The idea that we can partner with God strikes some people as audacious. Others consider it pretentious. Some may think it’s downright blasphemous! Can creatures actually can partner with God? This book answers that question... in the affirmative. The responses vary and the proposals provoke new insights. Along the way, the ideas break new ground. It turns out “partnering with God” has various meanings and dimensions. The seventy-seven contributors explore this rich diversity in accessible language, deep insight, and multiple stories. Their explorations inspire, elucidate, and motivate! What they're saying... This helpful book provides both important concepts and lived experience that invite us to consider how what we think about God affects how we live in the world. - Sarah Heaner Lancaster, Methodist Theological School in Ohio These essays are insightful, practical, thoughtful, and worth our consideration. Each author brings unique insights into the divine. - Christopher Fisher, God is Open Get a copy of Partnering with God!
Readers of Janyne's two previous books in the series will recognize her whimsical weaving of informative narration, creative storytelling, and raw vulnerability. This third book will help educators and church leaders to better understand those who, as children, were victims of the unspeakable and who live every day with the effects of trauma.
Janyne's successful life was a cover for deep inner pain. Her first EMDR psychotherapy session revealed her three fractured adult parts. During three years of intensive therapy she fought to heal from sexual abuse that began at the age of three. Both pain and hope for healing are present on every page. Janyne is both vulnerable and triumphant.
It started with a photograph, a lump and a diagnosis. Like so many other families, hers would never be the same. But her family never was like others... In Brave and Unbroken, Pennie Saum weaves an unforgettable story of sacrifice and hope. Years of being shuffled between army bases left Pennie, her mom, and brother rootless and vulnerable to the manipulations of a truly evil man. Against the odds, Pennie learned to negotiate a childhood filled with a terror no one should know while caring for the only protector she ever had. This heart-wrenching tale illustrates the manipulation and abuse that shaped Pennie as she transitioned from child to mother. Her story shows us how abuse, shame, and silence has the power to echo through generations, but also how with awareness, it can be stopped in its tracks.
A compassionate, shame-free guide for your darkest days “A one-of-a-kind book . . . to read for yourself or give to a struggling friend or loved one without the fear that depression and suicidal thoughts will be minimized, medicalized or over-spiritualized.”—Kay Warren, cofounder of Saddleback Church What happens when loving Jesus doesn’t cure you of depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts? You might be crushed by shame over your mental illness, only to be told by well-meaning Christians to “choose joy” and “pray more.” So you beg God to take away the pain, but nothing eases the ache inside. As darkness lingers and color drains from your world, you’re left wondering if God has abandoned you. You just want a way out. But there’s hope. In I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die, Sarah J. Robinson offers a healthy, practical, and shame-free guide for Christians struggling with mental illness. With unflinching honesty, Sarah shares her story of battling depression and fighting to stay alive despite toxic theology that made her afraid to seek help outside the church. Pairing her own story with scriptural insights, mental health research, and simple practices, Sarah helps you reconnect with the God who is present in our deepest anguish and discover that you are worth everything it takes to get better. Beautifully written and full of hard-won wisdom, I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die offers a path toward a rich, hope-filled life in Christ, even when healing doesn’t look like what you expect.
Childhood sexual abuse is running rampant, yet it's the best-kept secret in our nation today. Its victims grow into adulthood with their little child's heart trapped in the pain and torment of their past. Nicole Braddock Bromley shares her own story and the steps to moving from silence to healing. Hush exposes the harsh realities of childhood abuse, explains the pain it causes, examines the false beliefs it creates, and empowers survivors to begin a personal journey toward healing by breaking the silence. With words of understanding and comfort, Nicole tells the real-life stories of those whose voices would otherwise never be heard. She is straightforward enough to pierce the hearts of those in a survivor's circle of influence, yet careful to tread lightly on what could be tender words.
A supersurvivor is a person who has dramatically transformed his or her life after surviving a trauma, accomplishing amazing things or transforming the world for the better. When tragedy befalls, many people succumb to trauma and suffer many psychological setbacks such as posttraumatic stress disorder. Many are able to move past the trauma and return to normal life. Some, however, are able to bounce back stronger and tougher than before. This rare species is called the supersurvivor. The scope of suffering may vary, but most people face troubles small or big in their day-to-day lives. Supersurvivors offers astonishing stories of the indomitable human spirit which will put your own life and how you live it into perspective.
