It's no secret that we are addicted to control. We work to control our time, our TVs, our weight, and even our faith lives. We strive for efficiency and quantifiable results. But all that control, we soon find out, is exhausting. And it is contrary to God's plan for us. In Chaos and Grace, Mark Galli offers readers freedom from the need for control and order by reintroducing them to the mysterious work of the Holy Spirit. In this insightful book, Galli exposes our individual mistakes and the church's foibles and points the way to grace--which, as it happens, usually lies through chaos and crisis. Through Scripture he shows us that this problem is not unique to modern believers and helps us learn from the stories of God's people through the ages as they gave up and gave in to the transforming work of the Holy Spirit.
Family problems thrust young Grace and Jimmy into helping with tons of issues after they find answers to life's questions. Their mom's repeat boyfriend wasn't faithful at first. His kids have loads of bitterness from his divorce. Grace has her own mixed feelings about him. She and Jimmy survive and try learn to love family members - all with issues of their own - as Jesus would. These members include a mom who would rather think about guys at times, a young sibling who tests Grace to see if there is unconditional love there, and Jessica, an older teen who stirs things up for her own reasons. Is it to taunt Grace or is she hiding something? Also, what's waiting on their vacation to cause even more turmoil? Readers of all ages will see how God brings good from the most imperfect situations when we trust Him. Grace and Jimmy learn some things take years of prayer, but God gives victories, too, as they explore the wonderful adventure that is the Christian life, and discover the riches of God's great grace.
Grace Everly has no desire to set sail for the Caribbean, unlike her adventurous twin sister, Hope. Thanks to her sister's irresponsible behavior and subsequent banishment from the journey, Grace's father decides to send her in Hope's place. Desperate to remain where things are familiar, Grace proposes an unthinkable plan: that she and Hope switch places. They only have to keep up the act long enough for Hope to board a ship in London. When the man who has stolen Grace's heart learns of their secret, things get more complicated.Jacob Barnes, soon to be ordained a vicar, has known Grace and Hope his whole life. Though close to both sisters, he's dreamed of courting Hope for months. When he realizes his friends have switched places, putting the woman he admires out of his reach, he agrees to help with the subterfuge despite his bruised heart. As he watches Grace stumble in her acting abilities, attempting to change who she is, he realizes how much she means to him. But how does he tell her, without risking their friendship?The deception puts their relationship to the test. As Grace hides her heart and her identity, Jacob examines his feelings, and no one in their community will be happy when the truth is discovered.
Lament is how you live between the poles of a hard life and trusting God’s goodness. Lament is how we bring our sorrow to God—but it is a neglected dimension of the Christian life for many Christians today. We need to recover the practice of honest spiritual struggle that gives us permission to vocalize our pain and wrestle with our sorrow. Lament avoids trite answers and quick solutions, progressively moving us toward deeper worship and trust. Exploring how the Bible—through the psalms of lament and the book of Lamentations—gives voice to our pain, this book invites us to grieve, struggle, and tap into the rich reservoir of grace and mercy God offers in the darkest moments of our lives.
As women, we are exhausted. Our hearts are being wrung out to dry--squeezed and yanked in every direction. We take care of everyone but ourselves. We've gotten lost in bedtime routines and our Costco lists. We have lost our voices in the storm of everyday life. We need to be reminded to reach inward and heed the quiet voice whispering, Stay. This book is for anyone who longs for a connection with God and his people but can't seem to escape the haunting feelings of guilt, shame, loneliness, and fear. Through raw, authentic stories, (in)courage writer Anjuli Paschall invites you to stop running from your pain and to recognize that the deep end of your story is the way to intimacy with Christ. Alongside Anjuli, you will encounter a loving God who invites you to stay with him at the table of your soul, where you are free to spill the milk, to fumble through your words, to embrace the awkwardness and the joy, and to taste and see that he is good.
Grace and Jimmy have allies helping them cope in their somewhat dysfunctional home, but even more struggles as they try to follow Jesus & share His love. And, that's not counting Jimmy being distracted by his first crush. There's Davey from one of their new dad's prior relationships. His mom is very sick, and their mom's general attitude causes six-year-old Erin to act out her frustration. There's Grace's battles with a very liberal Christian club and attempts to share Christ's love with Muslims, facing sometimes stiff opposition, even as one of those Muslims tries to break away. There's also Jimmy's crush's concerns about whether she's good enough since she doesn't look like a supermodel. Then, their new dad's health problems and several decisions regarding God's will for peoples' lives also cause confusion. Through it all, Jimmy and Grace learn what it means to be real leaders - not always having things easy or knowing the perfect solution, but still trusting Jesus to get them through.
