Christian life and practice Books

Book SynopsisSet in turn-of-the-century Florida, this frontier saga traces the life of Ivy Cromartie Stranahan, the first English-speaking teacher in the region, as she struggles to teach school in the Seminole Nation and lead Indian families to Christ. Ivy is disliked by tribal leaders in spite of her obvious love for their children, yet she eventually overcomes their resistance and serves as their spokesman in negotiations with the U S government. Already scarred by her mother''s tragic death in childbirth, Ivy overcomes her husband''s suicide and other devastating disappointments to share her faith with her adopted people and eventually earn their love.

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Book SynopsisDON''T WASTE YOUR PAIN. None of us escapes the heartache and disappointments of life. To live is to hurt, and we all have the wounds to prove it. Regardless of how we''ve been hurt, we all face a common question: What should we do with our pain? Should we stoically ignore it? Should we just "get over it?" Should we let it "make us stronger?" Should we optimistically hope that everything will work out in the end? If we fail to respond appropriately to the wounds that life and relationships inflict, our pain will be wasted; it will numb us or destroy us. But suffering doesn''t have to mangle our hearts and rob us of the joy of life. It can, instead, lead us to life-if we know the path to healing. Healing is not the resolution of our past; it is the use of our past to draw us into deeper relationship with God and his purposes for our lives. We don''t have to be held captive by the hurts of our past. We can move from feelings of powerlessness, betrayal, and ambivalence into faith, hope and love. The Healing Path takes us beyond self-discovery to God-discovery, giving us the tools to excavate the riches that lay beneath the surface of our pain. If you''re ready to use the experiences of the past and present to shape a future characterized by love, service, and joy, now is the time to step out onto The Healing Path.

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Book SynopsisIn 1976 the Big Thompson River flood in Colorado took 150 lives, including those of seven women on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ International. Deeply grieved by the loss, survivor Ney Bailey embraced a journey of faith that led her to a life-changing truth: No matter how things look and no matter how we feel, God is in control.In Faith is Not a Feeling, Ney reveals how life’s tragedies and challenges lead each of us to an important decision about how we will relate to God. Building on a foundation of experiences all believers can relate to, this well-loved speaker and teacher shows how you can take advantage of the endless opportunities life provided to deepen your trust in the Lord. Faith is Not a Feeling has taught hundreds of thousands of people how to choose to believe God’s promises over their own personal feelings. Now you, too, can discover the secrets that will allow you to face painful experiences with a measure of objectivity, use your feelings to take you to God, and experience true peace in the midst of failure and trials. Best of all, you will learn how to obediently and confidently take God at His word as you never have before.

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Book SynopsisDo You Need Greater Self-Esteem?Or Something Else Entirely?Western culture increasingly emphasizes the importance of self-love and self-esteem. Many of us believe we must ?find? ourselves?and feel good about what we see?before we can experience significant spiritual growth. Focusing so much on ourselves, however, distracts us from pursuing the only source of true fulfillment. Do we, as God?s people, really need to love ourselves more? Or is there a wiser, biblical path that can lead us to joy that is not self-centered and fleeting, but God-focused and lasting? Challenging the current fascination with self esteem, Leslie Vernick answers these questions and others that trip up Christians today. Offering surprising insights and practical helps that can make a real difference in your life, she shows how you can experience greater personal, relational, and spiritual growth while humbly adoring and glorifying your God.

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Book SynopsisOffers comforting insight, practical help, and biblical support for Christian women who are married to nonbelievers.

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Book SynopsisShows readers how to stop hiding, how to start being real, and how to take the life-giving risks involved in the authentic relationships God created for them. Original.

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Book SynopsisDid photography replace an absence in her life or expose the truth of her heart’s emptiness? While growing in confidence as a photographer, eighteen-year-old Jessie Ann Gaebele’s personal life is at a crossroads. Hoping she’s put an unfortunate romantic longing behind her as “water under the bridge,” she exiles herself to Milwaukee to operate photographic studios for those owners who have fallen ill with mercury poisoning.   Jessie gains footing in her dream to one day operate her own studio and soon finds herself in other Midwest towns, pursuing her profession. But even a job she loves can’t keep painful memories from seeping into her heart when the shadows of a forbidden love threaten to darken the portrait of her life.

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Book SynopsisIn response to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, James Martin dropped everything to minister to those in need at Ground Zero. In this extraordinary journal, Jim recounts the days working with the firefighters, police officers, and rescue workers laboring in the ruins. Expecting to find only discouragement and despair, Father Martin instead encounters charity, hope, and above all, grace. Searching for God at Ground Zero leads readers into a world not only traumatized by the attacks of September 11, 2001, but also galvanized by an overwhelming love and solidarity. Father Martin introduces us to individuals of enormous courage and generosity - the firefighter working in the shadow of the grave of his "buddies," the police officer struggling to make sense of suffering, the sanitation worker asking questions about God and faith. In the process he speaks candidly about his own joys, fears, and struggles as he both ministers in the name of God and searches for God's presence alongside his brother Jesuits. This book is a profound meditation on faith in the presence of death, charity in the face of suffering, and God in the midst of humanity.Trade ReviewThis isn't just one more book about the September 11 tragedy. Here are stories of one human being descending into the hell of Ground Zero to offer his help - but with this difference: Jim Martin is like God's bloodhound, sniffing out grace, redemption, and consolation wherever he can find it. Up against such impenetrable darkness we long for a glimmer of light - and Jim's tiny lantern of faith gives us glints of that light. -- Sister Helen Prejean, C.S.JA vivid and inspiring account of how God's loving presence could be experienced amid the smoldering ruins of the Twin Towers. Father Martin's unusual combination of gifts as priest and journalist enables him to convey, in simple lapidary prose, both the grief of those who suffered and the selfless devotion of the rescue workers. -- Cardinal Avery Dulles S.J., Lawrence J. McGinley Professor of Religion and Society, Fordham University

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Book SynopsisThere are libraries of books on theodicy—the branch of philosophy and theology that wrestles with how God can allow a world to exist within which there is suffering and pain. The problem with these libraries is that they contain books that are generally written by professionals for their peers. Where the Hell Is God? combines the best of the professional’s insights with the author’s own experience and insights to speculate on how believers can make sense of their Christian faith when experiencing tragedy and suffering. Starting with a very personal story of the author's sister being left a quadriplegic from a car accident twenty years ago, Where the Hell Is God? gently leads the reader through some “take-home” messages that are sane, sound, and practical. Among these messages are: God does not directly send pain, suffering, and disease. God does not punish us; God does not send accidents to teach us things, though we can learn from them; and God does not will earthquakes, floods, droughts, or other natural disasters. This concise, accessible, and experience-based book will help people who are suffering as well as those who minister to them and their families. †

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