An unwanted dog. An emotional rescue. Two lives forever changed. Laurie's dreams had been shattered before she came to work at Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch—the ranch of rescued dreams—where broken horses and broken children encounter healing every day. In an attempt to soothe her aching soul, Laurie reached out to save a dog in need. And she soon began to realize that the dog was rescuing her. An inspiring true story told through the engaging voice of Kim Meeder, Blind Hope reveals poignant life lessons Laurie experienced from her ailing, yet courageous canine friend. Despite the blindness of her dog—and her own heart—Laurie uncovered what she really needed most: authentic love, unconditional trust, and true acceptance, faults and all. As Laurie and her dog, Mia, both learned to follow the lead of a master they couldn’t see, Laurie discovered the transforming power of God’s grace even for imperfect and selfish people—and she experienced a greater love than she had ever known. “Love is a bridge that stands firm through difficulties and connects one heart directly to another, not because of how it looks, but because of what it is.” —Kim Meeder, Blind Hope

One day a teenage boy gets on his bike and rides forty miles up California’s Pacific Coast Highway to avoid causing an earthquake he fears will endanger his mother and sister. But the quake he is experiencing is not coming from beneath the earth; it’s the onset of bipolar illness. Blinded by Hope describes what it’s like to have an unusually bright, creative child—and then to have that child suddenly be hit with an illness that defies description and cure. Over the years, McGuire attributes her son’s lost jobs, broken relationships, legal troubles, and periodic hospitalizations to the manic phase of his illness, denying the severity of his growing drug use—but ultimately, she has to face her own addiction to rescuing him, and to forge a path for herself toward acceptance, resilience, and love. A wakeup call about the epidemic of mental illness, substance abuse, and mass incarceration in our society, Blinded by Hope shines a light on the shadow of family dynamics that shame, ignorance, and stigma rarely let the public see, and asks the question: How does a mother cope when love is not enough?

The inspiring, unflinching true story of “blind” faith, as Major Scotty Smiley awakes in a hospital bed and realizes his world is permanently dark he must stretch his faith like never before. Courageous, heartfelt, and honest, Hope Unseen challenges readers to question their doubts, not their beliefs, and depend upon God no matter what. A nervous glance from a man in a parked car. Muted instincts from a soldier on patrol. Violent destruction followed by total darkness. Two weeks later, Scotty Smiley woke up in Walter Reed Army Medical Center, helpless . . . and blind. Blindness became Scotty’s journey of supreme testing. As he lay helpless in the hospital, Captain Smiley resented the theft of his dreams—becoming a CEO, a Delta Force operator, or a four-star general. With his wife Tiffany’s love and the support of his family and friends, Scotty was transformed—the injury only intensifying his indomitable spirit. Since the moment he jumped out of a hospital bed and forced his way through nurses and cords to take a simple shower, Captain Scotty Smiley has climbed Mount Rainier, won an ESPY as Best Outdoor Athlete, surfed, skydived, become a father, earned an MBA from Duke, taught leadership at West Point, commanded an army company, and won the MacArthur Leadership Award. Scotty and Tiffany Smiley have lived out a faith so real that it will inspire you to question your own doubts, push you to serve something bigger than yourself, and encourage you to cling to a Hope Unseen.

At the height of his show career, a beautiful Appaloosa became injured, and he moved from one owner to the next, ultimately experiencing severe abuse and neglect. A rescue group found Joey nearly dead from starvation--and blind. Then he came to Hope Reins, a ranch dedicated to helping kids who had been abused, emotionally wounded, or unwanted by teaching these children to care for rescued animals.mals.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Barack Obama’s lucid vision of America’s place in the world and call for a new kind of politics that builds upon our shared understandings as Americans, based on his years in the Senate “In our lowdown, dispiriting era, Obama’s talent for proposing humane, sensible solutions with uplifting, elegant prose does fill one with hope.”—Michael Kazin, The Washington Post In July 2004, four years before his presidency, Barack Obama electrified the Democratic National Convention with an address that spoke to Americans across the political spectrum. One phrase in particular anchored itself in listeners’ minds, a reminder that for all the discord and struggle to be found in our history as a nation, we have always been guided by a dogged optimism in the future, or what Obama called “the audacity of hope.” The Audacity of Hope is Barack Obama’s call for a different brand of politics—a politics for those weary of bitter partisanship and alienated by the “endless clash of armies” we see in congress and on the campaign trail; a politics rooted in the faith, inclusiveness, and nobility of spirit at the heart of “our improbable experiment in democracy.” He explores those forces—from the fear of losing to the perpetual need to raise money to the power of the media—that can stifle even the best-intentioned politician. He also writes, with surprising intimacy and self-deprecating humor, about settling in as a senator, seeking to balance the demands of public service and family life, and his own deepening religious commitment. At the heart of this book is Barack Obama’s vision of how we can move beyond our divisions to tackle concrete problems. He examines the growing economic insecurity of American families, the racial and religious tensions within the body politic, and the transnational threats—from terrorism to pandemic—that gather beyond our shores. And he grapples with the role that faith plays in a democracy—where it is vital and where it must never intrude. Underlying his stories is a vigorous search for connection: the foundation for a radically hopeful political consensus. Only by returning to the principles that gave birth to our Constitution, Obama says, can Americans repair a political process that is broken, and restore to working order a government that has fallen dangerously out of touch with millions of ordinary Americans. Those Americans are out there, he writes—“waiting for Republicans and Democrats to catch up with them.”

