In a Culture of Distortions, Discover God-Defined Womanhood and Beauty In a culture where airbrushed models and career-driven women define beauty and success, it's no wonder we have a distorted view of femininity. Our impossible standards place an incredible burden of stress on the backs of women and girls of all ages, resulting in anxiety, eating disorders, and depression. One question we often forget to ask is this: What is God's design for womanhood? In Girl Defined, sisters and popular bloggers Kristen Clark and Bethany Beal offer women a countercultural view of beauty, femininity, and self-worth. Based firmly in God's design for their lives, this book helps women rethink what true success and beauty look like. It invites them on a liberating journey toward a radically better vision for femininity that ends with the discovery of the kind of hope, purpose, and fulfillment they've been yearning for. Girl Defined helps readers · discover God's design for femininity and his definition of a successful woman · uncover the secrets of lasting worth, purpose, and fulfillment · be equipped and empowered to live out a radically better vision for womanhood · gain personal insight through the chapter-by-chapter study guide

Defined Bible Study Book includes content for eight sessions, personal study between group sessions, applicable Scripture, "How to Use This Study," tips for leading a group, a leader guide, and a family-discipleship page. When you introduce yourself to someone for the first time, you have an opportunity to define yourself. You disclose your name, profession, and interests. These factors help our culture define us, but are those answers enough? People are struggling in ten thousand ways because of identity issues. They can't help but ask, who am I? and why do I matter? Can our culture really provide meaningful answers to those questions, or do we need something deeper and more significant? Before asking, who am I? we need to be able to answer, who is God? If we can't answer the first question, we will never answer the second. The problem with our search for identity is that we are looking in all the wrong places. Scripture teaches that we are all made in the image of God. We do not define ourselves--the Creator does. We were all created to be known and loved by God. Once those answers are clear, we can move forward and discover all God has called us to be. Session topics: 1. Uniquely Created by God 2. Uniquely Broken by Sin 3. Transformed by the Gospel 4. Who We Are in Christ 5. What We Have in Christ 6. Living Out Our Identity 7. Walking in the Spirit 8. Walking in Mission Features:; Videos and session previews featuring Alex and Stephen Kendrick ; Eight small-group sessions; Personal-study opportunities for ongoing spiritual growth; Promotional video; Social-media assets for the group leader Benefits:; Answer the questions "Who is God?" and "Who am I?"; Define yourself by God's standard.; Learn how sin has uniquely broken you.; Discover how you can be transformed by the gospel of Christ.; Understand what it means to be created for good works.; Develop a deeper appreciation for the Book of Ephesians.; Learn to walk with Christ in stronger faith and assurance.; Use the unique way God has gifted and created you to serve others.; Take hold of the grace available to you in Christ.; Find purpose and meaning in Christ.; Define yourself by the Creator's call instead by a cultural identity.

"DON'T read this book if you want to remain comfortable! Eric challenges us to consider what Biblical discipleship looks like based on what Jesus did. Eric writes this book with the integrity of a man who is not merely theorizing about the way things ought to be, rather he is describing what is actually happening as he builds Biblical disciples in the context of the inner city. This book is soundly Biblical, challenging and practical. This book is about building disciples not programs." Roger Hershey, Campus Crusade For Christ "It is a joy to highly commend to all Discipleship Defined, for it is exactly the prescription that is needed for the Church to regain much of our lost effectiveness. "Discipleship Defined" has carefully described, yet without programming it into a rigid system, how to go about this challenging task." Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., President Emeritus Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary "Eric Russ gives us some very straight forward thinking about discipleship, a topic widely misunderstood and undervalued. Moving away from piety-driven discipleship, Russ points us toward a holistic, Christ-centered way of following Jesus." Jonathan Dodson, Lead Pastor Austin City Life, Austin, TX. "Eric has a healthy obsession about strong discipleship, and it shows in a gracious way in this guidebook for muscular commitment. Can you be obsessed and still have a gracious spirit? Eric does, and so does this book!" Knute Larson, Senior Pastor The Chapel, Akron, OH (1983-2009) Eric Russ is lead pastor of Mack Avenue Community Church in Detroit, Michigan. He is married to Sara and has four children. For more information visit www.discipleshipdefined.com or www.mackave.com.

This book describes the concept of a Software Defined Mobile Network (SDMN), which will impact the network architecture of current LTE (3GPP) networks. SDN will also open up new opportunities for traffic, resource and mobility management, as well as impose new challenges on network security. Therefore, the book addresses the main affected areas such as traffic, resource and mobility management, virtualized traffics transportation, network management, network security and techno economic concepts. Moreover, a complete introduction to SDN and SDMN concepts. Furthermore, the reader will be introduced to cutting-edge knowledge in areas such as network virtualization, as well as SDN concepts relevant to next generation mobile networks. Finally, by the end of the book the reader will be familiar with the feasibility and opportunities of SDMN concepts, and will be able to evaluate the limits of performance and scalability of these new technologies while applying them to mobile broadb and networks.

