A warm, comforting poem about finding peace in a community of neighbors Peace is an offering. A muffin or a peach. A birthday invitation. A trip to the beach. Join this group of neighborhood children as they find love in everyday things—in sunlight shining through the leaves and cookies shared with friends—and learn that peace is all around, if you just look for it. With rhyming verse and soft illustrations, this book will help families and teachers look for the light moments when tragedy strikes and remind readers of the calm and happiness they find in their own community every day.
1504, Brunnendorf, Germany Eight year-old Therese longs for a home. Fatherless and living in one, small room with her mother, Therese is sent to visit her grandparents in the next town when men come to visit. She’s hoping this man will be the one who marries her mother and gives them a home. But on this day, while heading to her grandparents, she stops to pick up vegetables that have fallen off a passing wagon and is accused of being a beggar and attacked with stones. Rescued by a nun from the local convent, she brings Therese to the church, where she is cared for. In the loving arms of the nun, Therese wishes she could stay. Leaving the convent for her grandparent’s house, Therese is welcomed in for the first time. Again, she longs to make this her home along with her mother, but realizes that grace and forgiveness don’t come easy. What must be sacrificed to see her dream come true?
Prophecy pages are turning! As each page rests upon the other, events begin to unfold all around us. Fear is replacing the peace that has kept our borders and it's amazing at what freedoms we are willing to give up, just to feel safe. With the ever-growing economic uncertainties, we as believers are supposed to be at peace so that an unbelieving world might ask concerning the hope that is within us. Yet today, we find more than ever that the church is hurting and is just as uncertain about the future as everyone else. Our joy has been replaced by anxiety and what was once so clear has now become a cloudy gray. We struggle to remain true to the convictions of those who shed their blood defending them. The body of Christ is at a crossroads. The syncretism of religion declares that there are many faces to God but only one voice, and these falsehoods are pushing the believer to make a stand! Resistance to this path labels one as a fanatic and a radical. What are we as followers of Christ supposed to be doing and what is our hope? Dave Dungan answers some of these questions scripturally as we see that we were created to minister to God His Glory and not our own. We are to be a living sacrifice so that we might be prepared "An Offering Made by Fire," a sweet smell to a most Holy God.
https://vidjambov.blogspot.com/2023/01/book-inventory-vladimir-djambov-talmach.html Before you read on let me be absolved for this my poor effort – not being a monk, not having any special blessing, simply hoping that Orthodox people better than me shall read and understand this... /// Vladimir Djambov /// The fruit of prayer is to enlighten the mind and tenderness of the heart, to revitalize the soul with the life of the Spirit; thorns and thistles - this is the deadness of the soul, the pharisaic conceit, vegetating from heart hardening, content and exalted with the number of prayers and the time used to pronounce these prayers. /// The attention that fully observes prayer from entertainment or from extraneous thoughts and dreams is a gift of God's grace. We prove our sincere desire to receive a blessed gift, the soul-saving gift of attention by forcing ourselves to pay attention at every prayer of ours. /// Nature, renewed by the Holy Spirit, is governed by completely different laws than nature, fallen and stagnant in its fall. /// Woeful self-delusion! Mental blinding. Self-delusion is based here on conceit, and conceit is damage to the mental eye, born from wrong activities and giving rise to even more wrong activities. Beloved brother, the calmness by which you assure yourself of the fidelity of your path is nothing more than an conscienceless and lack of feeling of your sinfulness, which came and proceeds from a negligent life, and the joy that at times is born in you because of external success and human praise is by no means spiritual and holy joy: it is the fruit of conceit, self-righteousness and vanity A comment from the US: This Book "The Arena" by Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov was originally called "An Offering to Contemporary Monasticism" & was published in 1867. ... Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov was born as Dimitri Alexandrovich Brianchaninov in 1807 & studied at the Pioneer Military School of St. Petersburg. After he passed his examinations he fell sick & was discharge from the army. When he recovered he became a novice under the Starets Leonid of Optina Monastery. In 1831 he took his vows as a monk, later became the Abbott of St. Sergius Monastery, & in 1857 became a Bishop. After 4 years as Bishop he retired in seclusion & died in 1867. ... This is not a book for the beginner Christian Mystic & may be a tough read for most American Evangelical Christians. This is NOT a book about JUST reading your Bible & turning your life over to Jesus Christ. Yes, this book contains these primary & necessary concepts of Salvation but moves on to how to carry your cross, obey Spiritual Elders, develop Silence, to guard one's thought, the Jesus Prayer, Divine Mediation, how to battle Spiritual Evil, Virtues & Vices, Repentance & Mourning, the topics are rather vast... The book comes in two parts. Part 2 is called [Advice on Monastic Soul Work] "Councils For The Spiritual Life Of Monks" & part 1 is called [Rules for External Conduct for Neophyte Monks] "Rules Of Outward Conduct For Novices". As you can see part 2 (One) with 247 pages will have more to do with understanding spiritual reality & how to live a Holy Life while part 1 (Two) with 43 rules in 14 pages is strictly for Monks living in a Monastery. Get Ready for a Paradigm shift by reading this book. Keep your general life in focus because the book was written for monks & you will have to make adaptions because you live in the world. What I learned mostly is "What you don't Repent of, your going to Take with you." which is rather a scary thought.
Everyone knows that stewardship is more than money and finances. Nevertheless, seldom do we give time to explore the profound concept of stewardship in its many dimensions, including stewardship of time, work, body, mind, spirit, community, technology, and more. Beyond the Offering Plate does just that. Written by ten engaging pastors, seminary professors, and church leaders, this unique resource offers a diverse and holistic approach to stewardship. In ten accessible chapters, readers will learn how they can faithfully and practically discuss and engage with stewardship on a regular basis. Ideal for church leaders, seminary students, and pastors, this book includes questions for reflection and applications for life together at the end of each chapter. Copeland adds a special section with biblical references and preaching themes at the end of the book. Featured contributors include: Margaret P. Aymer, Associate Professor of New Testament at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Austin, Texas Kathleen A. Cahalan, Professor of Theology at Saint John's University School of Theology and Seminary in Collegeville, Minnesota MaryAnn McKibben Dana, author of Sabbath in the Suburbs David Gambrell, Associate for Worship in the Office of Theology and Worship of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) David P. King, Karen Lake Buttrey Director of the Lake Institute on Faith and Giving and Associate Professor of Philanthropic Studies at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana Neal D. Presa, pastor and former moderator of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Ellie Roscher, Director of Youth and Story Development at Bethlehem Lutheran Church Twin Cities in Minneapolis and author of How Coffee Saved My Life Mary Hinkle Shore, pastor of Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Brevard, North Carolina John W. Vest, Visiting Assistant Professor of Evangelism at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia
