed much to the meeting of this need, probing celebration to new depths.... This book adds to the corpus of serious scholarship available to instructors for the purposes of a more powerful pulpit, in an era of desperate need in the field". -- Henry H. Mitchell, from the ForewordHere is a book that will change the course of preaching in the twenty-first century. Through the lens of African American preaching, Frank Thomas sheds light on what is "good" preaching -- and on what methods can be employed to achieve it.Celebration in preaching is an important component of any preaching that can be considered "good". Thomas explores the theology, dynamics, design, and guidelines for celebrative preaching and provides sample sermon illustrations as well.

     Suzie is super smart, very successful and flawed, she believes herself to be unlovable. She has taken her company ‘Artificial Robotics’ from an idea to a multibillion pound sale. Released from twenty five hour working days, the repressed desire to find and destroy her Father’s murderer has re-emerged as a driving passion. Her Father’s case is cold, her route around insufficient data, is to design a cutting edge case management solution and sell it to the Metropolitan Police, so she can plunder their data. Owen was a personable, successful police officer, whose abilities were rewarded, by a rapid rise in rank to Chief Superintendent. That was until his wife and daughter were destroyed by a bomb meant for Owen. Owen no longer has a desire to live. He is seeking a path to oblivion, eschewing friendship and support in his dark quest. Suzie’s complicated plan progresses, she is seconded as a Detective Sergeant, to trial her software. On being tasked to solve a violent murder, Suzie’s singular focus is subverted by her desire to find justice for the violated victim of the crime. As the truth relating to the murders is slowly revealed, Owen who doesn’t want love comes closer to Suzie who can’t be loved. Will their budding friendship be allowed to blossom, or will death or the dark sides of their natures intervene. <

    It's all or nothing. It's now or never.   It's time to ante up and go all in with God.No one has ever sacrificed anything for God.  If you always get back more than you gave up, have you sacrificed anything at all?  The eternal reward always outweighs the temporal sacrifice.  At the end of the day, our greatest regret will be whatever we didn’t give back to God. What we didn’t push back across the table to Him.  Eternity will reveal that holding out is losing out.Batterson writes, “For many years, I thought I was following Jesus.  I wasn’t.  I had invited Jesus to follow me.  I call it inverted Christianity.  And it’s a subtle form of selfishness that masquerades as spirituality.  That’s when I sold out and bought in.  When did we start believing that the gospel is an insurance plan?  It’s a daring plan.  Jesus did not die just to keep us safe. He died to make us dangerous.”

    She's a certified bad bish that knows how to use her honey to make money. But when her one of her many honey money-making plans falls through, she suddenly finds herself having to life normally...for once. The prospect of prison forces her to take a plea deal that requires community service. That's how she ends up in the company of a popular South Side of Chicago Pastor who is also running for Mayor of the city. One thing leads to another, NuNu finds herself scheming and scamming once again. But will her plan backfire? FIND OUT MORE IN THIS EXPLOSIVE RATCHET SOAP OPERA BY QUAN MILL!

    At Ruby’s request, Crockett agrees to teach one of her clients, Rachael Moore, how to defend herself with a handgun. During the course of those lessons, Crockett and Rachael begin an intimate relationship. When Rachael is found dead from an apparent suicide, Crockett is devastated and tries to slink back into his self-imposed seclusion. But things get complicated when Crockett is contacted by Rachael’s aunt, who believes the suicide was staged and claims she has the name of the murderer. Together, Crockett and Ruby begin an investigation that leads them into a world of treachery, deceit, and death.