The definitive Cisco SD-Access resource, from the architects who train Cisco's own engineers and partners This comprehensive book guides you through all aspects of planning, implementing, and operating Cisco Software-Defined Access (SD-Access). Through practical use cases, you'll learn how to use intent-based networking, Cisco ISE, and Cisco DNA Center to improve any campus network's security and simplify its management. Drawing on their unsurpassed experience architecting solutions and training technical professionals inside and outside Cisco, the authors explain when and where to leverage Cisco SD-Access instead of a traditional legacy design. They illuminate the fundamental building blocks of a modern campus fabric architecture, show how to design a software-defined campus that delivers the most value in your environment, and introduce best practices for administration, support, and troubleshooting. Case studies show how to use Cisco SD-Access to address secure segmentation, plug and play, software image management (SWIM), host mobility, and more. The authors also present full chapters on advanced Cisco SD-Access and Cisco DNA Center topics, plus detailed coverage of Cisco DNA monitoring and analytics. * Learn how Cisco SD-Access addresses key drivers for network change, including automation and security * Explore how Cisco DNA Center improves network planning, deployment, evolution, and agility * Master Cisco SD-Access essentials: design, components, best practices, and fabric construction * Integrate Cisco DNA Center and Cisco ISE, and smoothly onboard diverse endpoints * Efficiently operate Cisco SD-Access and troubleshoot common fabric problems, step by step * Master advanced topics, including multicast flows, Layer 2 flooding, and the integration of IoT devices * Extend campus network policies to WANs and data center networks * Choose the right deployment options for Cisco DNA Center in your environment * Master Cisco DNA Assurance analytics and tests for optimizing the health of clients, network devices, and applications

The advancement of technology is a standard of modern daily life, whether it be the release of a new cellphone, computer, or a self-driving car. Due to this constant advancement, the networks on which these technologies operate must advance as well. Innovations in Software-Defined Networking and Network Functions Virtualization is a critical scholarly publication that observes the advances made in network infrastructure through achieving cost efficacy while maintaining maximum flexibility for the formation and operation of these networks. Featuring coverage on a broad selection of topics, such as software-defined storage, openflow controller, and storage virtualization, this publication is geared toward professionals, computer engineers, academicians, students, and researchers seeking current and relevant research on the advancements made to network infrastructures.

The individual account-based but unfunded approach to mandated public pension systems is a reform benchmark for all pension schemes, promising fair and financially sustainable benefits. Nonfinancial defined contribution (NDC) pension schemes originated in Italy and Sweden in the 1990s, were then adopted by Latvia, Norway, and Poland, envisaged but not implemented in various other countries, such as Egypt and Russia, and remain under discussion in many nations around the world, such as China and France. In its complete form, the approach also comprises budget-financed basic income provisions and mandated or voluntary funded provisions. Volume 1 of this book offers an assessment of countries that were early adopters before addressing key aspects of policy implementation and design review, including how best to combine basic income provisions with an NDC scheme, how to deal with heterogeneity in longevity, and how to adjust NDC scheme design and labor market policies to deliver on reform expectations. Volume 2 addresses a second set of issues, including the gender pension gap and what family policies can do about it within the NDC framework, labor market issues and administrative challenges of NDC schemes and how countries are coping, the role of communication in these pension schemes, the complexity of cross-border pension taxation, and much more. Progress and Challenges of Nonfinancial Defined Contribution Pension Schemes is the third in a series of books analyzing the progress, challenges, and adjustment options of this reform revolution for mandated public pension systems. 'Pension reform is a major issue in many countries. The development of the nonfinancial defined contribution pension plan in the 90's was a major advance in pension design. By reporting actual country experiences and exploring properties of plan designs, this latest collection of essays is a valuable contribution, well worth reading.' Peter Diamond Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 2010 winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences 'A highly stimulating publication for policy makers and researchers alike. It pushes the analytical frontier for policy challenges that all public pension schemes are confronted with but that the nonfinancial defined contribution approach promises to handle best.' Noriyuki Takayama President, Research Institute for Policies on Pension and Aging, Tokyo, and professor emeritus, Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo 'In a changing world where pensions are more than ever linked to labor markets, communication tools, and flexibility considerations, this anthology provides a unique up-to-date analysis of nonfinancial defined contribution pension schemes. By mixing international experiences and theoretical studies, it demonstrates the high adaptability of such pension schemes to changing social challenges.' Pierre Devolder Professor of Finance and Actuarial Sciences, Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium