Each of the 124 prayers in this book offers a powerful source of strength and consolation, a brief quotation from the Bible or another source, several lines of reflection, and a closing petition. While praying, we remind ourselves that God stands with us in our caregiving, and He assures us that our prayers are heard and answered.

As You Give Care, God is Caring for You Caring for someone with health needs can be emotionally, physically, and spiritually draining. Sarah Forgrave has spent considerable time, both as someone struggling with serious medical issues and as the family member of a chronically ill patient, and she understands the many challenges you face in your caregiving role. Sarah wants to share what she discovered with you—peace through prayer, solace in Scripture, and unending hope from a Heavenly Father who never stops loving you. Each heartfelt prayer and devotion is intended to help you navigate the complex set of emotions that come with caregiving. Read it front to back or go directly to the devotion addressing how you feel at any given moment...when you need it most. Take comfort in the truth that God knows your every need as a caregiver and is always there for you amid your toughest trials.

Caring for the congregation is more than any one person can do, even the pastor. All persons eventually experience grief and loss, crisis and suffering; and many come to church for the first time as a result of needing help. Using this four-session study, modeled after The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, churches can form an effective team by addressing four key areas of congregational care: prayer ministry, support ministry, hospital visitation, and grief and death ministry. Karen Lampe says congregational care should be modeled after the ministry of Jesus, who offered compassion, understanding, healing, and wholeness as a way of offering God’s redemptive gift of grace. Congregational care is one reason, according to pastors Adam Hamilton and Karen Lampe, that their church is successful in attracting and keeping new members. In each richly illustrated session, readers will find inspiration, Bible-connection, skill building, practical tips, and resources, including: information about anointing, helpful scriptures, application forms, suggested requirements and application for team member, a volunteer leader covenant, safety and self-care contract, and a counseling guide.

We all deal with stress in our lives and we all struggle with how to let go of that stress. The prayers in this book will help you surrender your stress—and yourself—into the arms of God. Each meditation begins with a Scripture verse, followed by a short reflection and prayer. Guntzelman’s reflections will resonate with you in those times when you may be feeling burdened, alone, unappreciated, or unloved. She then wisely leads you to recognize the often hidden causes of your tension and exhaustion. And, with each meditation and heartfelt prayer, she will bring you to the tranquil, refreshing waters of Christ. Short reflections are perfect for busy people. Makes a thoughtful gift.

This book offers a theological foundation for engaging with the realities of suffering and dying. Designed particularly for practical theology students and trainee caregivers, it introduces the spiritual and theological issues raised by suffering and dying. The chapters consider: how Christian theology deals with the problem of suffering and how the Bible treats these difficult issues post-biblical interpretations of Jesus’ suffering and the Cross modern instances including ecology, poverty, discrimination and war comparative religious approaches and the depiction in popular culture. Natalie Weaver relates theology to practical issues of caregiving and provides a ‘toolbox’ for thinking about suffering and death in a creative and supportive way.

When we are going through tough times, we need to turn to the light of God’s love, but we often find it difficult to do so. This book will help readers move toward God and away from hopelessness and despair. Guntzelman offers us new ways of looking at our situation as well as reminders to trust in the Lord and his plan for our lives. Each of the one hundred reflections in this book begins with a Scripture verse, followed by a short reflection and prayer. As we open our hearts and minds to God in this way, he will comfort and sustain us through the hard times in our lives. --Short reflections are perfect for busy people or for those who find it difficult to pray for long periods of time. --Makes a thoughtful gift.

Walking a companion home is an old-fashioned custom, often lost in our modern era. But there was a time when walking someone home was a way of offering protection and guidance. Joyce Hutchison and Joyce Rupp capture the spirit of that personal companionship for those who accompany the dying on their final journey. Whether family members, friends, chaplains, or health care workers, caregivers will find here much inspiration and support for their ministry.

Christian Prayers for Friends by Marvin R. McKim is a Guidebook that examples a Prayer before our Heavenly Father with verbal communication expressed in an individuals own words. To kneel before our God with humility and a submissive heart talking like you would talk to a friend. Our Heavenly Father is not impressed with stiff formal prayers. He wants you to talk openly to Him from your heart. The key is to believe in your heart what you say with your mouth. These Christian Prayers have been shared with thousands around the world on a Social Internet Christian Site. The author now shares these prayers with others in this Guidebook; seeking to encourage Christians to kneel before our Heavenly Father in Prayer and Praise with open and transparent hearts. May a newfound encouragement for conversational prayer openness be exampled to all Christians who read this Guidebook, Christian Prayers for Friends. This Guidebook will bless all who read it. May our Lord Jesus Christ receive all Glory in all endeavors.

The perfect gift for seekers, the curious, and the spiritually hungry, The Little Book of Prayers now has a stunning new cover and a more prayer book–like format. Gathered from holy books and prayer books, from songs and spirituals, spoken traditions and poets, it is an unexpectedly approachable collection of common and uncommon prayers from around the world. The entries, one per page or spread, are chosen for their depth of feeling, beauty of expression, spiritual intensity, and sense of the universal. The book is organized into broad categories of praise, entreaty, contemplation, mourning, and grace; and two indexes—one by authorship, and the other by topic—make it immediately accessible. There are familiar prayers, like the Lord’s Prayer and 23rd Psalm, which, placed in new context, shine with a renewed beauty and wisdom. You’ll find prayers unfamiliar to many in the West, such as the “Opener” from the Koran or the four vows of the Boddhisattva, chanted every evening in Zen monasteries around the world. And the surprising—from the “Prayer of the Unknown Confederate Soldier” to the blues of Lightnin’ Hopkins to the poetry of Rumi. God help us to live slowly: To move simply: To look softly: To allow emptiness: To let the heart create for us. Amen. —Michael Leunig You, whose day it is, make it beautiful. Get out your rainbow colors, so it will be beautiful. —Nootka Song