If you care at all about the Christian church you must brace yourself for a roller coaster of emotions as you read A Sad Departure. The title contains a double entendre. On the one hand it alludes to the departure from the Church of Scotland of about forty ministers and many members. On the other hand it refers to the catalyst of these actions the departure of the Kirk from its moorings in the authority of Scripture by its decisions on 'the gay question'. It tells a dark story, almost novelesque in character. A church's Theological Commission reaches a unanimous conclusion on the teaching on marriage given in its ultimate authority, the Bible. But then its General Assembly acts in a way that ignores, demeans, and rejects that teaching. Thus behind these sad departures lies the prior and much sadder departure of the Kirk from its sacred constitution. This is a thoughtful, honest and solemnising book written out of a deep personal and pastoral concern for the cause of the gospel.

The adventure begins when Meg’s mother, Addie, vacationing in Florida, takes a spill. At the hospital, Addie bolts upright on her gurney and yells “I demand an autopsy!” before passing out cold. “One minute, she is unconscious, the next, she’s nuts,” observes Meg Federico in this hilarious and poignant memoir of taking care of eighty-year-old Addie and her relatively new (and equally old) husband, Walter, in their not-so-golden years. Addie’s accident is a portent of things to come over the next two years as Meg oversees her mother’s home care in the Departure Lounge, the nickname Meg gives Addie and Walter’s house in suburban New Jersey. It is a place of odd behaviors and clashing caregivers, where chaos and confusion reign supreme. Meg had expected that Addie and Walter would settle into a Rockwellian dotage of docile dependency. Instead the pair regress into terrible teens. Meg watches from the sidelines in disbelief as her mother and stepfather, forbidden by doctors to drink, conspire to order cases of scotch by phone; as Addie’s attendant accuses the evening staff of midnight voodoo; as the increasingly demented Walter’s sex drive becomes unbridled and mail-order sex aids are delivered to the front door. Meg jumps in to cope with the pandemonium–even as she struggles to manage her own family back in Nova Scotia. With a fresh voice and a keen eye for the absurd, Meg Federico writes a story that will resonate with the generation now caring for their parents. Welcome to the Departure Lounge is a moving and madcap chronicle of a family–their moments of joy, the memories they’d rather forget, and the just plain loopiness of their situation. “How’s life at the Departure Lounge?” Meg’s brother asks. Meg doesn’t know where to start. “Let’s just say the drinks are outrageous, and they never run out of nuts.”

Death is inevitable, and yet the vast majority of the developed world seems to want to ignore this fact and avoid the sad inevitability. However, death is an inevitability, and trying to avoid talking about it is a mistake. Estimated Time of Departure takes readers on a journey of one man and his family having these discussions and how powerfully loving and revealing they were. In this funny, moving, poignant memoir, William Donaldson tells the story of how he talked with his parents over an extended period about their end-of-life thoughts and philosophy. He shares the sad, funny, maddening, sweet, and rewarding sides of this journey and makes a compelling and impassioned plea to readers to not miss this opportunity. They were not without sadness and challenges, but by virtue of talking and exploring the topic, the family came closer together and the inevitable passing became, while still sad, a cathartic, deeply rewarding event. Estimated Time of Departure was written to give readers the courage to have these discussions and shows that hope, love, and reverence can be seen by having them.

From Roxane Gay to Leslie Jamison, thirty brilliant writers share their timeless stories about the everlasting magic—and occasional misery—of living in the Big Apple, in a new edition of the classic anthology. In the revised edition of this classic collection, thirty writers share their own stories of loving and leaving New York, capturing the mesmerizing allure the city has always had for writers, poets, and wandering spirits. Their essays often begin as love stories do, with the passion of something newly discovered: the crush of subway crowds, the streets filled with manic energy, and the sudden, unblinking certainty that this is the only place on Earth where one can become exactly who she is meant to be. They also share the grief that comes like a gut-punch, when the grand metropolis loses its magic and the pressures of New York's frenetic life wear thin for even the most dedicated dwellers. As friends move away, rents soar, and love—still—remains just out of reach, each writer's goodbye is singular and universal, just like New York itself.