An Indiana woman shares the story of her abduction, assault, faith, and survival in this inspiring autobiography. Though her name was not divulged, viewers would learn that she was hit over the head near the entrance of her home, abducted, sexually assaulted, and forced into the trunk of her own car. News cameras would capture footage of Michelle’s personal items strewn across the lawn around her home and along the wooded area behind a local restaurant. The community would breathe a sigh of relief after learning that she had somehow survived and that the assailants had been caught, ending a string of similar crimes. But there is so much more to the story. The events of September 12, 1996 would change the entire course of Michelle’s life. In the days that followed, she couldn’t imagine how she could ever live a normal, happy life and she certainly never wanted to talk about it. Found is the story of how her life was forever impacted by the compassionate heroism of an off-duty police officer, the patient and powerful love of her greatest ally, and the answer to a desperate prayer during what she believed were her dying moments. Within Found, Michelle shares this story with immense gratitude for every little miracle that would happen along the way and empower her to become a voice for others who need to know they, too, can survive whatever unexpected turns life may bring. Praise for Found “A woman of great faith faces the most difficult situation anyone can face, including impending loss of life, and is saved by a miraculous intervention. . . . Michelle Corrao’s story is a compelling story of faith, courage, and resilience.” —Neil Moore, ED.D., Fort Wayne Chief of Police (Ret.) FBI-LEEDA “Found is a powerful testimony by a courageous woman who has turned pain into power through an unimaginable ordeal. Michelle Corrao’s story will encourage anyone who has been victimized, robbed of hope, and facing death. She is an incredible role model for survivors who are determined to not simply survive but go on to thrive through helping other survivors.” —Casey Gwinn, President, Alliance for Hope International
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE • Look for special features inside. Join the Random House Reader’s Circle for author chats and more. In boyhood, Louis Zamperini was an incorrigible delinquent. As a teenager, he channeled his defiance into running, discovering a prodigious talent that had carried him to the Berlin Olympics. But when World War II began, the athlete became an airman, embarking on a journey that led to a doomed flight on a May afternoon in 1943. When his Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean, against all odds, Zamperini survived, adrift on a foundering life raft. Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater. Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini would answer desperation with ingenuity; suffering with hope, resolve, and humor; brutality with rebellion. His fate, whether triumph or tragedy, would be suspended on the fraying wire of his will. Appearing in paperback for the first time—with twenty arresting new photos and an extensive Q&A with the author—Unbroken is an unforgettable testament to the resilience of the human mind, body, and spirit, brought vividly to life by Seabiscuit author Laura Hillenbrand. Hailed as the top nonfiction book of the year by Time magazine • Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for biography and the Indies Choice Adult Nonfiction Book of the Year award “Extraordinarily moving . . . a powerfully drawn survival epic.”—The Wall Street Journal “[A] one-in-a-billion story . . . designed to wrench from self-respecting critics all the blurby adjectives we normally try to avoid: It is amazing, unforgettable, gripping, harrowing, chilling, and inspiring.”—New York “Staggering . . . mesmerizing . . . Hillenbrand’s writing is so ferociously cinematic, the events she describes so incredible, you don’t dare take your eyes off the page.”—People “A meticulous, soaring and beautifully written account of an extraordinary life.”—The Washington Post “Ambitious and powerful . . . a startling narrative and an inspirational book.”—The New York Times Book Review “Magnificent . . . incredible . . . [Hillenbrand] has crafted another masterful blend of sports, history and overcoming terrific odds; this is biography taken to the nth degree, a chronicle of a remarkable life lived through extraordinary times.”—The Dallas Morning News “An astonishing testament to the superhuman power of tenacity.”—Entertainment Weekly “A tale of triumph and redemption . . . astonishingly detailed.”—O: The Oprah Magazine “[A] masterfully told true story . . . nothing less than a marvel.”—Washingtonian “[Hillenbrand tells this] story with cool elegance but at a thrilling sprinter’s pace.”—Time “Hillenbrand [is] one of our best writers of narrative history. You don’t have to be a sports fan or a war-history buff to devour this book—you just have to love great storytelling.”—Rebecca Skloot, author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
The bestselling and inspiring follow up from Michelle Knight--Cleveland kidnapping survivor and #1 NYT bestselling author of Finding Me Michelle Knight--now known as Lily Rose Lee--captured the world's attention in May 2013, when she and two fellow kidnapping victims were found and freed after being held for more than a decade by notorious Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro. But many people are still asking: What happened after her escape? How do you re-enter society after years of abuse and isolation? How do you get past the trauma and live a happy and joy filled life? How do you learn to trust again? In Life After Darkness, published on the fifth anniversary of her liberation, Lily describes how she managed to heal the wounds to her body, mind, and soul-wounds, she reveals, that were first inflicted even before her kidnapping. With the help of good friends and anchored by her own inner strength, she takes us with her step by step on her journey out of darkness into the light. An inspiring story-and for anyone who has dared to hope after suffering, a guidebook to finding new purpose for a meaningful life.
