"The injunction 'Get real' usually means 'Leave your world of fantasy and return to what really is.' True Realism always and everywhere is to find out where joy resides. In the past year this magical gift got lost or mislaid in my life. Mike Mason has located it, given it voice, and helped me to recover it. Even one sip of Champagne for the Soul is a heady, exhilarating experience." -Brennan Manning, author of A Glimpse of Jesus: The Stranger to Self-Hatred If you were given the chance to be happy for the rest of your life, wouldn't you jump at it? In Champagne for the Soul, bestselling author Mike Mason explains that the Bible does make this offer. Yet most of us hang back, reluctant and skeptical. Theologically most Christians will agree that the Bible teaches and offers a life of joy; yet deep down we're not convinced that such a life is practical-for us or any ordinary person. But, says Mason, such joy truly is ours to claim and embrace. What you now hold in your hands is a call to throw off all worries and complaints and to "come and share your master's happiness" (Matthew 25:21). Is it possible to live every day in joy? You will never know if you don't try. These pages, drawn from the author's own ninety-day experiment in actively pursuing joy, will lead you on a journey that will help you-no matter what your circumstances-to escape the trap of worry, fear, and dullness and grab hold of the joy of the Lord. Mike Mason is the best-selling author of several books, including The Mystery of Marriage, The Mystery of Children, The Gospel According to Job, and Practicing the Presence of People. He and his wife, Karen, an M.D. in general practice, live in Langely, British Columbia, Canada, with their teenage daughter, Heather.

Just as Mike Mason's best-selling The Mystery of Marriage explored the parallels between marriage and our relationship with God, so does The Mystery of Children illuminate key spiritual truths modeled in the complex parent-child relationship. More than a manual on parenting, this book is for everyone who wishes to become childlike in heart or to be closer to children-two desires that are intimately and wondrously entwined. Mike Mason is the author of The Mystery of Marriage, The Gospel According to Job, Champagne for the Soul, and Practicing the Presence of People. He and his wife, Karen, an M.D. in general practice, live in Langley, British Columbia, Canada, with their amazing daughter, Heather.

Wine is a wonderful, lavish, and mysterious gift from God. Gisela Kreglinger, the daughter of a vintner and trained as a theologian, invites us to discover wine as part of a more full-bodied Christian spirituality. Along with bread, wine is the gift we receive at the table of communion. Through these gifts we experience God's glorious and loving presence among us, feeding and nurturing us in body, soul, and spirit.

In the deepest part of our hearts and souls is the desire to love well. Yet in our struggle to do so, we learn that, as Mike Mason puts it, "We are not born with love; it is something we must learn." Now, in Practicing the Presence of People, he helps us launch that learning process. Mason points the way to fresh knowledge and fresh experience, showing how we can discover new things about those we love, understand them from the inside out, tenderly identify with their weaknesses, and celebrate that they too were lovingly made by the hand of God.

This glorious book not only brilliantly showcases one man's love affair with all the beauties that can flow from the bottle, it definitively makes the case for the wines that are the most superbly suited to be served with food.

Anyone who has suffered knows that there is no such thing as "getting a grip on oneself" or "pulling oneself up by the bootstraps. The only bootstrap in the Christian life is the Cross," says Mason. "Sometimes laying hold of the cross can be comforting, but other times it is like picking up a snake." Job knew this firsthand. From him we learn that there are no easy answers to suffering. That the mark of true faith is not happiness, but rather, having one's deepest passions be engaged by the enormity of God. And through Job we learn the secret of the gospel: that "mercy is the permission to be human." The Lord never gave Job an explanation for all he had been through. His only answer was Himself. But as Job discovered, that was enough. The Gospel According to Job sensitively brings the reader to this realization, using a devotional commentary format that reminds them that it's all right to doubt, to be confused, to wonder–in short, to be completely human. But what will heal us and help us endure is a direct, transforming encounter with the living God.

Champagne Without Bubbles is a 31-day devotional for those thirsty for God to bring spiritual vitality to their lives especially when life seems broken. The prayer is that as one reads through each day and applies its lessons to his/her life, one will experience the following: personal intimacy with God; spiritual wholeness, healing, and renewal; and a life that refreshes the spirit of others.

Jesus: His Story in Stone is a reflection on still-existing stone objects that Jesus would have known, seen, or even touched. Each of the seventy short chapters is accompanied by a photograph taken on location in Israel. Arranged chronologically, the one-page meditations compose a portrait of Christ as seen through the significant stones in His life, from the cave where He was born to the rock of Calvary. While packed with historical and archaeological detail, the book’s main thrust is devotional, leading the reader both spiritually and physically closer to Jesus.

Lisa Dupar has a secret. Well actually, many secrets...which readers will love curling up with, giggling over and then taking to the kitchen when they read the award winning chef's new book, Fried Chicken & Champagne: A Romp Through the Kitchen at Pomegranate Bistro. Born in Mexico, Southern bred and now a firmly transplanted Pacific Northwesterner, she knows how to spin a tale that is more like an ongoing conversation with a close friend.