Draw Ever Closer is an easy-to-use devotional for all who seek both intimacy with God and relationship with other people. This book offers you a personal, thirty-day retreat based on the most popular works of modern spiritual writer Henri J. M. Nouwen, a priest, psychologist, and lifelong seeker whose books include Out of Solitude and With Open Hands. Requiring only a few minutes each day, Draw Ever Closer allows you to reflect deeply on the fundamental longings for meaning, belonging, and intimacy as well as the call to service and social justice in each person’s life. Henri Nouwen—renowned Dutch priest, teacher, and spiritual leader—explored the depths of human experience as a meeting place with God in his spiritual writings for popular audiences. Trained as a psychologist, he was keenly aware of the inner movements of the psyche: the search for authentic self-awareness, the longing for human intimacy, and the desire to draw ever closer to the fullness of union with God. All titles in the 30 Days with a Great Spiritual Teacher series contain a brief morning meditation, a mantra for use throughout the day, and a night prayer to focus your thoughts as the day ends. This simple book is the perfect prayer companion for busy people who want to root their spiritual practice in Nouwen’s timeless, and timely, teachings on relationship. Reflecting perceptively on the words and deeds of Jesus, Nouwen shares his own relationship with Christ in a way that leads readers to Christ and teaches them to follow his example.

The Love Dare challenged individuals to love their spouse more. Closer shows wives and husbands how to grow that love together. Introduced with Scripture verses and engaging stories, these 52 devotionals will inspire couples to draw closer through faith conversations--those quiet talks so vital for emotional and spiritual intimacy in a marriage. Guided, practical action steps round out each reading. Closer, with its flexible weekly format, is an appealing alternative to a daily devotional.

Educator and art therapist London uses stories, poetic meditations, and guided exercises to show readers how making art in nature can enhance their self-knowledge and creativity. 20 halftones.

The Bible is full of questions asked by God, Jesus, ordinary people, Satan, and even a donkey. Some are questions that we've wrestled with but have been reluctant to voice. Others are asked to comfort, to convict, or to reinforce spiritual principles. Drawing Closer to God examines 365 of these questions to uncover biblical truth readers can apply personally to their lives. Each devotional concludes with a question designed to encourage reflection and prayer, leaving readers with practical takeaway and a renewed appreciation for God's Word.

Sheila Cragg knows of what she writes. She is the primary caregiver to her disabled and ailing husband and has also experienced some of life's deepest setbacks. But through all of those circumstances, she has drawn increasingly closer to the Lover of her soul and developed a rich, devotional lifestyle that she admits would never have happened otherwise. In A Woman's Heart for God, Cragg shares her own life experiences and provides scriptural insights, creative ideas and interactive questions to help readers tailor their times with Him-whatever their circumstances-pinpointing how to remove any obstacles that are keeping them from intimacy with Christ.

Capture your subjects on paper like never before. Look Closer, Draw Better will transform the way you see the subjects of your artwork, lighting the way with practical techniques in a range of mediums. Are you looking to make a leap in the quality of your artwork? Are you looking for new perspectives on the art of drawing? Or maybe you want to bring more poetry and presence to your work. Look Closer, Draw Better will help you reach your goals with projects that explore graphite, charcoal, ink, and watercolor wash, emphasizing techniques that Kateri Ewing has refined over years of practice and teaching. Ewing teaches by training your eye to see subjects clearly in contour, line, and shadow, while you learn to make marks with tools that are expressive of what we really see. Her focus is on nature—birds, flowers, and plants that can be closely observed. Discover the techniques for capturing the delicacy of feathers, the natural blemishes on a piece of fruit, the veins and velvety texture of a leaf—all the tiny details that enhance the realistic quality of a drawing. Ewing takes you carefully through every step. Let Look Closer, Draw Better inspire and transform your artistic eye.

"Desmond Dinan cuts through the complexities of the European Union to explain clearly the evolution of European integration from the 1950s to the present." "This new edition of his book retains the familiar three-part structure - history, institutions, and policies - but includes two entirely new chapters: one on key developments in the 1993-1999 period (e.g., the 1995 enlargement, the 1996-1997 intergovernmental conference, the Amsterdam Treaty, and preparations and prospects for EU enlargement into Central and Eastern Europe) and one exploring the increasingly complicated political and economic relationship between the United States and the EU, the world's leading trading powers."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

With Open Hands, Henri Nouwen's first book on spirituality and a treasured introduction to prayer, has been a perennial favorite for over thirty years because it gently encourages an open, trusting stance toward God and offers insight to the components of prayer: silence, acceptance, hope, compassion, and prophetic criticism. Provocative questions invite reflection and self-awareness, while simple and beautiful prayers provide comfort, peace, and reassurance. With more than half a million copies printed in seven languages, this spiritual classic has been reissued for a new generation with moving photography and a foreword by Sue Monk Kidd.

A lovely new cover and title for Minute Meditations for Couples from bestselling author Emilie Barnes and her husband, Bob, will enrich and mentor even more marriages with their messages of living for God, getting the most out of marriage, and managing time to create loving homes. Following the format of their highly successful Minute Meditations for Women and Minute Meditations for Men, Emilie and Bob offer inviting devotions that give busy couples quick opportunities to draw near to God—and each other. These devotions reflect the deep bonds and love that adversity sparks in couples committed to each other. Filled with encouragement, inspiring quotes, and practical advice, this relationship-nurturing devotional shares the richness of living in Christ and helps couples spend time together in God’s presence.

“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.