Discovering Grace on Appleton Ridge follows the adventures of Hal and Liz Tuttle as they discover life in Downeast Maine. Nothing in their past could have prepared them for the hilarious and quirky characters they meet in their new calling to Appleton Community Church. This lighthearted and humorous story takes on a more serious tone when a distraught young woman contemplates suicide. Fortunately, the new minister and his wife just happen to be in the right place at the right time. Averted tragedy leads to redemption when a rescued soul discovers grace, forgiveness, and the embrace of God and a church family. Readers will smile, laugh, and shed tears of joy as they witness lives changed by the power of love.
The winner of The Next Food Network Star season five and New York Times best-selling author of Ten Dollar Dinners shares how God used food to invite her into His love. It wasn't until Melissa d'Arabian evaluated her relationship with food in light of her relationship with God that she began to appreciate food as not only a gift from him but also as a deeper invitation into his love. As she prayed, studied Scripture, and reflected on the stories from her own life, Melissa saw how God had used food to draw her into community, to redeem her moments of greatest tragedy, and ultimately to connect her more to him. In Tasting Grace, Melissa shares sixteen invitations that will transform your perception of food and the role it plays in your own life, from equality to connection to hospitality to stewardship and more. She explains how through her experiences, she learned to trust the ingredients--in recipes and in life--and join God in the act of creation. Whether you are a mom struggling to throw together a healthy meal for your family each night or a single woman longing for fellowship around your table, you will draw encouragement and inspiration from Melissa's reminder that all food, first and foremost, is a gift from God. When you return to him as the source, you will find the freedom to enjoy his beautiful and delicious creation. Advance praise for Tasting Grace “What a beautiful book. Using stories of her own triumphs and pain, Melissa digs past the surface layers of food as we see it on television, in cookbooks, and on social media. Rather, she helps us think about it in a whole new way—as nothing short of a spiritual force, a vessel through which we can experience (and extend) compassion, comfort, fellowship, love, enjoyment, and grace. It has given me a brand-new lens with which to examine the deeper significance of the food I cook, eat, and share.”—Ree Drummond, author of The Pioneer Woman Cooks “The intersection between faith and food is endlessly interesting to me, and Melissa articulates the significance and beauty of that intersection so well. Melissa is a great storyteller, and she invites us into her story and gives us a seat at her table with graciousness and wisdom. This is a lovely, meaningful book.”—Shauna Niequist, New York Times best-selling author of Present Over Perfect and Bread and Wine “This is a beautifully written book. These aren’t just words on pages; they are an invitation to a feast, to hospitality, and to finding lasting purpose in your life. Melissa has set a table fit for a King, pulled our chairs, and reminded us there’s a place for us here. This is a book that will not only feed your imagination but also your soul.” —Bob Goff, author of New York Times bestsellers Love Does and Everybody Always
We all face stress and tension in our daily lives. We might even wonder why our God of abundant goodness doesn’t remove the everyday struggles we face. Jesus’ interactions with Martha and Mary in the Gospel provide us the key to understanding how God shows us his love by allowing tensions in our lives. As we follow the sisters’ transformative journeys through their own struggles, reflecting on what transpires between Scripture verses, we see their initial tension become the catalyst that drives both Mary and Martha to the feet of Jesus — the place where all discover peace. Grace in Tension explores the areas where stress arises in our own lives. Each chapter ends with a thought-provoking prayer to inspire us to go to God with our problems, followed by questions for reflection to help us see all the ways he’s working for our good. God doesn’t create any of it, but he does show up amid life’s difficulties, ready to lead us through. No matter how big or small our struggle, when we seek him out, he reveals what we need to do to resolve our tension, transforming it into grace. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Claire McGarry is the founder of MOSAIC of Faith, a ministry for mothers of infants to school-aged children to explore their faith through motherhood. She contributes regularly to CatholicMom.com and blogs at ShiftingMyPerspective.com. She is the author of Lenten devotional With Our Savior, and her work has appeared in Chicken Soup for the Soul, Keys for Kids, These Days, and Focus on the Family magazine. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband and three children.
Jesus was quite clear that we must lose our life before we find it. This book gives a hopeful and realistic look at what losing our life entails, articulating how “growth” in the Christian life is not our ascent to God but the process by which our eyes are opened to the beauty God has already given to us. It is a book about descending into God, and into our own inner depths, about the deep waters of the Christian faith. “Put out into the deep and let your nets down for a catch.” (Luke 5:4) We live in a world that values productivity and success, and we vainly imagine that God expects us to be spiritually productive and successful, too. It doesn’t matter how much we talk about grace, our conversation is often narrowly focused on what we need to do for God—so much so that we often block the work God longs to do in us. This book does not articulate God’s work as a process by which we become spiritually strong, but rather as the process by which we embrace our weakness as the place where we most fully experience God’s perfect strength (2 Corinthians 12:9).
