Jill Rigby reveals the dangers of the self-esteem parenting philosophy and offers an alternative approach that teaches children to respect both themselves and others. --from publisher description.
In seven taut, striking stories and a brilliant novella, an award-winning author applies her exceptional talent to the familial themes of teenagers and their middle-aged parents.
Blessed is a journey about love, loss and the growth and rebuilding of a Christian family whose home was decimated by an explosion and narrowly escaped with their lives by only 7 minutes. They survived with literally only the clothes on their backs. This story is how they dealt with the aftermath and tried to piece their lives back together through the support of their family, friends, and their faith in God.
I relate my life and family experiences from "Tragedy" to "Survival" and "Sorrow" to "Happiness," and from my birth to the present time. I tell of my marriages, my children, my siblings, and people dear to me.
Wedding season has arrived in New York Times bestselling author Mary Alice Monroe’s fourth novel in the “distinct, complex, and endearing” (Charleston Magazine) Lowcountry Summer series, set against the romantic, charming Carolina lowcountry. Nothing could be more enchanting than a summer wedding—or two!—in storied Sullivan’s Island. A centuries-old plantation, an avenue of ancient oaks dripping moss, a sand dune at sunset… it’s all picture perfect, and half-sisters Dora, Carson, and Harper, and their grandmother Marietta “Mamaw” Muir couldn’t be more excited. Wedding dresses are picked, venues booked, and delectable cakes tasted. What could possibly go wrong? The answer, the Muir clan is soon to find out, is everything. Carson loves Blake, but struggles with giving up her independence. Harper questions if a prenuptial agreement will help or hurt the future of her marriage, and a newly unfettered Dora is uncertain whether she really wants to walk down the aisle again. Just when it seems things couldn’t get more complicated for the Muir sisters, a stranger arrives bearing a long-held family secret that has the potential to upset even the most carefully laid-out wedding plans. With the weddings mere weeks away, the invitations sent out, and the family in tumult, Mamaw and her Summer Girls discover the enduring and powerful bonds of family, and realize that, no matter how different each bride might be, she can still have her perfect wedding.
The Urantia movement-a little-known but fast-growing cult-is an ideology that had claimed this author's soul for twelve years until she miraculously got set free from it by the power of God. "The Urantia Book," the cornerstone of this movement, has a subtle, Hitler-like spirit woven throughout its fabric, and claims to be the model for the so-called "New Age." The second major episode in the author's life is equally miraculous in that she was able to get off an extremely high amount of anti-depressant drugs she had become dependent on because of the deep depression this book caused her to sink into. The author tells the reader in Way of Escape how she fell into this trap of the Urantia book, how she got out, and how she got free from the doctor-prescribed medicine that would have eventually claimed her life. "This is a book that is hard to put down. You just want to keep reading to see what happens next. Simply written in everyday dialog, it's like the author is sitting in your living room sharing the journey of her life. Hers is a story of hope. It's amusing and refreshing, it's sad, it's serious-it's real life. Maintaining a sense of humor and a quest for God through so much drama, turmoil, and personal challenge is a miracle in and of itself. It is a story of ongoing deliverance." L.V., Texas. "This book is quite an adventure into the discerning of God's will. Read it with an open heart, and the truth will set you free." N.B., New Hampshire. "This story reveals the depth of God's love for His children and shows His mighty hand of deliverance in setting the captives free." T.M.P., Texas.
I was born to parents who abandoned me as an infant to a poor widowed grandmother. My life proves God has a good plan for every life regardless of how empty and hopeless that life is seen by everyone. My story tells of the beautiful life of love, purpose, and peace available when we accept Jesus Christ. And if we do our best to believe and follow the core values taught by my wise grandmother, sharing my private life of abandonment, sadness, loneliness, poor, and being made to feel unworthy will surely give hope to all who read--a life born empty with no one and a life rejected by everyone. But God had a plan for me. His plan was a grandmother.
This is the story of the history, the struggles, and the victories of an ordinary family. This is the story of Cecil and Norma Combs, two people who lived by faith.
Originally published in hardcover in 2013 by Gallery Books. Reprinted in paperback 2014 with a readers group guide and an excerpt from the author's forthcoming novel: The Summer Wind, book two in the Lowcountry Summer trilogy.