Hope is hard to come by in the hard-luck town of Willow Creek. Sam Pickett and five young men are about to change that. Sam Pickett never expected to settle in this dried-up shell of a town on the western edge of the world. He's come here to hide from the violence and madness that have shattered his life, but what he finds is what he least expects. There's a spirit that endures in Willow Creek, Montana. It seems that every inhabitant of this forgotten outpost has a story, a reason for taking a detour to this place--or a reason for staying. As the coach of the hapless high school basketball team (zero wins, ninety-three losses), Sam can't help but be moved by the bravery he witnesses in the everyday lives of people--including his own young players--bearing their sorrows and broken dreams. How do they carry on, believing in a future that seems to be based on the flimsiest of promises? Drawing on the strength of the boys on the team, sharing the hope they display despite insurmountable odds, Sam finally begins to see a future worth living. Author Stanley Gordon West has filled the town of Willow Creek with characters so vividly cast that they become real as relatives, and their stories--so full of humor and passion, loss and determination--illuminate a path into the human heart.

Stories of blind people who use creativity and determination to live the life of their dreams. Also includes lists of resources for advocacy, rehabilitation, recreation, and support systems for the blind.

This book focuses on hope as a religious phenomenon, as the inspiration for various kinds of millenarianism, their cults of possession and utopian experiments. Drawing in particular on anthropology and the sociology of religion, the author presents a survey of millenarianism in many cultures, including Judaism, Islam and the early Christians. He also considers more recent millenarianisms such as the Fifth Monarchy Men, the Mormons, the Doukhobors and 'Black Messiah' movements in the Third World. He goes on to indicate the relationships between revolutionary ideologies and religious messianism, and points to the contrast between older movements, which were predominantly religious, and more recent forms of millenarianism, which tend to be social in character. He stresses, however, that both have or had a common aim -- the achievement of a perfect society.

Matthew Hope takes on the case of a wealthy Calusa farmer, accused of the murder and mutilation of three Vietnamese immigrants who had been acquitted in court of the brutal rape of the farmer's wife

It is written in Proverbs, "A beautiful woman who has no sense is like a gold ring in a pig's nose." This may be true but perhaps the greater tragedy is when those closest to her are also blinded by her beauty. This story, "Blinded by Beauty" is a tale of deception and heartache for Joseph, in which the ultimate place of sanctity - marriage - also becomes the very source of pain and sorrow. The former Marine becomes a cop, a father, a husband, a step-father, and ultimately a convicted felon because of the poor choices he makes in trusting the woman closest to him.The aftermath of the break-up of his first marriage and undiagnosed severe depression, PTSD, anxiety disorder, and OCD, leaves Joseph numb and desperate for a family. In this void he meets the beautiful Jezebel who seems to be the exact woman he has been looking for with a ready-made family he can bring his own son into. Blinded by her beauty and a fool for love, Joseph marries Jezebel when she falls pregnant with his child. But even before the nuptials, cracks begin to appear in their relationship. Jezebel is needy, self-harms, pulls a knife on him, bites him, and breaks his ankle. It is also clear she has numerous addictions such as caffeine, alcohol, pills and even a constant need for sex.When they finally marry, Joseph finds himself pulled into a web of lies and deceit that involve convicting her former partner on false charges of molesting her daughter. When it is revealed this partner is actually the son of her former husband, Joseph is horrified and starts to look for ways out of the marriage while still seeking to provide a home for their newborn daughter Paige and his stepchildren. Even though he is working as a police officer and saw how she had her former partner convicted, Joseph still has little idea just how far Jezebel can or will go to cause him harm. Violent and unhinged, it's like she has a split personality, not allowing him to sleep after night shifts and resenting his own son so much his first wife takes out a court order to get permission to move to another state.As the depth of Jezebel's depravity and adultery becomes apparent, Joseph seeks comfort in another relationship sending Jezebel over the edge. But when she attacks him and he calls the police, they arrest him for assault. With his back up against a wall, Joseph finally serves Jezebel with divorce papers and she responds by reporting him to child welfare officers to have Paige taken away from him. Jezebel is in rehab at the time promising to change, but forms sexual relationships with men in the facility, and even the detective investigating the assault case. As the dream of having a loving family cracks, how will Joseph save himself and his daughter?