Perhaps no one else has ever faced as much hardship, opposition, or relentless suffering as the apostle Paul. And yet, through it all, Paul stood firm in Christ and remained faithful—to the very end. The power of Paul's example has captivated veteran pastor John MacArthur for years, and here he outlines nine unwavering convictions that contributed to this remarkable perseverance. In an age when pastoral failure and burnout are increasingly common, this book is a call to endurance in ministry, encouraging pastors to stand strong in their role and not lose heart, regardless of what God sends their way.

Friends Kit and Liza have been looking forward to this trip forever. Five girls, five tickets overseas. It's exactly what they all need after the final slog of high school. But when Kit is suddenly forced to drop out, Liza's left with three girls she barely knows. There's Mai, committed only to partying. There's Tam, who already has her doubts about leaving her sick father behind. And there's Olivia, so miserable about screwing up exams she's not even sure she wants to get out of bed, let alone on a plane. All Liza wants from this trip is to discover a new version of herself. She just hadn't planned on doing it without Kit by her side. And they're all learning that travel isn't just about the places you go, but about who you're with at the time.

A championship basketball coach caught between his team, his family and the rabid partisans in his town. A traveling salesman consigned to a late-night bus ride. A prison inmate stripped of everything but his pride. A teenage runaway. Mismatched lovers. In his debut collection of short fiction, award-winning novelist Craig Lancaster returns to the terrain of his Montana home and takes on the notion of separation in its many forms - from comfort zones, from ideas, from people, from security, from fears. These ten stories delve into small towns and big cities, into love and despair, into what drives us and what scares us, peeling back the layers of our humanity with every pag

Enjoy this bad boy book by Best-selling billionaire romance author Michelle Love.... Gia finally takes charge of her life and things start to look up for her. Ryker finds himself worrying if she'll ever come to him so they can start the relationship he hopes to have with her. When he finds she's gotten herself back, he's overjoyed. A test of the rocket boosters has Gia realizing Ryker will leave her one day in the not so distant future and she fears losing him. Thinking it might be better to stop what they've started before they both get hurt badly. But Ryker comes up with an idea that might have Gia thinking about joining him on Mars.

“What is at stake is authenticity. . . . Sooner or later Christians tire of public meetings that are profoundly inauthentic, regardless of how well (or poorly) arranged, directed, performed. We long to meet, corporately, with the living and majestic God and to offer him the praise that is his due.”—D. A. CarsonWorship is a hot topic, but the ways that Christians from different traditions view it vary greatly. What is worship? More important, what does it look like in action, both in our corporate gatherings and in our daily lives? These concerns—the blending of principle and practice—are what Worship by the Book addresses.Cutting through cultural clichés, D. A. Carson, Mark Ashton, Kent Hughes, and Timothy Keller explore, respectively:· Worship Under the Word· Following in Cranmer’s Footsteps· Free Church Worship: The Challenge of Freedom· Reformed Worship in the Global City “This is not a comprehensive theology of worship,” writes Carson. “Still less is it a sociological analysis of current trends or a minister’s manual chockfull of ‘how to’ instructions.” Rather, this book offers pastors, other congregational leaders, and seminary students a thought-provoking biblical theology of worship, followed by a look at how three very different traditions of churchmanship might move from this theological base to a better understanding of corporate worship. Running the gamut from biblical theology to historical assessment all the way to sample service sheets, Worship by the Book shows how local churches in diverse traditions can foster corporate worship that is God-honoring, Word-revering, heartfelt, and historically and culturally informed.

In the tradition of Thirteen Reasons Why and All the Bright Places, The Last Time We Say Goodbye is a deeply affecting novel that will change the way you look at life and death. From New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Hand comes a stunning, heart-wrenching novel of love and loss, which ALA Booklist called "both shatteringly painful and bright with life and hope" in a starred review. Since her brother, Tyler, committed suicide, Lex has been trying to keep her grief locked away, and to forget about what happened that night. But as she starts putting her life, her family, and her friendships back together, Lex is haunted by a secret she hasn't told anyone—a text Tyler sent, that could have changed everything.