Society teaches us to have everything under control, and we tend to think that this can be true even of our spiritual lives. Master storyteller and spiritual director Mark Yaconelli offers a narrative journey through ways in which disappointments have turned into gifts. In these pages are a wealth of spiritual practices that will help us find grace in unexpected places.
In the midst of suffering and trials in life, we can feel lost ... abandoned. Life's unexpected twists and turns cause us to focus inward. Shut down and just survive. But there is hope. Finding Hope in the Journey is written for anyone who has felt despair, yet yearns for assurance. Experience with depression, chronic pain, a son returning home early from a mission and other difficult journeys gave author Heidi Tucker reason to lose faith. But through her struggles she found healthy patterns which positioned her heart to see God's hand in her life. Finding Hope in the Journey teaches us how to see, hear and feel those quiet, tender moments of hope. The friendly style of writing is easy to embrace as principles are taught and reinforced through true stories. This book will inspire you to rise up and find new strength, courage and determination to move forward as you implement tools to recognize messages of hope from God.
“I want you to take every step of your life with excitement for where you are headed. And I want you to feel beautiful and confident as you do.” But how? When the enemy whispers lies that you are not smart enough, pretty enough, or rich enough? Or you are too dumb, too loud, too quiet, too thin, too fat, too much or not enough? What if you don’t have what it takes to be who you really want to be? In Looking for Lovely, Annie F. Downs shares personal stories, biblical truth, and examples of how others have courageously walked the path God paved for their lives by remembering all God had done, loving what was right in front of them, and seeing God in the everyday—whether that be nature, friends, or the face they see in the mirror. Intensely personal, yet incredibly powerful, Looking for Lovely will spark transformative conversations and life changing patterns. No matter who we are and what path God has us on, we all need to look for lovely, fight to finish, and find beautiful in our every day!
We all struggle with anxiety at various points in life, some of us more than others. In fact, some 40 million Americans are treated for anxiety disorders each year. Anxiety is a real and present threat. And for some of us, anxiety is a crippling condition. It strikes us down physically and spiritually. We feel isolated, weak, and hopeless. But there is hope. When we see our anxiety in the context of our relationship with God, we can learn more about how he is using it to shape us. Rather than spending all of our time, energy, and resources trying to eliminate this alleged "weakness," we can accept the truth that anxiety is a mighty tool in the hands of God. Through it, he will do more in us that we thought possible. In the weakness of anxiety, God gives us his strength. In Struck Down but Not Destroyed, you will learn how to Turn your greatest enemy (anxiety) into your greatest asset; Be confident in the spiritual purpose for your anxiety and suffering; Inspect your own habits and behaviors in light of Scripture; Accept your anxiety as a spiritual tool in the hands of God. It's time for us to focus on the spiritual purposes God has for our anxiety. It's time for us to realize God's strength in our weakness. It's time for us to revel in the amazing truth that the best part of being struck down is realizing that we will never be destroyed, not with God on our side.
How do you find hope in hard times? Learn not only how to survive the difficult seasons, but to live a full life in the midst of them and beyond. Grounded in God's constancy and rooted in eternal hope, Nouwen guides you towards the kind of life that you can dance to—even through the darkest night. Deeply comforting and profoundly realistic, Turn My Mourning into Dancing discusses five movements we experience during hard times: From Our Little Selves to a Larger World From Holding Tight to Letting Go From Fatalism to Hope From Manipulation to Love From a Fearful Death to a Joyous Life Healing begins with taking our pain out of its toxic isolation and seeing our sufferings in communion with all humanity, and all creation. Nouwen teaches us that our lives participate in something much larger. Turn My Mourning into Dancing is a must read for: Those seeking growth and insight on the struggles of life Anyone going through the grief process and searching for real solutions Those who have experienced a loss, betrayal, or hard times Everyone grieves differently. It is a process, not a science experiment. Mourning shouldn’t last forever. Do you want the kind of life that allows you to dance even in the middle of the darkest night? Get the answers and find hope within your hard times.
What if giving can change the world? Well, it can. In fact, it already has. And you have the opportunity to join in the movement that God has begun, a movement close to his own heart. Giving is how God changes the world. We're often focused on what we can take or receive from God and others. But in The Book of Giving, the author reveals that this is stunting the growth of our souls. The God who always gives-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit-has invited us into his giving circle. In that circle, we don't just hope to receive. We hope to move the giving forward-to receive, give thanks, and give back. This movement of giving is at the center of all relationships. Join the author as he uses gifts as a perspective on who God is, who we are, and what the world is like. This book is packed with reader resources to help you study yourself and grow as a giver. It's not just a book to read; it's a book to eat, a book that will energize change in your daily life. The changes God will make in the world can start inside you with the smallest seeds, with a prayer, a conversation, a cup of coffee. Change starts with giving. And you'll be amazed at the results. Come see God from a fresh perspective and find yourself anew in The Book of Giving.
DIVDIVWhatever happened to hope? If you have become fatalistic, if you feel trapped by your circumstances and can’t see a way out, Terry Law wants to show you a new paradigm—the paradigm of hope, which he defines as the confident expectation of the goodness of God./div/div
When Kayla Aimee when into labor after only 24 weeks, she felt as though once solid ground had turned to glass beneath her feet. As her newborn daughter struggles to survive, Kayla finds herself asking "Where is God in this?" As Kayla lays bare her struggle to redefine her faith, her marriage, and herself within the context of a tragedy she never saw coming, she uncovers a hope that holds her together.
A compassionate, shame-free guide for your darkest days “A one-of-a-kind book . . . to read for yourself or give to a struggling friend or loved one without the fear that depression and suicidal thoughts will be minimized, medicalized or over-spiritualized.”—Kay Warren, cofounder of Saddleback Church What happens when loving Jesus doesn’t cure you of depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts? You might be crushed by shame over your mental illness, only to be told by well-meaning Christians to “choose joy” and “pray more.” So you beg God to take away the pain, but nothing eases the ache inside. As darkness lingers and color drains from your world, you’re left wondering if God has abandoned you. You just want a way out. But there’s hope. In I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die, Sarah J. Robinson offers a healthy, practical, and shame-free guide for Christians struggling with mental illness. With unflinching honesty, Sarah shares her story of battling depression and fighting to stay alive despite toxic theology that made her afraid to seek help outside the church. Pairing her own story with scriptural insights, mental health research, and simple practices, Sarah helps you reconnect with the God who is present in our deepest anguish and discover that you are worth everything it takes to get better. Beautifully written and full of hard-won wisdom, I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die offers a path toward a rich, hope-filled life in Christ, even when healing doesn’t look like what you expect.
New York Times bestseller How do you hold on to hope when you don’t get the ending you asked for? When Katie Davis Majors moved to Uganda, accidentally founded a booming organization, and later became the mother of thirteen girls through the miracle of adoption, she determined to weave her life together with the people she desired to serve. But joy often gave way to sorrow as she invested her heart fully in walking alongside people in the grip of poverty, addiction, desperation, and disease. After unexpected tragedy shook her family, for the first time Katie began to wonder, Is God really good? Does He really love us? When she turned to Him with her questions, God spoke truth to her heart and drew her even deeper into relationship with Him. Daring to Hope is an invitation to cling to the God of the impossible—the God who whispers His love to us in the quiet, in the mundane, when our prayers are not answered the way we want or the miracle doesn’t come. It’s about a mother discovering the extraordinary strength it takes to be ordinary. It’s about choosing faith no matter the circumstance and about encountering God’s goodness in the least expected places. Though your heartaches and dreams may take a different shape, you will find your own questions echoed in these pages. You’ll be reminded of the gifts of joy in the midst of sorrow. And you’ll hear God’s whisper: Hold on to hope. I will meet you here.
