English Cardinal Basil Hume was beloved all over the world for his pastoral gifts. Before dying of cancer in 1999, he left these meditations on the Seven Last Words of Christ on the cross. In each one of these reflections, Cardinal Hume unwraps a gift for usone that gives us hope even when we are in the midst of pain and difficulty. These last words . . . reveal their secrets slowly, if we meditate on them and pray, Cardinal Hume writes in the introduction. Let those words speak to you, and I will tell you what they have said to me. Short meditations that speak powerfully to the heart. An inspiring gift, especially for those who are in difficult circumstances; Can be used through Lent or at any time of the year.
Handsome Jack is a logger, nomad, and born dreamer. His young wife, Simone, has too many kids and never enough money to support or protect them. The family keeps on the move, shedding a grand total of twenty-seven homes. Their first child, Randy, is sensitive and brilliant and bold, protector of his younger siblings, the fearless star of their childhood adventures and misadventures—until something snaps inside him. The second child who comes a year after him, our narrator Barbara, is the lucky one, who can dream of getting out. Every time the family relocates, she feels “the hope in leaving and doing better next time.” Poverty, mental illness, sexual abuse, and injustice pursue them wherever they go. They live small-town life hard and suffer, most of all Randy. The great surprise of The Hope in Leaving isn’t that these characters descend increasingly into isolation and strife, but that despite this they remain a family, that there is always the spark of wit in their banter, and a kind of closeness no matter what happens, even a sense of normalcy. Gradually, the reader comes to understand why The Hope in Leaving is a book that had to be written. In it, Williams proves beyond doubt that there is one thing that can survive the worst of life and even death itself: love without judgment.
Our culture has lost its mind. Now, we are waging a bigger fight—a war for our soul. Is it possible our world has gone mad? We are under siege and the war is not from without; it is from within. The collapse of the Roman Empire occurred in a single generation and was not so much the result of invasions by their enemies but the result of moral decay and internal corruption. Similar patterns are emerging in America. We neglected or abandoned our traditional institutions long ago, but now it’s time to take them back. Today, forces are at work to strip the principles and precepts of faith from public venues or minimize their significance. Many progressive leaders are convinced that when Christianity disintegrates it will create peace on earth. But the loss of our heritage will merely create a spiritual vacuum that will be filled with folly, crammed with chaos, or invaded by Islam. The reality is: Western civilization will become so decadent and reckless that America will collapse like a house of cards. In Hope for This Present Crisis, Dr. Youssef provides a diagnosis of the insanity of the current culture and a seven-step prescription for restoring sanity to a world gone mad. Here’s the seven-step path to restoring a world gone mad: Remember the Truth – Stand firm on the truth of the gospel. Restore the Soul – Seek God’s approval─ not the approval of other people. Revitalize theFamily – Guard your children from the horrors of the Internet. Reestablish the Classroom – Support conscientious, caring public school teachers. Respect our Freedoms – Know your rights. Reform our Society – Morally and spiritually purify yourself. Revive the Church – Demonstrate the forgiving love of Jesus at all times. This book will teach you how to stand up to attacks on your faith, and defend Christianity as a meaningful contribution to society.
A collection of short stories - four previously published and three new - linked by the theme of young people experiencing personal dilemmas. All are set in South Africa, first under apartheid and then after the first democratic elections. They cover the period from 1950 to 2000 and reflect the lives of a range of young people, black and white, living in what was for many years seen as the world's most openly racist society.
"When the odds were stacked against us, and there have been many times when the great experiment we call America could have and should have failed, did God intervene to save us?"That question, posed by authors Chris and Ted Stewart, is the foundation for this remarkable book. And the examples they cite provide compelling evidence that the hand of Providence has indeed preserved the United States of America on multiple occasions. Skillfully weaving story vignettes with historical explanations, they examine seven instances that illustrate God's protecting care. Never, at any of these critical junctures, was a positive outcome certain or even likely. Yet America prevailed. Why?"No man is perfect," write the authors. "And neither is any nation. Yet, despite our weakness, we are still, as Abraham Lincoln said, the best nation ever given to man. Despite our faults, this nation is still the last, best hope of earth." In short, God still cares what happens here. This reassuring message is a bright light in a world that longs for such hope.
M. Eugene Boring and Fred B. Craddock present this new one-volume commentary on the New Testament. Writing from the fundamental conviction that the New Testament is the people's book, Boring and Craddock examine the theological themes and messages of Scripture that speak to the life of discipleship. Their work clarifies matters of history, culture, geography, literature, and translation, enabling people to listen more carefully to the text. This unique commentary is the perfect resource for clergy and church school teachers who seek a reference tool midway between a study Bible and a multivolume commentary on the Bible.
In the 1950s, Confidential magazine, America's first celebrity scandal magazine, revealed Hollywood stars' secrets, misdeeds, and transgressions in gritty, unvarnished detail. Deploying a vast network of tipsters to root out scandalous facts about the stars, including sexual affairs, drug use, and sexual orientation, publisher Robert Harrison destroyed celebrities' carefully constructed images and built a media empire. Confidential became the bestselling magazine on American newsstands in the 1950s, surpassing Time, Life, and the Saturday Evening Post. Eventually the stars fought back, filing multimillion-dollar libel suits against the magazine. The state of California, prodded by the film studios, prosecuted Harrison for obscenity and criminal libel, culminating in a famous, star-studded Los Angeles trial. This is Confidential's story, detailing how the magazine revolutionized celebrity culture and American society in the 1950s and beyond. With its bold red-yellow-and-blue covers, screaming headlines, and tawdry stories, Confidential exploded the candy-coated image of movie stars that Hollywood and the press had sold to the public. It transformed Americas from innocents to more sophisticated, worldly people, wise to the phony and constructed nature of celebrity. It shifted reporting on celebrities from an enterprise of concealment and make-believe to one that was more frank, bawdy, and true. Confidential's success marked the end of an era of hush-hush—of secrets, closets, and sexual taboos—and the beginning of our age of tell-all exposure.
When all seems lost, where can you find hope? Katherine and Jay Wolf married right after college and sought adventure far from home in Los Angeles, CA. As they pursued their dreams--she as a model and he as a lawyer--they planted their lives in the city and their church community. Their son, James, came along unexpectedly in the fall of 2007, and just six months later, everything changed in a moment for this young family. On April 21, 2008, as James slept in the other room, Katherine collapsed, suffering a massive brain stem stroke without warning. Miraculously, Jay came home in time and called for help. Katherine was immediately rushed into brain surgery, though her chance of survival was slim. As the sun rose the next morning, the surgeon proclaimed that Katherine had survived the removal of part of her brain, though her future recovery was uncertain. Yet in that moment, there was a spark of hope. Through forty days on life support in the ICU and nearly two years in full-time brain rehab, that small spark of hope was fanned into flame. Hope Heals documents Katherine and Jay's journey as they struggled to regain Katherine's quality of life and as she relearned to talk, eat, and walk. As Katherine returned home with a severely disabled body but a completely renewed purpose, she and Jay committed to celebrating this gift of a second chance by embracing life fully, even though that life looked very different than they could have ever imagined. As you uncover Katherine and Jay's remarkable story, you'll be encouraged to: Find lasting hope in the midst of struggle Embrace the unexpected Welcome God's miracles into your everyday life In the midst of continuing hardships, both in body and mind, Katherine and Jay found what we all long to find: a hope that heals the most broken place--our souls. Let Hope Heals be your guide along the way. Praise for Hope Heals: "As I read this book, tears streamed from my eyes even as joy flooded my heart. Jay and Katherine are a raw yet refreshing testimony to the unshakable trustworthiness of God amidst the unimaginable trials of life. This book reminds all of us where hope can be found in a world where none of us know what the next day holds." --David Platt, author of the New York Times bestseller Radical and president of the International Mission Board "Hope Heals is a beautiful, true story that illustrates the love and protection God has for us even in the darkest times of our lives. Katherine and Jay's dedication to each other and the Lord through their most devastating season is inspiring. This book will help your heart believe that He sees, He knows, He cares, and He is still working miracles today!" --Lysa TerKeurst, New York Times bestselling author and president of Proverbs 31 Ministries
