"I have an incredible story to tell. It occurs during extraordinary times between two worlds that have grown complacent about God. There is a rebellion brewing on heaven and earth, and with the four horsemen saddling up, as 'end times' draw near, our two lives will be crucial to changing our worlds' course. Stay with me here because redemption is always worth it, especially when it comes to the salvation of two deeply broken beings, one who was transformed into the bringer of Death and collector of souls, and then there's me. Forever hiding from my disfigurement, unwilling to let go and live the life God has granted me. "“That is until I met Azrael.”
Highlighting this collection is an ingenious new episode in the saga of Jimmy Blackburn, the eponymous serial killer of Denton's third novel. "Blackburn Bakes Cookies" might best be called the icing on the cake that is Blackburn's story, and it is appropriately delectable. Other highlights of this collection include: "The Territory," a "what if?" story revisiting Kansas in the days of the Civil War and imagining, in one small way, how things might have gone a bit differently; "We Love Lydia Love," a science-fictional examination of the ways in which modern obsessions with celebrity and stardom can change us...and the ways in which we'll never change; and "The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians," a moving and funny trip to the afterlife, where all great comics go when they die. In assembling these stories, Bradley Denton discovered that all of them are concerned with some aspect of death. It's true. And yet (as they say), in death there is life: these eight tales brim with such vitality and joie de vivre that readers will find themselves enjoying the work of this fantastic storyteller again and again.
An instant national bestseller and "a beautiful story of what love can do to conquer the impossible" (Jann Arden). On the day my daughter was kidnapped by outlaws in Somalia, my life split into two parts: Before and After. This is the story of both parts, and of how I fought to bring my daughter home. On August 23, 2008, Amanda Lindhout, Lorinda Stewart’s daughter, is kidnapped outside of Mogadishu in Somalia. The kidnappers’ demand is simple: pay $2.5 million or Amanda will be killed. For the next 460 days, Lorinda does everything in her power—and beyond—to get her daughter back alive. This brave, small-town mother with no experience in hostage negotiations is called upon by the RCMP to be the lead communicator with Adam, the Somali who identifies himself as the English-speaking negotiator for Amanda's kidnappers. In a secret “war room” in Sylvan Lake, Alberta, Lorinda joins forces with federal officers and begins to answer calls from Adam, establishing a fragile rapport of trust with the man who holds her daughter’s fate in his hands. She learns how to demand POLs—proofs of life—from Amanda’s hostage takers and even how to react to “bad calls”—when she is forced to listen to her daughter’s desperate cries for help, fearing she is being abused and tortured. What’s supposed to be a short negotiation stretches on, and weeks become months. Lorinda finds herself increasingly on her own as negotiations break down. But she never gives up hope, even as the conversations become more traumatic. Faced with the terrible possibility of her daughter’s death, she decides to take control, bringing in private hostage negotiators and fundraising ransom money from donors. But will it be enough? This is the true story of one woman’s heroic perseverance in the face of despair, and of the hope and healing to be found beyond trauma. It is also, in the end, a tribute to the extraordinary power of a mother’s love.
Josie is twenty-one years old and has been diagnosed with a condition that could kill her at any moment. Given six months to live, she decides to marry Dean, the man she has been dating for one year. At the urging of family and friends to 'seize the day' they travel and go on adventures, trying to fit as much in to Josie's remaining life as they can. But as the months, then years, pass by without Josie dying, they learn what it really means to live like there's no tomorrow, and to find beauty in the mundane details of everyday married life.
How would you live your life if you knew time was limited? What if you could control the outcome? What happens when you must yield to a bigger purpose for which you will never fully understand its overall meaning? Nate and Jean lived a typical married life raising children, working, and being a part of their local church and community. With a deep faith in God, they were truly blessed with good health and a wonderful life. However, their journey took a different path when they faced a challenge that would test their marital strength . Would they be able to withstand this great trial and rise victorious? This true love story reveals the intimacy of struggle and hope during a time of physical chaos. This is Nate and Jean's walk through the valley of the shadow of death because every day passes is one day closer to the ultimate truth in life.
