Bestselling author and Christian counselor H. Norman Wright (2.7 million books sold) combines biblical principles with his enthusiasm for dogs in this warmhearted and inspiring devotional. In stories of loyalty and perseverance, Norm draws parallels between the dog world and the human world to reveal God's love in action: A dog's tendency to gnaw on bones reflects how people handle worry. Instead, people can give God their fears and experience His peace. A cowering dog becomes joyous when forgiven. When people confess their sins, they receive God's forgiveness and joy returns. A dog who rescues a boy in a tsunami shows how the Holy Spirit convicts people of sin so they'll turn to Christ and be saved. From daily antics to extraordinary deeds, these dogs personify the ups and downs of life and highlight the joys and benefits of following God.
From Jennifer Mathieu, the author of The Truth About Alice comes a novel about the courage to believe and what it means to be truly devoted. Rachel Walker is devoted to God. She prays every day, attends Calvary Christian Church with her family, helps care for her five younger siblings, dresses modestly, and prepares herself to be a wife and mother who serves the Lord with joy. But Rachel is curious about the world her family has turned away from, and increasingly finds that neither the church nor her homeschool education has the answers she craves. Rachel has always found solace in her beliefs, but now she can't shake the feeling that her devotion might destroy her soul.
A Treatise on the True Devotion on the Blessed Virgin or True Devotion to Mary is considered the greatest book on the Blessed Virgin Mary ever written and has been recommended and practiced by eight Popes. This is the original "scrupulously faithful" translation by Father Frederick William Faber. The great Marian Pope, Blessed Pope John Paul II practiced this Devotion to Mary, in his Letter to the Monfort Fathers he says: "A work destined to become a classic of Marian spirituality was published 160 years ago. St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort wrote the Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin at the beginning of the 1700s, but the manuscript remained practically unknown for more than a century. When, almost by chance, it was at last discovered in 1842 and published in 1843, the work was an instant success, proving extraordinarily effective in spreading the "true devotion" to the Most Holy Virgin. "When we praise her, love her, honor her or give anything to her, it is God who is praised, God who is loved, God who is glorified, and it is to God that we give, through Mary and in Mary (Treatise on True Devotion, n. 225)." Included is a supplementary 33-Day Preparation for Total Consecration. Paintings are by Bartolome Esteban Murillo.
The self-help genre is replete with books telling people how to be happier and more fulfilled. And books with a spiritual or mindfulness perspective suggest that being present is the solution. But no book provides the precise and constructive guidance needed to discover that happiness is truly possible in any moment. Until now. Using clear language and useful examples, "The End of Self-Help: Discovering Peace and Happiness Right at the Heart of Your Messy, Scary, Brilliant Life" describes how personal suffering is a case of mistaken identity. The book starts with common, entrenched psychological experiences such as unresolved problems from the past, worries about the future, feelings of inadequacy, compulsive behaviors, and confusing emotions. In skillful detail, it illuminates the shift of attention required for true happiness. Explorations in each chapter bring the material alive in the reader's own experience, essential to challenge decades of conditioning.The book walks alongside readers as they become experts in how their thoughts and feelings bring about suffering and realize the simple fact of peaceful, aware presence that is always here and available. It describes that this infinite, spacious presence is the truth of who we are, that we're not limited to our thoughts and feelings. The book illustrates how to live this insight in the moments of everyday life.
Bestselling author and Christian counselor H. Norman Wright (2.7 million books sold) combines biblical principles with his enthusiasm for dogs in this warmhearted and inspiring devotional. In stories of loyalty and perseverance, Norm draws parallels between the dog world and the human world to reveal God's love in action: A dog's tendency to gnaw on bones reflects how people handle worry. Instead, people can give God their fears and experience His peace. A cowering dog becomes joyous when forgiven. When people confess their sins, they receive God's forgiveness and joy returns. A dog who rescues a boy in a tsunami shows how the Holy Spirit convicts people of sin so they'll turn to Christ and be saved. From daily antics to extraordinary deeds, these dogs personify the ups and downs of life and highlight the joys and benefits of following God.
If you struggle with self‐defeating thoughts and feelings of inadequacy, you are not alone. We’ve all felt inadequate, believing that we’re broken or otherwise unworthy. But this doesn’t have to be a life sentence. Presenting four guiding principles and five core practices based in deep spiritual wisdom, Suffering Is Optional reveals how to liberate yourself from the prison of false self‐beliefs holding you back. Millions of people feel that they are not good enough. They may struggle every day, seeing themselves as deficient, pathetic, or damaged, and destined to fail. They convince themselves they aren’t worthy of love or respect, and view themselves with self-hatred. When you believe and cling to painful, self-defeating thoughts like “I can’t do it,” “It won’t work,” or “I’m a loser,” they become your personal reality—and the more you repeat them, the more you believe them, until they come to define you. Sadly, these limiting self-definitions lead to even more pain and suffering: hidden shame, problems in relationships, opportunities lost, and a life not fully lived. In Suffering Is Optional, clinical psychologist Gail Brenner offers practical ways to discover that you are not what your thoughts tell you you are. Rather than showing you how to become a better version of yourself, this book goes straight to the heart of the problem—that you’ve mistakenly identified yourself as broken and undeserving—to guide you out of these limiting thoughts and into an investigation of the nature of reality that ultimately liberates you from your suffering. With these exercises, experiments, reflections, practices, and inspiring stories, you’ll have a spiritual solution to your personal problem of limitation and self-sabotage. Using the four guiding principles and five core practices presented in this book—including turning toward direct experience, grounding in aware presence, losing interest in thoughts, welcoming feelings, and the sacred return to presence—you’ll be able to shed your false identity and wake up to the inherent peace and happiness that is available to you in any given moment.
A spellbinding confession of what it means to abandon one life for another, The Devoted asks what it takes, and what you’ll sacrifice, to find enlightenment. Nicole Hennessy’s life revolves around her Zen practice at the Boston Zendo, seeking solace in the tenets of Buddhism to the chagrin of her Irish Catholic family. After a decade of grueling spiritual practice under her Master’s tutelage, living on a shoestring budget as a shop clerk, Nicole has become dangerously entangled with her mentor. As Nicole confronts her past—a drug-fueled year spent fleeing her family’s loaded silences and guilt-laden "Our Fathers"—and reinvents herself in New York City, her Master’s intoxicating voice pursues her, an electrifying whisper on the other end of the phone. Somehow, he knows everything. In deft, soaring prose that bristles with psychological and erotic tension, Blair Hurley crafts a thrilling exploration of Nicole’s ecstatic quest for spirituality.
Life is good with a God who is great! What’s a girl to do in a changing world full of darkness, distractions, pressure, lies, and uncertainty? Is it really possible for a twenty-first-century young woman to live a life in direct contrast to culture’s ever-changing standards? The answer is yes! With a Lord like Jesus, guidance like the Holy Spirit’s, and that powerful weapon we call the Holy Bible, God’s truth is ours to live out. Come learn along with talented young author, Marjorie Jackson, in this devotional about letting our love and dedication to Jesus penetrate every area of life—our relationships, our decisions, our standards, our convictions, our priorities, our everything. Whether you’re a long-time Christian or you’ve still got your spiritual training wheels on, get ready to dive into God’s Word and discover what it truly means to be a young woman of God who is completely, joyfully, beautifully different. Special Features Include: Unique Hand-Lettered Art Pages for Coloring Key Scripture Verses Personal/Small Group Study Questions
This book is about how God's Word shapes and rules our devotion to him. What is the best way of talking about this? 'Spirituality' is what many people call it, but this is not the ideal word. It can mean a great many things, some of them very far removed from anything the Bible teaches. 'Piety' is another possibility, but this is sometimes used in a rather negative way. Preferable is 'Devotion'. When we speak of a couple being 'devoted' to each other, we mean that their relationship is strong, loyal, and loving - which is how we should relate to God. All three words are used in this book. In each case it is talking about how we relate to God, that is, how we express and exercise personal relationship with him. The aim is to examine what the Bible teaches about knowing God and living with him. Why 'True Devotion'? For two reasons: we must be truly devoted to God - our relationship with him must be real and deep; and we must be devoted to him truly - our devotion must be grounded in and governed by the truth, by the teaching of the Bible. This book draws on both the Scriptures and the writings of Christians of the past. Part 1 unpacks 'Gospel Spirituality' as responsive, paradoxical and relational; Part 2 critiques 'The Mystical Way', discussing experience of God and his voice, prayer, the inward journey and the testimony of mystics and reformers. Part 3 looks for 'The Way Ahead', focussing on meditation and concluding with a call to a Christ-centred, responsive spirituality. ALLAN CHAPPLE is senior lecturer in New Testament at Trinity Theological College, Perth WA. He has pastored churches in Western Australia and England, and was founding Director of the Perth Centre for Applied Christian Studies, then founding Principal of Trinity Theological College.
