In the book of Genesis, we see creation, God’s pursuit in covenant, displays of righteousness and faith, but also humanity’s rebellion, judgment, racism, social inequality, and depravity run amuck. We see the difference in walking by faith with God and walking by worldly standards. We see holy justice and raw human injustice. In Genesis chapters 29 and 30, there is no shortage of these elements, where God chose to preserve a diary, of sorts, of a matriarch of the faith. Though history has reduced her story to only descriptive paragraphs, this twelve-week Bible study will unveil why God chose to carry her testimony for our benefit in living out the Christian life. God took her humble position and grafted her into the scarlet thread of the Gospel story. You know her as the wife to a patriarch, who was in love with her sister, and a mother to eight of the original twelve tribes of Israel. Her name is Leah. After this expository styled study, you will be astonished and captivated by her testimony of how faith wrestles to thrive in the land of the living while yielding to the hope of heaven. She is a channel by which world history has been shaped and our hope secured in Christ. You will be encouraged and convicted as you wrestle with the God who revealed Himself to her and who stands to do the same for you.
Man cannot live without love.... His life is senseless if love is not revealed to him, if he does not encounter love, if he does not experience it and make it his own, if he does not participate intimately in it. — John Paul II, Redemptor Hominis If you were asked what immediately comes to mind when you hear the words "Catholic Church", would you answer an intimate relationship with the God who loves me? If not, you would do well to read this engaging and thought-provoking book which explains why such a relationship is the reason for everything the Church does and teaches. Professor Edward Sri will show you how all the pieces of the Catholic faith, including the most baffling ones, fit together to make one beautiful mosaic of God's love for us and our own participation in that all-encompassing love. Using the Catechism of the Catholic Church as his itinerary, Sri will walk you through all the important aspects of the Catholic Church—what Catholics believe about God and the difference it should make in life. Along the way he addresses such often-heard questions as: Why do I need the Church—can't I be spiritual on my own? Isn't one religion just as good as another? How is the death of a man two thousand years ago relevant for my life today? Why does the Church talk so much about morality? Can't I make up my own morals? Is it really our responsibility to care for the poor— doesn't God help those who help themselves? Why do Catholics and Protestants disagree? Must Catholics worship Mary and always obey the pope? More than an intellectual enterprise, this work is also a deep spiritual reflection and a practical guide to living out our faith in Christ. It aims to form both the head and the heart, not only helping us to understand Jesus and his plan of salvation, but inspiring us to love God and our neighbor better.
Billy Coffey has been compared to both Flannery O'Connor and Shirley Jackson. Journey with him to Mattingly, VA, and discover what marks the boundary between a miracle from God and the imagination of a child. "An inspirational and atmospheric tale." --Library Journal, starred review of When Mockingbirds Sing Leah is a child from Away, isolated from her peers because of her stutter. After her family moves to Mattingly, she begins painting scenes that are epic in scope, brilliant in detail, and suffused with rich, prophetic imagery. When the event foreshadowed in the first painting dramatically comes true, the town takes notice. Leah attributes her ability to foretell the future to an invisible friend she calls the Rainbow Man. Some of the townsfolk are enchanted with her. Others fear her. But there is one thing they all agree on--there is no such thing as the Rainbow Man. The town minister is unraveled by the notion that a mere child with no formal training may be hearing from God more clearly than he does. While the town bickers over what to do with this strange child, the content of Leah's paintings grows darker. Still, Leah insists that the Rainbow Man's heart is pure. Then a dramatic and tragic turn of events leaves the town reeling and places everyone's lives in danger. The people of Mattingly face a single choice: Will they cling to what they know . . . or embrace the things Leah believes in that cannot be seen? Includes a sneak peek at Coffey's novel The Curse of Crow Hollow. "This intriguing read challenges mainstream religious ideas of how God might be revealed to both the devout and the doubtful." --Publishers Weekly on When Mockingbirds Sing "The Devil Walks in Mattingly . . . recalls Flannery O'Connor with its glimpses of the grotesque and supernatural." --BookPage "Coffey entrances readers with this quiet tale of love, loss, and deciding what matters most in life." --Publishers Weekly on Steal Away Home "Baseball fans will love the behind-the-scenes peek into a night game in the Major Leagues, but even non-baseball fans will be pulled into the beauty and tension of Coffey's writing, the lovely and tragic Blue Ridge Mountain settings, and his compelling characters who make both selfless and heartbreaking choices. This is a powerful story of grief, love, forgiveness, and holy mystery, and I loved it. Billy Coffey is a master storyteller." --Lauren Denton, USA Today bestselling author of The Hideaway, for Steal Away Home "Coffey beautifully renders a thought-provoking story about the stony path toward spiritual enlightenment . . . a] powerful, inspirational story centered on the bittersweet nature of grace and redemption." --Shelf Awareness on Steal Away Home "Billy Coffey is one of the most lyrical writers of our time . . . we leave his imaginary world hungry for more, eager for another serving of Coffey's tremendous talent." --Julie Cantrell, New York Times bestselling author of Into the Free and Perennials "This rich and masterful tale is touched by the miraculous and is cleverly delivered as the first-person recollections of a seasoned catcher. Fans of America's favorite pastime will enjoy this book from page one." --RT Book Reviews on Steal Away Home "Billy Coffey is a minstrel who writes with intense depth of feeling and vibrant rich description." --Robert Whitlow, bestselling author of The List and The Confession
The Real Housewives of New York City star, fashion-industry pioneer, entrepreneur, and mom Leah McSweeney breaks through the chaos of battling addiction, igniting the streetwear world, and disrupting reality television—all while being unapologetically, unrelentingly herself. If there’s one thing Leah McSweeney knows for sure, it’s that life never quite gives you what you expect. Her road to success as an entrepreneur and Real Housewives breakout star has been paved with unexpected chances, soul-crushing challenges, and, for too long, chaos. Now Leah shares her unique philosophy of Chaos Theory and how key moments in our lives can lead us to paths we never imagined. With unparalleled grit, resilience, and a take-no-prisoners attitude, Leah shares her story of finding her way by pushing back against the conventions of society, against the status quo of the fashion industry, and against the limitations of her own self-worth to create a wild, unconventional, and beautiful life. From her years spent partying in the drug-fueled New York City club scene to getting sober, having a baby, and investing the settlement money from an NYPD assault to launch her business--Leah has learned to throw a punch and keep her fists up. In Chaos Theory, her raw, candid storytelling offers inspiration and insight for embracing life’s unexpected turns and finding meaning in the chaos.