In the early eleventh century the Indian Buddhist master Atisha condensed essential points from the sutras and ordered them into the text Lamp of the Path. These were then expanded upon in the fourteenth century by the Tibetan Buddhist master LamaTsongkhapa into the text The Great Exposition on the Gradual Path to Enlightenment(Lamrim Chenmo). Venerable Thubten Chodron taught on this text over several years at Dharma Friendship Foundation, and related these practical teachings to our daily lives. These ebooks are lightly-edited transcripts of those teachings. They have been organized and formatted by Lai Wee Chiang. This second volume contains teachings on: - Remembering Death - The Actual Way to Become Mindful of Death - The Lower Realms - Taking Refuge - The Objects of Refuge - How to Take Refuge - The Benefits of Having Taken Refuge - Guidelines for the Practice of Refuge - Karma - 10 Destructive Actions and Their Results - Constructive Actions and Their Results - The Intensity of Karma - Other Ways of Differentiating Actions - Specific Aspects of Actions and Their Results - General Advice on Engaging in Positive Actions and Avoiding Destructive Ones
2012 Global Warning: The destination or the beginning of the apocalypse? Ninth and Last Sign: You will hear of a dwelling place in the heavens, above the earth, that shall fall with a great crash. It will appear as a blue star. And very soon after this the ceremonies of people will cease. There are nine signs that great destruction has come and is coming. Like many tribes, the Hopis drew images that have come to pass and images of things to come. Thirteen Baktuns is equal to just over 5,125 years, and in our present age of the jaguar, the fourth age, the Great Cycle runs out on the winter solstice, December 21, 2012, the Mayan end date. The meaning is the death of the sun, the rebirth of a universe, and the Mayan Prophecy of the return of the god Quetzalcoatl: all this is the subject of active debate. This time will also mark a United States change in era where we will elect a new President. Is this the prophecy of the Antichrist? Could it be the end of one time and the beginning of the final stages of centuries of prophecies?
Although raised Roman Catholic, Susan Stabile was ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist nun and devoted 20 years of her life to practicing Buddhism before returning to Catholicism in 2001. In Growing in Love and Wisdom, she draws on this unique dual perspective to explore the value of interreligious dialogue, the spiritual dynamics that operate across faith traditions, and how Buddhist meditation practices can deepen Christian prayer. She begins by examining the values and principles shared by the two faiths and shows that both traditions seek to effect a fundamental transformation in the lives of believers. Both stress the need for experiences with deep emotional resonance that goes beyond the level of concepts to touch the heart. The center of the book offers 15 Tibetan Buddhist contemplative practices, adapted for Christian use. Stabile provides clear instructions on how to do these meditations and helpful commentary on each, explaining its purpose and the relation between the Buddhist original and her Christian adaptation of it. Throughout, she highlights the many remarkably close parallels between the teachings of Jesus and the Buddha. The meditations offered in this unusual book will be extremely useful to thoughtful Christians, to those responsible for giving spiritual direction, and also to Buddhist sympathizers who will be intrigued and pleased to see familiar contemplations handled so skillfully by a former Buddhist practitioner who has gratefully learned so much from her former religion and now introduces the riches of that tradition to her fellow Christians.
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! "I had the choice to come back ... or not. I chose to return when I realized that 'heaven' is a state, not a place" In this truly inspirational memoir, Anita Moorjani relates how, after fighting cancer for almost four years, her body began shutting down—overwhelmed by the malignant cells spreading throughout her system. As her organs failed, she entered into an extraordinary near-death experience where she realized her inherent worth . . . and the actual cause of her disease. Upon regaining consciousness, Anita found that her condition had improved so rapidly that she was released from the hospital within weeks—without a trace of cancer in her body! Within this enhanced e-book, Anita recounts—in words and on video—stories of her childhood in Hong Kong, her challenge to establish her career and find true love, as well as how she eventually ended up in that hospital bed where she defied all medical knowledge. In "Dying to Be Me," Anita Freely shares all she has learned about illness, healing, fear, "being love," and the true magnificence of each and every human being!
Death Is My Ride or Die, the second book in Katarina E. Tonks’s thrilling Death Chronicles series, picks up immediately after the events of Death is My BFF. Faith and Death, now separated, must reunite and tackle an even bigger evil: Ahrimad. When all hell breaks loose, you might as well join the party. Faith Williams has managed to escape the clutches of Death and the gates of hell. But when she discovers she is the only one who can read the Book of the Dead, she realizes why her soul is so valuable to the forces of evil. Suddenly, someone Faith loves is stolen from her, bringing her back to the Devil’s door. To stop a common enemy, Faith is forced to team up with her irresistible but villainous “friend,” Death. Fighting alongside the enemy quickly becomes a dangerous game of saving the mortal realm while fighting forbidden feelings for each other. In the face of the epic battle that will wage in her wake, Faith must determine who is good, and who is evil—even if the line has blurred.
