"This book is a "tour de force." It is simply magnificent" witty, scholarly, profoundly persuasive, blunt, prophetic, and convicting this slow-to-believe disciple all over the place." " Brennan Manning, Author of "The Ragamuffin Gospel" "I'm not sure what to make of it all, but Paul Smith gives the best arguments I have ever come across for calling God Mother. For anyone struggling with how far we should go in using inclusive language, this is "must" reading. " Tony Campolo, Eastern College "With tender power and wit, Paul Smith challenges the church to biblical fidelity and justice in its worship language. How encouraging it is to hear an evangelical male voice affirm the necessity of feminine images of God! This outstanding book so clearly and convincingly demonstrates the biblical imperative for inclusive God-language that the Christian community can no longer ignore it." " Jann Aldredge-Clanton, Ph.D., Chaplain, Baylor University Medical Center, Author of "God and Gender" and "God: A Word for Girls and Boys"
When it first appeared in Erma Bombeck's Mother's Day column in 1974, When God Created Mothers was an instant success, clipped from newspapers, tucked into purses, and tacked onto refrigerators all over America. Now in this beautiful keepsake edition, Bombeck's moving words are paired with original art that bring to life the warm portrait of motherhood contained within.An angel marvels at the detail and overtime that the good Lord is putting into his creation of mothers. Despite the six pairs of hands and the three pairs of eyes that every mother needs, the angel thinks she has discovered a flaw:"There's a leak," she pronounced. "I told you that you were trying to put too much into this model.""It's not a leak," said the Lord. "It's a tear.""What's it for?""It's for joy, sadness, disappointment, pain, loneliness and pride.""You are a genius," said the angel.The Lord looked somber, "I didn't put it there."Every mother will treasure this moving tribute, penned by America's most beloved expert on motherhood.
Honoring the female part of the divine, from a refreshingly modern perspective. Call Her Goddess--call her God the Mother--call her the Feminine Principle--Her children need Her, and our world deeply suffers the pains of Her absence. Through the warmth and the wit of poetry, this book is an invitation for all--women, men, of any religion or of no religion--to welcome Her home and set a permanent place for Her at the family table. Carol Lynn Pearson's poetry are accessible, thoughtful, and thought-provoking--the perfect balance of wisdom, humility, and humor. Carol Lynn Pearson has been a professional writer, speaker, and performer for many years. In addition to her volumes of poetry, she is well known for such books as The Ghost of Eternal Polygamy; Goodbye, I Love You, her autobiography; Consider the Butterfly, which was a finalist in the inspiration/spiritual category of the 2002 Independent Publishers Book Awards; and a series of inspirational books that began with The Lesson. Carol Lynn has been a guest on such programs as The Oprah Winfrey Show and Good Morning, America and has been featured in People magazine. She has a master of arts in theater, is the mother of four grown children, and lives in Walnut Creek, California. You can visit her at www.clpearson.com.
My journey from newlywed, to mother of two, to single mom - trying to heal - and become the mother God made me to be Karen lived an adventurous single life but longed for a family of her own. After years of maintaining her vow of purity and waiting for a man who shared her Christian faith, she fell in love with her best friend and co-worker. They married. She bore two sons. They divorced. With humor, honesty and raw emotion, Valentin tells her story of wrestling between God's will and her own, with visions of happily ever after. In the midst of her weakness and grief, she experiences God's strength and restoration like never before. Through her family and friends, mission workers, the pastor of Graffiti Church, and her two beautiful boys, God turns her ashes to beauty and her sorrow into joy. The Mother God Made Me to Be contains a discussion guide for book clubs and church groups. karenvalentin.com
In this age of chaos, God gives courage and comfort. Trudy Beyak, an award-winning journalist, interviewed 50 global leaders of faith: Ruth Graham, Dr. Francis Collins, Danae Dobson, Dr. Raymond Damadian, the MRI inventor; the Vatican, Paul Young, Gary Chapman, and many others, about the nature of God. They reveal fascinating new insights! When no one cares, and you feel all alone, the maternal mercy of God comforts your soul, “as a mother comforts,” a precious loved one. Ruth Graham explains: “When God created men and women to be like him, women are half the picture.” What a gift, then, it is to be a mother! The “maternal instinct” to nurture others, corresponds to the nature of God, as our Comforter. Women no longer need ask: Dear Lord: Who am I? Discover 50 exclusive interviews that will transform a woman’s life – and men, as well. And there’s more. The Mother Heart of God is a journalist’s compelling spiritual journey, a personal invitation to every man and woman to experience the love of God that brings hope and healing to every soul.
The God of the Bible is not a member of any class of comparable beings. Beyond and other than all gods and every creature, God is not gendered. However, Christian language for God and the pictures we use to help us talk about God are predominantly male. Among the pictures one of the most often used and appreciated is 'father'. Yet God (unlike many of the gods of the ancient world) is not only a father. The Bible and the early Christian theologians used motherly as well as fatherly language and pictures to speak of God. In this way at least their image of God was richer and deeper than ours! This book encourages readers to appropriate this wider range of pictures of what God is like, and to learn again to relate to a God who is beyond all imagining and closer than life itself. This God is not only a father!
This is the first thorough account of the nature and the spread of the cult of Cybele, the Great Mother, and the first to present her worship soberly as a religion rather than sensationally as an orgiastic celebration of self-castrated priest-attendants.
No words, no language about God can ever fully reflect the divine mystery. The "loving Father" image is the one with which children are most familar. This book helps children experience another metaphor for God. Its songs, stories, pictures, prayers, and activities introduce children to the nurturing, tender care of Mother God, who loves them unconditionally.