     - Serial Homicide, Notorious Serial Killers (Book 1): Albert Fish, Ted Bundy, Dennis Nilsen, Jeffrey Dahmer, Gary Ridgway and Edmund Kemper - Serial Homicide, Notorious Serial Killers (Book 2): John Wayne Gacy, Dennis Rader, Edward Gein, Aileen Wuornos, Jane Toppan and Nannie Doss - Serial Homicide, Notorious Serial Killers (Book 3): The Backpacker Murders, Arnold Karl Sodeman, The Moorhouse Murders, The Snowtown Murders, Eric Edgar Cooke and Lindsay Robert Rose - The Basement This is a shocking story of kidnapping, rape, torture, mutilation, dismemberment, decapitation, and murder. On March 24, 1987, the Philadelphia Police Department received a phone call from a woman who stated that she had been held captive for the last four months. When police officers arrived at the pay phone from which the call was made, Josefina Rivera told them that she and three other women had been held captive in a basement by a man named Gary Heidnik. He imprisoned women in chains, in the filth and stench of a hole dug under his home. - Serial Killer Groupies This book delves into the twisted psychology of women attracted to some of the most notorious monsters on the planet, giving true crime readers real insight into this phenomena. - Escaped Killer When this killer was on the loose, citizens were vigilant, yet scared. Children were not allowed outside to play without adult supervision. But then he was captured, tried, convicted, and put away for life in prison. The community could finally breathe again. They are out of danger. Until the day the convicted killer escapes prison and rains terror upon anyone and everyone in his way. The manhunt pursues, the killer kills, and earns the title of a serial killer. Approximately 700 Kindle Pages of horrific murder cases for under $5.00

    And as any good manager of a hotel, a store, a restaurant, or an attraction knows, the key to getting guests to come back is not actually the rooms or the product or the food itself; it's how guests feel when they're there. It's about hospitality. No matter how much effort and time we spend on excellence--stirring worship time, inspiring sermons, a good coffee blend in the foyer--what our guests really want when they come to our churches is to feel welcome, comfortable, and understood.Written by a church consultant and a hospitality expert, The Come Back Effect shows church, ministry, and even business leaders the secret to helping a first-time guest return again and again. Through an engaging, story-driven approach, they explain how service and hospitality are two different things, show how Jesus practiced hospitality, and invite leaders to develop and implement changes that lead to repeat visits and, eventually, to sustained growth.

    Each page addresses a different theological and creative component of what happens in any sermon. Page One presents the trouble or conflict that takes place in or that underscores the biblical text itself. Page Two looks at similar conflict--sin or brokenness--in our own time. Page Three returns to the Bible to identify where God is at work in or behind the text--in other words, to discover the good news. Page Four points to God at work in our world, particularly in relation to the situations described in Page Two.

    Sarah Caysum, a middle aged woman suffering from Munchhausen Syndrome by Proxy (and perhaps something else far more sinister), leaves her four year old daughter Casey trapped in a car to die one summer afternoon in Phoenix, Arizona on a day when temperatures are expected to reach a record breaking 125 degrees.

    When she gets an invite to attend her high reunion, she debates if she should attend because she didn't want to go single and alone. Her best friend ZACHARY JENNINGS, decides he'd go with her as her doctor boyfriend to help her save face with her high school love WADE HARRIS, whom she quickly discovers she is not over. Drama is on the horizon for this trio when WADE comes back into BROOKE'S life, because ZACHARY is also in love with BROOK and he secretly wants the relationship to fail.

    Who is the mysterious man in the brown suit? What does he want from her? Is there any wine in the fridge?As her life descends into chaos, Kelly’s questions lead her along a twisting path towards the truth — a truth she could never have imagined.

    Like everyone else, preachers long to be understood. Unfortunately, the rules first learned in seminary, if misapplied, can quickly turn homiletic precision into listener boredom. To capture heart and mind, Mark Galli and Craig Larsen suggest preachers turn to the lessons of journalism. In Preaching That Connects, they show how the same keys used to create effective, captivating communication in the media can transform a sermon. Amply illustrated from some of today’s best preachers, Preaching That Connects walks through the entire sermon, from the critical introduction to the bridge to illustrations and final application. Key points include the five techniques for generating creative ideas, your six options for illustrations, and the ten rules for great storytelling—and why the transition sentence is the hardest sentence you’ll write. Preaching That Connects is for all who seek to hone their craft to communicate the truth of the gospel effectively.

    . . . My plan for doing this is to recover the doctrine of pneumatology (the study of spiritual beings/phenomena) for our theology of preaching, resulting in a renewed emphasis on the powerful combination of Word and Spirit working together as the catalyst for powerful expository preaching.”Heisler thoroughly examines how the Holy Spirit illuminates and empowers the preacher, opens the hearts of the hearers, and applies the message to their lives. Indeed, to ignore the Holy Spirit’s role in sermon preparation and delivery would be a considerable oversight.