Step back in time and join Hans Luther as he invites you to listen to conversations about Christianity in terms that are easily understood. Experience the scene around the kitchen table in the home of Martin Luther through the eyes of his young son. Every noon along with the meal there are generous portions of grace, mercy, and peace, of love and faith. Eager to learn more about the Christian faith, Hans later probes the minds of students who share the table and who have joined in the table talk. He explores the fundamental questions of Christian belief and then applies what he has learned to his own life experiences, including times of crisis. This is a book about God, life, and lessons learned that apply as well today as they did then.

An in-depth study of lesbian, bi, and queer women's experiences of thinking about and trying to become a parent, Beyond Expectation draws on eighty-two narrative interviews conducted during the late 1990s in British Columbia. Jacquelyne Luce chronicles these women's experiences, which took place from 1980 to 2000, during a period that saw significant changes to the governance of assisted reproduction and the status of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender parents and same-sex partners. Beyond Expectation looks closely at the changing contexts in which women's experiences occurred and draws attention to complex issues such as 'contracting' relationships, mediating understandings of biology and genetics, and decision-making amidst various social, legal, and medical developments. Luce skillfully juxtaposes the stories of her interviewees with the wider public discourses about lesbian/bi/queer parenting and reproductive technology and highlights gaps in existing legislative reforms. Most importantly, Beyond Expectation foregrounds the lived experiences of lesbian, bi, and queer women as they negotiate kinship at the intersection of reproduction, technology, and politics.

In Beyond Expectations, Onoso Imoagene delves into the multifaceted identities of second-generation Nigerian adults in the United States and Britain. She argues that they conceive of an alternative notion of "black" identity that differs radically from African American and Black Caribbean notions of "black" in the United States and Britain. Instead of considering themselves in terms of their country of destination alone, second-generation Nigerians define themselves in complicated ways that balance racial status, a diasporic Nigerian ethnicity, a pan-African identity, and identification with fellow immigrants. Based on over 150 interviews, Beyond Expectations seeks to understand how race, ethnicity, and class shape identity and how globalization, transnationalism, and national context inform sense of self.

So this is Heaven! These true stories are your unique, personal opportunities to enjoy a taste of Heaven from here on earth. Heaven Is Beyond Your Wildest Expectations shares the testimonies of ten ordinary people who have been to Heaven—having died and returned, or in a vision or dream. These real-life, modern-day stories inspire faith that, no matter what happens here on earth, all troubles are momentary, light afflictions compared to the glory that awaits you in Heaven. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison (2 Corinthians 4:17). When you see God’s love permeating all of Heaven and realize that He reaches down to you right where you are, your heart will come to rest in Him—knowing He is watching over you and that His angels will minister to you in every moment of need. When you know that Heaven’s splendor and glory is your eternal destiny, you can endure whatever you must while patiently waiting for the day when you will enter Heaven and your eternal joy in the presence of the Lord.

What if you could revolutionize your life from top to bottom by altering your mindset in just one way? Art costello has the answer and it's quite simple: mastering your expectations. Through improved understanding of expectations and their bearing on every facte of life, you can expect: -increased creativity and productivity -boosted confidence -improved human interaction -the ability to steer the course of your future! Costello speaks conversationally and candidly about his own experiences and how they inspired him to pioneer the original concepts in this book. He explains that expectations are not just a word, but a framework for living. When you operate through faith and not fear, you create higher expectations and create self-fulfilling prophesies for the life you have always wanted. It's simple but life changing!

Why do most leaders or managers elicit merely competent performance from their followers, while a select few inspire extraordinary achievement? Leadership expert Bernard Bass takes this question beyond the usual speculation, presenting original research that for the first time documents the traits of the exceptional leader.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church gives Catholics everything they need to have a greater understanding of the faith. But reading the Catechism cover to cover can be difficult and intimidating. A Year with the Catechism: 365 Day Reading Plan brings the treasures of the Catechism to aspiring readers in manageable, bite-sized pieces. Each day, a brief reflection breaks open the selected text, explains unfamiliar terms, and unlocks the spiritual and pastoral meaning. This collaborative commentary, written by internationally respected experts, makes the Catechism accessible to those seeking to deepen their own faith as well as to those teaching the faith to others. Whether used alone or in a group setting, A Year with the Catechism provides a manageable and enjoyable experience. This practical handbook can be read alongside any version of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Readers will discover the treasures of the Catholic faith and learn to appreciate the wealth of information and inspiration the Catechism has to offer.

Modernity in the late eighteenth century transformed all domains of European life -intellectual, industrial, and social. Not least affected was the experience of time itself: ever-accelerating change left people with briefer intervals of time in which to gather new experiences and adapt. In this provocative and erudite book Reinhart Koselleck, a distinguished philosopher of history, explores the concept of historical time by posing the question: what kind of experience is opened up by the emergence of modernity? Relying on an extraordinary array of witnesses and texts from politicians, philosophers, theologians, and poets to Renaissance paintings and the dreams of German citizens during the Third Reich, Koselleck shows that, with the advent of modernity, the past and the future became 'relocated' in relation to each other.The promises of modernity -freedom, progress, infinite human improvement -produced a world accelerating toward an unknown and unknowable future within which awaited the possibility of achieving utopian fulfillment. History, Koselleck asserts, emerged in this crucial moment as a new temporality providing distinctly new ways of assimilating experience. In the present context of globalization and its resulting crises, the modern world once again faces a crisis in aligning the experience of past and present. To realize that each present was once an imagined future may help us once again place ourselves within a temporality organized by human thought and humane ends as much as by the contingencies of uncontrolled events.