WALL STREET JOURNAL BOOK OF THE MONTH "This is the incredible World War II saga of the German-Jewish commandos who fought in Britain’s most secretive special-forces unit—but whose story has gone untold until now." —Wall Street Journal “Brilliantly researched, utterly gripping history: the first full account of a remarkable group of Jewish refugees—a top-secret band of brothers—who waged war on Hitler.”—Alex Kershaw, New York Times best-selling author of The Longest Winter and The Liberator The incredible World War II saga of the German-Jewish commandos who fought in Britain’s most secretive special-forces unit—but whose story has gone untold until now June 1942. The shadow of the Third Reich has fallen across the European continent. In desperation, Winston Churchill and his chief of staff form an unusual plan: a new commando unit made up of Jewish refugees who have escaped to Britain. The resulting volunteers are a motley group of intellectuals, artists, and athletes, most from Germany and Austria. Many have been interned as enemy aliens, and have lost their families, their homes—their whole worlds. They will stop at nothing to defeat the Nazis. Trained in counterintelligence and advanced combat, this top secret unit becomes known as X Troop. Some simply call them a suicide squad. Drawing on extensive original research, including interviews with the last surviving members, Leah Garrett follows this unique band of brothers from Germany to England and back again, with stops at British internment camps, the beaches of Normandy, the battlefields of Italy and Holland, and the hellscape of Terezin concentration camp—the scene of one of the most dramatic, untold rescues of the war. For the first time, X Troop tells the astonishing story of these secret shock troops and their devastating blows against the Nazis. “Garrett’s detective work is stunning, and her storytelling is masterful. This is an original account of Jewish rescue, resistance, and revenge.”—Wendy Lower, author of The Ravine and National Book Award finalist Hitler’s Furies
From Chekhov to Maugham to William Carlos Williams, doctors have long given voice to their unique perspectives through literature. Writer, M.D. celebrates this rich tradition with a collection of fiction and nonfiction by today’s most beloved physician-writers, including, • Abraham Verghese, on the lost art of the physical exam • Pauline Chen, on the bond between a med student and her first cadaver • Atul Gawande, on the ethical dilemmas of a young surgical intern • Danielle Ofri, on the devastation of losing a patient • Ethan Canin, on love, poetry, and growing old These essays and stories illuminate the inner lives of men and women who deal with trauma, illness, mortality, and grief on a daily basis. Read together, they provide a candid, moving, one-of-a-kind glimpse behind the doctor’s mask.
In 1999, Texas passed a landmark clean energy law, beginning a groundswell of new policies that promised to make the US a world leader in renewable energy. As Leah Stokes shows in Short Circuiting Policy, however, that policy did not lead to momentum in Texas, which failed to implement its solar laws or clean up its electricity system. Examining clean energy laws in Texas, Kansas, Arizona, and Ohio over a thirty-year time frame, Stokes argues that organized combat between advocate and opponent interest groups is central to explaining why states are not on track to address the climate crisis. She tells the political history of our energy institutions, explaining how fossil fuel companies and electric utilities have promoted climate denial and delay. Stokes further explains the limits of policy feedback theory, showing the ways that interest groups drive retrenchment through lobbying, public opinion, political parties and the courts. More than a history of renewable energy policy in modern America, Short Circuiting Policy offers a bold new argument about how the policy process works, and why seeming victories can turn into losses when the opposition has enough resources to roll back laws.
Out Front the Following Sea is a historical epic of one woman's survival in a time when the wilderness is still wild, heresy is publicly punishable, and being independent is worse than scorned--it is a death sentence. At the onset of King William's War between French and English settlers in 1689 New England, Ruth Miner is accused of witchcraft for the murder of her parents and must flee the brutality of her town. She stows away on the ship of the only other person who knows her innocence: an audacious sailor--Owen--bound to her by years of attraction, friendship, and shared secrets. But when Owen's French ancestry finds him at odds with a violent English commander, the turmoil becomes life-or-death for the sailor, the headstrong Ruth, and the cast of Quakers, Pequot Indians, soldiers, highwaymen, and townsfolk dragged into the fray. Now Ruth must choose between sending Owen to the gallows or keeping her own neck from the noose.
