Chapter after chapter, verse after verse, the Bible shows a loving heavenly Father lavishing His grace on us through His son. In her book, The Grace Impact, author Nancy Kay Grace gives us a closer glimpse of God's character. In all things at all times, His grace covers every detail of life, not just the good things, but the difficult, sad and complicated things. That knowledge can give us the ability to walk confidently through life knowing God is with us every step of the way.
“My vocation was supposed to be joy, and I was speaking at funerals.” Shortly after being hired by Yale University to study joy, Angela Gorrell got word that a close family member had died by suicide. Less than a month later, she lost her father to a fatal opioid addiction and her nephew, only twenty-two years old, to sudden cardiac arrest. The theoretical joy she was researching at Yale suddenly felt shallow and distant—completely unattainable in the fog of grief she now found herself in. But joy was closer at hand than it seemed. As she began volunteering at a women’s maximum-security prison, she met people who suffered extensively yet still showed a tremendous capacity for joy. Talking with these women, many of whom had struggled with addiction and suicidal thoughts themselves, she realized: “Joy doesn’t obliterate grief. . . . Instead, joy has a mysterious capacity to be felt alongside sorrow and even—sometimes most especially—in the midst of suffering.” This is the story of Angela’s discovery of an authentic, grounded Christian joy. But even more, it is an invitation for others to seize upon this more resilient joy as a counteragent to the twenty-first-century epidemics of despair, addiction, and suicide—a call to action for communities that yearn to find joy and are willing to “walk together through the shadows” to find it.
From the desert to the mountains, from remote far-flung places to some of the most populated cities in the world, For the Joy brings together 21 unique perspectives on what it's really like being a mother on the mission field. Stories include: - home-schooling while living in a bus - navigating the toddler years as a "third culture mum" - raising a child with special needs - recovering from anxiety on the field - giving birth in a foreign hospital - the grief of losing your family to persecution ... and more! Honestly written, raw in emotion, sad and joyful in equal measure, this collection of stories offers insight into the complexities of parenting children while serving God far from home.
Popular blogger Lauren Casper shares poignantly simple yet profound wisdom about removing the barriers we construct around our hearts and doing life full-on, all from the least expected source: her five-year-old son, Mareto. Five-year-old Mareto finds color and light in the ordinary happenings of every day and delights in beauty just waiting to be found. Those are lessons he shares, often unknowingly, with his mom, Lauren Casper. For Lauren, living with Mareto is a lot like playing the telephone game. He blurts out little phrases that have their origin in something he saw or heard, but by the time they make their way through his mind and back out of his mouth, they’ve transformed—often into beautiful truths about living a simple, authentic, love- and joy-filled life. From “it’s okay about it,” a simple reminder that even when life is painful or difficult, things will be okay because God promises never to leave or forsake his children, to “you’re making me feelings,” which teaches the importance of leaning into one’s emotions and, in doing so, sharing a piece of oneself with loved ones—Mareto’s simple yet profound wisdom is a reminder to embrace the broken beauty of life, to believe in a God bigger than human comprehension, and to love others even when it doesn’t make sense. For all those looking to recapture the faith, simplicity, wonder, hope, courage, and joy of life, It’s Okay About It provides a guide to look inward and live outward, to discover the most wide open and beautiful life possible.
When his oldest son was diagnosed with severe autism, pastor Jason Hague found himself trapped, stuck between perpetual sadness and a lower, safer kind of hope. This is the common struggle for those of us walking through the Land of Unanswered Prayer. Life doesn’t look the way we expected, so we seek to protect ourselves from further disappointment. But God has a third path for us, beyond sadness or resignation: the way of aching joy. Christ himself is with us here, beckoning us toward the treasures hidden in the darkness. Aching Joy is an honest psalm of hope for those walking between pain and promise: the aching of a broken world and the beauty of a loving God. In this place, rather than trying to dodge the pain, we choose to feel it all—and to see where Jesus is in the midst of struggle. And because we make that choice, we feel all the good that comes with it, too. This is Jason’s story. This is your story. Come, find your joy within the aching.
A young farmer’s wife draws on her life with kids, cows, and a front-porch view to help us see God’s goodness and beauty wherever we are, reminding us that the simple life is not a place to be but a way to be. “Grab a cup of coffee and join Caitlin on her porch to hear the lessons God has taught her through the good and hard of everyday life.”—Vivian Mabuni, speaker and author of Open Hands, Willing Heart: Discover the Joy of Saying Yes to God When Caitlin, a small-town girl, fell in love with a farm boy named Jake Henderson, she had little idea what farm life—or marriage and motherhood—would bring. But raising a family on a farm is teaching her more about God’s goodness and grace than she could have imagined. Faith, Farming, and Family is a rich, story-filled walk through farmhouse hallways, harvest-ready fields, and God’s bountiful dreams for our lives. As Caitlin reflects on everything from wayward tractors to watching a marriage grow from surviving to flourishing, she reminds us to see the redemption in our own stories. Join Caitlin in exploring biblical truth through the eyes of a farmer’s wife, whether you are wrangling kids onto a school bus, sowing creative seeds in a business meeting, or walking the pastures of your own family farm. Faith, Farming, and Family invites us to recognize God’s beauty right in front of us so that we might find the courage to take the next step—or the first step—into His incredible calling.
"Through solid biblical teaching and personal illustrations from years of effective witnessing, Jerry Wiles demonstrates how to introduce people to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ by telling stories and asking questions to start spiritual conversations"--Provided by publisher.
Many lives are characterised by failure, stagnation, depression and frustration. The harder they struggle to make a living, the worse their predicaments become. 'What could be responsible for this?', You may ask.According to Pst (Mrs.) Faith Abiola Oyedepo, 'This book is written to empower you for a life of ceaseless triumphs, by being joyful...' In essence, to live a life of ceaseless triumphs, you need to engage the vital force of joy.Go for this book!
There were three things food writer Robin Davis promised she would never do: she would never move back to Ohio, she would never get married, and she would never join an organized religion. Never say never—today, Davis is a recent transplant to the Midwest wife and stepmother, and converted Catholic. In Recipe for Joy, she shares her stories of food, faith, and family life, and discovers that “food” is the language she can speak when stepping into unfamiliar territory. Recipe for Joy tells Davis’s story of recognizing God’s plan, doubting it, and then discovering why God’s plan is her newfound path. The stories in Recipe for Joy are grouped by themes based on the courses of a meal, and each chapter ends with a recipe inspired by the theme. Recipe for Joy reveals that food and faith can go hand in hand and that God uses people (and some really good meals) to bring us into a closer relationship with God.
